Category Archives: New Releases

Marklin 81699 diesel train set with interesting load

Hardly enough sets seem to have made it to the United States, but for the lucky few the 81699 train set featuring a diesel locomotive and 2 freight cars with loads is another highly desirable version of the V100 locomotive.

Favored by its operators for good handling, visibility, and ease of maintenance, the V100’s side panels were completely removable allowing full access to the motor and components.

Marklin’s “Light Freight Train” 81699 Era III train set is packaged in a small carton with current graphics, it includes the locomotive with operating number V100 2112 and 2 type X 05 freight cars with Tempo Hanseat delivery truck loads. The vans feature metal construction and rubber tires that roll. Locomotive uses the traditional 5 pole motor with brushes, it features LED lighting that change over with direction of travel. Note: prototypical framework holds trucks in place.

A mighty fine design and production makes this and all the V100’s extremely good reliable runners with excellent pulling power. If you need to replace brushes the shell simply pulls off and snaps back in place.

Train can be seen traversing one of the 4 bridges at Hamburg’s Dammtor station released a few years ago as items numbers 89792 (station) + 89793 (arcades and bridges).

Siding: assembling Marklin’s Dammtor station 89792 is fun, it requires many hours to construct, but the completed project is a beautiful. Special note: Dammtor station kit has a 2 layer roof sheathing each piece is only glued to building edges one side at a time and allow to dry. Using glue between the sheets and above the trusses will lead to permanent rippling of the materials.

Marklin 2017 Toy Fair Loco: E 94 in BLACK: 88228!!!!

The 2017 Toy Fair Loco 88228 is painted and lettered in celebration of Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Marklin’s 200th birthday. The very attractive release of another E 94 this time with black paint scheme and red handrails based on a fictional prototype. I use the word “another” in jest, one never tires of this electric locomotive with articulated frame.

Presented in a wooden display case the locomotive is further packaged in a box printed with illustrations of Marklin’s historical articles preceding their specialty in manufacturing trains.

Features new generation of brushless motor and LED lighting.

 

FR continues to release new coaches in Z for SJ!

Two coach sets painted and lettered for SJ are now available from FR, and they include matching sets in the paint scheme for 1960’s thru 1990 thus the paint scheme is brown. FR’s modeling of these coaches includes interior detailing and trucks pre-drilled for accessory lighting.

46.220.02- 1960-talsvagn brun A+B two car set: 1- A2 5138, 1st class and 1- B5FRT 4945, 2nd class.

46.221.02- 1960-talsvagn brun B+B two car set: 1-Bo5 4752, 2nd class and 1- Bo5 4774, 2nd class.

Siding: 3 additional SJ coaches are available from FR painted and lettered for commuter traffic: 46.220.12 + 46.221.11.

FS Italia 2 car freight set by FR

The quick sell-out of a new release freight car set is due to the desirability of the extreme precision of its manufacturer FR plus limitation of 32 total worldwide.

Painted and lettered for FS-Italia (Ferrovie dello Stato) this two car set includes 1- Carro tipo Ghms peaked roof boxcar and 1- type E steel gondola.

Construction: injection molded plastic with metal chassis.

Item number 39.012.02

Note: FR Freudenreich items can be purchased directly from the manufacturer or quality-toys-trains on Ebay.

Marklin 89982: Turntable with accessories

A number of options exist for buying a Marklin Turntable beyond new and used with dealers offering new old dealer stock of the original turntable alongside the current offerings by Marklin. A release from 2014 included the turntable with accessories as item number 89982, this included 2- three stall loco sheds based on the “New Objectivity” architectural movement and a railway administration building.

Marklin has discontinued the 89982, they are now offering the turntable with controller and transformer only as item #89983, the loco shed building kit is also available as an accessory with item #89835. What is currently not available is the build kit for the railway administration building which is a wonderful example of the Bauhaus architectural style of the early 20th century and is fully complemented by the same era roundhouse. The railway administration building was reason enough for me to buy 89982 which is as beautiful in person as the Marklin promotional photos.

The Railway Administration Building features 2 partition walls, numerous windows and flat roof, its measurements: 7 1/2 inches (length) x 1 3/4 inches (depth) x 1 11/16 inches (height).

Building the kit is easy and straightforward with no issues.

Six stall roundhouse features steel framework and brick infill, it is a very attractive building with rather plain doors that do not swing open and closed with the precision of the Archistories Roundhouse ARC-112121 and accessory Stalls ARC-113121. Interior supports are a bit flimsy and easily bend out of shape, but overall a very good kit that I recommend.

