Has anyone here bought Tomix (Tomytec) or Kato N-scale buildings?


Chevron_GATX

Chevron_GATX

Member
I just bought a pile of Tomix (Tomytec) and Kato N-scale buildings and structures from both Amazon and ModelTrainStuff (available inventory varies wildly among vendors). All of the Tomix buildings I bought from ModelTrainStuff says, "built-up" in the product description which I assume means, "pre-built." One of my favorites is Tomix' 7-11 store. This one appears to be completely pre-built:

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[Not my photos: re-posted from a Japanese dealer's site.]

While the 7-11 store looks great in the photos, one customer commented that the Tomix gas station was too small (I didn't buy that one--it does look too small). I bought several multi-story office buildings, many of which are coming from Japan. Since I didn't pay for expedited shipping, the delivery estimate is weeks away. I was concerned that the taller buildings may not be scale-accurate.

Does anyone have any of the Tomix "office building" series in their layouts? How accurately are they scaled? I also bought a Kato Denny's restaurant with a parking lot and a Kato "5th Avenue" office building. Does anyone here have Kato N-scale buildings as well? How is the scale accuracy on the Kato buildings, and are they comparable to the scale-accuracy of the Tomix stuff? Thanks for any replies!
 
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Scale accuracy seems to be in the eye of the beholder. I stopped buying Tomix when I noticed their scenery items were advertised at 1/150 scale, rather than 1/160. It doesn't sound like much difference, but put a 160th person next to a 150th door or car and...

Oh crap!
 
Beady said:
Scale accuracy seems to be in the eye of the beholder. I stopped buying Tomix when I noticed their scenery items were advertised at 1/150 scale, rather than 1/160. It doesn't sound like much difference, but put a 160th person next to a 150th door or car and...
Click to expand...

Well, that's annoying. No, I totally get you. I'm going to have Tomix buildings and Kato buildings literally touching each other. So Tomix is 150:1. Do you know if Kato is in fact 160:1? Thanks!
 
I think everybody has a Denny's! I know I do. I also found a McDonald's that is a repurposed Hallmark Christmas ornament.

AFAIK, Kato building are in scale with their trains, so yes, they'd be 1:160. I'm beginning to think, however, maybe it's not worth worrying about.

Oh crap!
 
From left to right: Tomix modern cinema (150:1); Tomix small-size office building B (150:1); Kato Denny's restaurant (160:1). Asphalt road is 3M 2000-grit 3.6" x 9" waterproof sandpaper. N-scale Kato GE AC4400 and Bachmann Railbox boxcars in foreground.
 
Yeah, Beady, the doors are noticeably larger on the Tomix buildings. I'll be able to tell how closely Tomix matches Kato's scale once I build the Tomix townhouses (the only buildings which didn't come pre-built). Thanks, Rico! I was pretty impressed with the Denny's myself!
 
When it comes to office/commercial/industrial buildings, who's to say what is a standard prototype size for doors and windows. Houses possibly yes, but even there, front entry doors in particular can vary depending on architecture. Houses say in an estate, might be uniform, so a 1:150 next to a 1:160 would possibly be noticeable. Check out the different buildings on "The City's Edge" layout for different sizes and styles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A2h3jZhxiA
 
True, the commercial buildings are less critical, though the entry doors of the green office buildings are clearly over-scale (but for only $12.79, I'm not really complaining). That's why I wanted to compare the Tomix' townhome doors to the Denny's entry doors, where any sizable difference will be more noticeable. I was admiring the City Edge layout in another thread, and it is truly impressive. Obviously, I can't hope to approach that level of craft with pre-built structures. But I'm very happy with what I can buy from Tomix and Kato, and for my level of modeling, they provide a good amount of detail for the money.
 
