I've notice that this character is quite popular among kids and adults and I've seen stores stacked full of toys and other merchandise having this brand. So I looked around to see if anybody has built any Thomas the Tank papercraft and lo and behold, not only did I find Thomas, I also found some of his friends. But before that, well talk some more about him.
He originated from the United Kingdom and was the wonderful creation of Rev. Wilbert V. Awdry. The reverend came out with a children's book called "The Railway Series" back in 1945 (41 books in all) in which Thomas was based on. It covers the adventures of a group of trains and other transportation vehicles living on the Island of Sodor.
It was only until 1984 when Thomas' popularity picked up when Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, a British children's TV series was first broadcasted. To date, this TV series is still running strong (11th season) and has spawned numerous spin-offs. Also wanted to point out that in Thomas the Tank Engine, the word "tank engine" is also known as a steam engine. And the word "tank' by itself refers to a water tank not an armoured vehicle. If you want to know more interesting stuff about Thomas you can head on to his official web site.
Now for the paper models, this set was designed by Takahiro Kojima and can be found on his web site, Paper Model World. Includes papercrafts for Thomas the Tank Engine, James the Red Engine, Gordon the Big Engine, Bertie the Small Red Bus, and finally an Annie and Clarabel papercraft, this two are Thomas' coaches (carriage). You can also check out Mr. Kojima's other notable works which include a Back to the Future De Lorean papercraft, Porco Rosso's Savoia S.21 papercraft, and Thunderbird 1 and Thunderbird 5 papercrafts.
Thomas the Tank and Friends - [Download Page] [Translated Page]
