MIDNIGHT EXPRESS

VEHICLE MODE:
Like the rest of the bullet train team, and as the name suggests, Midnight Express is a bullet train (didn't see that one coming, did you?) although unlike his comrades he appears to be a two storey version; if you look at his vehicle mode you can see two rows of windows along the top and bottom. The doors, which have been engraved and had their windows painted in the same metallic blue, are either really big or I'm making the whole two-storey thing up. Like the other bullet trains he has a lot of detail added in this mode, such as the hatches and access panels on the lower sides and details carved in along the length of the train. His roof is covered with detail like vents and stripes the whole way down, there are two yellow stripes on the back of the roof and a great big Autobot symbol on the front. Unlike his passenger windows the cabin window and headlights have been painted with a flat grey colour that I didn't notice until just now (I've had the toy for some months) so it doesn't detract from the toys aesthetic all that much.

Midnight's overall colour scheme is white and blue with yellow detailing. His entire roof section and the top of his body is white, his lower half and undercarriage is blue with yellow and white detail on the underside, and the two sections are separated with a thin yellow line. on the rear end the words "MAX Cybertron" are written above and on the yellow line in blue.

The interesting thing about Midnight Express is that his weapon can be pulled apart and hidden in his vehicle mode; The missile and barrel are inserted in the round gap at the train's rear, forming the link to drag his fellow trains around, while the body of the weapon tucks away nicely underneath the roof panel at the back. Midnight only really rolls well on hard and flat surfaces like wood; he gets stuck in between tile and tends to derail himself on linoleum, on carpet he just refuses to budge. This isn't the most convincing alternate mode of the bullet train team but it's still a nice looking toy.

TRANSFORMATION (ROBOT MODE):
To start off with, take the barrel and missile of the missile launcher out of the rear of the vehicle. Secondly, pull the front forward and the rear backward to separate them from the middle, turn the roof panels up a little to reveal the arms and give the legs room to move, fold the leg sections backward and rotate down, on the right leg, pull the cabin section down and turn it around, fold it up to form Midnight's foot, fold down the wheels and spin them around as a heel support. On the left leg, fold down the wheels and then pull the rear section out, rotate the section around 180º and flip out the other foot. Hold both legs and pull to extend the pelvis then fold down the panel on his torso. push the back of the head panel in and rotate the section around, lift the head up and straighten it. Extend the arms, take the body of the gun out from the left shoulder wing or whatever it is, flip out the handle, attach the barrel then the missile and place in either hand.

ROBOT MODE:
In Robot mode Midnight Express is the tallest of the bullet train team thanks to his enormous legs. His colour scheme doesn't change dramatically though some grey and black is added and blue is more prominent on his legs, arms and head. My Midnight has two right hands - I'm not sure if that's a problem with the mould or if it's just mine - but other than that he's a nice looking robot.

Midnight's head is styled after his vehicle mode, with the high cabin position detailed above his head and yellow lines sweeping back against the red of his head, his face is grey with pink eyes and is appropriately young looking to match his biography. His legs are grey at the top with yellow joints, black knee guards and blue shins. There is some white and yellow detailing on his lower leg that - if you believe the show - are lights of some sort, though the moulded detail makes them look more like vents or something. his arms are grey at the top as well, with yellow joints and blue lower arms and hands. Inside the panel his chest is grey with blue outlines and yellow detailing that looks like it's supposed to represent abdominal muscles. Like his vehicle mode there is quite a lot of moulded detail on this guy, a lot of attention was payed to his legs and chest in particular, and the underside of his shoulder wing sword bits is covered with intricate detail.

Since Midnight Express makes up the legs and pelvis of Rail Racer his upper legs are not ball jointed, instead they are on the same long wearing joints used for Ultra Magnus' upper legs to hold the extra weight of his companions standing on his shoulders. He also has swivel and hinge joints at his knee, and one swivel joint on his left ankle. his head is on a ball joint as are his shoulders, and his elbows are hinge joints, giving Midnight 13 points of movement overall. He's relatively well balanced considering the majority of his weight is his lower legs and those huge feet. He can stand quite well in all manner of ludicrous positions, though because of his proportions ludicrous is a good description of most poses for this guy. It's worth noting that the swivel joint on his knee gets loose extremely easily, while this isn't something to particularly worry about for Midnight himself, as rail racer they can turn and cause the gestalt to come crashing down, and like Ultra Magnus, his waist can become loose fairly easily, making it hard for him to stand, so be gentle. Also, as a warning, always remember to take the missile and gun barrel out of the rear of the train before you extend the left leg, it can get stuck in there and you have to take the leg apart to get it out - I speak as the voice of experience on this one...

Midnight is a good stand alone figure who I think has quite a lot of play value on his own, but the fact that he can combine with the other Railbots into the awesome gestalt Rail Racer is a major boon, especially since if you live in Australia you're going to have to order them from the states, and buying three as opposed to one will dull the sting of having to pay $60 AUD in shipping and handling. Overall he is recommended, but better if you have the others.