|
15th December, 2005 |
|
|||
|
CONTENTS
Other Pages
Index page of previous Product & DVD
RELEASE INFORMATION
NEWS |
EDITORIAL
The 'festive' season is fast approaching, and if I do not get a change to put out another Newsletter before the end of the year, I would like to take this opportunity to say to all the readers - 'Wising you a happy, safe and prosperous New Year, all the best wishes for the Xmas season and thanks for your loyal patronage during 2005'.
The Tomy 'Railway Daughter Collection' girls would also like to
send you their very best wishes !!! This series came out last month,
and is incredibly detailed for a gashapon item. Tomy have already
announced a second series for release early next year :-) This newsletter is available by subscription, unless you are a customer of 'Japanese Model Supplies'. Normal rate is US$1.00 per month, payable 12 months at a time in advance. The 12 month subscription period will be from June to May inclusive. We hope to supply at least one issue per week, more if there is more news. We believe this amount is good value, and very modest for the amount of information you will receive - it represents (per month) a lot less than just 1 coffee at a 'trendy' cafe (eg Starbucks), or a burger & fries at a family restaurant (eg McDonalds). Please do not reveal the page addresses to non- members. If they want to see it, they are free to take out a subscription like every one else. Also please note that the contents of this publication are
copyright, and may not be reproduced without permission. |
|||
15th December 2005 Kato have details of the next ranges of buildings on their web page - there are a couple more commercial buildings ... http://www.katomodels.com/product/nmi/dio_sisetu2.shtml ... and a range wooden houses ... http://www.katomodels.com/product/nmi/dio_machiya.shtml COLLECTIBLE SERIES NEWS As you can see above, the Tomy 'Railway Daughter Collection' is out, and has proved very popular. Their 'Train Collection is also out, and I will have a review in the next issue of the Newsletter. Other items that have been definitely announced are ... December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 Advertised sets, without firm dates, are Tomy's 'Machinami Collection' #5, 'The Bus Collection' #8, 'The Car Collection' #3 and 'The Minibus Collection ' #1, as well as Bandai's 'Working Vehicles' #6 (cement mixers). Keep an eye out for the official release of each of these As always, early reservation is ESSENTIAL to obtain any of these sets. 12th December 2005 Tomix announced the following releases on the
17th December ... MicroAce announced their tentative releases for May 2006. A0667 Toyama Chiho Railway 10030 series EC 2 car set 8th December 2005 Modemo announced another version of the Hakone
Tozan Moha2 set. 7th December 2005 Tomix announced the release of the following ... February 2006 April 2006 May 2006 24th November 2005 Tomix 'officially' announced the release of their 'Sayonara Asakaze' set. This is a 13 car set, whereas the Kato version was a 9 car set, and ran in the 'other' direction. 15th December 2005 Kato released another Diotown figure set - this one is people dressed in tradition 'yukata'. There have been many changes to Kato's scheduled released for the next 3 month - please see the Release Information news page for all the details.
14th December 2005 Tomix released the magnificent 92754 Odakyu 50000 VSE.
MicroAce released the following ... A1062 Seibu Railway 701 series EC 6 car powered set
A1067 Sobu Nagareyama Railway 200 series EC 3 car 'Akeboshi' + 2 car 'Nanohana' set (both powered)
A1065 Izu Hakone 1100 series EC 3 car set
13th December 2005 MicroAce released the following ... A1150 1000 series Bullet prototype set 'A' 2 car set
A1155 1000 series Bullet prototype set 'B' 4 car set
A1154 941 series Bullet Emergency Relief Train 2 car set
A1158 922-0 Bullet Doctor Yellow 4 car set
A1070 371 series EC 7 car set 'Asagiri'
Kato released the 40th Anniversary EF58 EL set.
10th December 2005 Tomix re-released the following ... 6th December 2005 Greenmax released 103-500 series EC Bantan line sets.
