Bandai B-Train Shorty

[cteno4]

one little thing we noticed with the btrain shorty 700 series 12 car that matthew has is that it is a tad wider than regular trains and was catching on some platforms. so they need just a tad more clearance on trackside stuff.

 

it also was derailing on a track joint that had a little mismatch on it that regular 16 car shinkansens were flying through fine. after watching it for a while i saw what i think was happening. the kato trucks have spring loaded rapido couplers that are very springy so when the train encounters anything that slows lit like a track joint bump the whole train starts to do a  cute little slinky oscillation action up and down the train. we were getting like 4 reflections of the oscillation before it stopped. some times the first oscillation reflection seemed to derail a car later in the train as it went into the bump (ie the bump plus the oscillation seemed to kick it off).

 

was pretty funny looking as you dont really see this with full sized cars, just a tiny spring sometimes. the shorty really looked like one of those weenier dog slinky kids pull toys!

 

i fixed the track joint bump and it all went away...

 

cheers

 

jeff

[David]

one little thing we noticed with the btrain shorty 700 series 12 car that matthew has is that it is a tad wider than regular trains and was catching on some platforms. so they need just a tad more clearance on trackside stuff.

 

it also was derailing on a track joint that had a little mismatch on it that regular 16 car shinkansens were flying through fine. after watching it for a while i saw what i think was happening. the kato trucks have spring loaded rapido couplers that are very springy so when the train encounters anything that slows lit like a track joint bump the whole train starts to do a  cute little slinky oscillation action up and down the train. we were getting like 4 reflections of the oscillation before it stopped. some times the first oscillation reflection seemed to derail a car later in the train as it went into the bump (ie the bump plus the oscillation seemed to kick it off).

 

was pretty funny looking as you dont really see this with full sized cars, just a tiny spring sometimes. the shorty really looked like one of those weenier dog slinky kids pull toys!

 

i fixed the track joint bump and it all went away...

 

cheers

 

jeff

 

I noticed the slinky action as well, though for me it seemed to go away with my 4 car train when I added weight (7g square that fit perfectly into the little impression) to the floor of each car. The weight also improved the low speed performance and generally made acceleration and stopping smoother.

[cteno4]

thanks david!

 

good idea, ill pass that along to matthew!

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[keiman]

Will update pics of my fleet after the weekend, currently chilling out catching up on the forum whilst drinking Jack Daniels and Listening to Dark Side of the Moon

[keiman]

Just pre ordered these:

https://www.1999.co.jp/Friend1_e.asp?It_c=10119035&It_NaJ=B Train Shorty Container Cars Set 1 - Koki Series 100 (4-Car Set) (Model Train)

[cteno4]

link: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10119035

 

these are interesting, i have been wondering what the containers would be like. im wondering if they will also take standard n gauge containers.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[keiman]

these are interesting, i have been wondering what the containers would be like. im wondering if they will also take standard n gauge containers.

 

cheers

 

jeff

I wondered that as well but thought for the price even if I only used one or two nothing lost.

Have a couple of the Tomix 4 wheel Container cars so can compare  them when the Bandai ones arrive.

[cteno4]

Im hoping the containers will be kosher with regular n scale, might be some interesting new containers! only worry is that the bandai containers may be a tad pudgy, as they were on the truck series. the btrain shorties do seem to have a bit more delicate molding of late though.

 

will be interesting to see, think im going to be a bad boy and order a couple to find out!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[David]

The previous releases of the Koki type shorty cars seem to suggest they are compatible.

 

http://homepage2.nifty.com/mokeiya/b-shorty%2010.htm

http://homepage2.nifty.com/mokeiya/b-shorty%206.htm

 

In particular the second link, where the some-assembly-required shorty containers fit on an N scale car, and what looks to be Tomix 12' containers (they are slightly taller then the shorty ones) are loaded onto a shorty. The caption machine translated as "Shorty can also reverse loading."

[cteno4]

David,

 

thanks for the link! they do look like they are pretty close to regular n scale 12ers. will be interesting to see what the markings on these containers are. could be something different and new!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Krackel Hopper]

hey hey,

 

RapitBunny has caught the B-train fever!

 

Between Sept/Oct she has pre-ordered a Skyliner, Kintetsu Series 10100, Koki containers, and much more..

 

Looking at all these B-trains as of late - we noticed something rather interesting.  There is an overall lack of diesel locomotives.  HobbySearch has a long sold out DD53 w/ rotary plow (I want it!!!) and on one of the blog pages about B-train conventions there is a photo of a DD51 but that is all we can seem to find.  We cannot even find a "long sold out" DD51 or DE10 - nothing on Yahoo Auctions Japan either!  Anyone have any idea why Bandai would not produce something as iconic as the DD51 - yet they make all sorts of electric locos..

