Category Archives: Siding

Marklin Insider Car 2019: 80329

Marklin 8800_Goldene locomotive and Insider car 80329 “Miele” (2019)

Two bits of history hitched together: 47 years apart. This year’s (2019) Insider car for Z (released 2020) is painted and lettered for the German firm Miele pictured here with Marklin’s “Goldene” locomotive from 1972.

Recently released 80329 is the 26th freight car given to Insider Members as part of membership in the club which also includes other perks including subscription to Marklin Magazin, Marklin Insider magazine, yearly catalog, invitation to purchase Insider locos and last but not least the bi-annual DVD showcasing news from Marklin as well as railroading highlights from around the world.

German firms chosen for the Insider Club release cars are sometimes known to collectors in the United States and sometimes not, Miele may fall within the latter partly due to little advertising in the United States and small dealer network for their products, but this appliance manufacturer who opened their doors in 1899 has revolutionized household appliances including inventing the vacuum cleaner, electric dishwasher and household laundry machine.

The type GI 11 high capacity box car forms the basis for this release and used on the German Federal Railroad (DB) during Era IV.

Forty seven years is a long time since the release of the 8800 “Goldene” locomotive, but we are fast approaching the 50 year anniversary of Marklin mini-club thus the little loco type 8800 with version 1 tooling is appropriately finished in gold to celebrate this upcoming milestone.

Siding: Insider Members belonging to the club for 5 consecutive years receive the special imprint car “marklin INSIDER – 5 Jahre”.

Marklin Side Dump Car Set for RTS: 82435

First the freight car set and then sometime in the future the designated locomotive such is the case with set 82435 who’s locomotive (88204) has yet to be released, thus if you plan to run that locomotive you might consider buying this set before it sells out.

The bright and lively paint scheme of this car set comprises three type Eamos side dump cars painted and lettered for the firm RTS Rail Transport Service GmbH, Fischamend, Austria.

This is not the first release of this car type which is popularly used by several rail services, it features hydraulics to lift and dump loads.

Siding: Marklin RTS diesel locomotive class 221 (former V200) is the appropriate locomotive to complete this Austrian set.

Marklin 88204 class 221 diesel locomotive

DB Tank Locomotive: Marklin 88955

Marklin 88955 class 74 Era III tank locomotive for German Federal Railroad (DB)

The class 74 tank locomotive painted and lettered for the German Federal Railroad is a recent release sort of (2017-2018), I got mine recently but it proved to be a rather difficult loco to get a hold of: I should have pre-ordered it! Other locos in this series with improved running gear based on the first generation 8895 (2000-2006) were much easier to find than this one. Perhaps some dealers have these in inventory, it is or should be a fairly popular loco lettered for the DB and based on Era III: a perfect loco for small railroads and regional passenger traffic.

Several subtle modifications exist within the evolution of this tank locomotive for Z including brass bell prominently installed behind stack on the 88955. Identifying tank locomotives is easy, it is hard to miss the water tanks installed on the sides of the locomotive and coal hopper behind cab. Plus “tender-less” operation. Motor in the model is mounted vertically with worm-gear facing down, motor is 5 pole type with long brushes (part #89871) extending from the armature alongside the chassis providing current to the circuit board and LED lights. LED lights in this locomotive are bright and trailing lights continue to be rendered with paint versus working. Also features plastic couplers at both ends for push/pull operation.

Marklin 88955 + Marklin Special Imprint 98085: “Graffitiwagen-Knuffingen”

Marklin 88955 + Marklin Special Imprint 98085: “Graffitiwagen-Knuffingen” . Plus Faller 282704- Bahnhof Huinghausen.

The curious coach seen here with 88955 is the graffiti car issued by Miniatur Wunderland (Hamburg) as one time release in 2008 (600 total): Marklin 98085 “Graffitiwagen-Knuffingen” and Miniatur Wunderland’s Car #10.

Faller’s continuing series of laser-cut building kits included this nice train station from a few years ago: 282704- Bahnhof Huinghausen (based on 1915 prototype).

Siding: here is a link to Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg: https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/

Holiday Releases Week: Halloween Cars in Z – Marklin

Marklin came up with the idea to release Halloween themed cars as part of two starter sets beginning in 2003; they included track, loco and set 00832 included a couple of ceramic jack-o-lanterns.

Unfortunately the starter sets included the standard class 89 steam locomotive that usually goes in starter sets, but the locos came in black; they would have been better if painted with Halloween theme?

The four cars total for Halloween included 2 per set released 2003 + 2004 respectively. Set 00815 included two cars (type 8600 and 8615) painted with glow-in-the-dark pigment.

“Ghouls” – Type 8600 refrigerator car from starter set 00815 (2003) Note: features glow in the dark paint

“Pumpkins and Ghouls” – Type 8615 car from starter set 00815 (2003) Note: features glow in the dark paint

And set 00832 also included car types 8600 and 8615 (2 cars total in set) with bright orange and black paint scheme.

