Andy Y Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I've had information from a reputable source that Mashima is to close down and cease production. Mr. Mashima is getting old and with a change of business direction from one of his component suppliers the time has come to retire. All current orders will be honoured with an anticpated closure date of July. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Curiously, Andy, there was a similar announcement in 2008. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted May 9, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 9, 2016 I take it there are no takers for buying out the business and keeping it going? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigherb Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Curiously, Andy, there was a similar announcement in 2008. I thought it sounded like Deja vu. I thought it might have been Mubuchi before. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfsboy Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Lots of Chinese motors on Ebay that may help ease the pain.I use em to repower brass.so far they run fine and my attempts to destroy one through overuse have failed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium polybear Posted May 9, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 9, 2016 Lots of Chinese motors on Ebay that may help ease the pain.I use em to repower brass.so far they run fine and my attempts to destroy one through overuse have failed. I purchased some of these recently: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171585662986?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT I've not tried them in a loco as yet, but Mitsumi motors seem to get mentioned quite a lot lately. Certainly the ones I received all run very smoothly, and self-start (off load) from around 1.8v. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Trouble is many gearboxes and mounts on chassis are designed to take them. Other makes exist, but are more suited to pure scratchbuilding. Mitsumi make small motors that suit many models, but they have made them for purposes other than Railway models, and the uses are disappearing, like the mechs from video recorders and cameras. The Chinese already make many motors used in RTR, but few seem available direct from China, and as spares cost a lot. As pointed out, the closure has been reported before, and a sale might save the brand. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I purchased some of these recently: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171585662986?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT I've not tried them in a loco as yet, but Mitsumi motors seem to get mentioned quite a lot lately. Certainly the ones I received all run very smoothly, and self-start (off load) from around 1.8v. I have a box full of these motors and they are very good, and also available in quantity at more discounted prices. Be a bit careful in selection, some have more end play than others and may need collars to contain this. Also I had one with a bent shaft, but it was easy to straighten. Most are thee pole, but one batch was 5 pole. They appear to have come from video recorders, used to drive the eject mechanism. I suspect that they are cheap due to stock clear out. All have come with double ended shaft. Stephen. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham456 Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 PANIC ! BUY !.....actually don't give me a chance first,if I can think of which ones to horde, but seriously hopefully like the amount of old unbuilt Ks kits still around we be able to get them for a while after they have gone,just don't ask where, if not I have a stock of X04s and MW1001 for a bit of retro kit building! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Just added one of the bargain Mitsumi motors to a very old K's GWR Pannier, now works a treat, gone are the growls, whines and electric smell, now near silent, it has new 45:1 gears now, home produced. The motor got a touch warm after running about 15 minutes under load, the K's motor would be in meltdown under the load, 20 old metal US gondola cars I use for testing locos. Slow running is good, but I will add a flywheel on the other shaft, and test out the difference in crawl, Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 (edited) Wonder if these Mitsumi motors would be any good with 7mm motor/gearbox stuff? I know of at least one supplier who is actively seeking alternatives to Mashima and is probably going towards Canon ones as they are seen as the only viable alternative. JF Edited May 24, 2016 by Jon Fitness Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium polybear Posted May 24, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 24, 2016 Far too small I suspect, unless they have larger ones than I have seen on eBay... