Imaginarium - 70 Piece Remote Control Trainyard Set

Toy R US in Canada finally has this item on sale. Regular price in Canadian Dollar is $49.99. I got it for $37.47 plus tax.
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As you can see, it comes with a remote control engine. It uses 5 triple AAA batteries. Like the knockoff Tomy/Trackmaster/Plarail engines, the wheels cannot turn until you turn the engine on.

The engine has a little orange light on. The remote control is very easy to operate. It has 3 buttons (go forward, go backward and stop).
In terms of power, this little engine is pretty powerful. It was able to pull 3 cars up a tomy slope track.

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The Thing I don't like about the engine is the battery compartment. As an adult I can't even put out the battery compartment without the assistance of a screw driver. See picture below.



I find the battery compartment a bit fragile as well. The spring coil may break or damage if you constantly yanking in and out. The sales associate said that If I was willing to pay another $6.99, I would get one year warranty. It will fully replace the entire package in the even the engine breaks down.

I tested the tracks comes with the package to the Tomy tracks, to my surprise, they are perfect match!!!!



However, they don't connect well with the knock off blue plastic tracks. Its tighter fit but it still works. I was also able to connect the tracks to trackmaster (1st generation) using the trackmaster/tomy track adaptor.

I am not surprise to find out that the coupling this train series is not compatible to Tomy/Plarail/Trackmaster trains. However, they can be easily converted to Tomy/Plarail/Trackmaster series.



All you need is a coupling set from 1st Generation Emily, Murdorch, breakdown van or Molly (just to name a few) and a screw driver.



You have to unscrew the plate underneath the train. Be careful not to lose the screws as you need to screw the screws back in after the conversion. Once you unscrew the plate it will look something like this.



All you have to do is to remove the black coupler and replace it with a trackmaster coupler.



Once you are done. You screw the bottom plate, you are ready to go. See video below.




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Verdict: Overall it is a nice set. I would give it a 8 out of 10 for what I get in terms of value. I don't like the design of the battery compartment. Another thing I don't like this set is the height on certain rolling stock and the engine. It cannot fit inside certain stations. If Toy R US releases any more sets I will definitely consider to buy more.

This set is getting more popular. As I first went to Toy R Us store few weeks ago, there were plenty. When I went back, I got the last set. I hope Imaginarium will create more trains in the form of coaches.