Soul of Chogokin Gx-115 Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa
As usual, almost every Soul of Chogokin release now comes with an outer plastic bag.
Story
After a series of devastating attacks by the ancient Kitoralsus race, humanity forms a covert task force known as the Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute (SUEI) to defend against future invasions. Their bold solution: advanced bullet trains engineered to transform into powerful combat machines. Yet despite their groundbreaking technology, SUEI struggles to find a pilot capable of synchronizing with the mecha’s complex systems.
Everything changes when grade schooler Hayato Hayasugi stumbles upon his father’s classified work with SUEI. To everyone’s surprise, Hayato possesses a rare compatibility with the E5 Hayabusa unit. Risking his life time and again, Hayato is determined to protect his friends and family by continuing to pilot the Shinkalion.
Background
The series is actually the result of Takara Tomy trying to revive their Tomica Plarail Hyper series toyline, which featured model kits of trains running on Takara Tomy’s patented rail system. The line was faltering back in 2013 and so they hired several experts from the Japan Railways Group for a new project that would inject life back into the toyline.
This all culminated in the first batch of Shinkalion toys being released in 2015. This was followed by an animated cartoon, “Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion The Animation”, which launched in 2018. The successful TV show would then be followed up by the sequels Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion Z and Shinkalion: Change the World.
Shinkansen E5 Hayabusa front end car
Shinkansen E5 Hayabusa rear end car
There’s a pair of connector tabs that you can flip out on the front car so you can combine both halves.
Display base
The set comes with a display base that mirrors a Shinkansen train platform.
You can load the Shinkansen E5 Hayabusa front and end cars onto the display base.
Ultra Evolution Speed Reached!
Change Shinkalion!
Just like in the Anime, you can open the covers on the nose couplings to connect the ends of the cars, recreating the start of the transformation sequence as it’s shown in the Anime.
Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa
Created in secret by the Shinkansen Ultra Evolution Institute, the Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa is the first Shinkalion that could successfully pull off its transformation, mostly due to its pilot, Hayato Hayasugi, and his love of bullet trains. This would eventually lead to more Shinkalions being made and produced, piloted by special dedicated youngsters who are ready to save the day.
By reaching speeds of up to 1225 km/h the E5 Hayabusa can begin its transformation.
The paint job is really nice on this figrue. I like it!
Despite the figure’s complex transformation, it’s really very poseable! There’s some really impressive engineering going on here.
To get more range of articulation for the ankles, just pull them out to get more clearance.
After episode 11, the E5 Hayabusa was given additional wings to its design. While the unit could still not fly independently, the wings did provide it with additional height when it came to jumps when in battle.
Turnstile Sword
-Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa’s main weapon, a sword appears immediately in the unit’s hands once it finishes its transformation sequence. When activated as a deathblow attack, the Turnstile Sword can generate energy barriers in the form of a ticket gate around the enemy, which then closes to trap the enemy in before the Hayabusa delivers a powerful charging slash to finish the enemy off.
A part of me wishes the handle was a bit skinnier so that the E5 can grip it completely. The sword stays connected to the figure’s hand thanks to a peg on the handle.
Grand Cross
Another attack unique to the E5 Hayabusa is the Grand Cross. A powerful beam of energy fired from the cannon in its chest. The cannon is normally concealed by its nose coupling cover. It is sometimes used as a finisher in place of the Turnstile Sword on some occassions.
Display base part 2
The display base arm features several various adjustable locking components. Pretty cool.
An adapter plug is required to plug in the E5 Hayabusa.
The Good
-Shinkalion E5 Hayabusa front end car weighs roughly 193 grams, while the rear car weighs 270 grams.
-Both trains are roughly 10.5 inches long.
-Shinkalion weighs 464 Grams and stands roughly 10 inches tall:
-Diecast parts include:
–Main joints
–Internal parts of the figure
–Train wheels
-Display base is included. We don’t get those all the time nowadays with this line.
-Impressive complex engineering. It’s really something to see and handle.
-Highly poseable figure even with the complex transformation.
-Beautiful paint details really make the figure pop out on a display shelf.
-Excellent proportions. It’s like the mech stepped right out of the TV.
The Bad
-Lack of accessories. While the Shinkalion only does come with its Turnstile Sword, I would’ve loved to have gotten some effects parts for the sword or the Grand Cross just to give the set an extra bang for the buck.
-No nameplate for the display base
-Complex engineering… depending on how you view it, this can be a turn off for some folks. I can honestly say this is by far the most complicated transforming unit in the SOC line by far. Popular Japanese Youtube review Wotafa had to make a reverse transformation video so folks can figure out how to change the E5 Hayabusa back into train mode. It’s a good thing he did, otherwise I think I would’ve had some real trouble transforming it back by myself.
-Some parts swapping is needed for the transformation. While not a real dealbreaker, it is a bit of a cheat.
-Despite all the complex transforming, we do still get a lot of kibble on the legs. But do note that this is intentional, as this is how the robot looked in the cartoon.
-No storage for the Turnstile Sword to go when in Shinkansen mode.
The Ugly
No QC issues for my copy thankfully.
If you’re struggling with the transformation, I recommend checking out Japanese Youtuber Wotafa’s review and guide for this release. He has a review which shows the transformation into robot mode, and a separate video guide on how to change the toy back into train mode.
Overall, pretty good. The paint applications are very, very nice and does add a lot of shelf presence for the toy. There’s also a decent amount of heft to it when fully formed.
While it does look great in both modes, transforming it is a real challenge, particularly if you’re not accustomed to “Fans Toys style” level of complex transformations. I really recommend using video guides to help out as you will get lost or miss a step when transforming this thing.
I guess my only real complaint would be the lack of effects parts to make the figure’s accessories more interesting than just a sword and a stand.
Funfact: The Shinkalion series features a whole lot of robots in the show. All featuring the same base robot body, just with different colors, heads and weapons, sort of like the Evangelion units. These units are piloted by different young heroes. I think I counted 13 variations for the mainstays, plus almost 10 more for various “upgraded” versions and other variations of the same base robot piloted by the series’ big bads at the end.
With that, I suppose Bandai can choose to release all 20+ variations of the Shinkalion mecha in the SOC line just to boost the Gx release numbers. But I really hope they don’t. That would be insanely brutal on everyone’s wallet.
Funfact 2: Shinji Ikari from Evangelion makes a guest appearance in a special crossover episode. He actually pilots his own EVA-themed Shinkalion unit into battle to save the day.
Lol… Shinji actually taking initiative, pretty wild. The show even plays the Evangelion theme and battle theme too. Try checking out the clips on Youtube.
Gold
