Pencils and trains have some commonality in the way they approach their tasks. A pencil touches paper as it writes, and a train touches the ground as it travels. A computer and printer can produce a document, just as an airplane can deliver one to a remote destination. But the journey, to document or destination, is not at all the same.
This pencil series celebrates Japanese trains. Made by Tombow, there are four boxes in this issue, each box celebrating two different trains. The pencils are in the rounded square style, like the Pantone pencils we saw earlier this year. This shape accomodates the train graphics very well.
Each pencil has two train side views, a schematic view, and text on the fourth side. The boxes also come with display cards for the pencils that include “tracks”. They’re not extremely useful, but they do add to the uniqueness of the set.
The set is a real joy. Announced in late March, they are sure to sell out quickly.
Trains on pencils! Perfect for when I take the train. Major lust here. I’m a little surprised they didn’t do tins like Faber-Castell did for the 100th anniversary of the 9000.
I feel that a pencil like this needs some comment – I just don’t know what to say! Great looking pencils. Great idea.
Actually this is a second issue of this style of pencil by Tombow to commemorate the Japan Railway System. The first was a 15 pencil in tin which consists of color pencils. I think there were 10,000 or 15,000 tins produced of the color pencils sets. I’ve had a set of these for several years which I aquired from one of the subcontractors who did the finishing work on these for Tombow during a visit to their factory. I’ll have to see what I can do to get some of these graphite versions.
There also seems to be another graphite set from 2006 or 2007:
http://www.tombow.com/corporate/press/070903.html