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


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Midnight Express is a member of Team Bullet Train, a trio of Autobots who patrol the railways. He's the youngest and cheeriest member of the team, and also the one most likely to do something really dumb. He's absent-minded, impressionable, overeager, and generally not as skilled as a robot with his size and power should be. Maybe he'll get his act together one day, once he's got some more experience under his belt; in the meantime, when he screws up it is usually his sheer size--much larger than any of the Predacons--that keeps him from getting walloped too badly.


Japanese name: J-Four

Fiction[]

Robots in Disguise cartoon[]

Voice actor: David Lodge (English), Naomi Matamura (Japanese)

Midnight Express believed that since a classic steam locomotive had been given an anthropomorphized nickname "Grampa," that meant it was actually be a living entity. He tried talking to it repeatedly and was moved to both emotional distress and near-berserk rages when he perceived it to be in danger. Secret Weapon: D-5

No, really. HE WANTS TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE TRANSFORMERS.
I want to tell you about the Transformers!

This character article is a stub and is missing information on their fictional appearances. You can help Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki by expanding it.


Toys[]

Robots in Disguise[]

  • Midnight Express (Mega, 2000/2001)
    • Japanese ID number: C-014
    • Accessories: Linkage missile launcher, missile
RID Midhight Express Toy

And I'll be with him / On that midnight train to Georgia

Midnight Express transforms into an E4 "Max" bullet train. In this form, he can link up with the other Bullet Trains to form one long locomotive. His back-end link-section can be re-assembled to form a spring-loaded missile launcher. He can also form the legs to the team's combined form Rail Racer.
There are significant differences between the Takara and Hasbro versions of Midnight Express. 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 roof of the train mode, plus the yellow detail paint was replaced with a metallic gold. Early versions of the toy had gray-painted windows (the only one of the three trains to have painted windows in the first release), but later runs added metallic blue paint to match his teammates.
  • 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.

Special attacks[]

  • Diesel Destructigun
  • Shoulder Shooter Fire
  • Rail Blaster

Notes[]

  • Midnight's portrayals in the Japanese and English versions of the cartoon differed considerably more than those of his teammates. In Japan, he was given the voice and mannerisms of a little kid, high-pitched wail and all. For the English version, he was an older, fussy C-3PO-type with a bit of an aristocratic air.
  • 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-class costs.

External links[]

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