Make It Train

I was going to call this 'Big World, Bigger Mistakes' but not only have we yet to see the future of Thomas (not that it would be any different from my original title) but I would also risk dealing with soccer moms, whatever you call them.

There is no doubt that all true Thomas fans know that we are headed for dark times, possibly darker than the late 2000s to early 2010s! There is no way that I could ignore this and I need to express my honest opinion about what to become of one of the longest standing children's franchises. So I'll divide this post into two sections, Below will be my discussion regarding my opinion on the future of Thomas, and further down will be my talking about this art piece.

Thomas the Doomed Engine

You've probably heard most of this before, but that's because it's pretty much the truth. What works for Barbie, does not work for Thomas. They are two separate entities and sending Thomas on a global journey, does not need to become the focus of the show! I wouldn't mind if it was just the movie, but it's the show itself, suffocating half of the episodes with trips overseas.

The laws of physics no longer apply, they haven't slipped the minds of the team, they have been disrespected. We saw this in the recent Thomas film where Thomas is light as a feather and able to shake about like a Jack in the box! As of this year, rail stock will be able to do sideways wheelies and throw the Fat Controller off his seat without killing him! Now I don't mind physically impossible things happening so long as it is done tastefully, Thomas the Jet Engine comes to mind, or the weight of trains making them wobble about, not dancing and depending on a mere barrel to save their lives!

The new characters are also a source of controversy, these being Nia and Rebecca. Nia's design is not so appealing; have an African engine join the cast by all means but Nia was not the answer. Additionally there appears to be no personality to her, she is the same as recently introduced Indian engine Ashima. We ere able to get rid of Bash, Dash and Ferdinand, I can so far see this happening to her.

The other newbie is Rebecca. Now I actually have hope for this character. The only thing that hinders her approval among fans is that she will be replacing either Edward or Henry. This is another controversial point, how Edward and Henry, two of three original characters are being neglected and pushed aside to satisfy those not happy with the already existing and probably better female characters. Edward is the original who started off the franchise, if there is ever to be a group of main characters, Edward automatically belongs in that group. As for Henry, he has been badly treated. I dare say that even Awdry himself hadn't realised the potential Henry has as an individual. I thought Mattel could develop Henry to fulfill that potential, but clearly that will not be the case.

The route of the problem, they aren't selling enough toys. The solution was obvious from the start, make better toys. For the past few years, their toy lines have become disproportionate and tackier. You need to see the Thomas and Friends Wood range as of 2017 to believe me. Don't tell me your children are happy to play with block of wood that haven't been fully painted at the price of ten to twenty pounds! If Mattel learned how to make toys for the Thomas and Friends franchise, toys that actually looked like the characters, they would be making a better profit and wouldn't be led to resort to this nonsense.

If anyone wishes to complain at me for what I have said, know that I am not against females, Africans (make that people from any country) or cartoony craziness that children love. But I am against something being warped into something is not, is one of the important life lessons we teach children is to 'be yourself'? Let Thomas the Tank Engine be himself.

About the Artwork

Like you saw in my piece about Stepney, I drew the characters in the My First Thomas style. It was fun to draw these characters, even Nia, in a way that parodied the promotional poster of the new steam team. I was happy to have Thomas running away from the newbies while Edward and Henry are struggling to keep up with the rest of the characters. The perspective by the way, did you know this is my freehand perspective? No rulers or anything involved!

The colouring was done with pastel markers and colour pencils. The highlights were from my white pen, as well as The Fat Controller and the money he is throwing. It was towards the end of this piece that I put together a starburst that resembled the Mattel logo and that's why the White pen was used to create the cutout of The Fat Controller. I drew him throwing his money in the 'make it rain' fashion since no doubt all of these wrong decisions are made with the intention of making more money.

That's pretty much it about this piece, I hope you liked it and that you didn't have any bursts of boredom what with me making my rant against the new show that Thomas has been shunted in to.