Jump to content

Converting Our UK Layout to Japanese - Yamanouchi Oshika


Claude_Dreyfus

Recommended Posts

Don't know which day we will be down, If it's fine want to sort out a few things on one of the cars.

Be easy to recognise -probably have a Subaru or Japanese themed top on. :cool:

Beard, glasses and thinning hair as well ???

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

I'm sure we will find a way to recognise one another. We will all have name badges anyway - mine being Nick. That said, asking for Claude will be understood!

Link to comment

Nice to meet you today Nick, the layout definately looks better in the flesh.

Been able to see some of the buildings I had wondered about getting and seeing them makes me realise they won't be suitable for my plans.

Keep an eye out for those bits I mentioned.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Thanks Mike...yes it was good to meet.

 

Comments have been noted, and have been added to the list of various improvements being looked at over the next couple of months.

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Finally, after a fairly sizeable gap, I am able post a couple of pictures of the layout at the Gaugemaster show. I have also been able to make a couple of Photoshop changes to the backgrounds on two of them.

 

IMG_6338.jpg

 

YardwithE491.jpg

 

IMG_6357.jpg

 

EH200-1.jpg

 

I also have some videos, which I will endeavour to upload in the near future...

  • Like 1
Link to comment

Claude, that looks just awesome!  It keeps looking better and better! Great photos too!  I wish I could've made the Gaugemaster show! Is it me, or are there a lot more shows in the UK than elsewhere?

Link to comment

It keeps looking better (I guess that shouldn't be news by now).  Definitely looking forward to videos.

 

And good to see the East-i E passing through, on a track inspection no doubt.  One of my favorite trains.

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Claude, that looks just awesome!  It keeps looking better and better! Great photos too!  I wish I could've made the Gaugemaster show! Is it me, or are there a lot more shows in the UK than elsewhere?

 

Thanks...

 

There are a huge number of shows in the UK. That weekend, for example, there was another show about five miles down the road, plus another large one about 30 miles away - where one of our club's membership had a stall. And that was just in the local area, as simultaneously the big annual N gauge only show was being held up near Birmingham. On average there are a good ten to fifteen shows every weekend here...so plenty of variety to choose from.

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

It keeps looking better (I guess that shouldn't be news by now).  Definitely looking forward to videos.

 

And good to see the East-i E passing through, on a track inspection no doubt.  One of my favorite trains.

 

 

Hopefully the videos will be uploaded this week...

 

Being a recent arrival, I was particularly keen to put the East-i  E through its paces. It is a really nice model.

Link to comment

I'm just going to repeat what everybody else has said but it's been a great experience watching this layout develop through photos, Thanks Claude!

 

One question, how has the reaction been from visitors and other modelers about the club's layout? (It has to be something that is unique.)

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

I'm just going to repeat what everybody else has said but it's been a great experience watching this layout develop through photos, Thanks Claude!

 

One question, how has the reaction been from visitors and other modelers about the club's layout? (It has to be something that is unique.)

 

Thanks Bernard...

 

The layout has attracted a lot of comment; particularly pleasing have been positive comments from either visitors from Japan, or people who have lived out there. There are, however, a fair few people who despite plenty of clues do not realise that it is a Japanese layout - might help if I had a pagoda somewhere on the layout! Being designed as an exhibition layout, it it proved popular with the punters for the variety, and frequency, of the trains on the main circuit.

 

Most interesting though, is the reaction from other modellers. There are positive comments, but the fact it is Japanese seems to be a bit of a turn-off for them. Some are happy to talk about the various techniques involved - which are pretty generic anyway - many just look for a minute or so, and then wander off. As there are so few Japanese layouts on the circuit, I don't think it is being taken seriously as yet. Some of the other layouts out there, while good, do still convey the 'train set' approach - mainly, for example, using the Kato Unitrack. Nothing wrong in that per se, it is extremely reliable, but will always have the limitations of looking like Kato Unitrack, and therefore a little odd when passing through more detailed (dare I say it, grown up) scenery.

 

That will only really be redressed when there are more Japanese layouts out there; sadly not something I am holding my breath about in the near future.

Link to comment

I don't think I'd ever seen that close-up before.  It looks really good.  Particularly the way the right of way is lower than the grass around the building.  Although rights of way are often elevated for drainage, that's not always true, particularly when running behind buildings, and this just looks "right".

