Enoden Umi No Mieru Tabi Set

But back to the topic: did anyone except me noticed that the motor car from Enoden Umi No Mieru Tabi Set was made in China and the trailer car in Thailand?

No, because I just checked mine and 502, 552 both say Made in Thaliand!

My motor car is made in China in 1999:



My trailer car is from Thailand. So they manufactured the same train from the same set in (at least) two different countries... I have old Thailand made Tomica World Thomas & Friends trains and Enodens and other japanese commuters made in Vietnam and Thailand, but this is my only train where the cars of the same train are made in different countries.

[Super]

Did that Enoden come new in a sealed box like that?

Well, I found it on eBay and bought it as "new". It came in a box pictured above, closed with tape on the edges of the lid of the box. I'm not an expert, but what is considered "sealed"? Should the set box be completely wrapped in transparent foil? Did they do that back in 1999? Everything in the box looked new and original, but I can't be sure if anyone (the eBay seller or someone else before him) somewhat change the content of the box. Frankly, I had my suspicions about that because my railcar came with motor that was working but the wheels were not turning (that really could be the reason someone might replace the railcar, but it also can be factory error) , so I opened the motor and found out that one of the little cog wheels in the motor was slightly cracked. I replaced it, and as you can see in my videos it runs just fine now. Sadly, I had to kill my Toby in the process (Toby has the same motor) to find the correct cog wheel, but I didn't want to return the whole set because of it. That being said, it is however a fact that they made these little Enoden trains 502+552 in two different countries. Oh, and the parts of the gray platform are made separately too: the main part in Thailand in 1997, and the little ones in China in 1993. 

[Super]

What I do for new in the box is the tape. On the single train Plarail boxes there will be one piece of tape on the bottom (right side) covering the slip flap on the long side and on the top side (left) where the slip out display hook label slides out there are 2 pieces of tape one on each short side. Looking closely at these pieces of tape I want to make sure there isn't tape over tape, there are no finger pints on the sticky side of the tape, no serrated or little serration on the edge of the tape which isn't found in factory seal tape. Also the tape has to be glossy and a bit narrower than what is normally dispensed with an at home or office dispenser that we are use too.

Shrink wrap is not always any indication that whats under it is new. Shrink are easily affordable now and dis honest sellers will take advantage of that. A little story related to that: Before I got into Plarail Trains I was big into collecting the vintage Computer Adventure games both buying and selling and knew quite a few collectors. One friend told me of a story of him purchasing, for quite a lot of money, an advertised new/sealed in shrink wrap in the box very Rare vintage game. When he got around to wanting to play the game he removed the shrink wrap and inside the box found...... the CD case wrapped in a household paper towel..... So there is a big difference in a sealed NIB and a Factory Sealed NIB. This preyed heavily on the Collectors as most of them never open their games so they would not know that their precious game is actually in the box.

Oh, and the parts of the gray platform are made separately too: the main part in Thailand in 1997, and the little ones in China in 1993. 

Please note that the year written on the parts do not indicate the year of manufacture. The date is the year the mould for the part was made. For limited quantity items, this generally corresponds to the year the part was first made while for general parts (e.g. straight track) this is the year the last mould was made or renewed.

The best way of determining the date of a product is the box and the catalogs.

-plarnold

so I opened the motor and found out that one of the little cog wheels in the motor was slightly cracked....

That doesn't mean that it was not BNIB. The plastic cogs can crack with age / storage conditions as well as mis-use (the Benkei / Western Steamer engine unit is notorious for this - I have one with FIVE cracked or split gears in it, I must have a chat with Ripley802 about getting some replacements sometime). There are a number of threads on BPT (and Youtube videos) dealing with the replacement of split gears, and you can buy the commoner sizes new on Ebay or Alibaba so you don't need to cannibalise other engines.

Please note that the year written on the parts do not indicate the year of manufacture.

Nor does the country of manufacture written on the parts necessarily mean that that's where they were made, since it would presumably be easy for Tomy to move moulds from one production plant to another.

Does anyone know where I can get this set for a reasonable price?

Please note that the year written on the parts do not indicate the year of manufacture.

Nor does the country of manufacture written on the parts necessarily mean that that's where they were made, since it would presumably be easy for Tomy to move moulds from one production plant to another.

Correct, but unlikely. 

I have seen parts from old moulds used in Thailand refurbished and shipped to Vietnam and the new parts are labeled "Made in Vietnam". Note that it is technically a legal requirement to state the country of manufacture.

It is also possible for parts to be manufactured in one place and then shipped to another to be assembled. Also unlikely because it would increase the cost.

-plarnold

Great photos and info. You really are the Enoden expert here and I will use this info to update the DB.

I don't want to be a conspiracy guy but those last two photos of the Type 1000 look suspiciously like the same train to me. I think someone (maybe Tomy marketing) digitally altered one for some reason. If you put the pics in separate tabs of your browser and quickly swap between them you will see it's unbelievably in the precise same position. 

Also including:

1.) The angle of the rear car wheels
2.) The reflections in the front car windows
3.) The white speck on the front window
4.) The black mark or reflection in the front pin stripe

Practically the only difference is the numbers and the headlights stickers. And they change the background too.

So I tested your theory, Finno - and you were right! I bought "the other" Enoden 1000 pictured with the number 1001, but I got the 1201 again. 



And I don't mind having another one at all. If you have Enoden themed layout, you can't have enough Enodens, can you?