Nothing but trouble. Micro-Ace Kyushu 813 100-500

[Samurai_Chris]

Ok, only run a handful of times. And not only have I had problems with front lamps. But now both sets are down with broken axles.. At first I thought it was the motors. But they are fine. Then I thought it was the track. Its fine!

 

Its the axles that have gone in both???

 

Where can I get replacements for them?

 

Chris

[keitaro]

do you mean from the motors?

 

if so you can't unless one of the motors they released recently fits it.

 

you can try make your own though not sure what they are like on that model but i got a pin and bent it at the ends to fit and hold cheap band aid alternative but not a permanant soloution.

[Guest Closed Account 1]

Axles or drive shafts?

[Samurai_Chris]

The drive shafts.. From motor to the wheels..

[keitaro]

yeah figured you were talking about that. as stated you cant get then you could ask hs of they will send to repair or make one.

also check the motorised chassis fits or not..

[Samurai_Chris]

Joking... So because of a small plastic part. I have two trains worth 18,000JPY each that are now rendered useless?

 

Will need to get in touch with Micro Ace me thinks...

[keitaro]

Joking... So because of a small plastic part. I have two trains worth 18,000JPY each that are now rendered useless?

 

Will need to get in touch with Micro Ace me thinks...

 

Chris this is the big issue with MA They have a pretty strict business model where they preffer to repair the model rather than supply the part and let the user fix it.

 

like i said contact HS they will surely contact MA for repair however it "may" be cheaper to wait if you plan on going back to japan for a trip as you could save your self shipping.

 

I have heard their repair prices are pretty reasonable alternatively HS could also enquire to the motorised chasis fits or not on these models.

[westfalen]

Chris,

 

Are the drive shafts broken or lost? If they are just broken and you have all the pieces the ends could be cut off and inserted in a slightly larger diameter tubing to make a replacement.

[Samurai_Chris]

I have all the pieces. But the whole idea of having to purchase something so expensive that is obviously made of parts that would not render such a price is mind-blowing. To then have to go to all of the trouble in having to send it away to be fixed, when it could be easily done myself with replacement parts also seems a little out of this world. And yet, my problem doesn't get solved. Maybe I will take Alvins advice and see what can be done. But it will be the last MA train I will ever purchase if they can't even have replacement parts to purchase in the event that things break.....

[keitaro]

yeah it is unfortunate still you should shoot an email to HS about it.

 

I had similar issues with a greenmax model some of the completed kits they do not sell the motorised chasis for. Anyhow it say "not tomix TN compatable"

 

I was like but the clips are there..... i tried add one on but it was too tight for the bogies to turn and therefore could not negotiate corners of any vairety.

 

I had this awesome idea ..... so I filed down the bogies edged and bang it worked then I dropped the model and becasue the truck was filed down and the plastic was now very thing it broke.

 

I figured i could obtain a new new chassis or powered bogie like you can there other models like the kits but it turns out i cannot and i need to take it to their store for replacement as they will not sell the parts seperately but i can get them from the store "if i take in the model for inspection ?"  so this june i am going in "very embarresed" looking silly and asking for it to be fixed.

 

BTW all the other carriages work 100% fine with the tn it is just the motorised one that does not.

 

 

In short I feel your pain.

[Martijn Meerts]

To be fair though, MicroAce's market is Japan, and for most Japanese it wouldn't be an issues sending in a model for repair. MicroAce sales outside of Japan are very minimal, and the cost to manufacture and stock spare parts to make things cheaper for the few non-Japanese customers is probably way too high.

 

Obviously a bad experience makes you not want to buy the same brand again, but I have to say I haven't had any issues with my MicroAce trains at all, and I have a LOT of them. On the other hand, I have had a Tomix driveshaft break (and still haven't found a replacement btw, they seem to not have manufactured it for a while), and I've also had a Kato of more questionable running characteristics.

 

Of course, I also have 600 euro Marklin trains that could've been half the price, and Marklin would still have made a decent profit ;)

[keitaro]

alot of people buy Ma trains for customer steamers and the likes.

 

But yeah i agree they just wouldn't make enough profit to do so.

 

 

again you can make your own parts pay the money to fix it. I am lucky to have no MA train go yet.

[Samurai_Chris]

I bought the effing thing while living in Japan. Where I live should not be an excuse to not only a crap product. But then the ability to fix it!!!!

 

I don't care where a company's market is. If they build them in such a way that they will break only after a hand full of runs (and this is the second set) Then that doesn't bode well for thier product full stop!

[Martijn Meerts]

But you have the ability to fix it (or get it fixed), it's just not how you would like it to be.

 

I have at least 35-40 MicroAce locomotives and train sets, and not a single one of those has broken down or was dead on arrival. Even if I had a bad one, MicroAce makes too many good trains not to buy them any more :)

[Samurai_Chris]

They aren't fixed yet....