DDF autos

DDF is releasing lots of 25 and 100 cars. looks suspiciously like they are just reselling the chinese architectural auto models. random colors, 5 models, some errors, all sound (and look in the fuzzy picture) like the architectural models.

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10124279

hs has them for about 66 cents each when you buy 25 and 55 cents each when you buy 100.

not a great price when you can buy these on ebay from chinese suppliers at 24 cents each in batches of 50 or 11 cents each in a batch of 400. maybe cheaper, i just checked one source that usually has decent prices on these things and reasonable shipping (some have some really high shipping).

figured they could do a better price if they were to buy a pile of these and then just give a decent markup this is way over 100% markup on retail price and expect they could get a wholesale deal.

maybe if they get a better picture up ill pop for 25 to compare.

cheers

jeff

No photos on the DDF web site yet.

http://www.diorama.co.jp/

DDF is a major builder of rental and tetsu cafe layouts as well as an occasional diorama supply source.

hs has a better picture up now on these autos. some of the colors are the same, but no brown like the chinese ones and ddf has a yellow.

only one ddf car looks to be pretty close to the chinese with a sunroof. the other two models dont match up with the chinese architectural models. also the ddf looks to be a better casting and detail painting than the chinese ones, so you are getting something for the increased price.

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10124279a/20/1

cheers

jeff

I just put in my reservation for the 100-car set, and that was enough to put it into "waiting list email" status.  The 25-car set was already in that state, so I guess these have been popular.

I actually reserved two (yes, 200 cars; I'm modeling Tokyo, after all), and it will be interesting to see if I get both.

I used the affiliate link, so the forum should get it's cut of my 9500 yen, assuming it applies to reservation.

Very cheap... And very ugly. I think I threw up a little by looking at the detailing.

There are loads of these extremely suspect looking cars knocking around, especially on stalls at UK exhibitions. Sure, they're cheap, and ideal for hiding at the back of layouts, or in multi-story carparks where quantity certainly wins over quality, but you'll be amazed at how many of these seem to take centre-stage. Would you really want these shockers in the street at the front of your layout, especially with even the basic standards of Japanese trains, buildings etc?

I agree. The Tomytec models (or similar ones from companies like Wiking) are the ones to use in foreground areas or key scenes intended to draw the eye (I have a police car and sports car posed on my highway as a traffic stop, for example).  On the other hand, at $3 to $5 per car for the collections, and often more than $10 for some single cars, that's expensive to do on any scale.

I see models like this as suitable for filling in car parks, or "traffic jam" scenes where a large number of vehicles are needed, but it's the overall effect rather than the individual vehicle that matters.  They're also useful for background detail (the car parked behind a house or on a side street where it's less obvious). I'd rather pay $0.55 per car for those kinds of uses, and accept the lack of detail.  I can always add detail myself if there's something that really bugs me.

if you're building a small, highly detailed scene, then these are definitely not the right model to use.

The molds are obviously low on detail, but I think the big difference in quality (terrible) and cost (low) comes from the painting - the wheels are obviously some kind of stamp that is being applied by hand (it's not centered), and the few painted on details like headlights look like they are being done with just a quick jab of a paint brush. Look at the yellow car on right side of the photo, the painted on headlights aren't remotely near the molded detail.

I think it would be useful to determine if there was some way to strip the detail paint (are the main bodies painted, or are they molded in those colors?) so it could be reapplied properly.

I agree. The Tomytec models (or similar ones from companies like Wiking) are the ones to use in foreground areas or key scenes intended to draw the eye (I have a police car and sports car posed on my highway as a traffic stop, for example). 

You could do a Tokyo style speed trap designed to handle up to five speeders at once! 

http://blogd.com/wp/index.php/archives/1138

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yes up close they are pretty ugly, but at 3' away in a mass of cars they totally disappear. trick is to use these in the right places like folks have mentioned in a car park, traffic jam, auto sales lot, etc and at a distance and they will do fine and save you lots and lots of money.

the ddf are better quality than the chinese architectural stuff you can get even cheaper. these really cheap models -- like 10 cents each in bulk -- are what i what you are seeing flooding the shows and ebay.

it looks like ddf did their own run with maybe some new moulds and better painting.

ill drop one of the old chinese guys in some isopropanol and the sonic cleaner and see if the paint strips well.

we get really spoiled with the tomy tec vehicles, but those have really crept up in price in the last couple of years and are not dirt cheap (like $1.25 each for autos shipped) like they use to be.

cheers

jeff

we get really spoiled with the tomy tec vehicles, but those have really crept up in price in the last couple of years and are not dirt cheap (like $1.25 each for autos shipped) like they use to be.

