Hasegawa (formerly Hasegawa Seisakusho) is known as being one of Japan’s top model makers.
Best known for making airplanes, cycles, classic cars, and figure models, the company was established back in 1941 by wooden model manufacturer founded by Hasegawa Suguro.
In the ’90s, Hasegawa jumped into releasing railroad models with the 1/80 scale Tosa Electric Railway 600 plastic model.
By 1997, they would establish the model railroad brand, Modemo.
And while Kato and Tomix are competitors with each other, Micro Ace creating trains that the other two don’t and Greenmax releasing trains especially trains you can build and paint, Modemo found its groove by releasing trains and railcars/trams which many of the other Japanese railroad companies rarely release.
And what makes Modemo trains so appealing to collectors is that they are not re-released, once they are gone, they are gone for good. And you’re going to have to pay the very expensive prices which resellers put on auctions.
And my review for today is the Modemo NT156 Keifuku Electric Railway Type MOBO 631 ‘Yuko No.632’.
This marks the second “Yuko” Modemo train release since the Keifuku Electric Railway MOBO Type 101 “Yuko” (NT87) released back in 2008 and was used through June 2012 before being replaced by the MOBO 631 no. 632.
Source: Wikipedia/Original Yuko Car No. 101 and the 631 series
But first let me talk about Keifuku Electric Railroad, a railroad company based in Kyoto. The company is the parent company of the Keifuku Bus and Kyoto Bus and is an affiliated company of Keihan Electric Railway (which owns 42.89% in company stock for Keifu Electric Railroad).
The railway started service in 1910 and was originally operated by the Arashiyama Electric Tram Railway, but then was transferred to Kyoto Dento. And in Kyoto, there is a network of trams known as the Randen.
Meanwhile, there is a confectionary business known as Izutsu Yatsuhashi Honpo, a shop established in 1805 by Tsuda Sahei.
The hard-baked senbei was popular at teahouses in Gion and the senbei was a Koto-style Yatsuhashi, a name and look inherited through Kengyo Yatsuhashi, the founder of koto music. And because of that, the company would be known as Izutsu Yasuhashi Honpo.
Because the sweets were established in Gion, the area is popular for kabuki and also geisha. In 1947, the company created Yugiri, an unbaked kabuki-inspired sweet (with an/sweet red bean paste).
And in 1965, the company won the Honorary President’s Award at the 16th National Confectionary Exposition. The snacks were also provided to Emperor Showa and the Empress in 1949.
By 1967, over 20 years later, with the popularity of “Yugiri”, it was time to create a new confection, a sister product of “Yugiri” and so “Yuko” was created and it was a product of nama Yatsuhashi with Tsubuan (mashed sweet red bean paste) but it’s a name also inspired by a novel by Mizukami Tsutomu.
It is regarded as a lyrical confection about the fire at Kinkakuji Temple (not sure which fire because during the structures history, it has been burned down numerous times, especially during the Onin war and the last was back in 1950) and the pure love and affection between Yuko and a monk Seijun.
Tsuda Sahei VI obtained permission from Mizukami to name the main character of his new confection “Yuko” and since 1972, they have sold a variety of seasonal products that express the beauty of Kyoto and Yuko.
Going back to the Keifuku Electric Railroad, they would manufacture a Mobo 631 and from 2012, Mobo No. 632 and No. 633 have become Izutsu Yatsuhashi Honpo’s full-face wrapping advertising car [Yuko] as of 2012.
The Mobo 631 is a tram vehicle registered to Keifuku Electric Railway and the Mobo 621 and 631 are the same type as their Mobo 611 (Keifuku Denki Tetsudo Mobo 611 Gata Densha).
From 1990 to 1996, a total of 14 cars were made. Five Mobo 621, six Mobo 611 and three Mobo 631 produced by Mukogawa Rolling Stock (now known as Hanshin Rolling Stock Maintenance). While the 631’s are the same as the other releases, the main difference is that it was equipped with a new Sumitomo FS93 bogie.
