ERTL

## ERTL Company

ERTL logo from 2003-present

The **ERTL Company** is an American toy company founded in 1945. It is best known for its die-cast toy replicas of farm equipment and vehicles.

From 1985 to 2004, they produced several Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends toy lines. The most notable of these toy ranges being the 1:64 Scale Die-cast Range of vehicles and playsets of characters from The Railway Series and Thomas & Friends.

## History

The ERTL Company was founded in 1945 by Fred ERTL Senior, whom the company was named after. The headquarters was initially located in Dubuque, Iowa, before moving to larger facilities in Dyersville in 1959. Following the success of *Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends*, the ERTL Company announced plans for a diecast range of Thomas products in 1984. Their 1:64 scale range was introduced the following year and became an instant success. It was introduced to the US in 1989 due to the show’s premiere via Shining Time Station. Due to the franchise's popularity, other ranges were made such as Miniatures, Keyring Collection, larger Gold Rail Series, Pull Back and Wind-up toys. ERTL also produced other non-Thomas ranges, such as Thomas’s sister show *TUGS*.

In 1993, the packaging was revamped in the US, now featuring the Shining Time Station theme. By the end of that year, the UK and everywhere else received packaging featuring the character's "portrait" as illustrated by Owen Bell. The Shining Time theme was discontinued in 1996 due to that show ending. Following this, the US would use the same portrait style packaging as the UK.

In 1999, ERTL was acquired by Racing Champions (later RC2).

For unknown reason, retail of the Thomas ranges ceased in markets outside the UK, Ireland and Australia in 2001 (the latter ceased in 2002). After RC2 acquired Learning Curve International in 2003, the Thomas ranges were discontinued in 2004 to avoid conflict with the Take Along Thomas range from Learning Curve, which was previously exclusive to Target, but was soon released internationally, taking over from the diecast line.

Following TOMY's acquisition of RC2 in 2011, ERTL is now a subsidiary of TOMY. They have continued going strong with their agricultural range. Occasionally there have been calls to resurrect their Thomas range, but these have yet been successful.

## 1:64 Scale Range

Main articles: ERTL 1:64 Scale Range and The ERTL Collection
The 1:64 Scale range (later the ERTL Collection) is the most popular ERTL Thomas range. It was first released in 1985 and has since become one of most popular pieces of Thomas merchandise.

## Gold Rail

Main article: Gold Rail Series
The Gold Rail Series was a short-lived line available from 1992-1994. Designed by Bandai in Japan, the models had magnetic couplings and are a fraction smaller than a OO/HO scale train. The back of the models boxes featured the same illustration and collector card number as those on the Shining Time Station collectors cards of the die-cast range.

## Miniatures

Main articles: Miniatures, Keyring Collection, and Mini World
In 1991, a miniature range was produced. The vehicles had sticker faces and were packaged with a small section of a railway. Once all were collected, the parts formed a playset. In later 1998, all of the models, besides Annie, Clarabel, the Troublesome Truck, Bertie and Harold were adapted into keyrings. The background imagery of these packs continued the landscape from the die-cast range. Another miniature range was released in 2001 with 3D faces used instead of stickers and more characters such as Henry and Mavis being added.

## Motorised/Pull Back vehicles

The first set of pull back vehicles were large 1/32 scale die cast models of Thomas and Percy, released in 1985 and 1987 respectively. These could be operated by dragging the model backwards along the floor so their wheels could "wind up" and letting go to "unwind".

In 1993, another set of pull back vehicles were released. 1/64 scale die cast models of Thomas, Percy, Toby and Bertie used the same mechanism. These were under the range of "Pull back & go!" and used the Shining Time Station themed packaging card.

## Wind up

A large walking wind up Fat Controller with large feet was released. This was released individually and later together with the Melody and Motion Thomas.
There was also a range of Wind-up ERTL vehicles made by THQ in 1993. These included Thomas, Henry, James, Percy, Bill, Ben and Bertie.

## Remote and Radio Control

In 1986, two variations of a controlled Thomas were released, one with a corded remote control (4731) and one with a wireless radio control (4688). The remote control Thomas is a large plastic vehicle similar in design to the smaller scale versions. The two rear wheels are the driving wheels and feature rubber tread to improve traction. There is an idle jockey wheel between the two front wheels, which is displaced when in reverse, creating the perception of turning. The cord to the remote runs from under the rear buffer and is approximately 120cm (48in) long. The remote is mostly just a housing for batteries, but features two push buttons at the top, left one for reverse and right for forward and a sticker with directional arrows for the buttons and the Kaye & Ward style logo. The packaging lists four features of the remote control Thomas: Forward, Reverse, Turns in Reverse, Battery Operated (Uses 2 AA batteries - not included). The rear side of the packaging shows illustrations of radio controlled Thomas and the personalised money box.

## Money Box Thomas

In 1986, a "Personalised Money Box" Thomas was released. Its product number is #1055. The money box Thomas is also a large plastic vehicle, even larger than the Remote Control and Radio control versions and has a removable plastic track base, with an individual nameplate sticker on the base saying "This Money Box Belongs To" with space for a name to be written on.

More personalised money box models were planned for 2005, which included Bertie, Caroline and the Sodor Mail Van, but due to the company discontinuing their Thomas ranges, they were never released. They were discovered in an online auction on November 2nd 2022.

## Trivia

* ERTL was the first company to release toys based on the television series. Before the show was made, there had been toys made that were based on the Railway Series, such as the Meccano Percy from 1965.

## References

1. ↑ http://ww2.investorcalendar.com/IC/GenRelease.asp?ID=83179
2. ↑ https://www.sodor-island.com/sts-merch-ertl