Plarail TOMY Thomas NEW RELEASES

[Super]

Hello Shinkansen and welcome to BluePlasticTracks. Your english is fine.

Yes, the middle Shinkansen coaches and car carrier are no longer in production but reusing the same model numbers only creates confusion later on when referring to a product by number and there are several using it. Also, I believe all those can still be purchased new which adds to the confusion.  What I don't get is why? Why not retire the model number along with the product? There are plenty of numbers and letters not used to create an entirely new one. And if they can't do that then why not add to the retired number like KF-07.1 or KF-10-A. The combinations are infinite and its not like they are only allotted a certain number of numbers and have to ration them...I just do get any logic behind it.

Just like KF-08, now it is the ソ80タイプ (green crane car). Last time it is E5 Shinkansen intermediate car and previously スハ43 (coach).
It is better to stick to TOMY's numbering because if the KF-08 number is reused, we will know what is out of print from the catalogue. Do note that catalogues of every year can be referred to, and you can see the differences of the KF-08 in each year and month by checking the KF-08 side by side.

And using EC-08 as a Showa example, this refers to the Skyliner. The EC-08 is reused for the Yellow box Skyliner (old livery) and Green box Skyliner (new livery). From here, recheck the catalogues and we know when the different colours of Skyliner was out of print. But in this case, the catalogues of 1978 until 1988 did not state the EC numbering, so that was just a prototype numbering system before the implementation of S-01 and KF-01. From this point onward, the S-01 and KF-01 numbering are in the later year 20XX catalogues.

From this case, when a number is reused, we know that スハ43 was replaced by the E5 Shinkansen intermediate car, and then replaced by the ソ80タイプ. Dear TOMY, thanks for using this numbering system and we hope that it remains this way for easier referencing.

[Super]

 Do note that catalogues of every year can be referred to, and you can see the differences of the KF-08 in each year and month by checking the KF-08 side by side.

Exactly my point...one shouldn't have to jump through hoops and have to find the differences. The difference should be in the model number...no hoops to jump through and no question exactly what a product is.

But the point of this is to know when the change happened, for example lets say the change happened in the 2011 and 2012 catalogues so you know when the old product was out of print and when the new product was released. Reusing the number could best be used to know what vehicle replaced another vehicle, its important to know why some vehicles get replaced by others, just like what happened to the S-34 Tokai Express in order to remove stale items that has been there for nearly 8 years or more.

And here are the blue news - August 2020:

Plarail West Express Galaxy & Series 235 Yokosuka, both with plakids.

「プラレール S-39 WEST EXPRESS (ウエストエクスプレス) 銀河」2020年8月発売








 「プラレール S-27 E235系 横須賀線」2020年8月発売



Speaking of model numbers, Galaxy is S-39 and S-39 EF510 Red Thunder goes out of print. Also E235 is S-27 and so S-27 EH 800 electric locomotive goes into history too.

Here is also the GOGO station as seen in commercials:

 「プラレール ピカッとシグナル!GOGO発車ステーション」2020年8月発売

Also in the August News - some tracks with the new tiny station, new mini tunnel, and very small crossing:



...and a new Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa Movable Plus with new moving hips! 

[Super]

I like the detailing on that West Express, Would have liked to see some working headlights though.

Its nice to see that Plarail is including more and more PlaKids now as it seems the the last several years they did not. I do remember a couple sets with the abomination of cardboard PlaKids mounted in stands, glad, it seems, they got rid of that idea.

Thanks Mr-No

Goodbye EH800 and EF510 Red Thunder

Some people are complaining about the Yokosuka that the gimmick of inserting Plakids inside the coach are interfering with the hem of the coach. So the design is not as ideal as it was thought to be.

I'm glad they are releasing 2 commuters as general products. The latest commuters and trams - Tokyu 6020 Series Q Seat Oimachi Express, Tokio Sakura Tram and Toei Shinjuku - were all special/limited editions availible only at some stations or in shopping malls. 



Plarail Galaxy has way too bold white line, and I personally don't like the big "plakid friendly" windows/holes, but that's just me... The front and side logo is nice, though. The windshild wipers could be silver, couldn't they?

The violet color on the roof is too bright, and even the pantographs are painted violet! 


I'm not so excited with the detailing on that train, they did a much better job with some of the latest trains. There are some trains that look just nice and complete, with well finished and detailed body, and then there are some that look like simple plastic toys. This one is, I'm afraid, one of the latter. 


The 235 Yokosuka is, of course, a variation of Yamanote train, just in blue and with double decker middle car.

And this "microvawe oven" E 235 Yamanote is released in many variations - with sound, as a six-car-combination, with moving doors... and now in blue as Yokosuka train. Well, I suppose it was easier to use old mold then to come up with the entirely new train. I was hoping for something exciting, this is not that exciting. But, the body of the double-decker car seems new, it's not just copy of the older E233 double-decker car...


Regarding the GoGo Station... Are these sides on flyover and the information panel made out of cardboard? If so, that's bad. The flyover itself looks good, but they could think it out better, because it leads to - nowhere. It's just for sightseeing, or should it have a purpose (to get to the other side)? A second stairway on the opposite side would be nice.

And would it be that hard to produce a station with platforms that are at least one 3-car-train long? Would that be possible, Tomy? Why are all those stations with such short platforms? Moreover, this one is rather high, so it wouldn't be easy to combine it with J-28 Station as an extention, for example.