Nitrogen Studios showcases Thomas

Nitrogen Studios, the company behind the CGI animation on Thomas & Friends since 2009 have showcased their work on the show, on YouTube.

Nitrogen have uploaded 3 clips, one showing Hiro's flashback from Hero of the Rails, another showing the title sequence to Misty Island Rescue and a montage of scenes from the CGI series.

For the montage video, some differences occur to the finished version of Misty Island Rescue. Some of these are presumed to be in their draft state:
- The introduction of the special has some extra dialogue before Harold is shown out of the clouds, although it seems to be an already recorded line that might have appeared in an earlier or later episode.
- In the Shake Shake Bridge scene, just as Thomas is crossing it, the large fanfare of a trumpet is now quieter.
- A fade is meant to go into the next scene after The Fat Controller returns to Captain, but dosen't happen. This also happens to the music videos from 2009 and onwards, which always shows their full scenes without any tranisitions.
- The very ending showing Diesel 10 has a voice change. His voice here is heard to be less devious, although his laugh at the end remains the same. Plus, the music is missing.

A small clip showing a scene from Season Fourteen's Jitters and Japes also has it's fade missing at the end of it's scene.

For Hiro's flashback, there is no fade in at the beginning of the scene, showing the full scene.

HIRO'S FLASHBACK

MISTY ISLAND RESCUE TITLE SEQUENCE

MONTAGE

'Henry's Magic Box' not S14 finale

The last episode of Season Fourteen that was broadcast in the UK wasn't meant to be the last in the series.

Henry's Magic Box was pushed back by 4 days as FIVE made the decision due to the Christmas period coming up. The episode waas eventually broadcast on November 8th 2010.

However, it has been revealed via Demand Five's service for Thomas that Henry's Magic Box was the second episode of Season Fourteen.

The episode was supposed to come after the 2010 Season opener Thomas' Tall Friend but was instead replaced by James in the Dark.

VIEW THE PROOF HERE ON DEMAND FIVE'S THOMAS GUIDE

Amazon confirms 'Day of the Diesels' books

Amazon.com have unveiled 5 new books tieing with the release of next year's feature-length special, Day of the Diesels.

Now, I am not giving away the information, although the title of the books are safe enough to display.

WARNING: THE LINKS BELOW CONTAIN SENSITIVE BUT BRIEF INFORMATION OF THE NEW SPECIAL

Day of the Diesels

Danger at the Diesel Works

Flynn Saves the Day

Rail Blazers!

Steam Team!

The new special looks set to be dramatic, with a new friend and a devious plot.

Day of the Diesels' 5 books will be released in the UK and US from August 9th 2011 while the special itself is likely to be released midway through the latter year.

Thanks to SteamTeam3211 for the alert.

Thomas' Demand page revamped

FIVE have revamped their website which has also affected Thomas' On Demand page.

The broadcaster who is responsible for premiering the newest episodes of Thomas & Friends since 2008's Season Twelve still however have made some of Thomas' episodes On Demand, still available for viewing.

Seasons Twelve and Thirteen are to remain On Demand up until September 1st 2011, opting for a possible extension afterwards to keep the episodes for viewing pleasure.

The recent Season Fourteen however has yet to appear on the service but should be likely as the first two CGI series are available, while episode guides are only available for Seasons Nine-Eleven and Fourteen.

WATCH THE 2008 AND 2009 SERIES ON 'DEMAND FIVE' HERE

Thomas for 2011 TIA of the year

The Toy Industry Association has announced that Thomas & Friends  has been nominated for 2011's Toy Property of the Year.

Thomas is one of six property's nominated for the award that honors a property that had the greatest success in spreading it's brand throughout the industry.

Executive Vice President of Hit Entertainment's Thomas Division, Pam Westman commented on the news; The fact that Thomas & Friends is considered one of the most successful properties by the Toy Industry Association speaks to the timeless nature and longevity of this brand.

In a banner 65th Anniversary year for Thomas, the nomination is a testament to our great partners and how Thomas & Friends is constantly innovating while maintaining its position as a classic staple toy property for generations of kids. We are thrilled and proud that Thomas was selected as a nominee.

The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Saturday February 12th 2011.

