Why ERTL Thomas is BAD

In this video, I explain why the ERTL Thomas range in bad in my opinion.

Do you agree or disagree with what I said in the video? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:32 Reason #1: Proportions
1:09 Reason #2: Length of the Engines
1:48 Reason #3: The Wheels vs. The Height
2:07 Reason #4: The Couplings
3:08 Reason #5: Use of Stickers
3:32 Reason #6: The Faces
4:01 What Take Along Did Better
4:34 What ERTL Did Good
5:16 Outro

[TrevortheTrainFan]

I highly disagree! I think Ertl is one of the best Thomas toys out there in terms of detail and design! But I can understand where you’re coming from because Ertl DOES have its flaws like the hook and eye couplings break easily. Good thing they upgraded it to u-hooks from 2002-2004!

[Percyfan]

I always felt like the ERTL were more based off the books

And the take Alongs more based off the TV show

[allenginesgofaniambeing]

Ok, as a big boy, the ERTL's are so much better as shelf display items than toys. The 2001 models 🥰

I honesty wish ERTL made a lot of non Thomas train models because they would be- 🥲 beautiful!-

[cantfindclips]

I like to think ERTL wasn’t entirely thought through through a child’s perspective.
As far as coupling design.
Inexperience, new to the business sort of thing.

But as you see, they tried to improve the coupling system.

Although that did bring some new issues like Clarabel and Toad not facing the right way back.

They should have used, stronger plastic or metal for the couplings.

You will notice that the later models were given thicker coupling rings from the prior upgrade.

Although this upgrade meant that some original models were no longer compatible.

[cantfindclips]

In fairness, you can’t fault ERTL for the sizing of the toys.

The small engines would be too small, especially the miniature engines.

Toys have to fit a certain standard.

Look at the motorised, for example, some have to be squished down otherwise they won’t be able to fit under tunnels, or too long for curve tracks.

Gordon would be too massive compare to Toby at scale.

Since the toys are targeted to children they need to be comfortable for their hand size.

[MisterMike_real]

I really don’t care about the sizes and small details that they got wrong, I just love that they actually cared enough to make the entirety of the Culdee Fell engines

[tre-engines]

You bring up some fair points in this video! I think why it’s hard for me to call the Ertl models bad is because the engines themselves looked really good! They may not work very well or have the correct sizing, but they don’t look cheap, and there are some pretty nice details on them that the Take Along models didn’t have! I also don’t really mind the faces that much because engines like Edward & James had pretty accurate faces! When you look at what Mattel has done to the die-cast line since 2012, it really feels like they stopped trying to make a quality product and made the toys cheaper like getting rid of the buffer details, or shortening the cabs, or for some reason changing the Take N Play magnets to only work on one side. Ertl did mess up on the playability, but it doesn’t feel like they didn’t care about what they were making and did try to improve their designs rather than make them cheaper, so I think that’s why the Ertl line is still fondly looked back on today! Still a great video though!

[Flyingwelshman]

Ertl is my favourite range, you can't deny the detail is accurate, but you have pointed a few flaws that I agree with, especially the scaling, couplings and stickers.

[allison]

The only reason people really likes ertl is it is rare old and nostalgic

[ThomasTheBusFan]

My ranking of diecast Thomas merch:
1.Take Along
2.Take N Play
3.ERTL
4.Adventures
5.Push Along

[TheMagicRailroadStudios]

I love both Take Along and Ertl but I can agree on the scaling, or the tenders being connected to the engine. I really am not a fan of the track system. Now the other Ertl track has printed actual railway tracks and grass which I think looks better, but the more common Ertl track looks more like road pieces.
Usually if was to use Ertl models in like a Take Along remake for an example I’d like to use the bigger diesels like the Ertl BoCo, Daisy, D261, or D199 because I prefer the length of them better than Take Along did for their longer diesels, but I still like them though.
Ertl is flawed to me, yeah it has some duds but it’s toy line that you can’t help but love. They were quality toys and had care put into them, can’t say much about the modern day Thomas merch.

[danishmorgan]

I also have several of the Theodore Tugboat models from Ertl. I'm not sure if they were ever sold here in Denmark, as only the first seasons were dubbed here (by legendary actor Kjeld Nørgaard) but the boxes did have a Danish choking hazard warning on the back, so maybe...
I even found Hank in a Danish antique shop once

[eryhv]

Based tbh. I'm sick of the toxic positivity surrounding Ertl because "Nostalgia"

[Wlmartbag]

I can agree with you like
The sizes of the engines being off and also they somethimes they REUSED MOLDS LIKE DIESEL 10 (a d199 recolour with d10 face and a claw)AND BLUEBELL THAT WORST OF ALL....SHE HAD A PROTOTYPE BETTER TO THE FINALL VERSION-
Also even if whe had al classic seasons engines and some rws exclusives whe didnt have more tvs or rws engines like mike or the hit era

[bertiebus]

I don't think Ertl Thomas toys are particularly bad, but I'll give you this; the claw on Diesel 10 doesn't even move at all. 😒

[danishmorgan]

The Ertl Toys are probably my favorite Thomas Merch (along with Tomy/Trackmaster and the shortlived Marklin-range). I have almost the entire collection, even Sunshine from TUGS and some Blinky Bill and Dick Tracy cars etc. The amount of characters they made from both the books and the TV Series is amazing! Not to mention the amount of detailing in the models, the Skarloey Engines are so beautiful. I do have to admit that the couplings are a little fragile, especially in the hands of a playful toddler, but there are lots of awesome Thomas Merch Lines that have an awkward coupling system (Tomy are only able to couple rolling stock at the back of the engine and Wooden Railway can only couple one way because of the magnet polarism), so when I do remakes with my Ertls I couple up engines and rolling stocks with a small barbecue stick or a piece of pipe cleaner when they don't fit

[yw]

Your points in this video are absolutely valid. Growing up I had a fair few Ertl Thomas toys and experienced issues regarding stickers coming off and the couplers/bufferbeams disintegrating. (which was worse when I received a few secondhand toys) I probably didn’t play with them as much as the Wooden Railway or Take Along toys, which is probably why they still look pretty good today.

Although Ertl may not be the most perfect toy line I think they really have a charm. The overall appearances of the toys have that Clearwater Features and Britt Allcroft Company-era aesthetic that were as faithful as possible to the tv series which I might prefer over the style of many Thomas merchandise made post-2000. Then again, I really can’t argue with your points

[chazzywaz]

I like both take along/ take n play and ertl, they both have their pros and cons. With ta and tnp they can connect with magnets and represent the characters in the tvs well. While ertl has couplings that dont connect, though the the designs do look quite realistic

[allenginesgofaniambeing]

Ertl Theodore tugboat was peak Ertl, I'm lucky to own nearly every item fron the diecast range (minus Owan and the great ocean salvage company dock)

[BellyLover]

I've never had the couplings break on mine, but certainly had the faces come off and turning was definitely an issue with that sort-of -play mat that had velcro. I'd also argue the really tiny ones would be a chocking hazard if they didn't say so.