All posts by JohnM

Ravnesburger 2019 U.S.A. Catalog

For those of you in the U.S., Ravensburger has posted the 2019 catalog to Issuu and it contains the BRIO lineup for the coming year. Unsurprisingly, a number of products set for release in Europe won’t make it to this side of the ocean. The U.S. already has the #33887 Lift & Load Warehouse Set and it appears we’ll also see the #33860 2019 Special Edition train. But…there’s not much else on the list. Most of your 2019 product purchases will have to come from overseas.

Layout Option for the Criss-Cross Track, H2

I’ve struggled with solutions for the BRIO #33384 Criss-Cross Track, H2. The challenge is that it’s based on the A track length and the tracks cross at a 45 degree angle. This combination is mathematically problematic, as the angled track cannot make a perfect connection to the main line. Using this track means you’re heavily dependent on the vario system.

As you can see, the issue here is that BRIO opted for symmetry and preservation of the A track length rather than overall fit (a perfect join would require two tracks of unequal length—one 175mm and the other 160mm—and would need to be produced in pairs to allow for more than one orientation).

Making a branch off the mainline is relatively easy. The tightest configuration that produces a decent fit with large curves is 2xA, 3xA3, 2xE.

If you have the space, You can also use A1 along the diagonal and stretch out the main line to give the vario system more to work with.

While making these branches are easy, the real problem is rejoining the main line in a non-trivial configuration. You can, of course, just mirror this configuration end-to-end, but a cross track that rejoins the main line immediately is not particular useful and takes up a lot of space.

A space-efficient solution, and the one I like the best, uses the end of a loop.

All three track lines are perfectly lined up in this configuration. You can stretch out the main loop and the branch along the bottom to produce a non-trivial configuration with room for sidings and accessories. The longer it is, the less you’ll notice the imperfect fit.

The Criss-Cross Track is no longer sold. Most people probably won’t miss it because it’s a pain to use, but if you have one or are able to pick one up used, the above configuration can help you build a clean layout.

Large Mountain and Valley Rail Pack

An interesting new accessory for BRIO is the #33981 Large Mountain and Valley Rail Pack. This is not showing up in any of the English-language catalogs for 2019, but it’s available for sale on Amazon in the UK and Germany.

There’s never really been a practical way to get more than two of these Stacking Track Supports at a time from BRIO. This expansion pack gives you four of them plus four of the boulder supports, but it’s an odd way to do it. It also includes six ramps and eight large curves, which don’t really build anything useful on their own. Based on the box photo, which shows configurations that you can’t actually run a train over because there’s not enough clearance, BRIO isn’t sure what to do with it, either. You’re probably better off just buying two packs of the #33253 Stacking Track Supports for less than half the price (total).

2019 BRIO Catalog

BRIO’s catalog for 2019 is out, and I’ve posted a copy of the dealer version to Issuu. It’s part of my BRIO catalog stack.

All in all, this looks like a lackluster year for BRIO, though there are a few gems in the rough. The #33963 Safari Airplane, #33472 Tank Wagon (a returning car with a new design) and #33436 Loader are real stand-outs. The safari animal wagon collection is also pretty appealing.

Reader Jean-Christophe from Canada discovered that many of the 2019 items are available for pre-order on Amazon’s UK site. BRIO is continuing the tradition of a dated special edition train, and the 2019 release is the Freight Locomotive in a red and chrome livery which is just begging to be paired with #33472.

Poor track quality in recent products

The last couple of new BRIO products I’ve purchased have come with track that has a very rough finish. This has never happened before, and that I’ve seen it in two products is a little concerning. BRIO track is normally sanded very smooth and coated with a light finish, but these pieces obviously did not receive that treatment. It was most noticeable in the #33627 Travel Station Set.

I have heard from one other person that has noticed the same problem, in their case with the #33699 Curved Bridge.

I’ve attached photos. The first two show the rough track at a fairly high magnification. Notice the rough, uneven surface around the track bevel.

The third shows “typical” track. Note how smooth the surface is in comparison.

I reported this to BRIO as a potential safety issue via their web site as I can imagine a toddler getting small splinters from pieces like this. BRIO got back to me within a few days and requested photos, so I sent them the above.

I’ll update this article once I hear from them again.

Update 12/11/18

BRIO has said they will send me a replacement #33627 Travel Station Set, but have not provided an explanation for the poor quality track.

Update 12/12/18

Here’s the latest response from one of BRIO’s customer service managers:

Hi John,

I’ve let our product department know, this was a defective item.

Thank you

Update 1/28/19

I did receive track from BRIO (not a full set, just loose track) in mid-January. This track did have the smooth finish I am used to seeing from BRIO, but given that it was sent to me as a loose collection does leave me without a clear answer to what’s going on. BRIO claims that it was a production defect, but it’s obviously widespread if so. But I am skeptical. This still looks like cost-cutting by the manufacturer, or at best, inadequate quality control.

