I'm becomming more and more intrigued with Z scale, especially after seeing a vendor running some Micro Trains items at a swap meet recently. I notice there is pretty much nothing written about it in MR. It' the classic "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" question: MR doesn't feature Z because it isn't popular or people aren't interested in it because MR (and other non-online model train mags) don't feature it. I'm seriously considering building a small table top layout in Z. It would be nice to see some articles and reviews of Z scale items in MR.
Todd
There occasionally have been articles in MR featuring Z-scale trains in the past but with Z-scalers probably amounting to no more than 1%-2% of hobbyists, it just isn't reasonable to expect MR to devote much page space to that scale. I do note, however, that there is a Z-scale loco shell featured in the new products pages of MR this month.
CNJ831
au contraire mon ami
Perhaps it was earlier this year - I'm not sure now and I don't keep hold of back issues of the magazine I buy so I can't check on this, but, MR did run an article of some sorts about a Z layout operating in, Switzerland, I think that is where it was located. In any event articles about Z layouts are pretty rare.
Bruce
... that article appeared in October? November? 2007! Whereever you look in the world, Z scale does not get much coverage in magazines. Even the leading German MRR mags report only at the time of the Nuremberg Toy Fair about Z scale. Maybe there are not enough "serious" layouts around to report on. The only mag that frequently covers Z scale is the Marklin Magazin, running a promotional layout building series every year.
MRR might not have a lot of Z scale but this magazine is devoted to it.
http://www.ztrack.com/
Be patient--I have a feeling that as Z scale grows in popularity--and it seems to be catching on with a portion of modelers--that MR will probably devote more space to it.
N scale went through the same growing pains when it first came out, and now MR devotes a relatively fair amount of space to the scale. It's all in the growing process.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
There was a great 6 page spread in the December 2007 issue of MRR titled "Conquering the Alps in Z Scale." It documents the SSB Gotthard Line in Switzerland in the contemporary era. . It is done in the "Island Style" and measures a whopping, (for Z Scale) 30 feet X 50 feet and the mainline run is 310 feet long and the scenery is complete from what I can see. The owner/builder is Rob Fullerton. You can probably order a copy by going to the "OUR STORE" link near the top of the log in page. If you are truly interested in Z Scale, you will be truly amazed at this layout. I give it
Blue Flamer.
Minority scales also don't have as many authors/layouts etc. so not as much material is prepared. Plus it has only been recently that a fair amount of U.S. prototype has been available. A check of the trackplan database shows 3 Z layouts in the last 5 years in MR. I think this number will increase somewhat in the future, but I doubt that the scale will ever be a major player since it is so close in size to N.
Enjoy
Paul
There are several Yahoo sites for Zedheads,plus we have at least 1 forum.The biggest problem I can see with Z is that every manufacturer seems to think their stuff should cost more than the last guy.
As for seeing Z in the mainstream publications,build it,picture it, submit it.If they get enough they will publish it.
Johnathan (Catt)
Todd,As of now many look at Z as being to tiny for "serious" modeling..
Not to worry..N Scale started the same way and struggled along in its early years until MR decided to endorse N Scale beyond the occasional article...IMHO this endorsement came in 1979 with the Clinchfield layout series and the following displays at the bigger train shows and of course the national train show.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I really think there is going to be a big jump on those getting into Z. At the last train show there was a large crowd around the one vendor selling Z scale products. I couldn't believe how well the Micro Trains Locomotives ran. Heck, some of them are DCC ready(!). I'm in HO right now but am intrigued at what you could do in 1X3'...I do agree the prices need to come down a bit..
I remember a feature on a swedish mountain layout last year (I think) that demonstrated just what Z scale can do.
I've mulled over switching to Z, but I'll stick with N scale, because the prices are better, and I'v already got so much invested.
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
Todd,I would suggest that if your going to get into Z that you start out with a 2' X4' handy panel.the trains may be small but they still look better on fairly wide curves.
I was stationed in Germany in the early '70s when Märklin introduced their Z-Scale--they called it Mini-Bahn or something like that; it was definitely cute but was it model railroading?
