# Kato bullet trains



## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

I see various kato bullet trains for sake at what seems to be a cheap price. Are these sets decent? Or are they poor quality? I'm new to trains in general, but really new to n scale and no next to nothing about Japanese prototypes. I've generally been under the impression that anything kato is good quality, but around $150 for a 4 car bullet train seems cheap when most other locomotives are more than that alone. What gives? I think they look interesting and I know my son would love it, but not if it's cheap quality. 

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## Mixed Freight (Aug 31, 2019)

They should be pretty good quality. I really don't think Kato produces anything that would be considered poor quality. 

Where are you seeing them for sale at? Perhaps on overseas sites that ship them to America? This could account for the very good pricing. Plus, if they are just a loco and three or four cars, with no track or transformer, that could also help keep the price down.

I have heard that Kato's N-scale Bullet Trains are built to 1:150 scale, and not the more common 1:160 N-scale. Which makes them just a tad larger than 1:160 scale. They still run on common 1:160 N-scale track, however.

Personally, I don't have much interest in Japanese trains, but if I did, I wouldn't hesitate to get some Kato models. Tomix is another Japanese brand that should also be of very good quality, and would also be worthy of consideration.

Hope this helps for now, maybe someone that actually owns some of these will jump in and share their experience.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I have no experience with Kate bullet trains, so I did a search and found this review on YouTube.....

Kato Bullet Train Review


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## Steve Rothstein (Jan 1, 2021)

The ones I have seen available are all Japanese market with high shipping costs, making the low price a little bit of a lie. But I did see a few listed on the Walthers web site at reasonable prices. They were all out of stock right now but a few are marked as special order only. I would think they are the usual Kato quality but you may have trouble finding DCC decoders for them. Parts may also be a problem, if ever needed.


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## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

Parts are my concern right now. DCC is as well, but I imagine I could find a way to fit a generic decoder in there. 

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## vette-kid (May 2, 2020)

Old_Hobo said:


> I have no experience with Kate bullet trains, so I did a search and found this review on YouTube.....
> 
> Kato Bullet Train Review


Pretty good review, thanks!

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