The figures and vehicles you use will have a more defining scale effect than any differences in building details I think, especially if you can arrange them in group activities e.g. getting into a cab, waiting at a bus stop etc. It's the mini scenes that really draw the eye in. Another layout that is inspiring in that regard is Rod Stewarts "Three Rivers City" for small vignettes that keep the viewer looking for more. https://www.google.com.au/search?q=...X&ved=0ahUKEwiKzcSxo-fMAhUDLaYKHayxABQQsAQIIQ
 
Yes, certainly, figures and vehicles will reveal any scale discrepancies most noticeably. I'm afraid to order any vehicles since I'm betting the scale-accuracy is all over the map. Also, I found it difficult to find modern police and emergency vehicles. Plus, they're expensive! I'll probably wait on vehicles until I build some roads to put them on.

One of my biggest pet-peeves is out-of-scale roadways and vehicles, so I hope to get my roadways as close to scale as possible. But, I'm far from being any kind of craftsman when it comes to modeling skills. I'll try my hand using the graphic arts tape I ordered when it comes (most pre-made highway markings are out-of-scale--they're often too wide).

Holy cow! That Rod Stewart layout is frigging amazing! Must be nice to be a rock star!
 
Chevron_GATX said:
Yes, certainly, figures and vehicles will reveal any scale discrepancies most noticeably. I'm afraid to order any vehicles since I'm betting the scale-accuracy is all over the map. Also, I found it difficult to find modern police and emergency vehicles. Plus, they're expensive! I'll probably wait on vehicles until I build some roads to put them on.

One of my biggest pet-peeves is out-of-scale roadways and vehicles, so I hope to get my roadways as close to scale as possible. But, I'm far from being any kind of craftsman when it comes to modeling skills. I'll try my hand using the graphic arts tape I ordered when it comes (most pre-made highway markings are out-of-scale--they're often too wide).

Holy cow! That Rod Stewart layout is frigging amazing! Must be nice to be a rock star!
Click to expand...
Yes, it is.



Oh crap!
 
I received more Tomix buildings from Japan yesterday, and they definitely appear slightly over-scale. The entry doors on the Tomix buildings are about twice as tall as the entry doors on the Kato-built Denny's restaurant model. Even so, some of the Tomix buildings are incredibly nice. Excellent detail on some; mediocre detail on the cheaper models (e.g., the $12.79 green buildings in the background). Still, this high-rise (much bigger than I thought it would be) looks great, especially for only $26:

tomixbldg-2.jpg


The cool thing about this particular model is that it's sectional: The floors separated while I was taking it out of the box. Presumably, you could kit-bash these and build a mega-skyscraper quite easily. The lobby doors are very 1970s' "bank lobby" (which looks very much like the "bank" at Los Angeles Center Studios, used in Die Hard 4), and could easily fit into a Wilshire Blvd. street-scene in present-day Los Angeles.
 
Here's the Daily Mail newspaper building in the UK
images


A high rise residential


Two more
fipusd6q9gk0uoy1.jpg


Heights of doors, windows, floor spacing vary between commercial buildings depending on the owners requirements and how the Architect interprets them. The Denny's restaurant, along with McD's and Burger King etc, being generally low rise aren't normally going to be over high. Buildings like banks want to present a feeling of wealth, so a grand entry and foyer is par for the course. Seeing those two together as you've shown them, they look fine, but it would be unusual to see them so anyway.

I think you're worrying too much about the slight difference in scale, as I mentioned before, so long as you use 1:160 figures/vehicles, that is what will convey scale to any viewer.
 
Yes, the bank building looks particularly good, and its larger-than-normal entry doors, as you say, make sense for this type of structure. It's the green office buildings (Tomix N 4043 small-size office building B) which are less authentic, and would require additional work to make them acceptable (e.g., a back-lit transparency of a real office interior would really make this model shine!). Again, for $12.79, I'm not complaining, but I think the money would be better spent on the larger, higher-quality Tomix and Kato buildings instead.

I received my Tomix 7-11 store today, and I'm happy to say it compares quite nicely in scale with the Kato Denny's restaurant. I received another large Kato building which came already detailed. It's much bigger than it looks in the catalog photo, impressively so. It looks absolutely amazing. For only $39.70, including shipping (all the way from Japan!), I think it's an incredible value for the level of detail in the model (perhaps the dollar is buying more overseas these days?).
 
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