Kiran Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 Continuing my spending spree on trains that I traveled on, next on the list is ICE. I see that Kato is coming out with ICE4. I traveled on the older series but I think I will get the latest. I also noticed that there are a bunch of other manufacturers making ICE models. Should I be looking at any others? No complaints with Kato other than having to install DCC. Not sure if there are any models with sound or if there are sound decoders that could go into Kato. Thanks as always for all the help. Link to comment
Yavianice Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 Arnolds ICE 3 coming in march/april 2019 is available in a DCC+sound version. But it wont be interior lighting compatible. 1 Link to comment
Yavianice Posted December 17, 2018 Share Posted December 17, 2018 (edited) Other manufacturers that make ICE's besides Arnold and Kato - Minitrix (ICE prototype, ICE 1, ICE 3) - Fleischmann (ICE 1, ICE 2, ICE-T) of which Minitrix and Fleischmann will/have both re-released their ICE 1 this/early next year. Nobody will or has produced the ICE-TD or the ICE 3 Velaro. Yet. If I were to guess, I'd say KATO will produce the latter as a side job to the Eurostar Velaro. Or Fleischmann, as they have already produced it in HO. Edited December 18, 2018 by Yavianice 1 Link to comment
Kiran Posted December 17, 2018 Author Share Posted December 17, 2018 On 12/17/2018 at 6:50 PM, Yavianice said: Arnolds ICE 3 coming in march/april 2019 is available in a DCC+sound version. But it wont be interior lighting compatible. Expand This is sure tempting because of DCC and sound. Link to comment
chadbag Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 The KATO/Lemke ICE4 will be DCC compatible with the KATO EM13 motor decoder chip. No sound out of the box. For sound, you could use a function decoder with SUSI that will connect with a sound decoder (which will allow you to run interior lights off the function decoder plus sound) or a stand alone sound decoder in one of the non-motor cars. (cab car or non-motor coach car). I will do something like that myself, eventually. To make it tidy you'd want to put it in a cab or coach car where the windows aren't 🙂 Link to comment
Gryphr Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 (edited) ALlso regarding the ICE 4 and DCC: According to Lemke, the main distributor in germany, decoder manufacturer Zimo has a decoder set consisting of a motor- and two function decoders in the works, supposed to be released along side the ICE 4. No mention of sound, but depending on price/availability this could also become an alternative for the Kato DCC ready trains. Edited December 18, 2018 by Gryphr 1 Link to comment
Kiran Posted December 18, 2018 Author Share Posted December 18, 2018 I do like the Arnold ICE3 because it already has DCC and sound. I definitely traveled on that one. I haven't yet traveled on ICE4. How is the Arnold build quality compared to Kato? Link to comment
Yavianice Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 (edited) On 12/18/2018 at 6:32 PM, Kiran said: I do like the Arnold ICE3 because it already has DCC and sound. I definitely traveled on that one. I haven't yet traveled on ICE4. How is the Arnold build quality compared to Kato? Expand I’m not sure if the rerelease will be different than the previous iterations. I hope it is, because the original version, while nicely detailed for European standards, has no interior, “ok” engine, fragile cogwheels, and is not a butter smooth runner as KATO. It also has the most infuriating couplers ever fitted to a model train. It’s still better than the Minitrix version however, which is a plaything for kids compared to Japanese models, with stickers for windows and no lighting (have not owned that version but I read about it). I will still buy the Arnold version though. Edited December 18, 2018 by Yavianice Garamma and zpelling Link to comment
chadbag Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 I have the Minitrix ICE3 (the 3 car basic set). The windows are not stickers, but it does have no lighting and thin body plastic. I bought a kit on eBay to add the front lights to the cab car but have not installed it yet. I'd not get it with better options available. Link to comment
Kiran Posted December 18, 2018 Author Share Posted December 18, 2018 On 12/18/2018 at 7:09 PM, Yavianice said: I’m not sure if the rerelease will be different than the previous iterations. I hope it is, because the original version, while nicely detailed for European standards, has no interior, “ok” engine, fragile cogwheels, and is not a butter smooth runner as KATO. It also has the most infuriating couplers ever fitted to a model train. It’s still better than the Minitrix version however, which is a plaything for kids compared to Japanese models, with stickers for windows and no lighting (have not owned that version but I read about it). I will still buy the Arnold version though. Expand I am just curious. Why would you still buy Arnold n spite of all what you said? Link to comment
