Plarail ES Series

Tokyo Toy Show 2022 is in full swing and Tomy's big announcement Plarail-wise is the introduction of the new ES series of trains.



Am I the only one completely baffled as to what void this fills in the lineup? They're marketing these as little Billy's first Plarail train at a cheaper price than the standard line up but I don't find any way that standard Plarail isn't beginner friendly and the price difference isn't huge. They also look like they use a unique chassis so they're not compatible with any of the "gimmick" chassis (shuttle, speed change) that they've released over the past few years. I think this is just gonna confuse Parents more than anything but what do you think?

[Super]

Thanks for the heads up on the Tokyo Toy Show T-Fanz. Is this the first one since the Wuhan Virus stopped the world?

I am as baffled as you are about these ES trains

ES Series is a "light" version of S. For example, the E7 Shinkansen Kagayaki (the one with the blue roof):
- S Series (2860 JPY): two-speed-train, lights ("equipped with high power light")
- ES Series (2000 JPY): shorter (middle car is very short), 1 speed, no lights, pantograph not painted, some stickers to apply.

That's right, it's not entirely clear what gap the ES series fills in the lineup, but they've recently had products that target the youngest groups (under 3), so this is probably another attempt to reach those goals. It remains to be seen how successful they will be in this, because if we take the example above, it is questionable why a younger child would not care if the train has lights. On the contrary, I think kids will want that slightly more expensive train that has lights! 😁

I can't think of any reason why I would want to buy any of these, unless I were to speculate that they could be discontinued sooner rather than later and thus become collectors' items in the future. Nevertheless, I think I'll pass.

[Super]

Maybe they are running out of idea's for the regular line.....they should contact me as I have dozens for them 😁😊😎😉

I don't understand what's so special here... why would you want a shorter train than the already very short trains we have at the moment

[Super]

And, if you look at the last image from T-Fanz above...its really NOT THAT much shorter which brings up the question why? Are the engines (front & rear) nearly the same length and the coach really shorter? This is another thing that I wish I was in the company meeting where someone pitched this idea to hear what that discussion was like and what the criteria was that moved it forward to production.

I am only sorry that, with each new series, as now the SE series, the same trains always appear.  I know they are insanely popular, but how many versions of Hayabusa shinkansen are there now? 🙄

The train locomotive on the box looks like a US locomotive to me. GE-EMD maybe?

The train locomotive on the box looks like a US locomotive to me. GE-EMD maybe?

News of this one came out at the end of 2021, discussion following on from here:

https://blueplastictracks.com/showthread...6#pid58706