Hello, Kapinozuka here.
It’s already been over a month since the Hobby Show, but there is a booth I really wanted to touch on, so I’ll be introducing that today.
KATO
Kato, the Big Shot of the N-Scale industry of Japan.
Currently, Kato is developing the steam locomotive D51, following the renewal of C62, and at the Hobby Show, they actually had a running sample on display.
• #2016-1 D51 498
Watch the Super Slow drive,
made possible by the new power mechanism!
- Equipped with Small-type Coreless Motor (w/Flywheel) for Steam Locomotives
- Gear turns the 3rd wheel, while others are turned by the rod
There was a sign that emphasized how slow it runs...
And that is perfectly understandable, the train was running so smooth and gently.
Normally, for the cases of general railway models (analogue lines), you would have to minimize the current to make the train run slowly, but if you do so, although it runs slowly, it will often look rather awkward, as it isn’t
supplied with sufficient power.
And on top of that, if the rail or the wheel surface is even slightly dirty, that will add to the resistance, causing the movement to become even more...
In the recent years, there has been an increase in the production of cars that can run smoothly even at low speed, by equipping the flywheel.
However, as steam locomotives have a complicated mechanism; it is difficult to make them run slowly with smooth movement.
So we’ve taken photos of it while running.
The venue wasn’t very well lit, but you can see by the amount of blur (progression) in the background, that it is moving very slowly.
Plus, it is even towing the Series 12 passenger car as well.
By the way, on the day the event was open for traders and businesses, the train was displayed as it is in the advert photo seen earlier, without the tender.
However, the tender did arrive in time for the day open for public viewing, so it was displayed in its almost complete form.
And would you believe it, it can run even without the tender!
There may or may not have been some that mouthed "It MOVES" or whatnots.
For the models, they often have power supplied through the wheels of the tender, in addition to the locomotive itself, to balance the power supplied...
So it’s very surprising to hear that it’s maintaining such smooth movement, without the extra power.
By the way, a tender is the box car that is fixed at the back, and is loaded with the coal and water required for the steam engine to run.
The actual tender type steam locomotive can’t actually run without the tender, as it will not have access to the required energy.
The word ’Tender’ means an attendant, so it represent the relationship between the tender and the locomotive quite well, and this relationship could be also fit that of a married couple, in my opinion.
...and with that in mind, seeing the sample running on the traders day without the tender, it might have seemed odd for some, as it may have seemed like the husband had wondered off while the wife isn’t looking.
Sorry for being sidetracked.
Back to the topic, I think we saw the
true power of Kato in the mechanism of
#2016-1 D51 498, that’s scheduled for release
Alright, let’s take a look at the other displays.
• #14-802-1 Toyama Inter-city Train Loop Line [Centram] Type 9000 #9001 (White)
• #14-802-3 Toyama Inter-city Train Belt Line Type 9000 [Centram] (Black)
Item to look forward to, the Centram. (
#14-802-1 White was released in November.)
The belt line runs anti-clockwise in the intercity of Toyama.
At the moment, the actual rail is a single line, so trams won’t actually go past each other like the model on display.
But if the amount of users increase and they make multiple lines in the future, a scene like that may become normal.
And apparently Toyama City has already secured land for making multiple lines too. They sure are onto it!
• Series 115-1000 Niigata Color Renewal (3-Car Set)
The Niigata Color Renewal Car of Series 115-1000, familiarized in the Niigata region.
This complicated coloring could be interpreted as a challenge for the modelers, but Kato has vividly reproduced this, along with the
#10-583 Series 115-1000 Nigata Color
that is already released.
The part to pay attention to is the headlights. Unlike the old series 115 product, it has become a separated part.
By making it separate parts, the modeling has become sharper, as well as allowing the complicated paintwork to be reproduced, I think.
By the way, the
#10-808 Series 113-2000 Shonan Train (4-Car Set) had its headlights turned into separate parts, from the second production lot.
Had you noticed?
• #10-831 Series 24 Sleeper Express `Hokutosei` Deluxe Formation (Basic 6-Car Set)
• #10-832 Series 24 Sleeper Express `Hokutosei` Deluxe Formation (Add-On 6-Car Set)
With the number of Hokutosei running being reduced, the current Hokutosei are formed by a mix of half the trains owned by JR East and the other half owned by JR Hokkaido.
