Plarail S-37 Osaka Metro Chuo Line 400 srs - Factory Error

The S-37 Osaka Metro Chuo Line Series 400, which went on sale on June 22nd, should have had the bands around the doors of the middle car painted blue/green/green/blue, but in the first release they were blue/green/green/green. On the day of release, both Osaka Metro and Takara Tomy announced that they would replace the intermediate cars for anyone who applied.

https://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/pl...aMetro.pdf

It was expected that shipment of the replacements would be late Autumn / Fall of 2023, but in fact they've been arriving in the last few days, and at the same time S-37 is going out-of-stock on mail-order sites.  It remains to be seen whether the corrected version will appear as a second production, or whether that's the end of it. In either case the first run will likely become a collector's item in the future.

[Super]

Interesting Dr Chris. I sometimes wonder how errors like these aren't picked up earlier in production. Who signs off on the go ahead for production after all is checked out okay.

I regret not getting this when it was initially released (or pre-order). Usually I pre-order it and get certain plarail immediately but this one I hesitated as I ended pre-ordering for Tomix and KATO N Gauge trains instead. In hindsight, it was quite affordable and now the error versions are shooting up in price.

I did order one, but I ended up ordering from an HK store versus Japan because I was waiting for Amazon Japan to restock and even to this day, nada. Not sure which version I will be getting from HK, as I usually don't order my Plarail from outside of Japan. Fortunately, I was able to get the new Spacia which was also hard to get.

[Super]

Now I see the problem

Chrisjo is on another echelon of collector lol. I'm new here so Super, if you're the same, then you guys are true aficionados. I'm just a regular collector of Trackmaster/TOMY Tomica. It's amazing trying to keep up with everyone here (old & new) on subject matters.

For those who still want the error version, I recommend getting it from Asian countries right now because I don't think we are going to see anymore made.



According to Plarail Museum in Japan, those who requested replacements of the middle car received them around August 3rd but at the same time, there were letters of "end of sale" on mail order sites. He is not sure if its a temporary suspension or it will be out of print after a month and a half. 

I ordered the error version a few weeks ago from a Hong Kong shop (packaging is Japan) on Ebay (buymarket_de - who I have ordered from before, took about 17 days to arrive) and he does have 4 more left if you really want it ($36.55 with free shipping). 

We'll see if Takara Tomy will ever release it.

Thank you KNDYNT2099, I just bought one!

Here's the link:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/334967553471...BMnuPXuMVi

There's two left!

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Hypothetically, if this Plarail train doesn't get re-released with the correct style middle car, wouldn't the replacement car be rarer than the error car. As less people would apply for replacements than what was originally produced. Now I'm on the hunt for the correct middle car!

Hope everyone got the June 2023 release of the S-37 in time because they never released the S-37 June version again after the error and are releasing a "cross seat vehicle specification" instead with the gray doors.



Plarail Museum said, "It has been confirmed that the 'S-37 Osaka Metro Chuo Line 400 Series' has been deleted from the catalog distribute din October 2023 and it has been confirmed that it is officially out of print".

So, what are these cross seats?  The no. 4 car started introducing cross seats that look like this.  Definitely not for people who want a good view.  But for those who are wanting to sit in a single seat and people not standing in front of you, now they will be standing on the side of you.  It's an interesting concept for metro subway vehicles to offer this type of seating.

Plarail has quite a lot of trouble releasing this train huh

[Super]

Wouldn't the "Cross Seat" version sit few riders as it seems that the other way (a long bench seat) would accommodate more. That being said, I would definitely like sitting in these Cross seats as additionally not having people standing in front of you, you would not have someone sitting shoulder to shoulder on either side of you.