The New Catalogs Are In!

One of the most exciting things about following European manufacturers is that they still produce a catalog that features new products to be released in the future (sadly, while the catalog may be for "2015", the actual item may not hit the shelves for several years!).  With that said, I thought I would share some of the new items from some of my favorite manufacturers (Images courtesy of EuroRailHobbies.com, where you an also pre-order! :-)) which I think are cool!

Minitrix:

The diesel locomotives (referred to as 'diving goggles'!) have such a unique design that I absolutely must have at least one of these models!  While there are several new liveries, this Czech created prototype (Series 752 is what I think they were called, but I'm probably way off) seems to be a brand new locomotive casting!  There are a lot more liveries of this model being released by Trix, so check them out if you like the bizarre!  I thought that this was one of the models that was done back in the old Cold War days by the East German firm of Piko, but a Google search seems to indicate that this is the fist time this model has EVER been done in N scale!).

Trix starting adding some buildings in a Hamburg series a couple of years back, and is continuing to add more to their card-based building kits line.  I am getting excited about these and need to start thinking about adding them to the new layout.  I'm glad I am working on a new layout, otherwise where will I find room for this:

Absolutely massive!  I was already considering adding the model of the Hamburg station from Trix (something I don't own yet), but now this amazong industrial complex creates even more interesting ideas for the new layout!

Fleischmann

Fleischmann always has a very large catalog of rolling stock, steam locomotives and diesels/electrics in multiple liveries (they seem to be focusing on Swiss and German models).   I did not see too many new items in N from Fleischmann that caught my eye, but as readers of this blog know, I'm a big fan of SNCF.  So to see this BB 20011 in this rare livery is pretty cool!

The above is a BR E69, which is cool looking (I'm a fan of center-cab electrics!) and apparantly was a DB locomotive.

Piko

This appears to be another brand new model in N Scale, an NS class 2200 locomotive!

Speaking of the NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen! Not the Norfolk Southern! Geez! Get out once in awhile! :-) ), there appears to be a new model of the Hondekop with the "L headlight".  I have no idea what that means, but I still want one of these:

And what is this? It appears to be a controller that is also a holder for your iPhone (not sure, and not really finding any info on this yet), but its called the "Piko Controller".  I hope it allows you to use more than just the iPhone though.  Maybe its a proprietary screen? The good news is that it appears to address one of my big issues with using your phone as a controller (if you're like me, these touch interfaces just don't do it for running trains).  The big dial is cool!  (UPDATE! Pierre from LocGeek has a good overview of what this is from ESU - and its good! If you are looking for a controller that feels like a modern device [I'm looking at all my fellow Americans carrying around those awful looking Digitrax controllers! :-) then you may want to check it out!])

And some things I've missed in the past few months.... here's a nice model of the Berlin Wall for you from Faller!  I've always wanted to put up walls in Quinntopia, now I have an answer!

This is an older kit that Kibri is re-releasing.  It's a great example of mid-century modern railway archetecture.  Hmmm...can I fit another station on my layout?

And for you car enthusiasts...Busch is coming out with these really nice looking models of the 2CV! I hope they look this great when they are released!

Busch is also releasing a model that most of us should have on our layouts (although I doubt many kids will get what this is from!):

As I mentioned at the top, these are just a few of the new items proposed recently from many of the major European manufacturers.  I will look at updated this with news from some of the smaller firms (whatever happened to Mehano? Star Train, Arnold (Hornby), and Lilliput, among others, must have some new items of note that I have missed).

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Minitrix Koploper: Mystery Solved!

A mystery that has plagued me since my discovery that my Minitrix 12865 from the mid-1990's contains an NEM 651 socket has been solved!

As a reminder, the Minitrix KLM-liveried Koploper's were produced from 1994-1999, which was the very early days of DCC and as far as I know, a long time before any manufacturer had ever made plans for "DCC ready" trains (which is what the NEM 651 socket would allow)!