Ten years after its introduction it still was relatively toy-like.I did pause at Cincinnati in 2005 to examine it a little more carefully and by this time it was well emerged from out of the toy category. I also examined a copy of the Z-Track magazine which Kalmbach had just picked up for publication and, to be honest, there was an article of interest in that issue that prompted me to come home and look into a subscription but it was beaucoup bucks and I decided to hold off until a later-date. I found the scale intriguing; I guess I found that that 27 1/4% smaller size against N-Scale had a certain appeal. Anyway, were I 30 years younger--and had it reached the same stage of development as had N-Scale in the early '80s--I suppose I could give it serious consideration as a modeling scale. As it is I have to pass; my aging hands are having a hard enough time with N-Scale and I am having to give consideration to going back to Horribly Oversized-Scale.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
Catt Todd,I would suggest that if your going to get into Z that you start out with a 2' X4' handy panel.the trains may be small but they still look better on fairly wide curves.
I was on my 3rd N-Scale layout circa 1984 when I go tired of looking down at my trains from the top of Mr Everest and I raised my (minimum) track heighth up to 54 inches where it has remained ever since; the transformation was stupendous and extraordinary. I would suggest that anyone contemplating going into Z-Scale incorporate a track heighth of approximately 80% of their heighth. Trains viewed from the side look considerable less toy-like than trains viewed from altitude.
As far as coverage of Z scale, HOe, Humonguscale indoor live steam... in Model Railroader, it has been mentioned before and bears repeating:
Model Railroader publishes what freelance authors and photographers submit. No submission, no publication! it's that simple.
If you want MR to publish your favorite (fillintheblank,) find (or - gasp - build) a supurb example thereof, take a bunch of high-quality photos, man the word processor long enough to produce a coherent, detailed description, insert the package into a clasp envelope and send it to the Editor. You might be rebuffed with a rejection slip (I have a nice collection, from a variety of sources.) You might be pleasantly surprised with a check!
If anyone is really interested in taking up the challenge, MR's writers' guidelines are easy to find. Just click through the headings at the top of the page. (I actually saw them published in Writers' Guide about 25 years ago.)
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
BRAKIE N Scale started the same way and struggled along in its early years until MR decided to endorse N Scale beyond the occasional article...IMHO this endorsement came in 1979 with the Clinchfield layout series and the following displays at the bigger train shows and of course the national train show.
N Scale started the same way and struggled along in its early years until MR decided to endorse N Scale beyond the occasional article...IMHO this endorsement came in 1979 with the Clinchfield layout series and the following displays at the bigger train shows and of course the national train show.
MR tried to do somewhat the same thing for Z scale with Bruce Goehmann's Western Pacific sectional project layout, February through May, 1986. Perhaps it was a bit too early for the scale. Some folks associated with the Western Pacific Railroad Museum are restoring that layout and it was on display at the Anaheim NMRA Convention this last summer. Pretty neat.
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
My thoughts on layout height,get yourself a wheelchair,set in it then have some one raise the layout or at least a module to a comfortable viewing height.Then build the layout THAT tall.
1) Ztrak magazine goes back to 1988. There may not be enough Zscalers to support a 2nd publication.
2) Z used to be supported by Marklin. Now MicroTrains make some nice NA product. AZL ia another fine manufacturer. MicroTrack is a very good track product similar to Unitrak. At this point, there is a limited selection of tracks.
3) The MTL GP9 & GP35 are very good locos, comparable to Atlas/Kato Nscale. The GP9/35 suffers somewhat by a fat hood & truck mounted couplers similar to 1980's style Nscale locos. They can be made to look & run better.
4) The main appeal of Zscale may be with those living in apartments with a spare bedroom at best & no basement space to put a HO/N empire. These layouts may be too small to appeal to the MR crowd.
5) Check out MTL & other maker's laser cut wood building kits!
R. T. POTEETAs it is I have to pass; my aging hands are having a hard enough time with N-Scale and I am having to give consideration to going back to Horribly Oversized-Scale.
