Kato's urban direction....?

[Puddington]

Anyone else see this.....?



Notwithstanding the interesting alliance between Faller and Kato to make such an item, it appears that Kato is really moving heavily into the modern urban rail segment of the business. Great for those who are interested in that stuff, it has no appeal to me whatsoever and is a little surprising to me....

What's next from Kato; modern vehicles, N?A subways...(both the vehicle and sub shop that is.....) 

[GaryHinshaw]

Yes.  Nice to see the picture though; and I agree with you, no interest to me whatsoever. 

[Rossford Yard]

What's interesting is how poorly some other passenger segments seem to have done (Walthers).  I have the general impression that 95% of us prefer to model freight business for its inherent switching interest.

However, it does seem Kato's "iconic" offerings have done quite well, perhaps encouraging them to explore more passenger market.  This would combine well with their commuter sets, so I see the logic.

Do more Japanese model passenger trains than here, because of their larger passenger presences?

[Philip H]

I'm not surprised - modern urban N scale is the thing in Japan, whether it's US or Japanese prototypes.  Kato is simply leveraging that market to build US oriented stuff.  The Faller partnership makes sense - American prototypes are an  amalgamation of many styles, so tooling from exisitn is probably easier for Faller - plus they do buildings as their primary business line.

[C855B]

Huh. I wonder why they chose the Schaumburg METRA station.

[TiVoPrince]

Must 
have one...

[conrail98]

Me likey. Now, if they could also make more NA specific LRT vehicles, we may be in business,

Phil

[Philip H]

Me likey. Now, if they could also make more NA specific LRT vehicles, we may be in business,

Phil

+1

[Sokramiketes]

Must be "inspired by"... too bad it's not a full rendition.

[mcjaco]

It's a foob!

[wm3798]

Reminds me of the neauveax MARC station at Dorsey.  Commuter cars beget commuter stations!

[Philip H]

let's hope they beget somr 1990's buses and sedans as well.  Or motorcycles . . . Kato could surely do a range of Hondas and Kawasakis

[C855B]

It's a foob!

I think we call this "selective compression". 

In all seriousness, makes sense. Otherwise following the prototype's dimensions out the window would result in a model few could reasonably use unless it was a layout centerpiece. I have my doubts that a minor-ish commuter station from the western Chicago suburbs really qualifies as LDE material. I just think it's funny that Kato would use their hometown station as something to put into production.

[mcjaco]

^ I beleive I read that they're including multiple station signs with the kit as well.  There's a good chunk of them that look "similiar" to that one.

[wazzou]

Must be "inspired by"... too bad it's not a full rendition.

Leaves open the possibility for modular add ons...