You know you might be a Z scale modeler when... You visit every shop in every town and leave saying "no problem, I can get the Z scale things I need online, nice shop, BTW!". You realize there is a world of difference between a 0.1gm wheel set and a 0.5gm wheel set. You start using "readers" for the first time in your life. You buy a magnifying glass. You decide the pantograph on your new loco is slightly bent and spend the next hour or so trying to bend it back, in the process accidentally popping it apart into the tiniest pieces of micro engineered model parts imaginable, but you do not panic or sweat, you reassemble it under a magnifying glass. Then you put it on your track and realize that if you lift it a couple of mm it looks terrific and no one could ever see that it is off a few degrees anyway! Hey, it works for me
I found the same can't find what I want! So just got in to designing my own things I wanted with 3D printing! use Shapeways printing services and found many other doing the same!
You know you might be a Z scale modeler when... You search, and search, and search for Z-scale anything at a train show, and your so excited to find some for sale in the corner-and you buy some just cus!!
Oh that's for sure, question: "do you have Z scale stuff?" response: "Yes" reply: "I'll take it!" response "don't you want to see it first?". I went to my first train show ever last month, one seller sold me a shoebox full of Vollmer buildings for about half the listed price just so they could now tell everyone "no Z scale here!". Another random guy just walked up to me and handed me a bunch of old Marklin cars, for free, just to get rid of them, woo hoo!
Every time you see the letter "z", you know it should be pronounced "zed" or, more correctly "tset". Doug
...when you break out in laughter when you hear "other scale" modelers talking about scene compression.
... And what is not available can be scratch build... Z scale and Trainbord members got me into scratch building when I was looking for a D&GRW caboose. When visiting train shows, I rather look for ideas to scale down than looking for z scale to buy. /Frank Verstuurd vanaf mijn ANE-LX1 met Tapatalk
When you see sections of O track in a model train shop and at first you can't figure out what they are...
Now Jim, you be nice...) You know I taught you 1/10 of 1% of all you know and thanks to your genius, you have multiplied that many times over till you are one of the 'great' ones. For those who don't know you and your expertise, they need to get to know you. You are an awesome inspiration to any who stumble across your work. All the best for the first tree maker. )
You know when you can speak confidently to any larger scale modeler......."if you want a challenge, then try Z scale"