Why aren't electric toy trains as popular as they used to be?

>>6029138
Toy trains are expensive as hell.

>>6029138
Hi grandpa

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Tomica Plarail's still popular with kids and adults.

>>6029138
Different toys and electronics came along.

>>6029223

When will TT make their version of the Flying Scotsman?

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>>6030499
Does it have a cute, kid-friendly face?

>>6029138
Too much maintenance for today's population of lazies.

>>6029138
maybe because you dont really play with them compared to a doll/action figure, and are really mostly display pieces.

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>>6029138
because a kid would rather have a motorized tank that can climb terrain and isn't on the rails.

That and the train industry took a huge dive in America.

>>6029138
two reasons.
One;

The trainsets are more expensive than they used to be, relatively, regardless of space.

Two;

Trains themselves are less used then they used to be, as such, children are not interested in playing with relics of history, most kids have never seen a real train.

>>6030853
>Trains themselves are less used then they used to be, as such, children are not interested in playing with relics of history, most kids have never seen a real train.

Wut? What part of the world do you live in where most kids have never seen a real train? Pretty much almost every nation in the West and the East has some form of train whether it be for transit or cargo. There's a reason why Thomas the Tank engine is still marketable. Your first point pretty much covers everything but that second point is retarded.

>>6031034
As a Rangerfag I've seen some variation of this argument for the past two years. (Saban had two choices for the next Power Rangers show--trains or ninjas. They chose ninjas.)

In the United States, we do. Not. Have. Passenger trains. There are subway systems in a few major cities, which are hardly the same thing, and Amtrak, which is a poorly maintained and barely used train line with limited service in certain parts of the country. It's fair to say most children have never seen or ridden on a passenger train. Our freight trains are old, ugly, covered in graffiti, and mainly seen as a nuisance if you live in a small town that was built up around the train tracks decades ago before trains became obsolete. I promise you there are no trains still running that resemble the kind seen in toy train sets, unless they're purposefully maintained as a novelty or tourist attraction, like riverboats are in parts of the Midwest.

American children don't have the same fascination with trains as kids in countries where railroads are vibrant and active. Thomas the Tank Engine is made to appeal to very young children who are captivated by bright colors and friendly faces, and the fact that the characters are trains is kind of secondary (they could just as easily be cars or boats or planes). That's like saying, well, kids like Mater from the Cars movies, ergo kids must like junky rusted out trucks from the 1950s without the anthropomorphized elements just as well.

>>6031103
You are right for the most part, but there are places like Boston where they have commuter rails separate from the subways and there are a number of passenger trains going in and out of the city to the suburbs.

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Modern toys fetishise violence and trains aren't violent.

>>6031103
>Our freight trains are old, ugly, covered in graffiti, and mainly seen as a nuisance if you live in a small town that was built up around the train tracks decades ago before trains became obsolete.

bruh, our freight rail is the best in the world. in fact, so much priority is given to them that passenger services are literally shit because of that. trains are alive and well in america, just not for passengers

In Asia and Europe toy trains are as popular as always.

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Given the nature of these characters. Why haven't Mattel made motorized Troublesome Trucks?

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>>6030499
I suppose you could always cut off the face of the Trackmaster FS...

Toy Trains, and model trains are the Warhammer of the toy hobby. It's expensive and takes alot of effort to set up.

>>6037588
>It's expensive and takes alot of effort to set up.
starter packs are cheap and every kid can set up a circle in minutes

>>6031129
>Modern toys fetishise violence
Aside from the model threads full of military vehicles, 90% of /toy/ is full of slutty anime dolls.

They need to transform and combine into a super robot to get me interested.

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>>6041874
Yeah Tomica Plarail went into that territory last year under their Shinkalion line. The trains are compatible with their track system and you can link them up to a standard motorized car.

>>6031146
>trains are alive and well in america, just not for passengers
And there in lies the problem, anon. Compared to Japan which is commuter/passenger train capitol of the world and thus has children more fascinated by trains we have jack shit in terms of national passenger rail.