Well guys, today's the forth of July, and to celebrate being American I though I'd do a review on an American engine. That engine being Sam, Sam I am (see what I did there?).

My history: the sodor story collection was one of the greatest staples of the Thomas wooden railway. I saw reviews of the sets on YouTube and I was intrigued. I really wanted them (particularly the James and Logan sets) but they were sold in only 20 stores nationwide, not to mention they cost $250 each (I'm not joking). it wasn't until the wooden railway was discontinued in 2017/18 that these sets were found in discount stores at far better prices, I actually found Dustin that way. However, unlike Dustin, I got Sam from one of the people at my school just before it let out and that's how I got mine. I only wish I could find Logan, then my sodor story collection trio would be complete.

Pros:
1: I love how long this engine is, Sam without his tender is almost as long as Edward and James with their tenders.
2: the details on this engine are amazing, especially considering how none of the main characters have as much detailing as him (which is honestly shocking).

Cons:
1: the tender on this models is too short, and I feel that if it was the size of one of scotsman's tenders it would really be a perfect model.

Extra notes:
1: the back of Sam's cab has a ledge like the one featured on the wooden railway models from 1992-2003. I don't know if this was intended or not, but it's a pretty nice callback.

Final score: 8.5 out of 10 great model with few flaws.

Happy Fourth of July everyone, and Stay tuned for more clickety-clack reviews to come!