What did you order or the post deliver? (HO and other scales)

[kusojiji]

Thanks for uploading the picture. That's actually pretty good. Better than the US stuff. A lot of knobs! And looks like a ledge to set a coffee cup on to keep warm.

[kusojiji]

Just received a T-evolution power truck 27.5p. This thing is very smooth and comes with weights to add for traction. Starts moving at 1VDC! Gives my bumper lamp fits! It spews oil everywhere though, so going to have to clean it up a bit. I like that it has tabs on top to use some of the power from the pick ups. Will be using it in a 3D print tram. I added some holes for lamps and firebox flicker. Trying to get the 3D printer to get the second color going. 3rd attempt as the new color didn't stick.

Edited April 13 by kusojiji

[kusojiji]

Kato HO D51

 

Just watched the latest Shigemon video and actually paid attention this time. The tender has a two conductor drawbar, like their N gauge stuff, so no socket in the tender this time.

 

What a bummer desu!

 

I hope they release more info on this soon.

Edited April 14 by kusojiji
add title or at least give a clue as to what i'm talking about...

[EB421]

Is this over the top yet?

 

MOOOOORE!

 

 

There's a "DVT" in the pile not shown, too. I found another super cheap listing!

 

So now I have:

 

Two DVT's

Two small-window coaches

One large-window coaches

Two locomotives

 

Rough plan is to use the two locomotives together as a consist, and repurpose the DVT's as "static models". If I see one more large-window coach going cheap enough I might grab that so I have a full rake of 4 coaches (or the ability to split into two sets).

[kusojiji]

OMG! Those look like they came out the same time as the prototype! They have the ringfield motor? 🙂

[kusojiji]

Well, received notification from the Kato shop that the Degoichi has been released. That's the good news. The bad news:

"DCC is a very difficult specification due to the structure.
These include the fact that it has two motors and that it does not support an 8-pin decoder.
You will need to process the wiring yourself, so please be careful when converting to DCC.
(We are considering commercializing DCC-processed products, but the release date has not yet been decided.)"

 

I've heard of controlling two motors before so will have to go find that info.

Edited April 24 by kusojiji

[EB421]

On 4/24/2025 at 1:45 PM, kusojiji said:

OMG! Those look like they came out the same time as the prototype! They have the ringfield motor? 🙂

 

Yes, and yes! Here's what the rake looks like now after a quick body-swap:

 

 

One locomotive with ringfield as stock. One locomotive with ringfield, with the undamaged and 'pantographless" body from a "DVT". One coach with large windows. All of these are made in Italy in the 1970's, as are the two "DVT"'s that aren't being used in the rake.

 

Plus the two 1990's Amtrak 0-Series small-window coaches made in China using the 1970's tooling.

 

Still some work to be done. As well as interiors (which these models sadly didn't have) and some redecoration; the chassis on a Loco is pretty much trash:

 

 

Luckily, there are a whole pile of NOS Lima 1970's spare shinkansen loco chassis on UK eBay for ...reasons? So an extravagant $8 equivalent later, I should have a clean loco here.

 

And yes, again, the plan is to have both engines working together as a calibrated consist. My H0 collection is all going to be DCC, thanks to Trix and their H0 Sound/Smoke/Lights Flying Scotsman and Class 66's. Which means, these will also be converted to DCC; with full colour-changing lights - and sound if I can do that. (No smoke, because if an electric EMU is smoking then it is a very bad time and you will not be going to space today.)

 

And I've dropped my plan to repaint these as Dr Yellow - it would just take too much model hacking to be worth it. Instead, I'm currently planning to model R52 - a set of two long-window lead cars, and two short-window central cars. Why R52 specifically? Because one of the lead cars in R52 is the only 0-Series Shinkansen car preserved outside Japan, in York United Kingdom. Which means of course; that I can technically call this British H0. 😉

 

The outstanding question for mods is - do I add DCC function-only decoders to the ex-Amtrak cars in R52 for the sake of in-coach lighting, and do I permanently couple those two cars together in order to do it more easily?