2018 BRIO Advent Calendar

BRIO has released a new advent calendar for 2018. This one is particularly interesting because it features a cat figure:

The cat was originally going to be a part of the BRIO Village series, in the #33957 Figure Pack, but for some reason that product was never released:

Instead of discarding the mold for the cat, it seems to have been re-purposed.

Alas, like the Advent calendars from 2015 and 2017, this one is only available in European markets.

A Look at BRIO Network

This is a photo of most of the BRIO Network lineup. My collection of accessories and vehicles is reasonably complete thanks in part to the Network Educational Set, a non-catalog starter set that BRIO probably used to help clear old inventory. This set shipped with the equivalent of:

  • Two 33294 Track Packs
  • 33286 EMO’s Transporter
  • 33289 Turner’s Tunnel
  • 33290 DEX’s Search Pod
  • 33292 Bernie’s Flashing Diode
  • 33293 Attacker and Viruses

Over the years, I was able to find and add:

  • 33285 EMO’s Mail Hub
  • 33287 Mailbox and EMO
  • 33297 and 33298 Networkers’ Mail Pack 1 and 2
  • 33779 Virus Transporter Unit
  • 33780 Rapid Response Unit (this is a battery engine)

The Network product database has a full listing of all the Network products. Many of these have overlapping contents (particularly figures and vehicles) so to get a complete “set” of accessories you don’t technically need everything—unless a boxed set of everything is what you want, of course.

From the photo, you can see a couple of significant issues with the Network lineup in general. The biggest one is the painted track: it looks nice and fits the theme, but there just isn’t enough of it because each track pack only came with 6xE, 2xN, and one each of A, A1, A2, A3, U, V, L, and M. Even two track packs aren’t enough to incorporate all the accessories into a continuous track loop, and the limited track options limits flexibility. The second issue is that it’s just big. The mail hub in particular is a very large, elevated piece with two cross tracks. Incorporating this and it’s ramp tracks into a layout takes more space, and more space means even more track. I had to supplement a number of “regular” track to make the layout above.

From some of the other accessories shown in the 2007 catalog insert, it’s obvious that Network was meant to be a whole playscape and not just vehicles on tracks. Some of these accessories such as 33777 and 33787 may not have been released, while others were incorporated into starter sets like the 33057 network play table (shown in the 2008 insert).

Network was a definite oddity. It was BRIO’s attempt to build a unique, character-based toy line. The figures had names, each with their own personalities, and the accessories included games, general toys, and even videos, but it never really took off. The technology was limited, and the products were expensive for what were essentially blinking lights and low-bit-rate sounds.

Like The Sky Train lineup, Network eventually found popularity as collector items that it never had as children’s toys.

Non-catalog items: BRIO #33142

Collect BRIO long enough and you’ll eventually come across an item that can’t be found in  catalogs. These are the last frontier of collecting because you don’t know what you don’t know.

This phenomenon of non-catalog items isn’t unique to BRIO. Typically, they come about because of a specialized market—a starter set produced for a particular retailer, for instance—or a late-year bundle intended to package up excess stock (some toy collectors call these “Frankenstein sets”, as they are a mishmash of repurposed parts). Since they aren’t intended for wide release or a long shelf life, it’s impractical to go back and add them to catalogs even in the digital age: the product must still be photographed and the catalog layout must be updated.

Non-catalog items sometimes include unique parts, and it’s these sets that are the most coveted. For example, look at BRIO starter set #33142.

This set does not, to my knowledge, have a name. It was probably a 1989 or 1990 set based on the suspension bridge, cargo ship, and plastic container pods.

The yellow container pods in this set are nearly identical to the backs of the ambulance in 1988’s Hospital Set, shown on the right, just in yellow and with a metal disc added on top (though you can see the ring for the disc insert in the ambulance part).

The “loads” are simple, beechwood blocks.

There is some parts re-use going on here, but what’s most interesting of course is those yellow pods as they are unique to this set. BRIO didn’t re-use parts to make these pods: they re-used a mold. Making the metal casting for the plastic mold was probably a significant expense, and this let them get more life out of it.

 

Lots of updates, big and small

I’ve made a number of updates this week. Perhaps the largest is moving all of my 3-D track models for SketchUp to 3D Warehouse. This will let you download them directly into SketchUp from within SketchUp, so that’s one less step. It’s also the right way to be doing this.

I posted a number of additions and corrections to the product database. The big news on that front is that addition of the Disney theme that was sold in Europe from 2009 or 2010 though 2011. The catalog tagging isn’t done for that yet, but at least the products are listed.

Last, I fixed some broken links in the Foldouts section of the Catalog Archive.