The train body is made of steel and cabin doors in the front and rear. Front windows is a double window divided by a thin pillar and you have headlights on the front window, indicator lights on the bottom left and right and destination curtains and side mirrors.
In 2008, they were updated to a new unit switch type main controller similar to the Hankai 700 type.
As of present, the 631 is the “Enoden” car (known for its green and cream color), 632 is the “Yuko” and the 633 is the “Choji Giga” and you would often see the 631 or the 632 paired with the 633 with “Yuko” wrapping.
Modemo has released the 631 series no. 632 and 633 Yuko trams. The 632 (NT156) is a motor car, while the 633 (NT157) is a T-car with no motor.
What I find surprising is that there is no big price difference between the two. The 632 with a motor is right now at Y7,604 while the T-car is Y6,980. I’ve always held the opinion that T-cars (or passenger cars) with no motor should be significantly cheaper.
Even better, it would have made sense to release it as a set of both together, so it would have been an even better deal for consumers to have a motor car and the single extension.
This is one of the few vehicles in my collection which I personally have not ridden on this 632 but I did see it in Arashiyama. In fact, this was my first exposure to a train that was promoting anything food-related to the side of a tram or train.
The other reason why I purchased this train is because I have mad respect for trams and in some locations, especially in Kyoto because the Keifuku Randen Tram Line is the last remnant of a network of tramlines that served the area.
If you are at Kyoto Station and going to Arashiyama Station, I recommend riding on a Keifuku Randen Tram.
Now one thing, you’ll noticed is that Modemo tends to put the motors inside the car. So, forget about interior lighting and for some people, it may be a turnoff that the seats are not visble on the motor cars. The motor is what’s visible.
The pantograph is a single arm pantograph. And as always, make sure your diorama setup has its catenary high and that any trees or branches or any LED lighting wires you may have don’t get caught in it.
The trams feature two bogies and I like how Modemo adds the up arrows, so you know you are putting them on correctly. You get steel wheels and a knuckle coupler.
Both ends are the same, showcasing the Randen tram name and the no. 632. Headlamp is on top and a good warm color and the rear tail lamps glow in red.
I do feel though that the front lamp is very selective on how it’s on depending on how it’s connected to the rails. I had to keep re-adjusting to make sure the LED lamp came on and this is on both KATO and TOMIX tracks.
And last, you do get marking stickers. The instructions do mention that you can install wiper blades, but that begs the question, shouldn’t they have been included? I noticed one blogger in Japan who purchased the wiper blades as extra accessories but commented they are small and fragile and he had to apply bond to keep it in place.
As for the stickers, as always with N Gauge, these stickers are extremely small and it’s up to you and your careful hands and eyesight if you are confident on putting them on. Otherwise, if you suffer from presbyopia (farsighted, ie. can ‘t see close that well), it may not be worth the hassle.
Overall, I do enjoy the “Yuko”. I like the wrapping, I love the fact that Modemo takes on trams and showcase their wrapping (great reproduction). Look at the detail of this wrapping, it’s really well done and it captures the beauty of Kyoto while showcasing Izutsu Yatsuhashi. Sure it’s purely advertising for a confection company and Modemo has done it before with the Meiji Seika (the Meiji almond candy sold on trains are so good!).
I personally have not tried a Izutsu Yatsuhashi confection yet, but I would like to considering I have been to many long standing confectionery shops such as Asakusa Nishyama (1852) and Ginza Kimuraya (since 1869), I’ll need to try all three popular confections.
But going back to the trains, It’s a beautiful Modemo tram and glad to have a MOBO 630 series in my collection. But I wish that Modemo made this a two train set. There is no reason the T-train with no motor should cost that much (and is just 500 yen cheaper than the motorized train).
But aside from that, I do like it a lot. Again, it’s a rarity to see these types of trains being released. So, I do recommend it!
