HIT Entertainment Digital Newsroom

HIT Entertainment And Complete Miniature Railways "Bling" In The Holiday Season With The New Custom Built, Miniature Thomas The Tank Engine™ Train

12/14/2007

New York, NY

HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality preschool entertainment, and Complete Miniature Railways (CMR) have inked a deal to offer an ultra-exclusive, custom-built miniature replica of Thomas the Tank Engine plus passenger cars, Annie and Clarabel just in time for the 2007 holiday season.

This ride-in train is entirely hand-built in California, is battery powered and available starting at $28,000 (individual tank engines are available as part of different packages or sold separately. Track is also sold separately).

"For every child who loves Thomas and dreams of being a conductor on the Island of Sodor, and for every parent who dreamed of being Rickey Schroder on Silver Spoons, this luxury train is the perfect gift," said Rick Glankler, Vice President, Consumer Products, HIT Entertainment.

Thomas is 5 feet long, 22 inches wide and includes exclusive, high-tech features such as motion-sensor eyes that will move toward motion. The two passenger cars, Annie and Clarabel are each 6 feet long and 22 inches wide.

Parents can join in on the fun with their kids as they travel up to 4 miles per hour. Trains travel at 2 miles per hour with a child in the driver's seat and 4 miles per hour when an adult drives. Each of these first-class miniature trains also comes with a free engine plate customized with its owner's name - giving kids the chance to be the real conductor. Capacity holds 3 children in each coach or 2 children and 1 adult in each coach.

This customized toy takes 2-3 weeks to build and can be delivered within 4 weeks of ordering. Only available at http://www.cmrailways.com/cmr/thomas.html

The packages available include:

• Package A - includes Thomas, Annie and Clarabel at 7 ½ gauge or 7 ¼ gauge, the motion sensor eyes and the name plate at $28,500.
• Package B - includes Thomas, Annie and Clarabel at 10 ¼ gauge the motion sensor eyes and the name plate at $31,350.
• Package B1 - includes Thomas, Annie and Clarabel at 10 ¼ gauge the motion sensor eyes and the name plate and 600 ft of track at $46,950.

The following can be added on to any of the above packages at additional costs listed below:

• Troublesome Truck/Brake Van. Each carries three children/2 adults; SRP $5,775 per unit, excluding shipping and local taxes
• Sound system, including the Thomas & Friends theme song, Thomas whistle and sound bytes. SRP: $1,200, excluding shipping and local taxes.

About HIT Entertainment

HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners since June 2005, is one of the world’s leading independent children’s entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT’s portfolio includes internationally renowned children’s properties, such as Bob the Builder™, Barney™, Thomas & Friends™, Pingu™, Rubbadubbers™ and Angelina Ballerina™. HIT acts as a representative for The Wiggles® in the UK, US and Canada and as worldwide representative for The Jim Henson Company’s library of classic family brands, including Fraggle Rock™. HIT also owns the Guinness World Records™ publishing and television property and Fireman Sam™, a joint venture with S4C. Launched in 1989, HIT’s lines of business span television and video production (including studios in the US and the UK), publishing, consumer products licensing and live events. With a catalog of more than 1,000 hours of young children’s programming, HIT sells its shows to more than 240 countries worldwide, in more than 40 different languages and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. In 2005, the Company joined Comcast Corporation, PBS and Sesame Workshop to launch PBS KIDS Sprout℠, a 24-hour digital cable channel and VOD service for preschoolers. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.