AZL summer 2025 update video

[ztrack]

AZL has just dropped their summer 2025 update video. It’s a long one with plenty of BIG Z scale surprises!

[Rivet Miscounter]

AZL is really creating insane amounts of product right now.

I'm not going to summarize the entire video, but here a few highlights as an fyi...
-An announcement about some European models they are releasing.   Frankly, I glossed over that...just not my thing.
-Big rigs still in development, tweaking tooling to combat delicate parts at the moment.  Three versions in generic colors to start.
-First run GE C44-9W's and AC4400's are done and being packaged for the trip to the US, (probably done by now) and estimated to be in distribution by late September/October.
-One month after the GE's, the new run of GP30's including newly tooled alternate headlights, high noses, and GP30B's.
-The N&W brass passenger cars are supposed to be here around Christmas I believe was the estimate.
-Autoflood III hoppers coming in Oct-Nov; They appear to be doing a variety of "compromise" schemes from earlier designs (RD-2's, RD-4's, et al.)   They mentioned BN and CNW for example.
-SP GS-4's in plastic still in the works and I think for sometime in '26?
-Additional run of GP38-2's coming, I don't believe an ETA was given and no details about roadnames.
-GE U25B U-Boat Announcement, I don't recall the ETA on those but I think it is a little ways away.  Artwork can be found in the AZL forum.
-Three Autoracks: a printed-resin undec kit of an open (70's) autorack is dropping immediately.   Second is the Multi-Max, and finally the articulated AutoMax cars
-A UP Big Boy in plastic, and adjacent boxcar, reefer, and caboose prototypes released around that.  ETA two years...I would wager that a little ambitious.

[ednadolski]

First run GE C44-9W's and AC4400's are done and being packaged for the trip to the US, (probably done by now) and estimated to be in distribution by late September/October.

@ztrack any info on the road names that will be included in this release?

Thanks,
Ed

[Rivet Miscounter]

I'm not @ztrack but here is what they posted on their forum...

(from their artwork, which I'll post in a sec)
C44-9W roadnames: ATSF, BNSF H-II, BNSF Swoosh, CN, C&NW, NS, SP and UP
C44-9W patched: SP (UP), CNW (UP), ATSF (BNSF/Orange Batt Panel), CN (IC)
AC4400 roadnames: UP, CSX, KCS, Ferromex, CP Rail

The artwork differentiated from the original roadname list a bit.  There were initially BC Rail C44-9W's and also SP and NS AC4400's. (NS never technically had the AC4400's I don't believe...see Wikipedia for more info.)

We also clarified that there will be no BNSF H1 on the first run.   BNSF H1 and BNSF Silver Warbonnet will be on a later run.  The ES44's took seven years before a rerun happened, but AZL insists the older GE's will be rerun in "only a couple of years".

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Keep in mind also that AZL does not release these all at once.  It is a very good possibility that these will trickle out over the next 12-18 months.  AZL typically does two releases per month, on the 1st and 15th.  Each release has a couple of individual roadnames of locos and a couple of individual roadnames of freight cars.  Sometimes there is a third loco and/or freight car, which has been common of late.

[learmoia]

If they are producing everything at once, what is the mindset of trickling the releases month by month?

[Rivet Miscounter]

If they are producing everything at once, what is the mindset of trickling the releases month by month?

Again, not speaking for AZL, but I think it is part customer service and part self preservation.   

In the above example, there are 17 roadnames which likely yield 51 unique sku's factoring 3 road numbers per roadname.   In my case I'm looking at a pretty conservative seven I plan to purchase out of the 51.  (I could easily justify that many more, if I had the money...and might end up with at least one or two additional.)  If all at once, those 7 will be around $1700 and guarantees I don't buy any more.  Someone modeling Tehachapi for example could easily be in for $10k all-at-once.  This is complicated by small release numbers in Z and speculators...you literally have to be sitting at your computer on the night of the 1st and 15th if you want any chance to get some of the more sought after products/roadnames.

And from the flip side, AZL dumping everything all at once would mean they are competing with themselves for disposable income.  So "self-preservation" is NOT doing that.   (see Intermountain attempting that in Z)

[Sokramiketes]

If they are producing everything at once, what is the mindset of trickling the releases month by month?

Release consistency.
Work load.

[ednadolski]

Someone modeling Tehachapi for example could easily be in for $10k all-at-once.

Don't forget about the needed DCC decoders for those 

Ed

[ztrack]

Doug is spot on with our release strategy. It is a lot of work to release what we release every two weeks. First it is the planning. We don't want to compete against ourselves. For instance, we try speed out road name releases. We don't want to hit customers with all of their favorite road names at one time. So we may space out a UP F3 release a few weeks apart from say a UP C44-9W release. Another aspect is our QC time. We have an employee whose only role is to unpack and test EVERY locomotive that comes in. We are looking for any paint or detail issues, and running characteristics. This takes a lot of time. As it, she is ready to kill me with three locomotive releases every two weeks!

But there is one aspect I like. This strategy is fun. There is a lot of anticipation on what we release every two weeks. On the AZL forum, there is channel just for the speculations. And we do listed to the forum chatter. Since we can be agile with our release schedule, we can change up what we release up to the day we release the items. And as everyone knows, I am not opposed to bribery to get your anticipated releases sooner.


Oh and just think about this. We already have releases lined up into 2027. There is a lot of amazing Z scale items coming!

Rob

[wmcbride]

All these offerings make Z a bit tempting especially the ability to model longish passenger trains as well as modern things like intermodal.

This is probably not the thread (or proper forum) but one of the things I really enjoy about N is scale sound (thanks to John Colombo) and I am quite pleased by hearing my consists fade when 12 ft away -- if I am using engines with good speaker enclosures [not most of yours ScaleTrains].

Has anyone linked/consisted on-board Z decoders with say a LokSound decoder and speaker under the layout?

[ednadolski]

Has anyone linked/consisted on-board Z decoders with say a LokSound decoder and speaker under the layout?

Yes.

[wmcbride]

Ha!

I figured if anyone had done it, it would be you, Ed!

You have a wide range from O to Z...

[ednadolski]

Thanks @wmcbride but it wasn't much different than doing it for any other scale, just that the Z decoder does not have its own sound capability (and the SW1500 has no room even for the tiniest speaker).

I wish I had a vid, but the layout at this point it little more than an oval of track, so not very presentable.

Ed