Tomytec - 051 - Church - Religious Structures

Specific Item Information: Parts are pre-painted

Model Information: These structures are pre-painted and some are partly assembled. There may be some smaller detail parts included that need to be installed. These models are 1/150 scale which is the standard for N Scale in Japan. A -2, -3, etc in the model number indicates a re-release of a model.

Road Name History: A church building or church house, often simply called a church, is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly for worship services. The term in its architectural sense is most often used by Christians to refer to their religious buildings, but it is sometimes used (by analogy) to refer to buildings of other religions. In traditional Christian architecture, the church is often arranged in the shape of a Christian cross. When viewed from plan view the longest part of a cross is represented by the aisle and the junction of the cross is located at the altar area.

Towers or domes are often added with the intention of directing the eye of the viewer towards the heavens and inspiring church visitors. Modern church buildings have a variety of architectural styles and layouts; many buildings that were designed for other purposes have now been converted for church use; and, similarly, many original church buildings have been put to other uses.

The earliest identified Christian church was a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th through the 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals and smaller parish churches occurred across Western Europe. A cathedral is a church, usually Roman Catholic, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox, housing a cathedra, the formal name for the seat or throne of a bishop.

From Wikipedia

Brand/Importer Information: Tomytec is a subsidiary of Takara Tomy, a large Japanese conglomerate of companies that makes toys and games for the international marketplace. The Tomytec subsidiary focuses on toys which are scale models of real and fantasy prototypes. The Tomytec range includes trains, vehicles, aircraft, dolls and other items (camera lenses?). Most importantly (for us) the Tomytec brand name lands on certain N Gauge models.

Generally, but not always, Tomytec branded N Gauge items have some element of "collectibility". Sometimes they have packaging that obscures the exact item being purchased which encourages the consumer to buy multiple items to complete a set. Sometimes they produce limited edition releases which are quickly retired and replaced by a new similar item with an alternate series marker (A, B, etc). The brand also is used for their operating N Gauge bus system.

Manufacturer Information: Largely a Japanese manufacturer of children's toys and baby products, Takara Tomy has established a number of different subsidiary companies, with sales offices and factories located in various locations around the world. The firm is the product of a 2006 merger-of-equals between Tomy and Takara.

Takara Tomy produces N Scale model trains under their Tomytec division (we use the term loosely because it is actually a more complex relationship) using two different brand names "Tomytec" and "Tomix". Technically speaking these are not brands in the Western sense but rather they more closely resemble subsidiaries -of-subsidiaries, and where they fit in the corporate org chart may be the matter for a Master's thesis, but for our purposes we can think of them as simply two different brands with one manufacturer. In the past (prior to 1976) some model train products were branded simply "Tomy". To further confuse things, since 2000, outside of Japan, the company goes by the simple name, "Tomy" for their international subsidiaries.

If you consider both brand names as a single company, then the Tomytec/Tomix product line is the largest of its kind in Japan; with Kato following in second place (as of 2017). While Takara Tomy products are popular around the world, the firm's focus on children's toys has limited the international acceptance and distribution of its Tomytec model railroad products. Furthermore, unlike Kato, their focus tends to be heavily skewed towards Japanes prototypes.