3rd December 2005 Tomix released the 92941 Kiha181DC 'Sayonara Isokase' set. 1st December 2005 Tomix released their version of the Koki200 container wagon. 29th November 2005 Kato released the 700 series TEC 4 car main and addon sets.
|
Railfan Magazine (01-2006)
This issue's feature article is the 8th in the 'Track Mystery' series. This is an excellent series that started in November 1997, and comes out roughly every year. Each one had a different subject, and this one is about the rolling stock yards for each of the main JR lines in Tokyo and Osaka. Track diagrams are provided, as well as many photos of each area. There are also some nice shots as the entries on their annual photo competition. Also of interest is an article on the advertising used to cover a whole Yamanote line train. This issue also has the first of 2 free calendars - I
may have forgotten to mention that the December issue had a free pocket
notebook/diary with it :-) MicroAce A0372 783 series EC 5 car set 'Nichirin' I traveled in this train during a previous trip to Japan, which included a circle around the island of Kyushu. JR Kyushu always seem to have more unusual trains than the other JR companies, and this one it no exception - it has just one door in the centre of each car !!! The cars are silver with a very pale gray stripe which also has black, blue, red and green panels on it. At the ends of the cars are also black, blue, red and green panels. The roof details are very detailed on nearly every car, not only the pantograph-equipped cars. The underbody details are very fine, and are a light gray. The seats in the cars range from brown, blue, gray. green and pink !! Tomix TN couplers and interior lighting can be fitted to these cars, and the reversing head/tail lights are quite bright at low speeds. The power car is smooth and quiet, and the wheels are blackened. TN couplers can even be fitted to the end cars, but it is a very fiddly job. There are many tiny logos and car numbers etc, all readable. A sheet of destination stickers is provided, giving you the choice of 'Nichirin', 'Kamome' & 'Nichirin Seagaia'. You can use a 4 car version of this set with the previously issued Midori Express/Huis Ten Bosch 783 set to make a 12 car train. Another
eye-catching train that has the look that makes JR Kyushu a joy to
model :-) |
|
(ADVERTISING) This information service is sponsored by ... Japanese Model Supplies o New and second-hand Japanese trains As mentioned above, this service is sponsored by 'Japanese Model Supplies', the only Japanese-only model train and other hobby item supplier in the world, outside of Japan. Other suppliers have recently been broadening their ranges, and supply other things like computer games, and Chinese & European trains - 'Japanese Model Supplies' will always stay with Japanese-only products. It is often difficult to source these type of items and get accurate and timely information in English, when you do not live in Japan, cannot read Japanese web pages or do not have any contacts there. We have the facilities to access this information and these products, and whilst based in Australia, currently supply customers all over the world, including Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, South Africa, Canada and the USA. Therefore you will find that the items you see presented are not just 'fantasy' items that get released in Japan and you have no way of acquiring them - 'Japanese Model Supplies' CAN get these items, and CAN ship them to anywhere in the world (unlike some other retailers of Japanese model trains, who refuse to ship to the USA etc) !!! See their web page at the address listed above for all the information on what has been
produced and how to get it. If you are in Japan, and visit the Osaka area, I recommend you
take the time to visit "Railcraft Awaza". They have a large range of products
available, together with friendly advice and service (but only in Japanese). Some photos
on this site are taken by them and appear with their permission. For details of
their shop location, see their web page at ... http://www.rc-awaza.com |
|
Abbreviation |
Explanation |
|
TEC |
Shinkansen (Bullet train) |
|
EC |
Electric car (EMU) |
|
DC |
Diesel car (DMU) |
|
PC |
Passenger car |
|
FC |
Freight car |
|
SL |
Steam loco |
|
EL |
Electric loco |
|
DL |
Diesel loco |
E & O E - best viewed 1024x768
or higher
Page contents copyright 2005 - Doug Coster
Photos copyright of the respective manufacturers & Railcraft Awaza Osaka.