"Trackmaster" Donald and Douglas Snow Plow Tribute Set

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Hello everyone... its been a while. I had some time at home this holiday season, so I went into my shop, and dusted off an old project, finished it up, and here it is:

"Trackmaster" Donald and Douglas Snow Plow Tribute Set - this is a faithful copy of one of the rarities in the Thomas Engine toy lines. The Tomy D and D Snow Plow Set was originally produced by the famed Japanese Tomy Plarail company, and never by "Trackmaster", nor was it sold in the USA by either manufacturer.

So, I decided to create my own D and D Snow Plow Set. I had to aquire an original set of Tomy D and D Snow Plows to reproduce, and I did. Next up was to locate a brand new pair of "Trackmaster" Donald and Douglas locos, and lastly, a "Trackmaster" Works Unit van.

I got the trains, and was successful in reproducing the plows. Now, I had to modify the Works Unit van, because it came with a hook coupler on one end, and a round coupler on the other end. The Tomy Set came with hook couplers on both ends of the van, so off to be modified it went. With the modified WUV completed, and newly minted Snow Plows installed on the locos my project was complete. Please drop a line, and tell me what you think!

You can watch this Set run the rails at the Youtube link below:

https://youtu.be/gCTkDUReIGo

PGM
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Mike Arnett Customthomas
So just to be sure, so there is no confusion here...this is not the official set produced by Tomy but one made up by you with a used Works Unit, 3D Printed Plows and a New Donald and Douglas, is that correct? Are the Donald and Douglas, Tomy's or Trackmaster?
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[-] The following 1 user Likes Super's post:
  • WoodWheel92
I don't think thats the work unit coach that come with that set

This is the real set
https://www.blueplastictracks.com/showth...hp?tid=908
(This post was last modified: 01-08-2019, 05:34 AM by Super.)
Hello Super it's great hearing from you! Well its all Trackmaster, the locos, and the Works Unit van. No, they are not 3D printed Snow Plows, that would be too easy. I hand molded them, it was alot of trail and error involved, not just pushing a button. The Works Unit van was modified to have two hooks on both ends, so that it could be connected to the twins. Oh well, I hoped you enjoyed it. PGM
Mike Arnett Customthomas
Very well done on those Plow pieces and they weren't 3D printed, thats amazing. Just curious, did you use the system where you make a mold using the original Plow and poor a resin/rubber into it? I have always been interested in the ystem but never really knew anyone who has tried this method?
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Thanks Super... yes exactly, if you remember 3 years ago in a thread I posted, a fine gentleman from Japan accidentally sold me his used Tomy D and D SP set. After it arrived, he remembered that his grandmother gave it to him years ago, and wanted it back. So, he offered me his unopened Tomy D and D SP set in exchange, and from that set, I made a mold, and reproduced the plows.

Short of not being Tomy, but Trackmaster, they are as close as I could get to the real thing. They are on par with my Tomy Powerful Gordon Tributes. PGM
Something I never realized, as I am really not too informed on the Thomas character trains, is the picture below showing the faces of Donald and Douglas in the Snowplow set. I didn't know they were different. Is this true of even the Plarail models sold separately or are the faces the same for both characters? Same question for the Trackmasters. Also in the Snowplow set the plows face in different directions.

What brand of mold making kit do you use and are your plows rubber, plastic or resin? Can those plows snap on other character trains?

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[-] The following 1 user Likes Super's post:
  • WoodWheel92
That's why you're call "Super", you have super powers of observation. I didn't catch that I put the same plows on both locos. I really am a novice when it comes to all the different types of faces the twins have had over the years, but I'm sure someone here knows.

The materials I use to make my molds are silicone resin based. If it is ok, I can put the link to that web site on my next posting.

You ask great questions, but I haven't tried attaching the plows to other engines at this time. On another note: I did a video tutorial series on the full Disassemble and Reassemble of the Talk N Action engines, check that out at:

https://youtu.be/ONePnsOh0RA
Mike Arnett Customthomas
Just saw this on Jauce, Real set

https://www.jauce.com/auction/u244506229



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