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It looks like domestic Japan only. Not even on eBay at a crazy price.

Question - has anyone bought the Tomix 8018 layout? if so, where? I can't find a source that will ship to the United States thanks in advance.

And they wonder where rumors start. 😁 😁

Phew! jeff

It looks like you had some really cool journeys to Korea. Your story about turning a layover into a whole-day adventure is interesting. Good use of those Delta SkyMiles. Exploring places with locals always makes it extra special. It's great that you had the chance to try Korean fried chicken directly. Too bad about not catching the final train, but booking a hotel on the spot might bring some unplanned excitement, right? Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Thanks for sharing, I can imagine it must've been a bit nerve-wracking when you realized you were at the wrong airport. But good thing you didn't need a visa. And also, I appreciate your information regarding the payment procedure for train tickets. It's always useful to be aware of these small particulars while traveling.

Whoops, whew. Went in today to pick up some Evergreen plastic, and chatting with folks discovered the sign on the door read much more ominously than it was intended. The retail store is only closed *this Friday* while they're travelling to a show, not a permanent closing.

I put the smal/short version on one end in case I want to couple them up to a other unit.

What "scale" are they? Those are pretty cool

Today the KATO/Woodland Scenics Just Play vehicle arrived from Hobby Search.

Lovely little walk! Always love the little details these walks bring out. thanks, jeff

I finally attached them regardless of purpose. Thank heavens for a nice magnifying lamp.

Short on Japanese-style signals? No problem, you can use US-style searchlights! (that is, provided that your route is a small rural line set no later than the 1980s!) http://senrohaisenzu.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/08/24/19800316kabuto03.jpg (Kabuto station on the Kansai Main Line) http://senrohaisenzu.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2008/04/1980316_a069.html http://senrohaisenzu.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2020/03/post-aa5f9d.html Apparently a few stations in Hokkaido were also fitted with searchlights as well... Checking some sources, seems that the first searchlight-type signals were installed in 1936 on the Ou Main Line, and the last ones were removed from Kamitokoro station on the now-closed Hokkaido Chikoku Kogen Railway in November 1995.

My Tram is now available from Kato USA and US dealers. One caveat: *This is a Japanese Specialty Item. Any repair requests will be fulfilled by KATO Japan.* https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=955469056579911&set=a.640282668098553

If i recall correctly they were introduced specifically after a string of incidents late at night where drunk salarymen would trip and fall neatly between two coupled sets...

Disappointed that I missed it - I had been thinking of going up there but ended up going to Paris instead. (Flight to CDG or drive up I-95 and decided the flight would be easier!) Glad you had a good show and still hoping to attend one of these days. Ciao, Tony

Green wing and 221s have then also.

Yeah I think I first saw them on the Red Wing but last time we were in Osaka most of the 225/223 multi set pairings had them and the singles often did too IIRC -- proabbly to facilitate pairing. They were new from when we had been there before.

Walking around Machida. I really need to get a better mic, but it's hard to find solid info on what type will work best for this.

EH200-24 is the newest addition to my roster.

Scratch built the second bridge for this layout. Styrene (my favorite material) was used for the bridge and the supports were made from XPS foam. I'm learning a lot more techniques with weathering and when to use powder vs. washes. I compared the bridge I made last year with the same base color and I much prefer how the weathering turned out this time, with weathering powders of black and rust. It also helped that I used an airbrush vs. hand brushing. With the supports, I painted a solid color then applied two colors of washes. Lastly, I dry brushed with Silver Grey to act as highlights. I still have two pieces to scratch build, a shed and turntable (inoperable, just for decor).

Oh wow thats pretty cool thanks for posting this.

I obtained a set of Micro-Train 1015-1 couplers (diagram below). A little bit of surgery would be required due to the (low) height of the Kato floor . . . they seem to be meant for a floor height of .279" / .293" we will see how the 2004-1s fare once they are delivered. Their shanks are below the coupler's horizontal center-line. Far enough to avoid cutting any underframes? We will see.

I was only in Korea twice. Once when my son (now 21) was about 4 or 5o and we were on our way to Japan. They wanted us to do a 14 or 16 hour layover when booking the (free Delta Skymiles award) tickets. I asked if we could stay a day and they said we could do that so we landed, took a bus into the city, stayed at a hotel in Itawon, and went to the war memorial museum (free outdoor part only). It was fun for the day. Two nights and one day. In 2015 my son and I took a side trip from Japan while we were there and went to Korea for around 4 days to visit a British/Australian guy I met at the Apple developer conference (WWDC) that spring. He showed us around various places. The big palace establishment and some other places. But I mention this mainly for the opportunity to mention the food. The Korean fried chicken is the best. We went to some local place of his and it was awesome but I would think a lot of the chicken places will be comparable. Definitely a must. We did the obligatory Korean BBQ -- the grill at your table thing -- and that was awesome too. I also like the ox-tail soup I've had a few times in Korea but my son was not so impressed. We flew over from KIX on Peach airlines and back again. Coming back the plane was late leaving Incheon by a couple hours due to traffic and we got to KIX after the last train for the night so we had to take a taxi to a nearby hotel and stay the night. Luckily I had my phone and could book a last minute hotel online. Sorry to not have more to say.

They have Japanese shinkansen... I visited Korea for about 3 hours when passing through on the way back from Japan. Had to go from one airport to the other. Luckily did not need a visa as I didn't realize I would be changing airports. You can imagine the sinking feeling when I scanned my ticket and the machine said "WRONG AIPORT"! Anyway, the only thing I can really tell you, apart from the train being clean and comfortable, is that I couldn't pay for it with credit card. Maybe someone else knows more, but I had to withdraw some cash to buy the ticket.