H5 Hayabusa

The H5 Hayabusa is the fourth entry in the Shinkalion series, a line of PlaRail compatible transforming trains. Each toy is based on a real-world train that runs in Japan for JR Hokkaido.

In this case, the train is an H5 series manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It first went into service in October 2014, and features the colour scheme of “Tokiwa” (常盤) green for the upper body and “Hiun” (飛雲) white for the lower body, separated by a “Saika” (彩香) purple stripe intended to evoke images of lilac, lupin, and lavender flowers for which Hokkaido is famous. (wikipedia)

There are two versions of the toy available, but with good reason. The first release in the line was based on the E5 Hayabusa, which was the basis of the H5 Hayabusa. The E5 sports a blue-ish paint job, while the H5 has the teal color scheme. Because the real-world trains are essentially the same, TakaraTomy used the mold for both trains, just varying the colors.

Here’s a video for the E5, but like I said, basically the same toy.

Shinkalion H5 Hayabusa is available at HobbyLink Japan

The box is the same as the other boxes, but again with very cool artwork. In this case the box back has a little diagram that shows the line the train runs.

You get three train cars – two engines and a passenger car.

The seams on the front car are not great. There’s a bit of separation that ruins the illusion of a toy train. There’s no hiding the fact that this is a transformer.

Each car has standard PlaRail connectors that are compatible with other trains in the line.

Of course they connect together…

Here it is compared to a Tomica / PlaRail train.

The front and back cars combine by them connecting head-on. Two tabs connect and engage the spring loaded panels on the legs. In order to get the clearance you have to open the panels on the nose of the topmost car.

Press the button on the top most part of the chest to release the spring-loaded arms and head.

This all sounds good in theory, but in reality the gimmick does not work very well. The springs are weak and don’t do enough. In order to complete the transformation you have to spread out the legs, pull the panels down on the side, and flip down the outer panels.

There’s almost no articulation, aside from swivel shoulders and elbows.

The passenger car opens up to reveal a translucent orange weapon. Note the 5mm connection ports that cover the bed of the passenger car. The weapon plugs in for storage, but it unfolds for use. It consists of a fold-out blade and two side parts.

The side parts can be attached to the back of the wings, or on any of the multitude of ports. This actually really adds a lot of play value.

The toy is also compatible with some other trains in the line. The first six or so have the common combination system, so you can mix and match top and bottom halves. You can also combine all the weapon parts or connect them all over the figure.

These toys are just a lot of fun. For about 4,00 yen, they are a great deal.You can get yours at HobbyLink Japan