Then again, the Tomytecs are getting better detailed by every release

You could do a Tokyo style speed trap designed to handle up to five speeders at once! 

I'd seen that blog posting before, but forgotten it.  That would be a good scene to model.

I've got enough Tomytec police cars (why are there so many police car models in collections?), I need to find something to do with them. 

hmm, just saw a few ebay listings for the architectural autos and they now look pretty much exactly like the ddf offering, but at about 1/3rd the price. i went ahead and ordered 50 to see what i get!

http://cgi.ebay.com/100X-Model-Cars-1-150-Building-Train-Layout-N-Scale-/270627001102?pt=Model_RR_Trains#ht_3678wt_1004

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-50-Assorted-Building-Train-Model-Cars-Scale-N-1-150-/380262422578?pt=Model_RR_Trains#ht_3080wt_1060

http://cgi.ebay.com/100pc-Model-car-1-150-Building-Train-Layout-Set-scale-N-/260655116165?pt=AU_Toys_Hobbies_Model_Railways#ht_3778wt_1060

these look to be the new ddf mix and slightly different from the older chinese architectural model cars, with only one car really exactly the same. they have the same wheel rim paint scheme.

cheers

jeff

Jeff,

Those do look like the DDF mix. But in the DDF mix, and the eBay lot, I only see three styles of car: Four-door sedan w/ sunroof, two-door sedan, and two-door sports coupe. Not exactly a lot of variety…I don't recall what the older Chinese lots had, though.

Jeff - I've been looking at those cars too and I need a lot for my layout. They might mix well with other cars like Kato or Tonytec.

Have any members ordered the cars from the China and/or Hong Kong ebay sellers? If so what is your opinion?

Capt,

yeah a lot of time the hong kong sellers dont have a good picture of the whole set of things and they also tend to rip off each other's photos ive seen. i went ahead and ordered a small lot to compare to the older chinese architectural cars i have. again even the old ones work fine at over 3 away as you cant see the detail at that distance! you will in up close photos so if you want to photo every aspect of your scene from up close you are stuck buying tomytec if you want everything perfect. my way is to use the cheap cars and i just use the trick we started with on the jrm layout of using the sticky puddy you use for holding pictures straight on the wall. small blob under the car and press it in place and holds it there, but easily moved later. that way if you want to photo an area you can populate it with tomytec only to get the perfect shot, then thin out with the cheaper ones for normal layout viewing.

bernard,

ive ordered trees, cars, and people from several of the hong kong and chinese sources. all have worked well and been decent quality (for what you pay for). no problems at all and usually here w/in a week or so. i shop around a bit as the same product can have very different prices even with the same vendor. sometimes the australian auctions are better priced than the us ones! some have cheaper shipping or little or no increase for shipping multiple items which can bring the price down. all have had excellent checkout and either use the full ebay tracking or another service, much better than most us ebay purchases which i never get an email that payment was received or shipped out, just shows up... the good thing is ebay reviews let you ding folks on communications specifically which i am doing now for those folks.

ill post some picts when they come in in a week or so next to the older chinese models and some tomytec.

figure these new ones will be nicer than the old ones, but i still want to do a couple of car parks so the old ones can be all the trunks and hoods only you see along the edges of them!

cheers

jeff

I took a chance and ordered some of the automobiles from one of the Hong Kong ebay sellers Jeff had listed and I have to say they're not bad at all. I thought the paint was going to be slapped on, etc. but they're not bad. I do have to sand down some of the chassis to fit the tops a little bit better but for the price....

As a matter of fact I'm a little disappointed in a set of Kato automobiles (the 90s set) I just receive where the plastic on the tops is a little too thin.

Bernard,

yeah they are kind of like the chinese figures, ok a few feet away in the further back areas, but not great for right up front. they do give you something different in car shapes. i have been a bit disappointed that tomytec has not done a broader spectrum of autos with the number of releases they have had. im sure this is due to the fact they still think collector series and not model train layout first, but second.

they are easy to pop apart and trim up some and repaint. still figuring most of mine for a parking garage where you only see bits and pieces of noses and butts. was even thinking i might get away with chopping them in half for this purpose!

Has anyone gotten a set of the ddf cars to compare yet?

cheers

jeff

Yeah Jeff, it was a nice surprise and it took 2 weeks to deliver.

Next questions: Does anyone have Wiking vehicles?

