Modeling Japanese bicycles

Bicycles and motorcycles of all types are an important element in a model scene of Tokyo.  This post is going to be limited to bicycles.  Look at almost any random Google Street view scene of Tokyo and you are likely to see some bicycles.  Fortunately there are several options available for N scale bicycles.  I have not tried them all but here are the ones I have used.

TomyTec offers two sets which include both bicycles and motorcycles with riders.  They are well detailed and painted.  The riders are separate pieces if you want to use the bicycles as parked.  Several of the other TomyTec building or scene sets also have bicycles included as part of a scene but they are separate pieces and can be used by themselves.

For bicycles without riders Gold Medal Models offers a set of 10 etched metal bicycles and a couple of parking racks.  These have been around for quite a few years and are widely used in the US to model bicycles.  Being etched metal they are quite thin and it can be a challenge to place a rider on one and have it look right.  Also I felt that while they are the same overall size as the Tomytec models because of the thinness they just did not look right when placed together with the Tomytec models.  I used them as parked bicycles in separate scenes as shown in the post Finishing the Green Max houses.

Sanki offers a set of 4 riderless bicycles that are of a paper stock.  The handle bars are separate and I found quite difficult to attach to the frame and then very delicate.  These models are undercoated black but can be painted.   At 280 yen for a set of 4, these were the least expensive N scale bicycles I've tried.

What I've had good results with for parked bikes are these plastic models from Tomix.  They come in two different styles and are unpainted except for the tires, seats, and baskets.

Because I don't really like the molded colors of these bikes, I end up repainting them starting with the frames.  I've hand painted the ones shown in this photo but they could be airbrushed as well.  After the frames are painted, I go back and touch up the tires with Floquil grimy black.

Here are two of my completed bicycles with some details added, mostly by painting.   I do all this painting and detailing before removing them from the spue.  By adding details like this, it is possible to make each one unique even if they are the same color.

I found that the sport model bike is quite delicate at the front and had best results by cutting that first, then the back, and last the bottom.

When compared side by side there is quite a difference in the sizes of the Tomix and TomyTec bikes.  What I have been doing is using the Tomix ones as parked and the TomyTec ones as being ridden since those come with some riders that seem to fit OK.

Shinkansen - The only way to fly !

During this summers trip to Japan we got JR passes for one week and took two Shinkansen rides.  These trips both originated at Tokyo Station.  I've always found the Shinkansen part of the station to be more like visiting an airport, but back in the day when flying was still fun.  Tokyo station is the terminal for the Tokaido, Tohoku, Nagano, and Joetsu Shinkansen lines so it's quite busy.

Inside Tokyo Station, below the Shinkansen platforms there are displays showing the trains that will be departing and which tracks they will be on.

The displays are in both Japanese and English and include graphics of the trains.

This display is just for the Tohoku, Nagano, and Joetsu Shinkansen lines.  The Tokaido Shinkansen line uses different tracks and has it's own similar display.

I have always noticed that even among the Japanese there is more excitement about going on the Shinkansen.  Notice the platform in the photo, I'm not the only one taking photos of this E5 / E6 lash up.

Each arriving train that is going to then go back out again is met by a large team of people who service the train after the arriving passengers have left the train and before the departing passengers are allowed to board.  You always get a fresh train with leaving from Tokyo station.


Someones post on the JNS forum led me to this story about the cleaning of the Shinkansen trains.

Here is Tamami and Nona on the way back from Osaka on an N700 Hikari service.

We were enjoying drinks, a smooth and fast ride, and way more leg room.  The Shinkansen is still my favorite way to travel.

Finishing the Green Max stores

One of the mini-projects that has been going on for a long time is the block of Green Max stores just to the left of the arcade entrance.

When I left off on this project more than a year ago the Dry Cleaners with interior details and lighting was done and I had started a Book Store that would also be detailed and lighted.

For the Book Store interior I printed a floor similar to how I had done with the dry cleaners then added a couple of book cases, a counter with cash register, and a couple of figures.  I also printed some book cases on the interior walls and added lighting similar to the Dry Cleaners.

The tall building I am using is from Green Max kit 46-6.  I gave it a base coat of Floquil Oxide Red with an airbrush then hand painted all the details.  With all the windows that this building has that took a while.

The store fronts on these taller Green Max building kits are the same size and interchangeable with the ones in the set of small shops.  I used one that had two doors so one could be the lobby of the upper floors and the other for a celluar phone store on the ground floor.

Here is the completed block of Green Max stores,mounted on their styrene base.  I have put labels under each one showing what they are.  Some of them may be familiar from other posts. This scene is now ready to be added to the module.



