Tomytec - Painted & Anything Model Bus Related

[JR 500系]

Aaarghh.... I have to resist... but... my money...

Don't resist... Anyhow it isn't really expensive, and it's a lovely bus! These painted bus will be off the shelf very quickly and in high demand later!

 

I can't say much about the show though...

 

Here's an episode of the anime Girls & Panzer:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWaOMH_ksks

 

While i like anything general Japanese anime, this is really... way off my taste... Girls are cute, but panzer tanks driving like cars??? 

[Tyler B]

I'm thinking about getting one of the Tomy guided bus sets, just for the fun of it... but I have a question, some of the promotional pictures have a road/rail level crossing track piece, but I've never seen this for sale anywhere, does anyone have any information on this, or other unusual bits and pieces of roadway you can buy?

[Densha]

Anyhow it isn't really expensive, and it's a lovely bus! These painted bus will be off the shelf very quickly and in high demand later!

 

While i like anything general Japanese anime, this is really... way off my taste... Girls are cute, but panzer tanks driving like cars??? 

That's the problem with Japanese models; once you discover they aren't expensive you just get a higher quantity which results in the same amount of money spent. :S

I already pre-ordered it last month though; I just couldn't skip it!

 

And yeah, it's not my taste either. It's just... weird.

[JR 500系]

I'm thinking about getting one of the Tomy guided bus sets, just for the fun of it... but I have a question, some of the promotional pictures have a road/rail level crossing track piece, but I've never seen this for sale anywhere, does anyone have any information on this, or other unusual bits and pieces of roadway you can buy?

Hi Tyler: 

 

Not sure what you meant, but i'm guessing you are referring to the road and rail that Tomytec page here: http://www.tomytec.co.jp/diocolle/lineup/soko/soko001.html and how they are connected? The thing is, the Tomytec moving bus system road pieces are compatible with the Tomix Tram tracks; i.e. they can be connected together with the clips that come with the moving bus track pieces which you buy. They can then be clipped together to get what you see in the pictures; the tram and the bus moving together. However, to actually get a moving bus to go OVER a rail at a crossing is a challenge. 

 

Here's a video i posted sometime back in another thread which one very clever Japanese guy did and got the bus to go OVER the rail, combined with the automatic rail crossing system: 

 

 

Now that is cool! But that is modified, so there ain't a off-the-shelf part which we can purchase, unfortunately. 

 

@ Densha: Crappy anime if you ask me, but it's popular though in Japan ... I only pre-ordered one too, just to get in my moving chassis to have a printed bus moving around... Although it will definately be out of place since my other moving buses are in the Tokyo region while Ibaraki is kinda off don't you think?

[bill937ca]

Not sure what you meant, but i'm guessing you are referring to the road and rail...

 

Look here on the Hiroden Moving Bus package:

[JR 500系]

Look here on the Hiroden Moving Bus package:

HHhmmm.. So far i haven't come across anything Tomytec made that allowed the actual moving bus system to cross the rail, except for those that are self (customed) made. That picture on the box is misleading indeed... ~

 

Lookie here! 

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241011

Nice buses up for pre-order! Highway buses! They look good! http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10241011b/30/1

 

Also, the BM-03 moving chassis for the highway buses as mentioned a while back is also up for pre-order!

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241015

Seems like from the picture it looks like the chassis can be adjusted to fit various buses ~~ 

 

Also, quite a number of new Tomytec items due to release in Dec are also up for pre-ordering on HS site:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241017

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241018   (This is nice!) 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10240991

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241022

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241019

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241021

 

I'll be pre-ordering some of these from my fav seller soon! 

[Densha]

Also, quite a number of new Tomytec items due to release in Dec are also up for pre-ordering on HS site:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241017

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241018 (This is nice!)

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10240991

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241022

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241019

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10241021

Oh that's nice stuff! I like the diesel fuel tank, although it seems to be an older model like all these track accesories. The onsen buildings also look lovely! Edited September 5, 2013 by Densha

[ToniBabelony]

Oh that's nice stuff! I like the diesel fuel tank, although it seems to be an older model like all these track accesories.

 

Sorry to crush your dreams, but things like these are still in use ;) Japan isn't as modern as you'd expect on many fronts.

[Densha]

It's more that I have never seen one of these older types, but you're right that Japan isn't that modern with everything.

What may fit in this track accessory series are catchers for those "rings", I can't remember the name of that safety system but I have seen it in videos.

[ToniBabelony]

It's more that I have never seen one of these older types, but you're right that Japan isn't that modern with everything.

What may fit in this track accessory series are catchers for those "rings", I can't remember the name of that safety system but I have seen it in videos.

 

Ah, you mean block tokens? I don't know if they're still in use (maybe some local tracks in remote areas, Shikoku? Hokkaidō?), but they can always be used as some remnants of days gone by.

[Densha]

The catchers are spiral shaped thingies on poles and when the train passes by the train staff has to throw a ring on the pole. Didn't the Kururi line had such a system until last year when the old diesels were replaced? It was a tad bit different because they didn't have those poles but the rings were exchanged by station staff.

