Looking to get my son a Thomas the Tank engine motorized train set for his 4th birthday. I want to make sure I could get other trains/sets to expand it later on (like for Christmas) and have enough interchangable parts that he can be creative with it.This walmart one looks promising, but it's small, and only has one train. I'd also prefer wooden tracks to plastic ones... just a preference.Any recommendations? I'm surprised that casual googling hasn't given me a good lead. You think a Thomas the Tank engine train set would be as bog standard as legos these days.
When's his birthday? If it's later, you might want to wait for the 2026 stuff to show up at your stores.
>>11780223I was also surprised when I found train sets hard to find for my kidI ended up getting the wooden thomas tracks, really happy with them but they're super expensive.The plastic ones are (slightly) cheaper but feel like shit.
>>11780223Getting trains for your kid, what does the little twerp have autism?
>>11780421don't buy any of this mattel trash that doesn't even function
>>11780442trains are cool regardless of having autism or not
>>11780442Dude why the fuck did you say that.The guy wanted to ask about a train set for his kids birthday and you're saying shit over if the child has autism or is a twerp.This is why people hate your shittyass potty words because of your "free speech" and even if you don't like children how about you say nothing or anything else.>>11780784Don't fucking tell him not this buy this trash you idiot.Oh how is it gonna function the kids move the damn train with there hands fuckhead.Touch grass ass-wipe
>>11780784Their first option is an "All Engines Go!" set. They're buying Mattel shit, either way.>>11781031>the kids move the damn train with there handsThe new motorized trains can't be pushed like Plarail trains.
>>11780442You sound mad because your parents bought your autistic ass a virgin fidget spinner instead of a chad train set.
>>11780442He's right, buy him a monster truck with gun turrets instead to ensure he's got the right mind set for modern day usa
>>11780223I recently got our boy a Biro train set from facebook market. It was second hand and was really cheap compared to brand new.
>>11780223Start off with wooden trains. Not brio unless you have an endless trust fund you can dip into or you happen to find them at a resale store/consignment event (Rhea Lana's pop up all over the place, it's worth looking into if there are any that happen in your area.) In general, either of those are good for any train related stuff. I have obtained probably over $1000 worth of Thomas shit (wooden, plastic, diecast, etc) since my son was born for a fraction of what it would cost new, and some of it is older and collectible as long as it's functioning. My opinion on what you posted-- the trackmaster set:The battery powered trackmaster trains are cool for the novelty, but the talking ones can get fucking annoying if you ever bump into them or they are haphazardly thrown in a toy box. The switch ones, if not switched off, will run themselves dead and then you find yourself constantly replacing/recharging the batteries unless you teach your kid to turn his goddamn trains off when he's done with them.The current trackmaster tracks suck fucking dick. It's a pain in the ass to make anything unique out of them because of them not being flexible. It's still possible to do interesting things-- just a pain in the ass. I enjoy building tracks with the wooden tracks far more than the shitty plastic trackmaster ones.
>>11780223If you do not mind used, you may be able to find Hornby and Bachmann Thomas sets for quite cheap. They will be either HO or N gauge and will be able to run any model trains in those gauges.Brand new, the Bachmann set is on sale at Target right now for $148, it comes with Thomas, Annie, Clarabel, 36" circular loop of track (plus more track can be bought separately), controller and power pack. The box says 8+, but your kid will be fine. You may purchase more characters and other sets separately, but this is the cheapest one (next cheapest is Percy and the Troublesome Trucks at $179).The best place for secondhand is trainz.com by the way.
>>11792698>>11792722These are the exact answers I was looking for, thanks!
>>11793419No problem, anon. Ultimately, your kid will love whatever you get him-- but in my experience, my 3 year old gets bored with trackmaster faster than wooden trains. And like >>11792722 said, there's some great quality model trains out there. I just recently started doing HO scale with my son. It's awesome to see the amazed look on kids' faces when they help you get the trains running for the first time.
My kid ended up playing with non-motorized locomotives a whole lot more than the motorized ones. We have a mix of different brands and the Brio stuff has held up the best by far, but my goodness it's expensive. Anyway, stick to wood for sure. You'll get a few great years out of it. My kid's 10 now and we're working on an N scale layout together. He started asking for "serious" model trains when he was 6, though he couldn't really handle HO stuff without breaking small parts until he was 8.
>>11781974Brio recently brought back the "Train of the World" line. Though, it's a far cry from 90s sets.
>>11780223>4th birthdayGet him a couple Masudaya Panel Worlds and a Thomas engine for it
>>11797498 (samefag)Should have just posted the Thomas version
