Tomy PLARAIL - New Releases, April and May 2009

S-11 N700 Shinkansen Sound Series
The popular N700 Shinkansen now has a sound! It makes announcements and train moving sounds, but requires 1 AA and 2 AAA batteries.
Thomas Colorful Magareru Set (Bending Rail Set)
This vibrant transporter Thomas rail set debuts in March. The set includes 1 Thomas Engine, 1 brown passenger car, 1 Sir Topham Hatt (PlaKid), 2 inner curve rails (R-03), 1 stop rail (R-08), 3 rainbow bending rails (R-23), 1 colorful drawbridge (J-05), 1 green block tunnel, and 1 small train station with 2 trees.

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50 Years of PLARAIL!

In 2009, Tomy Plarail celebrates its 50th birthday. Coincidentally, Namikaze Toys is located in Hawaii which is celebrating its 50th anniversary of Statehood! In honor of both, we've created the Hawaii Five-O Loop and share the details of the evolution of PLARAIL!

1959 - Tomy creates Plarail, its first trains were hand powered rolling plastic trains1961 - Tomy releases the first battery powered plastic train sets1970 - The first Plarail logo is released, followed by some redesigns until they reach the modern day version below

It was interesting to read that the signature blue rail has not changed much in 50 years. The first "tsuru tsuru" is literally smooth, "zara zara" is rough, and "giza giza" is jagged.The rail's turning radius was determined by the ちゃぶ台 ("chabudai" - once a popular low tea table). It was 470 mm across and completely contains one circle of Plarail track.

So, to celebrate, Tomy has released the 50th Anniversary Commemorative C-12 Steam Train and Arched Bridge Rail Set. That's a mouth full, but onto the pictures!!!
* all information and pictures gathered from Tomy's website

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New Designs: "Hawaii Five-O Loop"

The Namikaze Design Team is finally back after a fairly long hiatus. This layout features the rare hanging monorail extension set presented back in January. We're calling this track the "Hawaii Five-O Loop" for the 5 separate tracks created right here in Hawaii!
The trains running are Kintaro freight and cargo train (red), Rail Star with lights Shinkansen (grey), N700 with lights Shinkansen (white with blue), Odakyu 8000 Series commuter train (off white with blue stripe), and the EF66 direct current freight train (blue with beige). The lone monorail is the blue Resort Express which includes a picture of the Big Island (Hawaii) and dolphins :D!



Then we decided to add another recently acquired piece, the red U-turn Rail (R-10). This meant altering the top loop, but allowing 1 train to double back around the same way it came.

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