Electric Train and Battle Set

Kid! Get off the track! GET OFF THE TRACK OH MY GOD NO WHYYYYYYYY

The Electric Train and Battle Set is an HO-scale model train set manufactured by Tyco in 1985. The set includes a locomotive with a "Search Mode", a gondola with coal/"Proton Laser Cannon", a box car/"Weapon Center", and a caboose/"Hawkfighter", all in a matching silver paint scheme with a red stripe. The set additionally includes a number of static Autobot and Decepticon figurines, the buildings for a power plant, track, a plastic layout mat, and a power pack.

History

In the 1980s, Tyco released a number of licensed train sets, including a Transformers-themed set. Five licensed sets (Transformers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K., A-Team, and Rambo) were released, all of which used the same basic components and cars; one, the A-Team set, did have a different locomotive. The rest of the sets, released around the same time (1983-1986) used the same cars and engines, and in the case of the Transformers set, the same exact "map."

Many collectors attribute the component reuse to Tyco's financial troubles in the mid-1980s. At the time, the company was suffering from low sales and interest in trains, and they needed something to revitalize the market. The licensed trains were seen as a part of this, though Tyco didn't wish to spend a great deal of money. Thus, they reused as much as possible for each set, thereby saving on tooling and production costs. Cosmetically, the four main sets (excluding the A-Team one) were virtually identical; the Transformers train set did include a newly-designed caboose, however.

Early runs of the Transformers train often contain parts from the other sets, including (though not limited to) carriages, vinyl maps, soldiers, and even decals. This suggests that all of the licensed sets were being assembled on the same production line. The Transformers train set does still hold some value to train collectors, however, largely because it was only produced for three years.

Components

The main focus of the set was the transforming engine and cars and the small plastic generic robots that interacted with them.

Locomotive

Amazing!

The locomotive was a slightly modified working switch engine. It transformed into "search mode" by lifting a hinged panel on the front-left side of the diesel engine and raising a ball-and-socket mounted concave plank on top; the transformation did not hinder the operation of the engine in any way.

Gondola Car

Truly the pinnacle of 80's engineering.

The gondola car came with a plank that represented a pile of coal on one side and a non-firing "Proton Laser Cannon" on the other. The cannon was mounted on to the underside of the coal by a small peg which allowed it to swivel horizontally. Another hinge allowed it to raise vertically. Swiveling the cannon too far to one side or the other without weighing down the gondola car resulted in the car tipping. This gondola car is the exact same one used in the "M.A.S.K." set, and was unchanged save for color before being released with the Transformers set.

Box Car

This is every bit as awesome as it looks.

The box car unfolded into a "weapon center" in which the included figures could fit. Both sides were identical, except for the spot on top where a box with a concave dish mount could be affixed. The weapon center consisted of two overhangs and two boxes with window slats attached by hinges that allowed the boxes to swivel 180 degrees for a wide variety of configurations.

Caboose

Caboose is the only one with a proper robot mode. He turns into a "Hawkfighter". With eyes. And a beak.

The caboose transforms into a "Hawkfighter." The wheels at the front of the caboose fold down to allow the robot mode to continue rolling on the tracks while giving it a perched or launching appearance.

The cut of the stickers for the caboose only allow for them to be applied with the broad red stripe flanked by the two narrow black stripes on bottom, while the the stickers for the engine bearing the G1 "The Trans Formers More Than Meets The Eye" slogan is only right-side up if positioned with the broad red stripe on the top.

Robots

File:Tyco H.K Robots.JPG

The non-transforming "Transformer" figures consist of six distinct molds in metallic silver (Autobots) and metallic blue (Decepticons), repeated multiple times in apparently semi-random quantities. The 1985 Tyco catalog asserts that each set was supposed to include 6 Autobot and 18 Decepticon figures.

Setting

The play mat depicted a small dam in a grassy and wooded area with a road and parking lot. The card-stock power station, plant, and two power line towers were meant to be placed around this, though a convincing layout that also left room for the standard oval-track layout was difficult to achieve.

Notes

• The version of the Electric Train and Battle Set packaging seen in the 1985 Tyco catalog describes the "Hawkfighter" as a "Battlestar Ship", despite the catalog text using the final name. Conversely, the catalog text inaccurately describes the locomotive's "Search Mode" as an "Early Warning Center".

External links

• Article on license-based Tyco trains at HO-Scaletrains.net
• 1985 Tyco catalog scans
• 1986 Tyco catalog scans