cteno4 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 (edited) Yeah don't start to worry until like 3-3.5 weeks, but I will be very surprised if it goes poof as I don't think we have had a report of a japan to us sal package missing report here yet. Couple have come thru beat up but I think those were pj boxes as they are not using as sturdy as box these days. HS, loco1hobbies and Modeltrainplus all use very sturdy boxes and packing and while the boxes at times can have dings, I've never had anything damaged. Again the savings in shipping over Ems self insures you quickly to cover you and then let's you buy more trains! Ebay are very rough estimates as the stuff I get China post they usually put 3-4weeks on but can be 1-3 weeks after the sent notification goes out. The sal is a good lesson in patience -- sort of a zen thing to not track it's every movement and when you open the mailbox and a package is there ist quite a nice treat/surprise! I kind of just forget about them after they ship and let them surprise me! But then again I have wayyy to many toys here to keep me occupied in the mean time! Jeff Edited March 5, 2015 by cteno4 Link to comment
Guest keio6000 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Patience? Due to my travel schedule i have many of my train orders shipped to places (continents/countries) where i am not. Between that and retailers kindly consolidating orders for me its up to two years sometimes before i see what i bought :) 2 Link to comment
marknewton Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 That sure is patient - I couldn't wait that long! As an aside, two parcels arrived at my house this morning that were posted in Japan on Monday 2nd March. Not bad at all! :) Details of the contents are on the HO thread... Cheers, Mark. Link to comment
katoftw Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 (edited) I have no patience. haha But in regards to Japanese sellers, I find SAL packages from PJ take 10-14 days to arrive. And SAL packages from HS take 21-28 days to arrive. So can conclude that PJ send theirs quickly where HS holds onto them and sends in bundles to get discount. But HS does offer very cheap shipping, so at least they are passing on the savings. Edited March 6, 2015 by katoftw Link to comment
cteno4 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Hmm opposite here in the us, pj is usually bit longer than HS for sal shipping for me. Interesting! I just assumed that HS did more volume so would maybe have more runs with a shipper. Pj shipping rates are usualy a bit higher, though they do come down if you ask to combine, but usually more than HS. But I've found pj consistently cheaper than HS for sal on tomytec vehicle sets over the years, rather odd... Jeff Link to comment
enodenlover Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Happy days, my Modemo Meitetsu set finally arrived today. The train is a beauty, nicely detailed and smooth running, but there is one problem with it that's driving me bonkers and that is those #@%&$*# couplers. Those tiny things are the worst I've ever seen and since I can't read Japanese the instruction sheet is of no help whatsoever. Anyone else who has this set have any advice on how to live with them? Or is replacement the way to go? Link to comment
serotta1972 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I visit MTP, Loco1 and HS almost nightly looking for what's new or any restock and my due diligence has paid off for me and the supplier. I think I scored a couple of nice trains and good thing I was patient and didn't pull the trigger on some of the Ebay offerings. Here's what I got. Loco1 - Tomix E1 Ibis, Tomix 400 Tsubasa Old Paint, Kato Series 313-2500 HS - Tomix Series 100 Spacia Orange, Tomix Series 115 Coca Cola, Kato Kiha 30/36 Capitol Color 4 Cars Ebay - MicroAce Series 23000 Iseshima Liner Doug - Kato Kiha 110 4 cars, Tomix Kiha 183-2550 HET, 2 Kato Commuter sets I hope they don't all arrive all at once - it will be hard to sneak into the house. 1 Link to comment
JR 500系 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 The Ibis E1 MAX from Loco1 is a great score! I took a long and hard time to think of getting this but thanks for helping me make that decision! :) Link to comment
serotta1972 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 So glad I was able to help you make your decision. Lately there's been a lot of restock, it's good and not good. Link to comment
katoftw Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Currently finalizing orders from multiple retailers for:- Tomytec Kumamoto Electric Rail Type 200 Tomytec Keihan Type 600 Tomytec Keihan Type 600 Tetsudou Musume Wrapped Tomytec Keihan Type 600 K-On Wrapped Tomytec TM-05R Power Unit Tomix PT4811N Pantographs 2pk 2x Tomytec TT-04R Trailer Converstion Parts 3x Tomytec TM-20 Power Unit 3x Tomix PG16 Pantographs 2pk Kato WS64PC 2pk This ordering got a little out of hand. I also added:- Tomytec Kiha125 Yellow One Man Train Tomytec TM-23 Power Unit Link to comment
