New Tomix Steam loco !!!

Tomix have announced their 4th attempt at modelling Japanese steam …

1. Their first attempt was in 1976 (as their 2nd release) with a rather crude (by today’s standards) ‘C’ type tank loco.
2. In 1982 they did a C57, which again would not stand up against today’s models.
3. There was a break for quite a while until 09/06/1999 when they released the 9600 class loco, which had the motor in the tender, thereby bypassing the problem everyone elses SL’s had at the time of the motor sticking out the back of the cab. Unfortunately I don’t think the quality of this model somehow was consistent, as I had one that ran like a dream, and others that were not up to scratch !!!
4. Now at this weekend’s Shizuoka Hobby Show, they plan to announce a high quality model of C57-135. The detail looks excellent, and it will be interesting to see how much it is expected to sell for. This time there is no motor visible in the cab, and no shaft between the loco and tender, so I assume they have managed to fit a small motor inside the boiler somehow. Have a look at these photos and judge the quality for yourself …