'Pop Goes Thomas' Take-n-Play revealed

A new Take-n-Play toy has been revealed on ebay in Canada.

The Pop Goes Thomas toy is based on the recent 2010 episode of the same name from Season Fourteen.

The pack includes a brown truck full of lemonade and Thomas who seems to be covered in lemonade stains, which never happend in the actual episode.

The item is brand new and can currently be found on the Canadian ebay.

BUY THE 'POP GOES THOMAS' TOY NOW ON ebay

ONLY 3 AVAILABLE

Thanks to SteamTeam3211 for the alert.

'Take-n-Play' Scruff revealed

Scruff the Scruncher, the newest character from the recent Fourteenth Series has been unveiled as a Take-n-Play toy.

Scruff's face appears to be very indentical to his face in the series, along with his bodywork and paintwork.

Scruff will also be available as a Wooden Railway model along with Old Wheezy the Log Loader, both due to be released starting from December 2010 in the US.

It is currently not known when the model will be available, although it is likely to be in shops by the New Year.

VIEW MORE SHOTS OF THE TAKE-N-PLAY SCRUFF HERE

Thanks to TinyGordon for the alert.

'The Railway Series' No. 42 in July

The Sif Fansite have confirmed exclusively that the new 42nd Railway Series book in the series will be released in the summer of next year.

Egmont Books confirmed the release date of the 4th July 2011 to Sif forum member Silver Link.

Christopher Awdry will return to write the book since the successful return of The Railway Series' 41st book, Thomas and Victoria.

Details of what stories and characters will feature have yet to emerge although Clive Spong will come back to illustrate the book.

The Railway Series' 42nd (as of yet untitled) book will hit UK book shelves on the 4th July 2011.

Kay's 'All-Star Animated Band' a runner-up

Comedian Peter Kay's All-Star Animated Band music video has made a strong impact for the BBC's Children in Need, that it has been awarded a runner-up position in a recent poll.

BBC Three broadcast Children in Need - 50 Greatest Moments on Tuesday 9th November 2010, which concluded on the 16th that counted down the best moments from the annual telethon in the UK. But it was the Peter Kay's ambitious project that was the suprise of the night on last year's appeal. However, it has missed out on the top spot in the poll.

Thomas the Tank Engine and The Fat Controller of course starred in the video along with other iconic children's character's from the 1950's and onwards, from the likes of Postman Pat, The Wombles, Paddington Bear, Fireman Sam and his team alongside Peter Kay's Big Chris from Roary the Racing Car.

Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr who of course narrated and voiced the First and Second Seasons of the TV Series, made a suprising return to voice Thomas for the music video, the first time that he had done so in over 20 years.

In conversation talking about the music video were celebrity fans of Children in Need including Eastenders' Ricky Groves, Presenter Fearne Cotton and Take That's Gary Barlow, who praised the hard work that was put in to the music video. Boy Band JLS however, were the ones who mentioned the little blue engine.

The top position was awarded to the Children in Need concert from last year which featured a host of artists and bands, that literally Rocked the Albert Hall.

WATCH BBC THREE'S CHILDREN IN NEED - 50 GREATEST MOMENTS: THE TOP 20

AVAILABLE ON BBCiPLAYER FOR THE NEXT 7 DAYS

Thomas Story Library gets promoted

Egmont has launched a campaign to promote the Thomas Story Library Series.

Promotions have since been planned and negotitated with House of Fraser, The Guardian and Starbucks, all tieing in with the 65th Anniversary celebrations.

Department store House of Fraser will start the campaign by giving away books from the series to customers spending over £30 on childrenswear ranges in-store. Fraser's website will run an online competition giving the oppourtunity to customers the chance to win one family ticket to Thomas Land at Drayton Manor along with 10 Thomas goodie bags.

On November 20th, copies of the Library Series books will be in The Guardian newspapers while distributed nationwide through 400 Starbucks outlets. A4 posters will be displayed in Starbucks stores, while The Guardian will support the promotion in both the paper and online.

Senior Director of Worlwide Publishing at Hit, Katie Price also commented; We hope this marketing campaign will enable even more children to enjoy the stories of Thomas & Friends.

