Kato N Scale JR West 223-2000 Train Unboxing

So today, we're taking a look at the Kado JR West 223 2000 series EMU. And I wanted to get this since the 223 is JR West's most common train, and they operate around Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. I caught these guys in Kyoto. And a lot of people liked this comment asking for a JR West train that's not a Shinkansen. Instead, this is the Shinkaisoku, which is a fast commuter train that skips a lot of stops. Although the one I rode was a local train, the 6000 series, which apparently they downgraded to match the older 221 series. And these are marked with an orange stripe. And before we get started, big thanks to Banzai Hobby for making this video possible. They are an online hobby store from Japan where you can get model trains like this. If you're interested, I do have a 10% off coupon code to use for any model train products. The code and their website will be in the description down below. And for US customers, all tariff fees are now included in the shipping cost. So there's no surprise charges on delivery. Anyways, let's get started on car 1. Alright, so this is the lead car of the train set. Yeah, it is a pretty cool design. And what I really like about them is they added these barriers on the sides. These are full prevention hoods. So if two train cars are together, passengers on the platform won't fall in the gap. They also give you this second variation if you want it thinner. I suppose if you want more clearance. But I think the regular one just looks better and it's more accurate. Then in the front, we have this glass window, which wraps around, made of plastic. And then at the top, we have some writing. So on the left, we have the serial number. Then in the middle, it says it's on the A line. Shinkaisoku, special rapid service. And on the right, it says it's bound for Himeji. Then we have these three windshield wipers, which are all molded in. JR logo on the side. And this is set V42. And this also has cab interior where the driver sits on the left. And there is a wall enclosing the room, but there's still windows so the passengers can still see in. Then we have these white, brown, blue, and tan stripes that wrap around. Then we have the headlight and taillights tucked into these two holes. And here is the Shibata type coupler with this extra bottom piece you can add. And by default, the coupler is fixed. Doesn't really move much. But if you go on the bottom, there is a switch. You can push the coupler out. Then it gets swing out so it has much more range of motion if you want to attach it to a second train. But you can see at the base, it kind of gets stuck in here. So if you want even more range of motion, you can replace the bottom skirt. You can see the dip is much wider and allows you to go through tighter curves. So to restore the coupler, just simply pull it back. I also like that they added all this extra detail around the pilot. Looks really nice. So now let's go check out the side where we have this brown paneling which goes across along with the rest of the stripes. And then on the end, we have the train crew door which comes with these two molded in latches and grab irons. And to stir up stuff to get up to the cab, it is see-through. Then we got the JR logo. Then we have the double doors which has this button on the side to manually open it. Then on the cell, it says P&S. Let me know if you know what that means. And then here's a look at the bogie which has some molded in detail. Here's how it moves around. And the wheels are nice and shiny. And then moving further along, we have some windows here. It does have some black frames. And I did add in the priority seating stickers. These seats are for the old and elderly and pregnant women. And the car does have an interior. So you can see the seats, at least the top. The bottom is flat to carry the headlight switch. And here it says Kuha and the serial number of the car. As well as these little indicator lights at the top. And then further along, we have the middle door. And they do have some nice bottom detailing which is pretty common on these commuter EMU trains. Very cool. And then over here is the next set of windows which do have the LED boards. So I set it as the shinkaisoku, like the front. And you can kind of make out it says special rapid service in English. And this one is car 1 bound for Himeji, also written in red. But you can also customize the destination. There's lots of different options like Tsuraga, Nagahama, Maebara. And for 8 car train sets, they give you more serial numbers. Or you can swap the front out if you want to make it the regular kaisoku or local train. Now the seats in this section actually come with armrests. And you might notice on this train, the seats are arranged in rows instead of the typical bench seats on commuter trains. Alright, so here's the last door. They do have some signage for wheelchair users and people with baby strollers. Then here's a look at the rear truck. And there's a big square window on the end. And in the corner, it says number 1. This is to mark the car side. And the inside is walled off because there's actually a bathroom in this car. Alright, so now let's go check out the gangway. So there's the diaphragm in the middle, which is stuck in place, but it is a separate piece. And at the bottom, we have a coupler that swings around. We have some details like the vent at the top, the lines and builder's plates, and various other molded in things. And the gangway does have this drop step that's folded up. And there's this long vertical window, which is just a hole. There's no glass or anything. And you can see the interior seating. Alright, so for side number 2, as it's written in the corner, you see the LED boards are closer towards the front versus the back on the other side. The underside is also different. In the corner, there's a waste tank for the restroom. And there's some additional boxes. But other than that, I think it's about the same. Now let's go take a look at the roof. So over here in the front, we have this gray silver section, just like the body. Then after that, we have some lines that go across. And this antenna, which is actually just molded in. And there's another additional detail right here. Then in the middle, we have these two air conditioner units. It's interesting the ends of it are actually painted white, while the rest of it has this cool metallic sheen to it. And there's some very fine molding around the fan. Pretty realistic for being molded in piece. Even some little