Thomas & Friends CGM19 Minis Motorised Raceway Set, Thomas the Tank Engine Minis Toy Train Set

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Brio-type track is much better value for money than the plastic kits which will only go into one configuration. You can get play sets for these, much like the track master/take and play with lots of ramps and twists. It's cheap (that super station looked great but way too expensive atm) and at least you can pick up minis cheaply. I don't want him disappointed though (he has had expectations in the past of getting particular engines and it's horrible to see him wonder why he didn't get them (because we're not mind readers! You can get loads of "knock off" brio (big jigs, ikea, tesco - all fit together with genuine brio track).

Thomas Inc. - Track Layouts Totally Thomas Inc. - Track Layouts

And you can keep adding to it (we now have a crate which contains enough brio to carpet the entire ground floor of the house). Not that I’m bitter at all or have spent many hours writing complaints to the bastards who couldn’t give less of a toss.The Trackmaster sets each have an intended layout and instructions to make the layout - but the track itself can be made into any configuration, just as wooden track can , provided you have enough Trackmaster track. changing the name to 'thomas adventures' just seems designed to deliberately confuse people even more. I'm quite resistant to introducing a new strain of Thomas into the household but the tracks look so cool to a 4-year-old boy! Invest in a load of bridges so you get the sections which enable you to change levels, then (pro tip!

Thomas The Tank Engine Toys | Bargain Max Thomas The Tank Engine Toys | Bargain Max

I’d avoid the Take n Play / Thomas Adventures style altogether - that track is completely incompatible with Brio style trains, and the sets we’ve had have been flimsy in comparison to wooden track and Trackmaster sets. I think they've officially been replaced by the 'real wood' engines that have some 'exposed' wood in their design. Was planning on getting some Thomas trains for it for Christmas and the have been flummoxed by the different types and then I heard that most don't fit on the wooden track so I'm almost given up on the idea. Also Bigjigs do replica real engines - we have the Mallard, and a Japanese bullet train, and the Duchess of Hamilton.

The super station from last Xmas I think can have the batttery trackmaster trains, minis and adventure/take and play trains on the same track. My nearly-4-year-old has had a wooden train set (brio etc) since he was 2, and we've added to it over the years so he has quite a lot, plus tons of wooden Thomas engines (he really likes/liked Thomas the Tank). I think it was my favourite toy when DS was younger, hours of fun (we once reconstructed the roller coaster at our local theme park out of brio and duplo). Trackmaster trains are all battery powered too, which can get expensive when you have children who set them running and don’t turn them off. His birthday and Christmas are coming up and he's suddenly talking about wanting the more elaborate plastic track kits instead!

Thomas the Train Mini Track - Etsy

They’re a pita to put together and don’t have any flex in them so you have to put the pieces in the right places or they won’t fit at all. I found this article which is useful but has annoyed me at how they keep changing things (and no doubt have changed again since that article)! Trackmaster track is more fiddly to connect together, so there’s far more adult input demanded when setting up Trackmaster layouts. Perhaps it's my fault for letting him watch videos of other kids playing instead of actually playing himself!The Trackmaster track is the same gauge as the wooden track, so Brio style trains can be pushed around on a Trackmaster track and vice versa, although Trackmaster trains are bigger so don’t tend to work so well with wooden track tunnels and sharp bends. Largish train, too big to fit on Brio style track, and most likely too babyish for a child already into wooden trains. Look - exactly the same track and trains just different connections so you can’t play with them together, ever. Can I just get one set or will I need to add plastic track to it like we have with the wooden track? Take and play has recently been replaced with Thomas Adventures - exactly the same sizes but different connections for track and couplings for trains so you can’t mix and match at all.

someone explain the difference between the - Mumsnet Can someone explain the difference between the - Mumsnet

I’d stick with brio - you can get battery operated wooden Thomas trains online and BigJigs wooden track fits and is waaaay cheaper than brio of Thomas versions. A massive heap of ugly plastic, but at least smaller than the others on offer and a good compromise.I think he'll like it as the one he was studying intently (we got him a poster ages ago with all the engines on but it also has ads for take n play. Sadly DS is past playing with it mostly, unless we get it out for his friends' younger siblings (at which point he suddenly remembers how much fun it is and will happily spend an afternoon with it).