Sekisui Kinzoku first produced N scale models of Japanese prototypes in 1965, starting with a C50 steam locomotive and Oha31 passenger coaches. The rest, as they say, is history!
To commemorate their 60th anniversary, Kato have re-released another very early model from their range, the KiHa 20 diesel multiple unit. The model is offered in two liveries, standard JNR orange-and-cream (10-040) and Tokyo metropolitan all-over orange (10-041). Apart from differences in livery, the two packs contain slightly different models. The JNR orange-and-cream one contains two of the basic KiHa 20 railcars, each with a cab at each end. If you wanted to, you could run just the motorised railcar on its own, like you might see on a quiet branchline somewhere. By contrast, the Tokyo metropolitan is a proper two-car set, including one KiHa 25 (the motorised model) and one KiHaYuNi 26 combination trailer with passenger, baggage, and mail compartments.
But in an age where models feature working lights (not just headlights, but interior lights as well) and separately fitted details, are reissued models from such a long time ago worth buying?
Background
The KiHa 20 series dates back to the immediate postwar era when the Japanese state railway had the problem of marrying their largest available diesel engine (the DMH17, with about 160 horsepower) with passenger coaches of suitable size. A welded, stressed-steel construction was required to reduce the weight of the coaches while retaining the strength and durability needed. The result was a series of railcars produced between 1957 and 1966 that ultimately numbered well over a thousand vehicles.
They were used throughout Japan, including Hokkaido. KiHa 20 was the basic model and featured air cooling, a lavatory, and small cabs at each end. These railcars were used singly or in multiple across the warmer parts of Japan from 1957 until 1991. KiHa 21 was a cold-resistant version for use on Hokkaido that had double glazing and better heating, but wasn't satisfactory, and in 1958 the KiHa 22 series was produced that was even better suited to cold conditions. These would remain in service until 1995.
By sacrificing one of the cabs, the KiHa 25 design could carry more passengers (88 vs 82), making them better suited to suburban work than the KiHa 20 series. These remained in service until 1987.
What's in the box
As you'd expect for a commemorative reissue, there's a definite nostalgia feel to this model. The outer packaging uses the older Kato colour scheme and typography. The models are supplied inside the usual transparent boxes, but the cardboard inserts are like the ones used on older Kato models, and if you remove the plastic moulding that supports the model, you'll find a yellow inspection certificate -- apparently like the ones Kato used to include with their early models. All very neat!
Apart from that, though, there's nothing but the trains themselves. No sprue with detailing parts, no transfers to add to destination blinds, or anything like that.
Performance and detailing
Once you take the models out of their packaging, their strengths and weaknesses become obvious. Almost all the details are moulded: the only exception seems to be the interconnecting door frames at each end. Other than that, the models are very basic. The roof looks fine, but the air vents are moulded on. The headlamps at each end are painted silver.
The bodywork is nicely moulded and painted, but with no details (such as lights or window frames) picked out in their own colours. There is also relatively little printing on the sides, though the depot affiliation apparently says 'Sekisui', reminding us that these are commemorative models rather than line-specific replicas. The underframe detailing is basic, and while looks quite good on the trailer car, it is very shallowly moulded on the powered car, presumably to allow space for the motor (see below).
The bogies feature standard Rapido couplings, but apart from taking the hooks (and springs) out you can't modify them. You can't, for example, replace these couplings with more prototypical ones like you can with modern Kato multiple units.
Performance is fine, but I don't think a coreless motor is used here, and compared with some of my other Kato models, this model is a little bit noisy. Not enough to make me not want to run it, but definitely not silent in the way that the best of the best models are nowadays. Slow speed performance is good though, and the railcar will travel around 15 cm radius curves reliably, though with a little bit of extra 'grinding' noise from the gears! On more typical curves, the train runs flawlessly in both directions, whether the motorised car is pushing or pulling the unpowered car.
Anything else lacking compared with modern trains? Well, the bogies don't have electrical pick-ups and the trains can't have interior lighting installed (without modification, at least). The lack of headlights or taillights is another obvious deficiency when we compare these models to Kato's more recent multiple units.
Conclusion
While the model itself is basic, to say the least, its Japanese price, ¥5,500 (around £25) should be borne in mind. For about the price of a round of drinks at the pub or a couple of takeaway pizzas you're getting a smooth-running, quite attractive two-car train in quirky packaging.
Kato deliberately market this model as not just a nostalgic model for experienced modellers but also a cheap, entry-level model for beginners. I think that's a really clever approach. If you're someone who expects high-end features in your models nowadays, you might happily buy this set just for its novelty value and to enjoy owning a bit of Kato history -- or at least, an imitation of an old Kato model!
But new modellers will find these models useful, too. Of the two paint schemes, I liked this one more because it has that classic anime feel, and you could easily imagine one of these railcars tootling down some rural branchline in Japan, with rice paddies on one side and a forested mountainside on the other.
Really, for the Japanese price it's hard to complain. By the time you add shipping and import taxes the deal might not be quite so sweet, though. Would I spend the UK RRP of £55 on one of these? I'm not quite so sure, especially when the much higher specification KiHa 52 railcar retails for about the same price. Admittedly, that's a single unit versus a twin-pack, but the KiHa 52 model has much nicer paintwork and working lights, plus the option to add interior lighting and replica buckeye couplings.
