Thomas the Tank Engine

We've hit one of our last milestones on my Thomas the Tank Engine IDEAS project. With now over 9.000 supporters, I thought I'd share an engine you probably weren't expecting. The magical engine from Shining Time Station, this is my version of Lady from Thomas and the Magic Railroad.

For this engine specifically, I thought it would be fun to give Lady her realistic firebox instead of her face as a reference to the movie (and because I couldn't design a face that worked with the 4x4 dish). Besides that, she also comes with 2 new printed pieces as well as a detailed interior, though with some creative liberties. For more images, check out either my Instagram @KaijuBuildz or my Flickr page: https://bit.ly/3Jja0j8

Your continued support of the project has been really appreciated and we are so close to hitting those 5 digits, so please keep sharing and spreading the project around. Once again, thank you all so much, see you at the finish line!!! ;D

A bit late with this update, but since it was his Birthday recently and he's been requested a number of times in the comments of my Thomas IDEAS project, I thought I would share another new Minifigure, the legendary Beatle himself, Ringo Starr!

Ringo Starr is a British drummer, singer, songwriter and actor best known for being the former drummer of the British pop-rock band The Beatles. He was the first narrator for Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, narrating the first and second series and playing Mr. Conductor on Shining Time Station.

NOTE: This figure was designed using Photoshop and is neither a real Minifigure or for sale

We've recently hit 8.000 supporters on my Thomas the Tank Engine project and to celebrate, I've designed a few more engines though probably not the ones you were expecting. These are my versions of the tiny Arlesdale Railway Engines known as Rex, Mike & Bert.

These builds include a total of 6 new printed pieces and despite the small space, have space for a single Minifigure driver each. Although the 3 engines do very much look alike, each has some small differences to make them a bit more unique and accurate to both the Railway and CGI series.

The support has been crazy the past few weeks and we are getting closer every day, so please keep sharing and spreading the project with your friends and family. Thank you all so much!!! :D

It's been a full year since the project was first submitted to the IDEAS website. Since then we've collected over 7.500 votes, designed 4 more characters, and still over 400 days for us to reach that final milestone!

As to celebrate this anniversary, I made a small scene featuring all 3 original Branchline Engines (and the Coaches) fittingly stationed at the Ffarquhar sheds! The sheds were very fun to design and although the Edit didn't turn out as well as I hoped (wanted to get it out in time), I'm just happy I was able the post something to celebrate the occasion.

Once again, thank you all SO MUCH for helping the project come as far as it has and keeping the project alive during my absents! Please keep sharing and spreading the project with your friends and family if you haven't already :D

We've hit another milestone on my Thomas the Tank Engine IDEAS project. With now over 7.000 supporters, it only made sense to share Sodor's number 7 engine, the definition of a chaotic neutral, Toby the Tram Engine!

Probably the most different engine thus far, this build includes 3 new printed pieces (including a new 3x3 tile piece for the face) along with a removable roof which reveals a stylized, but still accurate furnace. Like my other builds before, I've taken some creative liberties with the design, specifically by giving him a color scheme that blends both the RWS and TV designs together. For more images, check out either my Instagram @KaijuBuildz or my Flickr page: https://bit.ly/3N6sXXG

Because it wouldn't be Toby without her, I also added Henrietta using a slightly modified version of my Annie & Clarabel builds. I also wanted to mention that out of all the engines thus far, this one is the most compatible with power functions.

We are getting so close, so please keep sharing and spreading the project with your friends and family. Once again, thank you all so much!!! Now that the smaller engines are complete it may be time to start work on some of the bigger ones ;D

A very quick and short update this time. I quickly wanted to share with you that I have completed my IRL version of the project! Some changes were made for the IRL version due to certain parts being unavailable in certain colors, specifically changing the Medium Azure to a regular blue.

With this model came an opportunity to test the set and I'm happy to say that this thing holds together like a brick! No parts fall off or are flimsy and the interior is easily accessible. The wheels and fenders are the only parts that need some work as they don't always roll smoothly, but that's about it.

Like always, thank you all so much for the continued support of the project :D

Happy New Year folks! A bit on the late side, I know but I've been very busy for the past few months and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. To close the holidays, I quickly wanted to share an update to wish everyone a happy new year!

Having started in May of 2021, this project has had an incredible first year with us recently hitting 6.500 supporters and still growing rapidly! The amount of supporters and shares the project has received has been beyond my wildest dreams for which I thank you all wholeheartedly.

For 2022, it will take till around April/May for me to truly get back on track as I'm still busy studying to get my college degree. However, you guys can expect some big updates coming once that time hits with new characters, accessories, and builds so see you then :D

Another quick little update, this time for something I wanted to do for a long time. Back in 2018, I made my first attempt at making Thomas and his friends in LEGO form. These were very simple in design, didn't feature any printed pieces, and used the more common magnetic coupling mechanism.

For these renders, I wanted to wait until I finished and posted the Percy model so I could post both comparisons simultaneously. When comparing the old models to the new ones, I can see how much I've grown over the years in both design and techniques. However, I also love seeing how certain design elements have carried over between the 2, especially with the roof and window detailing.

Once again, thank you all so much for your continuous support!!! Please keep sharing and spreading the project with your friends and family if you haven't already :D

The project has recently hit 6.000 supporters!!! What better way to celebrate this milestone by sharing my long-awaited version of NWR's number 6 engine and Thomas' best friend, Percy the Small Engine! Out of all my designs thus far, this design takes the most inspiration from Percy's TV series appearance as it's what I associate with the character most.

This build includes 4 new printed pieces along with a removable roof which reveals a highly detailed furnace. Like my other builds before, I've taken some creative liberties with the design to better fit that of Thomas'. For more images, check out either my Instagram @KaijuBuildz or my Flickr page: https://bit.ly/3bgnlZo

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a working mechanism for the pistons that I was satisfied with. However, this is as good an opportunity to showcase the new design for the rods as I'll be using them moving forward on both Thomas and other engines I might make in the future!

Once again, thank you all SO MUCH for helping the project reach 6.000 supporters and keeping the project alive during my absents! Please keep sharing and spreading the project with your friends and family if you haven't already. I've still got some other updates in the works but for now, I'll keep my cards close to my chest... ;D

It's been some time since the last update and after having been requested a number of times in the comments, I thought I would share 2 new Minifigures, the Driver & Fireman!

For these characters specifically, I allowed myself some extra creative freedom to get an even better end result! Similar to my other builds, these figures are highly based on their Classic series appearance although they aren't intended to represent any of the characters that appeared.

Note: Due to school starting again, this post had to be pushed back from last week. unfortunately, this is also why I won't be able to stay as active on the project as usual although I will still try my best to keep the project full of steam! Once again, thank you all so much for the continued support of the project :D