Nick_Burman Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Hi all, I'm thinking of purchasing a Japanese N scale steam loco. My preference is for small locomotives, like the C10, C11, C12, C56, 8620 and B6. However I don't want to buy a "bloated" loco (like Kato's C11), so the question is, who makes the most "scale" locos (short of brass)? Micro-Ace is coming out with a version of one of the C11s used on the Oigawa Railway which interests me a lot...is this "kosher"? Also, how scale is Kato's 9600? I've heard that the loco is to 1:144 scale...is it wholly to this scale or are there just parts of the loco which are oversize? Cheers NB Link to comment
angusmclean Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 The Microace locos you list are exquisite and run well (C56, C12, 8620), might be a little oversized, but look good. The only deficiency with them is that generally with Microace, the boilers are pitched a little high, but you would probably not notice this unless placed alongside a photo or an up-market version. I have a Kato C11 and that is obviously oversized when in the company of coaching stock or other locos. When I bought Kato's 9600 a couple of years ago, I thought that this was a new standard for design and running. now surpassed by the recent D51. My impression is that the 9600, C62 and D51.498 are a new range of locos from Kato that are to 1:150 scale. Angus Link to comment
westfalen Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 This Japanese website is a good source of information on Japanese steam. http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~toyoyasu/index.htm He compares different manufacturers versions of the same locomotive. He appears to say, according to Google's translation, that the Kato 9600 is 1/144 but that doesn't bother me as it's such a good model. Japanese 3'6" gauge models running on n gauge track should really be about 1/118 scale anyway. http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~toyoyasu/c11n.htm http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~toyoyasu/9600_1.htm Link to comment
Nick_Burman Posted April 8, 2011 Author Share Posted April 8, 2011 This Japanese website is a good source of information on Japanese steam. http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~toyoyasu/index.htm He compares different manufacturers versions of the same locomotive. He appears to say, according to Google's translation, that the Kato 9600 is 1/144 but that doesn't bother me as it's such a good model. Japanese 3'6" gauge models running on n gauge track should really be about 1/118 scale anyway. http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~toyoyasu/c11n.htm http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~toyoyasu/9600_1.htm I've visited this site several times, it is very interesting and useful but Google Translator converts it into a mass of almost-unreadable gobbledygook. I would like to hear straight from folks like you who have samples of such locos in hand. Cheers NB Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I quite like my Kato C11, even if it's not the correct scale. For the price it's a great little loco. MicroAce steamers generally run really well, and they have a good selection of them. The few Kato's I have run well, as does the Tomix C57. The Tomix C57 and the new Kato's can be a bit expensive though, but they are much more detailed than the MicroAce ones. Link to comment
keitaro Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I still got a burning desire to get a realline. Link to comment
westfalen Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I still got a burning desire to get a realline. Me too. I drool over them on line and in the Japanese magazines but I'd like to know how easy they are to convert to DCC. Link to comment
keitaro Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I still got a burning desire to get a realline. Me too. I drool over them on line and in the Japanese magazines but I'd like to know how easy they are to convert to DCC. i bet very hard looking at some pics of older ones it looks very tight. the newwerones may be a bit better though. Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I'm still a bit uncertain about the Realline stuff. Sometimes you hear they're great, other times that they're not worth the money... Steamers are often difficult to convert to DCC if they're not designed to be DCC friendly. I've converted 3 Kato and 1 Tomix steamer to DCC so far, none of them were particularly easy, but they didn't require any milling of the frame either. Haven't tried a MicroAce yet, but I think most of them won't require milling either. MicroAce tends to have the motor visible in the cab, and there's usually just enough space for a decoder on top of the motor. Link to comment
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