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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2021 5:53:03 GMT -5
No more locomotives, no more train sets, almost no more passenger cars, no new releases ...
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Post by pcbpoppy on Jan 28, 2021 7:49:01 GMT -5
No more locomotives, no more train sets, almost no more passenger cars, no new releases ...
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Post by zscalehobo on Jan 28, 2021 8:55:15 GMT -5
Over the years we've seen quite a few "MTL is dead" posts ... Heck there was an AZL one at one time ... Rob jokingly even wrote about it in Ztrack Magazine saying "rumors of our demise are greatly exaggerated." MTL just released a despatch car set and 8 different hoppers (4 roads x 2 road numbers each) this month. More Z cars coming every month - production quantities based on pre-orders. There are 18 different cars in the pipeline up for pre-order right now: micro-trains.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=75_77 (some dealers also do $0.00 pre-orders ). During Covid Micro Trains turned their attention toward helping first responders by establishing a PPE line of face shields and a mask accessory ... find the website here: talentppe.com/Unfortunate for Z scalers but very heroic for the cause to help in a worldwide pandemic. Their community of Talent Oregon was also destroyed by fire in September 2020. I cannot express how life-changing this was for 6 families of MTL factory workers whose homes were destroyed. I'm doing as much as I can to support MTL right now and hope they reward us when they have righted the ship. The last thing we want is for Z manufacturers to disappear. Further early last year prior to the pandemic, they have started a "pre-order" campaign for their new Z products so as to not over produce (which happened frequently before) ... They need pre-orders or else they won't produce. The Z community is not typically in the habit of pre-ordering. Let's have a bit of patience and try to support MTL via the pre-orders. The threat that they stop Z altogether is possible if nobody is pre-ordering.
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Post by dazed on Jan 28, 2021 10:29:54 GMT -5
For me, Micro-Trains has spoiled me as I only want their weathered/graf releases. (this goes back to when I was in N, pre-2016) So when they put something up for preorder, I am normally not interested because I would prefer the weathered version.
And added to that, I don't like their over-the-top graffiti they do on about 80% of their Z stuff, so I'm out on the back end too. They seem to have learned to temper things in N-scale a bit and the results are phenomenal...as are *some* of the Z-scale cars, which I own. Why they insist on doing 30+ Railbox cars that are so overdone is just insane. And despite what MTL says, they don't all sell out...you can buy *just nearly* every single one still today, several years after the series started.
Understand, I'm NOT against graffiti at all, but one can only have just so many of these complete-side "cartoon" cars appear on a train before it destroys realism. To each his own, of course...that is just my opinion.
If they did more stuff in the weathered category, and even if they only *slightly* back off the garish graffiti, then they would sell a lot more to me and my like-minded brethren. (of which there are at least a few, as discussion over the years lamenting about these same issues has revealed.) And if they want to start preorders for the weathered/graffiti cars, I'm 100% on board.
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Post by cwrr on Jan 28, 2021 12:20:28 GMT -5
I try to support M-T whenever I can, and buy certain things that come out. Being a mostly Milwaukee Road modeler is a little tough cause "The Road" had a lot of home built rolling stock that is really hard to replicate for masses, but whenever something good in Milwaukee or something cool comes along, I get it!
Hoping they stay in Z for a long time to come!
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Post by mgatdog on Jan 28, 2021 12:37:50 GMT -5
What I own is 80% MTL z scale . 12% Full Throttle and 8% AZL ,Rokuhan and mixture of other z scale manufacturers.I don’t think there going anywhere. As for loco’s 🤐
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Post by BAZman on Jan 28, 2021 14:43:59 GMT -5
Posts like this, really angers MTL, just so you know. (Plus, that web site is NOT up to date and frequently isn’t ) Frank (ZscaleHobo dealer) summarized beautifully.. For me, they provided the starting Z products that fit me well, in the later 90’s and where essentially the only source. The rolling stock provided a fairly wide variety for a typical 2x3, 4x8 and starting Z-Bend Track modules. As time went on, the era began to set in (steam but only märklin Loco), roof walks, same body-for-all roads, etc. As an (nearly) all-American manufacturing house, Tooling takes time and a higher cost. Additionally, N was the larger volume. So, lesser offers and ability to change. AZL offered more modern locos (freight) and rolling stock. So the MTL products ran on shorter mixed trains and AZL with much longer trains. With the lesser new products, I to have migrated to the graffiti products (I have lots of Yards, Sidings and trains) but still grab a 40 or 50’ western road release. I placed a collection of their products (along with AZL’s) in the upcoming “The Magic of Model Railroading” exhibit at the California State Railroad Museum here in Sacramento. www.californiarailroad.museum/visit/exhibitsI understand MTL’s business practices and you should also, especially when manufacturing in America. Considering the much smaller percentage of Z to N, vastly different rolling stock details, etc. it is not cheap. While manufacturing in other countries can be cheaper, IT IS NOT EASY to do. Ask AZL. And that is why MTL stepped away from contracting (after the GP and track). Too many back and forth issues tying up resources. So buy what you can, please.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2021 17:28:38 GMT -5
I must add following infos : 1) You will have noticed that the link is the own site of the manufacturer, and not of a dealer who has still some NOS items on stock. 2) For myself, most of my freight cars are MTL and they are fine, some are FT, and very few AZL ; this is because I model the 60's, and I can only find a wide choice of cars from this era as MTL models ; AZL seems to build either cars from the steam era, or really modern ones. Concerning the engines, all my models are AZL, only one MTL, my NH GP9, converted from a GP35 chassis with a shell bought at Z Scale Monster.
