Talking T Gauge

B 67 · Last edited by B 67 on Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:03 pm; edited 2 times in total

Well, what an interesting day of T gauge talk, news and demonstrations I've had today. In another post, I alluded to a "VIP guest". Certainly VIP as far as we T-gaugers are concerned.

Today I had a visit from Mr Hirotsugu Hirai from KK Eishindo. Making a visit to me on his way to Nürnberg, Germany, for the 2009 Toy Fair next month.

Needless to say this was quite a surprise when he announced his intention, last week, to call in at my shop. It's hard enough to get some Australian suppliers to come out here - I'm in a smallish town (about 1500 people) about 3 hours drive from Melbourne.

Mr Hirai came to discuss future plans and ideas from KK Eishindo, and of course had a number of interesting items to display.

I now have a clearer picture of what is happening regarding points (or switches / turnouts - call them what you will).
Mr Hirai had with him a sample of the 1/32 scale Garden Railway. One of the first things I noticed was that it has a set of points.

Here's a video capture of the point. As you can see, this one is manually operated and has only one point blade. You may also notice the large sleepers (or ties). These items are especially for the 1/32 garden railway series. The 1/450 scale track will have points with two blades like the real thing. No sample of that one yet - sorry. Wink

I probably should've moved the figures before taking the photo. Wink

The garden railway locomotive has the 2nd generation mechanism and after some hesistation at first, this ran beautifully. Much smoother and quieter than the type 103 mechanisms.
Mr Hirai tells me he is already working on a 3rd generation mechanism which will include a worm gear drive. Shocked

Some samples of the cars were shown too.

The detail on these is incredible. They even have the side mirrors on them, the sedan taxi (on the left) have theirs along the bonnet. Notice the open doors on some vehicles.

Above are some other samples which I shall get to enjoy (?) painting and adding to my demonstration layout. Both clear and white bodies are included.

Here's a close-up of one of the cars. The one on its side is about 10mm in length. Included are various cars, vans, SUV / 4WD, various types of small delivery trucks and tray trucks.

Magnifiers - I'll probably need these to paint the road vehicle samples. Don't panic though. Production ones will be pre-painted, I'm sure.

Another video capture - not sure why I didn't use the still camera. Samples of the bridge sides and pylons.

Here are the parts they're made from. I shall assemble these later and take some better photos.

USB adapter. Everything else runs from USB power these days, so why not your T-gauge layout?

And yes, here it is.

Yes, I have my sample T-gauge flexible track. Obviously this is the concrete-sleepered version. And yes, it is just over a metre long. Amazing stuff.
The track holds its shape when bent. This is due to be released in March.
A number of items above will be produced after Chinese New year, so we should see some sought-after products available some time in March.

Other "Talking T Gauge" members, Paul (Victorian T Gauge) and Adrian (Zomer) were also present today and I shall post other photos of Paul's models elsewhere.
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Darren,
Stratford,
Australia.

zomer · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:27 am Post subject:

WOOOOOOW!!!! OMG!!! WHAT AN AMAZING DAY!!!!!

I am also very impressed with the speed of your post on the forums!!

The products we saw today were fantastic. The photos of the cars are great. They show off the detail but really doesnt show off how small they actually are!!!!

The main thing I wanted to see was the flex-track. It was beautifully constructed. I thought due to the size it would be a little brittle but it was very strong and as mentioned, held its shape when bent.
Mr Hirai was very enthusiastic when talking about T-Gauge and certainly show a lot of pride in the product.
I now have to save up for some flex track as I want a lot of it!!!!

I cant wait until March. It seems like that will be the time to expect all the new products.

Wow!!!!

ZomeR
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Victorian T Gauge Blog
http://www.victorian-tgauge.blogspot.com/

ken J · Joined: 11 Jan 2009 Posts: 13 Location: Birmingham UK

Well thank you for putting these photos on line - as I dismantle my cutlery box I have a better idea now of what I'm going to include in the layout

Best wishes
_________________
visit www.kenjonestrains.co.uk and www.ngaugewmg.co.uk

Ken

B 67 · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:58 am Post subject:

I just had a look at your other layouts Ken. Some nice small layouts you have there.

Today I also received a sample of the Desk Top Case. In fact I assembled it as I typed this post. Wink

I anticipate these will be popular with modellers, regardless of scale. It measures approximately 20cmL x 11cmW x 10cmH (8" x 4½" x 4"), which is plenty big enough for a T scale diorama. Or something from most of the larger scales. It assembles without any need for adhesive and has a hinged removable door on one side and the base can slide out too.

I also have one of the memo pads that resembles a type of ticket once used in Japan, along with its own ticket punch.

Mr Hirai also mentioned some exciting future plans and concepts for T gauge. All I shall say for now is that it that is seems "we ain't seen nothin' yet". Shocked

_________________
Darren,
Stratford,
Australia.

zomer · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:09 pm Post subject:

B 67 · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:30 pm Post subject:

So many things today. I keep thinking of more after each post. Rolling Eyes

Regarding the Garden Railway locomotive. I noticed today that this is considerably wider than the type 103 EMU cars. So it may look somewhat out of place if used to haul a 1:450 scale train. That was something I hadn't thought about before I saw it. The set is going to be released with a single riding car rather than the two that appear in some photo. This is to do with some not altogether unexpected issues with the locomotive being able to haul two cars WITH the weight of the 1/32 scale passengers on board.

The figures, by the way, are very detailed. The ones I looked closely at didn't merely have black or white blobs of paint for their eyes, as is usually seen in even large scale models. They had detailed black on white eyes. Limbs can be moved and bodies twisted around in some cases.
_________________
Darren,
Stratford,
Australia.

Ozrail · Guest

Wish I was down there to ask a few questions about future products.
I'm really keen about getting Garden Scale now. Very Happy

Edit: Awww only one riding car? Sad

But I guess that is a reasonable for the train's size.

Out of curiosity, how many fishplates/joiners would you get with the flex track?

B 67 · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:43 pm Post subject:

David K Smith · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:47 pm Post subject:

Wow, that must have been like a visit from the Pope! Extraordinary!

May I sample the images and information for the website? (With all due credit, of course?)
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—David

http://www.t-gauge.net/
http://1-450.blogspot.com/

B 67 · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:50 pm Post subject:

David K Smith · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:53 pm Post subject:

Ozrail · Guest

You southern states get all the fun. Very Happy

Nothing great happens up here in QLD.

I'm probably going to sound annoying and repetitive about the Garden Scale.
But it does make me eager for possible future products for the scale.
I'll be over the moon if they do make a Garden Scaled Steamer.

B 67 · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 1:30 pm Post subject:

David K Smith · Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 1:36 pm Post subject:

trainspotter-usa · Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 315 Location: Minnesota

The flex track looks gorgeous. Those elevated sections could come in useful too. Too much excitement. You guys are very lucky

Ian
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I CAN see how cool this stuff is!!!
http://more-t-please.blogspot.com/