Yavianice Posted December 18, 2018 Share Posted December 18, 2018 On 12/18/2018 at 11:28 PM, Kiran said: I am just curious. Why would you still buy Arnold n spite of all what you said? Expand Because I want to have an ICE 3 in NS livery (which only Arnold produces), and Arnold > Minitrix as mentioned in my post. That a model is bad in a technical standpoint does not necessarily mean I won't buy it, if there is no other option. For example, Minitrix NS Koploper has very poor engines but I still purchased 4 of them. It is a balance between how bad do I want the model vs. how bad is the model itself, and this models shortcomings are outweighed by how much I want it. I use the ICE 3 super often in real life so I would love to have a model of it, even if it technically isn't great. Maybe that the Arnold version (used to be/is) not that great is actually applicable, since the real life ICE 3 is also not such a marvel of reliability. 😀 Link to comment
Yavianice Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 The official website of the ICE-4 Model, says that a sound decoder will be available at a later date from their partner ZIMO. Link to comment
Misha_K Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 On 12/18/2018 at 7:09 PM, Yavianice said: I’m not sure if the rerelease will be different than the previous iterations. I hope it is, because the original version, while nicely detailed for European standards, has no interior, “ok” engine, fragile cogwheels, and is not a butter smooth runner as KATO. It also has the most infuriating couplers ever fitted to a model train. Expand I am curious which version you have? Is it the original Arnold release (orange box) which came in a four car set with separate addon cars, or is it the later Arnold/Hornby (green box) reissue which came as complete 8-car sets? I have the latter, which has a revised drive compared to the original issue. No fragile cogwheel issues for me. I should think the new issue will have the same revised drive system. Link to comment
gavino200 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 On 12/18/2018 at 11:36 PM, Yavianice said: Because I want to have an ICE 3 in NS livery (which only Arnold produces), and Arnold > Minitrix as mentioned in my post. Expand It sound like you have an amazing collection! How many ICE trains do you have in total? Link to comment
Yavianice Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Just 3, excluding the one for sale. 1 Link to comment
Kiran Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 On 1/10/2019 at 8:43 AM, Yavianice said: Just 3, excluding the one for sale. Expand Which one do you have for sale? I should remember to check the classified section more often. Link to comment
Yavianice Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 On 1/12/2019 at 11:06 AM, Kiran said: Which one do you have for sale? I should remember to check the classified section more often. Expand The ICE-2. Not complete but has interior lighting and original packaging and is in great condition. Which is hard to find nowadays since the door markings are usually missing due to insufficient packaging by most people. Link to comment
Kiran Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 On 12/20/2018 at 11:09 AM, Yavianice said: The official website of the ICE-4 Model, says that a sound decoder will be available at a later date from their partner ZIMO. Expand That will be great!! I do like sound on my trains these days. Link to comment
Gryphr Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 (edited) Interestingly the german version of th page doesn't mention sound, maybe a translation error? The Decoder is supposed to have a SUSI interface though. so it would be possible to add an aftermarket sound module if it doesnt have it built in. Edited January 14, 2019 by Gryphr Link to comment
Yavianice Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 i think they just forgot to mention it, since they would not offer zimo as a standard decoder; they use their own for that. Link to comment
chadbag Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 The German page is quite different from the English page (or the Japanese page, which, without translating it, seems to mirror the English page or vice versa, depending on your perspective). The German page lists separate ZIMO decoders for motor or motor and front/rear lights function, with part numbers, in addition to the normal KATO decoders listed (FL12, FR11, EM13). Quite strange. It will be interesting to see what happens in the end. Link to comment
Yavianice Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Interestingly, according to schematics, the ICE 4 will have two motor cars. The first kato EMU that has two engines, as far as I know. 1 Link to comment
Melandir Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Interesting here is the Zimo decoder with Railcom for Kato, if the price is similar to Kato ones I'll probably switch to them for future Kato models Link to comment
Kiran Posted May 4, 2019 Author Share Posted May 4, 2019 Hobby search sent me a reminder that the ICE4 set will be available and shipping soon. Has anyone noticed any changes in decoder offerings lately? Much prefer sound. Link to comment
chadbag Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 The only ones I see are the KATO ones (EM13 etc) and the sets from Lemke made by Zimo (but sold by Lemke). They don't list sound. The Lemke ones are only on the German page for the train (the Japanese and English pages just show KATO decoders) and I assume you will need to order from a German or European dealer to get those decoders. I'll be ordering from Modellbahn Lippe once available in case anyone wants to tag along with the order and save some money on shipping. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now