Exterior details - Etchings and Plastic - Resources list

[gavino200]

I recently became aware of the closure of Kobaru, a wonderful company that made excellent Japanese layout details, such as fences, figures, and cars. There were a lot of their kits that I had intended to use but now sadly can't obtain. I'm trying to take stock of what's out there on the market, and I'll use this thread to bring together what I find. 

 

If you know of any other resources please post and I'll add them to the list.  You'll notice that I'm acutely focused on fences, however, I'm interested in all kinds of external detailing. 

 

 

Kobaru - Now defunct

Everything from fencing to figures

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10524120

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10453949/10/1

 

Gallery Sakatsu 

This company is now producing many of the old Kobaru products under the name "Kobaru equivalent". 

In Japanese: "こばる同等品"

Sakatsu website https://sakatsu.jp/about/english/  They also have an excellent selection of other products.

This is the Kobaru equivalents page https://shopsakatsu.com/shopbrand/ct254/

or look for "こばる同等品" in the search bar.

This information thanks to Madsing.

 

 

Casco - Known for their train cases but also make fencing and other details.

The fencing is quite hard to source at the moment

There's a lot of it listed on HobbySearch but it's all "notify when available".

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10137912/20/1

 

 

Tomytec

Their fencing tents to come with giant bases, but this could be conceivably removed

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10751746

 

 

Kato

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10028407

 

 

Tomix

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10010045

 

 

Greenmax 

Wide array of plastic buildings and external details.

I just picked this Gate and fence kit up on ebay.

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10007646

 

Ngineering.com

Great range of products, tools, and materials. 

https://www.ngineering.com/

 

 

Gold Medal Models

An american company. Excellent details but most do tend to have a decidedly American look

However a lot of their products, such as "mesh fencing" is quite generic and would work on a Japanese layout.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gold-Medal-Models-1601-N-Chain-Link-Fence-with-Barbed-Wire-Gates/333840965397?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dd87ea01c81644ea7bebd59e1f359d7ed%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D15%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D143397744673%26itm%3D333840965397%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DGold+Medal+Models&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A1d10d21b-6e2c-11eb-a923-769576c78e1a|parentrq%3A9cb962121770aca47510f23dffd9f13c|iid%3A1

 

 

Woodland Scenics 

They have an excellent range. Tends to have a European look

Chain link fence

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Woodland-Scenics-A2993-Chain-Link-Fence-N-Scale/133497844514?epid=16037540856&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item1f15177322:g:MewAAOSwMXxfPW~D&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACgBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkBUIiHwYv5YgVss0WaiENzzwRlUuigYd3pUdWxZ285pRmD%2Fu4vXur%2FjQ39S%2BKJI%2Btv8U7ALIAiCBhHR7oOHSbD%2F8%2Fxkb3KDkqV%2Bf5fSeSEcKHiVaUoNqR8sN9I%2BaPbY9EiivQlqyJyztmowQ2dKlzMDAqKZNa0plrbswyFEZfwudGCbYJIOVex2oEdHscYTJnwJ4OI5K3quIhVRdGuxAhYB9wKU3Ikr6zFNowkqtOn3zWqWHWP%2FHhe6CB0bDEiEt3xWhmajizxq8vKpGCZ5xWkam7RuvgC%2FOYQ2j8r7HuAU5%2FONzqKXYJpww5sMPY%2B69z9%2FDN4WdEhJwAlBuhkzOMX4o5st%2BUy%2FKnptcWKadgLF7L55Irrvl78IL287w11IPbIw7k9PKmXViw%2BvHxctsWjaH33KjZ46tF2g8gLS2gWnRKI8PUaMZwC9jc%2FyEBEN2pyxY06omCzBp4cufUnAW4CXrIaaSyhKZZb5HzIFr7GeiSc6xqLQVkRUexI%2BruiWLKQ%2FjOt0eMiXNcNptj6jj%2BTdmrRAldEcpAiTxfiu0B%2FgSLJO8PPd0EQeYAnYKA8KxvdzL0qq9iJOSP1QetjaE281WR9VFAtBJovgCg3a72%2BOwrEjVzhnT1Ju8PANiwqjLFShBVS86bksvi%2BdjyNb%2F8wErazEq3oKlqUoRQkv5%2BckbGg4wqnpYrZbCdIqCk4Hxus5bBaAKCjrvpULKO2AFUU0RqLIVExSIFceYsV%2BvkEgFfOM8LctOXQdtGaGzB9oXYAdgx%2BozRi%2FnDBRad9di9qQIBRS1yS%2FPyJARXP3Jfk0Q%3D|cksum%3A133497844514a78dc4668aa040bb965f761d5c43286d|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

 

Brassdogsornamentes 

US Ebay seller. Has some N scale offerings.

