Toy Review - GETSUEI (Masterpiece)
TRAINBOT GETSUEI (say "gets-soo-ay")
Series - Masterpiece
Size/class - N/A
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - MPG-02
Released here - N/A (Japan, late September 2022)
Approximate Retail Price - 17600JPY ($188)
Approximate Size - 17cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Sub-Group - Trainbot
Alt-mode - EF65-1000 electric locomotive
Main Features/Gimmicks - narrow HO/TT scale (12mm gauge) train mode, combines with fellow MP Trainbots to form Raiden
Main Colours - navy blue with pale yellow highlights
Main Accessories - Night Laser gun, x2 railway track parts, flight stand connector, x2 pantographs
In box
Train mode
High angle view
Comparison with G1
Front view
Close-up of coupling
Coupled with Shouki, front view
Rear view (or front if moving in reverse)
High angle and side view
L: Shouki's track parts, R: Getsuei's track parts
I was today years old when I learnt that there are different gauge widths within the HO scale (1:87). IRL, Japanese bullet trains run on 1.435m gauge tracks, which is the most commonly used track gauge in the world. It is the most common gauge in Australia, except in Queensland where most tracks are the narrower 1.067m gauge. The narrow gauge is also most commonly used in Japan; the high speeds achieved by bullet trains require them to run on wider 1.435m gauge tracks.
As such, the track parts that come with Getsuei are much smaller than the ones that come with Shouki. They have a 12mm gauge instead of 16.5mm as with Shouki's tracks. Incidentally, the 12mm gauge is the same as the TT gauge used on model railways in the U.S. and U.K. (I believe Australia uses British model railway scales).
The result is that the tracks aren't cross compatible. Shouki cannot fit on Getsuei's tracks or vice versa, which makes sense given that these trains run on different track gauges in real life. This does mean that their combined train form cannot roll across shared track parts, even though the track parts can all interconnect.
Flying train
Robot mode
Comparison with G1
Comparing faces
Another action pose
Medium close up w/ flash
w/ MP Shouki in robot mode
OVERALL
Getsuei's transformation feels more complex and fiddlier than Shouki's, although I really do like how the trucks are able to separate and move as part of the transformation instead of being solid blocks like on Shouki. The backpack is much more solid than Shouki's and has a more elegant transformation. The lower legs are bulkier than Shouki's, but I suppose it's because the G1 model has thinner legs and so the bulk ended up as kibble on the back of the lower legs (whereas the chunkier lower legs on G1 Shouki's design allows the MP toy to incorporate more train parts and minimise kibble better). It should also be pointed out that this is a 1:87 scale toy based on a smaller train than Shouki's in real life. There is a lot of blue happening on this toy which does make it look kinda bland, but of course, it is completely G1 accurate which is the whole point of Masterpiece, so I don't really count this as a weakness of this toy.
As with Shouki, I have not transformed Getsuei into his Raiden component mode yet (that's something that I won't do until I've completed the set). On the whole, it is a fine addition to the Masterpiece Gestalt series and is a perfectly cromulent figure in its own right.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by dirge
I have the G1 (well, Diaclone) Trainbots, but I don't have the accessories* to combine them as Raiden; so MP Raiden will be my first Raiden. 
)
