Category: Blog
Are On30 And Z Scale Similar?
The title of this article seems slightly absurd, I realize. An On30 loco at 1:48 could run over 1:220 Z scale loco and not even realize it had hit something, so where’s the similarity? In the early-ish days of Z scale, most people were just so taken by the size of the trains they were […]
Growing Model Railroading
Having been involved solely in Z scale for many years I didn’t do a lot of looking at other model train scales. I became very familiar with the major Z scale manufacturers, the cottage manufacturers, the rumors that Z scale (and apparently every scale) seems to have and everything in between. When I decided to […]
Tamiya Acrylic Paint
A few years back, the Testors paint company discontinued their Floquil line of enamel hobby paints, these were a real favorite for many model railroaders. Several years earlier Testors also ceased production of a Floquil-based stain called Flo-Stain and again, it was a popular choice among hobbyists. More recently, Testors made the decision to cease […]
We’re Now Raildig.com
Ztrains.com officially has a new name and new web address, Raildig.com. Ok, so what’s a Raildig? Well we started with Model Railroad Digest, pared that down to Model Rail Digest, then Rail Digest and in a moment of editorial clarity we arrived at Raildig. We were going to hold off on the new name unveil […]
Ztrains.com Gets A New Name
We’re making some changes here at Ztrains.com; the most noticeable right off the bat is we’re changing our name. In a week or so, we’ll no longer be Ztrains.com. Now we’ll still be working in and with Z scale trains of course, but we’ll also be looking in to some of the other model rail […]
Glyn Valley Tramway
In our last article, I mentioned we’d be looking in to other flavors of model railroading here at Ztrains and we showed a short video of a British Nn3 layout by Mark Fielder. We also used a photo of an Nn3 locomotive in that article produced by PECO, A British model rail company. I’ve known […]
Nn3 Scale Modeling
Recently I’ve been thinking about a relatively close relation of Z scale, Nn3. N scale narrow gauge, or Nn3, in practice is generally N scale model railroading on Z scale track. The models are N scale; the track is Z gauge, or 6.5mm. As I go along, I’m sure I’ll be corrected on some of […]
The Figure-8 Plan Resolved
In our previous article, Inaccuracy In Track Planning?, I looked at why a simple Figure-8 that looked good on the back of a Rokuhan track package couldn’t be replicated to a 100% degree of accuracy using AnyRail track planning software. As I mentioned in that article, I’d write to both Rokuhan and AnyRail and include […]
Inaccuracy In Track Planning?
Last night I wanted to put together an article on breaking-in locomotives using a Figure-8 track plan built with Rokuhan track. I fired up my copy of AnyRail track planning software and created the basic Figure-8 track plan shown on the back of the Rokuhan 90° crossing package. I quickly ran in to a snag, […]
Evangelizing Z Scale With YouTube?
Recently I’ve been to looking at what’s popular in model trains videos over at YouTube, trying to see if we can adapt any new evangelizing ideas to Z scale. I’ve been surprised at what ranks high in the online video world when it comes to model trains. As YouTube is the second most popular search […]
