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

[Wolf]

13 hours ago, JR East said:

I'll be very please to have your feedback on it. 

 

What you need to know/see, I have them in storage.

[DenshaTen]

Another package from RG Rokko including my first ever Greenmax model which I am quite impressed with so already planning to purchase more!

[ED75-775]

Oooh, KiHa 110, that reminds me I saw one earlier this year at Yorii Station on the Chichibu Railway while heading back from Nagatoro:

 

 

I almost brought one from Hobby Land Pochi in Nagoya but decided against it, just 'seeing' a train doesn't warrant having it unless it fits in with other stuff I have (and it didn't). Got to get ruthless with what I buy in future as I'm once again slowly running out of space.

 

My hit rate has dramatically slowed now that I'm back home again, and assessed both the damage to my now somewhat-abused wallet and steadily-reducing space to put trains. But I'm still in the market for stuff if the timing and price is right, latest being a Kato 2016 D51 for ¥6,625 from our friends marketenterprise2006 on Yahoo! Auctions. This one looks to be in good condition, and as a bonus still has its front guard irons intact, which my 2016-9 version didn't when I brought it. For some reason, they're not available as assy parts, I'm actually curious as to why?

 

Also to come in my next haul are some more parts for my 8620 fleet - extra snowplows and some replacement drawbars as one of my 8620s has a nasty habit of uncoupling its tender at times while running for no apparent reason - plus four trams already posted about on the forum. And as I pen this another tram just fell into my shopping basket: after several attempts, I finally managed to land a Tomytec Hiroden 1900! This one has undergone a few tasteful modifications to make it look even closer to the real thing than the original was. And as I've seen the original tram IRL during my visit to Hiroshima, it was a must-have.

 

 

And speaking of which, here's 1907 at Genbaku-dome-mae tram stop on my first night. Not the best photo, but hey, it was late evening, and with trams coming and going in quick succession you don't get the luxury of setting up for a nice clean shot every time. I did also snap sister 1901 here too, but so far that one has eluded me in model form... so far.

 

Alastair

[bc6]

I finally got to order some decoders and a FL12. I also ordered a Arduino plus motor shield and Wi-Fi shield.

 

[tripel7]

Finally recieved my Kato E6, now I can finally couple it with my E5:

 

 

[SL58654号]

My accumulation of Japanese electric locomotives (EL) for my expanding N gauge fleet has grown one unit larger by the addition of the gorgeous, classic EF65 1000 (3061-6) that I got with one day delivery from Amazon Japan this afternoon. It was cheaper online by almost 1500 yen compared to at my Kumamoto hobby shop. Other electrics like the EF13 and the EF15 I've acquired at a cheaper price at my hobby store. This special livery variant is meant to complement the D51 200 and its accompanying SL Yamaguchi coach set, which I've already owned for quite some time. This'll be a frequent runner with freight or at the back of my SL Yamaguchi set once I get my planned layout up and running. Japan has modern locomotives that I really admire, even if they're not steam.

What Japanese model train goodies came in the mail for you other fellow enthusiasts out there? 

 

And to add to that, maybe it's sacrilege, but I've also owned this engine man's greasetop for a few years and now's as good as time as any for me to wear it once I have my layout set up. 

Edited July 22, 2023 by SL58654Gō

[Tony Galiani]

Bit of an odd order for me - both in terms of items purchased and the delivery experience.  I had restrained myself on my recent trip to Japan as I am trying to stay focused on my pending projects.  (Of course, that is not working all that well.)  I recently received a sale notice from Plaza Japan so took a look and saw some items that I wanted for a future project, the prices were reasonable and I had a small discount coupon so I went ahead and ordered them.  I rounded out the order with building kits and bits and pieces as I am storing up detail items to have on hand.

Two weeks on - nothing.  Unusual for Plaza Japan so I reach out.  A couple of e-mails one evening to clarify then - about an hour or so later - I get a note saying my order was shipped that morning (which is my evening - basically a little while after I reached out).  I wonder if someone had an "oops" moment?  Anyway, once shipped it arrived in two days with a couple of add in items as Plaza Japan usually does - an eraser and some sort of cloth.

Back to trying to stay focused on my workbench ....

Tony

Edited July 22, 2023 by Tony Galiani
clarification

[SL-san]

19 hours ago, SL58654Gō said:

What Japanese model train goodies came in the mail for you other fellow enthusiasts out there? 

Another delivery from RGR!  Sent from Kobe on Friday afternoon and arrived in Sydney, Australia on Sunday morning!!

Initially quite a number of Tomytec people, a Greenmax structure kit and some overhead wire masts, but then I could not help myself and added Kato's 58654 'SL Hitoyoshi' to the order.  What a beautiful model!!!

Graeme

Edited July 23, 2023 by SL-san
RGR not RGG

[Rod.H]

As I bought the recent Kato koki 106/107 set, I'm koki ahead. Probably not now as I've ordered some more containers. I was surprised that there were still GuP containers available at Hobby Search. I suspect that they're of teams/tanks and container size that are not desirable. I've also placed a pre-order for the upcoming Patlabor containers.

