New York Central 20th Century Limited class J3A Dreyfuss Hudson steam locomotive. Hybrid (brass and plastic) construction, five-pole skew-wound motor with flywheels, driver-synchronized puffing smoke unit, and Paragon2 dual-mode sound and control system. 1938 (two road numbers) or 1940 (three numbers) paint schemes. $499.99. Spring 2013. Ready-to-run. Hybrid Paragon2 series. Broadway Limited Imports, 386-673-8900, www.broadway-limited.com
HO scale freight cars
New York Central steel boxcar. Available with 7-8 corrugated or Dreadnaught ends, AB brakes, and running boards. Four 4-packs available or eight single cars (all with unique numbers). $29.99 each; four-pack, $99.99. March 2013. Ready-to-run. Broadway Limited Imports, 386-673-8900, www.broadway-limited.com
Northern Pacific 41-foot flatcar kit. Injection-molded plastic kit with metal stirrup steps but no trucks, couplers, or decals. Two-pack, $12.95. Central Valley Model Works, 805-489-8586, cvmw.com
Amtrak Superliner cars. Coach, lounge, or sleeper in phase 3 paint. Factory-installed details, fully detailed interior, and metal couplers. Coach and sleeper include dry transfer numbers. $80 each. Kato USA Inc., 847-781-9500, www.katousa.com
Sawmill with micro-motion reciprocating saw. Laser-cut cardstock kit with interior lighting, moving saw horse and reciprocating saw, ready-to-use mechanism, and decoder that’s compatible with Märklin, Motorola, and Digital Command Control. $261.85. Price depends on exchange rate. Noch GmbH & Co., www.noch.com
Great Northern 25-foot double-sheathed offset-cupola caboose. Laser-cut wood kit with tab-and-slot construction; peel-and-stick windows, doors, and trim; and plastic smokejack. Trucks, couplers, and decals aren’t included. $31.95. American Model Builders Inc., 314-646-8588, www.laserkit.com
Assorted seated or standing figures. Hand-painted. Six-pack, $12; 50-pack, $95; 250-piece, $450. JMD Plastics, 920-865-1219, www.jmdplastics.yolasite.com
Assorted seated or standing figures. Hand-painted. Six-pack, $15; 50-pack, $115; 250-pack, $525. JMD Plastics, 920-865-1219, www.jmdplastics.yolasite.com
Electronics/controls
T1-LED and T4-LED drop-in decoders. With built-in resistors for light-emitting diodes.
Full-featured, 2 and 4 function hardwire or harnessed decoders. Include auto adjusting back-electromotive-force control for slow-speed performance. T1-LED, $26.74; T-4 LED, $29.91. Train Control Systems, 215-453-9145, www.tcsdcc.com
Digital Command Control decoder. Drop-in installation in Kato N scale E5 and E6 diesel locomotives. Eight-function decoder with back-electromotive-force control. $42.75. Train Control Systems, 215-453-9145, www.tcsdcc.com
Scooter’s Static Stick static grass applicator. Designed to create a static field 3” to 10″ from target surface. Runs on a 9V battery or optional 9V power supply. Works with Noch, Gale Force Nine, and Woodland Scenics materials, among others. With 110V AC adapter, $99 (without adapter, $85); with international 220v AC adapter, $100. Fast Motion Graphics, 206-743-8676, www.fastmotiongraphics.com
40-foot combination-door boxcar. Custom-decorated HO scale Accurail kit offered by the Overland Western Lines Model Railroad Club. Modeler-applied individual road number decals. $18 plus $7.50 shipping. Mail orders to: Darin Umlauft, c/o OWL cars, 2020 Grandview Dr., Slinger, WI 53086; www.owlrr.org
I'll be using those magnify tweezers for more than MR purposes such as checking for deer ticks that might cause lime disease,
I'm glad about the new run of Broadway Limited Imports' HO models of the distinctive steel 40' boxcars built for the New York Central and some of its subsidiaries in the 1920's. But both the BLI and the Walthers websites show the same car numbers as in the first run. A phone call to BLI didn't yield info as to whether the forthcoming cars will have new numbers.
Even if they don't, I'm hoping to get one car in each of the two paint schemes I didn't get last time.
The models are beautifully detailed. I have just two quibbles about the two I have. First, removing the blackening from the treads of their wheels resulted in exposing a brassy or coppery color beneath a very thin plating that's supposed to replicate the shiny steel treads of real freight cars (in many cases, the only part of them that IS shiny). I've had similar problems with wheels on some Red Caboose cars, but not with Atlas or Kadee wheels. Second, I wish the color of the cars was a bit less brown and more red.
I would like to see Model Railroader Magazine to include more on Z scale once in awhile. For your information Z scale is all grown up.
Great! A cheaper static grass application system is just what we could use. Let's hear it for market competition.