HIT Entertainment Digital Newsroom

HIT ToyCo Launches First-Ever Thomas & Friends™ Line for Preschoolers

02/18/2008

New York, NY

All Aboard! Thomas &Friends™ is pulling out into the station! Just in time for the American International Toy Fair, HIT ToyCo will unveil the first-ever line of Thomas & Friends™ consumer products, designated for the preschool-aged Thomas & Friends fans, available at retail this fall. Complete with remote controlled trains and electronics, this new line includes:

All Aboard! Thomas &Friends™ is pulling out into the station! Just in time for the American International Toy Fair, HIT ToyCo will unveil an all-new line of Thomas & Friends™ consumer products, designated for the preschool-aged Thomas & Friends fans, available at retail this fall. Complete with remote controlled trains and electronics, this new line includes:

Item Name:	Thomas & Bulstrode Bath Buddies
Description:	Thomas has hopped a ride on his buddy Bulstrode for a little bath time fun! Give Thomas a squeeze and he'll shoot a whoosh of water from his smokestack. Bulstrode's deckhouse doubles as a water sprinkler. Pull the little boat to make his propeller spin.
Age Grade:	18 mos. +
SRP:	$9.99, Target Exclusive
Item Name:	Tuneful Thomas Radio
Description:	Turn Thomas' right buffer to hear six cheerful tunes. Press his left buffer for whistles, piston hisses and other fun sounds. His lantern flashes, too! 2 "AA" batteries included.
Age Grade:	18 mos. +
SRP:	$9.99
Item Name:	Thomas Rock ' n Roll Guitar
Description:	Little musicians can really groove with a rockin' guitar that's just their size. Plays six tunes. The signal whammy bar and Percy slide create cool sound effects. Flashing lights add to the fun. 3 "AA" batteries included.
Age Grade:	18 mos. +
SRP:	$14.99
Item Name:	Sodor Musical TV
Description:	Children can watch Thomas and his friends in action anytime with this portable musical television. A push of a button activates the lighted "show". Plays six tunes including the Thomas & Friends™ theme song, and a variety of other sound effects. 3 “AA” batteries included.
Age Grade:	18 mos. +
SRP:	$14.99
Item Name:	RC Thomas
Description:	Children can send Thomas on Really Useful adventures with this kid-friendly remote control engine. A push of a button moves Thomas forward and backward. Fun sound effects and the Thomas & Friends™ theme song add to the fun! 3 “AA” batteries required for Thomas engine (not included). 2 “AA” batteries required for remote
Age Grade:	24 mos. +
SRP:	$19.99
Item Name:	Musical Pop-Up Pals
Description:	Simple actions give big results on this busy activity toy. When children press, spin, switch and pull the chunky, brightly colored buttons and handles they'll get special musical surprises from Thomas, Percy, Harold or Toby! 2 “AA” batteries included.
Age Grade:	12 mos. +
SRP:	$19.99
Item Name:	Happy Birthday Thomas
Description:	Pull him back, let him go, and watch him chug across the floor with his festive cargo. No batteries required.
Age Grade:	18mos. +
SRP:	$5.99

To download artwork, please visit www.hitnewsonline.com

About Thomas & Friends

Thomas & Friends invites children to enter a world of imagination through the tracks of a train and the words of a story. Thomas the Tank Engine was created by a father for his son more than 60 years ago. Today, families in more than 145 countries enjoy fun and adventure with their engine friends while experiencing timeless life lessons of discovery, friendship and cooperation. Thomas & Friends is making tracks to great destinations on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS Sprout℠. For more information about the world of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends, please visit www.thomasandfriends.com.

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.