Link to comment

 

The layout has attracted a lot of comment; particularly pleasing have been positive comments from either visitors from Japan, or people who have lived out there. There are, however, a fair few people who despite plenty of clues do not realise that it is a Japanese layout - might help if I had a pagoda somewhere on the layout!

 

Claude - you needed to have Gogi on the layout, then there wouldn't have been any doubt what you were modeling.  :grin

Link to comment

claude,

 

we get the same basic reaction to our japanese layout here in DC that you guys get. We are just starting to try to ramp up our scenery to higher levels as our first layout was the temporary setup with the more perceived scenery of a weekend floor layout in japan. i think its a bit out of the box for the local modelers to wrap their brains around, where as the general public usually gets the more exotic, out of the box approach as they dont have a lot of preconceived notions of what rr layouts 'should' be and are do not get the nuanced differences in the local layouts so they all kind of look the same to them.

 

I think the same goes for the trains and their variety. again the local modelers just think all the really wild and different looking trains are just toys and not real like the local trains are (but really really uniform and usually pretty devoid of much design!)

 

perhaps some more signs in japanese will help. those are pretty ubiquitous and dense in most every scene in japan! goji always does help, but does go off the more serious modeling side! but we do find goji is a real crowd pleaser and something that orients folks to japan right away! also draws a smirk from even the most serious local modeler usually!

 

cheers

 

jeff

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Another short update...Yamanouchi Oshika is on its travels to another show next month. This time was are representing Japan at the 2012 Eurotrack show near Southampton. It is quite a well-known show in the UK, and will be a great showcase for Japanese N Gauge.

Link to comment

Nick,

 

Am just booking Hilton Southampton to ensure I'm at the Solent show nice and early.

 

Greatly looking forward to seeing the layout. Will you be there?

 

Ian

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Just received the latest Bullet-In from the Japanese Railway Society. My article submitted two years ago has appeared! Sadly it is a little out of date...EF64s are no longer tricky to get hold of!

 

In terms of on-going development, the layout has an outing at the club open day in October, afterwhich some minor track and electrical jobs need to be carried out ready for the next formal outing next Easter...a long way off I know, but time flies. The layout has not been set up for over three months...I'm getting withdrawal symptons.

 

Hopefully I can get some more pictures at the open day.

Link to comment
Davo Dentetsu

Just received the latest Bullet-In from the Japanese Railway Society. My article submitted two years ago has appeared! Sadly it is a little out of date...EF64s are no longer tricky to get hold of!

 

It's like a worldwide conspiracy of editors to play practical jokes like that... :D

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

It has been ages since I have posted on this thread.

 

Since the last update there have been some developments... Firstly, we have two shows; the Crawley MRS exhibtion this weekend at Horsham in Sussex and Wycrail (High Wycombe) in November. Wycrail will be significant as it will be Yamanouchi Oshika's final show. The layout will be withdrawn from the circuit and is now for sale...available after Wycrail.

 

Anyone interested, let me know!

Link to comment
Claude_Dreyfus

Only a couple of weeks before Yamanouchi Oshika goes out to play for two weeks on the trot...

 

Next Sunday will be our open day, which will give us the opportunity to improve the fiddle yard more. A working day a couple of weeks ago saw the replacement of two points on the outer circuit...which has improved the track alignment and will allow trains to traverse these faster and smoother. A shortened Kato 100 Series bullett (12 cars) was used for the tests and was able to make a number of circuits quite happily. A new curved point is to be fitted to the inner track.

 

I have also been looking at bicycle storage and am rather fascinated by these.

 

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/japanese-bike-parking-systems-are-just-like-volkswagen-s-wolfsburg-towers-video-61217.html

 

Owing to the design of the car park, I think there is only one possible location, but it looks an interesting little project.

 

The week after next Yamanouchi Oshika will be at a big one-day show at High Wycombe. Anyone in the area (not too many from this forum I agree!) come and say hello!

 

Finally, following a storage rearrangement at the club, we are keeping the layout for longer...so hopefully Wycombe won't be its final outing.

Edited by Claude_Dreyfus
Link to comment

they look like something that could be done well 3D printed on shapeways! but about then tomytec will come out with them! just like the food carts when i got one about 50% done from scratch...

 

jeff

Link to comment

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...