Ztrack Magazine March / April 2023

March / April 2023 Volume 29 #2, Get This Issue Now!

In this issue

The Work of Rudy Valle, Marklin 2023 New Items, Switch machines for Z, Showcase Miniatures trolley kit, Atlas releases street lights, Spine cars in Z, Tip - painting small parts, New kits from Vollmer and so much more!

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Ztrack 2002, March / April Issue

Trackside Perspective | From The March / April 2023 Issue

Another Shift Has Happened In Our Scale...

Welcome to the biggest issue of the year. This issue is 40 pages, and is filled with new items from a range of Z scale manufacturers including Märklin, AZL, Showcase Miniatures and others. When I look at all of these new products, I can’t help but feel another shift has occurred in our scale. That is a movement towards greater realism and detail, while also filling niches in our portfolio.

Take for instance the Showcase Miniatures interurban kit. This simple, but fun kit is really the first interurban car for the US market. It wouldn’t even have been possible without the efforts of companies like Rokuhan who produce a dependable, yet inexpensive, powered chassis. But let’s not take for granted the talents of our friends at Showcase!

Then we have AZL’s spine cars. I can’t even say enough about these. It is not just the amazing spine cars themselves, but the injection molded trailers that are released with the sets. The amount of detail is fantastic, on both the cars and trailers. The number of add-on details included is unprecedented in our scale. The options for operators is tremendous as you will be able to dream up multiple uses for these cars.

Not to be overlooked is Märklin. With eight pages of new items in this issue, they dominate the European Z scene. But what should be noted is how Märklin has been updating their Z line. New bell-shaped motors and intricate drive rods and details in their steam locomotives show a real shift from the models of the pre 2000s.

We are all benefiting from improvements in technology and manufacturing, which enables higher details and better design. What a fun time to be in our scale!

Robert Kluz, Ztrack Editor
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