vents on the sides. And then towards the end, there are some more additional molded in details. Alright, now for the bottom view. So on the end, we got that mechanism for the coupler to stick out. Here's that bogey. Then here's the switch to toggle the headlights and marker lights. And it says Kado, made in Japan. We have this box in the middle. And then we have a coupler on the end. Alright, so next up, we have car number two, the pantograph car. And it does weigh quite a bit because it's also carrying the motor inside. But yeah, let's get started here on the end, where we have these interesting ducts alongside the door. And then from the side in the corner, we've got this large window with the priority seating sticker at the top. And then above the door, we have a sign. It says Chakureisha, which is weakly cooled car. So this car is only mildly air conditioned. So it's for people who are sensitive to air conditioner being too cold, and they want to be warmer. It is a thing in Japan. Then here's a look at their truck. And inside this car, everything's pretty much flat inside. And the bottom is pretty solid with lots of boxes and vents. You can see that same sign written above all the doors. And we got another big window on the end. And then here is the other gangway, which is pretty similar. But there is this extra wire on this side. Then here's the view of the other side. It looks pretty similar. Just maybe the bottom changed a little bit. Alright, and then for the roof section, looks pretty similar. But on the end, there's this additional stand. I believe this is for the pantograph, which is mounted on the bracket on the other side. But there's also some little details here in the roof. Maybe some electrical stuff, and some separately applied piece like this lightning arrestor, and this search box, which is surrounded by a bunch of cables. And now for the pantograph itself, you just raise it up like this. It's actually pretty flexible, so you can move it to the side. But it's actually an interesting design. It's an old style pantograph with a scissor or diamond shape. And the arms are made of metal, with plastic for the top piece. Yeah, pretty nicely detailed. And here's how the car would look like from afar. Alright, so now let's go check out the bottom, where we have the motors. You can see the gears and the bogie. And the motor's going to be inside this big box in the middle. And then here's the other truck. Alright, so next up we have car number three, your standard intermediate car. There's not really anything special, but you'd need these to fill out the train. And then here's a look at the gangway. And they do a slightly different molding for each of these cars. Then here's a view of the side, which just has these two things at the bottom. Then we have the other gangway, which has the two builder's plates. And then here's the other side, which has a skinny box on one end, and then a regular box. That's the view at the top. Pretty simple, just the two ACs. And here's the view of the bottom. Alright, so here is the final car, car number four, the other end car. So it's pretty similar to car one, but there are some key differences. Like if you look at it from the side, the bottom half is completely different. And it's much more filled in. Another difference, on the roof, they also have a pantograph, which you can raise up just like the other one. And it has all the same systems that you can see on the pantograph car, with the addition of this antenna in the middle, and another one in the front. And if you look on the end, it's actually pretty identical. Even the bottoms, although there's some slight differences. And here it is with the other end car. Also, if you look at the front, another difference, they do switch the side of the ME receptacle from the left to the right. And then here's a look at the bottom. Big solid square in the middle. And surprisingly, this one also has the headlight toggle switch. On other Kato trains I've gotten, usually this thing will be empty. Alright, so now we have all the cars, let's assemble the train. Now before we actually do this, one tip I found. If you want to put the car in the right direction, you want to look for the LED board, and see if it lines up with the number down below. So if they're together, that means the front of the train is this way. And you attach the first car on that end. And you can see the other side, the LED board and the numbers are not aligned. So to connect the train, you simply just push the couplers into each other. So now we have a nice four-car train set. And it's actually prototypical, so you can have an entire train with just one set, or combine them to make a longer train. Yeah, looks really cool with two pantographs. And here is the range of motion. It can turn quite a bit, as well as moving from side to side. Here's how it looks like from above. You can see it is very free. And here it is from the other end. Alright, so now let's compare to my other Japanese commuter trains. The Yamanote Line E235 and the Ueno Tokyo E233. So these are from Tokyo by JR East. While this one's from Western Japan, JR West. So if you look at it from the front, you can see they have radically different faces. The JR East trains are pretty similar, and it's more streamlined. While the 223 is a bit unusual with these fall prevention hoods on the ends. It also has bottom mounted headlights, while these guys mount it on top next to the headboard. They also don't have a door in the middle of the face. That is more common on JR West trains. Another difference are the couplers. Colors are a bit different. This is the only one with the bottom mechanism, while the other two are non-functional. Another difference on the JR East trains, they have four sets of doors for increased capacity, while the 223 only has three sets. I also noticed the JR West train has two smaller air conditioners, rather than having just one big air conditioner. With the exception of the Battle of the Car, which also has two. Then for the pantographs, JR West is using an older style using diamond shape, while JR East is using a newer lighter single arm pantographs. And then if you look on the ends, the diaphragms are pretty much the same, but there is a big difference in the doors. These guys have pretty big windows, while this one is a narrow slit. Now for the couplers, these two guys share the same one, while Kato put an additional hook on the 233 version. Alright, so can they attach to each other? So let's test it out. And the answer is no for the 223 and the 