clem24 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Does anyone know if Casco or similar make foam inserts that fit into the standard Kato or Tomix cases? I swear I've seen something like this in the past. Specifically, I'd like to consolidate my Tomix 2 8 car E4 Max sets into a single Tomix cases, since the stock case only fits 6 cars and is quite annoying. Would love to do the same thing with my Kato Grand Hikari set, and some other sets that don't have room for expansion sets. If not, who makes cases + inserts that will fit Shinkansen? So far I've not seen anything that will fit Shinkansen without hacking and cutting. Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Clem, kato and tomix make some cases with generic inserts, but not sure if those would fit. 8 E4 cars in one case would be a very tight fit, but probably could be done. when you start trying to use the generic inserts some hacking and whacking is sometimes necessary to make the cars fit the generic cutout shapes. cheers jeff Link to comment
clem24 Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 kato and tomix make some cases with generic inserts, but not sure if those would fit. 8 E4 cars in one case would be a very tight fit, but probably could be done. when you start trying to use the generic inserts some hacking and whacking is sometimes necessary to make the cars fit the generic cutout shapes. Yup I've got quite a few of those but they don't make one for Shinkansen. I've even swapped the innards of an 8 car Tomix generic case with my 7 car E217 case so I can have 8 + 7 storage. But none of them fit Shinkansen cars. I know Casco makes special cases like the special 11 car Yamanote case but I was hoping to get just the innards. I swear I've seen these somewhere before... Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Clem, casco does sell just the urethan insert sets at HS, but unfortunately most are sold out right now! http://www.1999.co.jp/search_e.asp?Typ1_c=104&scope=1&scope2=0&itkey=urethan+set+casco they do have the full cases though in stock for not a whole lot more. I dont think i ever saw a casco specifically for shinkansens at all. i went through all them pretty carefully when the half off shipping was happening and i got cases for a lot of my freight (cases cost almost as much to ship as cost to buy!). they do have these inserts that might be possible to hack some more on... insert: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10076081 case: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10074420 they YP04 insert looks to give you the most options to get the proper shinkansen length. cheers jeff Link to comment
clem24 Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Yeah I've seen those but I assume those only fit Casco cases? I was looking for stuff that fit into the stock Tomix case... Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 clem, just checked a couple of the cases and it looks like the casco inserts are just 3mm narrower than the tomix cases/inserts are so should be no problem, just put in a little shim. jeff Link to comment
CaptOblivious Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 The Casco inserts are sized for Kato cases. The Casco cases are nearly identical to the Kato ones, but are, in my opinion, of better quality. Link to comment
disturbman Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Casco inserts and cases are now up for pre-order since yesterday at HS. The release is planned for march. Link to comment
clem24 Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 I don't know if the shipping estimator is buggered up but HS is charging me almost Y900 just to ship ONE case through SAL! I added 4 to my cart and it forces me to ship EMS, and that becomes Y7500! I tried adding a Kato case and it's WORSE! The charges are Y1,080. By contrast, a Tomix case is only Y580. Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Clem, nope thats right they are 900-1000 yen each to ship SAL. only can do 2 max as this with packaging puts it to near 2kg where sal nears the ems shipping costs, so if you want to ship them SAL you can only do two per order and even then you are paying like 60-70% of the cost of the cases to ship. its unfortunate, but true... thats why i bought all mine during the HS half off shipping, as i doubt i would have bothered to do so w/o that due to the shipping costs on these. even then it wasnt cheap... cheers jeff Link to comment
Guest Closed Account 1 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Just received a generic case from Kato 10-213. 7 long cases fit inside (190mm). No foam just the little jewel boxes. Inside dimensions 300mm X 200mm Using it to contain my recently acquired mixed batch of freight and diesels. Shinkansens fit. Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 the container store use to have a small book case container very much like a regular case shell (almost the exact same size, just a tad fatter) that fits smaller boxes like this quite well. i picked up a few on sale a couple of years ago. they were white and had nice magnetic latches. i since decided to move to the casco as it was a pain pulling things out of the smaller boxes and re assembling everything... cheers jeff Link to comment
David Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Buying cases is expensive, they fall into the same category as books/magazines in that they are large, weigh a lot, but aren't very valuable. If you are in the US check out MB Klein (modeltrainstuff). When they stocked up on Kato Japanese sets last year they also bought Kato cases, most where still available last I looked for about $2 more then their Japanese street price. You can buy them when you are getting decoders and save some big bucks on shipping (Klein had both the EM13 and FR12 decoders, but seem to be sold out of EM13's for the moment). Link to comment