“Scary Face” – type 8600 refrigerator car from starter set 00832

“Jack-O-Lantern” – type 8615 car from starter set 00832

After writing this post I realized there are any number of interesting Halloween themed trains including haunted houses, dead trees, candy corn loads for custom painted in orange gondola and on and on. A fun project to break up the long term goals of more serious layouts: we all need more projects?

Siding: collectors tend to sell these cars in pairs so keep an eye out, value for Halloween cars range from $25-$50 a piece; they are the most valuable part of the starter sets and the locos are not special so I recommend going for the cars only and saving some dough.

Holiday Releases Week: Christmas Cars in Z – Marklin

Another tradition at the holidays is Marklin Christmas releases in Z. Going on 22 years the Christmas releases comprise many more cars than other categories of holiday special imprints. And the designs are mostly secular with a couple of religious themed cars.

Due to their limited release status Christmas cars tend to sell out fast with a few tending toward rarer status which I will point out in captions. Great series that I have grown to appreciate more and more with time; each car is delivered in a small gift box with clear acrylic themed Christmas ornament. In addition to the ornament releases for Christmas are American and European prototype starter sets not included in this post.

In order to tackle 22 years of Christmas releases I will simply caption each photo with catalog number, year, and note if car is particularly rare, but first a rather unusual car given to Marklin employees: 8661-000? year?

“Weihnachtszeit ist Marklinzeit” (Christmas Time is Marklin TIme)

Marklin 80623 (2013) RARE Note: car features a ‘black’ Santa, it is a particularly difficult car to locate

Marklin 80625 (2015) Note: small decorated Christmas tree is included with car

Marklin 80625 (2015) “FROHE WEIHNACHTEN” (Merry Christmas) imprinted on roof

Marklin 80626 (2016) note: newly tooled type Eaos hopper

Marklin 80627 (2017) note: “XMAS” is laser cut from cardstock

Siding: one Christmas release not reported here is 80609 featuring type O 10 freight car for K.W.St.E with brakeman’s cab and load of paper wrapped chocolate. Also included with the release was a small decorated Christmas tree. Released 1999.

Marklin Cast Metal Truck Set: 89023

Marklin new release diecast truck set features 4 trucks and a forklift: two trucks are factory weathered.

Several Era’s are represented in the set including Era 2-6 with interesting and advertising for a brewery truck and Marklin factory truck. Features of the set include custom weathering for two trucks but also fine graphic printing and painted details including grill and lamps on Marklin truck.

Attractive paint schemes for trucks found in several earlier releases including the factory, museum sets and insider models.

Forklift included with the set in bright safety yellow paint scheme, it features remarkably good casting and details.

Siding: set appears to be cast and painted in Germany

Archistories American Prototype: 101181 “Goldtree Station”

If it is possible to visit a late 19th century western United States town built by gold perhaps this station in its small dimensions satisfies that goal. Measuring 5 inches in length x 2 1/2 inches in overall width x 2 inches in height the “Goldtree Station” by Archistories is the fictional hub and gatekeeper for the outside world, it greeted new comers with grand dreams of making it rich and goods to keep a decidedly inhospitable landscape habitable.

This year marks the important anniversary of the Transcontinental Railroad: 150 years East and West coasts joined by rails at Promontory Point, Utah. And a good time to consider modeling a western gold rush community in Z starting with this nice building exclusively sold by ZScaleHobo.com. And Marklin’s “Bumble Bee” locomotive and its passenger set from a few years back are a good train set for this station.

A fairly simple to build kit featuring partition walls which aid in realistic lighting effects, filigree parts which add realism to platform supports, and a mix of building materials including terracotta roof tiles and wood construction.

Goldtree station signage is laser cut with an appropriate American style font of the 19th century.

Railroads grew quickly after completion of the Transcontinental Railroad as did towns throughout the United States. Station and depot types changed too thus small stations with attached freight depots largely disappeared in the teens and 20’s, they were replaced by masonry structures supporting a network of hubs as people and goods were transported all over the United States. Towns who’s singular purpose supported the gold rush either grew independent of it or largely ceased to exist.

Note: exclusive worldwide dealer for this item is Zscalehobo.com

Construction notes: the ingenious feature of this Archistories kit are snap-in window frames and glazing, pre-cut glazing snap into place with gentle pressure followed by window frames, filigree timber sections are finally glued in place and permanently seal windows. Open freight doors are possible but interior detailing will need to be designed by the builder. *use glue sparingly and use great patience with light paper parts which cannot be realigned after gluing, plus snap-in window frames are prone to easy breakage, fraying and distortion.

