It’s A Small World

In model rail terms, geography is often very much a given.  We are all in the hobby because we have seen our local products and thought we should look into it more.  A great British pastime, reliable German stock, American grit and determination, all traits of a hobby familiar to us.  Sometimes we even look further afield and jump into modelling a country unfamiliar to us, just because we feel like it and want to add something a little bit more exotic.

But how exotic can we go?  Did you know that there are even more markets than ever before to explore?  Sometimes, it is hard to see the wood from the trees and we don’t even think about some trains in ready to run (RTR) form unless a friend happens to find the more interesting part of the internet shopping experience.

In this rather informal, informative and quite frankly unasked for article, I have a quick delve into some of the more forgotten countries that should be on the radar of the die hard rail enthusiasts around.

South America

You may be forgiven in thinking Frateschi is a name you would find in the upper reaches of industrial Italy, but it turns out that those in the know will happily inform you that this is in fact a Brazilian company (before they start laughing at you like the big daft nerds they are).  They are well known for making RTR models and kits of local rolling stock and locos.  But in an even more unusual move, they do delve into Australiania now and again.  All very understandable as Australian locos can originate from the same export factories as the local engines.

Sadly, as far as I can tell, that’s about it for the entire continent as far as ready to run stuff goes.  Maybe some of our users can point out some more from their own databases.

Asia

Thailand is a fascinating one to look at because even if most of their stuff is conversions of other models, they can draw from UK or Japanese prototype, depending on the need at the time.  They are avid modellers and this does show.

Taiwan are also big up and comers too.  Kato has taken a shine to producing more of the Taiwanese trains in N.  In HO, you can look forward to more offerings from the local Haskell Co, which are of very good quality and have had a good close look from yours truly.

Korea is yet another to watch.  A long time maker of very popular (and very expensive) brass locomotives from around the world, they have still yet to have their local trains break through in a popular way.  Alpha Models do make things, but again with a foreign focus.  Ajin have a small range and may be just the sort of thing that helps.

In a very surprising way, the latest market to actually see their own trains as consumer products is China.  Often geared for making products for the rest of the world to consume without a domestic market in consideration, the Chinese are now seeing model trains in the same way the rest of the world does and now caters to local needs too.  Changming, Kfirst and (be very careful) Kunter are names on the up with ever more products hitting the market, the latter even taking a look at Japanese packaging with neat book and foam setups to keep the stock safely stacked.

Probably just to wrap up the article as we could be here for some time, did anyone ever have a think about India?  I actually genuinely didn’t until I written the China part, but when you think about it, it is a hugely populous country and why wouldn’t it have model railway considerations?  From a glance, PMW, The Pink Engine and Model Railway Works seem to have the market covered at this moment in time.

Conclusions

I haven’t got any.

Actually, that is a lie.  I guess the big thing is to explore unknown areas and ask others for their possible expertise to fill in the knowledge gaps.  I for one have discovered some cracking little models all because someone else experienced something different and tried something new.

I wonder what our users think.  What is your most exotic unknown model in your roster?  Does it work well?  Does the quality exceed your expectations or does it disappoint.  Let me know and lets discover together our little world.

A note from Oscar, founder of Model Train Media:
Huge thanks to Davo for contributing this article. I truly believe Model Train Media can become something great when we build it together, and member-written articles are a big part of that. This is one step forward — and I hope many more contributions will follow.

If you’d like to write for Model Train Media, reach out at [email protected]. We’d love to hear your ideas — and maybe your article will be next.