Bucksco
1st Class Member
Bucks County, PA
Brakeman
Posts:72
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 | | 10/02/2008 8:10 PM |
| PIKO's new starter set (pre-production/ undecorated) Track Expander packs Add on cars | | | |
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Treeman
1st Class Member
POLK CITY, IOWA
Foreman
Posts:156
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| | 10/02/2008 8:28 PM |
| | The UP car in your photo looks blue. Are the colors comming thru correct. | |
Mike
Kidman Tree Farm | |
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vsmith
1st Class Member
SoCal
Conductor
Posts:996
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| | 10/02/2008 8:52 PM |
| | Nice...Is there a tongue to mount a coupler on the front of the lokie? | |
 Kitbashing, welcome to the Dark Side | |
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krs
1st Class Member
Foreman
Posts:144
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| | 10/02/2008 9:00 PM |
| Posted By Treeman on 10/02/2008 8:28 PM
The UP car in your photo looks blue. Are the colors comming thru correct.
Why? Don't you like baby blue?
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Bucksco
1st Class Member
Bucks County, PA
Brakeman
Posts:72
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| | 10/02/2008 9:14 PM |
| | I was working in a dark warehouse not a photo studio. They are gray. | | | |
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Great Western
The English Riviera, Torbay, Devon
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Posts:250
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| | 10/04/2008 7:16 AM |
| As they are pre-production I guess detailed comment should wait for the production stock. Although I model American 1:29 so it is unlikely I would get this item. One
wonders why they have made the NYC boxcar (turquoise colored one) when
two 1:29 manufacturers already make this model. I don't feel the hobby
is best served by frequent duplications. There is a limited market in
large scale and many folk are asking for road names not yet made. The UP hopper looks grey to me.  | |
regards,
Alan Lott (G1AEU)
http://picasaweb.google.com/FSigs52
http://www.paignton-steamrailway.co.uk
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
People will accept your ideas much more readily if you tell them Benjamin Franklin said it first.
David H. Comins
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krs
1st Class Member
Foreman
Posts:144
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| | 10/04/2008 8:56 AM |
| Posted By Great Western on 10/04/2008 7:16 AM As they are pre-production I guess detailed comment should wait for the production stock. Although I model American 1:29 so it is unlikely I would get this item. One
wonders why they have made the NYC boxcar (turquoise colored one) when
two 1:29 manufacturers already make this model. I don't feel the hobby
is best served by frequent duplications. There is a limited market in
large scale and many folk are asking for road names not yet made. The UP hopper looks grey to me.
Ah..........are these boxcars not 1:32 if they are former MDC molds? MDC was 1:32, so was the ore car (or hopper)
The DB gondola looks more like 1:27 or so like the steam emgine just comparing it to the two LGB cars on either side.
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calenelson
Non-Paying Member
Foreman
Posts:392
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| | 10/04/2008 9:09 AM |
| Jack...now rush them into Home Depot and Lowes and see what happens!...well after you change all printing on the boxes to English (most of us don't like to press 1)...other than that, it looks nice and a great place to start!
cale | |
‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King I tell you. | |
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Bucksco
1st Class Member
Bucks County, PA
Brakeman
Posts:72
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| | 10/04/2008 9:14 AM |
| The printing on the Starter set box is in English. It's made in Germany so you get German on some of it- could be worse, eh?
The NYC boxcar and reefer are designed as "Add ons" for the NYC starter set.
The UP Ore car and UP reefer are designed to go with the UP starter set. The sets are for beginners and hopefully they will want to buy PIKO add ons since it's a PIKO set. It's a marketing thing! | | | |
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Fritz
Brakeman
Posts:76
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| | 10/06/2008 2:01 PM |
| The sets are for beginners and hopefully they will want to buy PIKO add ons since it's a PIKO set. It's a marketing thing!
Which of the Piko add-ons should the US- beginners look for? Track, switches? Have never seen a Piko switch anywhere yet.
Well, customers can always make Mr. L. Polk happy. Or Mr. USA-Trains.
Maybe they should try the European Piko-offerings: http://www.gscalemad.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=763
They even announce one of this MDC Ore cars with German lettering. Almost unbelievable.
Have Fun
Fritz / Juergen
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rpc7271
1st Class Member
Mesa, Az
Foreman
Posts:145
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| | 10/06/2008 2:16 PM |
| | The ore car, reefer & boxcar look exactly like the old Model Die Casting cars. Did they buy their old molds? | | | |
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Bucksco
1st Class Member
Bucks County, PA
Brakeman
Posts:72
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| | 10/06/2008 3:27 PM |
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Ltotis
1st Class Member
Brakeman
Posts:69
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| | 10/06/2008 5:45 PM |
| They had to start somewhere and I think these sets and add-on cars are a good start for them to break into the US market. As for them alrady doing a NYC car whem ohter people have already made them has more to do with name recognition of the RR. I got to see Piko track early on and it looked better than LGB.
