Joes
Fireman
Posts: 84
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Post by Joes on Jun 19, 2012 12:55:17 GMT -5
Interesting things have gotten people into Z. What is neat is the variety that I've read. I do believe this is the best time to be in Z for sure. Should be exciting in the next few months!
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Post by domi on Jun 20, 2012 4:04:28 GMT -5
Hi there. I'm ddechamp71 on Trainboard and on Yahoo_groups_Zscale. Myself I had no particular layout in mind when I came back to modelrailroading in 1997. However I had then a project (an accurately scaled Tehachapi Loop) which could be done only with Z scale in my room dedicated to modelrailroading. To this prospect I purchased many Z scale items over the years, so even when I dropped my initial idea it was logical to continue with Z. And as Z scale is improving year over year I continue to think it's a good decision! Dom
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Post by ghoffman on Jun 20, 2012 15:46:20 GMT -5
After abandoning my Lionel set when I went off to college, I wanted to take up modelling again when I graduated and went into the Air Force in the early 1970s. Money and space were in short supply, but when I posted to Germany, my wife gave me a miniClub starter set for Christmas in 1974. From there, it just grew. However, moving layouts was difficult during the Air Force years and then later my trains lived in boxes while I raised my family. I was always disappointed when I'd visit model shops with the Z scale prices and narrow selection. It was only after the ZBend Track standard gained some traction that I caught the bug anew. Now I could have a small layout at home in the condo and also play on big layouts with friends. Jeff Merrell's visit in 2006 kicked-started me and I put together a module for the Del Mar show 2006. And the advent of American prototype models (thanks, MTL and AZL) opened new horizons to Z scale modelling for me. What surprised me was discovering the social aspect of associating with such talented and knowledgeable modellers as the BAZ Boys and ZoCal. What had once been a solitary hobby, running trains became a great party for me.
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Post by sassbaby on Jul 12, 2012 16:49:11 GMT -5
Also not a layout, but the BAZ Boyz modules brought to Sacramento for the past few years got me to pull my F7's out of the closet and start my own layout. Jeff Merrill was particularly responsive at this stage. Dana
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Post by eagsc7 on Aug 1, 2012 2:10:04 GMT -5
My 'Start' in Z scale was with my parents. I was about 5 or 6 yrs old and my dad bought a Marklin Starter Set and then another... and then the T1,T2, and T3 as they came out before my time. About every month or so, I'd BEG my parents to pull out the Z from the closet and we'd play with it for HOURS on the kitchen Peninsula. We'd set it up in MANY different configurations each time. So it was used only occasionally.
I always remember that we'd clean the peninsula the same way. Scrub it with soap and water, then my mom would bleach it and then my dad would wash it off with water. Only then would the boxes come out.
We only really played with it every few months, but in the mean time, my HO collection grew on the 4x8 HEAVY DUTY table that we built specifically for tat reason. Once it was done... Ok, Almost done; I grew out of model Railroading for a few years.
When I joined the Air Force, my parents faithfully had the movers ship up my 4x8 table to me. I then realized that it was HUGE and it sat in the back room being occasionally played with.
I then realized that the answer was to go Smaller to go Bigger... Read online about Zbend Track Standard and the bug was born again. I found a shop in Seattle that sold Z scale stuff and bought my first starter. I then wnt on creating complex and elaborate dreams of layouts and sections that would be Cool to build.
Now I work for UP, and realized that I hadn't finished my second layout. Like the first one, I got to a certain point and lost interest.
With the bug back, I'm GOING to complete this one, and THEN move on to actually building one of those Zbend layouts for myself.
P.S. The HO set moved one more time, and when we moved again, it was sold for a Really pretty penny to a guy that was Greatful that all he had to do was back his truck in the garage and I lowered the whole layout onto his truck bed. He came back and told me that it weighed over 300 Pounds and took 4 guys to get it to their basement. His kids Love it though...
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Post by upmike on Sept 12, 2012 18:54:32 GMT -5
+3 on the ZoCal Layout I spent some time talking to Lindley at the Brea Show in May 2010 and had my End Mod done for the next show 6 months later.........
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Post by catt on Sept 14, 2012 9:41:53 GMT -5
There was no special layout for me.I just had a desire to try a scale smaller than my half a basement N scale layout.I have no plans to ever quit modeling in N but then I can say the same for my Z.
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Post by ohlavache on Oct 2, 2012 10:34:20 GMT -5
No special layout also for me. Several "things" got me into Z-scale.
The first one : I wanted to create an ephemeral Xmas layout. I discovered Micro-Trains North-Pole village. I bought some buildings and then I made up my own Xmas train set in Z-scale from commercial products.
Shortly after, Micro-Trains started to release many structure kits perfect for a sea front in Z-scale. They looked so nice and were very close to what I've always imagined for a sea front layout.
At that time, I was following Domi's work on another forum (a French one). All this convinced me to start a Z-scale project. (Before my eyes don't let me anymore to "play" in this scale.)
Domi also convinced me to buy an RDC from AZL (New Haven model). This was a really good choice ! It's astonishing.
Unfortunately, I have very little time to spend on this project. I hope things will get better someday. Have nice evening.
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