 

And what do I do with the three leftover cars? (two ends and a coach)?

[kusojiji]

Nice! I've seen a lot of videos on the maintenance of the ringfield motors. Seems very easy to do and the brushes all look like they last a long time. The biggest complaint that I've seen is the noise, so they replace the guts with a cd drive motor. Gigantic copper to solder to.

 

Haha, yeah don't want to let the smoke out. Did that to one of my stay alives when I couldn't follow directions. Luckily the decoder wasn't damaged. 100% of the time for getting a 50% chance wrong (or whatever that saying is).

 

I bought 5 train-o-matic function decoders for my OHA33/35 coaches and 6 pin sockets for them to plug into, so that I can take them out later if I want to move to another coach. You could go with a connector between the coaches so that they aren't too unwieldy and can be stored away when not in use. I did that to my HO Big Boy and tender when I installed a tail lamp. There are all kinds of micro connectors. Pain to connect/disconnect, but provides flexibility.

 

The end car - you have to put in tail lamps! 🙂

Edited April 27 by kusojiji

[kusojiji]

Would like to see the interiors that you make. I need to make some for my HO UP passenger set, juvenile as compared to your grandpa set.

[EB421]

22 hours ago, kusojiji said:

Nice! I've seen a lot of videos on the maintenance of the ringfield motors. Seems very easy to do and the brushes all look like they last a long time. The biggest complaint that I've seen is the noise, so they replace the guts with a cd drive motor. Gigantic copper to solder to.

 

Most of the British H0 stuff I have is Lima, so has ringfield motors. As well, my Plymouth MDT (a US loco, sold in fictional British livery - it's getting repainted as 'Murrican!) has one, and so do many of my old OO models. I'm old hat with them at this point! Since everything is getting a DCC conversion, I'm going to try the Ringfields stock with DCC before I do any motor swapping.

 

22 hours ago, kusojiji said:

Haha, yeah don't want to let the smoke out. Did that to one of my stay alives when I couldn't follow directions. Luckily the decoder wasn't damaged. 100% of the time for getting a 50% chance wrong (or whatever that saying is).

 

I was more thinking of the prototypes catching fire, but yes - setting model trains on fire is a bad day. Glad only your caps went bad on that day!

 

22 hours ago, kusojiji said:

I bought 5 train-o-matic function decoders for my OHA33/35 coaches and 6 pin sockets for them to plug into, so that I can take them out later if I want to move to another coach. You could go with a connector between the coaches so that they aren't too unwieldy and can be stored away when not in use. I did that to my HO Big Boy and tender when I installed a tail lamp. There are all kinds of micro connectors. Pain to connect/disconnect, but provides flexibility.

 

Yeah, it's a tough one. The counterargument is that at this point; function-only decoders can be had very cheap, and don't have most of the drawbacks of cheap drive-decoders. If it costs $30 to wire up the two coaches with separate DCC; or $20 with a shared controller and jumped connectors... isn't it a bit silly to not just do the job 'properly'? Especially when that gives the most flexibility of all.

 

22 hours ago, kusojiji said:

The end car - you have to put in tail lamps! 🙂

 

Well; the two motor end cars going in the running rake will have auto-switching head and tail lamps as part of their DCC-sound install. The question is what to do with the spares that are just sat idle. Do I model a Shinkansen repair shop of some kind? Museum exhibits? 😉

 

19 hours ago, kusojiji said:

Would like to see the interiors that you make. I need to make some for my HO UP passenger set, juvenile as compared to your grandpa set.

 

I'll keep you posted. Wikipedia has a great public domain image showing the interior of a buffet car:

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/0_series_shinkansen_West_Hikari_buffet_02.jpg

 

and I love it - especially the potted plant separators!

