Strange Buyee finds

Hey everyone,

While scrolling through buyee, I found some items that someone was selling which I hadn't seen before.

First, there's this red and black 500 series Shinkansen. I'm not sure if this is a custom or not.


Secondly, there's this "JEX 007" tail car. Interestingly, it seems to have transparent wheels, like the L0 Shinkansen.


Lastly is this one. I have no idea what this is based on, if it even is based on anything. The same seller also has a listing for the same model, except the body is completely unpainted.



Please tell me if you know about these items in this thread. I'm very curious to know more. 

The Jex 007 are meant to be magnetic levitation or maglev trains. The direct translation of the common Japanese phrasing seems to be "linear motor" after the type of motor that maglev trains use. The wheels are transparent to represent that a real magnetic levitation train wouldn't have traditional wheels and as far as I know are all fitted with transparent wheels


The last train is also a "linear motor" train using the same tooling from a Pokemon Diablock set. It was discussed a few years ago here.




The all white version of the same linear motor train was distributed with stickers to decorate it. The regular three-car release with red chassis was introduced in 1999 and the yellow power and tail car were a 2000 Plarail Club exclusive giveaway

[Super]

Thank you Duck 😃

Thank you Duck! I did notice the all white one had sticker patterns on it, since the plastic had yellowed over time on all the spots that didn't have stickers on it.

Hey everyone,

Here's another one I found.


The description reads:

"Plarail B20 10

B20 type 10
limited edition

This is a limited edition Plarail that was previously sold at Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum. This
is a used item, so please refrain from purchasing if you are nervous. Operation　　
has been confirmed."

Anyone know about the rarity of this item? Is it a good price? I'm kinda thinking about getting it...

As it says, the B20 was released on July 20th 2003 during the event "Let's play with Plarail in Umekoji" which was held at the Umekoji Steam Engine Museum (now known as the Kyoto Railway Museum) from April 5th to October 26th of that year, along with the Yoshitune.

However, the B20 was subsequently available as a Plarail Expo exclusive item until at least 2006, so while it is certainly desirable it is not super rare.  For that price I think I'd be hoping to get one that looked a bit cleaner, and in its original box. I'm always suspicious of sellers who can't be bothered to make their goods look presentable before taking pictures, although I admit that I've bought a few gems that looked shocking but cleaned up nicely.

[Super]

Thanks Dr Chris

I didn't know that the B-20 was first released at the "Let's play with Plarail in Umekoji" event.
I believe that the B-20 may be considered rare if you are not from Japan or Asia as they can be found there but still hard to find. Very rare to see them listed in the States or UK I think. I would be very curious to know just exactly how many were released.

I agree Dr Chris with at least trying to clean up an item before trying to sell it. I would have to assume this seller is not into these trains or an enthusiast as no self respecting toy train person wouldn't at least have run a shop vac with brush over it which I am sure would have sucked up a lot of that dust/dirt, if not all. How hard would that be even if the seller didn't know anything about these? Can't image how dirty the insides are if the outside wasn't taken care of.

Thank you guys for the informative replies once again! I'll definitely be reconsidering my decision. Maybe if I find a cheaper one that's in better condition I'll buy it.

[Super]

If you are into searching the Japan Auctions I believe you can get a really good one for a lot cheaper than the one you posted possibly new in box or at least a used one on its box. Of course fees and shipping will add to the costs.

I did make sure to check for other listings of this item and this was the only one that was being sold seperately. The only other listings I could find were for the capsule Plarail version. There was this listing of a bulk lot of steam locomotives which had the B20 on Mercari, but the price is way too high for me.