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Post by zscalehobo on Jan 28, 2021 18:12:15 GMT -5
Yes we noticed that alberich. But "end of life" and "no new releases" sensationalize something that might have a meaning other than what you're envisioning.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2021 1:13:58 GMT -5
Sorry, but not only there are no "new releases" announced, but in the "locomotives" section there is NOTHING more, there are only a few "pre-orders" on the main Z page, and look at the date ... I must add that it was another (german) modeller who came to the same conclusion and alerted me, when he saw the choice of locomotive models shrink. Or is MTL waiting to produce new locomotive models or versions ? In this case they should quickly correct this situation on their page and update it, even if it is related with the pandemia or the fire ! On the other side I saw some new january releases appearing on the page of Z Scale Monster. Who can understand anything ? Or will MTL only focus on the freight cars in the future ?
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Post by mgatdog on Jan 29, 2021 9:14:23 GMT -5
Sorry, but not only there are no "new releases" announced, but in the "locomotives" section there is NOTHING more, there are only a few "pre-orders" on the main Z page, and look at the date ... I must add that it was another (german) modeller who came to the same conclusion and alerted me, when he saw the choice of locomotive models shrink. Or is MTL waiting to produce new locomotive models or versions ? In this case they should quickly correct this situation on their page and update it, even if it is related with the pandemia or the fire ! On the other side I saw some new january releases appearing on the page of Z Scale Monster. Who can understand anything ? Or will MTL only focus on the freight cars in the future ? I remember chatting with them. In earlier days changing of manufacturers was a big hit to them. Lost of molds and making new ones cost 💵 . Then came the China factories shut down didn’t help. So they leaned toward their money maker N scale. I was excited when they were planning to building their switcher . Then was scrapped and only built it in N scale. I figured that was the beginning of the end of z scale loco’s from them. But surprisingly F 7 ‘s had another run and SD 40’s . Who knows what will happen.
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Post by sjl on Jan 29, 2021 9:47:11 GMT -5
As somebody who focuses on 1930 to 1970, MTL is an invaluable source of freight cars. MTL has far more range – both in terms of road names and models – in the historical stuff. On Z locos and passenger cars, MTL is clearly slipping behind and they might well be making a business decision to focus on their strength in freight. As has been said, only time will tell.
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Post by zscalehobo on Jan 29, 2021 10:04:25 GMT -5
... no "new releases" announced ... ... I must add that it was another (german) modeller who came to the same conclusion and alerted me, when he saw the choice of locomotive models shrink ... New releases are here and as of 0656hrs Pacific Time is populated: www.micro-trains.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=75_76Not sure what browser you use, but it says on mine that there are 9 items there. Maybe only my computer gets these results or else maybe they fixed a glitch of some sort. They are rolling out in February (hey, 3 days from now) a new Liquid Tank Car series according to their empty website: "series starts in February 2021" ... 3 more days and we will see the first offering; the first of 12 cars (12 months) in the series. Two observers in Europe are a valid news source for inner-MTL workings? Noted. But again, a fact is that a company with limited resources means that a locomotive for Z to fill the gap between the end of F7 and SD40 production is not coming right away. There's going to be a gap and that is where we stand. I have heard through a screen-shotted message to a customer of mine - they are going to improve function of the F7 - that's why it's removed at present time. SD40-2 - they just ran out of stock since pre-orders were also likely (I'm guessing) low. I want to ask you ... is there a problem if they don't offer locomotives for a short time while they assign resources to make a new one or improve the old one? Or are we interested in creating an imaginary, riveting, must-watch (no pun intended) train wreck?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2021 11:34:00 GMT -5
As far as I can see, the "New Releases" are really ... new !
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Post by mgatdog on Jan 29, 2021 12:00:01 GMT -5
Personally speaking.I’d like to see MTL make another run on GP 9 and 35’s .There engines may not been z speck but good runners. Sound like a broken record here ,but it would be nice to have some B&O and Chessie paint. None to be found or few pop up on eBay . Not to make AZL mad but it’s not going to happen with them on the 9’s.
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