For those of you not attending the convention, and you would like to reserve the SP, or BN GP38-2s, please drop me an email at ztrack@aol.com. As Rob mentioned, we are still working out pricing and a few other details. The SP and BN release is only available direct and will not be available through dealers. All other releases will be available through the dealer network. And yes, I am having a happy Friday! Rob(K)
Rob, The undec is very good news for several reasons....main one being as you said, 'giving Gerd job security for a long time I'm sure' plus other wanna be like Gerd. Undecs offer many modelers the opportunity to experiment with ad ons and do it themselves when they can't afford the excellent workmanship of Gerd.
This is huge great news, a monumental advance for z. thanks Hans and AZL. I can see myself eagerly cutting off the rear 3 fans section of a sd-70 to make a gp-40-2. this loco is goin to be fun, fun, fun. Kitbashing galore.
Definitely exciting news! I foresee this being a bad year for my checkbook, especially if 5) is able to be done or close. SOOO many choices.... and undecorated ones to boot. For Soo Line the GP38-2s were referred to as cab killers, and I see a similar fate in my Z empire. ~Paul
Hi Harold, the rear section of the SD70 will not really suit: wrong roof details, fans, louvers and door arrangement and the brake wheel too. On top you try to join a modern, fine detailed SD70 shell with a "antique" GP38 shell from the old Rogue days. The dynamic brake blister of the GP38 is also not matching the GP40-2. You are better off merging a MTL GP35 with a SD40-2 back despite the slightly wider hood; this is what I have done several times and the result is very good. Guys, don't be concerned about me, I have more stuff to do than I have time. Apart from that I'm moving more and more towards my etched kits, kit bashing plastic come 2nd. Hey, the real thing is made from metal, so the model has to be too, or not? Stay tuned, 2 great locos and gondola are coming. The price for the GP38 < $100 is in the right ballpark, there are no tooling costs for the shell and cab. A GP7 price tag would be a real rip-off.
Me and Hal want details of Zee convention? Where are it? Is it free to go? How much money is the GP38? Gerd is it under 100 dollar? I am confused? Is GP38 a ripoff? We do not want to buy a bad product
The Z scale convention will be the first weekend of May in Denver. Details at http://www.nzsc.org/Attendee%20Packet.pdf. As for the rest of the questions, definite answers will have to come from others, but I've had no major issues with AZL products. It sounds like they are keeping the applied details on the GP38 to a minimum to keep the price down. Mark
Apart from the question Mark has already answered I try to clarify and lift your confusion: Details for Z Convention: not from me, maybe later if there is demand for a detail kit How much for the GP38: Quote Robert Albritton"...5) Price: to be announced. Hint: our goal is to make sure the first digit is not "1", I read this as lower than $100 GP38 a rip-off: if the price is less than $100: no, if it would cost $200: yes We don't want to pay bad product: neither me, nobody said the GP38 is bad, only because there are issues with the GP30 doesn't men automatically they will happen to the GP38 too. Every company has the right to learn and to improve.
Thank Mister Gerd Mister Gerd;, Me and Hal understand better. You help us. We thank. We not order engine unless the money is lower than $100 -we hope product is better than AZL other product. Thank again, Mister Gerd.
That will certainly put the hobby in line with N scale. One would imagine a bump in Z scalers with an offering like this. Sounds most welcome.
We will soon publish a GP38-2 flyer, which will only feature the Don Bouchard SP and BN locomotives. They will go on sale May 3. These locomotives are limited to 250 units combined. The National Z scale convention price will be $108 (cash or CC). For those of you that cannot attend the convention, the locomotives will be available through Ztrack Magazine for $118 s&h paid for the continental US. As for our general GP38-2 release (not including SP and BN) which will follow about one month after the Z scale convention, the MSRP will be $99! Roadnames will include NS, BNSF, CSX, Milwaukee Road, UP, CP, CN, SOO, ATSF, GTW.
GP38-2's are coming soon! To add to what Hans said: Some of you will wonder why the BN and SP are $118, and the other road names are $99. Its pretty simple: we want to get as much to Don Bouchard's family as we can. By charging a bit more for those road names, we can dramatically increase the benefit for them. Remember, our profits from the Bouchard locomotives go to his family. Don was essential in creating the original Rouge GP38-2: the first Geep in Z scale. We hope you will agree to help a true Z scale pioneer's family by paying a few extra bucks. I don't have a picture with me, but the GP38-2 does not have a separate pilot with a body mount coupler like we have done with previous locomotives (SD70/GP7/GP30). It is a truck mounted coupler. Sorry, but this is our entry level locomotive, so some cost were cut to keep the price down. Me too. I spent quite a few hours getting the colors matched right. The "New Image" gold is a tough color to do correctly!
Is the BN only available as the Don Bouchard edition or will there be other road numbers for BN? Last, what are the road number(s) for BN? Thanks for your help.
Hal an me excited about all the releeses. We will wait to we get the CP release and order some. Thank everyone. This good news.
The text Don Bouchard is too small to read without a magnifying glass. It is positioned at the bottom of the Cab sides. Yes there will be other non Bouchard SP and BN locomotives. However, they will not be released before the Bouchard locomotives are sold out and they will carry the same price as the Bouchard BN and SP, $118.