Coming to a store near you! It is James the Red Engine! This is an exciting time for train lovers, as James has his own video just released to retail stores near you titled, "The best of James." This video in some stores includes a Learning Curve James like the one pictured here, but here's the catch! The James with the video looks more like the one in the storybooks and videos than the one pictured here. In fact we have had this argument with my son Alex concerning the product pictured above, and the picture in the storybook we have been reading. What is the difference? It is the difference of a little gold paint! James the Red Engine is supposed to have a gold dome, and gold stripes on his boiler and fire box. But this product pictured above does not. Why have they done this? I do not know. I am just happy that they have released this new James with the video so that the argument can end, and he will be happy. And I will be happy because you cannot beat the deal of $12.99 for a video and train! Normally, that train would be at least $15, and the video $10! What a deal!!


So just who is this James, and what makes him so special?

James is a bright scarlet red, medium sized mixed traffic engine. This means that he can pull trucks or coaches, and can go on Sir Topham Hatt's branch lines and the main line. A great description of James can be found on http://www.thomasthetankengine.com/home/homepage.html where
it says, "James is a medium-sized engine. His six driving wheels are not as big as Gordon's and not as small as Thomas. He has a fine scarlet coat and brass dome and likes to think of himself as a rally splendid engine. This can occasionally lead to high-falutin' ideas about the sort of work suitable for such a noble creature; Invariably they land James in trouble."

A little bit more history of him that I've garnered from our storybooks is that when he started on the Island of Sodor, he was not the same size that he is now. After he had an accident on Gordon's Hill, his brake blocks that were wood caught fire; Sir Topham Hatt had him repaired. In this repair, he had another pair of wheels added, giving him a new classification, and size, he had his brakes replaced, and he went from being painted black, to being red, and well, thinking of himself as just that much more of a really splendid engine!

I've also noticed that James, much like the other main line engines, like to grumble and huff and puff about this and that, but he and the other engines stationed with him at the Tidmouth station all prove themselves in the end, and take care of themselves and all their friends and passengers.

Our favorite story at our home is the one from Volume 21 of the Railway Series, "Main Line Engines," titled, "Buzz Buzz." In this story, James boasts that if bees ever came near him, he'd just blow smoke, and tell them to buzz off! Well, he gets that chance when he pulls into the station, and an accident occurs, knocking the lid off a crate of bees, sending the sleepy bees in search of warmth. They decide that James is the warmest place to go, and they go right for his boiler. In the video they try everything to get them off, including spinning him around on the turntable! In both the book and video, one bee gets his foot 'stung' by a hot coal, and he flies up to James' face, and stings him on the nose! Ouch! They finally do get the bees back to their home, but poor James has a bright red nose! Just like Rudolph! He never did boast about bees again, and everyone in the sheds had a chuckle, and tease James about it from time to time.

The neat thing from that story is that Learning curve did release a train set that came with James - red nose and all. It also is the only way to get the diesel engine named BoCo, the small all wooden turntable, and it comes with the video titled, "James goes Buzz Buzz." That set has been retired this year, so if you find it, get it! It is almost $100, but it has all the exclusives to it, so if you are a collector, it is really a good set.


Ok, I see the picture, but how big is it really?

James is smaller than Gordon, but bigger than Thomas. Ok, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to those of you that have never seen these other engines! Technically, James is a 2-6-0 engine. He originally was the same size as Thomas, a 0-6-0, but had those extra wheels/axel added as I mentioned above. (Info from: http://www.iglobal.com/Drew/james.htm) This means in European terms that he is a 1C, as the 2-6-0 is a count of axels and the American classification. The proper name for him now is Mogul. His wheels look kind of like this: ___oOOO____ . Now, to make more sense out of all this jargon, I recommend that you check out this Website: http://www.ozdoba.net/railroad/lokoclass.html. For my version of it, check out my review on Henry the Green Engine.

This scaled down version by Learning Curve is 5 3/4" long with the coal car (or tender) attached. Without the coal car, he is 3 3/8" from magnet to magnet, and 3" long in body along. His coal car is 2 3/8" long. Both James and his coal car are 1" wide. While James stands 2" tall, his coal car is only 1 13/16" tall. James has red non-toxic paint all over him with some black lines for decoration and detail, as well as his coal car. There is a #5 painted in yellow with black outline on his coal car. He has a plastic black ring around the front of his boiler, and mounted on the front of it is his gray face. He has 6 black wheels on him, and 4 on his coal car. His funnel is a 1/4" tall.


Well, should I get it or not?

Personally, I whole-heartedly recommend that you buy this product for your child, or any child you are buying a train present for. James is bright red, and fairly big, and lots of fun. But I do think the currently if it is available in your area, that the video package is a better deal, especially since that vehicle is more true to the media than this one is. This particular one has given my son a great deal of fun and joy since he received it sometime almost 18 months ago. He plays with it as much as he wants, and usually pairs him with Edward the Blue Engine. Plus he likes to pretend that James gets stung by the bee sometimes, and laughs so hard he nearly falls on the floor!

Being that many children start playing with these trains at the age of 2-3 years old, they will not noticed immediately that there is a little paint difference. I'm going to have to give this product 4 out of 5 whistles, since we now have noticed the gold paint difference. It has held up extremely well, and of course has the guarantee for life. I, as an avid collector of other products, feel a bit gypped on this one, but since this toy is really designed for children 3-5 years old, it is very excellent.

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For more information on Learning Curve, and their products, go to:

http://www.learningcurve.com/ourProducts/thomas.asp

On this page you can select to go to Vehicles, and then select in the drop down box James the Red Engine, or whichever product you want more information on.

For more information on Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, go to:

http://www.thomasthetankengine.com/home/homepage.html




Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 17.00
Type of Toy: Trains
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years