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@Tony Galiani so you do see those quick blinks/flashes in my texts then? 🤣 Now I see what you mean. It looks fantastic. Very nostalgic and antiquey. Love those doors! I too was going to hold off until our trip in October but I figured I wanted to test the tariffs and also one less thing to bring back in October. Happy to report No Tariffs!!! 😎 What's interesting about this order from Plaza Japan is that the package was picked up on Wednesday at 7pm from Osaka and was in my hands on Friday at 5pm (US East Coast). DHL pleasantly surprised me!!!! Maybe their planes are a bit empty with the tariffs and de minimis. 🤣 Koki Love!

All of JR Shikoku's special rolling stock looks good. This one, the Aoi Yoshinogawa Torocco, Sennen Monogatari, Iyo-nada Monogatari. The design of the Iyo-nada Monogatari is attributed to a JR Shikoku employee, not sure about the other ones. They just need to revive the BBQ Car that JR Hokkaido had 🙂

Haha sounds like you have caught shortieitis! jeff

Wow, luckily i live 7000 miles away, i could be there all the time! He has really done a fun job on the little place. Chap I guess missed cooking on the shinkansen so made his own! What fun. I hope he lives there as wonderful view out the back! Streetview camera caught him out in front doing something. https://maps.app.goo.gl/U8ZXXdqtAT9M9wQo8 thanks jeff

Workers of the Tsubame in 1954, featuring an EF58 and a C62 - as the title says focussed on the people working the train.

Queer show with bonus trenz. I'm down.

Funny thing after I decided to hold off on purchasing for a while .... I am now convinced that @cteno4 has loaded the forum with subliminal "buy now" messages, or maybe @Kingmeow's texts to me are laced with them as I ended up purchasing an MA Shiman Torocco set. I saw this in @miyakoji's recent Shikoku video and it makes quite an impression in its vivid yellow color, contrasting so much with the green of the scenery. Curious about the train, I started searching for info and, of course, turned up model and prototype info. I am intrigued by the possibility of riding it on a future trip (though the web site notes, repeatedly, that it has no toilet so not so sure about that). Though the bento boxes on offer look good. Anyway, looking on the HS web site I noted that it is discontinued but searched for available models - just to see what was out there without any intention of buying one. Really. There were a number available on eBay starting at US$130 and running up to US$200, plus taxes and shipping. So I was off the hook ..... until I noticed that Plaza Japan has one brand new for US$75. With shipping via Japan Post, total cost was under US$100! So I figured that was some sort of sign and ended up purchasing it. (Did not add anything else on my current want list to the order.) I also, after it was too late, saw that RG Rokko had it for even a bit less. It seems a very nice model and maybe one day I will see the real thing. Ciao, Tony

Very cool! Sounds like the start of a Canadian japanese club! if getting a module is hard you can also use the wooden canvases for modules, they sell 12”x9” and 12”x12” canvases that are 1.5” deep. Just have to mount threaded inserts into the frames and get proper length bolts to jack it up to usual around 3”-4” running height. There is a 1/16” gap, but thats not a problem visually and actually gives a small visual line saying this scene ends and the next begins. If it bugs you you can always make a tiny gap strip to glue onto the side or drop in. You can get them property cheaply online or at your local art store for $10 or so. Just an option for something quick and inexpensive and all built. jeff

I love the "wandering" potential of your small wooden canvas approach to modules and will definitely consider this at some point. Fortunately for me, @RS18U recently made me aware of a burgeoning T Trak group within a 90-minute drive of my house. Sounds as though a majority are into Japanese modelling. There's a show scheduled for late August so that's providing some motivation to begin (and complete) a couple of single modules.

