Seeing as how TakaraTomy are targeting the MPG Trainbots at model train collectors in addition to TF/MP collectors, the HasLab route would be a very bad way to reach a wider audience.

 

CHUG a CHUG a CHUG a choo choo.

HA because they are trains and looks like chug figures, get it?

 

What would happen to Kaen?

All the Trains are to scale just like their Real counterparts, even though Getsuei is smaller than Yukikaze in the end they both manage to be the legs, (although Yukikaze has the plates on the sides)

Is that Kaen is the smallest of all and I don\'t know how takara will supposedly measure 18 CM like the others in Robot Mode

She\'s so small compared to the other Trainbots, I honestly can\'t think how she\'ll do it.

Does anyone have a theory?

 

He will probably end up hollowed out or really thin when seen from certain angles. They're going to have to stretch out what little mass he has to get him to match the heights of the others.

His bot mode doesn't look very promising from the silhouette revealed.

 

Blaze/Burn=Kaen really is a bruiser among the group. among the bots, he is analogous to a buff guy.

 

A combiner MP…..Unthinkable. Some ones wallet is gonna have a high hospital bill.

 

If there's one thing I've learnt over the years is that nothing is off bounds for TakaraTomy in the MP line.

Some things we didn't think were possible in the past:
MP Megatron with gun alt mode. Done. Twice.
Tape deck Soundwave. Check.
VW Beetle. Check. Twice.
Other licensed European cars (Lamborghini, Lancia). Check.
Beasts. Check.

That's the beauty of it. Just when things seem to be getting stale, TakaraTomy will throw in something fresh and unexpected to keep you hooked.

 

As a chug collector and not an MP collector I think this the one exception

 

And the first time it was done Hisashi Yuki worked nothing short of a miracle because given the conditions he was operating under it didn't sound at all possible. While few would argue that MP-05 was a good toy even by 2007 standards, considering that...

- He was given twelve days to design it
- The scale was initially undecided when he was first handed the job
- He ended up having to try and match the size/complexity of MP-1 Convoy
- There were only a handful of TF's & Microchange molds with gun modes as possible references (some of which were Seacons and Targetmasters)

... well, I'm amazed he got anything out at all, quite frankly.

 

That's where I'm at. I'd rather get a CHUG version, but I don't think it's going to happen any time soon.

 

In the end i think a lot of people will regret missing the set, after the final team and combiner pic.
On facebook groups is almost impossible to discuss about it (and other takara things) , grown ass man with Pavlovian reflex that every time they see something about Takara, they have the visceral need to bash it.

Kaen is the Brawn of the group, is buffed but the height is the same as the other ones only including the backpack, they will have an easy time with it.


Anyway... amazon???

 

I eagerly await for the day when everyone at Takara goes bonkers and give us the likes of toon accurate Masterforce Pretenders, Victory Deathsuarus, and the Targetmasters.

 

And if it kinda fits then why not

 

There are a few repeated comments about the Raiden figures that don’t honestly make much sense to me.

1. “This set targets model train collectors.”
Say, what? The model train hobby is in such steep decline that even the model train manufacturers are struggling. It’s been nosediving for decades, with the enthusiast population literally dying out and young people showing no interest. Any sales influence from that segment of potential buyers is minuscule. The Masterpiece line has always given strong attention to the accuracy of alt modes— particularly when they represent real-life vehicles— and it makes sense in this case to scale in alignment with model trains, which also try to closely imitate the real thing.

2. “Oh wow, MP-level combiners! Finally.”
Third parties have been doing this for years. It’s nothing new. Perhaps it’s seen as an interesting development to official-brand loyalists, but in reality, Takara is just late to the party. The keg’s nearly empty.

3. “These aren’t Masterpiece— they’re just expensive CHUG.”
For some collectors, a Masterpiece figures need hidden kibble, washed-out decos, and body lines that imitate the animation models. That’s the current trend, but not the original goal of the line. An “ideal representation of the character” doesn’t mean a cartoon likeness. It can also mean a media-influenced upgrade to the original toy. Like MP Reboost and Crosscut, these toys are nicely modernized but still retain a good bit of nostalgic Diaclone flavor. For anyone wanting a “toonier” interpretation, Moon Studio has you covered.

 

If that's the case, why was Getsuei the number one preordered toy on amazon JP when he was first shown off?

Don't equate the Western train community with the Japanese market.

 

I assumed so because Raiden was a very popular Transformer in Japan and relatively obscure in the Western market.

Besides, trains in general are popular in Japan.

 

MoonStudio's trainbot also has some arrangements and additional surface details, so I'm a bit skeptical that it is for Tooners.
However, I think it is close to the toon design as far as the body shape in combined mode.

 

Well...
1) Takara when presented Raiden Project, from tfw2005 news:
"A few hours ago the official Takara Tomy Twitter account shared images revealing their participation in the special exhibition: “A Railway Story In The Sky” in Japan. Additionally, they have mentioned that a new “Raiden Project” will be shown at the event.

The exhibition: “A Railway Story In The Sky” involves the cooperation of JR 7 companies, Tokyo Metro, Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation and other companies showing off all the rich railroad Japanese story over the years. Takara will take part showing Raiden, the combination of the 6 Trainbots: Kaen, Getsuei, Seizan, Shoki, Suiken and Yukikaze which appeared in the Japanese G1 “The Headmasters” cartoon."
They don't care if train fanbase is fading out, for 2 years they could buy robot with realistic and in scale train alt mode, and it will suffice for them

2)Many hobbist forgot a simple thing: Takara is the big fish in masterpiece game, and they really don't care what third parties has done. If they set a trend, for example the cartoon one, other parties will follow them. But they're not stupid, the food (fanbase money) is the same, so they are differentiating enought their product from the third parties offers, by doing an all-in-one combiners with accurate in MP scale components and a different scale (maybe, my speculation, with some microfigure to validate the new scale).

3)The CHUG thing is one of the trollish trolling in that forum, and it comes from people with no intention to buy, or be interested, to trains. On top of that, Takara components are heavily cartoon inspired, with some toy bits (like the combiner mode). Moon components are different from cartoon and out of scale, with Shouki and Kaen the major offenders, but Raiden is pretty on spot. (pretty LOL curiosity, Moon Studios used chug characters to promote their trainbots in a video)

In the end, to each their own. If you like and enjoy Moon, you win. If you like and enjoy Takara, you win. Until a product doesn't crumble like Hound, and you like it, is a win, simple as that.

 

I often underestimate the level of minimalism desired by the cartoon-aesthetic fans, so you’re probably right. The MS trainbots look too dull for my tastes, but maybe have too much superficial surface detail for that carved-from-soap appearance that better emulates the animation models.

I suppose it’s more accurate to say the MPG set is more toy-leaning and the MS set more toon-leaning, with Takara going further to the extreme and Moon Studios closer to center.