Head of Marketing for Egmont Publishing, Nikki Causer spoke of the push; The involvement of these high profile brands, along with it being the first time Egmont has partnered with them, highlights the ongoing popularity of Thomas the Tank Engine. We are proud to be involved in the 65th anniversary of this iconic property.


I will just point out that the Katie Price in the story is NOT the one you are thinking about. Heck, if she worked for Egmont, it would be disastrous!

Thomas, Bash and Dash in 'Misty Island' promo

Used to promote the 2010 Thomas special, an existing but larger sized promo image has emerged.

Thomas, Bash and Dash star in the photo set on the Misty Island junction where Thomas first met the twins with Ferdinand.

The image first surfaced on the East Leigh News website promoting Misty Island Rescue at the Vue premiere. The size of the image is in 1421x919 dimensions.

'Every Single Story' available on YouTube

After a brief delay, my All Series video is on YouTube, in the words of Captain, Ready and raring to be really useful!

The video Every Single Story, is a rundown guide of all the stories of Thomas & Friends that have been made to date.

Clocking up a massive 15 minutes (as part of YouTube's new uploading rule), it is the longest and most ambitious video I have ever worked on. Working on it for over 2 months was a struggle.

I hope you all enjoy this big video of mine and because that there is a possibility that there could be two Thomas series a year, the video will be updated in 2-3 years time.

WATCH 'EVERY SINGLE STORY' HERE

'All Series' postponed till the weekend

Just an update everyone, I have completed my all series video since yesterday after 4 painstaking days clearing up in the edit, however I am unable to upload it onto YouTube tonight, but don't worry.

It shall appear in the weekend or so if I have the time, or it would appear maybe next week. This is due to time constraints and the size of the video.

I know you all have been looking forward to the secret video but do not despair.

It shall appear in due course. As soon as I have uploaded and released it, you shall here about it here and on YouTube.

So sorry guys.

'Misty Island Rescue' increases DVD sales

Since it's home releases in both the UK and Australia, Misty Island Rescue, the recent Thomas special has seen an increase in sales.

The 2010 produced special is now the fastest one week selling DVD in Hit Entertainment's history.

The DVD's first week of sales in the UK were up by 7% than the previous special Hero of the Rails one year ago. Now approaching the end of it's third week and approaching it's fourth, sales have increased to a further 10% lead to last year's figures.

Down Under in Australia, a massive increase of 40% has surpassed last year's feature-length special release.

Rick Glankler of Hit's Global Brand Management, commented on the good news. These fantastic figures are testament to Thomas' incredible popularity.

In our 65th anniversary year, Thomas' global appeal shows no sign of abating. Our feature length DVDs are clearly delighting Thomas fans and sales for the associated merchandise are also looking exceptionally good.

Misty Island Rescue is now available to buy on DVD in the UK, US and Australia while the latter two can be purchased as a Blu-Ray/DVD Combo pack or seperately.

'All-Series' video coming Friday

Now, people who have seen my YouTube Channel might or might not know that I have a big video planned up.

I am not giving too much away but, the video involves all of the Seasons of Thomas & Friends including the specials, it's a long video and I have been working on it for 2 months.

4 YouTube friends are being credited, it involves the current series font and no, it is not a music video.

After the video is released, it is likely to be updated by the end of next year.

The All-Series video will appear on TheTopHatts' Channel,  Friday evening on YouTube.

Thomas earns a new World Record

Thomas has earnt himself a new world record for the longest toy track ever which took place Down Under.

The track was more than two kilometres long and had 6 Thomas models running round the track, the models itself came from the Fisher Price Trackmaster range.

The world record was announced on Thursday November 4th 2010 and was held in the Australian city of Brisbane.

A previous attempt was held in Thomas Land at Drayton Manor in Staffordshire, UK, which also earnt a world record.

WATCH ABC NEWS' REPORT HERE

Thomas and George faces prop sale

The Prop Store website have added two more props from the model days of the TV series.

Thomas' sad face and George's happy face are on sale for £495 all together and include a memorabilia portrait complete with the TV Series logo from 2000-2009 along with a cartoon image and a promo shot of Thomas.

Both faces are from Season Eight to Eleven.

PURCHASE THE PROPS HERE

OR SEARCH FOR MORE THOMAS PROPS HERE

Special Thanks to ellsworth from Sif for the alert.