Update: The finished Thomas was recently revealed, as well as its box and instructions. The set has apparently been available for purchase since last month. Contrary to what Sun predicted, it looks exactly the same as the prototype image.
![[Image: tumblr_oiky5vNfCC1uw16qbo1_1280.jpg]](http://68.media.tumblr.com/a955e03d6069ba0d2e826ee4d774e986/tumblr_oiky5vNfCC1uw16qbo1_1280.jpg)
Strangely, the face looks more like an old one from the live action era than a CGI style one. I know it's more of a collectors' display model than one that's actually meant for play, but if it used a lighter shade of blue and had actual couplings, a light grey/white running board and larger wheels with coupling rods, it would've been a perfect LEGO-compatible Thomas due to its faithful design. Dare say anyone really keen on improving it or just making it fully compatible would use some LEGO elements and/or Big Ben Bricks wheels to enhance it. For some strange reason, the running board appears to be a tad higher where the bunker is compared to the rest of it. Also, the splashers are detailed with (cheap looking) stickers, while I expected them to be printed. The splashers are sadly direct rips of this LEGO part, which means they have holes that could damage the stickers no matter what side they are applied onto (like on the Plarail Star Wars Nankai Rapit).
Needless to say, the optional brown tiles for the sleepers make them look a lot like those of the track in the CGI series. A video showing it being unboxed and built was also uploaded (accompanied by the "Engine Roll Call" [with lyrics]):
This Thomas is very nice, and I sure hope HiT will not crack down on Loz to prevent the sets from being purchased in non-Asian countries. I'd be disappointed if Loz gets a lawsuit, especially since train shows could run them on LEGO layouts and they would look just as nice as the LEGO MOC ones. I hope they have plans to make Toby, Gordon, Annie and Clarabel and some other characters next.
Strangely, the face looks more like an old one from the live action era than a CGI style one. I know it's more of a collectors' display model than one that's actually meant for play, but if it used a lighter shade of blue and had actual couplings, a light grey/white running board and larger wheels with coupling rods, it would've been a perfect LEGO-compatible Thomas due to its faithful design. Dare say anyone really keen on improving it or just making it fully compatible would use some LEGO elements and/or Big Ben Bricks wheels to enhance it. For some strange reason, the running board appears to be a tad higher where the bunker is compared to the rest of it. Also, the splashers are detailed with (cheap looking) stickers, while I expected them to be printed. The splashers are sadly direct rips of this LEGO part, which means they have holes that could damage the stickers no matter what side they are applied onto (like on the Plarail Star Wars Nankai Rapit).
Needless to say, the optional brown tiles for the sleepers make them look a lot like those of the track in the CGI series. A video showing it being unboxed and built was also uploaded (accompanied by the "Engine Roll Call" [with lyrics]):
This Thomas is very nice, and I sure hope HiT will not crack down on Loz to prevent the sets from being purchased in non-Asian countries. I'd be disappointed if Loz gets a lawsuit, especially since train shows could run them on LEGO layouts and they would look just as nice as the LEGO MOC ones. I hope they have plans to make Toby, Gordon, Annie and Clarabel and some other characters next.