I don't know, the translation seems to say what we've observed - same 1/87 scale but narrower gauge, therefore not HO gauge(for the non-shinkansen trains).

 

My reading of the article translation is that they are going absolute 1/87 scale for everything in all aspects. No fudging at all. They are aware this means incompatible gauges, but they seem to want correct exact scale proportions for all six, period.

That was about the least-likely option when I first heard about the project, but more and more seems like the case.

 

Shōki is 1/87 scale and fits on HO gauge tracks. Getsuei is in the same scale, but as it’s a different, smaller train model, does not fit the HO gauge tracks.
In the real world, these two trains do not run on the same type of tracks.

To have Getsuei fit the HO gauge tracks, he would need to be upsized, or they would have to fudge the width between his wheels.

 

Yep, according to the article, the train will be all scaled in alt mode to 1:87 scale, and all tall the same in robot mode (18 cm).
On youtube there are a lot of video of H0 narrow gauge trains, so railroad are sold (the mostimportant point, if the trains are aimed at train collectors too).
Very curious about Kaen

 

H0N3 tracks. The more you know, today i'm learning something new ahahaha

Edit: HOn3 Model Trains | TrainWorld

 

OK so that confirms what we've pieced together over the last days - all trains same 1:87 scale so they wont run on the same track. I gotta say even though they explained the decision process it still seems a strange decision to me! As they describe, this is not the solution chosen by the model community/industry - the vast majority of models of non-bullet trains in this size (including TT brand Tomix) are made to 1:80 scale with wheels fudged to fit on HO guage track along with 1:87 bullet trains. The translation seems a bit ropey in that section, but it sounds like the Tomytec guys suggested putting importance on making the six trains look realistically scaled together which will highlight how big the bullet trains are, and they went all in on that rather than copying what the model train guys actually do in practice.

Seems really strange to me, not only for the above reason, but also from the Transformers perspective making the smaller trains a bit bigger would help with making the team look more uniform together, and surely help with the engineering of bot and combined mode having a bit more mass to work with. But ah well it's gonna be fun seeeing how they shrink down Yukikaze and inflate Kaen for their bot and combined functions! With a lot of compromise, I'm guessing!  

By the way, these images that have been posted...



...are model trains, probably N gauge, so they will also have fudged scales to run on the same track as described - they are not all to scale! So imagine the four non-bullet trains even smaller compared to the bullet trains, by a little bit, and that's what these MPG trains will look like together! Poor Kaen.

Strictly it would be HOn3½ used in Japan to accurately model their 3'6" (1067mm) gauge track at 1:87 scale, resulting in 12mm gauge track compared to standard 16.5mm HO track. But looks like they didn't mention/confirm that in the article.

 

According to Wikipedia, Kaen is:
162,64 mm lenght
33,9 mm wide
45,57 mm height (probably considering the maximum height)

For a comparison, Getuei is:
189,65 mm lenght
32,18 mm wide
43,89 mm height


It's small, but it's not a core class transformers compared to the deluxe ones

 

this is what i tried alluding go in my previous post about having 2 sets of wheels, whether it be swapping them out or being adjustable. for a toy line that focuses on “transforming”, i really don’t see why they can incorporate a gimmick to allow both wheel widths depending on each collector’s priority. some mentioned the wheels being designed a certain way for transformation, but i’m sure if they really wanted to, they’d be able to make it work.

 

I'm sure transforming or replaceable wheels would be possible, but I just dont see it being worth the trouble. If they really wanted the gimmick of all the trains being able to be coupled and run on the same track, they would have just made them all have the same width wheels, just like the mainstream model cpys do - simple. They could even have done this sticking to 1:87 if they really wanted. The only reason to then have convertable wheels for the narrow gauge trains would be to appeal to the crowd prefering realistic uni-scale multi-gauge. From what I can gather HOn3½ (1:87 scale/12mm gauge) is super niche in Japan - the true nerds who see the mainstream fudged multi-scale uni-gauge (1:80 regular trains, 1:87 Shinkansen all on 16.5mm track) as some kind of abomination that fails to capture the true essence of Japanese railways, and are willing to pay 2000+ USD per hand-made brass vehicle to do it right! They probably wont be interested in Transformers Trainbots anyway!

Seems like maybe TT realise nobody is actually gonna run these on a model layout (or they can't even - too heavy, too much play in the wheels, perhaps?) - their appeal to mainstream train fans more likely just a cool curiosity to display, but not actually run on their layouts. So they dont bother making it possible and just go with consistent scale to look realistic together.

 

But still, we have seen the compromise to turn Getsuei into a 18cm bot, a kind of MP Ironhide lankiness, so the compromise for Kaen will be bigger, because it has about 80% the mass of Getsuei (note that the maximum height is only for the semi-centered cab), and he was a beefy boy. No small challenge, can't wait to see how they manage it.

 

Kaen CAD leaked!!!



News credit, please.

 

Even though this isnt supposed to be toon accurate, you would think they would still want different colors for the waist and thighs, it'll be interesting to see how they " flip" his colors without making bot mode a total mess.

 

His backback could be more... idealized, like the Getsuei one. But i'm not really worried about the robot mode, mass shift is an ordinary administration for taktom.

 

While I don't generally have Masterpiece money, these seem pretty neat as a long term commitment. Just recently watched a video going over the marvels of Japan's public train systems, so I have a new appreciations for these.

 

Wanna know my life hack in affording these Masterpiece Transformers? It goes like this:

1. Go to Amazon.co.jp.
2. Preorder a certain upcoming MP figure in advance.
3. Every once in a while, sparingly reload your Amazon.co.jp gift card balance with an increment of your choice.
4. Apply gift card balance to your preorder.
5. Repeat the process over a period of time until preorder is fully paid up with gift cards.

There you have it!  

 

I know you’re joking, but seriously…

Kaen’s real-life alt mode is 14.15m long, so the toy (at 1/87 scale) will be around 16cm long (as a train). So him gaining 2cm during transformation into robot mode (whilst simultaneously fattening out from a relatively long, thin shape into a squarish robot) is going to be a serious piece of engineering.

Or to put it another way: Takara taking a robot of this size and turning it into a 1/87 DE10 locomotive is the equivalent of MP Grimlock transforming into an 8-inch-long sausage.

 

If his altmode is retconned to a DD51 (like Zeta/Moon did), that could help some.

 

Well in the cartoon Kaen is no more chonky than the others, so that'll help some. But even so, yeah, they sure got a challenge on their hands! That said I think Kaen's alt will have about the volume of a typical carbot - a little longer and taller, but a lot narrower - and he only needs to be a head and a half taller. FT stretched out some tall bots from cars, although they do look a bit like my Kaen joke above from the side, but TT will find a way.

Certianly would! But given TT are insisting on scale/gauge accuracy beyond even the mainstream Japanese model train community, I think the chances of them choosing a completely different alt mode to the original are... zero!

 

I'm sure TakaraTomy will have no problem making a Kaen that works well in all three modes.

They're really going to be showing off their skills with these very different sized var modes ending up the same size in robot mode.

 

agreed. TT has made the best toys I've ever seen consistently for the last ~10 years. I'm going to assume I will fall in love with these Trainbots six times over.

Oh by the way, we're under 150 days now!!