What did you order or the post deliver? (Japanese N Gauge)

[Cat]

2 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

Ooh, you'll have to show us your tank train! I'll show you mine (admittedly in H0, but who cares?) if you do! I'm still waiting to watch Das Finale 3 and wondering how next time around Oarai will dig themselves out of trouble. Maybe a battle of the troll tanks between the Hetzer and the BT-42?

We have plans for the tank train, but that's a little ways down the modelling queue.  I picked up a pile of Peco 15' 4-wheel chassis and need to scratch build decks for them to make Shorty Warflats.
 
There are a few photos of my 1/100 tanks over in the Miniature Gaming thread.  And then there's a pile of semi-recently acquired 1/144 tanks to repaint for the train layout.
https://jnsforum.com/community/topic/16554-miniature-gaming/

 

[Tick]

This arrived in the post this morning, my first Japanese model, and the first N scale I've had in years; it's a Tomix KiHa35 driver and trailer car set. The last time I tried N scale the mechanisms were considerably bigger, so being able to see through the windows on the motorised unit was a nice surprise.

I do not currently have any N gauge track, as I was thinking of just getting a circle of Peco set track, but then fell down a rabbit hole of t-track documentation and videos. So track can wait till I've made up my mind.

[comeng84]

Nice first purchase and welcome to the world of Japanese N scale. I have three Kato Kiha 35/36’s myself… nice little units.

 

If your stuck on deciding on what to do in regards to track, both Kato and Tomix offer very nice track. Both brands have advantages and disadvantages, so it all depends on what you would like to achieve.

 

Do your research, select what brand suites your needs, and fall down the rabbit hole 😁

[railsquid]

Another round of junk:

 

 

The blue train is the Tomytec Seibu 30000 series "Doraemon-Gou" train, which is not the kind of thing I normally purchase, but I end up riding the real thing often enough, and Omicron has just put paid to plans to use the money elsewhere, and also the Squidlet thinks I don't have enough Seibu trains.

[disturbman]

13 hours ago, Tick said:

This arrived in the post this morning, my first Japanese model, and the first N scale I've had in years; it's a Tomix KiHa35 driver and trailer car set. The last time I tried N scale the mechanisms were considerably bigger, so being able to see through the windows on the motorised unit was a nice surprise.

Welcome back to N scale, it must have been a while. I don’t remember Motors that large. It’s a very nice model to start with Japanese N, I‘m very partial to the KiHa 40 myself. Never have enough of them.

 

Track can be difficult too choose. You can also use different ones depending on the situation or need. I have been very happy with Finetracks, but I have to import it from Japan. 

[Nozomi329]

On 1/20/2022 at 9:38 AM, Cat said:

the tank train

I have always wondered if they were able to fit the Porsche Tiger into the Japanese loading gauge. Maus is obviously a much bigger problem...

And if those two little diesel cars are really capable of pulling a train of 8 to 10 tanks.

(Well, these are probably not a concern comparing to their massive school ships😆)

[Tick]

On 1/21/2022 at 2:12 PM, comeng84 said:

Nice first purchase and welcome to the world of Japanese N scale. I have three Kato Kiha 35/36’s myself… nice little units.

 

If your stuck on deciding on what to do in regards to track, both Kato and Tomix offer very nice track. Both brands have advantages and disadvantages, so it all depends on what you would like to achieve.

 

Do your research, select what brand suites your needs, and fall down the rabbit hole 😁

My thoughts were I'd just get some set track for testing and 'playing trains', as a layout won't happen for a while (original plan was/is to use Peco code 55 for that). So I think I'll just get some Kato track, as that'll let me test and play while also allowing for the possibility of going the t-track route later.

[ED75-775]

Latest acquisition, courtesy of Zenmarket and Yahoo! Auctions Japan:

 

This came wrapped triply well: an external layer of bubble wrap, a sealed plastic sleeve, and then finally the catalog in its own bag! Gotta love Zenmarket and the way they pack their stuff...

 

I got my 2021 catalog (and the corresponding Tomix one) from the same seller, and as a bonus, they threw in a wallet-size calendar and two calendar postcards as a freebie. Would I be lucky again this time?

 

Yes I was! Not having seen this from any other hobby stores in Japan - not that I’ve dealt with many, mind you - I can’t say how common this is but it’s a nice touch.

 

Oh, and did I mention I got some in 2021? Here they are for the sake of completeness:

 

If anyone’s interested, the shop’s web address is http://hokutosei2014.shop-pro.jp/. They sometimes have spare parts on YAJ too, I’ve brought from them occasionally in the past. I have also once looked up whereabouts in Japan it is, and have since forgotten.

