1/285th scale rails?

[TAMMY]

There is an advantage using Z scale tracks that you can't have with resin rails. It is possible to show effect of the passage of a Schienenwolf wagon. May be a bit on the expensive side but it is very scenic nad, after all, you will not use these traks for a train.

[gunbunny]

Everyone,

I want to thank all for the great ideas and the excellent pics. I must admit that I am disappointed in the fact that no one makes tracks the way I would like but it seems that z scale will have to be the answer for now.

Gunbunny

[7.62]

One more that you could try are the ZZ scale sets by Bandi as ZZtrain (I thnk).
ZZ is 1/300, a small set with a loop of track and a three car train use to pop up on ebay.
They run (on a watch battery) way too fast but look OK.
I picked one up for $25 a few years back for an airport terminal I was planing.
Don't think I still have it but if I do I'll post photos.

[6mmwargaming]

My understanding was that Bandai was the only one that released ZZ scale and they only made a set or two before discontinuing them. I think they are pretty collectable so the may be hard to find. It would be cool to have a working 1/300th scale railway on your table though.

Cheers
Kieran

[Mk 1]

My understanding was that Bandai was the only one that released ZZ scale and they only made a set or two before discontinuing them. I think they are pretty collectable so the may be hard to find. It would be cool to have a working 1/300th scale railway on your table though.

I used to travel to Japan quite often ... had 27 entries in my last passport!

I saw the ZZ scale train sets in toy stores all the time. Particularly in the little toy stalls that are in the larger train station mall complexes (like Tokyo, Shinagawa, Shinjuku, or Osaka stations). You are correct that Bandai appears to be the only one to pursue the ZZ Scale. But they made several sets, modelling various train lines in Japan such as: the Kodama Shinkansen (Bullet Train), the Yamanote Line (Tokyo commuter circle train -- carries more passengers daily than any other train), and the View Wakashio line (picturesque coastal train running north from Tokyo). I think there were at least 6 or 7 in total. I also believe they are still being produced, but I haven't been to Japan for a few years so I could be wrong.

The kits were all pretty much the same. An oval of track, a 4 car train (with a battery-powered locomotive), and one other "feature" -- a girder bridge with pilons, a traffic crossing with gait, a station, or some other train-related structure.

I never bought a set for my wargaming purposes. I had no need for a "working" engine, and the trains themselves were not really generic enough for Europe or North Africa (my gaming interests), Since the tracks were mostly curves (I think they came with 16 curved sections and 4 straight section?), they didn't match what I needed in tracks. And, of course, being a working train set they were rather expensive vs. a static model (which would serve my purposes just as well.

Instead I have bought some locomotives in the Furuta line. This is another toy maker in Japan. They make very small toy items that come in bubble-gum type vending machines. Put in your coins, turn the knob, and you never know quite what toy will come out.

But if you go on eBay you can buy only the items you want. There is a vendor called MicroNation that usually has a variety of the Furuta products. The train engines have their scale identified, and range from about 1/170 to about 1/360. I figure anything from 1/260 to 1/320 will work well for my needs.


Here is the locomotive I bought to be a generic WW2 steam engine.


This one was bought to be my generic overhead-electric locomotive. It is a 1950s design, so can serve a wide timespan.


This one is my generic modern European Diesel locomotive.

All of these are actually models of Japanese locomotives. But to my eye they are generic enough to serve wherever I might need. For example the diesel is almost identical to a picture I have of a Russian train locomotive in the 1990s.

They come with the track you see. It is plastic, and you only get two or three pieces with each model -- enough to set them up on display, nothing more. So my interest in track is strong.




I have a commercially-casted train station. Tried casting my own track several years ago. They have been a part of the scenery of my games on several occasions. But the appearance of the track was never quite good enough for my tastes.

Soon as I get two dollars I can rub together, I'm in for 6 or 8 feet of track.