[katoftw]

On 6/14/2023 at 5:58 AM, Sascha said:

One small box from Hobby Search!!

Volume 2

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/11005435

[Tony Galiani]

Something a little different this time.  I have been watching tons of Japanese railway videos and the grass always seems brighter and lighter than what I have been able to find via Woodland Scenics products.  After looking at various sources - and wanting to sample some different products - I ordered some Noch and JJT products.  The Kato engine house sort of fell into the shopping cart - it was on sale and I thought it might be handy (?) for a future project.  Somehow I was a bit careless and double ordered a couple of items and also got JTT flock that is darker than I wanted but plenty to play with and see what looks good when put to use.

Ciao,
Tony

[cteno4]

You can never can have enough flock/ground foam and never too many colors!

 

jeff

[mags_minibuilds]

@Tony Galiani The Noch light green flock is the most used flock that I have. I agree the WS shades are too dark. When I use the WS fine turf I sprinkle some of the Noch light green to give it some dimension. My most recent favorite Noch product is their leaves, I make trees out of it along with seafoam. It's a shame that not many local US dealers carry Noch scatter material and flock.

[Tony Galiani]

@mags_minibuilds Thanks for the info.  I will try that technique with the Noch light green.  BTW, I ordered mine from Trainworld in Brooklyn.

Ciao,

Tony

[cteno4]

Noch seems to be back into us sources more these days, I see it more at trains shows than I use to. Just got a little usb coffee grinder to try and grind larger leaf scatter down closer to n scale.

 

I agree I always like mixing a bit of a few other shades of greens or brows to make color less uniform and contrast is very nice. Even a few bits of slightly larger foam for larger weeds bumping up.

 

jeff

[Aleks]

These trams came over the past few months and were just mostly boxed as I did not have rails to run them on. Now the new layout with temporary wiring is up and operational, and they all run well. 

 

Except these two which still wait for their chassis... Kumamoto tram from Surugaya and Tomytec's Toyama Lightrail from HLJ

 

Hiroshima, Kato's Toyama Centram from Mandarake and Nagasaki from HLJ

 

 

Old Toyohashi that RG Rokko still happened to have...

 

 

Two old used trams from buyee,  Kawasaki and Toyama

 

 

Parked in depot, front row, Nagasaki (bless RG Rokko), Hiroshima, Chikuho Dentetsu, back row, Tatras

 

 

Iyotetsu 2006 from buyee and Tomytec's Toden from RG Rokko

 

 

I am not in the market for Kyoto trams - don't know why - but this one just jumped into my basket - don't know how - when I was making a few bids at buyee. May be because it's a twin of the Iyotetsu... 

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Aleks

[ED75-775]

8 hours ago, Aleks said:

Maybe because it's a twin of the Iyotetsu...

Actually, the Iyotetsu and Kyoto 2000-series cars are the same type, at different points in their working lives, something I think I've mentioned on some of your photos in the past. Iyotetsu brought five, numbers 2002-06, when they were retired from Kyoto service in 1977 while 2001 was kept for preservation in Kyoto and is now displayed in Umekoji Park. It's the tram that got me into tram modelling, and here's my photo of the real thing from earlier this year:

 

 

Didn't plan on buying too much new stuff but somehow, someone listed the Tomytec Hiroden 1901 model I've been hunting for and I decided that I couldn't let the little bugger slide this time! Unlike sister 1907, this is a vanilla model with no modifications, but I'm sure I can overlook the inauthentic, at least for the present day, bow collector on the roof. Oh, and because I can, here's my photo of 1901 two weeks or so before the above photo, waiting at Genbaku-dome-mae tram stop.

 

 

Soft focus, late at night, not my best work but one that feels kind of atmospheric and nostalgic. I think with this my Hiroden 'rolling museum' fleet is somewhat complete with only the new ex-Kobe 1100-series car to come. I'm not interested in the ex-Hannover tram as I never saw it during my time in Hiroshima, and while I'm sure I could plausibly make an exception for the 700 and 800-series cars to join my collection, I've not yet felt the urge to get them, or seen any come up at a reasonable price. Which probably means that someone here on the forum will pop up and reveal that they know just where to go if I wanna scratch that itch...

 

Alastair

[Aleks]

3 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

Actually, the Iyotetsu and Kyoto 2000-series cars are the same type, at different points in their working lives, something I think I've mentioned on some of your photos in the past. Iyotetsu brought five, numbers 2002-06, when they were retired from Kyoto service in 1977 while 2001 was kept for preservation in Kyoto and is now displayed in Umekoji Park. It's the tram that got me into tram modelling, and here's my photo of the real thing from earlier this year:

 

 

I remember very well, and thank you again! This is why I called it "twin".

[lighthouse]

Last stuff till December arrived....

