Hi from the two little islands way down south where eBay is the only practical way of attaining model trains

[Zuihochan]

Hi, I'm Victor and I'm from New Zealand. I was first hooked into model trains as a child having lived in a house right next to the best looking station in NZ. Like many I received my first train set which was by Hornby. Back then I've always wanted to model NZ. Being disappointed by the lack of model train prototypes at the tiny hobby store in town, I joined a New Zealand Railway modelling group hoping to meet the wider community of small Nzr kit producers. But after a year or two later on modelling NZ S scale trains it became too expensive and the range of stock was too limited so I decided to try something new. Being still a teen, I was dragged by my many peers who had the same interest in the pop culture of japan. This includes stuff like anime and manga. Having a general broad interest in Japan no surprisingly led me to have an interest in Japanese model railways. And so it began. The challenge of modelling Japanense railways...in HO gauge. My fleet includes an EF510 in hokutosei blue colour sceme, a EF65 in rainbow red, and a 10 car hayabusa shinkansen by kato. A large amount of koki 104 and 200 container wagons by Tomix. 0 series Shinkansen and kuha 103 set by Lima. KIHA 110 by Endo. Kiha 52 by tenshodo. Kiha 35 by tramway. And my golden egg in the collection a brass KIHA 40 by Fuji models. These models have all been attained through yahoo auctions Japan as eBay only sells new models and charges ridiculous prices for them. My layout I am building is set in the middle of a city with a Shinkansen line running parallel to a private railway. I look forward to meeting people with the same interests as me.

 

I'm hoping to meet anyone else who models japanese ho gauge.

Edited January 1, 2017 by Zuihochan

[miyakoji]

Hi Victor, welcome to the forum.  There are a few others on the forum who are modeling Japanese railways in HO, I'm sure they'll be able to help with whatever questions you have.

[velotrain]

I have no idea how expensive NZ S scale is, but am surprised that Japanese HO is less so ;-)

 

Although, it may just be that you are no longer a teen, and have a larger allowance - er, disposable income.

[cteno4]

Hi victor!

 

Welcome to the madhouse! There are a number of folks on the forum doing Japanese HO, so you will find company. Will be great to see your models and layout. Come join the fun!

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[Eurostar25]

Hi Victor, always good to hear of other kiwis running Japanese trains, there are a few of us lurking around.

I'm in Hamilton and can tell by your hint that you didn't live up here, at a guess Dunedin?

Have a look through the suppliers section, there are a few ways to order Japanese Ho trains into nz, and we have a couple of good suppliers on the forum, www.modeltrainplus.net and http://www.loco1hobby.net/en/ for a start.

[Zuihochan]

I have no idea how expensive NZ S scale is, but am surprised that Japanese HO is less so ;-)

 

Although, it may just be that you are no longer a teen, and have a larger allowance - er, disposable income.

[Zuihochan]

Well I only purchase second hand so... :)

[Zuihochan]

Hi Victor, always good to hear of other kiwis running Japanese trains, there are a few of us lurking around.

I'm in Hamilton and can tell by your hint that you didn't live up here, at a guess Dunedin?

Have a look through the suppliers section, there are a few ways to order Japanese Ho trains into nz, and we have a couple of good suppliers on the forum, www.modeltrainplus.net and http://www.loco1hobby.net/en/ for a start.

[Zuihochan]

Hi there. Correct I was born in Dunedin but I'm currently based in Christchurch and based on the train show I can tell you that no one here models Japanese ho :(

[Eurostar25]

You may be in a small minority I think modelling HO, the guys I know here in NZ all model in N, this is my modular layout, it's 9/10ths complete. I've been to the chch show a few times but you're right, I've never seen Japanese HO either.

 

http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/9889-my-tokuyama-station-layout/

 

Looking forward to seeing photos of your collection

Edited January 2, 2017 by Eurostar25

[Nick_Burman]

I have no idea how expensive NZ S scale is, but am surprised that Japanese HO is less so ;-)

Point is, NZ S scale is the province of small backyard firms, there is no mainstream producer making mass-produced RTR stuff. Prices are accordingly steep...

 

I happen to know John Agnew of Railmaster Exports in Auckland personally, he came to Brazil a couple of times. His kits are superb (casting quality is something out of the ordinary for pewter) but his prices are...YIKES!!! I've always wanted one of his Sn3 kits (he makes the correct locos for Mid-Atlantic US NG practice) however by the time one assembles and has it painted the cost has climbed into the four digits...

 

Cheers NB