not off to a good start :(

[hepkat63]

Hi All,
I just received my first Kato bullet train set.  After unpacking and putting it all together, I put the bullet train on there and the coupler from the front car just pulls out of the car altogether!  yes, I was gentle as a baby kitten with it ! I can push it back in again, but it doesn't want to stay in there.  I pulled the car to pieces to see if there was some way of tightening where it goes, but it doesn't appear so.  Picture below - can any of you smart kato bullet train users give me some advice as to how it can be fixed?  I am assuming it is a common problem, or did i just get the lemon set?  Thanks in advance !!

[disturbman]

Picture is way too big! On a forum you don't need pictures larger than the size of your screen, I'll say 800 pixel is more than enough and you can use the attachments to.

I move your thread to a more correct emplacement and wish that someone will have the answer to your problem. :)

[hepkat63]

sorry, newbie error :(

[hepkat63]

sorry, newbie error :(

ok, fixed.

[disturbman]

No prob. :) I must say, it's much better like that.

[Bernard]

This is a very different type of coupler than I'm used to on Kato Bullet trains. What series is it? It doesn't seem to be broken which is good news......and I'm positive some of the members here will be able to help you with your problem.

[Webskipper]

0 or 100 series?

Anyway, carefully pull off the shell and see where the spring went to. There should be a little tug from the spring to keep 2 cars together.

[Kumo]

Looks like a N700 to me.

[The_Ghan]

It is the N700.  The coupler should not come out like that.  The part is not broken, but as it won't stay in position I suggest the chassis has a problem.  Contact your supplier immediately and have the set replaced.

Of the 50 or so trains that I've bought from Kato, Tomix, and Microace, I've had 4 with assembly problems: 2 Microace, 1 Tomix and 1 Kato.  I consider this fault level too high, but when I brought it to the attention of the forum here others didn't seem to mind or were happy to fix the problems themselves.  I now always bring the matter to the attention of the suppler for rectification at their cost.  It's the only way QA will be improved.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

As discussed though it really is the shipping causing the issue in most cases.

Anyway pre testing is one of the things i would like to offer one day if i ever get off my ass lrn japanese and move there haha.

[Webskipper]

  I now always bring the matter to the attention of the suppler for rectification at their cost.  It's the only way QA will be improved.

FYI- Kato USA does not provide support for Anything but the American Kato.

Last week a new Kato decoder burnt a light board. They said send the whole thing to them and it may take months to get the parts and decide if they should warranty the parts.

They did assure me that they will warranty the FL12 decoder. I'd rather pay to a replacement board from Japan sites than wait a month.

[inobu]

Everything thing must be seated properly in N-Scale. I kinda state this all the time but it is important for us to keep in mind.

A business card is .013" or .28 mm thick. This is about 2.5 inches in N scale. Just imagine taking the door of your car and prying it 2.5" or 60mm from its hinges. That is what we are looking at in N Scale.

Your car door will never latch if it is 2.5" or 60 mm open. Chances are this is what your train is looking at.

Make sure that all the pieces are seated correctly. From the image the shell seems to be flared out towards the bottom. Take a look all around.

On one of my 500's I had to take the complete chassis apart and it turned out the seats were not seated correctly in the base causing the shell to bow.  

Its most likely that something is out of place tweaking the shell out of place. 

Inobu


My Andy Rooney commentary.

Sometimes do you wonder why your brand new JR train looks different. It doesn't have that brand new feel. The box is a little bent or the bubble wrap has a few bubble popped.  
You want to return it for a pristine box and wrapper but cant really come up with the nerve to send it back or the complaint to go with it.

We know that presentation is the epitome of quality in Japan and that a worker would rather face death than to have one bubble wrap popped in their finished packing.      

It makes you wonder are these resellers giving us returns products from Japan or something. Are these types on complaints being made on the Japanese forums?

More and more it makes me wonder why my box did not look brand spanking new.




Andrew Aitken "Andy" Rooney January 14, 1919 – November 4, 2011