AZL April 2020 New Items Part 2

Tempting but I don’t know...... the Maxi cars are another can of worms. I picked up a BNSF car and just dropped 250 at ZSMT for containers. Yes I picked up 20 cause I know I will buy another maxi car. Might end up with 4 by the time I’m done so still short containers. Have any of these Maersk Maxis been seen in the wild attached to other trains with non Maersk container on them? The AZL well cars are like ghosts. Hard to find

Another question. How do these cars run with the MTL well and flat cars? I’ve tried to mix other AZL and MTL cars together and it didn’t workout so well. The MTLs ended up at the back of the train.

BTW: I don’t run a specific era or line. Just run what I like.

Wow. That one is well seasoned for sure. Okay, I picked one up. ZSMT is already sold out of the complete set and Set 1 with the containers. That was fast. Set 1 was the one I would have preferred.

This isn't a Z-Scale problem.  Happens in N and HO as well.

And....
-Announced almost three years ago.
-Maersk scheme confirmed  four-and-a-half months ago.
-AZL announces on 1st and 15th of each month, roughly.
-Releases have alternated since Maxi-I's release, with the Maxi-I's coming mid-month

So, not exactly "product announcement to sold out in nine hours."   

And, (if you hurry) you can still buy them if you want, and still in at least three different road numbers. (and these cars were ultimately patched, so really more than three could easily be done...just buy dupes.)   You can probably even buy the Set 1 still if you hunt around a little, but that's hardly a big deal either way...the AZL containers aren't that awesome.  The Rokuhan and MCZ containers are much better representations of the corrugated 40ft sea containers.  Still, the price point on the first 10-pack was really nice and that made them attractive...the price for the unconventional 5-container add-on wasn't quite as nice. (but still worth it to me since I need Maersk and Hyundai in larger quantities.)    I do applaud AZL for not sticking us with ten of them, although at the special price point that sort of negates the sting of that particular pet peave.

To be fair, I warned y'all, about 8 hours before they sold out.  

Nick I think this is opposite problem. I think Z has grown in popularity so much that we are seeing more sell outs!

Doug to clarify on pricing of the containers, we simply took the cost of the 10 packs, and divided by 2. Then added this price to the cost of the car sets. We did not mark them up any further. If you are seeing that, it is on the dealer, not from us.

Rob

Apropos Maersk containers, Peter Nolan has the Maersk ships on his web page:
nscaleships.com/z-scale-ship-index/z-scale-375-modern-feeder-container-ship/




Just in case you think you have too much containers, already.............



Best,
Sven

Well Doug.......


"This isn't a Z-Scale problem. Happens in N and HO as well."

I'm sure it does. HO is the most popular scale there is. Much
more product, much more opportunities for things to sell out quickly.
Also much more product, in general, available for weeks/months/years.
I'm not at all familiar with N. Less popular than HO, much more popular
than Z. No doubt similar situation.

Container cars and containers are one of the key components of railroads
today - and thus, a key part of model railroading.
I rather doubt that there are that many HO main stream releases selling
out in less than a day. And if that is the case, maybe model railroading
is doomed......


"And...."
"-Announced almost three years ago.:"

Agreed. And very much a welcome announcement. Very much anticipated by
me, and I am sure many others.

"-Maersk scheme confirmed four-and-a-half months ago."

Agreed. This is kind of a rare situation - AZL actually confirmed they were doing a
road name. They are often tight lipped about such things. So great, not only are
they going to actually come out with the Maxi-I, they are going to do Maersk that
I really, really want.

"-AZL announces on 1st and 15th of each month, roughly."

Agreed, "roughly". Most of the time yes. Usually in the morning, sometimes in the
afternoon, less often the next day or two....
Certainly nothing you can set your watch by.

"-Releases have alternated since Maxi-I's release, with the Maxi-I's coming mid-month"

Yep, noticed that.
Of course AZL has never said which Maxi-I road names would be available on which
"15th of the month" or how many "15th of the months" there would be. You just
gotta guess when what you want is going to be released.

"So, not exactly "product announcement to sold out in nine hours."

Point conceded. I note that you used said "AZl announces on the 1st and 15th...." Same context.
So here is a corrected statement: Product available for sale announcement to sold out in nine hours.

"And, (if you hurry) you can still buy them if you want, and still in at least three different road
numbers. (and these cars were ultimately patched, so really more than three could easily be done...just
buy dupes.) You can probably even buy the Set 1 still if you hunt around a little, but that's hardly a
big deal either way...the AZL containers aren't that awesome. The Rokuhan and MCZ containers are much
better representations of the corrugated 40ft sea containers. Still, the price point on the first 10-pack
was really nice and that made them attractive...the price for the unconventional 5-container add-on wasn't
quite as nice. (but still worth it to me since I need Maersk and Hyundai in larger quantities.) I do
applaud AZL for not sticking us with ten of them, although at the special price point that sort of negates
the sting of that particular pet peave."

A lot in that statement. Yes I could (at least earlier this evening) get the three sets without containers.
I like the idea of AZL container car having AZL containers in them. Maybe that is unreasonable of me.
And I would be missing the other one.
Ist AZL Maxi-I release - no containers at all. 2nd AZL Maxi-I release, additional cost 10 packs of containers
(perfectly happy with the price). 3rd AZL Maxi-I release, set one comes with 5 containers at an additional
cost (which I would have been happy with had I had the opportunity)(and you need 10, not 5), and the other
three sets empty and Maersk containers will not be sold separately.
How many more car sets on how many more "15ths if the months" and how many more container releases with cars or
separately - no clue.
Container cars need containers. If there are any AZL 40 ft containers available in any road name from anyone,
anywhere, I'm not aware of it. Not sure what the reasoning is here.
Are Rokuhan or MCZ containers "better"? I don't know, but the price point is higher than the 2nd release
10 pack.

"To be fair, I warned y'all, about 8 hours before they sold out."

Well Doug, I suppose you did. Not that I saw it. Not that I needed it. This was a very important release.
Very much needed, wanted, and anticipated.

Here is my situation.
I have to work for a living. I'm not going to appologize for that. I was classed as "essential". I'm
fine with that - I'll take one steady income coming into the household - there are so many suffering
right now without any income.
Get up on the 15th, take a quick look for what the release anouncement is, and there isn't one.
Given the hour, there rarely is one - no surprise there. Put in a 10 hour day,
tack on an hour and a half for commute time, come home, and check for the announcement.
Been and gone between sun up and sun down.
Years of anticipation. Poof. Gone.
I waited for years for this.
Bad timing? Bad set of conditions? Sometimes bad things happen? Sour grapes? Maybe.
Or maybe Z scale has some fundamental issues.


And then Rob....

"Nick I think this is opposite problem. I think Z has grown in popularity so much that we are seeing more sell outs!"

Well, you no doubt have a lot of information about sakes that most people don't. If you can say that the Maersk Maxi-I set with the containers sold out in less than a day because a whole bunch of new z scalers jumped on this offering - well I guess I am wrong.
But I suspect that a few individuals bought a whole bunch, those who buy one of everything bought theirs, and that ate up the supply.
And if Z is growing in popularity, why isn't production ramping up to meet the demand?

I'd like to sat that after venting I feel better, But I don't.
Over 20 years in Z scale, and this is the biggest disappointment yet.