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Kato EF81 in HO


marknewton

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Hobby Search have advised that Kato’s EF81 models in the general and Hokutosei liveries will be available for pre-order from September 2019.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

  • Like 2
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Yes that would be my first choice but if they’re the usual Kato price point I might be tempted to start a Hokutosei.

 

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Any word on pricing yet? I have to say I'd be very tempted to undercut the Tomix one by having a few sprues of detail for the owner to fit, if I were in Kato's shoes. That is their standard approach anyway.

 

Also, reruns of the Hokutosei coaches and the R370 coupler bits (and the ones for the EF510) please!

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Not as yet but I’d expect it to be in the EF65 price point (¥18500 + tax) or there abouts rather than that of the EF510. I’d prefer a reasonably well-detailed model rather than something that omits certain things to keep costs lower.

 

The usual online retailers will I’m sure have their regular discounts.

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catcliffedemon

Competition is no bad thing and the EF81 is a fantastic looking locomotive... However, as Tomix have run the EF81 in HO quite a few times would have been nice to see something a little different from Kato, maybe an EMU (would that be their first for them in HO?). If you're going to duplicate something I'd have much preferred a 115 series as the Tomix are well out of my price range 🙂

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It wouldn’t be a first for them in HO. They’ve recently produced KuMoHa12 and KuMoHa40 series EMUs. Before that they made 165 series trains and Kintetsu’s Urban Liner. 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

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catcliffedemon

Thanks, I've been following Japanese HO for a while and I'd never come across the Kato HO 165 before... the KuMoHa12 and KuMoHa40 I'll admit I glossed over because that era doesn't interest me. The 165 is pretty cool and is adaptable, but when was the last time they released this? They have made run after run of the KiHa 58/28.

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6 hours ago, catcliffedemon said:

I've been following Japanese HO for a while and I'd never come across the Kato HO 165 before...

They pop up on auction from time to time but Kato hasn’t done a run of these for some time. I see a lot of the add-on coaches around though.

 

I guess the decision to produce the EF81 is that it fits easily into their range and they’ve already produced rolling stock that can be prototypically paired with it.  As their HO range is a lot smaller, it’s a much safer bet to produce something that compliments their other items.

 

If you take the recent Kiha 81 release as an example, they’ve already produced all the others Kiha 80 type coaches before so they’re not having to design and create molds for lots of new things which is a lot of investment.

 

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I am a little surprised that Kato haven't re-released the 165 Series recently, what with Tomix offering the 153 Series and KuMoNi 83s. I've seen diagrams for sets mixing the types, such as a 153 Series with an extra KuMoHa/MoHa 165 Series pair on the front or pure 165 Series sets with a KuMoNi 83 or two.

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On 8/11/2019 at 6:37 AM, catcliffedemon said:

Thanks, I've been following Japanese HO for a while and I'd never come across the Kato HO 165 before...The 165 is pretty cool and is adaptable, but when was the last time they released this?

 

I’ve had my 165s for about 10 years. 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

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In this case, it looks like the battery just powers the speaker to output the sound that’s transmitted from the Soundbox. You charge it up via the USB socket on the switch module. Quite a neat work around for non DCC users if you already have a Soundbox.

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The battery might be a voltage stabiliser of some sort? LGB did this with a sound effects van years ago, it carries a 9v battery to keep the electronics happy at lower speeds. It'll work without it but sound becomes a bit flakier and less impressive when pulling away.

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I don’t think the speaker is wired into the rail pickups at all, but a separate circuit. 
It’s an independent speaker with Bluetooth receiver and battery to power the 2. The soundbox works in the normal way but the Bluetooth transmitter sends the data to the receiver so that the sound plays out of the loco speaker instead. Essentially a mini removable Bluetooth speaker added to the loco without the need for soldering. You have to have the relevant sound card for the loco inserted into the soundbox obviously.  

 

It looks very similar to the Microace offering whereby your charge up the unit via a USB connection. The MA ones uses a downloadable app for the necessary sounds. 
 

 The advantage of the Kato version is it uses back EMF to change the engine sounds in addition to the other sounds.

 

Well I have had my notification through from Ami Ami about my shipment.