And it seems that Kato is calling this the "Deluxe Formation".
I guess this might be because you can experience the luxurious facilities of the cars by both companies in one train.
What a positive product name.
On the photo, we can only see the two cars, Kani24 (Power-Supply Car) at the front and the Sushi24 (Dining Car) behind it, but the train mark is clearly visible as it is lit with the white light.
It would be interesting to see how it will turn out, as the timing will be similar to Tomix so they will be competing against each other.
• #10-840 Series E233-3000 Tokaido Line (Basic 8-Car Set)
• #10-841 Series E233-3000 Tokaido Line (Add-on 2-Car Set)
• #10-842 Series E233-3000 Tokaido Line (Subordinate 5-Car Set)
The Series E231 and Series 211 are the main trains for the Tokyo end of Tokaido Line, and there is also the 3 Series E217 that had been borrowed from Sobu Rapid/Yokosuka Line too, running as what could be seen as support.
However, with the update works of Series E217 underway, they concluded that there will not be enough available spare formations, so the Series E217 needs to be returned to the Yokosuka/Sobu Line Rapid.
And to fill the gap, the series E233-3000 are being quickly produced.
The Series E233 is active on the Chuo line and Keihin Tohoku Line etc. and was thought to only be used as commuters train.
Who would’ve thought they would make suburban version...
Ah JR East, they’ve gone off beyond the expectations of the fans!
And these Nos.3000, there are 2 of the 10-car formations, and 2 of the 5-car formations, for a total of only 30 cars, making this a rather small train group.
Following Tomix, Kato had also released this in N-Scale.
I say this was a rather unexpected competition.
The completion of the sample is as seen in the photo.
Pretty cool, don’t you think?
You can closely examine the difference while saying
"It’s different to the Series E231!"
Hobby Center Kato related items
There were some Assy Parts on displayed, so let’s take a quick look over those.
• #28-148 [Assy Parts] Moha112 Trailer Chassis Set (Chassis, Under Floor Parts, Bogie) (for 1-Car)
This had been introduced in the
article before (2010/10/15). It’s an Assy Parts set that had been planned for release to match that of
#10-807 Series 113-2000 Yokosuka Color.
By swapping the power unit of the Moha112 (M-Car), you will be able to create a formation without a power unit.
And by swapping the bogie of the leader car with one that has couplers for add-on cars...
You will be able join 4cars + 4cars, so you can reproduce the 8-car formation!
What an interesting product.
Unfortunately, these Assy parts have already closed reservation.
Thank you for ordering.
• #28-147 [Assy Parts] EF64 1000 Black H Rubber Set (for 1-Car)
The parts set to make the Kato EF64-1000 and EF64-1000 Air-Conditioned cars closer to the present state.
The rubber of the window parts had been made black.
Also, the there is a dark parts for the monitor on the rooftop.
Unfortunately, these Assy parts have also already closed reservation.
Thank you for ordering.
• #28-146 [Assy Parts] EF510-500 Green Insulator
The Type EF510-500 that has started towing the Hokutosei.
However, with the trial runs started, I’m sure there were many that thought "Hey, the insulator is green!!"
The insulators on the roof sure were white when it was dispatched from the car manufacturer and was put into the care of JR East.
The Kato
#3065-1 EF510-500 Hokutosei Color had reproduced its appearance from that time.
JR East had put grease on the insulator as a Salinity measures, and it had turned green.
Kato had produced the model of EF510-500 Hokutosei at an incredible speed,
but it seems that they made it too fast.
So to answer the voices of those wanting to reproduce the state that is actually currently operating, they have released the Assy parts Green Insulator.
From the looks of things, it seems like you will attaching it from the back of the roof on the body.
Let’s use this to make your EF510-500 Hokutosei Color more realistic!
And that will conclude the belated Hobby Show Kato booth report.
Coming up, the Miyazawa Model Exhibition Report Kato special (!?)
By Kapinozuka (
The Autumn Locomotive Fair on now!)
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