Generally, products have an american look

https://www.ebay.com/str/brassdogsornaments/Scale-Model-Items/_i.html?_storecat=1560505012

 

Noch

Various details 

 

Faller 

Excellent range of exterior layout details

https://www.hobbylinc.com/faller-iron-fence-with-gate-kit-ho-scale-model-railroad-building-accessory-180412

Edited April 25, 2021 by gavino200

[Ewan.in.gz]

GreenMax has a big range of Japanese prototype detail accessories like fences, industrial plant equipment, sidewalks, etc.....

 

Faller, although a German company, has a big range of stuff like that too. I have some industrial chain-link fencing from them in N-scale which I plan to use eventually on my layout, when I actually start building one!

 

Something I have noticed when traveling in Japan, is that with some careful choice and sometimes customisation, you can use products from almost any country to model Japanese towns and cities.

Edited February 13, 2021 by Ewan.in.gz

[gavino200]

6 minutes ago, Ewan.in.gz said:

GreenMax has a big range of Japanese prototype detail accessories like fences, industrial plant equipment, sidewalks, etc.....

 

Faller, although a German company, has a big range of stuff like that too. I have some industrial chain-link fencing from them in N-scale which I plan to use eventually on my layout, when I actually start building one!

 

Something I have noticed when traveling in Japan, is that with some careful choice and sometimes customisation, you can use products from almost any country to model Japanese towns and cities.

 

Thanks Ewan. I'll add those. 

[maihama eki]

I just bought a few sheets of photo-etch from Ngineering. I wanted some ladders.

 

https://www.ngineering.com/photo_etched_products.htm

 

They seem to actually be made in England by Scale Link Ltd.  https://www.scalelink.co.uk/

 

Yes, it is sad that Kobaru folded. I always wonder what became of their tooling. They had some injection molded plastic stuff where they had some nice molds.

[Ewan.in.gz]

48 minutes ago, gavino200 said:

 

Thanks Ewan. I'll add those. 

 

You're welcome, Gavin!

[cteno4]

Yes ngineering has a number of nice etched details. Also .004” straightened wire that is about the smallest you can get thats great for making your own small details. I too recently got a ladder set, railing and hand rails and satellite dishes.

 

jeff

[Madsing]

It seems that Sakatsu (https://sakatsu.jp/about/english/) has started manufacturing replacement products for Kobaru. They call them "こばる同等品 / Kobaru equivalent" here: https://shopsakatsu.com/shopbrand/ct254/ or look for "こばる同等品" in the search bar.

 

[gavino200]

3 minutes ago, Madsing said:

It seems that Sakatsu (https://sakatsu.jp/about/english/) has started manufacturing replacement products for Kobaru. They call them "こばる同等品 / Kobaru equivalent" here: https://shopsakatsu.com/shopbrand/ct254/ or look for "こばる同等品" in the search bar.

 

 

That's great news. I'll stock up on quite a few things. The loss of Kobaru really blind sided me. I don't want to get caught like that again! Thanks for the information!

[bill937ca]

Sankei offers many details.

[cteno4]

Wow that’s great. No good indication on how to do an overseas order from their checkout so I dropped them a note.

 

jeff

[maihama eki]

Now we know where all the Kobaru designs and tooling ended up.

 

They had a lot of very nice injection molds for polystyrene that had to have been somewhat expensive. It would have been a shame to see them end up as scrap metal.

[bill937ca]

2 hours ago, Madsing said:

It seems that Sakatsu (https://sakatsu.jp/about/english/) has started manufacturing replacement products for Kobaru. They call them "こばる同等品 / Kobaru equivalent" here: https://shopsakatsu.com/shopbrand/ct254/ or look for "こばる同等品" in the search bar.

 

Hobby Search carry Sakatsu Gallery, but all sold out.

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/search?typ1_c=104&cat=rail&target=make&searchkey=Sakatsu+Gallery

[cteno4]

Looks to have been a few older things and nothing of the newer stuff.

jeff

[cteno4]

Looks good! From sakastu

 

jeff

 

Hello,

Thank you for your contact.
If you can order via our web shop, we will ship a small packet by Japan post.
You can pay with your credit card or Paypal.(Paypal is not exist on the web shop cart. Chose "銀行振込" please.)
The shipping fee will be over 750 JPY depend on the total weight.
The delivery term will be 2-4 weeks.
Curently, we can not use tracking number by COVID-19.
Maybe from June, EMS will be able. It is over 2000 JPY, more quick delivery, with tracking number.

If you does not use our web shop, please email us your wants item number and qty.
In this case, pay with Paypal please.

Anyway, we will email again the total cost when we checked the total weight.
Then you can chose order or cancel.

