Japanese Auction Wins...

[Super]

We would be honored if you also could have part of your info site here and links to all the information you have collected on your new info site. Heck with pictures and videos you may start a new trend of collectors with an info site.

It goes without saying if (well when) I get round to doing something I'd be linking to you guys, after all the help I've had from members here there is no way I would turn my back on you

But as with everything in life its trying to find the time to do these things, but I'd love to put some resource up there as I think this range really should get the recognition it exists. Not that I dislike the Tomy range, but I think Tomy could learn some tricks if they were to re-visit what Takara were doing back in 2002

[Super]

Give me the phone number of your employer and I will get him to give you a month of with pay. Is that enough time to create the site?

Now that is a pleasant thought

[ripley802]

Excellent score(s) Nigel. Those are some very nice looking items. I hate to see the shipping bill.. but isn't is so much fun getting something from Japan? I am litterely checking the shipping all the time when I have something in transit, just waiting on an update. Very good stuff, can't wait for my next order.

I know what you mean about the shipping and on top of that the import duty/vat at this end. But even so if this is the only way I can obtain the goods and doubly if the auction prices are low enough it is still worth the cost.

Like you though the anticipation of arrival does give me a bit of a buzz too lol

Well I've finally found some details of the Takara range, it seems it was only available from 2001 till 2003 (i.e. the point Takara merged with Tomy), but it was quite a large range. The link below is to a site that is natively in Japanese, but thanks to the power of the web can be translated (mostly) as this link shows. Follow the links down the page a bit and there are listings of the entire range along with images of some of the trains and scenery pieces

Takara Pocket Trains

They stopped production in 2003 (as you said). The merger was 2006.

-plarnold

[Super]

Holy Smokes....

They released a ton of stuff in such a short period of time. Look at all those neat buildings, riser and ramps, bridges, tunnels, wow. And they have steam trains too. Even a tandem set. Did you get any steamers yet? Did you see what must have been a special release of a Gold Tank Engine and 2 Gold Coaches?

Yes, I have a C11 (which came with the 'Mountain' scenic item) and I also have a D51 which I won in one of the recent auctions. As it happens I also have 'coming' one of the gold specials as well, I don't think the seller realised what it was as the listing didn't know what system it belonged to

The double steamers you mention are actually custom jobs, something that should be fairly easy to achieve if I wanted to and I have enough of the relevant engines to sacrifice them to customs

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They stopped production in 2003 (as you said). The merger was 2006.

-plarnold

Thanks for the clarification plarnold, I was only going on the scarce information I've been able to find about the Takara system