As it is I have to pass; my aging hands are having a hard enough time with N-Scale and I am having to give consideration to going back to Horribly Oversized-Scale.
R.T. Potent, may I remind you that "HO" stands for "Honorable Scale" and "N" is strictly "Nasty"
Lol............
Johnboy out.....................
from Saskatchewan, in the Great White North..
We have met the enemy, and he is us............ (Pogo)
As others have pointed out there is a Ztrak group and magazine. Also Yahoo has a 2000 member group online caled z_scale its a 1:220 Model train community forum. As others have said its a small group; mabye getting larger over the years with the advent of American "Micro Trains" z scale and American z scale line and marklin trains z.
George
~G4
19 Years old, modeling the Cowlitz, Chehalis, and Cascade Railroad of Western Washington in 1927 in 6X6 feet.
Blue FlamerThere was a great 6 page spread in the December 2007 issue of MRR titled "Conquering the Alps in Z Scale." It documents the SSB Gotthard Line in Switzerland in the contemporary era. . It is done in the "Island Style" and measures a whopping, (for Z Scale) 30 feet X 50 feet and the mainline run is 310 feet long and the scenery is complete from what I can see. The owner/builder is Rob Fullerton. You can probably order a copy by going to the "OUR STORE" link near the top of the log in page. If you are truly interested in Z Scale, you will be truly amazed at this layout. I give it Blue Flamer.
MR, is NOT a true Multi-Scale publication, and would be more appropriately named "HO & N Monthly".
May your flanges always stay BETWEEN the rails
cuyama BRAKIE N Scale started the same way and struggled along in its early years until MR decided to endorse N Scale beyond the occasional article...IMHO this endorsement came in 1979 with the Clinchfield layout series and the following displays at the bigger train shows and of course the national train show. MR tried to do somewhat the same thing for Z scale with Bruce Goehmann's Western Pacific sectional project layout, February through May, 1986. Perhaps it was a bit too early for the scale. Some folks associated with the Western Pacific Railroad Museum are restoring that layout and it was on display at the Anaheim NMRA Convention this last summer. Pretty neat.
I recall that article but,I also recalled some of the early N Scale layouts that was publish in MR which IMHO was at best a token effort at introducing N Scale.
I see a lot of potential in Z but,its worst enemy is the price..$195.95 for a locomotive is a shocker..
challenger3980 MR, is NOT a true Multi-Scale publication, and would be more appropriately named "HO & N Monthly".
Since MR is in the business of selling magazines and HO + N amounts to 90% of the market, it would be a very poor move to give more than occasional token page space to the remaining scales. It has been demonstrated a number of times over the years that if a publication strays from what the vast majority of the readership wants the magazine to address, subscriptions are lost. In the current state of a contracting hobby I think MR is doing an excellent job of balancing how often to cover the various minor scales.
CNJ831 challenger3980 MR, is NOT a true Multi-Scale publication, and would be more appropriately named "HO & N Monthly". Since MR is in the bussiness of selling magazines and HO + N amounts to 90% of the market, it would be a very poor move to give more than occasional token page space to the remaining scales. It has been demonstrated a number of times over the years that if a publication strays from what the vast majority of the readership wants the magazine to address, subscriptions are lost. In the current state of a contracting hobby I think MR is doing an excellent job of balancing how often to cover the various minor scales. CNJ831
Since MR is in the bussiness of selling magazines and HO + N amounts to 90% of the market, it would be a very poor move to give more than occasional token page space to the remaining scales. It has been demonstrated a number of times over the years that if a publication strays from what the vast majority of the readership wants the magazine to address, subscriptions are lost. In the current state of a contracting hobby I think MR is doing an excellent job of balancing how often to cover the various minor scales.
Well,we all know MR caters to HO always did and always will in the years to come.Seeing HO has the larger slice of the pie,it only makes good sense for them to cater to HO..
The other scales accounts for around 10% of the articles and N Scale is above the other so called "minority scales".
Of course N Scale has 2 magazines and some of the other scales has their mags as well.
