Micro Trains February release

[johnb]

Lots of legal stuff there but in practice we avoid doing a special run subject for years most times...even then we do it reluctantly.  I think about more than half the special runs are proto-fantasy subjects mixed with unique cars that may have only been painted once.  We almost never get camera ready artwork and have to use our time and resources to get thing prepped.  I am not privy to all the finer points of the program...but considering what you get compared to what you pay, it's a pretty good deal.

Joe

can I have a quote on a Yosemite Valley boxcar set?

[nkalanaga]

A Yosemite Valley car might sell.  KD/MT used to do various shortlines on their USRA boxcars.

[Mark W]

The only injection molded 737 fuselages I have ever been able to find were 1:144, 1:180, and 1:200 scale.  But nowadays there are properly scaled 1:160 fuselages on Shapeways.  One of my many projects is to make decals for them (for my friend's Boeing train).

Supposedly the guy at Proto Loads found a perfect 1:160 scale toy in China, which he uses on his offering. 
http://www.protoloads.com/shop/n-scale-boeing-fuselage-set-4357/

Saw some on display in KC last year and he dressed them up pretty nice, despite lacking quite a bit of the finer detail on the actual fuselage.  The flat car deck and ice breakers are top notch.  But ultimately, 300 a pop is absurd if you ask me. 

I too have been eyeing the Shapeways fuselages, but I too have so many projects to get too first.  I'll definitely look forward to MT's release! 

[peteski]

Supposedly the guy at Proto Loads found a perfect 1:160 scale toy in China, which he uses on his offering. 
http://www.protoloads.com/shop/n-scale-boeing-fuselage-set-4357/

Saw some on display in KC last year and he dressed them up pretty nice, despite lacking quite a bit of the finer detail on the actual fuselage.  The flat car deck and ice breakers are top notch.  But ultimately, 300 a pop is absurd if you ask me. 

I too have been eyeing the Shapeways fuselages, but I too have so many projects to get too first.  I'll definitely look forward to MT's release!

Few years back I found 1:160 737 kit in eBay (made in chine and sold from Australia).  At least that was what the auction stated and the photo on the box showed. When I received it the box contained a knockoff of a 1:200 Boeing 777 with a decal to make it a 1:160 737. The shape of 777 is different than 737 so that was a no-go. I also found some 1:180 scale assembled and decorated display models of 737s but those were crude and still too small.

Frend and I revived this project last year when we found the 3D-printed 1:160 737 fuselages from Wolfbone Games.  While not perfect, they are adequate. Plus, they come in 2 different lengths.
First they were only available printed on a filament 3D printer 0 they needed a lot of work to smooth them out.  But we talked the owner to make them available in FUD from Shapeways.  Those are much better (but pricey).  He could probably thin the walls a bit more (to make them less expensive) but doubt he will - he already had to heavily modify his file to convert hem from the original format.
http://wolfbonegames.com/
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/wolfbone-games

[bbussey]

They are really diluting their NSC/NSE brand. I bought few of those couple of years ago as exclusive models frome the N Scale Collector Enthusiast (for big bucks) and now they are making them available as a regular MTL release to every Joe-Schmoe out there. I also had to buy two 2-packs to get 2 paint styles (they came in 2-packs of the same paint scheme).  If I knew they would offer a 4-pack with all the paint schemes to the general public I could have waited for the (less expensive) MTL version.

On any prototypical special run, MTL reserves the right to release the scheme as a regular issue after a year has passed. Pretty sure that's in the contract still, but it's been awhile since I've commissioned a special run. The exception is if the item is licensed through a third party, such as the Wisk mural trailer I commissioned in the '90s. I've been fortunate, they've never reissued any ESM-commissioned prototype schemes. But if the item is intricate or difficult to produce, that works as a deterrent as well.

[sundowner]

I wonder what size 737 is coming in the kit. There have or will be like 8 different sizes anywhere from 94ft to 144ft for the future Max 10, although 129ft is the most common.

