Useful Add-On to your Tomy/Thomas Layout?

I was in need of some suitable cars to act as cargo on a couple of my Takara PokeTrain flat wagons that I got 2nd hand and missing the originals. So after a bit of a look around I stumbled across 'Choro-Q' cars, originally made by Takara, but now a generic term for these lovely little cute cars. The batch I bought arrived today from the land of the rising sun among some other bits and they are great. Perfect size (last picture gives you a comparison with a Tomy EF, nicely detailed for the most part and a little 'cartoonish' which fits perfectly with the Tomy world

Oh, and they feature 'pull back' motors as well

Here you go;

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Are they all that "stubby" or just that particular;ar one? The other pictures make them seem like Tomica or Hotwheel size but it could be the angle of the photo. Might two of them fit in a wagon or flat car?

WOW!!! I just took a look for these on the Ebay USA site and holey smokes, these aren't cheap.

Yes, they all stubby like that, you do get some that are more hotwheels like, but they are not real Choro'Q cars. They are like the shorty's very expensive here in the west as they are not sold outside Japan as far as I know. But from a certain site we know they can be had at a reasonable cost.

Personally I quite like the 'stubby' look as it gives them a litte cartoon'ish appearance that works with the Tomy trains and the little people

I'd get one on the Takara flat wagons, in a troublesome truck you may get two - I'll have to try, or on one of the Tomy flat wagons - you know the type with the half size containers, you'd get two I reckon

They also make Choro-Q Thomas and Friends characters. I didn't know they were actually something much less specific at first, like Plarail/TOMY Trains was.

I think Choro-Q is actually the term for 'pull back' powered vehicles in general, as you say you can get trains, coaches, lorries, buses, you name it

Yes. They can be anything from cars to trains.

I have a E2 Choro-Q which I bought quite a while ago when it wasn't that expensive.

A single car is now around 900 Yen in Japan.

-plarnold

Resident ChoroQ expert here to provide some details. What makes ChoroQ cars unique is not only their stubby, plastic, pullback design, but also the coin holder on the back (the licence plate like bit that has the cars number on it). The idea is that putting different coins in the holder makes the car perform different tricks.

There are also RC cars, QSteer, RC trains, QTrain if I remember right, and self driving cars that find their way through a walled maze, QEye.

They have come out at least in the US a couple times, mostly as "Penny Racers", but they have never sold well or lasted long here.

The video games are also quite well known and loved in Japan, while they do come out overseas the names are... anything but consistent: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choro_Q_video_games

If you or your young ones are into games I do highly suggest your regions versions of HG2 + HG3, very fun open world rpg racing game hybrids.

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What makes ChoroQ cars unique is not only their stubby, plastic, pullback design, but also the coin holder on the back (the licence plate like bit that has the cars number on it). The idea is that putting different coins in the holder makes the car perform different tricks.

Really? That is cool. Wonder if there is a video showing these tricks.

Well there yuo go, originally I was only after a couple to use as replacements for the Takara cars that go on the Takara PokeTrain wagons I have that are missing their cars. I never dreamt there was so much to it, or even the cost of the things as indicated by Plarnold above

May have to keep an eye out for more of these little wonders

Really? That is cool. Wonder if there is a video showing these tricks.

Found this little slow motion stunt video which shows some of the wackiness that can occur. Weight, the car, and even placing the coin at a slight tilt can have different effects. Half the fun is experimentation: