Marklin’s New Release Station Kit: 89703

Marklin’s current program features several new laser-cut buildings including this one: Item 89703 – Bausatz Bahnhof Eckartshausen-Ilshofen (Sulzdorf).

Based on the 1867 Bavarian station today disused of its original purpose in Sulzdorf, Germany this kit is very good, it is a handsome medium size station featuring block construction and ample waiting platform.

The kit assembles rather quickly due to few embellishments, but it does not lack the color and character of the original structure.

Signage is offered with several variations printed on a small sheet but cutting them out is rather a difficult task. No partition walls as with Archistories so lighting the building will be unrealistic unless some modification is made. Overall a very good to scale station that is very easy to assemble.

Siding: weathering will add interest to the building including brown and/or black chalk in the tiny nooks and crannies dirt would naturally collect on a 100 year old train station. Light fixture is represented but non functioning, painting the bulb with gold paint will give the impression of light or further modify the building with a working bracket light available on Ebay.

Archistories: Church St. loannes Paulus II (404181)

The recent release by Archistories is a neo-Gothic church solidly built of stone, leaded and stain glass at least for the prototype, its interpretation into Z scale is rather remarkable with an overall height of 4 1/2 inches x overall length of 4 1/2 inches.

A lovely 19th century church dedicated by namesake with Pope John Paul II is every bit as charming as its real world counterpart existing in same form throughout Europe and America.

A large bronze bell can be peered through slats in the clock tower below the gilt weathervane.

Intricate window moldings are assembled without glue owing to the high degree of design and precision found in Archistories kits. Simply put: printed mylar suggesting lead glass or stain glass is popped into each window opening followed by likewise installing moldings lastly followed by tiny bit of glue on the exterior framing surrounding each window.

Light naturally falls in and around the building further highlighting the architectural details.


The smallest details are found with the separately applied strap hinges on the real wood doors.

Although small in size this kit will take the better part of a day to assemble as it combines layers and layers of detailing all but vacant in other manufacturers’ kits.

Key features of this kit are the very well produced and illustrated instructions which are meant to be followed in order. Please note: part ‘B’ which there are 4 total appears on two parts sheets and careful to glue on clock faces in correct orientation.




Marklin Z Classic: 8133 Bavarian S 3/6 Pacific

Marklin classic locomotives and rolling stock are worth another look even with today’s technological and aesthetic advancements with contemporary Z gauge.

Seen here with Faller’s laser-cut building “Town Corner House” (282782)

Here we have a classic locomotive from the 1990’s train set 8133: Rheingold. This class S 3/6 Pacific was first used in 1928, it pulled the first Rheingold train originating in Holland with final destination Basle, Switzerland thus began the story of the famous train with elegant appointments on May 15, 1928 thus Era II.

Long out of production the train set belonging to this locomotive disappeared from production in 1998 having an eight year history in the program. It never featured a 5 pole motor as standard equipment having fallen out of production in the year the 5 pole was introduced, but its original motor is/was a robust affair with very good running qualities. And motor upgrades are available today as part number 211909.

Just this week I purchased the train set as “Dealer Old Stock”, it was like receiving a shiny new car from 20 years ago that has not been driven. Of course it needed an old change and cleaning due to HOS (hardened oil syndrome), but 15 minutes in the garage the loco is as good as new.

Nothing compares these days to the classic steam locos, this one features shiny silver wheels, shiny black paint, and hand-painted boiler bands making it a new favorite of mine.

Dipping into buying mint/new old dealer stock is an untapped potential of modelers with train sets suffering HOS selling for $200 ‘as is’ which happened with this purchase. And the set included 5 highly detailed coaches along with the loco and tender. With a little experience HOS can be easily overcome, it usually amounts to one gear being stuck by hardened oil.

Special note: sometimes not always the original oil has attached itself to the plastic light rods used for headlamps thus they might pull-out as the shell is removed, be aware of other parts coming undone as the shell is removed, 5 minute epoxy will permanently anchor any static parts that loosen up.