Ken Ford Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 This ordering got a little out of hand. That *never* happens to me. ;) Link to comment
cteno4 Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 my J.R. Series 500-7000 Sanyo Shinkansen `Kansenger Wrapping` just showed up. nice train, but not huge painted effect, but wanted an 500-7000 so nice combo, lucky the yen is low though! it ended up taking about 34 days SAL, i think thats a record for me as the longest ever. Also just looked and a package from Hobby Link is now at 30 days and another from HS is now at 21 days. SAL all of a sudden here has slowed way up! last packages were in december and those were here at just around 2 week mark... jeff 1 Link to comment
Fenway Park Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 (edited) ED19 and ED19 set with cement cars have arrived safely. Not found in Kyushu but may do a small Iida Line layout in the future. Also good news David at Loco Plus has pm to say the D51 spare loco body and tender body have arrived. So they will enable me to make the loco more suitable to Kyushu and keep the originals if I ever want to sell on in the future. Excellent service from all three of my Japanese suppliers but may reduce my reliance on HS as the other two are definitely more personal. Edited March 7, 2015 by Fenway Park Link to comment
Martijn Meerts Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I went and bought some wood, cork, and glue, and managed to (finally) start working on the helix. Or well, I managed to glue the cork onto the wood anyway.. I now have enough for the first 2 loops of the helix out of 4 in total. I'm starting to get the hang of not buying new trains all the time and instead focus on buying stuff to build the layout :) 1 Link to comment
linkey Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Just came in today is the TOMIX W7 now that will join with my TOMIX E7 running around the layout. Another Shinkansen added to my consist of other Shinkansens and rolling stock fleet. Link to comment
railsquid Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I'm starting to get the hang of not buying new trains all the time and instead focus on buying stuff to build the layout :) What is this mad talk? :icon_scratch: 1 Link to comment
Ken Ford Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I saw a show on NHK World a few weeks ago about the Isumi line in Chiba and was enchanted. A Tomytec Isumi Series 200 two pack and a power chassis arrived today, I think I'm going to experiment with these for a 6.5mm gauge conversion. Link to comment
enodenlover Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 My 4-car Kintetsu 30000 Series Vista Car set from Tomix arrived today. It's a real beauty and it runs well too. This is my first intercity train; usually I stick to local commuter-type equipment but I've always loved this train and I just couldn't resist. Link to comment
Melandir Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Today I have received the Kato Twilight express full set, I was very surprised to discover that kato still like us DCC addicted both end cars have slot for the FL12 decoder to pilot end head and tail lights, and the restaurant coach have a slot to install an FR11 decoder to pilot the abatjour on the tables I had to rush to order the decoders :) 1 Link to comment
1954G Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Today I have received the Kato Twilight express full set, I was very surprised to discover that kato still like us DCC addicted both end cars have slot for the FL12 decoder to pilot end head and tail lights, and the restaurant coach have a slot to install an FR11 decoder to pilot the abatjour on the tables I had to rush to order the decoders :) Congratulations on receiving it and starting the DCC conversion process. My Kato Twilight Express arrived last week; it's an amazing model. Coincidentally, the prototype is being retired today. Link to comment
the_weird_one Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Just recieved my Ho-Kago tea Time Train + bits from Loco1 looks really nice 1 Link to comment
katoftw Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 Surprizingly the Tetsudou Musume version came with the bogie covers also supplied in the motor unit boxes. I'll have alot of spare parts. Link to comment
katoftw Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 And one hours later the postman drops this off. Link to comment
cteno4 Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 P3130136.JPG Surprizingly the Tetsudou Musume version came with the bogie covers also supplied in the motor unit boxes. I'll have alot of spare parts. You will wind up with quite a pile of spare parts when your start to pimp out the tomytec trains! Jeff Link to comment
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