Still, many were unhappy and confused about the extent of the recall. Beverly Beck, from Highland Park, Ill., gathered and hid six boxes’ worth of Thomas toys that belonged to her five kids over the years. She’s worried that any wooden Thomas toys with red paint, even those not on the recall list, could be dangerous. “I’m trying to redirect my son to be interested in other toys,” she says.
For now, RC2 isn’t giving any interviews about the mishap or how the lead got on the trains. That’s not the best direction for Thomas, business experts say. “It creates the sense that the company is trying to hide something,” says Daniel Diermeier, a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. And as Thomas knows, there should be no secrets among friends.
