fall inside a hole
Thomas the Tank Engine Basic Set (2018)
First written February 21, 2025
The Thomas the Tank Engine Basic Set (きかんしゃトーマス ベーシックセット) is, so far, the last of the small "Basic" traditional Thomas-series Plarail sets and was released on September 29, 2018.
This set included the new CGI-faced Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel. The outer box is rather thin and flimsy... such were (are) the times.
Set contents| Quantity |
Item |
Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas with Annie and Clarabel |
 |
| 1 | R-01 Straight Rail |
 |
| 8 | R-03 Curve Rail |
 |
| 2 pieces | Maron Station |
 |
| 4 pieces | Brick Tunnel |
 |
This was the first new Thomas set to include the updated-for-2018 CGI-faced TS-01 Thomas the Tank Engine. Up to this point, Thomas, Percy, and a few other "main" characters still had faces resembling the sculpts used in the live-action model era of the show, even though the television series had transitioned to CGI animation in the early 2010s.
Annie and Clarabel also have new CGI-style face stickers. Thankfully, unlike some other CGI Annie and Clarabel toys that just give them the same smiling expression, you can clearly tell them apart. As could be noted by the ST-19 mark on the box photos above, this copy is a 2019 production example, with the date mark of September 21, 2019 on the bottom of Thomas' chassis. The box itself is impressioned with a final packaging date of September 25th, 2019 on the rear above and to the right of the ST mark.
The Maron Station in this set has fewer stickers but is otherwise the same tooling as the original release in the last Thomas basic set five years prior.
The curved, stackable brick tunnel pieces in this set are one of the neater accessories introduced for the later Plarail Thomas series and come apart into three pieces. They serve as risers for Plarail track and can be used individually or together. Of note, these are pretty much the only Plarail pieces that offer a half curve rail, and the top pieces can be used separately (with the added "wings" on the side) to get a half curve... A four-piece viaduct in brown was previously released in a Thomas-series track pack earlier in 2018.
The brick tunnels are neat, but its obviously a basic set, and doesn't have a turnout... Its not the most impressive small set, but the point was really to replace the last Thomas Basic Set with a new set with the CGI updated Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel.
| Set name | Thomas the Tank Engine Basic Set きかんしゃトーマス ベーシックセット |
Release period | 2018, Japan |
| Train rating |
  
| Track rating |
|
| Accessory rating |
| Overall |
|
| Notes: | Price |