Microace Virgin.

[HST.]

Hi,  Still being relatively new to Japanese modelling, I have yet to buy a Microace Train, my stock up to now is mainly Kato and a few Tomix items.  Looking at Microace at HS, they seem to be quite a bit more expensive than Kato/Tomix, so, is that because they are better quality, or just marketing?  i have noticed that the newer items seem to be mostly Fly-Wheel Drive and that most have the Rapido type coupling fitted to all cars.  I am guessing that this will mean that there is a fair gap between cars, if that is the case, can the couplings be changed to give a more realistic look without having the dexterity of a Brain Surgeon!  I would love to hear your opinions before I dive in and buy something...Thanks.

 

Dave.

[bill937ca]

Kato and Tomix are generally cheaper than Micro Ace and Greenmax, but only Micro Ace and Greenmax release any number of private railway trains.  The quality of Micro Ace trains has greatly improved over the years, but you should note that spare parts are not offered for Micro Ace trains (and this is noted in Japan on occassion).

 

The Captain has a couple of reviews:

 

Micro Ace JR East E653 Fresh Hitachi

 

http://akihabara.artificial-science.org/2009/11/27/review-micro-ace-a4821-jr-east-e653-%E2%80%9Cfresh-hitachi%E2%80%9D/

 

Micro Ace A2896 Keisei AE100

 

http://akihabara.artificial-science.org/2009/08/24/review-micro-ace-a2896-keisei-ae100-skyliner/

[David]

Microace is more expensive because they are filling a niche area for private line trains and other less mainstream prototypes (Tomix and Kato are mostly about the big city trains that are immediately recognizable) - the production runs are smaller, and often only one run will ever be made so there is less chance to make back the development costs.

 

Quality wise I find Microace is all over the place - some models are below what I consider to be Kato/Tomix's current or even recent past quality, while others have a level of detail Kato or Tomix would normally not bother with. For example check out the hand holds: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10114980a3/20/3

 

Newer Microace models have ok mechanisms, though the older stuff seems cruder. They seem to be behind the grade of Tomix and Kato.

 

Much like how the age of a Kato trains tooling can be determined from the coupler design, you can get some idea of a Microace models age from the details. I personally look for models with the newer 'Bunraku' style motor mechanism - instead of trying to shape the mechanism so that it is not as box like (like Kato/Tomix do), the box is painted a matte black, and colored relief is added so that it looks like there is a proper undercarrage detail - the black engine box hides in plain sight: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10114983a4/20/4

 

The couplers included with Microace trains are rapido, just like GreenMax and (most) Tomix models. Most of the new models are actually close coupling even with the rapidos. Microace models have standard slots for body mounted Tomix TN couplers (as well as Microace's own TN style coupler, though these don't couple as close). When TN couplers are mounted, the rapido coupler and its entire coupling box can be easily removed from the trucks.

 

Overall I'd say Microace is best for what they aim for - trains you want that would otherwise not be produced by Kato or Tomix.

[HST.]

Thanks for the info, I guess the only way to find out is to take the plunge!  If I stick to a New Release then I should be ok.  I meant to mention Greenmax as well in my original post, but forgot...must have been another senior moment...LOL.  I'm only running on straight DC, so any issues concerning converting to DCC are not a problem as my layout is a double track line running through a rural area, I will post some pics when it's a bit more presentable!

Dave.

[Bernard]

HST - Is there a particular train from MicroAce train that you are interested in? For example I know some member prefer their Doctor Yellow over Tomix & Kato's version.

[KenS]

HST, your question kicked me into doing something I'd been thinking about for a while, which was to write a comparison review between two of my E231 models by Kato and Micro Ace.

 

For the most part, I agree with what Bill and David said: Micro Ace fills a niche the others don't, and does it with very good detail, but mechanically they're somewhat erratic. I have several MA trains, like the models, and will buy more I'm sure. But for cost and reliability, I'd take Kato in a heartbeat if given the choice.

 

Here are a few detail photos to compare them. Note that the Kato Joban train with the green stripe has had window and destination stickers added by me, not very successfully in some cases, and the interior painted and figures added.  The Micro Ace Sobu train with the yellow stripe is as it came from the box, with no details added by me (yet).

[HST.]

  Interesting review and pics, doesn't seem to me to be much that justifies the extra cost in Microace, and I am more than happy with the Kato and Tomix items that I own.  I am not looking for any particular Microace model, if I see something I like the look of, then that's good enough reason for me to get one.  I will most likely stick with a new or recent release to be on the safe side, don't see it being this side of Christmas though, i've spent enough at HS over the last week or two.

 

Dave.

[Martijn Meerts]

MicroAce has some amazing trains, and some not-so-amazing ones ;) Their detailing is overall very good, but I've found they don't always run well. Another disadvantage (in a way) is that they tend not to use straightforward electronics for directional lighting and the like.

 

Their steam locomotives are all very nice though, and they've released a LOT of them over the years.

[CaptOblivious]

All of my MA units are newer ones with flywheels, etc., and I have found that they are excellent runners. I think that, in general, if it's a new release, you can't go wrong with MA. If it's old stock, or a re-release, you might want to ask. That said, I have the re-released E653 "Fresh Hitachi", and apparently they replaced the mechanism with new tooling, turning what was a mediocre runner into something special.

 

Also, installing TN couplers on Micro Ace MUs is dead simple, so long as you are aware that the newer TN designs have a tendency to explode with handling. That said, MA doesn't tell you which couplers they need; they only tell you which MA couplers will fit.

Instructions for fitting body-mount TN couplers:

http://akihabara.artificial-science.org/2009/12/17/installing-body-mount-tn-couplers/

 

Table for determining which TN couplers to fit to an MA model:

http://akihabara.artificial-science.org/2009/12/14/tomix-tn-couplers/

[Martijn Meerts]

Oh yeah, that's another disadvantage of MicroAce, their documentation/"manuals" are severely lacking, even if you're fluent in Japanese =)

[KenS]

Don, it looks like the Gray Scharfenberg (0335) has been replaced with a new one (0337), presently due in March.

[cteno4]

My experience with a few dozen of each tomix, micro ace, and kato is that running problems are pretty evenly distributed amounst all of them. i have from pretty old microace units to brand new ones and have not seen much in the way of mechanical problems with them. my older 922 dr yellow (fantastic detailing on this unit! one of the niced models i have) has recently developed some (i think) gear problems that im working on fixing, but as folks have noted there is not much on illustrations on disassembly (but then again may of the kato and tomix are lacking in this) and no spare parts. if i cant get it fixed then ill just work on repowering it. it did get A LOT of run time on the club layout where im sure it got a lot of junk into it over the years!

 

over all i think my microace models' details are as good or better than my tomix and microace, but the microace models i have are all odder ones, with a lot of the painted and special trains and none have any direct tomix or kato counterparts to do a direct head to head with.

 

id say if its a train that you really want and its only made by microace you should go for it as you will have the train you want and it will definitely be in the same ballpark as your other tomix and kato trains. you can always add TN couplers to make them even nicer. just need to decide if its worth the higher price to get the unique train you want for your wallet. they are a smaller company doing more niche stuff so price will understandably be higher for smaller scale production.

 

cheers

 

jeff