I would not be surprise to see a magazine covering On30 in the years to come.
BRAKIE I recall that article but,I also recalled some of the early N Scale layouts that was publish in MR which IMHO was at best a token effort at introducing N Scale. I see a lot of potential in Z but,its worst enemy is the price..$195.95 for a locomotive is a shocker..
It's not that a loco costs 200 bucks, it's that for 200 dollars you get a basic DC only loco. I've seen HO scale locos with DCC and sound for less than that.
I think Z scale is the big killer. It is for me at least. Looking around one car can cost anywhere from $20 (no big deal there) to $30. Engines range from what I've seen $170-$200, and again DC only. And as for the serious layout, come on it's Z scale. A mid-sized dining table could be turned into a serious Z scale layout. I don't it's that MR is anti Z, I think it's just the fact that as said in one of the first posts, only 1-2% of hobbyists dable in Z scale, and as a latter post mentioned american stuff in Z hasn't been around that long. Looking through some of the train mags, MR, RR Model Craftsman, N scale, it seems that American train hobbyists really only model American style layouts. But then again Between last years MR issues and the ones this year so far it would seem European modelers like to model American style layouts only. I also believe that cost will hurt Z scale with this economy. It seems more and more people move to rental houses/apartments where less hobby space is available so I think HO and N will see a slight up kick in sales once people realize their own fear of spending money is what's helping the economy go down. Part of the reason I've agreed with my gf on finding a cheaper apartment is so I can spend more money on a layout. She doesn't know that though so sssssssssshhhhh. And don't tell her if we stay where we are now I plan on overtaking most of the spare room. Don't tell her that!!
MILW-RODR BRAKIE I recall that article but,I also recalled some of the early N Scale layouts that was publish in MR which IMHO was at best a token effort at introducing N Scale. I see a lot of potential in Z but,its worst enemy is the price..$195.95 for a locomotive is a shocker.. It's not that a loco costs 200 bucks, it's that for 200 dollars you get a basic DC only loco. I've seen HO scale locos with DCC and sound for less than that. I think Z scale is the big killer. It is for me at least. Looking around one car can cost anywhere from $20 (no big deal there) to $30. Engines range from what I've seen $170-$200, and again DC only. And as for the serious layout, come on it's Z scale. A mid-sized dining table could be turned into a serious Z scale layout. I don't it's that MR is anti Z, I think it's just the fact that as said in one of the first posts, only 1-2% of hobbyists dable in Z scale, and as a latter post mentioned american stuff in Z hasn't been around that long. Looking through some of the train mags, MR, RR Model Craftsman, N scale, it seems that American train hobbyists really only model American style layouts. But then again Between last years MR issues and the ones this year so far it would seem European modelers like to model American style layouts only. I also believe that cost will hurt Z scale with this economy. It seems more and more people move to rental houses/apartments where less hobby space is available so I think HO and N will see a slight up kick in sales once people realize their own fear of spending money is what's helping the economy go down. Part of the reason I've agreed with my gf on finding a cheaper apartment is so I can spend more money on a layout. She doesn't know that though so sssssssssshhhhh. And don't tell her if we stay where we are now I plan on overtaking most of the spare room. Don't tell her that!!
Well,I know some N Scalers use Z Scale decoders in their switch engines and Digitraxs DZ123M0 decoder fits Z.
See:
DZ123M0Plug N Play Decoder forMicro Trains Z Scale GP35 & GP91.0Amp/1.5 Amp with 6 FX3 Functions rated at 1/2 Amp
Ref:
http://www.tonystrains.com/tonystips/2006/101206.htm
BRAKIE I would not be surprise to see a magazine covering On30 in the years to come.
Actually, Light Iron Digest comes pretty close to On30 only. Once in a while, an HOn3 tidbit finds its way into the magazine, but everything else is On30. And Carstens has been publishing the On30 Annual for several years now.
Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette does a pretty decent job of covering narrow gauge (and occasional standard gauge short lines) across the range of scales/gauges, including On30.
Fred W