Ok, I know I can't be the only one feeling this way, but the new wagons are just a little too gimmicky for me. Don't get me wrong, I think stuff like the GW cattle wagon, ventilated van, and even the newer salt wagon are pretty good, and troublesome truck #5 is the best one since the original 2, but the new 1-planks and open wagons are really a let-down for me.
I think a lot of times the extra designs take away from the model. For instance, I think the new log car is great, but the cartoonish writing down the side is really distracting. The salt wagon is fine, but why does it need to have all that writing on the side? What was wrong with the original plain yellow one that actually looked really close to the show? The express coaches, red coaches, and even the new museum coaches are all great pieces because they look really close to the show, and don't go overboard with the details. Even when I was a little kid, I always preferred the plain freight cars (like the original cattle wagon, the well wagon, the RF container wagon, etc) to the cheesier ones (Raspberry tanker, ice cream van, the cream tanker, etc). Less is more!
Anyway, I'd love to hear some more opinions on this. It's been bugging me for a while that there really isn't anymore "plain" rolling stock that actually resembles what's in the show (at least when Thomas was still "Thomas"...). Maybe you disagree and think I'm a contrarian idiot, or maybe you've been thinking the same thing. Either way, let me know with a reply.
I think a lot of times the extra designs take away from the model. For instance, I think the new log car is great, but the cartoonish writing down the side is really distracting. The salt wagon is fine, but why does it need to have all that writing on the side? What was wrong with the original plain yellow one that actually looked really close to the show? The express coaches, red coaches, and even the new museum coaches are all great pieces because they look really close to the show, and don't go overboard with the details. Even when I was a little kid, I always preferred the plain freight cars (like the original cattle wagon, the well wagon, the RF container wagon, etc) to the cheesier ones (Raspberry tanker, ice cream van, the cream tanker, etc). Less is more!
Anyway, I'd love to hear some more opinions on this. It's been bugging me for a while that there really isn't anymore "plain" rolling stock that actually resembles what's in the show (at least when Thomas was still "Thomas"...). Maybe you disagree and think I'm a contrarian idiot, or maybe you've been thinking the same thing. Either way, let me know with a reply.