Best regards,
Naoki Sakamoto

[Dinosbacsi]

Man, they sell those tuner car models that I've been seeing out of stock on HobbySearch. Like this, for example:

https://shopsakatsu.com/shopdetail/000000001751/ct254/page2/order/

 

Those are really cool and I would want to have them, but 1500 yen for a single car that small?

[gavino200]

That was a quick reply!! I just made a purchase. I'll let y'all know how it goes. 

 

I added this new information to the resource links in the first post. 

Edited April 25, 2021 by gavino200

[cteno4]

7 hours ago, Dinosbacsi said:

Those are really cool and I would want to have them, but 1500 yen for a single car that small?

well they are probably not going to be big sellers and look to be done in very small batches and probably mostly by hand. Tomytec has spoiled us rotten for vehicle prices and quality...

 

jeff

[Dinosbacsi]

12 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

well they are probably not going to be big sellers and look to be done in very small batches and probably mostly by hand.

I suppose, but it's still pretty horrific to pay 1500 yen for a single 1/150 scale car, when for comparison you can have something like a HotWheels car for quarter of the price and they are bigger. And I mean 1500 yen... I ordered B Train Shorty sets for cheaper 😢

 

Anyway I couldn't resist, I found and ordered one from Yahoo Japan Auctions. The blue one, MV-12. See if I like it and if I do, I may order a few more from this site. That MV-16 one looks really good, such a shame I couldn't find one on YJA. Though my bank ballance will be really unhappy if I start ordering many of these.

[cteno4]

Well comparing these to hot wheels is a bit of apples to oranges as hot wheels are toys sold by the millions and produced by a large company with deep resources. Also making them at a larger size is actually easier to make when doing the detail stuff like painting and fine moulding. I expect these speciality 1/150 cars are down in a few thousands of sales so of course are going to be a lot more expensive to make by a very small company with fewer resources. Basic economics. It’s not how big it is but the work that must go into it and the volume of sales that set the price. Like I said tomytec has spoiled up for years with high quality 1/150 vehicles at much better prices than other manufacturers around the world ($15 is not off for many low run n scale vehicles outside japan). But they did that by doing a lot of cross over sales to vehicle collectors (Ie sammy) who would buy way more than would usually be needed on a small layout. The good prices even got many model railroaders to buy way more vehicles that they needed (myself and many here are guilty of this) thus driving up volume to maintain lower pricing.

 

your the example of this basic economics, your desire for a low run and high cost to produce item won out and you bought it! 😜

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[cteno4]

3 hours ago, gavino200 said:

That was a quick reply!! I just made a purchase. I'll let y'all know how it goes. 

 

I added this new information to the resource links in the first post. 

thats great. Has small packets started back up to the us? I replied to them asking. I also told them about JNS and invited them to start a company topic in suppliers if they wished.

 

jeff

[Dinosbacsi]

19 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

your the example of this basic economics, your desire for a low run and high cost to produce item won out and you bought it! 😜

You're right, lol. It's just a shame. But I suppose this is what you get when two of your biggest hobbies are trains and cars 😢

[gavino200]

I'm totally ready to buy more Tomytec cars than I'd ever "need" if only they'd let me. Please, Tomytec, produce the large car collections again!!!!

[cteno4]

Yeah they really got folks into buying way more than they needed! I kept trying to resist over the years but have almost always been a sucker for all the vehicle collections, except (sammy cover your ears) the bus collection, I’m like maybe every 5th one on those! When tomytec first started the car collections the cars were $1.25 each! I was just stunned when they first started coming out. But I guess they sort of saturated the markets too much and plastic stuff ain’t as cheap as it was to produce so can’t do those super low costs runs now. I realize even with all my sets that I want some more of some, as a good crowded boulevard can suck up a lot of vehicles!

 

hard to let go the extra trucks and trailers as well, but I really should go thru again ans sell off more at club meetings. We use to have great swap meets at lunch when a new set would come out so folks could trade to get two or three of one kind of truck/bus/trailer or folks could buy one or two instead of investing in 12, 24, or 36 a month. The construction equipment is just too cool to let go down to just a few that would be needed as well even though you need the fewest of them of all the vehicles.

 

jeff

 

 

[gavino200]

I'm in the same boat. At this stage I just have to accept that I'm a truck and trailer collector. I buy a whole box when I really just want two. But I also get the book cases so, I can't really have them half empty, can I. 

 

I don't get why they don't just raise the prices and continue producing the cars. It's hard to believe there wouldn't be a market. 

 

[cteno4]

Oh you are down the rabbit hole if you are buying all the book cases, no hope for you! 😜

 

im guessing the market got over saturated. But they have the moulds for all the ones they did that could be reused for more efficient reruns. Maybe not piss off the collector market with a reissue? It’s not like these are some premo investment collector items. I always feel bad for newer folks in the hobby not being able to get big collection sets very frequently like we use to.

 

jeff