[cteno4]

A nice picture of a spiral token catcher was just posted today over on the jrforum yahoo group. The are lovely contraptions and would make a wonderful sculpture for the back yard!

 

Jeff

[Tyler B]

Just bought my first moving bus set (the B2 start set), and some tram track to go inside it. Looking forward to getting it all running. It's my first Tomix track, so its interesting to compare it to the Kato Unitram track I already have. Now if only I could bodge a way of joining them together...

[KenS]

There's no easy way to do it and have it look like street, but you can connect Kato Unitrack to Tomix Fine Track using the 20-045 Unitrack Snap-Track Conversion track and a short length of Tomix Fine Track, like this.

[cteno4]

Just bought my first moving bus set (the B2 start set), and some tram track to go inside it. Looking forward to getting it all running. It's my first Tomix track, so its interesting to compare it to the Kato Unitram track I already have. Now if only I could bodge a way of joining them together...

 

Tyler

 

You can run a wire under your roads to run your tomytec busses with. Will required tearing into the underside of the unitram sections, but doable. Bit harder will be reproducing the turnout stops, but possible.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[IST]

You can run a wire under your roads to run your tomytec busses with. Will required tearing into the underside of the unitram sections, but doable. Bit harder will be reproducing the turnout stops, but possible.

 

I made some experiment with this. It is doable but I find it not so reliable. A short video from me:

[cteno4]

Ist,

 

Nice! What did you use for wire. You need low carbon steel wire. Some folks that have rolled their own roadways with faller busses and no faller wire have had to try several wires before they found one that worked well.

 

Did you route thru all the cross pieces?

 

Jeff

Edited September 15, 2013 by cteno4

[Densha]

It's clearly visible that when running a tram on the inner loop it will crash with the bus.

[IST]

Nice! What did you use for wire. You need low carbon steel wire. Some folks that have rolled their own roadways with faller busses and no faller wire have had to try several wires before they found one that worked well.

 

Did you route thru all the cross pieces?

 

Thaks Jeff!

 

I used a wire which is originally for flower tightening. :-) But I will look after this low carbon steel wire.

I made small holes in the cross pieces and run the wire through of them.

[IST]

It's clearly visible that when running a tram on the inner loop it will crash with the bus.

 

I know, but this will be the responsibility for the tram driver on my layout.

[cteno4]

IST

 

Cool. Yeah I remember one chap with the faller bus finding the floral wire worked. In the end he found something better as the faller steering magnets are not that strong. Ill see if I have those emails still and what he finally found. The faller wire is pretty low carbon, pretty soft and easily oxidizes.

 

When I was fiddling with the faller bus, taping wire patterns under a chipboard surface, I found that doing easements in and out of the curves both made for cleaner turns and also less loosing the wire.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

Edited September 15, 2013 by cteno4

[JR 500系]

IST

 

Cool. Yeah I remember one chap with the faller bus finding the floral wire worked. 

HHmm... it made me wonder how the buses will not follow the metal rail track instead of the metal wire that runs across the crossing.. 

 

Here's more news from Tomytec:

 

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/diocolle/news/1309/12_event03.html

Nara buses for sale!

 

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/diocolle/news/1309/12_event02.html

Osaka buses for sale!

 

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/diocolle/news/1309/12_event01.html

Enoden buses for sale!

 

Darn they're only sold at events.... Would love the Nara buses! Wish i was in Japan... 

[Densha]

One of those Osaka buses looks to be a CNG bus.

Last year a CNG bus in a neighbouring town of mine, the type that is also used where I live, suddenly caught fire. The fire expanded to the gas tanks on top of the buses which led to the gas expanding because of the heat. That led to the pressure valves opening to prevent explosion, but because there was fire it resulted in an enormous flamethrower of 20 meters long! Be warned, if you watch this video you might never want to ride any CNG bus again: http://www.regio15.nl/actueel/lijst-weergave/20-branden/13972-aardgasbus-in-brand-wittenburgerweg

This even made it to the international press. Last month a report from the inspection of safety was released and they said there isn't anything wrong with these buses, oh yes there is.

[cteno4]

One of those Osaka buses looks to be a CNG bus.Last year a CNG bus in a neighbouring town of mine, the type that is also used where I live, suddenly caught fire. The fire expanded to the gas tanks on top of the buses which led to the gas expanding because of the heat. That led to the pressure valves opening to prevent explosion, but because there was fire it resulted in an enormous flamethrower of 20 meters long! Be warned, if you watch this video you might never want to ride any CNG bus again: http://www.regio15.nl/actueel/lijst-weergave/20-branden/13972-aardgasbus-in-brand-wittenburgerwegThis even made it to the international press. Last month a report from the inspection of safety was released and they said there isn't anything wrong with these buses, oh yes there is.

 

Ok chicken little. The system did just what it's designed to do, vent the gas in a flame rather than a large explosion. Diesel bus in a fire like that would have had its tank explode and a lot earlier and that would have been more destructive. We have cnc busses all over the us and they are not going up in flames all the time.

 

Jeff

[Tyler B]

I'm surprised the tank vented sideways in that fire, I would assume that it would be designed to vent upwards, would that not be generally safer?