[EB421]

On 4/24/2025 at 1:46 PM, kusojiji said:

Well, received notification from the Kato shop that the Degoichi has been released. That's the good news. The bad news:

"DCC is a very difficult specification due to the structure.
These include the fact that it has two motors and that it does not support an 8-pin decoder.
You will need to process the wiring yourself, so please be careful when converting to DCC.
(We are considering commercializing DCC-processed products, but the release date has not yet been decided.)"

 

I've heard of controlling two motors before so will have to go find that info.

 

And oof - that's moderately annoying. But the lack of consistency with standards is the bane of every hobby, not just Japanese prototype model railways. 😉

 

Still though - given how many obvious benefits are in DCC; I'd have thought Japan in particular would have jumped on board. Or at least, come up with an even better system!

[kusojiji]

Seems they outsmarted themselves on this one. Tail lamp is a dummy with the tender looking like it has too many parts inside. DC - c'mon guys, it ain't that hard. This model uses a power carrying drawbar that is similar to their N gauge stuff. Very simple, very basic, and very limiting at only 2 conductor. At 49,500 yen rrp (~260 gbp), its a big let down. I'll see if I can adapt a Dapol type connector pin drawbar thingy. I gotta get that tail lamp going! and get it going DCC.

 

18 minutes ago, EB421 said:

I'll keep you posted. Wikipedia has a great public domain image showing the interior of a buffet car:

 

 Awesome! I'm actually surprised by the type of chairs. I guess the floors must be semi-soft/rubberized to keep them from sharing meals.

 

21 minutes ago, EB421 said:

If it costs $30 to wire up the two coaches with separate DCC

Two or more. Just extending the power down the line until you end up maxing out the decoder. Jungle site connectors are cheap and you get a million in a bag, way more than you need.

[EB421]

10 hours ago, kusojiji said:

Two or more. Just extending the power down the line until you end up maxing out the decoder. Jungle site connectors are cheap and you get a million in a bag, way more than you need.

 

Ah but, I'm modelling a very specific prototype. So two coaches is all I ever need! Besides, since I'm working on a modular system in British housing in the large H0 standard (as opposed to say - N) I'm not going to want to run long trains much. One of my other projects involves Class 141 (a pair of 1980's buses, on freight wagon chassis) - and I don't plan to ever have more than two sets of two running together.

 

Now; when it comes to my British H0 rake of Mk 1/2 I'm working on - that's a different story, since there's up to six coaches behind whatever loco is hauling them. Putting an individual decoder in each of those would be daft. I'll probably put the decoder in the brake corridor on that rake - more space to hide it, and whatever I'm doing with a rake of coaches there will always be a brake. Plus - the brake is the likeliest place to put extra functions, amirite? 😉

[kusojiji]

Aren't you required by law to have a brake? haha

 

Yup, lots of hiding spots in the brake. You have lamps to install as well as a stove. I think I ended up installing my caps in the toilet...

 

Found these stoves on thingiverse and hollowed them out for led. Need to reduce the power of the led and give the stoves a thicker coat of paint.

 

Ah, you are tight for space like I am. Japan house and not in the country.

[kusojiji]

KATO HO D51

 

Arrived today. It weighs in at 437 grams. Has a ton of fine details (separately fitted), no sprung buffers and no firebox flicker. Confirmed only the headlamp is lit, rear is a dummy. There is a moveable floorboard between the loco and tender, which makes it a pain to put on the track. I had a clicking sound when she made a right turn. Couldn't figure out what it was but I am thinking that the floorboard was in the wrong position.

Runs smoothly and silently. No wobble which has been my bad luck with new arrivals lately.

 

One thing bad about this is that there is a headlight switch under the dome. Good luck in getting that dome off. At least it is set to on as arrived.

The cab details pale in comparison to the UK models. I may paint some details in later as I figure out the tail light and DCC solution. The tender bogies look like the same type mechanism as the N scale stuff, there's a little arrow pointing forward on the pivot.

I also bought the detail kit, which may make it more precarious to handle. Will do all that after the light and DCC work...