Siding: brushes for the original 8133 locomotive with 3 pole motor is part number 8989.

Pairing 2 New Releases by Archistories and Marklin

The year is 1957 as the DB BR 01 crosses Altenbeken Viaduct pulling “Lorelei” train set.

Recent Releases: Marklin 88012 Insider Model 2018 and Altenbeken Viaduct by Archistories (item #128171). Trailing the BR 01 loco is the “Lorelei” train set by Marklin released in 2003 – 2006 as an MHI Exclusive release.

Coming soon: posts covering each including cross reference guide to Marklin’s passenger sets and individual coaches thereby facilitating easy determination of era’s and railways.

Plus next time the viaduct is seen it will be authentically weathered after filling gaps in the cardstock and retouching.

For now:



FR’s SJ L5 steam locomotive build kit: 46.140.91

Sweden’s early L5 steam locomotive featured a jack-shaft similarly found on other early locomotives including the Bavarian electric locomotive EP 3/6. Following up with a follow-up to another follow-up is the progress report on the FR build kit 46.140.91: SJ’s L5 locomotive.

Out of production again this build kit is very challenging, it took me two kits to get good results, but never having built an FR loco kit before I chalked up the first as a learning curve for this and other FR kits. Note: kit has not been available twice thus far, but it is still featured on FR’s website: if you are interested let Harald know, he maybe planning a third release.

The kit comes with everything except the chassis and motor assembly, that is found by buying a second hand Marklin version 8895 tank loco, I will be using the SNCB or SNCF version due to the black spoke wheels. Adapting the Marklin chassis to the finished shell will take some pre-planning, and I will be covering this topic in a future post. For now I will be giving details on the project from the standpoint of completing the shell and tender.

Photos include Marklin 88951 tank loco chassis (top) and shell (bottom) with assembled FR L5 shell in middle of picture.

The materials include laser cut nickel silver, stainless steel, cast plastic and cast pot metal for boiler.

The tender is designed with pick-ups to add 6 additional conductive wheels which are essential with short steam locomotive types. Metal sheet parts were soldered while handrails and buffers were epoxied in place. Plastic castings are epoxied on side of truck frame after customizing their shape to fit with top shell of tender, I found the Dremel tool handy for this task.

Note: wires sticking out of tender are attached to mini circuit board that connects to wheel pick-ups. These same wires will be soldered to pick-ups on motor during the final assembly stage.

The locomotive is made of up cast metal boiler, nickel silver parts and stainless steel. Cabin: roof is rounded around a very small wood dowel, soldered along with the other parts and ground to make a perfect round shape with Dremel tool. Small roof cap is added at the end of assembly. Stainless steel add-on parts are epoxied in place. Boiler: smooth out underside of casting as needed, pre-drill buffer holes and mounting screw (shell to chassis screw) as per included instructions and epoxy latter in place. Note: all parts attached to boiler should be epoxied, solder will melt the pot metal casting! Ladders and handrails are stainless steel and resist soldering thus epoxy these parts in place. Note: a variation of the 1st batch of boilers and this one includes new placement of the smoke deflector brackets which in this version is much better.

Finishing: best painting results are with airbrush (15-20psi) using water based paints starting with primer followed by two light coats of top coat followed by protective coat of water based primer. Headlamps are painted last with tiny drops of white paint applied with pin. Some touch-up with a fine brush maybe needed so add a brush to the tool kit for this project.

Putting the finished shell and tender with Marklin ready made chassis and motor will require some disassembly of the side rods and riveting a jack shaft in place as is found with the prototype, but knowing the most difficult task is yet to be I am finishing another project before tackling the final stage of constructing the L5.