If folks have questions about ordering from J-trains, please take those questions and discussions over to their topic on their shop. We dont want shop business done outside of the specific shop topics by any of their staff. In the past we had issues with shops/manufacturers trying to do business and promote their businesses all over the forums and it got to be a mess so we had to limit business discussions by and representatives of a shop/manufacturer about their wares only in their business topic. Representatives are welcome in discussions all over the forums, but just no mention of their shop outside their topic. Disturbman is wearing two hats here as he is part of J-Trains but also is an active forum member and trying to help get information out to folks from the Chinese companies making these relatively new Chinese model trains market. He has gotten permission directly from some of the manufacturers to show their products photos here. So please keep your order and shop specific questions about J-Trains over on the J-trains topic. THanks jeff

I personally went the Pokemon way with some types as I can't resist some of the color variations. There are a few interesting DF4C and DF4B that should arrive in Berlin in the near future that I might want to add to my roster. And I can't resist any good propaganda locs...

This look like an ‘open day’ sort of event, but the video describes it as a satsueikai, a photoshoot event. You can see EF81 402 (I think this is actually 408) and EF66 20 in test liveries. I couldn’t find anything about 408’s colors, they seem nautical, I dig it. I believe Tomix made this in N as item 2135 and in HO as HO-107. I especially like ED500-901. Hitachi built it in 1992 and JR Freight tested it until 1994. According to English Wikipedia, the design wasn’t chosen due to traction limitations. ED500-901 was on static display for some time at Hitachi’s Hitachinaka Factory, later it was scrapped.

Hey guys I know a place we can go for lunch Pretty far out (literally and figuratively), on the southeast coast of Chiba prefecture. Halfway between Sotobo Line stations Awa-Amatsu and Awa-Kominato. Would require a bit of walking. Google map - https://maps.app.goo.gl/PeNjVWQ8GqCbL4wC6

@disturbman i actually like China brands like changming after getting one just unfortunate rest are on preorder. Definitely looking to pickup more of their stuff versus the Japanese. I see lot of options but so many alike shape wise with minor differences that picking one model type is enough. European are european trains, pricy but amount you pickup is generally low due to its high individual costs per unit. That and they take long to reach model form it seems.

Uh, you seem to have a B-train shorty too much issue. I hope there is a cure for that haha. Awesome!! Funny how what started off as a toy has really taken off. I myself didn't know about it until my friend sent me all of his old stuff. I have since bought a ton of 11-109 chassis'.

You know, the one thing that gained my interest is the size of their drivers. They really looked like they could go fast with their drivers looking so big and the rods being so close to the centers. However, when I compared them to the UP Northern at 80 inches, most didn't come close. But, they look awesome. I haven't invested in one of their passenger locos yet but am still looking. Seems that I gravitate more towards freight, but I use them to pull passengers anyway.

Oh yeah, looking good! Every little bit helps. With the shallowness of the casting, painting the pipes, valves and gauges are a real challenge. You seem to have a steady hand and good eyes to go with that. Yeah, I do have the crew that I ordered back in Oct. I may just stick them in my EF65...

Yes, the British locos were beautifully decorated and the drivers were like astronauts at a certain point in history, travelling faster than almost anyone else in their iron machines. Sadly none of the reference material I found had any extravagant colours and everything was subdued and functional in colour. Nor was any detail that pronounced to really go to town. I did paint the pipes in a rust colour although they are actually in the shadow in my original photo. That gauge detail is very nice in your loco. In the D51, the seats are part of the body weight just like their N scale version. That was very difficult to get a crew in so I hope I can do it with the HO ones when they arrive. Perhaps N Hut will produce a detailing set eventually.

This is a really clever setup—thanks for sharing! I’ve struggled with the fixed magnet setups before, especially with accidental uncoupling during normal operations. Your hinged design looks much more reliable and discreet. Curious, how consistent is the uncoupling action after repeated use? Any issues with alignment or magnet wear over time?

