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IMON just put a big load of second hand HO up in its new releases list, no photos yet but the prices seem reasonable https://www.imon.co.jp/webshop/new-item

I also took some pictures of some steps of the conversion

That's more or less the assumption we had all reached. Which really put in question what happened with this model for so many issues to have surfaced. The fact that Masaharu also took the step to remedy issues on models, or sent them back to Kato, says a lot. I think he is a great source to introduce people to servicing, he always was very clear on the stepped to take and what to do. And his 3D modeling projects were very interesting/entertaining as well. I wish he would make more of these and resume his "salvage or scrap" series.

@Section31 by "standard NEM coupler" do you mean Rapido couplers? Kato andTomix don't do anything NEM, but they use Rapido couplers. If that's the case, Changming has them, but we are the only one to retail them. They use to pack a pair inside the box of their early locomotives, but they stopped doing so a while back. When they more or less released what I call their 3.0 locs.

On the P70 wagon it's not so difficult. I have to: Remove the bogies and the frame Unscrew and remove the original Changming coupling File down 0.5 mm on each side where the original coupling was screewed (the NEM pocket width is 1 mm larger than the Changming "box") Put a small amount of cyanoacrylate glue to glue the Dapol NEM pocket Wait a bit to let the glue set Insert the Dapol coupling in the NEM pocket Make some test Screw the bogies and refit the frame on the chassis That's all. It seems a lot of work, but it's not really such an hard job

That does look like a production error. jeff

@jingpeng Appreciate the update. i am interested in doing the same should it be not too hard. I would love to use the standard Nem coupler on N-Scale Kato/Tomix/European feright transport on the Changming Freight Locomotives.

Yeah the lamp wire is best for smaller trees that have skinny trunks and limbs. Ive seen folks do hybrids with wood or floral wire for the trunks and main branches and using lamp wire for the finer end branches, but these are folks into doing larger and super detailed trees. Might check around any used shops for an old simple bladed coffee grinder to chop foam. I got caught using our coffee grinder the first time i experimented chopping down some premade foam by my wife, hence why i got a used one for hobby use… I tried making the sponge/foam ground foam once and the grinder worked well on it. I had used a tad too much paint on mine so it came out a bit too hard to use, but figured if i ever needed some custom colors it’s a useful technique. I have used the grinder to chop stuff finer a bit to give some more variety of sizes of foam. Last year i picked up a very inexpensive mini usb travel grinder that ive not used yet, but looks great for just whacking up a small amount or blending some colors together. I think it was $4. Keep posting pictures always great to see folks variations on scenery techniques. Cheers, jeff

Well now it looks like back to 10% for the next 90 days [we shall see on that] for china. Guess the kids not getting xmas toys But still no news on how you will pay for customs duty with USPS shipments coming in from japan post or the fees involved. Heard a couple of folks get hit with $40 ups customs fees but due to the fact they were shipments that apparently did the expedited customs form and not the when we get to it form that is sposta be cheaper, but we shall see. Anyone get any duty charges in the US from china? Outland just started shipping to the US again and the way they talk it sounds like the price has increased a title to cover the tariffs and they make no mention of paying duty so im wondering if their shipper is prepaying the customs duty. It looks like the shipping went down [I think it was $8 and now $6}. I sent them an email asking about duty payment. From Outland: As our shipping carrier has provided a clear way of practice and updated pricing for shipping service to the United States, we have resumed the shipping service to US on all sales channels, including this official store, eBay, Amazon...... Please note that the shipping time could be longer than usual as the processing capability of customs department is still unknown. In regard to the latest agreement between China and the US, we have lowered the shipping cost accordingly, however, the product price is maintained at a level slightly higher than the past as the tariff is not removed completely. Jeff

That Meitetsu train is lit. I'm not much versed in Meitetsu trains, so I'm not surprised this one escaped my attention, but it's funky enough that it should be better known. Surprised no one ever made a model of it.

So, it's not a Micro trains conversion, but as I've some Dapol Easy shunt stuff, I've tried converting one side of 2 P70 wagons. The Dapol couplings are way bigger than the Changming ones, but it's the price I have to pay if I want to shunt easily Here's a link to a short Video of Dapol Easy shunt of how it works with kato Unitrack magnet

I wonder if KATO will re-release their Oha34 Passenger Car Family, they're in the 2025 Catalogue, like the DD13 and the D51 before they announced the re-release. I really hope we see the 17m Oha27 Family again.

