Henry The Big Green Engine
Written: May 19 '02 (Updated May 19 '02)
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Pros: Colorful and attractive, inexpensive to collect, durable
Cons: Some paint chipping
The Bottom Line: Henry is a wonderful addition to a Thomas and Friends collection. These trains are inexpensive and fun to collect.
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| tiasmom's Full Review: Ertl Preschool - Thomas and Friends Henry Engine D... |
Although this is a review of Henry, a die cast figure made by Ertl, I previously wrote other reviews of some of these figures. I will use the preamble and general details from my other review since they apply to this figure as well. All other information beyond that will be original.
Preamble
While we don’t actually have a complete Thomas the Tank Engine railroad set, my son does have over a dozen die cast vehicles from the set. His wooden track is not the expensive Thomas one, but an inexpensive one we bought at Target. The die cast Thomas engines work just as well on his track though. Since he loves Thomas and Friends so much we sometimes buy him an engine in hobby stores and toy stores. They can also be bought online from ebay, any of the popular online toy stores and stores that specialize in Thomas or toy train accessories. The average price is $5-$9. These die cast figures are a nice and inexpensive way to please Thomas fans.
About Ertl
These figures are made by Ertl. This company specializes in die cast figures and also makes many of the scale model collector’s cars such as NASCAR replicas. Die cast is a solid metal. The first Ertl replicas were miniature farm equipment back in the 40's.
The average size of Ertl Thomas engines is about 3 inches long and an inch and a half tall. I would prefer these trains to be like a wooden set my son has that have magnets on each end so they stay together easily. These trains have small plastic hitches on both ends but the engines don’t hook together. However, like a real train, the hitches do fit into coach cars. If you want make a good sized train you’d need to buy several of the coach cars. These are cheaper, though, and made of a flimsy plastic unlike the die cast engines. I just read that Ertl will no longer be making Thomas figures and that they will be discontinued. This is a good time to stock up on all the collectibles. In fact, I just saw this announcement on a collector’s website: “Ertl has announced that the final production for all Thomas & Friends die cast products will be in June of 2002. Once these items are gone they will be gone forever! Get them while you still can!”
The figures will still be sold at the online sites and in the stores, but will be like the retired Ty beanie babies. They will become harder and harder to find eventually. At one hobby shop in the mall, I noticed the Ertl die cast selection has become very small and it was the same case in Boscov’s Department Store. Both of these places had been one of our better sources of them in the past.
These figures are 1/64 inch scale.
******New Content*********
Henry
Henry The Green Engine is one of the original engines from the complete Reverend W Awdry Railway Series collection from 1945 to 1972. He made his debut in 1951. He is one of the longest engines and can easily pull several freight cars along behind his attached coal car. He will fit standard Brio wooden train tracks, and similar 1- to 1.5-inch grooved train tracks.
The Fat Controller was angry with Henry when he first arrived. It wasn't poor Henry's fault - he couldn't make enough steam because his firebox was too small. Then Henry had an accident when he was pulling The Flying Kipper, and the Fat Controller sent him to Crewe to be rebuilt. He came back with a bigger firebox and a new shape and now enjoys his work. He is based at Tidmouth with Gordon. He often causes trouble for the strict but kindhearted Sir Topham Hat.
*He is a long, fast engine
*He tends to be rather high strung and prone to illness
*He is one of the largest steam engines at Shining Time Station
*He’s also known as Number 3
*He formerly had a silly habit of staying in tunnels whenever it rained
Physical Characteristics
Henry measures 5 ½ inches not including hitch and is 1 ½ inches tall. He is bright green with black trim and an attached coal car. He has a cheerful expression on his gray 3 dimensional face. He has a total of 16 wheels, 8 on each side. On his side is a yellow number 3.
Like the others, he is made of heavy die cast metal. As with the others, he is also available in a hard maple version with magnetic hitches through the Learning Company line of trains. I actually prefer the magnetic hitches and wish Ertl used them. But the Learning Company trains are more expensive.
Age Recommendation
These figures are for children aged 3 and up. There are small parts that could come off and the hard metal make it an undesirable toy for a younger child.
Price and Availability
The die cast figures are much cheaper than the duplicate wooden engine. Just doing a search of Thomas the Tank Engine on the web brings up many websites where they can be purchased. Amazon.com is one place where they are available. Another is TotallyThomas.com. Many toy stores, hobby shops and bookstores also carry Ertl figures. They are not widely available at places like Walmart. The average price I have seen Henry is $5.99.
He can be ordered at 1-800-30-Thomas
Final Recommendation
Henry is a very attractive engine. His bright color makes him stand out from most of the others. He is one of my son’s favorites and often accompanies us on car trips. For the past week he has really been anxious for me to write a review about him and he has placed Henry on the computer desk several times.
Henry is showing some slight paint chipping around his edges as is the case with many of the die cast vehicles unfortunately. It is not all that noticeable and is about the only way I have ever seen the figures show wear even after lots of use. It’s a very durable figure otherwise. I really don’t think a Thomas and Friends collection would be complete without Henry. Obviously my son agrees.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $5
Type of Toy: Trains
Age Range of Child: Other
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