FMODELS

[hectorton]

I am currently visiting my son and doing quite a bit of Nine Gauge shopping in Tokyo.  One of the store's I

have frequented and where the majority of my purchases have been is FMODELS in Akihabara.  They offer a

solid 30% off MSRP + 5% sales tax on all things Kato and Tomix.  They also offer the same discount on many

other manufacturers, and up to 20 percent on Micro Ace and Modemo.  The Brick and Mortar is owned and

operated by a husband and wife who keep the place spotless and incredibly well stocked.  Note, the online store

is very limited in content; the brick and mortar lacks very few items.  The last time I was in the store was right

before the start of Golden Week and there was so much new merchandise that there was hardly any room to

walk.  It was also full of customer retrieving pre-orders of new releases.  As far as Japanese hobby stores

square footage this is one of the larger ones.   

 

I got to talking to the wife (Motoko Ahn) and asked her if by chance they sold and shipped nationally and

internationally as their website (http://www.fmodels.jp) only indicated that they took pre-orders over the

internet.  Motoko advised that they did ship domestically and internationally and that they were in the

process of updating/expanding the website and the international side of the business.  She advised that they

already regularly ship to repeat customers domestically, in China and Hong Kong.  I specifically asked about

shipping to the U.s., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Great Britain, and Europe in general. She replied that

the order, payment, and shipping process was not yet cemented, but that they would.  Her only stipulations

were that the total weight of each individual shipment would not exceed two kilos and that payment be

through Pay Pal.  The Shipping method would be the customer's choice (SAL or EMS).  However, only EMS

shipments could be insured.  The current order process is for the customer to send them an email

(oversea@fmodels.jp) with detailed information (i.e. Kato 10-423, etc.) for the items and the preferred

shipping method.  FModels would respond with the total merchandise/shipping cost.  If the customer is

satisfied he would concur and make payment. 

 

There were two things that I did not clarify while at the store but plan to return for more shopping and

clarification.  I did not clarify whether the international orders would be subjected to the 5% sales

tax.  I suspect that the answer will be that they will not be subjected, but I will clarify.  In store

pricing is 30% off MSRP + 5% sales tax which would be 25% off MSRP for international orders not subject

to sales tax.  The second item was how the pay pal payment transaction would actually be conducted. 

Some of you who order from Popondetta may already know how the process would work as it sounds very

similar to the Popondetta process detailed in the forum.  Motoko also advised that they were looking for

alternate payment methods.

 

I am in no way associated with the store nor do I stand to profit in any way.  I just got some fantastic

deals at the store and they always have what I want.  In reading through postings in the forum one of the

repeat discussions is the inaccessibility of and or high cost of model trains abroad.  From what I have

read and personally experienced ordering from FModels should be one of the least expensive and most

convenient.  "If the process pans out!".  I will personally not be ordering anything from them for at least a

couple of months as I will be heading home chuck full of goodies.  However, I will be making an attempt at

ordering in the near future.

 

Motoko Ahn's English is very good, but my Japanese is very poor. Hence, I encourage anyone local or

international whose Japanese is better than mine to visit or contact the store for further clarification. 

Motoko Ahn's email is "ahn@gmodels.jp" and the tel. nr. is 81-3-6206-0180.  Do not email from a "gmail"

account as FModels' and or their ISP blocks gmail emails suspecting SPAM.  If anyone request, I can email

a Jpeg of Motoko Ahn's business card with personal contact info, and the FModels business card. If

anyone contacts FModels or decides to place and order, Please post the experience.

 

 

[ia909]

Cool.

 

Thanks for the heads-up.

 

Ian

[cteno4]

Hectorton,

 

Wow, that's very cool! Glad  to hear about this and will be great to try out! Think that's about the best standard discount I've heard of.

 

Jeff

[to2leo]

This is a great find.  Thank you for sharing your findings.  I am looking forward to see if they will or will not charge the sales tax for foreigners.  Do they also offer pre-owned merchandises?

[hectorton]

to2leo,

 

    No, they do not sell used merchandise.  hectorton

[Kabutoni]

Sounds like a good deal! I already see HS demising into a research sit for some here, rather than a supplier :P It's pretty neat to have direct contact to the people who own the shop, rather than to be in contact with only software or a 3rd party.

[JR 500系]

Firstly, thank you hectorton for a very good headsup of a wonderful source! Cheers you're the man!

 

HHhmmm 30% does sound very very attractive... I would probably try to contact Motoko san and see what can be visualized. Thanks again!

[Mr Frosty]

Does any one know the RRP for a Kato Portram?

Gives an idea as to the potential savings and a comparison with other retailers.

[JR 500系]

Does any one know the RRP for a Kato Portram?

Gives an idea as to the potential savings and a comparison with other retailers.

 

Hi Mr Frosty:

 

I think the RRP from Kato website listed is 9975yen for the Portram only... More info here:

 

http://www.katomodels.com/product/nmi/tlr0600.shtml

 

Hope that helps!

[Darklighter]

This shop looks awesome: http://blog.goo.ne.jp/komume1973/e/53fcb61a296020332992601a803baec3

Looks like they are selling their own lines of paint and interior lighting kits.