The only thing I hate about those Chinese models are the weird fluorescent colors that they use, especially on the cars and people. One thing I did find very appealing was those really cheap LED street lights. They look very thick but I think it might be workable.

For cars, have you guys considered Tomica Capsule? I have a bunch and their scale works fairly well (until you put it beside a Tomytec bus, then it looks weird) but cheaper than Tomytec cars and a very big variety, including exotics and what not. Although quality and look wise, not quite up to par.

Clem24 - I didn't know about Tomica Capsule. Do you have a link to their website? When I googled them I got something else.

BTW the order I got from Hong Kong had no flourescent colors and a matter of fact very few red or yellow cars came in my order.

The only thing I hate about those Chinese models are the weird fluorescent colors that they use, especially on the cars and people. One thing I did find very appealing was those really cheap LED street lights. They look very thick but I think it might be workable.

 

For cars, have you guys considered Tomica Capsule? I have a bunch and their scale works fairly well (until you put it beside a Tomytec bus, then it looks weird) but cheaper than Tomytec cars and a very big variety, including exotics and what not. Although quality and look wise, not quite up to par.

The only thing I hate about those Chinese models are the weird fluorescent colors that they use, especially on the cars and people. One thing I did find very appealing was those really cheap LED street lights. They look very thick but I think it might be workable.

 

For cars, have you guys considered Tomica Capsule? I have a bunch and their scale works fairly well (until you put it beside a Tomytec bus, then it looks weird) but cheaper than Tomytec cars and a very big variety, including exotics and what not. Although quality and look wise, not quite up to par.

Bernard,

did you get the ddf vehicles? or were you talking about the chinese ones took two weeks?

the chinese stuff shows up in 1-2 weeks for me usually.

cheers

jeff

Jeff - I went with the Chinese ones. They were slightly less and they looked exactly like the DDF automobiles. It only took 2 weeks for delivery now I'm thinking of getting the other style, the cars & minivans with the moon roofs.

I actually had some "Micro-Machine" autos that I saved from years ago and on the layout they are "way out of scale".

Bernard

LOL! in the old days i had collected a lot of the micromachine construction machines as they were not bad on scale and few other options were out there (pre tomytec!). now they look pretty funky. i think i still have a few bags of 4 or 5 each of these i picked up years ago as i wanted to build a construction equipment sales yard.

will be interesting to see if the ddf are exactly the same things or better versions of the chinese ones or maybe just better detailed.

cheers

jeff

The only thing I hate about those Chinese models are the weird fluorescent colors that they use, especially on the cars and people. One thing I did find very appealing was those really cheap LED street lights. They look very thick but I think it might be workable.

 

For cars, have you guys considered Tomica Capsule? I have a bunch and their scale works fairly well (until you put it beside a Tomytec bus, then it looks weird) but cheaper than Tomytec cars and a very big variety, including exotics and what not. Although quality and look wise, not quite up to par.

clem,

yes the car colors are a tad hard, but not too off what some of the real cars out there are! nice thing is you can easily repaint them as the come apart easily. they come with limited details painted so no worry in loosing those as if you want to spiff them up some you will need to do some work there anyway once repainted. at sometimes less than 10 cents each you cant beat the price though!

ive found only few of the tomica capsule vehicles that really seem to fit in scale with N scale and most look at tad odd next to anything else from tomytec or even the chinese vehicles. tomica use those odd fat, large wheels (i guess to make them roll better) that are out of scale and the rim/wheel ends up looking huge with a skinny tire. they are also hard to find very cheap once shipped and usually work out as much or more than the tomytec once shipped. i did get a few of a small 2 axle flatbed truck that has a crane and pipe load that is close to n scale. probably like 1:160 or so. looks a tad small but not bad. interesting little addition. was thinking of putting a slightly larger flat bed on one to turn it into one of the japanese towing trucks that just cranes the whole car onto the flatbed.

most of the tomica capsule cars i think are more like 1:120-1:140 so tend to look big. i got two of the smallest that i could find and they looked noticeably larger then other n scale cars. ill see if i can find them to photo them (i think i may have thrown them in the giveaway toy pile though). there is also a large tomica 1:150 all terrain crane, but it actually looks huge next to anything else even though it says its 1:150! tomica and the tomica capsule vehicles seem to range all over the place in scale. almost like the vehicle scale is set to fit the vehicle in the box/capsule size! which is maybe the case.

yell if you find any of the tomica capsules that look to be close to n scale and if you find a good source. only ones i have found were ebay. some were only $1 per vehicle, but a few bucks then for each vehicle for shipping.

cheers

jeff