PIKO Starter set pictures

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?

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.

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

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

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.

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

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:

http://www.technomodell.de/index.html