Wooden Thomas the Train Toys Recalled

[wcc]

WTF is wrong with these people? I would've thought they'd know that lead paint is bad by now.

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=alerts_recalls&id=5393261

Wooden train toys recalled
(Washington - WABC, June 13, 2007) - The Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday announced a voluntary recall of 1.5 million Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway toys because they contain lead paint.

Consumers are advised to take the recalled toys away from young children immediately.
Illinois-based RC2 Corporation says surface paints on the recalled products contain lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects. There have been no reports of any injuries associated with this recall.

The affected toys include all wooden vehicles, buildings and other train set components for young children listed in the chart below. The front of the packaging has the logo "Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway" on the upper left-hand corner.

A manufacturing code may be located on the bottom of the product or inside the battery cover. Toys marked with codes containing "WJ" or "AZ" are not included in this recall.

Recalled Products:

Red James Engine & Red James # 5 Coal Tender
Red Lights & Sounds James Engine & Red James #5 Lights & Sounds Coal Tender
James with Team Colors Engine & James with Team Colors #5 Coal Tender
Red Skarloey Engine
Brown & Yellow Old Slow Coach
Red Hook & Ladder Truck & Red Water Tanker Truck
Red Musical Caboose
Red Sodor Line Caboose
Red Coal Car labeled "2006 Day Out With Thomas" on the side
Red Baggage Car
Red Holiday Caboose
Red "Sodor Mail" Car
Red Fire Brigade Truck
Red Fire Brigade Train
Deluxe Sodor Fire Station
Red Coal Car
Yellow Box Car
Red Stop Sign
Yellow Railroad Crossing Sign
Yellow "Sodor Cargo Company" Cargo Piece
Smelting Yard
Ice Cream Factory
The products were sold at toy stores and various retailers nationwide from January 2005 through June 2007 for between $10 and $70. They were manufactured in China.

Consumers should take the recalled toys away from young children immediately and contact RC2 for a replacement toy. For additional information, contact RC2 toll-free at 866-725-4407 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Central Time, Monday through Thursday and between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Central Time Friday. Consumers can also visit the firm's Web site at Recalls.rc2.com

(Copyright 2007 WABC-TV)

[osidak]

oh I am pissed about this one

my son has about 130 wooden Thomas trains and numerous "special editions" trains.

The 2006 "Day Out with Thomas" cargo car is on the list. My son has nearly everything being recalled

Contacted the company and was told they would replace with the same train "if" they had stock of the item (read none of the special editions will be replaced) and the ones that they do not have will be replaced with an item of their discretion. Which means we will basically get a bunch of duplicate trains

Shipping is on our dime. Their response was but hey we are going to give you yet another duplicate train as compensation........

I have spent thousands on these trains and taking my son to Thomas events as he really enjoys them and it really works his imagination and it something that we can do together

yes I am PISSED - maximize profits by making them in China and screw the kids safety.

[URY914]

It seems that the ones with lead paint were made in China. Gee, who would have thought China wouldn't play by the rules?

[wcc]

My wife and I are really upset about this one too. She works in the cancer field so she it really sensitive to this kind of thing anyways. We have lots of money wrapped up into this for our kids 2 & 4 and we take them to see Thomas the last couple of years also. I don't see that happening again anytime soon.

[TerryH]

Killing our dogs and cats wasn't enough. Now they are after our kids.

[The Gaijin]

Colgate is going to get killed on this. Apparently there is counterfit toothpaste with this nasty anti-freeze like compound added. Nice to see Americans relying upon non-existant controls in foreign countries to protect public health.

[thrown_hammer]

I just printed off the recall notice. It says they will give us a replacement train and a FREE GIFT! That makes everything better…

[Dave L]

just went through our small collection and found one train that will need to be turned in.

[HardDrive]

How could the company be that f*cking stupid?!?!?!?!?!!?

Selling products with lead based paint to children for 2 freaking years?!?!?

[ErVikingo]

rrrgr......... returning some. I have a 2.5 year old and a 9 month old...

[304065]

They need to hire Irwin Mainway or Nathan Thurm as spokesman.

[nostatic]

Bag o' Glass is one of the best products ever.

[craigster59]

Originally posted by The Gaijin
Colgate is going to get killed on this. Apparently there is counterfit toothpaste with this nasty anti-freeze like compound added. Nice to see Americans relying upon non-existant controls in foreign countries to protect public health.

I was reading an article 2 weeks ago about drug companies opening testing/research facilities in China to cut R/D costs.

Right next to the article was the toothpaste one you mention saying that an anti-freeze additive was used as sweetener in toothpaste mostly sold in "99 cent" type stores. Will we ever learn?

[oldE]

As was pointed out above, the affected pieces were manufactured in China.

The drive for lowest cost has led some distributors to overlook the old maxim: "If it looks too good to be true, it probably is." when they are finding manufacturers in the global market. They got what they paid for: the lowest price from a largely unregulated market. Can you imagine the heads rolling if a North American manufacturer knowingly used a lead based paint on childrens' toys? The scuppers would run with blood.

Colgate has been the victim of quite a different scam. In their case, 'toothpaste' branded as Colgate and labled as having been manufactured in South Africa has made its way into some markets. This is roughly the equivalent of bootleg CDs and DVDs.

Don't you just love the 'Global Economy'?

Les

[Neilk]

Great quality control. It took them two years to figure out that their low cost supplier had lead in the paint. Ever hear of trust but verify?

[the]

Originally posted by john_cramer
They need to hire Nathan Thurm as spokesman.

Our trains don't have a problem! Maybe you have a problem! Have you ever thought of that? We don't even make Thomas trains. We make semiconductors for a very reputable company. Is there anything wrong with that?

Is it me? It's him, right?

[Tim Hancock]

Thankfully my kids never liked eating paint. I am guessing most of us here played with or lived around objects that were painted with lead containing paint. I don't ever recall seing a kid eating paint off of something. Is this really all that big of a deal? I do not doubt that eating lead is very bad, but how many kids make a habit of snacking on large quantities of paint?

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by Tim Hancock
Thankfully my kids never liked eating paint. I am guessing most of us here played with or lived around objects that were painted with lead containing paint. I don't ever recall seing a kid eating paint off of something. Is this really all that big of a deal? I do not doubt that eating lead is very bad, but how many kids make a habit of snacking on large quantities of paint?

My wife is returning my boys, but I probably would not. I also don't freak out if they get near my lead sinkers while fishing

[the]

Originally posted by lendaddy
My wife is returning my boys, but I probably would not.

Gonna have a heck of a time getting them back in their original packaging.

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by the
Gonna have a heck of a time getting them back in their original packaging.

My boys trains....trains that is