Sir Madog Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I am very much fascinated by the detail of the steam locos manufactured by World Craft in kit form, but before buying one I´d like to collect some more information on them. Is there anybody in this forum who has assembled such a kit? How is the quality of the parts and of the instructions? I assume they are only in Japanese. Link to comment
bikkuri bahn Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Never have assembled such a kit, but here are some web pages of those that did: http://saruemon.web.infoseek.co.jp/model/N_gauge/C62kit/C62kit.htm http://rabbit-toybox.cocolog-nifty.com/rabbitstoybox/2008/08/post_77dc.html instructions: http://rabbit-toybox.cocolog-nifty.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/08/26/p1110471.jpg http://ryouyu.sakura.ne.jp/world-C62-15tml.html *I believe some members have built such brass kits, a while back I think someone had a project going assembling an electric(?) loco. Link to comment
Sir Madog Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Thanks for the rather informative links. Looks as if these kits are well made, but as this is N scale, I´d rather save up some more time and buy them assembled, if available. Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I'm planning on building at least 1 at some point. Not sure if it's going to be steam though, I might go for something else to start with. 1 of the things I don't like about the steam kits is that the motor seems to be in the tender. I have some pretty bad experiences with steam locomotives that have the motor in the tender. They seem to sell out quite fast though, so it might be problematic to actually get one :) Link to comment
Sir Madog Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Martijn, I cannot confirm having problems with tender drives - never had a failure. I agree that there can be issues if the loco is to light, but I doubt that this would be an issue with the World Craft locos. Hobby Search puts you on a waiting list (without the need to actually buy) and will inform you when they are up for ordering again. Though not really a bargain, I am intrigued by their detail. Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 I usually have problems with running characteristics with locomotives that have the motor in the tender. Might just have been bad luck though :) Another problem is that the ones with the motor in the tender usually don't have any room for a decoder. I'm also interested in the detail, and the whole building process. I love doing building kits, but a building kit of a train that you can actually run on the layout when it's done just adds another dimension to it. I'm gonna have to check it out a bit more, probably have some stuff I need to order soon-ish, could add a building kit if they happen to have one in stock ;) Obviously, if I do get one, I'll report it here. Don't think I'll start with a steam locomotive though, but who knows :) Link to comment
Sir Madog Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 How about fitting a Lenz Mini decoder under the roof of the cab? Did that once with a Bemo steamer - hardly noticeable! Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 That's what I've been doing with Tomix, Kato and MicroAce steamers as well, but it's a bit easier with them considering they have the motor in the locomotive. Although, the Tomic C57 wasn't all that straightforward because it had the motor in the boiler. Of course, it also depends on whether or not you want lights, not sure the kits come with lights, I don't think you can see any on the photo's on the site linked in the thread here. In the end, I guess I'll just have to take the plunge, and see how it'll end up :) Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 A couple of my japanese N scale magazines have articles showing a stepwise construction of some of the world craft kits. looks really detailed and nice. bit beyond what i want to get into now, maybe in retirement! many many tiny parts. worry is if one of them goes ping you are screwed or spending a long time trying to fabricate a replacement! cheers jeff Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 many many tiny parts. worry is if one of them goes ping you are screwed or spending a long time trying to fabricate a replacement! cheers jeff Not all that different from say micro ace trains then, near impossible to get replacement parts for those if some small part breaks or gets lost :) I have some experience with small parts, I have a photo etched detail kit for my Tamiya 1/350 Yamato. The detail set alone is like 1700 parts, some of them are so small they're hard to see, and you're actually supposed to bend those into shape ... Needless to say, I haven't gotten very far with e Yamato yet Link to comment
cteno4 Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Not all that different from say micro ace trains then, near impossible to get replacement parts for those if some small part breaks or gets lost :) yes but those come assembled and working! these you have to bend and assemble! all those points where the tiny parts could go ping and go poof! definitely where you want to work in a clean area with a drop cloth! ive played with t gauge and repaired some, i know tiny! still hate it when a part in the tweezers goes ping! hate that little noise... then its on the hands and knees with the flash light looking and feeling like an idiot. actually most of the parts on the worldcraft dont look all that tiny, just something you would need to be very methodical about and careful with. jeff Link to comment
Sir Madog Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 I don´t have an issue with small parts, but finding them after they have gone poof is a big problem! There is still RealLine, but just like the World Craft kits, they come without lighting. Link to comment
keiman Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 not my cup of tea - could probably build it but likely to loose small parts, that dreaded ping factor. Have built etched nickel silver kits in Z and swore never again.especially the Diesel shunter kit I got. - Not Japanese but Look at the MicronArt website,in brass have built some of their model T fords. Actually have their sleigh kit in N to build sometime. Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Not all that different from say micro ace trains then, near impossible to get replacement parts for those if some small part breaks or gets lost :) yes but those come assembled and working! these you have to bend and assemble! all those points where the tiny parts could go ping and go poof! definitely where you want to work in a clean area with a drop cloth! ive played with t gauge and repaired some, i know tiny! still hate it when a part in the tweezers goes ping! hate that little noise... then its on the hands and knees with the flash light looking and feeling like an idiot. actually most of the parts on the worldcraft dont look all that tiny, just something you would need to be very methodical about and careful with. jeff Hmm.. Might have to get an N-scale metal detector then ;) I've checked the pictures of some of the kits on HS, especially the scanned instructions. It doesn't look all that bad, the main shell/boiler seems to be pre-bent, so that already helps a lot. I'm not too worried about the small parts really, I just need to make sure that if/when I buy/build one, I create enough space on the hobby table to make sure I don't loose anything. (For the really small parts, a bit of double sided tape on the tweezers might reduce the ping-ability of the parts :)) Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 So, being all impulsive and sometimes unable to control myself when it comes to buying (especially when I'm one of those moods you get after several days of no sunlight, constant rain, constant heavy winds etc.), I just ordered an EF53 kit from World Craft (http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10134032). It seems I got the last one they have, so let's hope it arrives in 1 piece ;) Always been quite intrigued by the EF53 with those rather large platforms at both ends. Also ordered this little fella http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10033870 (also the last one they had it seems...) It's rather cute, and should be a good introduction to the process. No clue what the prototype is/was used for though ... Maybe I can get a Deki3 to put in front of it when one gets back in stock. I can imagine some difficulties installing a decoder in a Deki3 though :) Link to comment
