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Tomytec Refinery


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Hobbysearch just listed a tomytec refinery set for may release at 11,840Y (14,800Y list). Yikes on the total price!

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10138707

 

they are also releasing the parts separately

 

distillation tower 1280Y: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10138701

 

cooling tower 1280Y: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10138702

 

gas tank 2000Y: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10138703

 

shipping racks 1280Y: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10138704

 

guard gate 780Y: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10138705

 

pipe set 1280Y: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10138706

 

the walthers refinery has a lot more detail that the distillation tower and cooling tower would be. but its nice they have the parts as these will be great for folks to come up with their own creations and mix and match with walthers and other scratch built stuff. faller use to make a gas tank like this but i think its now OOP. dont think anyone makes a cooling tower like this.

 

btw old plastic sprues from models make great refinery piping! lots of interesting junctions and curves. also refinery piping is not pretty, its usually a controlled chaotic mess of pipes and fitting so there is a lot f leeway in having things a bit funky. they start out nice but get retrofit, fixed, and upgraded a lot and tend to then have a lot of different things going on at once!

 

cheers

 

jeff

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That is an odd collection of units.  To me a Japanese oil refinery should have some huge crude storage tanks for imports for the Middle East, and smaller tanks for products.  This looks more like a facility to handle LNG and/or produce lighter gases like propane.

 

I've been carrying around an oil refinery kit for years.  One day it will be completed and added to my layout.

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well the distillation columns are generic refinery items. the gas ball are more for natural gas/propane stuff i would think but you do see small ones around refineries where they are capturing gasses from a process they might want to use.

 

yes oil storage tanks need to be nearby! i picked up a few model power sets of those for like $4 at the train show one time for this purpose for the tank farm, mainly to get all the stairs and railings!

 

you have the old plastruct refinery, right? its a hoot, big box of stock styrene pieces to be bent and assembled to the plans! it is very much like the tomytec with two gas tanks, a distillation tower, but no cooling units and it also has two horizontal tube gas tanks as well.

 

http://www.blwnscale.com/plastruct%20structure%20kits.htm

 

cheers

 

jeff

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Martijn Meerts

I was thinking of ordering the full set, but I think it's a bit too expensive for what you're getting. I love the small Tomytec stuff, but somehow the larger the structures, the less I like the stuff.

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Hobby Dreamer

Thanks, Jeff,  for the heads-up and for taking the time to type this all up!!!

 

I love the Japanese quality- again this is as good as (good) HO in look!!  It seems a bit pricey but one can get individual items and its a great diorama accessory.

 

Are these kits or are they ready made?

 

Thanks again!!

Rick

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Rick,

 

i think these are pretty much ready made, may have a few parts to put together, but all the tomytech items are prepainted and either totally assembled or just a bit of easy pop together. you may find things like railings and smaller details that stick out might be a bit pudgier than other models out there. i think this is due to their pre assembly to make sure things dont break on the assembly line or shipping while keeping the price cheap as possible.

 

it is nice to have all the parts to roll what ever you want to design along with other options like the walthers, plastruct, faller, and greenmax parts.

 

cheers

 

jeff

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Hobby Dreamer

Thanks again Jeff...

 

I really like the colors - shiny things shine, dull things don't; as it should. The small compromise that you mentioned is fine. One could always get etched brass etc for railings but its more than fine.

 

I really am liking the vehicles. I have a few hundred (yipes!) Herpa HO scale vehicles from the early and cruder days to about 10 years ago when they were the high water mark for vehicles (or one of them).

 

These Tomytec vehicles look as good as the best HO out there!!!

 

One of the reason I am a card stock advocate for structures is the trouble of gluing and painting, but I'd rather pay a bit more to not have the hassle!!! These structures look amazing in my view!!

 

Rick

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I doubt the vehicles come with, most of the other sets dont come with vehicles like the bus shop, garages, car lot, heavy equipment lot, etc (couple of houses did have a car and one a scooter). i think those are just there for the product shoot. price for the gate/guard house or the transfer rack at 780Y seems too low to include vehicles. luckily there are scads of them to choose from with the tomytec sets!

 

wonder if the transfer rack includes one or two of them? hopefully more will be posted later.