Essential equipment: -Dremel tool with grinding and drill bits -fine paint brush -airbrush -soldering iron with fine point tip -5 minute epoxy -water based paints

Siding: old Kodak plastic 35mm film canisters work great for paint mixing and storage

 

Marklin Special Imprints: 8661 type box car

In the rare collectible category of Marklin Z special imprints is one for 8661 style box car. The early box car type with brakeman’s cab (8661) models an era I and II freight car, it has been released in Marklin’s regular program for many years primarily as a bier wagon but also as a general freight car with and without advertising. The prototype’s wooden construction is detailed in the model depicting vertical boards, corner iron mending plates, round buffers, and windows on all sides of brakeman’s cab. Using this style of freight car is another category of special imprints, other freight car types include modern examples. As few as 100 wagons were produced for any given design starting in 1991. Historically a special imprint was commissioned by a private individual/firm in collaboration with the design team at Marklin thus limited Marklin productions.

Note: outside firms through the years have purchased unpainted freight cars of various types from Marklin for private printing, these cars are referred to as “Industry Prints”. Industry Prints differ from Marklin special imprints with the omission of ‘m’ often but not always printed very small on two sides of freight cars. Further verification of a Marklin special imprints can be found using the Miba/Monk list, if it is on the list Gilles Monk has collected it and archived these treasures on his exclusive list; Mr. Monk only collects Marklin special imprints thus Industry Prints will not be included on his list or confused with the Marklin models.

As a collector of Marklin special imprints I can attest to the patience required finding these cars, my 8661 car collection is 10 years in the making with as few as 1 found in a year to more recently finding 10 within a two week span. Most special imprints are secondary market thus having passed through at least one collection. More successful collectors will find these cars listed by European dealers on Ebay, but ZTrackResale.com is another source for Marklin collectibles as well as other Z gauge items in gently used condition (highly recommended source!).

Included here are 10 special imprints of the 8661 style box car recently added to my collection:

Wimpfener Heimat-Bote released 1995. Koll’s #95701. Miba/Monk #895. Edition: 100

Konigsbrunner Edel-Pils (DR) released 1996. Marklin #8661.013. Miba/Monk #1009.

Konigsbrau OGGENHAUSEN (Wurttemberg) released 1996. Marklin #8661.025. Miba/Monk #1025.

Zotler Bier-Rettenberg (Augsburg) released 1999. Marklin #8661.051. Miba/Monk #1213. Edition: 100

Engelbrau RETTENBERG (Augsburg) released 1999. Marklin #8661.053. Miba/Monk #1249. Edition: 100

Nattheimer Ochsenbrau (Wurttemberg) released 1999. Marklin #8661.054. Miba/Monk #1246. Edition: 100

Brauerei Stolz Isny (Wurttemberg) released 1999. Marklin #8661.056. Miba/Monk #1248. Edition: 100

Memminger Burger&Engelbrau (Augsburg) released 1999. Marklin #8661.057. Miba/Monk #1250. Edition 100

Bell Basel (SBB CFF) released 2003. Marklin #8661.909. Miba/Monk #1586. Note: originally sold in Switzerland

Hasen Brau Augsburg Aktienbrauerei Zum Hasen ZFI (DR) released 2013. Marklin #8661.081. Miba/Monk #1723. Edition: 150

 

Siding: those new to this blog will find other box cars in this category under section Marklin Special Imprints: 8661.

Marklin: 88185 K.W.St.E. express locomotive

Marklin’s newly released 88185 class ‘C’ express locomotive of the Royal Wurttemberg State Railways features Era I paint scheme from 1915. The model features improved detailing and motor compared with the earlier version and includes improved side rod details and brushless motor.

The 88185’s cab has been the location of the backside of motor in the early release as well as this one, but the large brushless motor significantly protrudes through the cab of the 88185 thus maybe be seen as a less successful release in recent memory of Marklin Z steam locomotives featuring the new style motor. As for running and performance this locomotive runs very well with smooth acceleration and deceleration even at slow speeds.

An elegant steam locomotive with early streamlining characteristics including wind splitter cab.