bikkuri bahn Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Also ordered this little fella http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10033870 (also the last one they had it seems...) It's rather cute, and should be a good introduction to the process. No clue what the prototype is/was used for though That's a converted gon used for "torokko" tourist train services, typically on scenic routes. Link to comment
bill937ca Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 So, being all impulsive and sometimes unable to control myself when it comes to buying (especially when I'm one of those moods you get after several days of no sunlight, constant rain, constant heavy winds etc.), I just ordered an EF53 kit from World Craft (http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10134032). What would you order if it was -30 with a wind chill of -39 and snowing almost every day? Link to comment
Sir Madog Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Congrats, Martijn, on the purchase! I hope to see a frequent progress report here - not that I am overly curious :) I have just checked on those RealLine locos - it´s a D51 in different guises. I am happy with my Kato loco, so no need to get another one. Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 So, being all impulsive and sometimes unable to control myself when it comes to buying (especially when I'm one of those moods you get after several days of no sunlight, constant rain, constant heavy winds etc.), I just ordered an EF53 kit from World Craft (http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10134032). What would you order if it was -30 with a wind chill of -39 and snowing almost every day? I wouldn't mind that as much as the constant rains and fluctuating temperatures actually. I tend to get sick when temperatures change too quickly, something which happens here quite regularly. We've had some really cold days when I lived in Norway, even went snow boarding once when it was about -20 Celsius with heavy winds :) Also ordered this little fella http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10033870 (also the last one they had it seems...) It's rather cute, and should be a good introduction to the process. No clue what the prototype is/was used for though That's a converted gon used for "torokko" tourist train services, typically on scenic routes. What loco would pull something like that, and in combination with which other cars? From what I could see after a quick search, only 1 such car existed. Congrats, Martijn, on the purchase! I hope to see a frequent progress report here - not that I am overly curious :) I have just checked on those RealLine locos - it´s a D51 in different guises. I am happy with my Kato loco, so no need to get another one. I'll definitely post about the building process once I get started. Might be a while though, so many other things to do as well :) Does RealLine do kits as well? I,ve been tenpted to get one of their loco's, but heard they don't necessarily run all that well... Link to comment
bikkuri bahn Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 What loco would pull something like that, and in combination with which other cars? From what I could see after a quick search, only 1 such car existed. Sorry, looking back at the listing, it is a toroko (converted wamu 80000, not a gondola) car used on the Choshi Dentetsu, for their "Miotsukushi" train, typically pulled by a deha railcar. Here are some sites with pics. This car has been retired. http://www.choshi-dentetsu.jp/mio/mio.htm http://blog.goo.ne.jp/shirousat/e/8a82e4dc97e80a0798b4cf4a7fca76ba http://sl-taki.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2009-03-14 Somebody who built this model: http://km-motors.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/cat20645488/index.html video in action: http://zoome.jp/tsubasa82/diary/25 Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 What loco would pull something like that, and in combination with which other cars? From what I could see after a quick search, only 1 such car existed. Sorry, looking back at the listing, it is a toroko (converted wamu 80000, not a gondola) car used on the Choshi Dentetsu, for their "Miotsukushi" train, typically pulled by a deha railcar. Here are some sites with pics. This car has been retired. http://www.choshi-dentetsu.jp/mio/mio.htm http://blog.goo.ne.jp/shirousat/e/8a82e4dc97e80a0798b4cf4a7fca76ba http://sl-taki.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2009-03-14 Somebody who built this model: http://km-motors.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/cat20645488/index.html video in action: http://zoome.jp/tsubasa82/diary/25 Ah, thanks ;) I guess I'll need to keep an eye out for a deha. From the linked pictures it looks like it's a deha800 doing the pulling. Quite an interesting combination though, they don't exactly match up =) Link to comment
keitaro Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 I will buy a real line steamer some time in next few months. Going for one of the premium models Link to comment
Nick_Burman Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 What loco would pull something like that, and in combination with which other cars? From what I could see after a quick search, only 1 such car existed. Sorry, looking back at the listing, it is a toroko (converted wamu 80000, not a gondola) car used on the Choshi Dentetsu, for their "Miotsukushi" train, typically pulled by a deha railcar. Sometimes also by DeKi 3. That would have been a real treat... Cheers NB Link to comment
marknewton Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 if one of them goes ping you are screwed or spending a long time trying to fabricate a replacement! Been there, done that... Then my wife suggested I drape a white table cloth over me, so that it sits across my lap like an oversize bib. It catches any stray parts that go ping. It may sound daft, but it works 95% of the time. Cheers, Mark. Link to comment
brill27mcb Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 There actually is something called a jeweler's bib. You wear it like an apron when seated and the bottom edge attaches to the workbench, so it creates a catch basin for the little things that invariably fly off or roll off. I find it amazing that no matter how much I try not to, I inevitably end up working too close to the front edge of the table, helping things to disappear much more readily! Rich K. Link to comment
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