Faller car system or Tomytec bus system???

NgaugeDan · March 03, 2012, 11:53:13 AM

Hi guys,

I'm a quite a way off even thinking about the road vehicles but I'm interested to know your thoughts. I haven't even got any track down yet so this really is thinking for the future.

At some point I'd like to incorporate moving road vehicles into my layout and I'm looking at the Tomytec bus system and the faller road system.

Ignoring the prices what are your thoughts on either of these systems, which one would you choose, and why?

Thanks for any advice given :-)

BernardTPM · March 03, 2012, 12:13:40 PM

Price is definitely in favour of Tomytec. If you're modelling British outline the bus is the right sort of scale and the right way round (RHD) with the bus stop arranged as a pull over to the left.

Malc · March 03, 2012, 12:19:44 PM

This guy has the Tomytec system. His observations may be of interest. http://www.sumidacrossing.org/OtherElements/TomytecBusSystem/

Claude Dreyfus · March 03, 2012, 12:36:06 PM

Quote from: NgaugeDan on March 03, 2012, 11:53:13 AM

I'm a quite a way off even thinking about the road vehicles but I'm interested to know your thoughts. I haven't even got any track down yet so this really is thinking for the future.

At some point I'd like to incorporate moving road vehicles into my layout and I'm looking at the Tomytec bus system and the faller road system.

I would argue that now is the perfect time to be thinking about this. With these types of road systems, they need to be planned into the layout at the same time as the track...they can be really fiddly to install retrospectively.

My understanding is that the two systems are similar mechanically; inasmuch as they have the motors in the vehicles and follow a magnetic strip in the road. At present I believe the Tomytec set only comes with the road sections pre-moulded, whilst the magnetic strip is available from Faller separately.

In theory, this means that you could use the Faller strip and run Tomytec buses on it...although that would need to be checked out.

I see you are based in Sussex. If you have not done so already, the West Sussex N Gauge area group has several members who have used at least the Faller system, and they may be able to give you some more hands-on experience...

Claude Dreyfus · March 03, 2012, 12:42:26 PM

Quote from: Malc on March 03, 2012, 12:19:44 PM
This guy has the Tomytec system. His observations may be of interest. http://www.sumidacrossing.org/OtherElements/TomytecBusSystem/

Which has effectively written off my interchangeability theory of the two systems. Although there is nothing there to say that the Faller system could not be adapted relatively simply to handle only Tomytec vehicles....it just precludes using both.

Mustermark · March 03, 2012, 12:46:11 PM

I agree that now is the time to incorporate the roadway.

I have the Faller system ready to install and i cannot see how i would fit it after the baseboard is done, i will be building the roads in to accommodate the guide wire as I go.

I like that i can have any shape road and have natural curves and not-quite-straights. I think that is my problem with the Tomix system.

I have bashed my Faller German bus with a Japanese body And Anglicised it. I can't wait to see it running down the high street past WHSmiths!

I saw the Faller sytem on a layout at TINGS in 2009 and fell in love with the idea. And straight away started incorporating the bus route into my street design.

NgaugeDan · March 03, 2012, 01:09:40 PM

Thanks for replys so far, At the moment I'm swinging towards the faller due to being able to run more than one vehicle each way easily.

Maybe this is something that tomytec will introduce hopefully in the near future?!

NgaugeDan · April 30, 2012, 08:46:22 PM

Evening all,

I'm thinking I'm about to take the plunge and am looking at purchasing the faller car system starter set (162002).
I'm looking at purchasing it from Germany as it's cheaper than in UK.

Does anyone know if it's possible to buy the vehicles/motorised chassis seperately for when I want to expand and what sort of price they are?

Also, how easy is it to put a British 1:148 vehicle body onto the chassis?

Thanks for any help.

Dan

scotsoft · April 30, 2012, 09:04:10 PM

You may end up having to pay Import Duty on that and our beloved Parcel Force will whack a Handling Fee on top of that.

Today I have just had to pay an extra £19.45 for a r/c Radio I bought from Hong Kong.
The Import Duty was £5.97 the rest was the Parcel Force Handling Charge

NgaugeDan · April 30, 2012, 09:08:24 PM

Thanks for the heads up although I thought import duty was only relevent if items are coming from outside Europe?

Sorry to hear you had to pay £20 extra :-(

Pengi · April 30, 2012, 09:14:17 PM

Yes - import duty only applies outside Eurozone. Below is a link to a post from Gordon who regularly buys abroad.

http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=3958.45

Scotsoft, rotten luck about the radio - the Parcel Force Handling Charge, in particular, is extortionate. What on earth do they do to justify it.

scotsoft · April 30, 2012, 09:21:36 PM

The guys in the flying forums have been battling this charge for a long time.
Customs and Excise say it has nothing to do with them.
Parcel Force say it is because they have to do Customs and Excises job that they need to charge.
So basically you get bounced from one place to the other.

This is the second time they have stung me, the lsat time was just short of £40.

I could not write what I really feel about Parcel Force in the Angry Thread without being hung, drawn and quartered.

NgaugeDan · April 30, 2012, 09:24:47 PM

Yea my impressions of parcel force aren't great either,

EtchedPixels · April 30, 2012, 09:27:13 PM

Quote from: scotsoft on April 30, 2012, 09:04:10 PM
You may end up having to pay Import Duty on that and our beloved Parcel Force will whack a Handling Fee on top of that.

Today I have just had to pay an extra £19.45 for a r/c Radio I bought from Hong Kong.
The Import Duty was £5.97 the rest was the Parcel Force Handling Charge

Parcelfarce are part of the Royal Snail. The Royal Snail is owned by the state. Therefore the Freedom of Information act applies. So if you'd like to know how much of that handling fee goes where - you can ask them for free

There are ways to avoid all the duty which those doing a lot of "personal" importing sometimes use. You just need a friend in another EU state which has no ceiling on personal imports and to post it twice !

Mustermark · April 30, 2012, 09:31:27 PM

Quote from: NgaugeDan on April 30, 2012, 08:46:22 PM
Evening all,

I'm thinking I'm about to take the plunge and am looking at purchasing the faller car system starter set (162002).
I'm looking at purchasing it from Germany as it's cheaper than in UK.

Does anyone know if it's possible to buy the vehicles/motorised chassis seperately for when I want to expand and what sort of price they are?

Also, how easy is it to put a British 1:148 vehicle body onto the chassis?

Thanks for any help.

Dan

If i recall correctly you can buy single vehicles. The N range is small (in number i mean), and about 100 quid each. I successfully swapped out the body of the bus from my starter set to an older style british bus from NTrain's hongkong range.

http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=1545.msg41238#msg41238

It is not cheap, but it can be done.