Some more explanation of the above terminology may be useful for some readers: "NEM" is an abbreviation for "Normen Europäischer Modellbahnen" or "European Standards for Model Railways" as we might say in English.  The NEM Standards are set by an organization called MOROP, which is sort of a European version of the NMRA (National Model Railroad Association).  When terms like "NEM 651" are used, we are referring to the standards set by the MOROP organization for a 6 pin 'plug and play' DCC decoder interface that was nearly universally used by all European N Scale manufacturers until recently (here is the PDF standard; in German of course!).

Yes, I said 'was' the universal standard...see this excellent overview of all the new 'standards' at Pierre's excellent Digital Train Blog for the current chaos in decoders!

Okay, back to the story.  A couple of weeks ago, Baz - a Singapore based reader of this blog - sent me an email asking questions about my Koploper's.  Baz wrote about his enthusiasm when he acquired a KLM Koploper, but was a little disappointed to discover that - unlike the version I had in my review -  his Koploper did not contain any NEM 651 decoder interface!

Here is where I have to give Baz a huge amount of credit for not only discovering why his Koploper was different than mine, but also figuring out how to make it that way!

https://www.maerklinshop.de/index.php?sid=66f2f323a6351a593a54e1c22cf66fff&cl=spareparts&searchparts=31282909

What Baz discovered, and shown in his photo below, is that his Minitrix 12865 is equipred just like they are shown in the original product manual and explosion documents (visible here).

Now, keep in mind the above photo of Baz's Koploper is of the same model (12865) as mine; compare with the below photo of my own Koploper and you will notice some thing right away:

Mine has a green circuit board which, as Baz discovered, is the reason why I was able to remove the shell and easily add an NEM 651 decoder!  The green circuit board is actually the new circuit board with the NEM 651 circuitry that Minitrix installed for its newer releases of this model (e.g. the Blue and Yellow 12749 from 2004 or the Olympic version from a couple of years ago).  Baz was able to find the circuit board part number (31282909) for the motorized coach, and was also able to order it directly from Märklin (try this link...unfortunately, I've not found that the Märklin or Trix 'stores' are set up for use by folks in the US, and rather we would need to go through a dealer or (yikes!) Walthers?)

And, just to prove that point, below is a photo from Baz of the 2004 catalog Koploper 12749...with the green circuit boards and decoder interfaces!

 And the interior / circuit board view of the two motorized coaches from the older and newer design:

So....there you have it!  I only hope that my wildly inaccurate review which incorrectly might have led future buyers to the conclusion that other KLM Koploper's have a DCC interface can, in some way, be corrected with this new update!  A huge thanks to Baz for sharing his information and photos on this locomotive!  Now its time for a Scoobey-Snack!

Minitrix 15401 Gas Wagon Set - weathering and stuff

I purchased a set of Minitrix's 15401 Gaskesselwagen-Set at Opherline when I was in Europe in February and received another set for my birthday from my wife as we decided to head north and do a little shopping at the EuroRail Hobbies shop!  So now I have a 10 wagon set of 'gas wagons'! Almost a real train!

These 5 car sets seem to be a good value; they are standard Minitrix quality (which is good) and retail for just over $100 USD, which turns out to be a bit more than $20 USD per car!  I think that's pretty good these days!  They also come nicely packaged in an attractive box and with individual cases for each car.

My only problem is that they are too pretty and need some dirt and rust! So off came the bogies, wheel sets removed, and away I went with a variety of washes, powders and some air-brushing to try and mimic some of the great weathering I've seen from others.

I'll skip sharing photos of 'how' I did it because I basically just used all sorts of techniques that you can find through any search of the web or YouTube.   Below are three of the wagons, the wagon in the foreground was untouched, while the two in background were given different types of weathering. I noticed in the various photos I looked at that sometimes the roofs would get really dark on some wagons, while others still stayed fairly white.

All wagons -except for brand new ones!-  show some rusting at the various rivet and joint areas.  I used a 'rust' wash from Vallejo for most of the rust streaks.  When I wanted a bit heavier rust pattern, I would mix in a bit of a rust weathering powder.

In general, I think they turned out really well and I like the look of this train a lot! I also weathered two VTG Gas wagons that I had purchased a few years ago and which I think will look fine as part of the train...for a total of 12 wagons!