BTW http://www.facebook.com/fmodels.mokei

[Mr Frosty]

Hi Mr Frosty:

 

I think the RRP from Kato website listed is 9975yen for the Portram only... More info here:

 

Hope that helps!

 

Thank you. With 30% discount, that translates to about £54. About £12 cheaper than anywhere else. 

[hectorton]

Darklighter,

 

    I believe you are right correct on their own line of paint, and I am not 100% sure on the lighting kits as I have seen them in one or two other stores.  However, the very first place I ever saw them was at FModels.  FYI, the lighting kits are not compatible with Kato.  They work on all Tomix and some Micro Ace cars.  There are two or three models/versions of the kits and I would recommend verying with the store which to buy for your set.  They also come in a set of ten and are less expensive than all the others.  I outfitted a couple of Tomix sets with these light kits and they worked great.  hectorton.

[cteno4]

Has anyone done an order from fmmodels yet?

 

Jeff

[keitaro]

i don't think they will sell intl

 

also i wonder why a wholesaler is selling products as fmodels is a wholesaler of model railway products.

 

just seems odd to me.

 

I have spoken to their wholesaling dept already.

[Darklighter]

i don't think they will sell intl

They are advertising on their facebook page (in English): http://www.facebook.com/fmodels.mokei

 

Wasn't (isn't) HW Aoshima/Japan a wholesaler as well? ;)

[Lawrence]

Having rather stumbled through their sight using google translate  and using HS to compare a couple of items I found that there is not a huge difference (clearly I didn't check everything) but a couple of the Kato multiple sets were over Y1000 cheaper on HS and their ordering/payment process is much simpler for numpties like me who cant speak or read Japanese 

[cteno4]

Aoshima is a producer/distributor and also runs hobby world which no longer does international orders.

 

i was just intrigued by Hectorton's talking with them and the 30% off list which is pretty nice as well as being willing to do sal shipping.

 

pretty much would be like ordering in the past from rainbow ten. i would email an order and they would send a total back and they had my cc on file to charge it. they were good at seeing if things not in stock they could get easily for the order from their distributors or not.

 

everything i looked at was cheaper by 10-20%

 

galaxy express train preorder

hs: 14,960  fm: 12,936  delta: 2024

 

655 emperor train

hs: 22,950  fm: 19,845  delta: 3,105

 

thats pretty good discount, especially with these days with few ordering options w/o rainbow ten and hw. thinking of giving them a try.

 

jeff

[Darklighter]

Has anyone ordered from them yet?

I tried to send an email to oversea@fmodels.jp but it could not be delivered.

[hectorton]

Darklighter,

 

    Don't know what to tell you but I have used that email before and it has worked.  I have also used and you can try order@fmodels.jp and anh@fmofels.jp.  The order is for orders and preorders, anh is the wife of the owner and I am sure she will be more than happy to help you.  I have ordered and bought a number of items from them in the past, but have not had them mailed as my son works and lives in Tokyo and he has picked up the items for me and mailed them.

[cteno4]

Oversea also bounced for me, but Ann worked and Ahn answere that they will do sal and take paypal payment, just email what you want. I forgot to ask about price and sales tax though. I plan on doing an order with thm to try them out.

 

Thanks for the heads up hectorton.

 

Jeff

[hectorton]

Cteno4

 

    Please let us all know how it went.

[Darklighter]

I asked for some prices and it seems so be a 25 % discount on the MSRP including tax (at least for Kato trains) (which is equivalent to a 21.3 % discount on the MSRP excl. tax):

 

10-858  E5 HAYABUSA  JP￥4961

10-859  E5 HAYABUSA  JP￥5748

10-593 E127 OOITO-sen  JP￥5906

10-221 E3 KOMACHI      JP￥13387

[keitaro]

not bad i guess see if i can beat that in a few months

[hectorton]

I am surprised by the 25% vs 30% And sales tax.  Will do some investigating.

[to2leo]

Hi all,

I have sent my questions directly from the shop's http://www.fmodels.jp/request/index.cgi .  I hope Mrs. Ahn will respond.  I posted my questions below.

 

Hi Mrs. Motoko Ahn,

I was referred by a customer who uses JNS Forum Group ( http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/board,64.0.html)

 

I am interested in ordering the the followings from your store:

Kato 10-1145 アルプスの氷河特急 3両基本セット 特:7,497

Kato 10-1146 アルプスの氷河特急 4両増結セット 特:5,880

Kato 10-1136 E6系新幹線「スーパーこまち」 基本セット（3両）

Kato 10-1137 E6系新幹線「スーパーこまち」 増結セット（4両）

 

My questions are:

1) Do you discount the 5% tax for Overseas Customer?

2) How much will the Shipping Cost be if they can be shipped by SAL and not EMS to Toronto, Canada?

3) What are the prices for Kato 10-1136 and 10-1137?

 

I have Pay-pal account and am very sincere in ordering the items.

 

Hope to hear from you soon,

Sincerely,

Leo

Toronto, Canada