We are delighted to welcome the new modernised styling of the Thomas & Friends toy trains and play sets, manufactured by Mattel, to the Baby Brands Direct wholesale platform, for approved trade, to access for their stores.
Thomas & Friends was originally known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and later Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! and is a British children’s television series that’s aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. It was originally based on ‘The Railway Series’ books by Rev. W. Awdry, who was the creator of character ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ and who starred in this series of 42 books. First published in 1945, the initial titles were based on tales the railway enthusiast repeatedly told his son Christopher as he recovered from measles. Christopher later also contributed to the series.
The series follows the adventures of Thomas, a humanised blue steam locomotive on the fictional North Western Railway on the fictional Island of Sodor. He has several other anthropomorphised companion locomotives that were predominately based on real classes of locomotives including Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, and Toby. They work for the Fat Controller, who always wants his engines to be “really useful engines”.
Mattel has expertly transferred the physical characteristics of the engines as shown in the TV series into a variety of toy formats including not just model trains and tracks, but also stacking, pull along and activity station toys.
The 4 playsets available to retailers provide 4 consumer price points as well as different styles, for example the 16 ft train track with loops in the Launch & Loop Maintenance Yard Playset to the multiple level activity centre with spinning turntable and crane in the Trains & Cranes Tower, to those with land marks such as Knapford Station to the race tracks of the Sodor Cup.
The 2years+ range includes a Thomas pull along which doubles as a portable container for toys. There’s also the duo stacker and push along train, a unique toy offering construction skill development through its 8 cargo building blocks.
We are currently wholesaling a select range of the new engines, which feature a motorised aspect, propelling them along the tracks at the flick of a switch. Thrilling fun for little ones. In addition to this Thomas, Percy and Nia are available as motorised with talking feature, saying phrases from the series that are bound to excite and drive imagination and play. Added to this, these trains recognise and interact with each other, encouraging little fans to start a collection of the engines!
To celebrate and mark the arrival of Thomas and Friends toys at Baby Brands Direct, retailers can participate in our online quiz and win their store 2 x Thomas and Friends Loop De Loop Maintenance Yard Playsets FREE for their stores! Please hurry as all entries need to be in by 13th Oct, the winning 2 stores will be picked using random number generator from the winning entries.
New trade customers can also participate in the quiz and access stock for their retail outlets once they have an account. To apply for one please register here.