But here's the problem....these wagons are heavy!  I first tried to pull them with a Kato Class 66...no luck!  My Arnold BB 25500 had no luck!  Wow! I only found one locomotive that could pull this train alone with any confidence that it could also make my 2% grades as well!  That locomotive was a Bachmann HHP-8 (what!? You say? Isn't that an American loco? Well, yes, sort of...but its cool and I have secret plans for it in the future...stay tuned for that!), anyway.....ultimately I'll have to figure out how to use my Roco Multimaus to program a multi-unit lashup to pull this train of 12 cars!

To paraphrase what others have said before, weathering is an act of faith.  Each time I weather a car, I am usually pleased with the results.  I think the most important part is having a good reference for what you want your results to look like (I had several photos from the web I printed out as reference), and some good materials to work with.  The various washes and powders that are increasingly available at hobby shops seem pretty fool proof if you apply the materials with care and aren't in a hurry!

Okay, that's it for now!  From a now dirty and rusty Quinntopia...Happy Modelling!

New Buildings from...Minitrix?

I got a surprise today...Minitrix is making buildings!  Apparently laser-cut structures (which implies card stock rather than plastic) focused on real prototypes in Hamburg Germany!

The main feature is this incredible looking Hamburg station - with that awesome canopy!

Update!  Start saving now as this building does not come cheap.... €329, or about $440 USD at today's exchange rate with the dollar! Yikes!  More info on the Trix site in German.  It is planned to be released in the fourth quarter...so a very expensive surprise from Santa perhaps?

And not to be over-looked are these 'viaduct sections' which seem like they could be incredibly versatile!

There are also several city apartment buildings.  I like the unusual shapes of some of these, although I have no idea where to use it!  I can imagine using many of these to kit-bash into either 'flat fronts' or maybe some taller structures!  Cool stuff!

 

It would have been nice to see a couple of more modern structures in this mix, but I sure do like having a few more choices as the current offerings in this realm have been around for a long time.  Good to see some fresh new faces!

What we don't know at this point is the price!  I'm hoping that there is some economy in the laser cut production process so that we're looking at $20 dollar structures rather than $40 (I sort of expect the large station to be above $100 due just to its apparent size), so not quite convinced yet on how many of these I can take.  Time will tell!

Update:  So the buildings are going to be pricey (sigh, should have known).    For example, the 
66145 "Bausatz Eckstadthaus aus der Gründerzeit" (second from bottom) will be €69.95 ($93 USD) to €59,95 for the more plain 66144 (second from top).  The buildings are planned to be released in the second quarter.

Locomotive Roster: Minitrix 12560; DB BR 701

Another review of a part of my fleet that has received scant attention.  This is a review of the Minitrix 12560 Duetsche Bundesbahn BR 701!

As form generally follows function for most of our train-related interests (regardless of country of origin) it seemed obvious that this little railcar was a cantenary maintenance vehicle, and that its similarity to the DB's VT 98 'rail bus' was not coincidental as it was based on that model. 

It is however one of those locomotives with a pantograph that you can run without wires overhead as it is powered by two diesel motors! So the Prototype Police can't get me on this one! 

I also discovered (thanks to Wikipedia) is that there appears to be a comfortable area for crews to relax and clean up inside the locomotive (which makes sense since there is clearly no need for passenger seating!).

The max speed of the prototype is 90 kmh, or about 55 mph.  So not a high speed train by any means, and the model also reflects this same desire at keeping its speed to a low limit.

The model itself is a limited addition that was produced by Minitrix as a limited edition in 2009 or 2010.  I've actually had it for a couple of years.  It runs well, looks good (except for the damage to the running boards on the top - painfully evident to me in every photo!) but I tend to prefer to run longer trains when I'm running stuff, so this little maintenance loco gets very little action (as well it should, since I have zero cantenary on Quinntopia --- just what exactly do these folks think is going on!).

I have to admit I do love the nice, wooden box it came in, but I also suspect that the rather tight packaging may have something to do with the damage to the running boards along the roof.  I take full responsibility that it was likely my own clumsiness that may have forced the loco in the wrong way at one point, creating the damage, as I'm certain I did not receive it this way.