Edited by Kamome
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Ahh, probably what threw me as I thought the wires plugging into the motor were a power feed.

 

I did also wonder if the speaker would work as a conventional Bluetooth one. Next exhibition: "Why is that EF81 playing Lazerhawk?"

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My EF81 Hokutosei is on it's way to me now 😀

Last week I understood that the detail parts pack is not a special set with grabs made of metal instead of plastic just as the parts used for "Prestige Model" by Tomix.

It is just the parts bag that had been with the loco itself in ancient times 😞

It is an installation to keep the loco price low.

And 30 bucks is quite a lot for these plastic parts.

And at least at HS these parts are sold out already. Lucky me that I had reserved them.

Edited by al camino
added one line
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Yeah it’s a bit cheeky as the promo material I’ve seen (Shigemon video, Lastest RM models feature) it looks like all the holes to add the accessories are pre-drilled. So if you weren’t clued up enough to realize that you needed the upgrade set, you'll possibly have an EF81 with holes in it. The price for these is a little high considering they’re plastic sprues , I paid ¥2340, but it’s not yet clear whether that includes enough parts to complete both colours of loco. 

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Click: Have a look at the parts bag (HS site)

Kato link to EF81 site

Kato link to assemby PDF

 

I'm afraid there are only the parts in pink and red doubled and the rest is not.

And 😬 why do I have to pay for both detail sets if I only have one engine?

I prefer to pay (Kato's expensive numbers used) 13 for the plastic and 4 for the handling (package, flyer, advertisment etc.) instead of 30 (roughly rounded numbers).

 

Translation of Kato's description of the parts bag:

The upgraded parts set is a signal flame tube, whistle cover, whistle auxiliary horn, wireless antennas (antenna body, pedestal), wiper, jumper stopper, release lever, roller escape prevention device, detailed handrail, electric Can reproduce warm indicator light and white insulator. Guides for mounting parts are already set on the body, roof, and skirt of the product.

Edited by al camino
link to image added
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Another question - budget related.

My Tomix Twilight Express (Basic Set & Set A) needs a locomotive.

The Tomix EF81 is a little out of my current budget.

I need to save it for the 小田急3100形 coming later this year as well as for Tenshodos EF10 and/or EF56.

 

Which alternative engine might fit to the Twilight express?

I have available EF75 11 (Tomix H0-110), EF81-300 pink (Tomix H0-131), both DD51 version by Kato, EF66 JR (Tomix H0-118) and the EF64-1000 with experimental yellow JR (Tomix H0-106) and finally the EF76 JR (H0-124).

I have seen pictures of DD51 and EF75(or 79?) towing the Twilight Express.

But the DD51 should run as double header and the the tracks will become too short 🙄

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The blue DD51s hauled the Twilight Express as well as the Hokutosei and Cassiopeia on Hokkaido. I think it was an ED79 for the AC section including the tunnel.

 

I plan to use my red/white/grey cold weather DD51 alternately with the EF510 when my Hokutosei basic set is delivered. I won't be assembling the full 12 car train so a lone DD51 shouldn't look silly. I'll have five to begin with, definitely want another two or maybe three.

 

Hoping Kato might do another run of the blue versions before long, it would hardly be difficult and they'd surely sell. I'm guessing there was probably a transition period when red and blue DD51s worked together, there usually is with a new livery?

 

I'm somewhat unimpressed if the EF81 comes with holes but no parts. I was vaguely thinking about one if they're still available in June or so but will probably go for an EF65-2000 instead.

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Saw a rose pink one today at Kyushu Railway shop. The holes are not actually pre-drilled but are indented guides for drilling. Haven’t received mine yet but my first impressions are not overwhelming. The rose pink looks a little flat in my opinion. 
Im sure it’ll look much nicer once everything is applied and a little weathering but I’m kind of feeling I should’ve put the cash towards the Tomix ED78 instead. 


On a different note, certainly the latter duration of the TwEx service it was pulled by an ED79 between Aomori and Hakodate.

 

Heres my N version

3781B200-4305-4F91-8503-08A3ACFD0E3A.jpeg

Edited by Kamome
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