I am new to this forum but a long time arm chair model railroader as i’ve been planning to build a layout but never had the time and space. Anyway, Im very interested in Japanese prototype models made by Kato, Tomix, MicroAce etc…
The problem is i couldn’t find any hobby shops here in the US who sells them. I did a search in all availble search engines(Yahoo, MSN, Google…) so far they’re only available in Japan and kinda expensive and i have no idea if they even ship here.
Does anybody know any hobby shops here in the US that specializes in Japanese models? Any help will be appreciated as i’m getting kinda desperate finding one [:D]
First off: [#welcome] to the forum! Good to have you aboard! [:)]
You’ve come to right place. One of our members, Chuck (tomikawaTT), is modeling a japanese RR and lives in the southwest US region. I’m sure that he’ll chime right in and give you any helpful info he has on LHSs.
Welcome to the forum, though I know nothing about Japanese railroads. I do have some older Japanese made brass steam engines and their looks are worth their price.
Thanks for all your replies guys. Tom, to clarify, I am looking for Japanese prototype engines and rolling stock. I like their steam locomotives but im more interested in their electric locomotives like the EF64, EF65-1000…and the like. Brass is out of the question though, but models from KATO and TOMIX are very detailed but are still on the expensive side.
I would think an inquiry to Katousa would be your best source of finding out if they even make HO Japanese prototype, I have never heard of any Tomix HO ever Space is very premium in Japan and HO is not popular
Look at the web site at http://japanese-trains.com There used to be a company named Mokei Imports that advertised in Model Railroader and other publications, so you should look around to see if they are still in business. A Google search turned up Mokei Imports as being in Saint Louis, Missouri, but they apparently have no web site.
I’ve bought from Rakuten in Japan. They do ship to the US and the rates are fairly reasonable (~US$30 for 2-day air post). They have everything from Tenshodo, most things from Kato, some thing from MircoAce and Tomix. the tenshodo portion of the store is at: www.rakuten.co.jp/tenshodo you can get to the other mfg’s from there. They do have english speaking/emailing staff. Expect to pay $200-300 for non-sound engines and $500-600 for sound engines. A freight car can be had for $30-60, passenger cars run around $100 each. For the money, I think Tenshodo and Kato are the best deals of all the manufacturers. Tomix appear cheaply made for the premium that they are charging. The HO market in Japan is usually for the very wealthy who have the space in their homes for such a layout, thus most HO models are brass. The vast majority of model railroaders in Japan are in N-scale since of the space constraints. I found this out living in Japan back in the '90’s and was surprised by the dearth of HO scale models. jb
Thanx for reply and link Joe, i really appreciate it. Anyway, do they have online ordering or are they by phone and email only? The brass locos are really nice but too pricey for my budget. I’ll settle for the detailed plastic ones from Kato and Tomix [:)] I also found a store here in California that sells purely Japanese prototype trains but i think they only specializes in N scale only. I saw some rare Kato trains sets that they still have available on hand. Better get my ccard warmed up [:D]
One thing I’m curious about with HO Japanese models is what gauge track they run on. On the prototype, the Shinkansen run on US standard gauge track, but most other traffic runs on meter gauge track, IIRC.
So I would like to know if these very nice looking models run on HO, HOm, HOn3, or ??? I see references to 1/80 and to 16.5mm, which is the gauge for HO standard track.
[%-)]
If the GF was here, she could help.
[:X]
I gotta remember to show her this Friday and get some translations of what’s available.
Very good question. I think that in N they use 1:150 on N gauge track, to sort of kind of simulate the narrow gauge. But then they have Shinkansen models that run on the same track. I don’t know what scale they are.
I rode the Narita Express in the lead car, right in front. The driver had the curtain open most of the time, so I could see the rails. That was when I first realized it was narrow gauge, they rails looked way close together.
Jeff,
She’s a bit of a railfan herself. That’s her favorite seat, right behind the motorman.
She’s not real happy with some of the newer equipment, which apparently features a closed-in cab, or when the curtains get pulled. All this is second-hand to me. I’ve never been there, but we’re hoping to go next summer.
Welcome aboard! And welcome to the wonderful world of HOj - Japanese prototype, 1:80 scale on 16.5mm gauge track.
The scale is oversize for American HO (which is 1:87 scale) and the gauge is oversize compared to the prototype (1320mm versus 1067mm.) I’ve been modeling in HOj since 1960, and am now in the process of building a garage-filler based (loosely) on things I saw in Central Japan in the 60’s.
The good news is that HOj track uses all the same standards (and materials) as American prototype HO standard gauge. Shinohara flex track and turnouts are a good match for HOj (since that was what they were originally intended to represent.) Likewise, all of my locos run on NMRA standard analog DC, and it appears that all of them could be converted to DCC without too much grief if I was so inclined. Not bad, since most of them are old enough to run for President.
Now for the bad news. The only HOj equipment I’ve ever seen in a US hobby shop was a pair of pre-1900 steam locomotives. One of them, Ken Kidder’s infamous Porter Mogul, is an HOj model of the first class of locomotives to run in Hokkaido, built in 1872. My own rolling stock was all acquired while I was stationed in the Tokyo area, mostly from a hobby shop in Kanda that does not currently advertise in Tetsudo Mokei Shumi (the main Japanese model railroad magazine.) My last purchases were made in 1979, which pretty well filled out my roster.
If you decide to buy Japanese prototype equipment (prices are high by US standards, even before shipping) be aware that a lot of “kits” are sheets of etched brass and other “raw materials.” Unless you’re an experienced modeler and scratch builder, it’s worth the premium to buy ready-to-run.
HOj isn’t that uncommon in Japan, but typical American size layouts are. Most HOj modelers either build detailed to the extreme dioramas or virtually bare modules, the latter assembling into large club layouts that are o
jsoderq wrote: <" I would think an inquiry to Katousa would be your best source of finding out if they even make HO Japanese prototype, I have never heard of any Tomix HO ever Space is very premium in Japan and HO is not popular"> KatoUSA is just a subsidiary of the parent company in Japan, who most certainly do make HO models of Japanese prototypes - I’ve got a pair of their Hoki 2200 covered hoppers on the workbench right now.
Welcome to the forum, upbnsfrrfan. Even though I’m also an HOj modeller, I can’t help you with US hobby shops, as I live in Australia. If you’ll forgive me for stating the bleeding obvious, watch eBay for HOj models. I recently bought a number of Kato Type 35 and Tomix Type 50 rtr coaches, as well as a heap of Modemo Type 40 kits, all from a single eBay vendor in Glasgow! Ther are two English-language groups you might find useful, as well. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JRForum/http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/jtrains/ Anyway, good luck with the modelling - you’ve made an interesting choice. Cheers. Mark. P.S.- Can’t wait for the new Tomix Meitetsu cars!