The kit can be built as two separate buildings with 3 stalls each or as one 6 stall roundhouse in which case two exterior walls are omitted, I opted for two buildings.

Unlike the Archistories loco sheds which incorporate 2 part window and door framing with snap in place glazing this kit requires gluing glazing to the interior side of the door. To compensate for the plain doors I decided to age them. First I used a light wash of grimy black (water-based) paint on the interior side of the glazing followed by dry brushing grimy black to doors and brick work around doors, I further lightly aged the bricks along the ground level around the perimeter of the buildings. Light and heavier pressure was used to vary the amount of color to the doors and bricks using dry brush with very diluted paint. Doors readily absorb paint so test a small area first.

Siding: original 3 pole motor turntables can be upgraded to 5 pole with part number 211914.

Archistories: New Possibilities for the Marklin Transfer Table

Archistories has designed and engineered a new loco shed (ARC-104171) for the Marklin Transfer Table 89941 currently discontinued by Marklin. The new 5 stall shed is based on steel framework with brick infill. Other examples of German “New Objectivity” architecture can be found in Archistories offerings including the very excellent single loco shed: ARC-101101.

Marklin’s original two stall loco shed for the transfer table was a rather chunky plastic example that featured remote activated doors that “snapped” open. The just released shed by Archistories is a much finer example of prototypical architectural rendering with large windows and skylights.

The doors on this building are comprised of two parts with glazing that snaps into place versus glued on window glazing seen in other manufacturers’ models. Owing to greater build quality than can be found in other manufacturers card-stock buildings are doors that swing open and closed with great precision.

Overall the building goes together quite systematically with relative ease, the only difficult step is assembling the skylights, here there are delicate framework parts that have to be bent, but I have a solution. Using the blunt side of a pair of tweezers burnish the un-scored side of the card-stock framework,

the parts will slightly curl thereby allowing a much easier bending of these parts. Also when installing the window glazing use your finger nails or toothpick to gently push glazing in place versus a sharp object that could scratch or dimple the plastic.

Available in the United States at ZScaleHobo.com and AScaleMonster.com.

Good Luck and have fun railroading!

FR New Release: timber hauling in Sweden 46.820.01

Last Fall FR continued their program of timber cars for Scandinavian railways with the release of 46.820.01 thus the 2nd for SJ preceded by 46.817.01, but the third release for a Scandinavian timber car including the earlier release of NSB’s 47.805.01 which is still available!

Two stacked loads of rough cut timber make up the load for this car which is a modified flat car type Kbps-X and current prototypical timber car manufactured by TAGAB in Sweden.

Model features filigree frame and injection molded stakes with fine painted detail work. Currently not available due to quick sell out of the 1st release, a second release is scheduled for 2018 according to the FR website.

This car comes packaged in a clear plastic box with FR lettering and dense foam insert which is typical for all FR releases. This handsome packaging securely and safely allows for display and storage of these limited release Z items.

 

New SJ L5 steam locomotive build kit from FR: Part 2

Not long ago I posted about FR’s recent release of the class L5 steam loco for SJ, it is a build kit, and I just received mine today! The kit is a well designed precision kit, it provides a rarity for Z modeling.

The kit comes packaged in a plastic container with numerous parts enclosed along with visual instructions. It is a kit that requires a Marklin 8801, 88956 or 8803 for motive power along with modification of the side rods and painting the wheels black. The cylinders were placed within the locomotive chassis in the prototype thus the cylinders are removed for this model.

Note: Marklin tender is not required for this kit which provides the correct prototypical tender for the loco.

For those experienced with building rolling stock in Z or working with nickel silver this kit is self explanatory, but for the inexperienced modeler this kit should not be the first. Accumulating some experience with building etched metal buildings should probably come first for new modelers: gaining soldering experience with bigger parts first will be invaluable for assembling the small parts in this kit. I am in the process of learning to do these kits starting first with the excellent non powered Behnke kits offered by Scandinavian Galleries Quality Toys. Behnke kits do not provide instructions and careful interpretation is required to fully understand how they go together, but they are excellent kits that combine gluing, soldering and bending of small nickel silver parts; they provide a good place to start before tackling the very interesting L5 kit.

The packaging of the L5 kit separates parts according to their purpose instead of throwing everything together thus taking care of the guesswork. The beautifully cast metal boiler and cast plastic tender trucks are included with etched nickel and add-on parts such as the buffers which are brass. The tender also includes a tiny circuit board to allow it to pick-up power with its three axles.

Note: The age old technique of picking up additional power from the tender’s wheelsets is a very effective way to increase performance of small steam locos through turnouts and the like!

