Toy Review - SHOUKI (Masterpiece)

[Krayt]

So, can the wheels on Shouki in train mode turn with the train tracks?

Nope, straight tracks only

[High_Q]

Nope, straight tracks only

I realised that i phrased my original question poorly. I asked about wheels but really was curious whether the bogies on Shouki are able to rotate on their axes in altmode.

[GoktimusPrime]

I realised that i phrased my original question poorly. I asked about wheels but really was curious whether the bogies on Shouki are able to rotate on their axes in altmode.

It's a fair question and one I hadn't thought of before. I actually went to a model railway store yesterday with my G1 and MP Shouki toys to see how they would fit on N and HO gauge tracks (perfectly!). I was going to get tracks to build a loop, but the employee pointed out that G1 and MP Shouki have no articulated trucks, meaning that they can't go around curved tracks, only straight ones. I did roll MP Shouki on a slightly curved track and it was fine, but yeah, I don't think either the G1 or MP Trainbots can go around significant bends in tracks. Not unless you have one really long slightly curved piece of track (which would occupy a lot more space).

I bought some straight N gauge track pieces yesterday and my G1 Trainbots roll fine on those. A few days ago I did order a cheap set of plastic HO gauge track pieces off Amazon; after my visit to the store yesterday I went to cancel the order but it's already shipped. So I might as well test out MP Shouki to see how well he goes around curves, but I'm expecting him to derail. I'll be posting photos of my G1 Trainbots on N gauge tracks soon (probably stick them on the Retro Review thread).

[High_Q]

... the employee pointed out that G1 and MP Shouki have no articulated trucks, meaning that they can't go around curved tracks, only straight ones.

Hmm, so Takara wanted the MPG trainbots to appeal not just to Transformers fans but also train model collectors. I wonder how the lack of articulated trucks/bogies affect whether they collect these trainbots. I can only assume that articulated bogies are a necessary feature for HO gauge models since they have to run over curved tracks.

[GoktimusPrime]

Hmm, so Takara wanted the MPG trainbots to appeal not just to Transformers fans but also train model collectors. I wonder how the lack of articulated trucks/bogies affect whether they collect these trainbots. I can only assume that articulated bogies are a necessary feature for HO gauge models since they have to run over curved tracks.

The cross-compatibility with model railway tracks actually originates from Diaclone; hence why the Diaclone Train Robo and G1 Trainbots are all N gauge (9mm) compatible. MPG has essentially just upsized this gimmick to HO gauge, cos otherwise they'd be tiny! The G1 Trainbots are pretty small too - at 8.5cm they're the same size as G1 Powerglide.

If you look at this Diaclone Train Robo commercial, we can see the trains going around curves and then running on straight tracks. But I think that the trains going around the curved tracks may not be the actual Train Robos, but just regular model trains. Because they lack the panel lines and you can see clear windows with lighting on the inside, which the Diaclone Train Robos just don't have. They're solid windows; some of which rely on stickers for detail. In the last 10 seconds of the ad, you can see the actual Train Robo toys, but they're all running on straight tracks.

In this Transformers Trainbots commercial, we can see Getsuei going around a curved piece of track. And this is definitely the Getsuei toy, not a substitute model train, because you can see the plastic windows and even the robot feet protruding from the back of the roof. And that's not an insignificant curve either; certainly sharper than the really mild HO curve that I tested my MPG01 on yesterday. This makes me more hopeful that MPG01 might be able to negotiate a curved track without derailing, but I won't know for sure until I've tested it out. My HO track pieces will arrive at the end of this month or early next month. But the Diaclone Train Robo and G1 Trainbots all only come with straight plastic track pieces; none of them ever came with curved track pieces. And similarly, MPG01 only comes with two straight track pieces, and I suspect that the others will too.

[Paulbot]

Does anyone here know how to pronounce his name in Japanese? I’m curious about how to pronounce his name correctly. The way I thought is different to how Westerners have been saying it in reviews. Is is three syllables “Sho-u-Ki” or two “shoe-key”?

[Butcher31]

I'm enjoying this discussion immensely. And thank you GoktimusPrime for doing the experiments. That's pretty exciting to be able to use regular train tracks from a hobby store. They're a clever bunch at Takara.

I never had the original toys and haven't gotten around to watching the DVDs of the Japanese cartoons, so I have no emotional connection with the characters whatsoever, but I'm still very excited about getting this set. Even without the combiner aspect, the thought of having a series of thin, to-scale trains that turn into beefy robots is very cool. And so far, the three we've seen all look great. Can't wait.

[Tha_Phantom]

Does anyone here know how to pronounce his name in Japanese? I’m curious about how to pronounce his name correctly. The way I thought is different to how Westerners have been saying it in reviews. Is is three syllables “Sho-u-Ki” or two “shoe-key”?

I believe it's "shoe-key" or "show-key"