Japanese Auction Wins...

Yes those Takara cars are cool aren't they, on the previous Takara goods train I got the cars were missing from the flat beds, the sort of thing you expect from 2nd hand goods.

That is also indeed logs in the wagon, it turns out if you get the Takara goods car set (i.e. only goods cars, no loco) you get a flatbed with a car, a tanker (the tubby one you like) and a wagon along with 3 different types of load you can put in it - logs, rocks, crates.

I didn't take individual pictures of all the stuff, there was a LOT of advance gear (I won two job lots at marvellous prices) with about a dozen trains in each and one lot with a load of Advance accessories. I must have enough platforms for about 6 stations, 7 stop/go rails, 4 of the points that split a standard rail into two (i.e. 4 Advance rails) and at least 6 re-railer rails. Thankfully the seller didn't bother to include any blue track as I got a ton of that already and it keeps the weight down a little.

So overall although quite a hefty postal charge (and damn import duty) but the package overall was a total win/bargain

[ripley802]

Very nice Nigel. Cant wait to see your setup with these once you get it going. I know all to well though how much fun it is aquiring the items first though. The job lots are the best in my opinion. Like a treasure hunt almost.

Totally agree and they usually yield spaes as well

Ok, well as promised yesterday my next package turned up today (this was from Jauce, yesterday's was from 'From Japan').

This shipment was less PlaRail and more 'Model Trains' if that makes sense?!?

Firstly we have some ZJ Scale trains these are made by Akia and were originally sold around 2006 in those 'blind boxes' that Super can't get to grips with. However it is possible to buy complete sets of the trains - new, but taken out of the blind boxes if you get my drift. These are different from my previous ZZ Trains in that the scale is bigger at 1/200 scale as opposed to the ZZ scale 1/300 or N scale at 1/150 so they fall slightly in between.

These trains though sold in 'blind boxes' are a revelation, the quality and finish/detail on these is absolutely stunning, very much on a par with the mainstream N scale trains from the likes of Kato and Tomix. The other big difference to the ZZ trains and PlaRail is they use powered metal rails just like N scale and in fact are fully compatible with Z scale offerings from the likes of Marklin and Fleishmann (German manufacturers).

The blind boxes are normally random and each box would contain one random car which could be a standard 'coach', 'coach with pantographs', 'motorised car (again with pantograph) or a 'head/tail car'. In all cases they come with either a straight or curved piece of track. A full train consists of 1 power car, 1 pantograph car, 4 standard cars, and head/tail cars - so 8 in total, although of course you could add more unpowered cars of your choice or maybe even a second 'consolidated' train as some japanese trains are.

Anyway enough of my rambling, here's some pics to whet your appetites;

Head/Tail car and motorised car




Motorised Car


Standard Coach


Head/Tail Car


Unpowered Pantograph Car


Alternative 'Hitachi' colour scheme


Power Controller (I need to get a new power supply as it ships with a 110v version as per Japanese supply)

---

Now we are onto some more traditional N Scale models, I have here a couple of locomotives to start with and then two 'sets' one a 'blue express' and a '485 express' (same livery as the ZJ scale models)

EF64



EF65



Blue Express Set



485 Express



Finally we have some Takara PlaRail, some new, some 2nd hand and above all else (Ta-Da!!!) the Limited Gold Chrome Steam Loco!!!!











~ Fin ~

[Super]

Wow, I have never heard of a ZJ scale. At first I thought you meant ZZ and just hit the wrong key while typing but I see from the transformer it was not. How many volts does it take? Surely less that 12 for something so small right?

Believe it or not its 10v, the controller comes with a plug input on the back and a separate power adaptor that plugs in the mains. Unfortunately here in the UK we use 220/240v as opposed to the 110v used in Japan and the USA. So before I can run them properly I need to get a local UK PSU that has 10v output - not a problem you can get them with multiple voltage selectable and multiple 'tips'.

The controller is surprising well made, solid metal case etc... Quite surprising for what you'd think would have been a budget item bearing in mind the trains were sold in those blind boxes.

I don't actually have it in my hot hands just yet, but this is my latest auction win. A joblot of Takara PlaRail for the opening price of 1,000 yen

[Super]

Cool, Is that a working turntable?

Yes I believe it is Super, irronically I'm going to end up with 2 of them lol

[Super]

Is it crank type or does it move through the power of the wheels?