 

Back on the secondhand front, the person who sold me a C56 also yielded a very tidy Kato Ohafu 61 which is en route to Osaka. I now have to remind myself to show some restraint, and not go for the Kato ED19 they’re also selling. So tempting... I don’t really need it... it can wait... 😆

[gavino200]

1 hour ago, ED75-775 said:

 

That yellow loco on the calendar looks interesting. Does it say what it is?

Edited January 26, 2022 by disturbman

[JR 500系]

12 minutes ago, gavino200 said:

 

That yellow loco on the calendar looks interesting. Does it say what it is?

 

That's probably the Kiya 97  from JR Tokai ~ Interesting little maintenace wagon!

 

I also have my work cut out for me this weekend... and the CNY coming up~

 

[JR 500系]

I probably made the craziest mistake ever.... Saving a few hundren yens only to pay a few thousands more in terms of shipping... It's been a while since i last saw such hefty shipping costs!

 

 

Literally kicking myself silly.... 8142 yen for shipping is NOT ideal... The thing with HS, they do automated payment and thereafter shipping... While it's convinenet, you dont get a chance to amend anything before payment and shipping... If this order was with RG, i could probably ask for a splitting of the cases in order to reduce the shipping.... 

 

 

 

 

I have been looking for these cases for a while, thanks to @disturbman for recommending these space saving book cases, that stores up to 6 and even 7 cars!

 

 

 

6 cars, at the cost of a Kato 4-car book case ~ Time to start packing up the cupboard to get more space!

[disturbman]

😅 You got all in. Yes, the Casco minis are perfect. And you can print and insert custom labels for them in that little plastic pocket.

[cplchanb]

12 hours ago, JR 500系 said:

 

That's probably the Kiya 97  from JR Tokai ~ Interesting little maintenace wagon!

 

I also have my work cut out for me this weekend... and the CNY coming up~

 

Beat my order of 7X. they are nice but expensiiiive... over $350CAD for my order

[Yavianice]

Received the HKTILC/Popondetta lights today for my Tomix 800 anniversary Shinkansen

 

I have a bit mixed feelings about it, to be honest. The lights only just barely fit in the train (you need to alter the brackets slightly, because the light board is 0.5mm too wide for the bracket, otherwise you won't be able to put the body back on the shell. Nothing major though). The light animation is great, but, opposed to what they show in the video, totally random. Also, it only works in a goldilocks zone between totally stationary and 25% speed. Above it, the animation stops and the light becomes rainbow by default.

 

I'd say these lights are only suitable for the hardcore train otaku's around, for the other 99% (aka normal people) who just want to have fancier lights than simply yellow, the ordinary rainbow lights sold at a fraction of the price probably satisfy your needs. 

 

UPDATE 1: HKTILC recommends this exclusively with TOMIX CL power packs. Not DCC or KATO SX. So, be mindful of your purchase.

 

UPDATE 2: Ok, the lights work as expected with KATO power pack but only if you have the right power setting RIGHT AWAY when you start the train. Aka you must have the 50% power setting (the knob on the top of the power pack SX) when you put power on the train. The train will start running without accelerating, but this way you have the correct power setting. With TOMIX you have a knob where you can change the PWM setting, so I guess you do not have this problem (I do not own a TOMIX CL power pack so I wouldn't know for sure, this is an assumption). I have asked HKTILC already if the KATO version is any different (aka if it has a minimum power requirement before the train starts running). Otherwise, these lights are not useful for owners of KATO power packs. 

 

UPDATE 3: HKTILC has confirmed the KATO lights are the same as the TOMIX lights. Thus, if you own a KATO Power Pack SX, you should not buy this product at all.

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by Yavianice
Updates from the manufacturer

[ED75-775]

Got another preorder email from Hobbysearch today warning me that MicroAce have decided to produce the KiHa 07 in early February. I'm going on leave in late February so that will give me something to play with (besides building two Gundam and one Moderoid Shinkalion kits if I don't assemble them sooner.)

 

Also noticed the Geomatrix rollsign stickers for the Tomix 215 series, has anyone had any experience with Geomatrix products and how easy are they to fit? I'm curious to hear whether they are worthwhile. Seeing them has given me a crazy idea to dust off my near-new official JR Timetable and start hunting to find out which service I photographed at distance in 2019, and where it was headed for.

[deathletter]

More freight:

 

The 4 Kato Koki 104 2 car sets on the right were from a fakebook contact. The Tamus, other Kokis and Yamato containers were from yahoo.jp. 🍻

 

 

 

[Kamome]

I’ve not had many n gauge acquisitions over the last few years, mainly due to an already sizeable collection so I have been a lot more selective with purchases than I was when starting out in the hobby. 

