Are all blue KoKis the same shade of blue?

[bill937ca]

Apparently there are also red Nissan unit trains.   Not sure of their availability. Video by houraiksr

 

 

Video by HobbyStage1

 

EDIT: Has been issued by Tomix.  When???

 

 

Edited April 24, 2021 by bill937ca

[gavino200]

I have three of those containers. I don't think I'd get more. I don't like the look of the red train as much as the blue Toyota train. 

[Jaco3011]

1st video, you can see red Yo8000 at the end of the train. Is this actually existing livery?

[gavino200]

These are the red Nissan containers. The red is ridiculously bright red. It's not paint but rather the plastic color. In person, it looks like when you'd turn the color up full on an color TV. It really clashes with the blue in a "hurts your eyes" kind of way. 

 

Edited April 24, 2021 by gavino200

[EdF]

Looks like there might only be 3 leased unit trains like this.  Sagawa Super Rail, Toyota Longpass and Fukuyama Rail Express.  Though if you like Nissan or red, why not.

 

Also looks like Sagawa has one container on each Longpass train too.

Edited April 24, 2021 by EdF

[gavino200]

I have the Sagawa, and now a kind of improvised Toyota. The real Nissan containers look not much like the Tomix fluorescent/radioactive glowing red ones. 

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:U20A-566_【日本通運／NISSAN】Containers_of_Japan_Rail.jpg

 

If anyone wants my three Nissan containers, I'll happily sell or swap them. 

[EdF]

The Fukuyama Rail Express is also Tokyo local, so someday I will be weak and make one.  Also could work for a Kintetsu completest

 

Edited April 24, 2021 by EdF

[gavino200]

I'm looking at them right now. I quite like them. It's a real possibility for something to do with my grey Kokis.

 

https://www.pixtastock.com/photo/46342623

[cteno4]

You guys are sounding like fashion designers!

 

jeff

[Das Steinkopf]

On 4/22/2021 at 9:41 AM, gavino200 said:

 

This is kind of surprising. Looking at the videos it's clear that the Kato Sky-blue is the closest to the real thing. 

 

 Having seen many a KoKi with my own eyes I can tell you the Sky Blue used on Kato 10-317 is definitely incorrect, even in Kyushu where the sun is probably at it's harshest on the islands that JRF traverses the Blue KoKi's have not been sunbleached to that extent, as I said before the colour used on the current Kato KoKi 104's 10-1421 is probably the closest. I have attached some photos from my Flickr of KoKi's I captured on my last trip, this will also help you for reference when it comes to weathering, there ain't no such things as a squeaky clean freight train in Japan. The KoKi 100-101's look nice and clean like almost brand new compared to their much younger counterparts, this is due to the fact that they have been recently refurbished, the lack of the JRF logo on the sides is a clear indicator of that as any new build or refurbished KoKi's no longer carry the JRF logo as a cost cutting measure.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2021 by Das Steinkopf

[gavino200]

On 4/21/2021 at 6:02 PM, disturbman said:

I believe those hoops are for "tail plates", not tail lights: https://www.lnews.jp/2018/04/k042515.html They should be inside the box, somewhere in your detailing parts.

 

You're 100% dead right. The little tail plates are wrapped up in plastic in the box. I wonder if I could paint them with reflective paint so they'd shimmer a bit in the dark. 

 

 

 

 

[bill937ca]

Must-see for cargo lovers! !! How to attach the reflector to the non-deck side of N gauge footjob is open to the public!  Video by 中京圏真夏のさくら.

 

 

[gavino200]

They definitely need some silver paint. And perhaps some reflective red paint too. I wonder if that was written on the screen in the first few seconds. 

 

So, should every KoKi have those tail plates? On both ends? Or do they just slap them on the final car?

 

[disturbman]

Just end of a consists normally. That said, I remember seeing some pictures where the head KoKi had them on the loco side, maybe a shunting left over. It’s probably possible to find pictures of mid-consist KoKis wearing them too. We all know the prototype is wilder than what we feel comfortable with.

[Jaco3011]

21 hours ago, gavino200 said:

I wonder if I could paint them with reflective paint so they'd shimmer a bit in the dark.

Isn't it just the silver part around that shines?

[gavino200]

3 minutes ago, Jaco3011 said:

Isn't it just the silver part around that shines?

 

I'm not sure if you're talking about the prototype or the model. If the model then yes. If you mean the prototype, then I'm not certain, but I strongly suspect they're reflectors. 