 

Look at this little EF210!

[Jes]

Just noticed that Bandai is releasing their own trucks and chassis for B-train shorty's:

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10123656

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10123652

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10123648

[David]

Just noticed that Bandai is releasing their own trucks and chassis for B-train shorty's:

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10123656

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10123652

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10123648

 

 

I saw these too. The big difference is that these come with bare trucks (both the trailer trucks and the trucks on the powered units), with little slots identical to the ones on the kits plastic trucks. This means you can attach the prototypical trucks included with the model instead of getting the generic express/commuter ones from Kato.

[Krackel Hopper]

hey hey,

 

I keep meaning to ask this.. but always get distracted..

 

Does anyone know why there are no diesel Btrain locos? 

 

You can find a decent variety of electrics.. but the only diesel I have seen for sale (but long sold out) is the DD53 w/ rotary plow.  Beyond the DD53, I have seen one.. I came across this in the links posted on the first page.  I cannot seem to find any info on a DD51 Btrain anywhere.. even searching the 40+ pages of Yahoo Auctions JP brings up zero diesel locos..

 

Is this even a Btrain?  It sure looks like one to me?

[David]

That's definitely not a Bandai shorty, though the clear evidence of why it is notis probably the reason why you don't see any diesels:

 

All the shorty trains are built on the same generic design, with minor variations created for more extreme trains like the 300 series. Basically they are a box on wheels, made of 2 side panels, 2 end panels and a roof joined together with exactly the same 2 black pieces. About the only truly unique pieces are the end panels used as cabs - these are allowed to buldge a bit (or a lot in the case of the 300 series or skyliner), but ultimately they are really just a panel attached in the same way to the box body.

 

All the details that make up Japanese diesels however defy that box design. The center cab, which is both raised above the body and is fatter, breaks the box design, as does the almost necessity of including the handrails for it not to look stupid. That picture is awesome but all the details required to make it look even remotely correct would probably break the shorty budget due to the need for both a completely custom design (someone at Bandai would have to spend more then the usual 5 minutes figuring out how all the parts would go together in that jigsaw puzzle) and molding.

 

I guess it is possible for Bandai to make a rough one, but it would end up having to be a special release, with a higher price point.

 

As for your picture, it's made by a guy called Nakanaka.

 

Everyone should check out the full website. These guys are amazing with their modified/scratch built shorties. The level of detail on some of them is equal or better then the regular 1/150 models by Kato and Tomix.

 

http://www.kokensha.co.jp/tokkou_b-team/remodeled-cars.html

[Jes]

Great site. I think I just fell in love with Nanaka's Kiha 110!

[cteno4]

with a little fudging of the walkway height you could do a de or dd like this, the mechanisms are pretty short in height--at least the kato mechanisms the bandai look a bit taller in the center portion, but actually looks to have a bit of room around the sides of the motor compared with the kato. will have to get them in hand to see the differences. would be a little departure to the normal btrain assembly, but even though they tend to use the same technque for assembly each is pretty customized for its needs so designing and moulding two engine housings and a cab that would fit over a walkway and lower housing wouldnt be horrible.

 

i expect some more locos may come out soon with them releasing the container cars. hoping for an eh500!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[jappomania]

Hi!

another site with trains washed with too warm water 

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/b/train/b510.html

 

ciao

Massimo

[IST]

Hmm, I want that MÃV 1047 type loco. 

[Burkitt]

Hi

 

I'm interested in using some of the Kato B-Train-Shorty bogies 11-097 or 11-098 on a scratchbuilding project I'm working on. Can anyone tell me the diameter of the wheels (not including flanges) on these bogies? I assume there is no difference between the wheels on the two types of bogie?

 

Thanks for your help,

Paul

[Jes]

Finally took the plunge and ordered my first B train shorty, the Kiha 58/28 set   They should look great on a little rural layout.

I hope I made the right decision to order the black commuter chassis/trucks from Kato with it. Unfortunately Bandai's own chassis seems to be sold out a lot lately. Speaking of which, does anyone already have experience with the performance of those Bandai chassis?

[keiman]

Only got the Kato ones on my collection.

1 power unit will pull 6 and push 1  - My 8 car set motor in second car.

[Jes]

Hobby Search now also has a whole lot of different pewter weights for B-train shorty up for reservation. There are weights for the 2 axle Bandai loco chassis and different types for MU's in the shape of truck sides, to be attached to the Bandai 2-truck chassis. Clever!

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10135364

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10135340

 

BTW still no sign of my B-train Kiha... grr..

[cteno4]

This is very cool! very clever!

 

thanks,

 

jeff

[gmat]

Noticed this at a News Kiosk at Shinjuku Station Today. Don't know if it's been mentioned before.

 

 

 

 

 

Best wishes,

Grant