Very Happy with Tomytec Vehicles

[Hobby Dreamer]

I received my first Tomytec vehicles (car and construction set) and thought to mention how great the quality is for those new to the hobby or wondering.

 

Quality:

I'm out of the scale model vehicle loop but the Tomytec vehicles are as good as the better HO vehicles from about 10 years ago. The construction stuff has moving parts and are properly weighted so that one can deploy cranes etc.

 

Price:

Good scale model vehicles always seem to cost a lot but I reckon one could get 5 or so Tomytec vehicles for the price of an equivalent Herpa HO vehicle (Herpa was one one the leaders a few years ago).  

 

Bottom Line:

There are a few N scale vehicle manufacturers out there and the better ones seem to be German (Herpa, Wiking etc), but these seem to be much more expensive than the Tomytec ones (although I did not factor shipping and duty). I've seen less expensive N scale there but the quality is not there..

 

There are always critics and those who cry at any price but vehicles are great scenery and you don't have to build, glue etc to enjoy them. If you have dead space on your layout or no space to expand a few vehicles can really add.

 

I don't think one can regret getting these at their price because the quality is there.

 

Rick

[cteno4]

Rick,

 

welcome to the club, and look out pocketbook! even with their price going up recently and them going from 3 cars per pack to 2 they are still a good bang for the buck compared to anything else and just about tops in quality for N scale.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Guest ___]

tomytec stuff is easy to get hooked on. way too easy.

[clem24]

There are a few N scale vehicle manufacturers out there and the better ones seem to be German (Herpa, Wiking etc), but these seem to be much more expensive than the Tomytec ones (although I did not factor shipping and duty).

 

Oooh I don't know... IMHO, I think the Tomytec cars/trucks/busses look BETTER than Wiking or Busch or Herpa. The Tomytec cars have windscreen wipers and coloring of window trim, etc... Plus they're painted very well whereas, many of those German manufacturers simply mold their item in that color and don't paint. If anything I think the Wiking cars actually look the worse (just 2 molded colors). And the Tomytec buses... Way better than the Germans but mind you, for anything other than a Japanese layout, the busses and trucks won't work cause they just look way to Japanese. Well maybe you can get away with the highway coaches and if you're modeling right (i.e wrong) hand drive. But the city buses are out of the question.

 

tomytec stuff is easy to get hooked on. way too easy.

 

LOL I think that was the #1 item on their business plan. Hell that's probably their mission statement: "To get our customers hooked on our products".

[Claude_Dreyfus]

In terms of German vs. Japanese...spot the Herpa Audi in this shot.

 

German N gauge cars were always amongst the best...now, as far as I'm concerned, they lag dreadfully behind Tomytec.

[Hobby Dreamer]

German N gauge cars were always amongst the best...now, as far as I'm concerned, they lag dreadfully behind Tomytec.

 

I AGREE... That is what I was trying to say originally, I guess I made it sound that the German stuff was better or on par. Japanese stuff is way better and way less expensive! (I was kind of comparing Japanese N to German HO).

 

I guess the bottom line is that I'll be getting Japanese unless I want a particular non-Japanese vehicle..

 

To be honest, I may get those architecture cars for the background but worry a bit about the Chinese ones because of lead etc...

 

What is really impressive about the Japanese stuff is the level of detail (painted headlights, wipers etc). The construction vehicles also have amazing detail equivalent to the better HO from a few years ago. (And current HO is probably no better).

 

Some years ago I was thinking HO for detail but N for space but thanks to the internet and this forum its easy to buy direct from Japan so N-scale it is!!! 

 

Another nice thing about all J-N scale is that the quality is comparable among vehicles so if you place a Honda next to a Portram  they look great.

 

Rick

[cteno4]

rick,

 

at 3' you cant really tell a lot of difference between the architectural vehicles and tomytec, especially if you do a few tiny paint touch ups. good for odd places where you dont get good direct views, things like parking garages, etc.

 

dont worry about the paint, would only be a problem if you plan on sucking on the cars all the time! and thats if they do have lead based paint in them.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Having managed to obtain one or two of those Chinese vehicles, I'd agree they are poor; however not completely beyond salvage.

 

The mouldings aren't too bad, at least they are sort of recognisable. A liberal use of a file around the windows would make them appear finer, and a little bit of a trim to the chassis would help straighten them out a bit. They will never be up to the standard of the Tomytec, but as Jeff says, ideal for out of the way corners where close inspection is not so easy.

 

The Kato offerings are interesting. Their latest set of vehicles, a pack of four micro cars and pick ups, are of better quality; their Toyota Crowns weren't bad, just a little outdated, however the 1990s vehicles were poor. The detailing was pretty good, however their suspect size (are they 1/160?) and the cheap plastic they were moulded in - coupled with an insistance on glueing the glazing to the body - means that getting a decent model out of them will be challenging and, bearing in mind the price of the Tomytec offerings, probably not worth the hassle.