Hello all, I am sorry to post questions I'm sure you are tired of fielding, but my web searches have resulted in many ebay listings and fewer concrete pieces of information for a novice such as myself. It seems like lots of Z scale is available only second hand, at least at a glance. Especially with US rail, vs Japanese or German kits. If I just wanted 20 versions of high speed Japanese trains I would be all set! My current house doesn't have much excess space, so I'm looking to make a smaller layout in either N or Z scale for my father (to ship to him down the road) and another one for myself, eventually. I am not afraid of kit bashing or scratch builds where necessary and am fairly accomplished at painting in fine miniature scales (admittedly not trains, but that's an easy transition compared to the scale problem I think), as an amateur at least. That said, I much prefer my focus on kits and scenery, so to say adding detail at scope vs fiddling endlessly with tedium like scratch building every generic fence or barn or 20 store fronts. I just prefer embellishment over brickwork, if that makes sense. My last foray into MRR was roughly twenty years ago in HO, and my entire collection is basically useless to me now, unfortunately. I am looking for DCC with sound (ideally), as well as remote switching and lighting controls integrated easily. Since I have none of this, I'm effectively starting from scratch, though it seems this is starting to become relatively available in Z scale from my searches? That said, I am perhaps a little concerned even twenty years later with the pricing of Z (dear god at steam engines), but more concerned with the availability of general things like roadnames on common engines and rolling stock. To give an example, to find an FP7 ABA or similar motive set and passenger cars in the lime/forest green two-tone Northern Pacific scheme (sorry not sure if it is called something specific but seems rather common?) is challenging from the few resources I can find. I saw some company maybe produced a similar set 4 years ago, and no idea if those were DCC ready or even reasonably obtainable in the current day. All the stores listing a broad range of products at the top of Google seem to show "out of stock" for almost everything! It's very frustrating. Anyway, sorry to ramble, but if there are some good starter resources and places to find these details RE: general product availability and such, I would appreciate any thoughts on the viability of me choosing Z scale for my endeavors. I do like the more sweeping scenic nature of the scale, but if I'm honest with my time and patience, I don't think I can scratch build literally everything including rolling stock, and I am hoping US Z scale of 2019 is much farther ahead of where I remember. Some of the initial ideas I have of scenic areas and lines I would like to recreate are proving difficult to source, even though they are not really what I would think are "exotic" roadnames or engines, but what do I know? I can guess that I will not find all these things on Amazon, but I can't rely on someone eventually selling 10 year old cars on eBay one day either, at least for basic needs. Regards and thanks
Flak, Welcome back to model railroading and welcome to Z. A good starter resource is right here on trainboard. There is really no comparison to 1999 with all that is available now. While Märklin has de-emphasized U.S. prototypes, American Z Lines (AZL) and Micro-Train lines (MTL) have expanded to more than fill the void. Another major player is the Japanese company Rokuhan. They are mostly Japanese, but their track and accessories are very popular here I suggest you check their websites. Some of the major distributors of Z are Ztrack, z.scale.hobo, and Monster Z. Check out the advertisers list on this site. Northern Pacific is an easy request. MTL produced the F7s and streamliner cars about 4 years ago. AZL has a North Coast set with F3A/B and 8 heavyweight cars. The locomotives are also available separately. F7s and streamliner cars will probably be available later this year. I'd suggest you ask over on their user forum. AZL locomotives are generally DCC ready. The major manufacturers produce starter sets (rolling stock & track). The distributors can put together a RTR package, frequently tailored to your needs. You just need to ask. Unfortunately Z scale is a bit of an oral tradition. The couple of books available and most of the comprehensive web sites such as zscale.org really don't cover the "modern" era. While they can be a useful reference. the best way to learn Z is to read and ask questions on the various forums like this one. Hopes this helps, Mark
The issues you're encountering with the general (lack of) availability of products is a side effect of the manufacturers' decision to move to a limited production run business model for locomotives and rolling stock. Items are announced in advance, orders/reservations are taken and production quantities are tailored to closely match the order numbers, with little excess left over for inventory. Specific combinations of prototypes and roadnames are seldom or infrequently repeated. If you want an item that has been made much more than a few months ago, then you'll likely have to hunt for it on the secondary market. If an item has been announced for production and you think there's ever a chance you'll want it, then you should order it now. This situation is not much difference in N or HO than it is in Z - although there is a greater variety of suppliers for N and especially HO.
Thanks for the info guys. I have a decent sized show in town next weekend, so I'm going to investigate some Z scale offerings and hopefully get another chance to see it in action. If nothing else it looks like AZL will be releasing a lot of roadnames this year in lightweight coaches so I've got a bit of time to plan everything out and see was comes available. Still a few years away from 3D printer paradise it seems, but getting there.
I guess I could have quoted the tagline of fellow Z scaler Robert Ray: "If you see it, get it, for tomorrow it will be gone!" but it seems to me that this true for the hobby in general. It really depends on the circumstances. For example: 12 years ago AZL introduced interurban passenger sets with a matching F59PHI (very nice set BTW). They are still available. This month AZL introduced the UP streamliner cars. They sold out in 12 days. Like much of the industry, these were produced by contract manufacturers, who typically schedule their work a year or more out. However in both cases the contract manufacturer is no long in business. so they effectively become "limited editions." You really want to keep an eye on new releases as some sell out really fast. Also a heads up on the audition sites. It's not unusual to see items on the auction sites 2x-3x the MSRP even though they are still available in retail. They just add "rare" to the listing. Accessory manufacturers are typically small operations that come an go quickly. When it comes to buildings and bridges and such you really have to get them while you can. You mention 3D printing which is becoming popular in Z. There are a number of shops at the Shapeways site producing products as well as some independents. Once again, poking around sites like this you find the people involved. Train shows are a bit spotty for Z. If the show is in an area with Zbend module people, you'll probably find a layout and people willing to talk Z. As far as vendors it typically runs slight to nonexistent. However I must admit the last GTE show I went to, I walked away with a number of cars. It would be interesting to learn of your experience at the show. Mark
The shows generally have little to no Z. If any, usually Micro-Trains rolling stock. Where are you based? We have an upcoming show March 23-24 here in Pleasanton, CA Lots of shops sell. Check out other forums for named sites (not allowed on Trainboard). http://www.azlforum.com/#zscale (simple sign up) https://groups.io/g/z-scale/topics Lots of support and info available.
Hi Flak, There's a lot online, too. There used to be a great site by David K Smith with an overview of (small scale) manufacturers and retailers, however, not anymore. A good second best is this Swiss (!) site with many interesting websites (178, alphabetically ordered). Ordering from US is usually no problem. Do get scared off by the German language, the URLs speak for itself. http://zettzeit.ch/2015-10-17-16-01-27/17-shops-und-hersteller Matt
In AZ at the moment, so a bit far for me right now to get to Pleasanton, but we have one coming up next weekend in Phoenix. I haven't even accidentally been to a show in maybe 15 years, so it'll be interesting to see just how much shows up down here and how much has changed.
Zuper! Ich auch. The NMRA National Train Show is in Salt Lake City July 12-14 (2-1/2 days). http://www.nmra2019slc.org/train-show/ Hotels: https://www.visitsaltlake.com/mountain-america-expo-center/attend/venue-directory-and-map/