Era I around 1910-1915 is as early as Marklin has gone thus far in the mini-club line-up – having one of the Wurttemberg locomotives is essential equipment for pulling Marklin’s wonderful coaches for this railway including: 87940 (2001/2002), 87950 (2001/2002), and 87960 (2001/2002). But the soon to be released Wurttemberg coach set 87009 is another option featuring for the first time interior details and gas tank installed on undercarriage of the class Di Wu 04  and Ci Wu 05 open platform coaches.

Marklin 87009

Maybe a future release of an Era I baggage coach and mail car will be a possibility.

Railex’s (Germany) models in Z gauge include Wurttemberg coaches from the 19th century made of brass and released a number of years ago with designation “Wurttemberger Zug – Set 1”:

Siding: Railex models in Z include coaches, freight cars, and locomotives with a primary focus on early 19th century German trains. Locomotives although very finely detailed and handcrafted lack their own power, ghost cars are generally used to propel the trains with motors hidden in coaches. Railex models are unique in Z having released many limited models exclusively in metal of prototypes not generally touched on by other manufacturers.

Siding: K.W.St.E. is the abbreviation for Koniglich Wurttembergischen Staats-Eisenbahnen with English designation Royal Wurttemberg State Railways.

 

FR: 46.815.01 Gbls boxcar in metal

The German type Gbls boxcar has been modeled in all scales as it is an important freight car commonly used for many years in Europe. A good solid construction and design make this a long lasting boxcar that travels throughout much of Germany and its neighboring countries.

FR has had their version in Z featured on the FR website for sometime thus it is available to order today. It features full medal construction, marklin couplers and modern updates to the prototype featured in the model: 46.815.01.

FR’s German made Gbls is modeled on Era IV for the SJ.

The obvious attention to detail and prototypical accuracy sets FR’s offering apart. Separately applied details include handrails, brakes and ladders. The undercarriage includes detailing as well along with the FR logo. Handmade in small batches FR’s offerings are highly collectible. Check out the big round brass buffers!

Z-Modellbau: 3111 Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) class 200 locomotive

The Dutch Railways (NS) diesel electric locomotive “Sikken/Locomotor” (nicknamed SIK or Goat) is a shunting locomotive built starting in 1934 with the final locomotive built in 1951: 169 total. Operated from the outside of the locomotive, it did not feature a dead man pedal. No air compressor on the locomotive required its whistle to use spent exhaust air. A very simple and reliable shunting locomotive featuring original paint scheme modeled expertly by Dr. Andreas Scheibe of Z-Modellbau.

The Z-Modellbau 3111 locomotive features brushless/maintenance free motor, metal construction and marklin compatible couplers.

Note: Z-Modellbau’s coupler design is unique featuring a non-distracting thin metal system which does not engage with the Marklin uncoupler track, it is nonetheless a very unique and proven coupler design.

Siding: Z-Modellbau locomotives are delivered in a foam lined small blue box with brief instruction booklet.

Siding: Archistories ‘Gantry Crane’ ARC-114111 is available at zscalemonster.com and zscalehobo.com. Crane features swiveling platform and can roll on deck with its brass axles. Build is moderately difficult, I recommend building one their house kits first to become acquainted with Archistories build kits.

FR: 1960 Talsvagn Cinema and Bistro car of the SJ 46.220.31

Another new release by FR is the combination Cinema and Bistro car to supplement the 2 car sets: 46.220.32 and 46.221.32 with early 90’s paint scheme and lettering.

46.220.32

46.221.32

Based on the prototype half the car features elevated seating and cinema screen, other half features bar/bistro counter, bankettes and seating. And I am talking about the model too! Model features hand-painting of interior details thereby accentuating the elegant features inside this coach.

FR: Bio / Bistro (Cinema and Bistro) 46.220.31

Of course FR offers an LED lightpanel by Oliver Passmann custom designed for all the 1960 Talsvagn coaches, but in this case an easy modification needs to be made including filing down the slot housing the capacitor. A Dremel tool with blunt end fine grit grinding tool at low speed will remove enough of the extra floor panel giving room for the large capacitor. Note: other 1960 Talsvagn coaches do not require modification.