Ok, to say you have done it in Z is one thing, but to PhotoShop a rule to pass off a HO turnout as Z in simpy not on! And do you think the Athearn stack car would trick anyone? Sheesh.... (seriously, bleedin' great work, Mythman. Very, very nice. )
Thanks, all... GATS - LOL, It was a real pain to super-impose that ruler and to get the glare just right! Isn't It crazy how good looking Z scale products are?!
I got my AZL Sounder Train Set a couple weeks ago, and could not believe the detail. I thought I spotted a paint defect, but a magnifying glass proved it to be a perfect hanicap access placard! The cars have rubber gaskets around the smoked glass windows, and both decks have seats inside, plus a stairwell! 4 cars and a flywheel equipt DCC compatible F59PHI for $340 with brass quality details was a bargain too! Z is starting to take off!
Oh, by the way I upped my order of well cars to 7 of those BN to go with my 7 TT cars. Now I just have to get some of Michael Hilliard's Zecals for the containers. He offers a sheet of enough for 10 cars for $20. Michael is also doing cast brass FRED's with sub micro tiny LED's, as well as caboose marker lanterns. If you are a member of the Yahoo z-scale group you can see the pictures here: Zecals: http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/groups/g_229250/choochooterrain/gutherson1.jpg?bcAm2JBBoxHDSsSH FRED's http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/groups/g_229250/choochooterrain/fred30.jpg?bcAm2JBBM0Sy2WPU Yahoo Z Scale Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/z_scale/
Pray, Where did you purchase the AZL Sounder set from? I feel my wallet becoming lighter as I type... I just ordered another 4 BN well cars, for a total of 8 BNs. I only got 2 TTX, and now I can't find them anymore... Not going to make that mistake twice!
I ordered mine from the Ztrack booth at the NTS in Seattle. Ztrack magazine is the distributer for AZL. You can order them from Rob Kluz of Ztrack, and he has several different trains available.
That looks really good - any chance of trading a 50 foot waffle-side boxcar in Z for one of those turnouts?
Mark, Do you have a pic of the 50' Waffle-side boxcar? And do you want a lefthand or righthand turnout?
Prolly a little early to trade but here's a link to a photo of the initial prototype - should be finished in around 3 weeks. http://www.mark4design.com/Waffles_Anyone.jpg
Thanks! There are more where that came from. I have a 50 foot Gunderson plug door almost finished and I am contemplating a series of 86 footers with all of the door variations that they sported.
Mark, I hope you need alot of turnouts!!! LOL. I am interested in some of everything you are working on!! Contact me when you are ready to trade!
I picked myself up an AZL Union Pacific C44-9W on that auction site last night. Can't wait till it gets here, I started handlaying some track the last couple days.
That's a nice running unit, as good as a Kato N Scale, but needs a 10" radius to avoid uncoupling. The reason is because the couplers stick out far from the truck centers, as do all the other AZL locomotives up to the F59's. You will notice the couplers seem loose, swiveling on it's mounting screw. You need to leave it loose or you can get uncoupling problems if it is tightened stiff. My sd-45's are the same, and I tightened them up before I found out that it was a design feature. Tom Gilchrist, the guy who auctioned it off, has several Z Bend Modules, and his club's modular layout won 3rd place at the NTS Seattle this year, going up against all the other layouts and modules present. He let me run my centerbeam train on their cub layout, and I had a real good time. You will enjoy that model for sure!
Ahh, it looks like your new locomotive made the cover of Ztrack Magazine Eric! They were running my centerbeam cars at the NTS. I left them on the Northwest Pacific Z Scalers modular layout for a couple days of the show so people could get a looksee. The wrapped lumber loads were made by SuZee Line, but I have not received an email back on if their website is up. [ 28. August 2004, 01:52: Message edited by: pray59 ]
Mythman, what track do you use/recommend to go with your code 40 turnouts? (Presumably the stuff in your photos above). I'm not impressed with the Marklin turnouts that came with my start set (yes, I know they can be tweaked to run better, but that won't make them look any better ), so I'm thinking about getting something else for my planned Z layout (well, "hoped for" is probably more accurate). I haven't committed to a track system yet, so I can start with the 'best'. Are then any problems with code 40, like running standard Z wheels on it?
Mike, I am using all handlaid code 40 for my layout. As you can see in this section (12 1/2" x 8") of one of my planned yards, handlaying ties can be mind blowing! There are about 875 ties, pictured here, many hours of work. Yes, I am laying out all of the trackwork in CAD first, then printing out sections, glueing the printouts onto the layout, then glueing ties to printouts. This way I can solve all track issues in CAD before I have to tear up all that handlaid work! I will be using Mirco-trains flex track for my under-deck staging and tunnel areas. As you can see in the pic below, there is some filing required to make a smooth transition. I personally do not own any Marklin track, so I can't really compare. Besides, I'm not fond of the tie spacing with most European track styles, as I am modeling American only. I have heard of people using code 30, but I have not been able to locate any of it to experiment with. Obviously, this would give you to most realistic look. Code 40 does not cause any problems with any wheelsets I own, which are MTL (F7 and rolling stock), AZL (C44-9W), and a few pieces of Marklin rolling stock. I have noticed that Marklin metal wheelset flanges are a bit more narrow than MTL (or should I say grossly oversized?!), and can get pinched in between the guard rails on my handbuilt turnouts. This can be remedied by either adjusting the wheelsets (or replacing them) or resolder the guard rails a bit more open. Hope this helps...