 

Interestingly these Kato HO versions come pre-silvered, and are called "Reflectors for Koki"

 

https://www.plazajapan.com/4952844080365/

[katoftw]

The silver part is the stainless steel the reflector is made from. And bright when this clean metal that has some reflective properties.

 

The red reflector part is the section that reflectors light when light is directed at it. Hence why it is called a reflector.

 

Example for more common use

https://shopee.sg/TRAFFIC-CONTROL-REFLECTIVE-DISC-i.137556407.2089584520

Edited April 26, 2021 by katoftw

[gavino200]

A bit of searching using search term "Reflectors for KoKi", brings up multiple Japanese products with that description. For me that's a fairly strong indication that the prototype is reflective.

 

As to what kind of reflector they are, I'm not sure. Looking at videos they don't seem to be the "clear plastic with multiple tiny mirror surfaces inside" type that you'd find on a bicycle reflector. I'd expect them to be more reflective than they are if that were the case. I think they're the kind of reflective paint or adhesive coating that you find on traffic signs. But that's more detailed speculation than I need. I'll probably just paint them silver and then clear red over that. That's what I do for motor car lights or signals, and it usually looks ok. 

 

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by gavino200

[cteno4]

Take a look at nail polishes there are some that look sparkle like reflectors but it’s very very fine grained sparkles.

 

it does look like reflective paint and almost a flat look to it.

 

jeff

[chadbag]

 

Here are some pictures I took of KoKi 104 (Blue KoKi) in Hokkaido as our train was stopped at a station or slowly passing through.  Just to see what sorts of colors you have (all well weathered and worn)

 

[gavino200]

49 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

Take a look at nail polishes there are some that look sparkle like reflectors but it’s very very fine grained sparkles.

 

it does look like reflective paint and almost a flat look to it.

 

jeff

 

Great idea! I would have never thought of that!!

[gavino200]

6 minutes ago, chadbag said:

 

Here are some pictures I took of KoKi 104 (Blue KoKi) in Hokkaido as our train was stopped at a station or slowly passing through.  Just to see what sorts of colors you have (all well weathered and worn)

 

 

 

Awesome. Those are pretty Tomix-like. 

[Kamome]

I’ve certainly seen reflectors mid consist when parts of trains have been split up in Moji yard and sent on to wherever they need to go. To my knowledge Kyushu don’t use Kokis with taillights possibly as most trains coming through the Kanmon tunnel are broken up and sorted at Moji.

 

There is a Fukuyama transport train every evening that is usually made up of only green Fukuyama containers but even this has reflectors rather than taillights.

 

I forgot to add that the first 106s were blue when introduced and were subsequently painted grey after 1999.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Kamome

[nah00]

Regarding brightness (especially on the red Nissan containers) you can fix this with a quick spray of dull or matte coat, don't waste money on the hobby store or art store stuff, go to a hardware store and get the normal sized spray can. I had to do this with my Platz Seino containers too, they were WAY too glossy out of the package. I don't mind that with Girls und Panzer novelty containers but on actual ones it's distracting and unless it's a container I want to be noticed (like the Paloma ones) I tend to tone them down. 

 

Regarding the various shade of blue my biggest knock against the Kato KoKis is still the lack of steps and not the color. The light blue doesn't bother me too much as you can chalk it up to weathering/paint fading. As other people have said most KoKis look grey anyway even if they are blue. 

 

As for reflectors I've never really felt a need to make them stand out more but an easy way would be to pick up a can of gloss coat when you get matte coat. Just make sure to stick them in blue-tack or something otherwise they will disappear. You can get gloss coat in a little bottle too, Vallejo makes one that works excellent. 

[gavino200]

5 hours ago, nah00 said:

Regarding brightness (especially on the red Nissan containers) you can fix this with a quick spray of dull or matte coat, don't waste money on the hobby store or art store stuff, go to a hardware store and get the normal sized spray can. I had to do this with my Platz Seino containers too, they were WAY too glossy out of the package. I don't mind that with Girls und Panzer novelty containers but on actual ones it's distracting and unless it's a container I want to be noticed (like the Paloma ones) I tend to tone them down. 

 

I was just about to sell them off. But I think I'll try this. It will be a worthwhile experiment as I'm sure the problem will come up again in the future.  If it's still to bright with matt coat, I might mix in a tiny bit of black into a clear coat. These things are also very translucent as you can see in the picture. I think I'll paint the inside black to stop the shine through. 

 

 

5 hours ago, nah00 said:

Just make sure to stick them in blue-tack or something otherwise they will disappear.

 

Blue tack (or the white equivalent) is my small object holder of choice. Very useful stuff.