Kinematic Couplers for Kato Daylight?

Has anyone heard any updates on the availability of the Kinematic Couplers for the Kato Daylight passenger car set?

 

Maybe they've been busy making those little plastic clips for the GS4.:tb-biggrin:

Seriously though, any of you guys that seem to be the recipients of inside information from Kato have any word on these? They don't seem like something that would be difficult to fit into the production schedule.

 

They were due at the same time of the decoders I thought. Maybe their production was overshadowed by the production of the DCC clip.

 

Just got off the phone with Michael at Kato and he said the kinematic couplers will be out either in the first week or the last week of June. It is the end of their fiscal year and things got delayed.

 

The word out of Kato yesterday was they were in route and we should see them during May.

 

Thanks for update. Hopefully we will see the couplers then.

 

According to Kato's page, you can now order the couplers. I just looked at it.

 

So something that should have been available with the cars should now be out sometime between now and the end of June depending on who you talk to. None of Kato's excuses wash, the couplers should have been in the package of parts included with the cars.

P.S. I've just been to the Kato website, strangely enough when you click on the entry to see an illustration all you get is a rather amateurishly photographed picture of the box.:tb-biggrin:

 

I called Caboose Hobbies today to see if they had the couplers in stock because the Kato site says they have them in stock. C.H. said they have no knowledge when they will receive them. Maybe the right hand of Kato doesn't know what the left hand is doing?

 

I don't think we need go into what Kato's hands are doing.:tb-biggrin:

Kato's website has them listed in the parts section and lets you add them to the shopping cart, but even if the do have them they are full MRSP plus $9 shipping for international customers. I think I'll wait for the dealers to get them, I'm not giving Kato $19 for a few pieces of plastic.

 

I feel your pain.

 

Excuse my ignorance, but what are Kinematic Couplers?

 

The video and pictures here explain it best.

N Scale Southern Pacific "Morning Daylight" - KATO USA : Precision Railroad Models

 

Thanks! Very interesting implementation. Who says innovation is dead?

 

It's not really innovative. Kato has been using a similar system on their Bullet trains for years. Minitrix and Flieschmann have been using the same system with rapido couplers on their european offerings for quite a while to allow their cars to deal with the tight radii that they are used on.

 

I totally agree with you, Westfalen.

It's just that Kato did such a terrific job with the Daylight passenger car set (I'd been waiting for many years for an affordable version of the articulated cars), I almost can forgive them for not including the couplers.

 

So do I when I see my train running, and I model Santa Fe. At least I only have 10 cars and will only need one set of couplers.:tb-biggrin:

 

Hmmm, I am wondering about this because the box states that it has 10 sets of couplers and when I look at the illustration on Kato website N-Scale Southern Pacific "Morning Daylight": Precision Railroad Models, it shows the full eighteen car consist and ten spaces between them. Does it mean that there are ten pairs (sets) of couplers? If so, then that would take care of all eighteen cars.

 

one kit does entire train, OTOH, if your min radius is above 15" or so, you won't even need them, the original adjustable couplers, will bring the cars in nice and tight.

 

You're right, I was forgetting the articulated cars.:tb-embarrassed:

Guess I'll have to get the add on cars to use up the extra couplers.:tb-biggrin: