Railspike (RID)

This article is about the Robots in Disguise Autobot. For the Universe Micromaster Railbot, see Railspike (Universe).

Railspike is an Autobot from the Robots in Disguise continuity family.

If I had a hammer...

Railspike is the leader of Team Bullet Train, a trio of Autobots who patrol the railways. An experienced and battle-tested veteran, he is often frustrated by his younger teammates and tries to set a good example for them.

Japanese name: J-Five

Fiction

Robots in Disguise cartoon

Voice actor: Mike Reynolds (English), Shōji Izumi (Japanese)

Don't you just love being in control? *click*

When Team Bullet Train was called in to help protect the Linear RFG, Railspike was able to contact Koji Onishi on board the advanced train to let him know the Autobots were there to help. His plan for the team to link up and slow the Linear RFG with their brakes saved the train from plunging over a bridge which the Predacons had blown up. Once the train was safe, the team merged into Rail Racer to see off the Predacons. Bullet Train to the Rescue

The team was called into Metro City to thwart another attack on the part of Megatron and his Predacons. Negotiating the city streets was not easy for the large Bullet Trains, and at one point Railspike had to steer Midnight Express back on course. In battle against the Predacons, he demonstrated the benefit of his experience by igniting Gas Skunk's acid breath, causing chaos in the opposition ranks. Eventually the team merged into Rail Racer and chased the Predacons off. Although as it turned out, the attack was a diversion while Sky-Byte investigated some ruins. The Secret of the Ruins

Detailed to protect the aging steam engine "Grandpa" from the Predacons, Railspike was bemused by Midnight Express insisting that the train was in some way alive. The team successfully got Grandpa safely to his destination, but the steam train was promptly hijacked by the Predacons. Despite Railspike's warnings, Midnight Express pursued them and ultimately saved the train. Secret Weapon: D-5

Team Bullet Train helped to try to track down Skid-Z after the Autobot scanned a racing car and was possessed by an urge to engage in races. They entered the Great Race, but were halted partway by a rock-slide they were unable to pass. Skid Z's Choice

He who smelt it dealt it.

Called in to help scare the Predacons away from the Cave of the Dragon, Railspike provided the front end of a dragon while Rapid Run providing the rear end. After firing on the Predacons (and Autobots, since Railspike realised it would look suspicious otherwise), the pair returned to the cave to let Optimus Prime and Midnight Express take over as the dragon's statue "robot mode". The Ultimate Robot Warrior

After practising their link-up manoeuvre, Team Bullet Train returned to the Autobot base to review footage of previous adventures in an attempt to find the Predacon base. Hope for the Future After the creation of the Decepticons by Megatron, the team was sent to Sherman Dam, where they combined into Rail Racer and fought Ruination. Commandos They would subsequently spend a lot of time using the Global Space Bridge to arrive at locations under attack from the Decepticons and form Rail Racer to fight the enemy off.

The Autobots' ability to get to remote locations quickly did not go unnoticed by the Decepticons, who managed to sabotage the space bridge, depositing Team Bullet Train on a busy motorway. Railspike subsequently had to restrain Rapid Run from coming to blows with Build Team leader Wedge, whom the team initially blamed for the problems. A second attempt to use the space bridge deposited Railspike firstly in a shopping mall, and then on the side of a hill. Once the space bridge was repaired, the three bullet trains arrived at the North Energy Research Facility and prepared to form Rail Racer. They were stopped by Wedge, who asked them to let the Build Team defeat Megatron as a matter of honour. Landfill

So I grabbed him by the ball bearings and I said...

On another occasion, the team formed Rail Racer to prevent the Decepticons stealing some energy, and kept Ruination busy while the Build Team recovered the stolen energy. A Test of Metal They were also sent looking for the Autobot Brothers, who had disappeared while tracking Ultra Magnus, a recent arrival to Earth. They were approached by Magnus himself, who informed them that Optimus was being led into a trap, and the three trains rushed to help the Autobot leader. The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus

When the Autobots were on the verge of locating Fortress Maximus, Team Bullet Train were dispatched to the location under Metro City to protect the Build Team. Railspike and Rapid Run battled Ro-Tor and Movor in the confined space until Ultra Magnus showed up to lend a hand. Magnus accidentally flooded the subway, and the two trains were swept away in the resulting torrent. Reunited with Midnight Express, they arrived in the cavern where Maximus was located and formed Rail Racer to defend the giant robot from the Decepticons, and later tried to draw them away from where the Build Team were trying to hide Maximus. Fortress Maximus Koji Gets His Wish

Team Bullet Train also attempted to defend Maximus from the Decepticons once his location was exposed. Scourge successfully managed to activate Maximus, but proved unable to control him. Maximus Emerges When Scourge then magnified the human portion of his bio-signature in another attempt to control Maximus, Team Bullet Train was sent into the desert with Build Team and a thousand children to halt the titan. The Human Element

Gathering at a predetermined location, the Bullet Trains and the rest of the Autobots ambushed the Decepticon forces. The team combined into Rail Racer to fight Galvatron's Megastar, but the battle station was eventually felled by Fortress Maximus. Surprise Attack! After Galvatron used cyber-bats to gain control of the world's children, the Autobots were forced to retreat into the space bridge and were followed by the Decepticons. Galvatron ruptured the tunnel during the battle which followed, flooding it with molten lava which the Autobots were only narrowly able to escape. They were prompt seized by a powered-up Galvatron. Galvatron's Revenge Team Bullet Train reformed Rail Racer in order to protect Optimus Prime, and were subsequently held in a paralysed state by Galvatron until the Decepticon leader's defeat at the hands of Omega Prime. The Final Battle

Toys

Robots in Disguise

• Railspike (Mega, 2000/2001)
  • Japanese ID number: C-012
  • Accessories: Light-up cannon

I AM the Starlight!

Railspike transforms into a Nozomi 500 bullet train. In this form, he can link up with the other Bullet Trains to form one long locomotive. In robot mode, his train link-section forms an electronic light-up (non-firing) blaster. He can also form the torso and arms to the team's combined form Rail Racer.

There are significant differences between the Takara and Hasbro versions of Railspike. The Takara version has several portions cast in transparent plastic to give him clear windows, requiring extensive paint applications to blend in.

The Hasbro version released in 2001 replaced the transparent plastics with opaques to cut back on the number of needed paint applications. An Autobot insignia was also added to the left side of the train mode, and the barrel of his gun was lengthened for unknown reasons. Early versions of the toy had unpainted windows, but later runs added metallic blue paint to them.

• JRX (Multi-pack, 2000)
  • Japanese ID number: C-015

All three members of Team Bullet Train --J-Five, J-Four and J-Seven-- were also available in a complete box set in Japan.

Trivia

• Railspike was portrayed slightly differently in the two different versions of the cartoon. Though both were rather polite, Railspike was portrayed as being much older and gruffer than J-Five.

• Railspike's voice is pretty much identical to Gennai from Digimon, both of which were played by the same voice actor. This is not unusual in RID.

• The Takara versions of the Bullet Trains appear to have had a particularly bad run of quality control regarding the paint applications, with many having sloppily-applied decos. While the individually-packaged Bullet Trains came in clear-window packages to see the toys, the box set was completely windowless, so it was kind of a crap shoot as to the quality of paint you got with the set.

• Reportedly, the Bullet Trains, which were developed with Takara's very flexible pricing structure, really did not fit into Hasbro's more rigid existing price-points, budget-wise. They cost too much to be sold as Deluxes, but weren't really up to Mega-costs.

External links

• Railspike at TFU.info