Very interesting article, with some facts I was not aware of: As of March 2020, 48.2 percent of 9,465 railway stations in Japan were completely unstaffed, marking an increase of about 10 percent over the past two decades, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Among the 4,368 stations operated by the six Japan Railways Group companies, nearly 60 percent have run without staff since August 2023, with the trend likely only to accelerate amid Japan's aging population and shrinking workforce. Since we like visiting rural areas of Japan this could be an option for us at some point. https://japantoday.com/category/national/feature-japan's-unstaffed-train-stations-getting-rural-revival-on-track

It is actually Andersen: https://www.andersen.co.jp/shop/kanto/shop-45.html Enjoy! And thanks for those links. Tony

For reference then this is the shop in Ueno: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6pZb5BDx77Zn92wK9 The staff speak English. And the one in Ginza: https://maps.app.goo.gl/7VjGqs3azvhBrRYi6 I will try out the Danish Pastry shop!

The things I learn on this forum! I too need wide shoes so nice to know about a potential option in Japan. We have gone to Ueno on recent trips - never mind the park and museums! - there is a Danish Pastry shop and a fabric store that my wife likes. I will have to check out the ASICS store on our next trip. Cheers, Tony

I didn't have chamfering on any of mine. Very strange.

I've pre-ordered the new TOMIX Yamato container and Koki. I've also pre-ordered the Popendetta Nankai Railways 8300 series 6 car set.

This blog may give you some inspiration of 1142 running. https://c57115.hatenablog.com/entry/2022/04/06/080727 Plural D51s @wazzd? Great to hear Rokko are looking after their customers. Really shows their expertise and modellers selling to modellers.

I do that with shoes as well! The only ones I have ever found that properly fit me are ASICS extra wide. Everything else is too small and rubs against my toe, even brands like Sketchers wide. As ASICS are a lot cheaper in Japan, and there are shops where you can try them on (the local one to me in the UK doesn't even carry the wide models). So when my shoes are wearing out I buy new ones in Japan. There is a shop in Ueno that has extra large sizes (I'm a 29), or the flagship ASICS store in Ginza which is more expensive but has everything.

SL Yamaguchi Trip Report 5 Its a rest day from cycling today in Karatsu so I decided to take the local JR Chikuhi Line. Got on the Kuha 103-1514 to Chikuzen Maebara, a local transit center where you can transfer to go further to Hakata. But rather than transfer to the train bound for Hakata, the views of the beaches beckoned me to take the opposite train back towards Karatsu, and disembark at Shikaka Station, and take a short walk to the sandy shores of Obiishi Beach. Not single soul on the beach! Life is good!

I received my D51s from RGR Kobe and I'm glad to say I had to wait a bit longer as they returned about a third of their shipment to be remedied before sending out orders.I'm heading to the club tomorrow to give them a bit of exercise ...and will be keeping a close eye on them. So far on a short stretch of track at home they are nice and smooth. I also went for 4x new release 90000 vans, in the past they seem to disappear quickly from shelves and the 61 350 baggage car. I too am looking to represent a couple of Kyushu locos, D51 1142 was the first Japanese Steam Loco I saw in real life when it was on display in Sasebo in 1999. I'm heading to Osaka next month and will be handing over some yen!

Hi all, As @disturbman already said, on my D51 the fourth driving wheel has a chamfer on about 1/3rd of its circumference on one side. I contacted my seller, but didn't get an answer yet. Apart from that some of the handrails along the boiler are also a bit bent, would have been nice if these had been made of metal.

Thanks Jeff, great idea in possibly using thinner bulb wire. Also found some thinner florist wire too that really helps. Might try it for some ultra large trees that are in the limelight as well, or maybe for H0 trees. The foam doesnt go through a coffee grinder as I dint have one. I tried pushing them through a strainer but it doesnt seem to work.

Haha, yeah I know. He's too emotional in his reviews, clearly favoring some companies over others. This loco at 125 pounds is ridiculous but this one at 200 pounds is fine in my opinion. haha yeah right. Lines are nice and crisp (fuzzier than hell), because he really likes this model. DJM, KR, will probably never be reviewed again. Sprung buffers, firebox flicker, wiper pick ups, cast metal boiler, screws and instructions. Did I miss anything for a 5 out of 5? The only real reason why I watch is that he takes the thing apart so I use him as a tutorial. He's the one that got me into designing motor mounts to the detail that is needed in most cases. Between him and Jenny, I sometimes get a good idea of how much space is inside the boiler for whatever. Ok, sorry, back from dinner. I typically get to the part on the price, fast forward to the instruction set, fast forward to the mechanism and then the run in. Once in a while the thing will fail during the running session. As far as the scores, pass. Now he did mention RMWEB for their criticism of him, I think it was on the subject of his layout being on a carpet, so he made a cleaning video. The review on the Kato/Peco 009 was ridiculous. He prefered Bachmann because it was made of metal. Didn't run for crap, but better. The reason why I mentioned it earlier is that someone had suggested it in the comments area on one of his later videos. Between us 3, we have a consensus! haha