Rural scenes for Z gauge are just one category of MBZ offerings. Another is railway buildings. For this post I am including examples of both. Plus the Marklin tank locomotive and beer car from starter set 81567 (2003- 2008).

Dealer inventories of MBZ Z scale kits are sporadic, Reynauld’s of Illinois seem to be MBZ’s exclusive dealer in the United States, but their inventories of the kits always run few in number even before the pandemic affected shipping from Europe. I have never had a problem ordering an MBZ item, they each have arrived eventually even the back-ordered ones. And patience pays off as nothing compares to MBZ.

The pros and cons of MBZ kits has been covered here before, and I would be remiss to recommend them again without those comments in case someone new has come across this post. Cons: MBZ kits are a bit primitive, cardboard warps easily, kits can smell burnt when they are removed from packaging, parts sometimes need extra cutting to remove from sheet, and sometimes parts are missing. Note: kits can be a struggle to assemble, and they require problem solving along the way. And some parts easily deform. Pros: after the kits are put together and painted they look great: “from another time”. And that is to say the buildings look authentically old.

A few general instructions: always prime every part before assembly with MBZ’s primer, this step will control the later saturation of paints plus strengthens the cardboard material. MBZ pigment paints soak into the cardboard, but the color can be built up with additional layers. Note: highly recommended to follow MBZ’s painting instructions. Don’t expect precision, it is best to give yourself over to messy and inconsistent paint application. Detail work can be done as the last step with traditional acrylic model paint for moldings and architectural details.

Here are the buildings I picked-up from a recent trip to Reynauld’s, barring duplicates this is all they had to offer me on this trip.

Train Attendant’s Hut (MBZ #16 016): 3/4 inch (height) x 9 1/16 inches x 3/4 inches. Paint: MBZ pigment paint 46 200 with charcoal dust: dry and wet application.

Machinery Shed (MBZ #16 063): 3/4 inch (overall height) x 1/2 inch x 3/4 inches. Paint: MBZ pigment paints 48 600 and 40 723

Framework Barn (MBZ #16 165): 1 5/8 inches (height) x 1 1/2 inches x 1 3/4 inches. Paint: MBZ pigment paints 46 280, 40 723, 40 612, 48 600, and 40 020

Barn (MBZ #16 087): 1 9/16 inches (overall height) x 1 3/8 inches x 2 3/4 inches. Paint: MBZ pigment paints 46 280, 48 600, 40 723, and 48 060

Massbach Train Station (MBZ #16 140): 1 1/2 inches (height excluding chimney) x 2 inches x 3 9/16 inches. Paints: MBZ pigment paints 47 150, 48 600, 40 612, 48 060, 40 723, 40 020, and green acrylic modelers’ paint (Testors)

Putting the buildings together with Marklin starter set 81567 (2003 – 2008) are its locomotive and beer car. Originally this set was sold with an oval of track (1 X 8590, 1 X 8500, 4 X 8520, 6 X 8521), mini-club white transformer, red plastic re-railer, class 74 tank loco, refrigerator car painted and lettered for GANTER Bier (1865 – present), and gondola with present load.

Few Notes on Construction: -Massbach Station (16 140) was missing parts to complete foundation on freight depot, but easy to come up with a solution: left over parts in the kit painted to look like stucco masonry

-barns feature beautiful interior details that are best finished before kit is built

-instructions sheet shows opposing wall part flipped, this will make sense when you look at the instructions for the first time: a bit misleading! CAREFUL!