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Kato products from US eBay source


velotrain

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I was thinking I "might" want 2-3 packages of the Kato rahmen catenary support sets fairly soon for a project, but didn't want to wait for SAL or pay EMS just for them.  I thought I'd see what options there were on eBay, and found this guy.  He only takes 5% off, so his price is right around what is shown as list on HS, but his shipping is really reasonable, and the combined price and shipping is less than anything else I see there.

 

His base price is a hair under that of Plaza Japan, but his shipping cost is about half, and certainly much faster (at least for the east coast - out of NYC area).  Speaking of shipping, the cost strangely isn't shown on this basic listing, but if you "ask a question" and select shipping, it shows up and based on his statement he's more than fair with combined shipping - and has excellent feedback.

 

I'm certainly not recommending this over Japan sources for major purchases, but it seems like a good option if you just want a few things fast - such as track pieces.  I didn't check to see what he carries from Tomix, Tomytec, etc.  I haven't actually bought from him yet, but likely will.

 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kato-N-Scale-Double-Track-Warren-Trussed-Catenary-NEW-23-063-/282369047190?hash=item41be81ba96:g:J7AAAOxyLN9SmNw~

 

 

I just checked, and he doesn't seem to carry any of the other Japanese manufacturers.  I can see him carrying Kato track for those in the US who use it (probably T-Trak mostly?), but wouldn't have thought there would be much of a market for catenary supports, etc. 

 

Also - he doesn't carry any trains, but does have some structures and figures.

Edited by velotrain
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My LHS carries catenaries and was able to order the bases for me. Kato USA does stock them for some reason even though there really aren't any applications for them on most North American layouts (unless you're doing rapid transit or Northeast Corridor. Although to be fair they also carry a fair number of other Japanese items (most of them left over from when Mokei was still around) but aside from track pieces the prices are still too high to not just get them from one of the retailers in Japan. 

 

Also Kato tries to push their structure line in the US for some reason, some of the buildings can be made to represent a typical office building but some of their Showa/wood buildings really don't fit at all. 

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