 

 

[Rod.H]

So yet another mock point, a stack of containers, some fences and work vehicles.  Some of those containers I think I posted earlier. However I think I need some more kokis

 

[ED75-775]

@Aleks thanks for the reminder that I’m not the only one with a memory for arcane facts, I hope no offence was caused by my comment. You’ve got a nice little collection there too, especially that Kawasaki tram. Is that a Modemo model?

 

Anyway, some more stuff turned up on Wednesday and today, so time for a photo:

 

 

So, from today’s little lot, we have:

- Five Tomytec trams, four Hiroshima cars and the Nagoya anniversary 2000-series car;

- One Kato 2016 D51;

- One packet of spare snowploughs and another with two replacement draw bars for my Kato 8620 fleet (all via Zenmarket);

- Two Revolution Factory decal sets for the ToKi 25000 gondolas (Hobbysearch) - the first RLF parts I’ve brought and which came in HS’s standard small box which even then was overkill for the two small decal sets inside! Dad and I had to chuckle at that.

 

And on Wednesday this turned up, also from Hobbysearch:

 

 

The Tomix 97955 KiHa 40 Tadami Line set, which has turned out to be a very nice little set complete with protective cardboard cover. I’ve already added most of the detail parts, barring the train telephone antennas which need to be lightly glued in place.

 

Working on these also reminds me why I hate flare tubes so much... they are an absolute PITA to install, and Tomix’s ones are the worst even with the supplied pusher. I lost three of the six tubes provided with the set trying to get them installed, which as always left me feeling something other than zen. But both cars now have their flare tubes installed, and I’ll give them a test run next ‘not-quite-a-weekend-weekend’ along with a proper review.

 

Now that these KiHa’s have arrived, I wonder if it might be time for me to start thinking about building a nice, small layout to show them off on. Single-track, local line... maybe the included photo book isn’t just a bonus for a limited-edition item after all!

 

Alastair

Edited August 4, 2023 by ED75-775
iPod editing fumble

[cteno4]

8 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

Working on these also reminds me why I hate flare tubes so much... they are an absolute PITA to install, and Tomix’s ones are the worst even with the supplied pusher. I lost three of the six tubes provided with the set trying to get them installed, which as always left me feeling something other than zen. But both cars now have their flare tubes installed, and I’ll give them a test run next ‘not-quite-a-weekend-weekend’ along with a proper review.

@ED75-775
alistair, 

 

Yes installing N scale antennas is one of the more heavy zen parts to the hobby to not blow a circuit or pump up the blood pressure!
 

one trick for holding tiny parts better in an applicator (like the Tomix pusher pin) or tweezers is to apply a tiny bit of rubber cement to the part where it goes into the hole of the pusher. It will hold the part in the tool, but once glue sets on the train you can yank off the pusher easily as rubber cement lets go. You only need the tiniest bit to make the part stick in the pushed hole. On tweezers where I’ve gotten frustrated with a part slipping a lot while trying to get into place I’ve put a small dab of rubber cement on the tips of the tweezer and let it mostly dry out. Then tips have sorts of a rubber coating that is tacky for quite a while. Helps if you have a tweezer ping (where tweezers scissor and part flys off going “ping” somewhere) as there is less chance the part flys. Also found these tweezers with a + of slots ground into the end to be handy for those various roof antennas. Little rubber cement in the grooves helps holding them (and not dropping them) a lot.
 

Also root canal files are your friend (like a 45-80 set). They are tiny reamers for dental work but great to enlarge a detaile hole just a tiny bit at a time until just right. They have a 2% taper so the opening of the hole at the surface can be just a tad big for the part stem to fit in easily but then the taper creates a pressure fit a little way in to hold the part well until glue sets. Little extra room at top of hole can also hold excess glue to prevent it from oozing out the top. But I much prefer to use the reamer to get a pressure fit on the antenna stem then I use a needle applicator to just put a tiny bit of glue into the hole from the bottom of the hole to the bottom of the part stem. This way no excess glue squeezing out around the edge of antenna like can happen if you apply it to the part stem and insert. Also if you break the antenna later you can very easy drill it out from the bottom by just drilling the glue layer and part stem pops out and hole clean for new part stem.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Aleks]

11 hours ago, ED75-775 said:

@Aleks thanks for the reminder that I’m not the only one with a memory for arcane facts, I hope no offence was caused by my comment. You’ve got a nice little collection there too, especially that Kawasaki tram. Is that a Modemo model?

@ED75-775 No offense at all. The Kawasaki is a GreenMax apparently, which is actually my first ever GM train. However it has Tomytec TM-TR01 chassis put in by the previous owner.  

[maihama eki]

I spotted this on amazon.jp when ordering a couple of other books.

 

Bus Graphic Vol. 43. I thought it was just a magazine/soft cover book, but it includes a single 1/150 Tomytec Toei bus, and a sort of display base for your buses. It's a little expensive for a single bus, but the magazine is nice. It is dated April, 2022, so it is relatively old.

 

 

[cteno4]

Calling @JR 500系 sammy do you see this?

 

jeff