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I just got one. It is actually made by a chinese manufacturer Kairyu (possibly the one which makes Bachmann's stuff) and branded by both Bachmann and Tenshodo. The detailing is pretty good, but not Kato quality. (i would say it is slightly better than the spectrum acela express). There are a lot of cast on details, but louvers and such are very detailed and the printing is crisp. The pantograph is for decoration only and actually looks cheesy. It comes with a motor unit and 4 other coaches (2 green car and 2 end cars). It runs pretty well all in part to a very heavy motor unit (which is the 2nd unit by the way). The coaches are a tad light with respect to NMRA requirements but I have had no derailing problems running at top speed. I have it converted to DCC operations which is not too hard since there is a NMRA plug in the end coaches and the motor unit, just be careful about removing mounting screws. I recommend an advanced decoder such as Digitrax DH163 or NCE 14SR series. As for directional lighting, I used a TF4 soldered onto NMRA plug for each end coach. It runs smoothly with good slow speed if you fiddle with the speed tables. It actually runs faster on under DC operations because I can get 18-20V output from power pack, as opposed to Digitrax DCC max voltage ~14V. On the DCC, my maximum scale speed ~170-180mph (300kph) which is prototypical (~2 car lengths per second). If you want pictures, try this website (in japanese). I would recommend translating it into English or whatever with Google language tools. http://www.tenshodo.co.jp/railroad/new/ho/500/index.html Hope that helps. JB
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