[nkalanaga]

Is the extra length a simple cylinder spliced into the middle?  If so, the fuselage could be designed in sections, with the nose and tail making the 94 ft version, and extra sections added to lengthen it.

If every length has a different taper, obviously that won't work....

[sundowner]

Is the extra length a simple cylinder spliced into the middle?  If so, the fuselage could be designed in sections, with the nose and tail making the 94 ft version, and extra sections added to lengthen it.

If every length has a different taper, obviously that won't work....

That not how the 737 is made thought, the fuselage is made into one completed nose to tail unit at Spirit in Wichita, then ship to Boeing Renton to be completed. So you could have depending on generation three or four different size on the same train.

[peteski]

That not how the 737 is made thought, the fuselage is made into one completed nose to tail unit at Spirit in Wichita, then ship to Boeing Renton to be completed. So you could have depending on generation three or four different size on the same train.

I think that Nick was thinking that the model could be molded using multiple sections. That way it could be assembled into any variant of the 737 fuselage, then placed on the flat car (as a complete fuselage).  I believe that he is also correct that some different variants of the real 737 are created by adding plugs which lengthen the fuselage.

[cjm413]

On any prototypical special run, MTL reserves the right to release the scheme as a regular issue after a year has passed. Pretty sure that's in the contract still, but it's been awhile since I've commissioned a special run. The exception is if the item is licensed through a third party, such as the Wisk mural trailer I commissioned in the '90s. I've been fortunate, they've never reissued any ESM-commissioned prototype schemes. But if the item is intricate or difficult to produce, that works as a deterrent as well.

I've heard that Athearn has a similar policy with special runs.

[nkalanaga]

Peteski:  That's exactly what I was thinking.  I've seen the prototypes, and yes, they are shipped complete.  But if the cross section is constant through the center portion, a modular model would be easy to do.

I suspect that Boeing makes them that way.  It would be a lot cheaper than building various lengths as unique designs.

[sundowner]

Peteski:  That's exactly what I was thinking.  I've seen the prototypes, and yes, they are shipped complete.  But if the cross section is constant through the center portion, a modular model would be easy to do.

I suspect that Boeing makes them that way.  It would be a lot cheaper than building various lengths as unique designs.

I misread your quote, yes that would work and it would be similar to the way Spirit put the fuselage together. On the prototype the wingbox or center section, cockpit and tail are the same. the fuselage length is determined by how many plug they put in front and back of the wingbox.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Peteski:  That's exactly what I was thinking.  I've seen the prototypes, and yes, they are shipped complete.  But if the cross section is constant through the center portion, a modular model would be easy to do.

I suspect that Boeing makes them that way.  It would be a lot cheaper than building various lengths as unique designs.

That is exactly how the prototype is built. It is one reason why you won't find a 747 with a second floor over the wing section - that would require a totally new fuselage unit. So they add extensions fore and aft of  the wing which is why the 747-800 looks so damn long.

The original 737 was really short, and designed for less than 100 passengers. I think the 737MAX is almost twice as long. Really is a testament to how adaptable the model has been over the years.

Joe... Any chance of seeing complete models of the 737?

Actually, have you thought about a Micro Planes line? I would REALLY by interested in that.

[nkalanaga]

Sundowner and Daniel:  Thank you.  I have no particular interest in airplanes, but love to learn how things are built, whatever they may be.

An airplane that might sell fairly well to model railroaders is the Curtis Jenny, or a similar  but somewhat later, biplane.  They were used for many years, and some may still be, as crop dusters, and quite a few rural airports were near railroads.  All one would need is a dirt strip with a shed for a hanger, a few farm chemical tanks/silos, and a windsock.

[basementcalling]

In an alterNate reality, N scale would be 1:144 in proportions and life for modern load modelers would be so much simpler. Heck, wide hoods on diesels would be history too. And engines would pull better as a result of the increased weight.