Opinions of Kawai rolling stock?

[David]

Apart from a few repainted Bachmann switchers and scenary bits Kawai's main offering is freight cars, often in a multitude of paint schemes to represent each operator. Pricing is about the same as Kato, and most items are sold in packs of 2 or 3, or in full sets.

 

My own experience has been so far limited to 2 axle box cars (Ka 3000, Tsumu 1, Wara 1), and unfortunately my impressions where not that great. On the detail front, they where about in line with Kato (I have some Kato Wara 1 along with other 2 axles to compare). All of them had big Made In China stickers on the bottom (that can be removed). The body mounted coupler boxes on these models (Kato 2 axle cars are also body mounted) where more minimalist then Kato, but ultimately where compatible with Kato's knuckle couplers.

 

My main gripes where the packaging, which was extremely cheap and thin plastic inside equally cheap cardboard (the cardboard wasn't quite bottom of the barrel, but the plastic interior was what I'd expect to find in the cheapest dollar store items), and the construction quality - in all cases the top portion of the box cars was not well attached to the bottom at all. The Wara cars where the worst, the first one I picked up literally had the bottom fall right off. Even on the others, you could feel how the bottom just wasn't held securely when moving them. When I installed the couplers I had to take most of them apart, as pushing the coupler box back on would just cause the bottom to get pushed into the interior.

 

However I don't want to judge all of Kawai's cars based on just their 2 axle box cars- in particular they still have a lot of other sets (oil, cement, etc) that are very tempting given how the pickings from Kato/Tomix/Microace are slim to none for many of these prototypes. Has anyone else bought Kawai stock, and if so what did you buy and what where your impressions?

[to2leo]

At least now I know what I won't get for freight cars! 

[westfalen]

I haven't got the particular cars you mention but I have several Kawai freight cars and apart from the rather cheap packaging I haven't had any problems. I picked up several that took my fancy at Tam Tam while I was in Tokyo including three 4 car sets of hoki 10000 coal hoppers and some covered limestone hoppers. I think the lettering is finer than Kato's and a lot of their cars have wire railings and grab irons, the hoki 10000's have delicate looking interior bracing inside the cars. Going by the truck mounting and coupler boxes they are made by Bachmann.

 

I'd like to see them with a bit more weight but Japanese modelers seem to like freight cars that almost float away even though all their locos come with traction tires and will almost pull the legs from under the layout.

[Martijn Meerts]

Kawai seems a bit of a hit and miss. I have a set of 3 Wara1 (I think) of which 1 car had a broken coupler box. All 3 also had the same running number, even though they were all in the same box. I would've expected different numbers at least. I'll likely use 1 car for a worker/rescue train mashup, and might heavily weather the others to use as static models.

 

I also have the 11 car freight express set, which is much better. It has a few issues with bad couplers as well, but nothing that I haven't had with Kato/Tomix/MicroAce as well.

 

I don't think I'd buy Kawai if another brand had the same cars, but Kawai does regularly make stuff that others don't.

[Kamiyacho]

I have a number of Kawai freight cars, although most of them are 20 years old so I'm not sure how they compare to what is being made today.  My experience is similar to the others.  The detail is not bad but they are very light and therefore can be difficult to push through a switch - especially the two-axle cars.  I recently bought a Kato Taki35000 set and these are much smoother to use. 

[westfalen]

Kawai seems a bit of a hit and miss. I have a set of 3 Wara1 (I think) of which 1 car had a broken coupler box. All 3 also had the same running number, even though they were all in the same box. I would've expected different numbers at least. I'll likely use 1 car for a worker/rescue train mashup, and might heavily weather the others to use as static models.

 

I also have the 11 car freight express set, which is much better. It has a few issues with bad couplers as well, but nothing that I haven't had with Kato/Tomix/MicroAce as well.

 

I don't think I'd buy Kawai if another brand had the same cars, but Kawai does regularly make stuff that others don't.

 

I picked up the express set at Tam Tam and it had a couple of wheelsets loose in the box when I got it back to the hotel and took it out for a closer look, probably a result of the flimsy packaging but nothing unfixable. All my multiple car sets have different numbers so maybe that's something they have sorted out.

[Bernard]

I have a number of Kawai freight cars, although most of them are 20 years old so I'm not sure how they compare to what is being made today.  My experience is similar to the others.  The detail is not bad but they are very light and therefore can be difficult to push through a switch - especially the two-axle cars.  I recently bought a Kato Taki35000 set and these are much smoother to use.   

 

I have 12 of them as an impulse buy. I agree with Kamiyacho they are very light and can have trouble going through turnouts. I recommend adding weights to them.

[Kamiyacho]

I just realized that while some of my 20-year old freight cars are Kawai, some are Greenmax.  I don't think I have seen Greenmax selling ready-to-run freight cars recently.  Is that something they don't do anymore?

[cteno4]

I have several sets of kawai freight, all nice looking and decent detail. like others have said they are a bit light, but some weights can easily help that.

 

packages are not quality, but most are at a pretty cheap price point so understandable they cut corners to keep the price down. I cheated when HS had the half price shipping and bought a few of the tomix and caseco cases (or caskets as hobbysearch sometimes likes to call them). this was the only affordable way to buy these as full sal shipping on them really boosts the overall price up on these. i have yet to really start moving all the freight into the 5 or 6 cases i bought earlier this year. was fun trying to figure out which kinds of cars would fit well into which case inserts!

 

cheers

 

jeff