Another important construction note: Part F10 is a delicate filigree part comprising the main entrance framework, after removing this part from the part sheet two more tabs need to be removed from either side of door frame: brackets should be flush to the structure. In my interpretation of this building it was missed thus reflected in the photos. A second important point is to install the 4 brackets (Part H4) for freight room before attaching roof.

Marklin 88035- Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad 2-6-0 “Mogul” locomotive featuring brass construction (2004-2006)

MBZ Laser-cut Kits: Practical Notes

Two buildings from MBZ’s large farmstead kit 16071 comprising farmhouse and 3 barns including one with an apiary.

MBZ building kits are German inspired architectural forms available in multi-scale kits including an extensive line-up in Z. Building and finishing a kit has unique challenges that are quickly overcome after constructing a kit or two. Included in this post are a few notes I hope are helpful for successful building.

MBZ kits are automatically age old buildings with history time-stamped into their design and fabrication. Giving a model building history through weathering and aging is easy with MBZ, each kit starts out with a baseline moment in time at least 50 years ago. Adding more use and age to the look of a building is up to the modeler: perfect kit buildings for Era I, II, and III.

Cardboard used in MBZ kits vary from other manufacturers, its natural color is gray/brown thus painting is required after the application of a solvent based primer.

Prepping the cardboard requires priming with MBZ Primer R72214 (pre-mixed) or R72211 (unmixed), I recommend the pre-mixed version. Priming is required due to future mold issues as suggested by manufacturer. Flattening parts after priming and before gluing is required: large parts including roof and sides warp heavily after priming, but rolling parts against the warp flattens them easily. Manufacturer suggests painting with pigments applied with sponge. MBZ pigments are water soluble, and they can be mixed together for custom colors. Consistency of paint should not be too wet or dry, it is applied with a wet sponge but avoid caking pigment. Air-brush masking tape should be used to isolate sections to be painted with sponge application. Dry-brush, air-brush and fine brushwork can be followed up later in construction for fine tuning. Pigment paints dry matte, and I recommend a light air-brushing of matte water based lacquer as a final protective coat.

The manufacturer suggests UHU ‘Hart’ glue which is fast setting but I find it messy to work with, I recommend Noch ‘Laser-cut’ glue which is fast setting and quick drying. Note: other fast setting white glues or wood glues should work well, but a fine applicator bottle available at craft stores should be considered. The few parts that are not always included in MBZ kits are ramps and steps which must be built by the modeler. No partition walls are designed in many of these kits thus requiring custom masking for interior lighting. I nice feature of these kits are stone-laid interior floors which can be exposed in a diorama through open doors with perhaps a wagon parked within the barn.

Note: barn buildings illustrated in this post used dry brush technique to highlight and paint stone foundations whereas sponge application of paint was used for uneven authentic weathering of paint. For glazed terracotta tile roofs I apply a light application of Renaissance Wax (micro crystalline acid free wax) which gives a gloss surface without being too glossy or too thick looking plus it is a non-yellowing museum quality wax available at library supply houses and fine art supply shops.

Three painting kits offered by MBZ will get you started, I recommend ‘Pigment Starter Set’ (R72217), it includes numerous pigments, primer (unmixed), and sponge for $55.49, it was more than enough for painting 13 kits. The kit includes a very high quality sponge, but other sponge shapes and sizes are available at art supply shops, they fall within the category of pastel sponges which are tight cellulose sponges which can be used wet or dry, pastel artists use this type of sponge dry only which readily allows mixing of charcoals and pastels.

Note: MBZ kit builds are best treated with a loose approach without worry of precise paint application: using a dirty sponge gives much more depth of color than a clean one between coats of paint.

Siding: Reynauld’s in Illinois is the exclusive USA dealer of MBZ, they have in store examples of finished kits as well as paint and accessories.

Wichita Falls, TX and a trip to AJCKids.com

Producing stories for magazines throughout the United States, my Wife Anne and I along with our two corgis (Le-le and Rookie) spend much of the time on the road. As luck would have it we found ourselves 2 hours due east of Wichita Falls in the city of Sherman, TX. And a weather delay freed us up for a day trip to visit our friends at AJCKids.

Route 82 connects Sherman, TX and Wichita Falls with a couple of interesting towns along the way including Muenster, Saint Jo and Nocona.

Muenster settled by German Catholics in 1889 was so called after the capital of Westphalia, but the town is not considered a sister city and few speak German according to its wikipedia page. The local grocery store features smoked meats and cheeses from their farms, Fishers Thriftway is a fun stop which includes all the staples and prepared relishes, salsas and pickles. Several antique shops with interesting age old offerings along North Main Street also include the cleverly painted mural on the local mill.

Saint Jo further along the journey is an attractive small town with center square featuring mostly original 19th century architecture of wood and stone. Everything Texas can be found here, but “what is Texas?”, the answer isn’t easy but through sentiments and feelings: specific and unspecific as concerns the mystery of a place.

