Thomas the Tank Engine Invades Morrowind?! Mattel's Legal Team Gearing Up?!

Okay, folks, hold onto your hats. The modding community has done it again, and this time it involves everyone's favorite little blue engine causing chaos in a classic RPG. Veteran modder Trainwiz, infamous (or perhaps famous?) for injecting Thomas the Tank Engine into games where he absolutely *doesn't* belong, has now set his sights on *The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind*. Yes, you read that right.

Thomas the Tank Engine Invades Morrowind?! Mattel'...

Trainwiz just dropped the "Really Useful Cliffracers" mod on Nexus Mods, which, as the name implies, replaces the notoriously annoying cliff racers of Morrowind with none other than Thomas the Tank Engine. Imagine, instead of those pterodactyl-esque beasts dive-bombing you every five seconds, it's Thomas, chugging along with that ever-present, slightly unsettling grin. Nightmare fuel, anyone? I can just picture it now… all those poor Nerevarine adventurers being relentlessly pursued by a steam-powered engine. Talk about a new level of challenge!

But here's where things get really interesting. Accompanying the mod's release were some rather pointed comments from Trainwiz, seemingly aimed directly at Mattel, the corporate overlords of the Thomas the Tank Engine franchise. In what can only be described as a display of gleeful defiance, Trainwiz wrote, "I made a mod that replaces cliffracers with Thomas the Tank Engine. I am incapable of learning lessons whenever it involves corporations, because I fundamentally do not view toy company CEOs or media CEOs as people." Whoa. Tell us how you *really* feel, Trainwiz!

Apparently, this isn't Trainwiz's first run-in with the Mattel legal team. "I got in so much trouble," Trainwiz revealed. "Mattel pretty much want me dead at this point--it's the reason why the Fallout 4 mod can’t be found on any normal website." So, it sounds like things have gotten pretty heated. You have to wonder, what is it about Thomas the Tank Engine that inspires such… passion, both from modders and corporate lawyers alike? I mean, I get it, protecting intellectual property is important, but maybe a little perspective is in order? It's a mod, not a hostile takeover.

Interestingly, Trainwiz has received props from Bethesda in the past, so it’s not like the gaming company is universally against this type of modding. The community is still very active and even with the news of *The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered* coming, the ambitious fan project *Skyblivion*, which is rebuilding *Oblivion* in the *Skyrim* engine, is still going strong after a decade of development. This shows the dedication of the players to the game world. If you’re interested in learning more about this story, you can head over to GameSpot for Blair Marnell's original report. And remember folks, mod responsibly… and maybe keep an eye out for cease-and-desist letters.