Thomas & Friends bonus gift sends lead paint back to kids: Thanks but no thanks

HERE IS THE "APOLOGY".

Dear ___,

As a concerned parent and participant in our June recall, we are writing to you today to advise you that we are voluntarily recalling five additional Thomas & Friends wooden train toy items.

On behalf of everyone at RC2 let me apologize for the worry this new recall may cause you and your family. We understand how painful it can be to take a cherished toy from a child. Nevertheless, we urge you to check for and return any of the newly recalled toys to us.

Families returning one or more of the recalled toys will receive replacements for each recalled toy. Each family will also receive one free gift. Prepaid U.S. shipping labels, Canadian preprinted shipping labels, and help in identifying and returning the recalled toys are available on our recall website http://recalls.rc2.com. You also may either email us at mailto:recalls@rc2corp.com or call RC2's Consumer Care Center toll-free at
(866) 725-4407 for assistance. The five newly recalled items are:

* The all-black cargo car included in the Brendam Fishing Dock Set. Recalled all-black cargo cars from the Brendam Fishing Dock Set can be identified by either the absence of a tracking code or one of the following tracking codes on the car's underside:

26833i 24643i00 32043i00 04553i00 15453i00
28233i 25343i00 34743i00 13353i00 18353i00
23243i00 27443i00 01553i00 14753i00

No other cargo cars are included in the recall, including all-black cargo cars sold in sets other than the Brendam Fishing Dock Set.

* Toad vehicle with a brake lever, which can be identified by a single tracking code, 1656OW00, on its underside. No other Toad vehicles are included in the recall, as each of these vehicles would have a different
tracking code. Please note that Toad vehicles that do not have a hand
brake on the side of the vehicle are not affected by this recall.

* Olive green Sodor cargo box included in the Deluxe Cranky the Crane Set.
This item did not in the past carry a tracking code, and RC2 is asking consumers to return any olive green Sodor cargo boxes included in Deluxe Cranky the Crane sets produced between January 2006 and December 2006.
Current production of the cargo box has a tracking code on the underside and is not included in the recall. No other Sodor cargo boxes are included in the recall, including those sold in sets other than the Deluxe Cranky the Crane Set. If you are uncertain about the production date of your Deluxe Cranky set, please return the olive green cargo box to us for replacement.

* The all-green maple tree top and green signal base accessories included in the Conductor's Figure 8 Set. Because these small accessories did not in the past carry tracking codes, RC2 is asking consumers to return any all-green maple tree tops and green signal bases included in Conductor's Figure 8 Sets produced from March 2006 to April 2007. Current production of these accessories has tracking codes and is not included in the recall.
If you are uncertain about the production date of your Conductor's Figure 8 set, please return the all-green maple tree top and green signal base to us for replacement.

Unfortunately, the discovery that certain Toad vehicles could be potentially unsafe was made in August, after Toads had been sent as bonus gifts to some families. Many of the Toad bonus gifts are safe, however some may not be.
If you received a Toad vehicle as a bonus gift from us, please check its underside for the tracking code 1656OW00 to determine if it is one of the recalled toys.

We are deeply apologetic for and embarrassed by this turn of events, and remain determined to make it up to you and restore your confidence in Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway train toys. We believe parents deserve to be assured of two things: First, the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys you already have are safe and, second, that the new toys you buy are safe.

To assure that the toys families already have are safe, more than 1,500 individual Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toy styles have been retested extensively. By casting this wide net, we discovered that five additional items were potentially unsafe and they are being recalled.

We have also learned from our own experience and that of other toy companies and have established significant additional safeguards. Since June, we have established our Multi-Check Toy Safety System to help assure you that our new toys are safe. For more information regarding our Multi-Check Toy Safety System, please visit http://www.rc2.com/multicheck.

And we're not finished. We know that every day we must earn the faith you and other parents place in us and in the quality and safety of our toys. That's why we will continue to look for and explore new ways to further improve the safety of our toys. Our commitment to you is to make our toys as safe as we possibly can, and, if there are problems in the future, to notify you as quickly as we can, just as we are doing now.

The real measure of our success is the trust you and other parents are able to place in our toys, knowing that we're taking the right steps to protect your children. And, we're hopeful that concerned parents, like you, recognize that our toys have been subjected to intense scrutiny and testing and are that much safer for it.

Thank you for your continued patience and support.

Sincerely,
RC2 Corporation


Curt Stoelting Pete Henseler
Chief Executive Officer President