Thomas going Downhill?

I've noticed lately more and more Thomas model railway stuff being discounted. Is the Thomas boom over I wonder? Those folks at HIT Entertainment seem to have done a good job of upsetting a lot of people.

Reply to
Gerald H
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I think the demographics indicate a decline in market.

"Demographics doesn't explain everything, only about about 2/3rds of everything." (David Foot, Boom Bust Echo)

cheers, wolf k.

Reply to
Wolf K

I thought this was going to be a story about some Troublesome Trucks

G.Harman

Reply to
damduck-egg

Now Thomas is all CGI, it's just the same as everything else on kids' TV.

Reply to
MartinS

I have to agree there - I think kids (of all ages!) respond to the models in the original TV series as much as the stories themselves. Witness the popularity of Thunderbirds et al, still in there years after contemporary cartoons have been long gone.

Cheers Richard

Reply to
beamends

"Gerald H" wrote

Hornby have pushed the TTTE prices so high that I suspect there is some market resistance to the increased prices.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

Well look what they did to James The Engine...

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Fred X

Reply to
Fred X

Tomy made some toy Thomas trains, they were not as detailed as the Hornby models, were battery powered, and ran on simple grooved track (nothing like real track). However, they were much more robust, and cheaper.

Reply to
James Goode

Yeah, much better value, my son's got a couple of Tomica World sets;one was about 30 quid, it includes a big oval of track with a bridge and station, an oval of road with a bridge for the working Bertie bus, plus a working dock crane and barge.

I notice post Xmas both Sainsbury's and Argos have been reducing T&F* sets from over 100 quid to about 50.

  • Hit Entertainment rebranded TTTE as 'Thomas and Friends' some time back
Reply to
a i

Had to see chugthing today, not a patch on proper Thomas, even had a tender on a tank engine - dont they realise some of us children notice these things !

Cheers, Simon

Reply to
simon

Wonder if Hit have increased their slice of pie so push up cost of TTTE, isnt that what they did to preserved railways ? Cant have helped that a few have stopped doing Thomas events.

Cheers, Simon

Reply to
simon

I mentioned here some years ago I thought Tomy were more suitable for the youngest age groups.

(kim)

Reply to
kim

"simon" wrote

I'd have assumed that Hornby had the costings tied up in a long-term contract.

The 20-25% hike in TTTE prices was much in keeping with the general increase in all their train prices, but bearing in mind the lack of significant tooling costs (in the main all TTTE items are just minor rejigging of old tooled models) low levels of detail & simple liveries, I think they've just pushed the prices out of reach of many of their customers.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

Depends on how long term, could have now been up for renegotiation, didnt the plastic one move companies recently ?

Cheers, Simon

Reply to
simon

"simon" wrote

Whether that was the case or not, Hornby were able to offer some severe discounting on some TTTE products when sales presumably stalled.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

There's a new TTTE TV series due out now (with even more locos), and a new movie coming soon, which will add up to free marketing for the toys.

Reply to
BAC

This re-branding as " Thomas and Friends" isn't succeeding too well judging by this thread is it :-)

Reply to
airsmoothed

That's the name of the series in the USA.

Reply to
Christopher A. Lee

Has anything gone well since Hit took over ?

Cheers, Simon

Reply to
simon

and the UK, if you got to the old TTTE site it redirects to T&F even for the UK :-.

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Reply to
airsmoothed

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