Some of the add-on parts are super tiny so I highly recommend a very fine tip soldering iron as well as 5 minute epoxy which work hand in hand on models. Until I build this kit I won’t exercise a preference for using glue over solder and vice versa for specific steps, suffice to say solder will be used more.

Paint finish will be applied with airbrush and water based paint followed by decals provided.  A finish coat of clear water based acrylic is always required otherwise the finish and decals would wear.

The kit is FR Item #46.140.91, it is currently available.

What you need to complete the locomotive: 1. Marklin 8801, 88956, or 8803 2. water based paint best suited for airbrushing 3. patience 4. time 5. soldering iron and/or 5 minute epoxy 6. tweezers 7. Xacto blade for cutting parts from sheet 8. time 9. patience 10. magnifying binoculars

Be the first kid on the block to own an L5 SJ steam locomotive in Z!

Stayed tuned for my future post on the completed L5 along with some tips on building the kit.

 

FR Week: Interregio coaches 46.220.42 + 46.221.42

Several firsts with the recent release of FR’s SJ coach sets, they are the first coaches designed and manufactured by FR, and they are the first SJ coaches modeled for Z gauge. Plus these sets include interior detailing first introduced by Z-Bahn a number of years ago, now it is a feature of new releases by Marklin and FR this being an example.

The two coaches set follow the attractive paint scheme blue with red stripe. Any paint scheme for the RC2 and 3 locos can prototypically pull these cars, it is up to preference. The coaches feature fine detailing and prototypically depicted metal window frames.

46.220.42 includes 1- each 1st class and 2nd class type 1960- talsvagn Interregio A+B

46.221.42 includes 1 2nd class and 1- 1st/2nd class type 1960- talsvagn Interregio A/B + B

Note: yellow stripe indicates 1st class and turquoise represents 2nd class.

The model has a unique solution for the car weights, it is seated on the undercarriage and features fine detailing in cast metal. Car sets are delivered without interior lighting, but lighting can be added and FR has provided pre-drilled holes in the trucks to allow for wiring.

Siding: several paint schemes have been proposed for later releases, they will represent various time-frames in SJ passenger travel.

New Release Build Kit: Marklin 89807 Freight Depot

Marklin new release of a freight depot in laser cut cardstock is the “Bee’s Knees”! This was a fun kit to put together and aside from taking extra time on window glazing went together surprisingly quick. Marklin labeled this kit as “Maintenance Facility Set-up Part 3”, it includes loco maintenance equipment as a bonus but the building can be used as a stand alone freight depot. Marklin 89805 with loco shed, coal loading crane and bins is considered the first in this series and 89806 is considered the second in the series which includes loco shed with two tracks, water tower, and cast metal power shovel.

Measuring in inches 4 1/2 (length) x 1 15/16 (width) x 1 9/16 (height) the new freight depot kit is loaded with detail with a very pleasing color scheme.

The 2 chimney building allows workers warmth at both ends with the expected heavy draft coming from the 6 large freight doors complemented by iron framework ornamentation. The framework construction typical in parts of Germany sits atop a cut stone foundation with windows around the perimeter.

A crane is permanently installed on the dock and when properly installed swivels. Heavy beams support the docks with sets of wooden steps allowing access from the ground. It is possible to light the building with pre-cut holes for installation and one partition wall to create lighting effects.

Construction tips: kit designed for the modeler with a little experience with laser cut cardstock buildings. This kit features all the challenges you may ever see in laser cut including filigree framework that installs over brick panels. The chimneys are always deserving of care, attention and time because they involve the inner forms for construction followed by 4 side panels that need correct alignment with a chimney cap installed on top. Results are always better with properly installed window glazing which is the first step in all laser building kits with windows. A time consuming exercise relying on cutting precise squares and rectangles out of the provided mylar sheet. Don’t proceed building this kit without the window glazing, they give depth to the building especially when lit from within or side lit. A characteristic of laser cut cardstock buildings are the sometimes flimsy papers used to complement 1:220 scale and intricate detailing, overly thick paper stocks would diminish the overall look of fine detailed z buildings. Gaining experience with these kits will surely reward the z modeler with correctly scaled and interesting architectural models. Weathering is certainly a consideration to add depth and character to a building of this type, the docks would receive heavy wear from dollies and hand trucks representing the dirty paths embedded in the dock’s planks, soot from the chimneys and age patina of steel sheathing on the roof. Air brush and dry brush techniques for both areas of the building.

Accessories in the kit: the building could have been enough for this very successful kit, but as an added bonus loco maintenance equipment was also included: rail bicycle, track scale with building, steam loco tools and stand, oil standpipe, and smokestack.

This kit is highly recommended.

Good luck and have fun!