After I completed the N scale Super Chief layout, I took a little time away from trains to play a bit with watercolors and urban sketching.
One of the reasons I decided to give art a try is that I’ve been thinking that sometime in the not-too-distant future, I could wind up in a smaller residence without room to build or even have a layout. Although I have no plans for that move yet, I guess I simply didn’t feel like starting another large-scale project. So, I watched a bunch of YouTube videos, pulled out the old watercolors, and started playing. My first results are here.
But I still had an itch to build little things, so after a lot of talking it over with myself, I decided to take a look at Z scale, which is 1:220 vs. N scale at 1:160. HO is 1:87.
It’s funny. From what I’ve read, this scale was named “Z” because it was thought that nothing could get any smaller. It is indeed very small (but take a look at T scale!).
The First Steps
My initial research into Z scale was a bit disappointing. Despite the fact that it’s been around since the 1970’s, it seemed difficult to find products in which I had an interest. The hobby shops that I sometimes frequent have nothing in Z. And its Internet presence seems somewhat disjointed with only a few vendors selling a complete line of Z scale equipment.
Another odd thing is that a search will often turn up videos and links that are very old, sometimes ten or more years! I think it's a bit weird that there isn't a lot of more recent information. I had really hoped to find a “getting started with Z scale” tutorial. I guess I'm writing my own.
I finally found a vendor (zscalemonstertrains) who seems to sell a complete line of Z scale components from a large Japanese company, Rokuhan. After a bit of research, I put a track plan together.
A(nother) Trolley Layout
If you’ve perused this web site, you probably know that, having spent many hours on Boston’s rapid transit system as a kid, I like, and often model, trolleys. I’ve got an old Boston PCC trolley running through my HO layout, a Los Angeles trolley on my N scale Super Chief layout, and several other stand-alone dioramas featuring trolleys.
Well, as Paul McCartney said about silly love songs, here I go again.
In my searching, I did find something that interested me – a 3D-printed Z scale trolley made by Showcase Miniatures. It’s very high-quality little kit. And it gave me the idea to build a small trolley-based shelf layout.
It actually looks very similar to the street cars that ran in Boston in the days prior to the PCC cars that replaced them. While there is about zero chance I'd find a Z scale PCC car, this one could do just fine.
Since it was a 3-D printed shell, it was relatively easy to prep and paint the car in its beautiful Boston livery of the day. To come up with a potential track plan, I dusted off a program called AnyRail, which I used when I started my last layout, and I ordered a controller and enough track to create a simple oval. (I am already planning on a larger layout, but I wanted to give it a simple try first.
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A possible future layout. |
My starter layout. |
I’ve also experimented in creating buildings. As of this writing, tests are on-going.
Stay tuned!
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