fall inside a hole
Plarail Town (1987)
In 1987 Tomy released a small series of four constructible buildings with studded baseplates similar to LEGO and other building toys and small accessories with simply-articulated figures as Plarail Town (プラレールタウン) as a series of Plarail accessories. The main series disappeared around 1989 with some other accessories introduced in the mid to late 80s gaining studded surfaces and using the character designs. The two other buildings in the series, a book shop and a house which both use a less wide but more deep can be seen in the Plarail Museum.
Articulated dolls reappeared in Plarail in the Doll Play series, with PlaKids carrying on the concept since the early 2000s.
(1) Hamburger Shop
The first in the numbered quadruple of buildings in Plarail Town is the Hamburger Shop (ハンバーガーショップ).
Like the other buildings, the set includes the studded plastic base, the building itself, two articulated dolls, two railings, and a flowering plant. The hamburger stand has a separate roof and sign that insert into the top.
My example has white and lighter-blue-shirted figures, the bodies of which seem to have yellowed slightly, and white flowers.
I particularly like the small railing pieces in this set because they can form a line in front of the shop. The studded bases are compatible with LEGO bricks, and you can insert the building the other way around if you want. The building is a tight fit, but I think that is because it has probably shrunk slightly over time.
(2) Flower Shop
The second in the Plarail Town series was the number 2 Flower Shop (フラワーショップ).
The flower shop has a larger white main building with a blue roof and sign piece. Either because it has shrunk slightly over time or because it has never been used, the base of my shop does not want to fit fully over the studded base.
Small bags contain two Plarail Town railings and a flower piece with four breakaway flowers - these were included in different colors with all the buildings - as well as two articulated dolls.
Released alongside this series were small figures that resembled the Family Dolls that had poseable arms with hands that were rounded similar to Lego-style figures. From what I can tell, it seems to vary if the dolls included match the ones on the box.
Plarail Town-adjacent and "studded" accessories
Starting in 1985 Tomy began using studs to hold signs on railroad crossings and other accessories, with some accessories using the design of people seen on the Plarail Town buildings. In the era of PlaKids a similar practice of making graphics resemble the figures and including places to sit and stand them reappeared.
| Year | Name | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | J-20 Rail Road Crossing | First railroad crossing with stud crossing signs |
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| 1987 |
J-17 New Railroad Crossing | Iconic red Plarail crossing with certainly the most common use of stud-connecting signs |
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| 1987 | J-27 Chatting Station | Talking station with studded base and Plarail Town-style people |
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| 1988 | J-29 Horn Rail | Optionally elevated electronic horn rail with bridge sides and a few studded surfaces |
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| 1989 | J-32 Deluxe Railroad Crossing with Sound | Railroad crossing with large signs and ringing bell with studded surfaces |
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| 1990 | Remote Control Point Rail system | Left and right remote control points with studs on their battery compartments |
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| 1990 | R-19 Automatic Turnout Rail | Automatically switching turnout rail with studded sign platform - actually, the studs were removed in the modern version of the tooling |
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I quite like the design of the little people on the side of the buildings... Its a bit of a pity the buildings didn't show up more, and that there weren't more of them. The later 80s was a big time for Plarail with products like Plarail Town, Plaroad, and, of course, the new power gearbox system.
The original version of the tooling of the roofs for the Panel Station system also include a two by two stud pattern, although these were removed from the mold circa 1990.
Around 1988 Tomy began selling the Tomy Train series of trains and accessories in Europe and North America, selling it into the mid 1990s with LEGO-compatible studs on many pieces.
Recently, Tomy has released a new series of Plarail and Tomica compatible blocks... I have a suspicion they probably won't last too long. Apparently, they are not LEGO-compatible.