Last stop before hitting Wichita Falls is Nocona, or I should say famous Nocona. Famous for the last American made baseball glove manufacturer: Nocona Baseball Glove Factory. A large art deco manufacturing building along Route 82 is home to Nocona Baseball Glove Factory as well as Nocona Boots and micro-brewer Nocona Beer who’s “Cut & Bale” blonde is considered very very good by this railroader.

Roads out here head straight for the horizon intersecting lush landscapes of prairie grass, wild flowers, and sweeping oaks. Lush grazing land perhaps the finest in these parts support Texas cattle country, here there are more pick-ups than cars and more western hats than caps. And more cattle than people! No bull!

As we approached Wichita Falls we drove parallel to a waiting eastbound BNSF unit train with a couple hundred loaded coal hoppers. The BNSF Depot in downtown Wichita Falls is a busy hub on the BNSF mainline with long unit trains of petroleum and coal. A few blocks from the Wichita Depot is the Wichita Falls Railroad Museum which can be visited on Saturdays.

Mid-point through a day of adventure includes lunch: let’s hope so! Wichita Falls is home to one of the finest barbecue joints this aficionado has experienced many years in the smoke. And throughout the country to cowboy boot! A must stop in Wichita Falls is Prine’s Barbecue 1209 13th Street in Wichita Falls. Brisket is it! Here it’s served with a peppery slightly vinegar based sauce, famous mustard based potato salad with the consistency of mashed and bright crunchy cole slaw.

Many of my friends in model railroading are already familiar with AJCKids.com, but few may have made the trip to the store. AJCKids is a specialized train store which shares space with the high quality clothing store Annie Jewel & Charlie’s: family owned. The train store has a strong online presence as well as brick and mortar. The train store and its shipping department is located in the back of the building accessed through the larger presence of the clothing store. A large space with a very very large inventory of Marklin and other European model train manufacturers, AJCKids inventory encompasses all gauges currently offered by Marklin which is unusual for a dealer including large Gauge 1 trains and accessories. All inventory is new condition with many items further wrapped in plastic. Shelves are organized according to gauge and accessories displayed on racks. And all related scenery items include trees, ground-cover, building kits and Preiser figures; they have lots and lots of stuff, every model railroader will be happy! The very large selection of in stock Marklin H0 includes accessories too including all the catenary poles and related items.

AJCKids
3401 Kemp Avenue, ste B
Square Shopping Center
Wichita Falls, TX 76308

Worth a trip to the store: Z scale collectors will find numerous in-stock locos, rolling stock, and accessories including “sold out at factory” items; I found the very limited and rare Austrian Export Model from 2004: 88082. Fifteen years after its one time release and limitation as Export Model, 88082 was a very rare and unexpected find. Also in the red case housing some of the Z items in the store includes the out of production Eurofima Set: 87409 and 20 car funnel-flow set: 82530.

selection of Marklin Z at AJCKids: further Z scale items can be found within the store including other locos and accessories

Marklin 88082 (Export Model for Austria 2004): class 1018 painted and lettered for Austrian Federal Railways (OBB)

Siding: inventory at AJCKids also include collectible cars of various yearly releases including Museum cars, Easter and Christmas releases

Marklin 88040 + 88041: class 42.09 Franco Crosti locomotives

The German class 42.09 steam locomotive from era III was realized in 2005 as another interesting Marklin Z featuring the Franco-Crosti modification of a class 52 locomotive, a collaboration between two Italians included a system modification which made use of exhaust steam as well as exhaust gases incorporating a main boiler and secondary boiler to effectively utilize more of the energy produced by the BR 52. A second boiler/smoke gas pre-heater below the firebox was thus coupled with a chimneys attached to each side of the boiler, this system modification would be identified as Franco-Crosti boiler.

Attilio Franco and Dr. Piero Crosti designed the first such boiler nearly 20 years before class 42.09 was built . Modification to the wartime class 52 locomotive by Henschel in 1952 resulted in reclassification due to increased axle-weight resulting from the added 2 ton weight of modification.

Referred to as economisers (Abgasvorwarmer) the Franco-Crosti modification of 2 class 52 locos had a relatively brief service life of less than 10 years, but another 31 class 50’s were rebuilt by Henschel with Franco-Crosti boilers by the end of the 50’s.

Marklin’s release in 2005 of the 88041 was preceded by another Franco-Crosti locomotive (88040) for Insider Members in 2003. Painted in photo-grey for Henschel’s builder photographs 88040 with operating number 42 9000 is based on prototype retired in 1959 (Bingerbruck, Germany).

Painted and lettered for German Federal Railroad (DB) Marklin’s 88041 includes Wagner smoke deflectors and tub-style tender with operating number 42 9001 thus based on prototype built in 1952 and retired in 1960 (Oberlahnstein).