 

cheers

 

jeff

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Mudkip Orange

That is an odd collection of units.  To me a Japanese oil refinery should have some huge crude storage tanks for imports for the Middle East, and smaller tanks for products.  This looks more like a facility to handle LNG and/or produce lighter gases like propane.

 

I've been carrying around an oil refinery kit for years.  One day it will be completed and added to my layout.

 

You absolutely need the spherical vessels for both, both the additives you put in and the distillates you pull out are somewhat lighter than the rest of the liquids

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Wow that is one pricey kit! Whatever happened to affordability, which has always been the case with Tomytec buildings... I'll just stick to the Green Max kits.

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For those that don't want to spend all that much to get the set, just get the gas holders and the shipping rack- you can set up a very prototypical siding that provides identical operational possibilities to a space-hogging full-on refinery.  There used to be such a siding near Sapporo Station, unfortunately dismantled.

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Hobby Dreamer

Thanks Jeff !

 

You do get a lot for the $!  And you can get just 1-2 pieces and have a great focal point. People with great modeling skills might rather a kit at half the price but I'd end up with a blotched sphere, instead of a fuel tank,  and just throw it away !

 

There is a lot to be said when you open the package, place it on the layout and you are more or less 95% done!

 

These pieces would also look very cool if lit up by small LEDs etc..

 

Rick

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rpierce000

BT Trains will have ONE of the entire set up coming late this month and then stocking of individual pieces later on.

 

Prices are Japan list, as usual.

 

Bob

www.bttrains.com

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still feels a bit pricy for the piece or the total package. you know me, im a tomytec hardcore guy with must about all of them, but this one is a pauser for me. just does not feel like the usual tomytec value is there. i ado agree for an out of the box small refinery its pretty nice and very easy, but the price just still snags me.

 

granted there are not a huge number of alternatives, but there are some and i think i could bring a pretty good selection together for something a bit more impressive for $164. would take some building as you say though, tomytec is really the only pre-made one on the market.

 

cheers

 

jeff

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Martijn Meerts

It looks great, but $165 does sound a bit pricey for what you get. Judging from the pictures it's not really all that big. It definitely doesn't sound like a typical TomyTec price.

 

Like Jeff, I love the TomyTec stuff, and I guess I would've coughed up $165 if I had a good spot on a layout for it. For now though, I really should buy more track and less trains/accessories :)

 

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Guest JRF-1935

It does look great - but I have to agree the price is a little steep for me.  Been looking at the Walthers North Island Refinery kits and maybe a little extra Tomytec parts to complete a decent refinery - would certainly be much less expensive for a refinery I have in mind for the 12 track yard that is in progress.

Rich C

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rpierce000

When it gets here I will take a LOT of pictures and post them to my site. Then we can make up our minds about value.

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Hobby Dreamer

Although the price is high for the whole set, the individual parts seem in line with other manufacturers. For example the fuel tank.

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i guess part of me just wants the old days where all the tomytec stuff was a fantastic deal. now they are getting closer to the norm on many of the items. hard to shell out over $80 for a box of tomytec cars and get only 24 cars. use to be like $45 and you got 36... they still are a good deal for what you get, especially being mostly premade, painted and detailed.

 

the cost of the yen and chinese currency revaluation, and oil (for plastics) has driven costs up.

 

cheers

 

jeff

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i guess part of me just wants the old days where all the tomytec stuff was a fantastic deal. now they are getting closer to the norm on many of the items. hard to shell out over $80 for a box of tomytec cars and get only 24 cars. use to be like $45 and you got 36... they still are a good deal for what you get, especially being mostly premade, painted and detailed.

 

As Homer Simpson would say: Get you hooked and then jack the price!!!

 

Mind you, the quality of the Tomytec stuff has gone up significantly since they were first released. Even the cars look much better.

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yep and there has been a big shift from the collector mentality to the stock item mentality in their design, production, and marketing as well. time change, markets change, economies change. oh well. they are still a good deal over all. some items hurt a bit more than others.

 

i should count myself lucky as i was buying a lot when i didnt have much stuff and the prices were cheap in the early days along with a great exchange rate. now i have a lot more stuff and can be pickier about what i buy.

 

cheers

 

jeff

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