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For those who have visited Akihabara, some may notice consignment stores selling a lot of trains. Second hand pop up shops are selling trains. Many articles trying to get people to sell their trains. https://mokeitetsu.com/used/kaitori https://tetsudohonpo.com/column/column20230611/ https://www.takakuureru.com/magazine/8493 https://kakaku.guide/model-train/post/6631/ What the heck is going on? Since the beginning of the year, with the Japanese economy leading to many companies increasing their prices, there has been a boom in the used market. Not just male customers but female is growing as well. The bad thing is many people are not wanting to pay for trains that are too expensive and are opting for used. And in Japan, there is a general sense that Japanese train owners are respectable to their collections and they maintain it really well. But now it's become big business. Companies in Japan want people's used trains. Takakkureru even got singer Kyon Kyon (Koizumi Kyoko) to promote their service. Popondetta who is known for selling trains, wants to now buy your trains. https://kakaku.guide/model-train/ https://www.train-takakuureru.com/ https://tetsudo-kaitori.jp/ https://www.toy-forest.jp/category/toy/rail/ https://mdltrain-arrows.com/ https://www.popondetta.com/kaitori.html https://hobbyland-pochi.net/?type_id=1 https://www.figurekaitori.net/collection/rail/?a8=o5a7254SMX_IXtg8-WgSiyR6RIuYZyApaWgs4I80CslSMXayEXT5iXToiXzw_wAgfskt8PaBK5a7ds00000012574002 https://tetsudohonpo.com/ https://kaitoricollector.com/pricelist/category/model https://www.omocya-kaitori.jp/mb/tetudoumokei.html https://www.little-cage.net/genre/rail/ https://www.ji-otrain.com/ While the idea is not new...consignment stores in Akihabara and Nakano have been around for many years, baseball and Pokemon card shops and video game stores have been around, as with the "OFF" stores or Traders stores selling used items. But as of late, 2023 is a boom for people to sell their trains. This is the most proactive I've seen companies wanting to buy trains from people, to the chagrin of model train companies who have increased their prices and hoping their sales numbers don't dwindle as much as they have in previous years. I decided to give it a try and purchase a few things used (which I never do, as I prefer my trains brand new), but the trains were well maintained, no damage and a lot of care went into shipping it to me overseas. But I guess I can see it becoming a business. YouTube has no doubt been a catalyst for used cars and homes being sold in Japan to people living overseas. I am seeing things growing on the vehicle side as more and more non-Japanese are participating in Japanese car auctions to sell Japanese cars that are 25-years and older to those living outside of Japan (or those who come to Japan often and want to ensure they can drive their car when they visit the country). It'll be interesting to see how these second hand stores have impacted new train sales (which were decreasing already).

Today was a day I'm so glad that I didn't sleep in during! 🛌 Saturdays are rarely entirely free for me now, and that's not a bad thing, but there was no way I would've missed out on November 18th - Because it was my first and last chance to witness the 101st Birthday Celebration of my favorite Japanese Steam Locomotive (do I have to say it?) 58654, which needs no introduction! 😄 I was joined by fellow members of 肥薩線again at Yatsushiro Station bright and early, and despite the cold, chilly weather, the crowds soon poured in and needed barriers from crossing the yellow line to get photos. My friend and fellow rail fan Minki Hatashima was there to greet and farewell the gallant SL and even landed an interview on the spot with NHK. I did as well. You can see his name mentioned in this article (in Japanese) about the party events. She's a beauty, isn't she? We know now for certain that the restoration of the Hisatsu Line to Hitoyoshi will be done. Next, we can only hope that this beloved steam locomotive will return there, too. But the day's adventures did not end there...

Hi, Another set of photos of a project built for a friend that bought this model on the Internet. The model represented a Brissoneau Diesel Locomotive Class 1200 from CP (Portuguese Railways) in the standard orange/brown colour scheme, but my friend was a little surprised (not to say disappointed) with the overall looking of the model. The first set of four photos clearly shows the challenge I had to deal with. Saying that, he ask me what I could do to provide a second change to this model, mention that it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to apply a different colour scheme, used by Ferrovias Company, who operates now former CP Brissoneau Diesel Locomotives Class 1200. The new yellow paint scheme was applied and I created the all set of decals applied to this model. One of the functional couple was removed and instead a more realist one (but not functional) was installed. I used the Roco Locomotive Detail Set (Ref. 40014) that provided the not functional coupler was well as other accessories that added a more realist look to this model. Thanks. Regards, Ayala Botto