233. The coupler sizes are slightly off, that when I try to attach them, you can see it doesn't go in. And now for the Yamanote line. Success! It actually does work. So these are cross-compatible. I also picked up this wide catenary set, and it comes with eight of these standard catenary poles, and two of them have holes so you can attach a line tensioner, which adds that balance weight. Alright, so here's how they look like set up on the track. This style of catenary poles are pretty common in Japan, and we'll see them above holding out the overhead wire. And I did find it interesting that if you look closely, the top part is actually wider than the base. It has a bit of a wedge shape, so when I looked at the real ones, I realized that part's hollow. It's really two beams coming together on an angle. Also, if you look at the bottom pin, it's actually a square shape, which fits in the square hole. So it's a pretty snug fit. Other ones I've seen use circle pins. So in the top corner, we have these three insulators bunched up, and another one on the other pole which is slightly taller. Then we have these diagonal beams going in opposite directions, and some insulators which would carry the overhead lines to power the train. It's also quite cool they added these little rivet details if you look closely. Now for the line tensioner, you can apply this to the side. Now these are necessary because in real life, wires actually get affected by the temperature. So it would sag on hot days and be tight on cold days, so the weights actually keep them all level. You can see they are using really thin pieces for the pulley, very fine. And what I like about it is that it actually sticks out from the other side as well. They just poke through the holes. And here's how it looks like with the JR West train. It looks pretty nice and adds a bit of realism to the layout. Alright, so this is the end base. It was a bit tricky adding in all these handrails. It's a pretty tight fit. Luckily though, they do give you some extra ones if you mess up. And you get two of them, and you can put this on the end of the train platform. Comes with these cabinets, which I'm not sure what that's about. Definitely something electrical, maybe a transformer. You also get these special extra wide catenary poles, which I had no idea this would be included. When I first looked at the box and I saw this catenary, I was thinking, oh great, I need to buy another accessory thing. So luckily, I don't have to do that. Yeah, it's a pretty unique design, with the two bars having a big gap in the middle. It's like a variation of those arch catenary poles I had before. And the base actually has clips so you can attach it to the track. And the bottom is flat so you can leave it freestanding as well. Now for the tracks, they're pretty cool. On the edge, they do have a groove so you can pass wire through, as well as some thin slots to add in the catenary poles. And they give you two slots, so if you have another one of this, you can stagger the catenaries. And if you go on the other end, there is a second pair of wire slots. Right, to install the catenary pole, it's pretty simple. Just slide it in the slot. Apparently though, it doesn't really click, but it should stay in place once you have it on the ground. Now it's connected to the other track. And then here is the other end. And if you want to extend it, they do give you more track. So you can add the base end at the very start. And you can move it wherever you want to in it. So if you get the one-sided platform, they come with this square base. And this is what you need to use. And for the island platform set. So now you can see how the train station is supposed to be like. And the tracks move around the platform. See that cable on the ground goes all the way up to the base, which transitions into the platform. And you have tracks on either side. Yeah, I really like how it looks. And the molded in gray colors are actually a different tone for each section. And then if you go further down the platform, you have it going the other way. And you can add in more sections if you have more space. But yeah, let's go test this on the layout. And before we get into the final thoughts, big thanks to BanzaiHobby.com for sponsoring this video. They are an online hobby store from Japan where you can get model trains like this. I do have a coupon code you can use for 10% off any model train product. It'll be in the description down below. And for US customers, all tariff and clearance fees are now included in the shipping. No extra charges. So for my final thoughts, the Kato N-Scale 223-2000 Series EMU. It's a great train to finally represent the JR West commuter lines. And it comes with the unique fall prevention barriers in the front, which gives it an iconic look. And they have all the little details that's printed on. Underside boxes, roof air conditioners, the nice paint scheme with the stripes and metallic sheen. And all the ends have unique molding. You can also customize the LED boards for different services and destinations. And add in stickers for priority seating. It was interesting though, they are using the older style diamond pantographs, which you won't see on the JR East trains. And they even threw in the weekly air conditioned car, which I think it's the first time I ever got a train model with it. I also like that you can just have a four car train set. And that could be still prototypical, unlike other trains where you need like 10 cars. But if you still want those longer trains, you could still combine them. The end couplers are functional. Overall, a pretty nice train. Now for the Kado catenary pole set. This is an essential catenary design. You'll find these everywhere in Japan. It's relatively easy to assemble. And it does come with the line tensioner with all the little rivets throughout. And lastly, for the Kado V15 double track set for the station. It's great if you already have the station and want to wrap the tracks around it. It does come with some accessory pieces, like the base ends for some detail. Special wide catenary poles and this cool wire. A great addition to a layout. But yeah, that's pretty much it. I hope you guys enjoyed the video. If you do, hit the like button. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section down below. Subscribe for more and I'll see you in the next one. Bye. So here's how it looks like without the shell. You can see how the cab's built and the brown seats. And I just opened it so I can clean up the inside of the windshield. All right.