quinntopia Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 nope thats right they are 900-1000 yen each to ship SAL. only can do 2 max as this with packaging puts it to near 2kg where sal nears the ems shipping costs, so if you want to ship them SAL you can only do two per order and even then you are paying like 60-70% of the cost of the cases to ship. its unfortunate, but true... thats why i bought all mine during the HS half off shipping, as i doubt i would have bothered to do so w/o that due to the shipping costs on these. even then it wasnt cheap... Ugh...let's not talk about shipping costs, k? I just spent way more than I believed was possible for a bunch of Greenmax and Tomix buildings. Its understandable, but painful. Oh well, at least its insured. Link to comment
clem24 Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Well then are the Tomix cases ligther? They don't seem like it. Cause it's half the shipping for a Tomix case... Link to comment
David Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 HS lists the weights as 484g for Kato 8-car case, and 166g for the Tomix case. I don't know what accounts for the difference. Unfortunately I only own Kat, Casco and Microace cases. While Microace is the nearest to Tomix, it doesn't seem any lighter. HS may have the weights entered incorrectly. Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 It's weird really, I always feel the Kato cases are the least sturdy of the 3 big brands, and I'm pretty certain the Tomix ones aren't lighter than the Kato ones. Link to comment
disturbman Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 That's weird. If I look at the lsiting for complete sets (with case) a Kato 6-car set weights around 650g, a Tomix 4-car set around 680g and a Micro Ace 6-car set is around 750g. An empty Casco case is around 360g. Obviously, there is some error for the Tomix Case. They must be around 466g. Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 i think i may have empties of all of them or at least three and ill weight them to see. they all seem about the same weight to me, nothing like a 2x difference... cheers jeff Link to comment
clem24 Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 OK time to load up on Tomix cases from HS! Link to comment
David Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 The weight is definitely wrong. Check the other Tomix cases, which are listed under "Casket". All around 500g, which sounds about right as the plastic hard cases are slightly heavier to me then Kato/Casco soft cases. Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 sounds right as the packaging they use for this must tip in at just over 500g as three cases goes over the 2kg sal limit. its ironic as this, of any product, could be shipped in the lightest and most minimal packaging (ie just wrap it in bubble wrap and paper!), but it ends up in their big thick box and very heavy to ship. but doing shipping calculations and such is the worst part of the mail order biz! i have had to do some shopping carts with various products and its a real mess of if its tuesday rules to try and calculate exact shipping. thats why so many places do flatter rates and you get hit hard on the small orders but they will eat it some if you do a big one. fulfillment costs a lot to do and has driven several clients who produce products to no longer do retail sales, only wholesale. cheers jeff Link to comment
brill27mcb Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 The weight is definitely wrong. Check the other Tomix cases, which are listed under "Casket". All around 500g, which sounds about right as the plastic hard cases are slightly heavier to me then Kato/Casco soft cases. Yes, I always get a kick out of their use of the word "casket," which in the U.S. is generally reserved for cemetery applications. Rich K. Link to comment
Guest Closed Account 1 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Usually means that people box. Interesting what Webster says. casket |ˈkaskit| noun a small ornamental box or chest for holding jewels, letters, or other valuable objects. • a coffin. cask |kask| noun a large barrellike container made of wood, metal, or plastic, used for storing liquids, typically alcoholic drinks. • the quantity of liquid held in such a container : a cask of cider. OR beer! ORIGIN early 16th cent.: from French casque or Spanish casco ‘helmet.’ Link to comment
clem24 Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Just an update: I picked up 2 of these from Popondetta (4 total as one package has 2): http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10074408 They fit both Tomix and Kato cases almost perfectly. On it's largest setting, they fit Shinkansen cars perfectly. So I managed to stuff the 8 car Tomix E4 set into one case (but ONLY the "A" set because it has retractable pantographs, while the "B" set does NOT fit - the pantographs will need to be swapped out). Also managed to squeeze the 16 car Kato 100 Series Grand Hikari set into the 2 bookcase cases. Great stuff! The only thing I really hate about them is that they STINK. Best to open the package when you get them and let the foam gas out for a week or so. I've been trying to get ahold of more they don't seem to keep in stock for long hehe. I prefer these to getting the cases because the cases are just too heavy to ship. Link to comment
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