I think those are pretty accurate, primarily for China which is where robotkingdom is based. TCP has similar dates, so I'm expecting a late May/early June and mid to late June release for the last two.

 

My copy of moonshine is secure on kaen for combine mode. It took me a while to get it in there correctly but once i did... it is secure. You do notice that when you slide it back.. it does move a bit and lock in. THere were a few times where i thought i got it .. but it popped off or came off easily... so it takes some time to get it in there. Best of luck.

 

I’ll continue to try but it’s just annoying to go in on a combiner team and have these issues. Thank you.

edit: so after a while I finally got the pieces to fully lock in, I had to use a tool to do so. It stays together but still frustrating to get to stay together.

 

According to Robotkingdom, Cool Peak is in stock NOW, so he's coming!

 

Back of the packaging pics shows he comes with both wing laser cannons for combined mode too!

 

Yay! Ya it is annoying that they made the connection difficult to do. But the good news is you got it to work in the end.

 

I don’t think it’s a fair comparison. FT has different price points and their entire combiner will be a skeleton with the limbs pinning on the sides or the back for decoration and toon accuracy. The Trainbots on the other hand, for better or worse, are an all-in-one combiner like what MMC does, with no pants/parts forming outside of the chest shield.

It’s apples and oranges.

 

On a similar note, it's interesting that FT stated some time ago that their biggest competition was Zeta.

 

After Show.Z was finally done dragging their feet, I received my MS-04 Moon Shine today and I have to say... I don't understand what the complaints are about when it comes to transforming this guy. This is coming from someone who is exceptionally poor at transforming figures (took me two whole evenings to get Fanstoys Roadking into his alt-mode), but MS-03 was a bigger challenge than his upper body cousin.



His weight is almost the same like MS-01 and MS-02, though out of the box he felt like a floppier mess compared to the rest. After spending a few minutes tabbing everything together the way it should be, I had some real fun posing him. The buttskirts are the ugliest thing about him, and if I were to pose him in robotmode, I just pull them off which is an option (yes, I know they are accurate according to the toon, I don't care), and sometimes when you manipulate his arms, he shoulder ensemble comes undone, but there are more figures of other brands who suffer from this particular ailment. Both his ankles are nice and snug, so his feet are not going anywhere.



One problem I had while transforming him was that the nosecone of the train just did not want to tab together to make a nice cohesive whole. This is simply a case of tabs being too big for their slots, every time I tried to press one side in, the other side came undone... Undoubtedly this can be fixed by shaving them down, but he will never be displayed in trainmode, so I am not even going to bother. Unfortunately due to all the panels, you cannot really manipulate him, panels easily pop out, so forget about getting this guy neat and straight. He will forever remain a dented bullettrain in my memory.  



Transformation from alt-mode to combined mode was nice and easy, the biggest annoyance was the Raiden head that just kept flopping around while I manipulated him. This is why I prefer partsforming. Building combiner parts into figures just adds unnecessary difficulty and annoyance. I know that a vocal minority prefers the all-in-one gimmick, but I really wish Zeta Toys/Moon Studios stop listening to them. You may disagree with me, but I am still right.  



All in all I don't really understand the reviewtubers complaining about the difficulty of his transformation. The instructions are clear, if you take it one step at a time, and try to work around the panel-chaos that you end up with halfway into the process, you will end up with a neatly lined up and solid Raiden torso. Going from robot to train to torso took me about 30 minutes in total on my first try, and I took my sweet time.

One negative thing I will say about Raiden so far, his torso is too small for his head and lower legs. Again, this is a problem caused by a lack of partsforming. A nice solid and big torso-shell where you slot MS-03 and MS-04 in would offer a more proportionate gestalt.  

I rate MS-04 Moon Shine/Shouki a 4 out of 5 weighing scales, the finnicky panel-forming and Raiden-head making things needlessly annoying are the only things preventinga a perfect score. I am looking forward to hanging some arms on this dude.

 

Not to be pedantic, but it's not quite MMC level of all in one. The hands are separate on the trainbots, which I think frees them up to be better bots than say MMC's approach where they have to find space in their body cavity to hide the split hand. Also, Raiden's feet by design are the noses of the train so they got an "easy" pass there not needing parts to clip on for feet.

 

Great review. Nice photos too - I feel like I could sink my teeth into that blue paint.

Where did you obtain those tracks? I'd love to display mine like that.

Has anyone been successful in filing down the tabs so the nosecone comes together?

 

I bought the tracks in a modelrailroad store in my city. I took the trainbots with me and told the salesperson I needed a pair of tracks for them, after he was done chuckling in amazement, we went looking for a suitable pair and this was the biggest he had in stock.



The information on the bottom of the track says 1999 L.G.B., I assume this is the brand. They cost me €7,50 a piece.

 

LGB is about the biggest and most popular manufacturer of G-scale stuff. Lehmann-Gross-Bahn, from Germany. Their track (which pretty much defines what G scale is) is technically Gn3, but "regular" G is almost non-existent so most "G" track is really Gn3. (or even Gnm if you want to get really picky)

Personally I feel Bachmann actually has the best-looking G track, but it's hard to find now. (it's silver/steel, not brass)

 

just got shouki (moon shine) in today (finally) and he's great! haven't transformed him yet but he doesn't have any floppy ankles or qc issues Ive noticed yet. he looks stunning. definitely looking forward to the arms

 

LGB is the original G scale model trains
Their stuff is so well made that it holds up for decades

 

Yes LGB is the brand as i have those tracks

 

Sweet. Cool Peak Incoming at TCP. Always nice to be able ship a stash. I think I'll get all of these into combined mode once I get it.

 

Bump for TCP, it says arriving soon! Can't wait for cool peak, from the pics so far he is my favorite looking bot of the group. I just think his colors really vibe well together.

Please be awesome, please be awesome, please be awesome, please be....

 

Glad you're liking Moon Shine! From my perspective I think you do understand the frustration reviewers have about his transformation. It's his nosecone. The rest of the transformation is fine, but that nosecone is a piece of work. I filed down all the tabs and some of the edges of the plastic slightly, and it still fights me. Everything sits fine, but it doesn't have enough clearance to get there without forcing things past each other.

 

I see your point, but I watched a few reviews and all of them were just complaining all the way through the entire transformation, some even election to not explain the process, because of how angry they were.

It went beyond a nosecone that didn't fit properly.