fall inside a hole
Let's Run Together! Fire-Engine Flynn and Thomas Set (2012)
First written October 17, 2024
The Let's Run Together! Fire-Engine Flynn and Thomas Set (いっしょに走ろう！消防車フリンとトーマスセット) is a Thomas-series Plarail set released on April 28, 2012 featuring Thomas, the fire engine Flynn who can travel on road or rail, and a loop of track with automatic switch that sends Flynn onto a road section.
The sides of the box show a little bit about the gimmick of the automatic rail and some stills from the Thomas & Friends Day of the Diesels movie, showing Flynn and some of the other characters in the special. This set is entirely produced in Vietnam, where Tomy was beginning to produce more Plarail in the 2010s.
Set contents| Quantity |
Item |
Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas (Vietnam production) and Flynn (Power car only) |
 |
| 1 | R-01 Straight Rail (Vietnam production) | |
| 8 | R-03 Curve Rail (Vietnam production) |
 |
| 1 | R-08 Stop Rail (Vietnam production) |
 |
| 1 | D-01 Straight Road (Vietnam production) |
 |
| 1 | Point Rail & Road (Left, automatic) |
 |
| 1 | Point Rail & Road (Right) |
 |
| 2 pieces | Block Tunnel (redesigned connection type) |
 |
| 2 | Trees |
 |
| 1 | Signal |
 |
This set includes Thomas and Flynn the fire engine. Thomas' eyes look over to his left so he can look at Flynn as they run around the set. Like the rest of the set, Thomas is produced in Vietnam, the only time that one of the modern styles of Plarail Thomas was produced outside of Thailand. Flynn was exclusive to this set until being released in a train pack with Diesel 10 in October 2012 and then in a regular three-pack release in February 2013, with slight variations.
The Thomas seems to have been based on one of the 2000s Thailand toolings but with some differences in the way the boiler stripes and side detailing is done. The gearbox is also odd, coming with a lighter blue power switch instead of the usual grey.
Flynn has a lifting ladder and was also produced in Vietnam, as were the future Flynn releases. Flynn has a metal pin hanging down that engages with the automatic turnout, something which was also included on the later releases meaning any Plarail Flynn is compatible with the turnout.
The main gimmick of the set is the automatic turnout road and rail switch. The trigger is set up so that it will only engage when a magnet inside lifts part of the mechanism in response to Flynn's hanging metal plate - this means only he will cycle and activate the switch. Every time he passes it alternates between sending him straight through or switching the decider over for a short time to divert him down the road. The road is Motor Tomica/Plaroad style, but the Plaroad system had been discontinued (and it had stopped being exported in Thomas-series exports) around 2008, so this was a brief revival of the system that also means Flynn will work on some Motor Tomica style road and accessories. This was the only time any Motor Tomica-style road was produced in Vietnam, as far as I know, and I'm not sure if it is because of an aging tooling or the particular plastic mix but my straight road is somewhat uneven and bumpy, particularly around the bottom edge.
The decider is shaped with cutouts so that it is easier for Flynn to drag cars over it behind him, as the decider only flips across for a short time. This means you can run later releases of Flynn with his trailers attached.
Rail in this set is also produced in Vietnam, as are the other accessories. The block tunnel-style tunnel has no stickers and has a revised, symmetric connection system. The standing trees have the stems integrated into the tree section, unlike previous trees.
The set layout is similar to the Basic No. 2-style sets, with the automatic switch being a neat gimmick that recreates a cool feature of fire engines like Flynn that can run on road or train tracks. The accessories are alright, but I wouldn't say they stand out very much... The stop rail is positioned so that you can pause Thomas if needed as Flynn reenters through the left road/rail turnout, but obviously you can just let them crash together if you want.
| Set name | Let's Run Together! Fire-Engine Flynn
and Thomas Set いっしょに走ろう！消防車フリンとトーマスセット |
Release period | 2012 |
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