This is only one of several long uncompleted projects related to these modules which I hope to complete in the near future.

How narrow can a building be ?

The scheduled expostition for the AsiaNrail layout and the Musashi-Koyama modules has me working to finish a few more of the buildings on those modules and I'll be posting about that soon.  Working on buildings I remembered a real interesting one we saw during our recent trip and I would like to share that now.

Anyone who has scratch built or kit bashed a structure to fit into that odd small space on their layout or module might wonder if they are making a structure that is unrealistic.  Well maybe for American prototype that could be a concern but as I am continuing to find out buildings can be quite small or narrow in Japan which is great for those of us modeling Japanese prototype.  Check out the photos below that I took early one July morning in the Namba district of Osaka.

End View

When we first approached this structure while walking down the street, I thought it was some sort of a wall.

It's actually narrower than the narrow streets.

Side view

Once we were along side of it I saw the windows and realized that this is actually a long, very narrow building.  Most of the building had 3 levels.

After seeing this I think we can all relax and build whatever we want, there's probably a prototype for it somewhere in Japan.

The Shinano Railway

During our travels in Japan this summer we visited friends in Togura, Nagano Prefecture.  To get there we took the Nagano Shinkansen from Tokyo to Ueda, then transferred over to the Nagano Railway to get the rest of the way to Togura.  The next day we took a Shinano Railway train from Togura to Nagano.  I liked this railroad's vintage but updated equipment so I did a little research on the web after returning to Tokyo.

The Shinano Railway is owned by the Nagano Prefecture government and was created in 1997 when JR abandoned  65 km of the Shin'etsu line between Karuizawa and Shinonoi.

The trains they run on this Railway are 115 and 169 series inherited from JR and run in 3 car sets.  Most have been repainted in this color scheme.

The 115 series dates from the 1960's and has been used on many JR lines with over 1900 units being built.

Togura is not what you would call a major station but it is a terminal for the Shinano Railway where some of the trains are parked so our stop there allowed me to see a good selection of their equipment.

Some of the equipment was in a different color scheme which I later found out was the original JR scheme for the Nagano area.  It appears that the Shinano logo is a patch over the JR logo.

Here's the logo on one of the repainted trains. Notice the character through the window, the train behind this one was a special paint scheme but I could not get a good photo of it.  It's also shown in the first photo with the stars on the end.

Modeling these trains

I have been looking for some shorter passenger trains to run on the AsiaNrail layouts that there is an actual prototype for.  And I make it my policy to only buy models of  Japanese trains that I have actually ridden on so when I got back to Tokyo I went shopping but did not find what I was looking for.

Tomix # 92415 is a 3 car set of the red Shinano Railway 115 that came out a couple of years ago but is sold out now.  When I got home I found one on ebay but the price was way over list and more than I was willing to pay.

Kato 10-585 was released in August 2012 and is still available from several sources on line so I ordered a set on Amazon. It comes as a JR version but I may make a decal of the patch logo I saw on the units in Togura and place them over the JR just like the prototype did.

Hope this gets here in time to run on the layout we are doing  in mid September.

Next exhibition of the AsiaNrail layout

Paul Ingraham and I will be running the AsiaNrail layout on the weekend of September 14th and 15th at the Los Altos History Museum as part of their annual Train Days event.  The Musashi-Koyama module set featured in this blog will be part of this layout.  This layout will feature both point to point and continuous operation.

There will also be several other layouts at the museum representing several scales.  They try to have a layout for each scale and this year we are the N scale layout. Our layout will be upstairs in the Museum building along with the museum's permanent O scale layout.

It's been awhile since we've setup and run the layout at a public show and we are really looking forward to it.  If you are in the area that weekend we would love for you to come by and say hello.  If you have a short Asian prototype train bring it along.

The Los Altos History Museum is located at 51 South San Antonio Road in Los Altos, California.  Hours for the show are 10:00am to 4:00pm.  Parking is free and a small donation is requested by the Museum upon entrance to the show.

Click HERE to link to the museum web site for more information.

Recent trip to Japan

                 HOT - HOT - HOT !

Nona and I spent almost 4 weeks in Japan in June and July during what ended up being record high temperatures and high humidity.  While the dangerous weather did somewhat slow our activities we still managed to do quite a bit.



Besides spending time in and around Tokyo, we visited Nagano, Osaka, Atami, Izu, and spent almost a week touring all over Hokkaido.  Of course we rode lots of trains, and I was able to do a bit of shopping at a few of Tokyo's hobby shops. We've only been back a few days and still catching up on all the things that fall behind when you've been gone for a month. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting on some train / model subjects related to this trip so stay tuned.