 

Certainly not a large haul but couldn’t help be tempted by the JR Kyushu Kiha 58/28 that Kato released to commemorate 2021s diorama contest. 10-952.

 

Probably not hugely exciting to many, but a very nice model with a lot of included details and as it’s in JR Kyushu livery, it fits very nicely into my  fleet of Kyushu stock. 

Edited January 30, 2022 by Kamome

[JR East]

15 hours ago, deathletter said:

More freight:

 

The 4 Kato Koki 104 2 car sets on the right were from a fakebook contact. The Tamus, other Kokis and Yamato containers were from yahoo.jp. 🍻

 

 

 

 

 

I've discovered I can purchase a JR 313-Koki Series, I want it !!!

 

 

[Cat]

5 hours ago, JR East said:

I've discovered I can purchase a JR 313-Koki Series, I want it !!!

 

 

 

But still no 20' Black Cat containers to ride on Shorty kokis.  30' is the shortest I've seen.

(₌ ᵕ̣̣̣̣̣ ᆽ ᵕ̣̣̣̣̣₌)

 

 

[Arctic]

Today I got a parcel from RG-Rokko containing a CASCO storage case and the Kiha 40-1700 Sanmei/Shisui. I wasn't originally planning to get the Sanmei/Shisui because it mostly operates outside the area of Hokkaido I'm interested in, but I was convinced by everyone's pictures of theirs on this thread!

 

 

The bookcase has enough space for reservations I made of the Kiha 40-700/1700 in Soya Line Express colour and the Greenmax Kiha 54 sets releasing in May. Thanks to @disturbman for recommending! I got two more for 223/225 series and Yamaguchi Line Kiha's as well! I like that I can change the label on the front as well.

 

As you can see I also picked up a Kiha 54 in Lupin paint from Buyee. It was a £50 buyout and advertised as mostly unused (only run once when bought then in storage) so I snapped it up as I thought this was a good price for something out of production.

 

 

 

It arrived looking in good condition, it runs well except that the motor is very screechy. I'm guessing that something happened in transit, the packaging seemed good enough but I didn't get buyee protective packaging and these things can happen anyway.

 

I guess it's most likely that something just needs greasing up however being new to the hobby I've never done something like this before. I did manage to take off and put back on the body a few times without breaking anything which I was worried about doing. I guess I need to do some reading up on how to do these things and hope it doesn't involve any more disassembling.

 

I also looked up how to attach TN couplers to it so I could use it alongside Tomix Kiha 40's and found this video by Susukuma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3w-UYnfFQQ and it looks to be a complicated process and he seems to explain some of it in Japanese as the video skips so it may be beyond me right now.

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by Arctic

[disturbman]

This train was released before GM started using their new motor. The older Greenmax motors were known to be screechers. You can try lubricating or just get one of the new coreless motors, I think they are around 4000JPY new. Changing the motor should be as easy as just swapping the bottom part of the train. Just replace the full unit.

GM and TNs can be a pain in the ass. But it should be easier if you use a JC25. Look at your manual for reference.

Edited February 2, 2022 by disturbman

[Arctic]

3 minutes ago, disturbman said:

This train was released before GM started using their new motor. The older Greenmax motors were known to be screechers. You can try lubricating or just get one of the new coreless motors, I think they are around 4000JPY new. Changing the motor should be as easy as just swapping the bottom part of the train. Just replace the full unit.

GM and TNs can be a pain in the ass. But it should be easier if you use a JC25. Look at your manual for reference.

 

Ahh I had read about older Greenmax motors not being very good, but I wasn't sure how far back it went. Yeah I watched a video showing about six different Kiha 54 and they look like the base of the train will swap out easily, so if I can't make it any better I will take this option.

[cplchanb]

The Kato N700S came in the mail yesterday from hobbysearch. I found the motor to be considerably louder than the Kato 100 series grand hikari that came in new a couple months ago. Is there a reason for that?

 

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by disturbman
missing line jump w/ pictures

[katoftw]

Check the drive shafts are all correctly located. I find bogies and driveshafts are the first things to move from big hits during shipping.

 

Incorrectly moving shafts create extra resistance for the motor to spin, hence more noise.

[cplchanb]

1 hour ago, katoftw said:

Check the drive shafts are all correctly located. I find bogies and driveshafts are the first things to move from big hits during shipping.

 

Incorrectly moving shafts create extra resistance for the motor to spin, hence more noise.

Interesting.... will do! Thanks for the tips!