Thread by @ThomasTankMerch

Now that many fans own a piece of Thomas history thanks to the auction, there’s much discourse on the correct ways to handle these handmade treasures. We feel it would be a good time to go over the dos and don’ts of handling props we’ve learned in our 11 years of experience🧵

First let’s get it out of the way, EACH PROP IS DIFFERENT AND IF THESE TIPS DO NOT FEEL SAFE WITH REGARD TO YOUR PARTICULAR ITEMS DO NOT USE THEM. This is simply a guide to help, not the end all be all. Use your own judgement. We aren’t responsible for what you do with your props

We’ll also state the obvious that you should always wash your hands before touching any props. Anything sticky/greasy can permanently stain and ruin the finish. Always wash your hands after touching black tack before touching any props.

The use of gloves has been widely discussed. Fabric gloves that won’t stick to paint/lacquer are always a good idea, however we’ve learned gloves aren’t the key to preservation. The most important thing we’ve learned is understanding HOW and WHERE to touch something from

The golden rule is that the less you touch something, the less wear and tear will occur. The more you touch an area, the more worn it gets. That means when picking up a prop, always try to grab it from an area that is NOT painted.

With the faces, always try to pick them up and hold them from the bottom/backs. When holding a face, rest it in your palm face up so the grey paint on the actual face is not coming into contact with your hands.

When pushing a face onto a prop, press from the sides/edges of the face being careful to not scrape the sides with your nails. Use the pads of your fingers. When removing a face from a model, carefully pry it away from the faceplate holding the edges with the pads of your fingers

Avoid touching sharp corners/edges at all costs. That’s the first place paint chips. Rounded edges are safer. ALWAYS avoid touching any existing chips/cracks in the paint. Touching them WILL make them bigger. Leave them alone as much as possible to avoid any additional flaking.

Although holding faces from the back is always better than touching the paint, be careful of any original writing on the backs. It will rub off if handled too much. Avoid placing black tack over writing when possible.

Use enough black tack to keep the face sturdy on the model. If you use too little it will fall off at a a random time and potentially obtain damage. If you use too much it will be difficult to get the face off and you may damage it trying. There needs to be a balance.

We suggest using small dots of it at 2 or 3 different points on the back face, making sure to avoid the eye holes and any writing on the back of the face.

Avoid laying the faces face down on any hard surface. Always place them face up with the unpainted backs touching the ground, not the painted fronts. The noses will chip if you do this. Avoid sliding them around on any hard surface, the writing on the backs can rub off.

We suggest picking up engines by using both hands and placing your fingers on the unpainted side rods (avoiding valve gear when applicable) on either side as to not touch the painted wheels. Grip at both ands and lift it this way.

Sometimes this isn’t possible or convenient so in that case we suggest gripping the running boards by placing the pads of your fingers underneath them on both ends and lifting the engine that way. This way you’re touching the underside of the running boards and not the body

Avoid picking them by grabbing the body. You want to touch the body as little as possible, especially on a brass model. The only reason I’m able to take this photo is because it’s a cool props Thomas. I would never grab an actual prop like this.

When holding an engine, always try to hold it as if your hand/hands are a shelf and it’s sitting on top of them. Doing this avoids making contact with any painted areas. Gripping painted areas can cause paint loss and will cause the rubbing off of the clear finish over the paint

When it comes to the closeup figures, many have moving arms on metal ball joints. Avoid rubbing the arms up against the body of the figure when moving the arms. This will create wear/scratches

Never touch the eyes on the closeup figure heads. They started using decals in The HiT era which can dry out over time. If you touch them, they may crumble and flake off. If you leave them alone they’ll most likely be fine.

Don’t leave the figures standing up in a display. Firstly, they have small feet and are prone to falling over since they’re top heavy. Second, the heads are black tacked on and can come loose and fall off at any random time. Keep them laying down on something padded.

Overall though, the biggest piece of advice we can give is to touch these props as little as you can. Get a display case, put it in a safe, climate controlled place, and admire them from a distance. They will last forever if you stick to this principle.

It’s ok to touch things or place them on the floor or other sturdy locations for a photo, you shouldn’t miss out on opportunities out of fear of touching them, but they shouldn’t stay on the floor or be constantly touched. Keep them somewhere safe and secure 99% of the time

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. Nobody can be perfect 100% of the time but the key is minimizing risks as much as possible and not taking necessary risks. Be mindful of the potential cause and effect of everything you do with these props. Static display is safest.

That’s the basic crash course, if anyone has any additional questions, feel free to leave a reply to this thread and we’ll do the best we can to answer. We hope everyone enjoys their auction winnings and preserves them for years to come!