Well it’s that time of year again, December 31, a great day to look back over the past year and look forward to the next. It’s also a time for many of us to make promises, deals and plans with and for ourselves. Many people find it easy to dismiss New Year’s resolutions as a [...]
I’ve been in both a reflective as well as a looking-forward mood the past week or so regarding things that pertain to Z scale, the overall community and my own Ztrains.com. Earlier this year I moved my site to this new software platform and overall I think it’s has been a solid success. Bit of [...]
In our last Waterfront Project installment I mentioned the dock we were building would also be home to our next kit and here it is, the Micro-Trains Line, Canning Plant Kit (MTL Part 799 90 931). Continuing along with trying to keep some of these kits looking utilitarian and down to earth, I went again [...]
Today’s MTL Waterfront Project kit is the Pier & Building Kit. At 8″ long by 2″ wide, it’s a large piece. The size of the dock will provide a home for our next kit… but we’ll get to that kit in our next article. The building portion of this model is built on a separate [...]
In January of 2007, Z scale lost a friend and promoter, Bill Kronenberger. Bill was a consummate promoter of Z scale, actively attending shows, establishing the Z-Bend Track standards, educating Z scalers and sharing his passion. To honor Bill’s memory, we have created the ‘Kronenberger Grant For Z Scale Promotions’. The goal of this grant [...]
We have our FOS Scale Models DVD Winner: Jim Cleland In this DVD Bob Mitchell shares some of his techniques for building model railroad structures that are easy to replicate and will improve the overall look of your models. While you may have seen some of the steps before, Bob employs his own methods in [...]
Many of our readers will recognize your name from your product builds and reviews in Ztrack Magazine, how about a little background information? Who exactly is Bob Mitchell? I’m freshly retired from 35 years as a High School photography and art teacher, a career I really loved, and have been a professional (albeit analog!) photographer. [...]
If you’ve ever walked into a hobby shop and looked at the book rack or picked up a copy of Model Railroader, you’ve likely seen Dave Frary’s work. Dave has written the definitive guide to model railroad scenery in his book, How To Build Realistic Model Railroad Scenery, now in its 3rd revision. In addition [...]
The Christmas season is always a popular time in model railroading. Whether you had the classic oval of track and steam locomotive under the tree, or if that image is just a nostalgic look back on what you wished you had… model trains and Christmas really do go together. Around this time of year, I’ll [...]
Whenever I talk to a potential new user interested in Z scale, I tend to be a bit conservative. One of the real benefits of Z scale is that in a relatively small space you can have operating yards, passing sidings, double mainlines, etc., great stuff. No question Z scale can excel at this, lots [...]
My Z scale tool arsenal is very basic, really about as fancy as I get is my resistance soldering unit. I now have a new favorite tool on my workbench… the “BUG” made by The Small Shop. Conceptually it’s a remarkably simple little device in that it allows you to make clean, precise bends in [...]
It doesn’t come up every day but it most definitely does come up: how big should my tunnel portal be, how much height do I need under a bridge, why didn’t I think of train clearance before I built my layout? It’s really unfortunate when someone builds a scene and only then realizes they can’t [...]
With the recent opening of our own Ztrains Store, I’ve been thinking a lot about how the business of Z scale is now doing in the current economy. While I don’t know the numbers of the larger Z scale players like AZL or MTL, in many ways I’d think the business of hobbies should do [...]
I like revolutions, not full blown let’s burn the thing to the ground revolutions, but smaller and more focused ones. Pretty much everyone in the US, and likely worldwide, has heard of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements. Without getting into the politics or the specifics of either group, what I find appealing [...]
Here at Ztrains we’ve recently; last night actually, reopened our own Ztrains Store. As with many things in model railroading, schedules and deadlines are sometimes more… flexible than we plan. Personally, I lean on the old chestnut: It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that counts. Plans and schedules are great things to [...]
As I was writing this recent article on not getting stressed when working with the very things that should relax you, I thought a calming visual reminder would be a good idea. Here then is the latest Ztrains desktop wallpaper, Stress Free Z! Download the wallpaper of your choice below, these images will open in [...]
Latest Issue: January 2012 Trainini Magazine is a German language, monthly Z scale magazine in PDF format and it’s free! Hard to beat that. Each issue link will open in a new window for easy reading. Don’t worry if you don’t read German (but good for you if you do!) as the photos tell the [...]