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium polybear Posted May 29, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 29, 2016 I've had information from a reputable source that Mashima is to close down and cease production. Mr. Mashima is getting old and with a change of business direction from one of his component suppliers the time has come to retire. All current orders will be honoured with an anticpated closure date of July. It seems that the supplier of magnets to Mr. Mashima is ceasing to do so Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Dava Posted May 30, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 30, 2016 Disappearance of Mashima motors would be bad news for 7mm and other large scales. However I noticed my Canon printer has a motor driving the scanner which is very close in size to a Mashima 1824, double ended I think. So there will be alternatives. Dava Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Canon motors do turn up regularly on Ebay as do Mitsumi in sizes to suit O gauge. O gauge is far lees a problem as the Chinese make plenty of similar motors in the sizes needed, and usually 5 pole. The ones to look out for for O gauge are the Swiss Maxon brand coreless, and Pittman 7 pole, both industrial grade motors. New Maxon are expensive, but S/H they still work fine and are acceptable in cost. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 ....my Canon printer has a motor driving the scanner which is very close in size to a Mashima 1824, double ended I think. .... Probably the Canon 1833, which has long been a regular option for 7mm. Think it may have found its way into a couple of 4mm scale diesels as well. ABC Gears sells them as do quite a few other suppliers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 scl18-33_01_e.pdf Found these just by googling 18 x 33 dc motor. As always, prices aren't mentioned and you'd probably have to buy 1000's before you got a decent discount.... JF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 scl18-33_01_e.pdf Found these just by googling 18 x 33 dc motor. As always, prices aren't mentioned and you'd probably have to buy 1000's before you got a decent discount.... JF It's a make and type found often on Ebay, the motors are used on gearhead motor gearbox combinations. The makers name is found on motors in Nikon camera equipment, used to drive the focus and aperture in older digital cameras, and video equipment. The seller Assisi on Ebay has them as well, as and when stocked. As always it is not the individual hit by motor makers going out of business, but the kit makers who need stable supplies. There will always be small DC motors on Ebay for the foreseeable future, and some better made than Mashima in professional coreless types like Maxon. Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted May 31, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 31, 2016 Is the biggest problem with these non-Mashima motors likely to be finding suitable gearboxes for them? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cctransuk Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Is the biggest problem with these non-Mashima motors likely to be finding suitable gearboxes for them? In the case of the Mitsumi motors that I sell - see http://www.cctrans.org.uk/ - the diagonal fixing holes are a mirror image of the Mashima layout. The additional holes are easily marked-out and drilled on the gearbox etch. Regards, John Isherwood. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfsboy Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 In the case of the Mitsumi motors that I sell - see http://www.cctrans.org.uk/ - the diagonal fixing holes are a mirror image of the Mashima layout. The additional holes are easily marked-out and drilled on the gearbox etch. MOTOR PACK INSERT.JPG Regards, John Isherwood. I have put one of these motors sans flywheel in a Westside H0n3 C-16 2-8-0 with a NWSL idler and its very sweet indeed.Better than the Mashima I tried earlier .A longer mabuchi type FF50 version is going into a PFM 4-6-0 that also has a NWSL gearbox .Sweet and silent . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cctransuk Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 In the case of the Mitsumi motors that I sell - see http://www.cctrans.org.uk/ - the diagonal fixing holes are a mirror image of the Mashima layout. The additional holes are easily marked-out and drilled on the gearbox etch. MOTOR PACK INSERT.JPG Regards, John Isherwood. In the light of the recent news concerning the demise of Mashima, I can advise members that I currently have in stock around 20 of the alternative Mitsumi motors which have been very well received; see post #17 at http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/98857-building-a-4mm-scale-mpd-midland-3f-0-6-0/ . Furthermore, I have ordered a further 100 motors for stock, which have already been despatched to me. Full details of ordering and pricing can be found at http://www.cctrans.org.uk/ . Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGR Hooper! Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 I wonder what will custom manufacturers like MotorBogies and Hollywoord Foundry will do? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brigo Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 I wonder what will custom manufacturers like MotorBogies and Hollywoord Foundry will do? I wonder what manufacturers like Bemo will do, most of their locos use Mashima motors. I suppose they will have stocked up, at least in the short term. Have ordered some interesting looking motors off eBay, even fitted with a worm gear which may, or may not be useful. At £1.99 for 5 inc P&P got to be worth a look. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-25pcs-12V-13500RPM-Soldering-Micro-2Pin-Magnetic-Electric-Double-Axle-DC-Motor-/311577682012 Brian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fitness Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 May try this one, Skew wound 5 pole 8200rpm...2mm shaft at 9mm long may be a little short though. JF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now