In operation, it runs as you expect any locomotive with only two axles to receive track current;  which is to say, make sure your track is clean!  Its a nice smooth runner, but the lack of activity this locomotive gets did require me to do a bit of 'running in' to get it to operate smoothly again.  In general, typical smooth running Minitrix motors.   Details are quite nice.  I go into more detail in my video, but its really a great looking locomotive as I hope these photos illustrate.

A colorful and interesting looking addition to the fleet, but one which I clearly need to figure out a good plan to fix the running boards and take better care in packing away in the future!  Well, the one thing you can always be sure of here in Quinntopia is that we are quite transparent about our mistakes and failures! 

That's it for this one, more reviews on the way (I hope)!  As always, thanks for reading and for the amazing patience and tenacity of those brave enough to take on the 'capcha' challenge and write a comment!

2012 N Scale Preview

Now for something completely different! I'm not sure if this is a 2012 "preview" or a catalog "review" - sort of both (and you'll catch me confusing the two in this video!).   The basic idea behind this was to provide an overview of some of the most interesting new items announced for 2012 in the recent releases from the European manufacturers.  The bad part is that sorting through all the catalogs will no doubt miss some major news, and I expect I'll further display some of my ignorance of European railways as well!  The good news is that its not as long as some of my recent videos! :-)

I also realize that this video is probably about two months late given that many of these catalogs were released in February, but perhaps there is still some material that is new to some of you that is of value.

If you're wondering why I don't cover anything from Japan, the answer is simple...their new releases are not only much more frequently announced than the European manufacturers, but there is also excellent coverage on the JNSForum.

Similarly, the UK (which I have not really spent any time on in this blog or my video) has some excellent coverage on some of the UK forums such as the N Gauge Forum or New Railway Modellers.

As for North American, well, there appears to be plenty of information, and not really in the scope of this blog!

I would love to talk about N Guage from other countries...Touchrail in Taiwan is hard to get any information from, I have no idea of anything in South America or other parts of Asia.  

Locomotive Roster: NS Koploper; Minitrix 12749 and 12865

UPDATE: Please read this newer post which updates some of the info in this review!

Taking a small break from reviews of my French fleet of trains, we'll now turn our sites to the northeast of France to the Netherlands!  In particular, Minitrix's model of the Nederlandse Spoorswegen "Koploper" Electric Multiple Units!  Actually, I believe the official designation of these trains is ICM (for Intercity Materieel), but I think most people refer to them as "Koplopers".

If you've seen any of my videos or photos on this blog, then you will have seen these trains appear quite a few times.  I have two versions, the 12749 in the traditional blue and yellow of the NS from 2004:

I also have a slightly older model from somewhere between 1994 and 1999 in the light blue KLM advertising livery which is also packaged in the older Minitrix boxes before the Marklin acquisition:

Despite the fact that both models were produced between 5 and 10 years apart, they both appear to be identical except for their paint schemes and the packaging.

What surprised me was that the KLM model (when it was produced is not quite clear to me, but the packaging very clearly makes it certain that it was pre-Marklin acquisition in 1997) has an NEM 651 interface.  This seems amazing as we're talking about mid-1990's production with a plug and play socket for a decoder! If that's true, then this must have been one of the very first models to be so equipped!

I suspect, though can't confirm, that the recently released (and still available) version of this train in the Olympic livery (model 12184) is basically the same as well.

Despite being an older production model, in some ways it lives up to contemporary standards.  The details and printing are crisp and clean, the models feature white and red lights for both directions and, of course, the NEM 651 interface for easy (usually) conversion to DCC.

What's not so good is that these units appear to use an older type of can motor (although it does have a flywheel) that seems quite noisy compared to more modern production.  Additionally, only two axles are powered.  While these are provided as 3 car sets, you may not need too much traction or power, but I expect that on a significant grade, these might struggle a bit (I have 3% grades on my layout and have not noticed any problems yet).

 

 There is more detail and additional information on these two sets in the video above.  Thanks for reading!