LAO | | | |
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Fritz
Brakeman
Posts:76
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| | 10/07/2008 1:41 AM |
| Hi,
I suppose most people mainly like the track they can afford or which they can get their hands on. LGB introduced their track after a traditional Swiss meter gauge prototype 40 years ago. At least the seize of the ties and the space between them is more or less in 1 : 22,5. The height of the rails are much overseized. There must be millions of miles of LGB track laying in gardens all over this world.
So most companies offering rail today made their Code 332 rail compatible to LGB to compete with them or get market shares. Some offer different tie spacing or seizes to make it suitable for standard gauge trains. Today you can choose rail, made from different materials, from at least 10 different makers. There seems to be a tendency to use lower profiles and materials other than brass. Looks better and uses less resources.
Pike introduced their Code 332 brass rail in 2007. The sleepers seem to be a bit smaller with sharper edges than LGB rail. You can see a few pictures on this page: http://www.spur-g-news.de/pikogleis.htm The folks which wrote that article are doing a long-time test with it.
Have Fun
Fritz / Juergen
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krs
1st Class Member
Foreman
Posts:144
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| | 10/07/2008 11:53 AM |
| Posted By Ltotis on 10/06/2008 5:45 PM
I got to see Piko track early on and it looked better than LGB. LAO Larry - Could you perhaps elaborate what looked better than LGB?
The rail itself is identical, so it has to be the ties, but what about the ties?
Here is a picture from G-Scale-news that shows the Piko track (shiny section) in the middle of a run of LGB track. The two have slightly different ties, but I personally don't find one better than the other - at least in the picture.
What I do find annoying with the Piko track is that they molded the Piko name into the top of the end tie of each track section so it is visible every foot or so of you use sectional track.
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Fritz
Brakeman
Posts:76
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| | 10/08/2008 3:01 PM |
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What I do find annoying with the Piko track is that they molded the Piko name into the top of the end tie of each track section so it is visible every foot or so of you use sectional track.
PIKO stands for "Pionier Konstruktion" and they were very proud of it in the old GDR. If they brand the ties clearly, nobody will accidently take them for PEKO track, which is a fine British product.
I like the tiny little turnout. What´s the number. Looks even smaller than the old LGB R-1 Feldbahn switches. Do they plan to offer a peat or mining train? Does it have a motor or a lever somewhere?
The sleepers are cut in a very unusual manner. Aren´t the edges supposed to be square. The long guard rails are a fine detail, which might improve safe running with longer rolling stock.
Have Fun
Fritz / Juergen | | | |
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krs
1st Class Member
Foreman
Posts:144
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| | 10/08/2008 3:46 PM |
| Fritz.....you are so funny.......
Mistaking Piko for Peco.........tiny, little turnout.............motor, lever?, no you just grab the rail and move it of course..............long guard rails for long rolling stock............
Are you forgetting that we are talking about "Toy Trains" here?
Now I see why you always sign off with "Have Fun"
Knut | | | |
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Spule 4
2nd Class Member
Foreman
Posts:482
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| | 10/09/2008 5:26 AM |
| Posted By Fritz on 10/08/2008 3:01 PM What I do find annoying with the Piko track is that they molded the Piko name into the top of the end tie of each track section so it is visible every foot or so of you use sectional track.
PIKO stands for "Pionier Konstruktion" and they were very proud of it in the old GDR. If they brand the ties clearly, nobody will accidently take them for PEKO track, which is a fine British product.
Have Fun
Fritz / Juergen I have a couple of their DDR era cars in my H0/H0e collection. The cars are the same quality as the offerings of the west of that time. Ditto with my Zeuke and technomodell items. BTW, technomodell are now in IIm, both 32 and 45mm gauge: | |
Garrett
"She'd been in Belgium, she told me...Studying the pyramids. It took her years to find out that there were no pyramids in Belgium." | |
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Fritz
Brakeman
Posts:76
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| | 10/09/2008 8:41 AM |
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BTW, technomodell are now in IIm, both 32 and 45mm gauge:
II m in Germany stands for Metre Gauge in 1 : 22,5 scale. Technomodell only offered some Rolling stock, like a I K and a IV k loco plus some wagons and track in 32mm gauge. They are no longer made.
Mr. Walter, the senior owner told me a few years ago, that the demand ceased after they united the two Germany. Everybody bought LGB or US material.
Technomodell is doing very fine now with thei narrow gauge models in HO-Scale.
Have Fun
Fritz / Juergen | | | |
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Cougar Rock Rail
1st Class Member
Canada
Foreman
Posts:128
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| | 10/09/2008 9:15 AM |
| Has anyone tried using Piko rail in LGB ties? The reason I ask is that Piko rail is readily available here in Canada, but I would prefer to use the LGB ties to match my existing track. Shipping from Germany shouldn't be too bad just on ties, so assuming the rail profile is the same, it may not be a bad option.
Keith | | | |
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