Attached are two images of gems of the Meiji-Mura. The main lobby of the Imperial Hotel Tokyo (built in 1922 and designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) which survived the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, was reconstructed at Meji-Mura in 1960. Sharp Stewart & Co locomotive built in 1874 was still pulling carriages at the museum in 2016 when I visited...I hope it still is😀 Graeme

Afair, the reservations for the CR400AF and the DF4Ds closed after three days. The BF-Z seems to be going the same way, with the slots being picked up very quickly. The CR200J has been definitely in less demand. Which is not entirely surprising, it's a less sexy design and more expensive model. Though I personally like it more over the sleek CR400s, it has more personality. I should probably move the next part to the J-scale thread, but I'm kind of hoping my answer is just the end of this off-topic. Yes, contact form or email. The email is on the site, and I'm not sure how the redesign will affect the form as Wolf has been in charge of that aspect. My role is mostly taking care of China and finding unobtainiums. DMing here or on the discord is also possible. We haven't gotten requests on Insta yet, so can't vouch for that. I'm personally always happy to answer requests as I know how hard it can be to find things and import them, and we cannot stock large quantities of everything. Even more since interests in China Railway models is still very much just in its infancy compared to people modelling Japan. So stock doesn't represent the full amount of what we can get. I personally approach this as an extension of my involvement in the hobby. Wolf only asked me to partner up as I was getting frustrated with the difficulty of sourcing Chinese models as a private person.

Located twenty minutes from Inuyama, Meiji-Mura Museum is a must-visit if you're anything interested in Japanese architecture. Located on the shore of the Lake Iruka reservoir and dating back to 1965, the museum was created by then-Meitetsu vice president Motoo Tsuchikawa and his former university classmate Yoshirō Taniguchi as a tangible means of preserving Meiji-era history and culture at a time when modernization was starting to sweep that history away. Although its stated aim is to preserve Meiji-era history, the museum does include a few buildings from the Taishō and Showa eras. Rather than show off everything, I'll showcase a few examples from around the museum. To start off with, how about two different architectural styles from the same decade? On the left is the Saigō Dojo built for then-future Naval Minister Saigō Jūdō in 1880, while on the right is the house the writers Mori Ogai and Natsumi Soseki occupied at different times, built in 1887. While the Saigō Dojo is a uncompromisingly Western-looking structure, by contrast the Ogai and Soseki house is very traditionally Japanese. Meiji-Mura breaks its grounds down into five different areas dealing with different time periods within the Meiji era; these two structures are in area 1, the nearest to the entry gates. Alastair

Thanks! I used a test piece to try the drybrushing method the ripples and I couldn’t quite get it to look right, I don’t have the technique. I also tested polyfiber for the white water but it was way too much volume. The baking powder and gloss medium I find is much easier to apply and has the right amount of volume.

Nice! Cool using the baking soda for the white water in the gloss medium! Nicer effect than having to paint the white on top. Gives it that bubbly look! jeff

Looking back through my photo folders, I don't have any of Kanayama Station besides a few random train photos from last year's trip. So with that said and done, let's head out and see a few of the sights. Although I typically do my first full day at the SCMaglev and Railway Park in Kinjofuto, we're going to get a little out of chronological order and head to Inuyama to visit Meiji-Mura. If you want to get to Inuyama, the fastest and most convenient way to do it is by Meitetsu, taking around half an hour or so. Back when I did my trip in 2023, it cost ¥570 one-way, whereas nowadays and going by the information on Google Maps it's since risen to ¥630. For those wanting to travel to Inuyama by JR Central, it's possible, although bear in mind you'll have to go out to Gifu and change trains to the Takayama Line, and the nearest JR station (Unuma) is in fact two kilometres north of Inuyama on the other side of the Kiso River. Inuyama itself is a former castle town, and there's more than a few attractions based around it including the Cultural History Museum, Sankoinari Shrine, and a recreated/restored part of the old jōkamachi district. If you're heading to Meiji-Mura though, don't be distracted by that and head for the eastern side of the station where the buses come in. Gifu Bus operates a private, cash-only connection to the museum - be sure to check the timetables before you travel. Alastair