In 1980 Tomy released a lit version of the Super Rail 0 series Shinkansen with functioning headlights individually and in the small Super Rail Black Hikari with Headlights Set (前照灯付ひかり号セット).
The N-29 mark on the box signifies that this box was printed in 1980 or early 1981. In 1979 Tomy had released a Plarail Hikari with Light.
Quantity |
Item |
Photo |
---|---|---|
3
pieces |
Hikari with Headlights |
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2 | Straight Rail |
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8 | C Curve Rail |
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4 | Overhead wire holders |
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1 | Signal |
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2 | Reversing insert |
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The train in this set is an updated version of the Super Rail Hikari which was previously released as an individual three-car train with no light feature. The power car for this train is actually the middle car, which left the front car open for holding the light feature.
As the tooling for the front and rear sections are really the same, the chassis and body of the rear car have the remnants of the light feature in the tooling. Actually, if you had two lit trains, and swapped the coupling out on one of the front cars, you could have lights on both ends of the train... The coupling is different from most other Super Rail vehicles, with pinhole couplings that slot in together to form a rigid connection.
The set is pretty simple, with the only accessories being four wire holders, a semaphore signal that is not used on any of the Shinkansen lines, and two reversing plates. The track makes a small oval with the tightest curves available. Obviously it is a basic set, but I think it works well to add a Hikari with lights to a Super Rail collection.