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Structures
Locomotives and rolling stock attract most attention, but there is more to a
model railway, and structures, accessories, and scenic
items form an important element of the products displayed in Nürnberg.
The following survey is necessarily selective, and concentrates
on railway-related items.
Faller
The main railway structure amongst the new items in HO is ‘Gera-Liebschwitz’ station
building (above), a Prussian edifice dating from 1892,
brick built with stone quoins, with annexe and attached
goods shed; it forms part of a series of structures from
the former East Germany, as does a kit for a large water
tower based on that at Weimar (below). Both come weathered,
and can be expected in November.
Catering for those who lack the time,
or confidence, to assemble a kit, Faller propose some ready-made
models - ‘Waldbrunn’ station
building, a two-road loco shed, a goods shed, and ‘Mittelstadt’ signal
box are all noted for September.
The modern two-road shed for electric locos due in July (below) has opening
doors, and the option of a motorised drive to work them.
In May we get a goods shed (above), a goods platform and loading gauge (below),
and a horse-drawn cart plus pile of sleepers, all weathered.
Moving away from the railway, also in the ready-made range are a concrete mixing
plant, a rural half-timbered house, and a large
country house, ‘Falkeneck’ (all September).
Other civil structures include the Premium Model of the Year, a modern car dealership
with showroom, workshop, working hoist, interior fittings,
lights, and signs (July).
City structures include - various town houses with a wine bar, a bookshop, and
a food takeaway, the latter on a corner, all weathered
(April); a house renovated after re-unification with
adjacent building site (October); a house under construction,
weathered (June); a town house being renovated, weathered
(June); building site accessories (June); a set of interior
fittings for detailing offices and houses (July); open
and enclosed modern bus shelters with bicycle racks (April);
and a small town church, brick built, weathered (October).
In the ‘History’ range of complete and painted structures, October
sees the release of a village church (with onion dome
spire), a small guest house, and a Black Forest house.
The East German theme is expanded with three specials representing distinctive
structures - the planetarium at Jena, weathered,
and the Berlin television tower (120cm high!) are planned
for October, followed by Luther’s house in
Eisenach.
In contrast there will be a modern environmentally friendly dwelling designed
and built by the Kampa company, and a set of garden accessories
(July).
Camping is a theme this year with kits for a campsite office and restaurant
building plus two caravans and two tents, with other
accessories; a kiosk, bike sheds, and toilet/shower
block; caravans; tents; and hiking accessories (rustic
bridges and shelters, weathered). All are due in
June, followed in July by boy scouts’ camp.
This leads us into the country, where in August there will be a new kit for
a farm, with a modern house and a large stable block,
the main doors of which open, and can be motorised. Additions
and accessories include an implement shed, the stable
interior, fences, field mangers, and an old farm cart.
March should see a whole new range of fences, over a dozen types, from industrial
via agricultural to domestic, from practical to decorative.
In October Faller will release several kits to make a zoo, based on Hagenbeck
near Hamburg which is celebrating its 100th anniversary
- the ornate entrance, and enclosures for penguins, polar
bears, and red deer.
New figure sets (some clearly related to the themed kits) include construction
workers, passersby, ramblers, scouts, table tennis players
and other campsite characters (all June); pigs and goats,
and two different horse-drawn wagons (August); merry
drinkers, red deer, and mountain goats (October).
The Car-System in HO gets some even smaller vehicles - VW Beetle (Busch), Trabant
601, Mercedes C class, VW Golf IV (all Herpa), VW Camper
(Brekina), and - to suit the farm theme kits a modern
Massey Ferguson tractor and trailer (Herpa). Among other
new trucks and buses, there will be a new version of
the Setra S315 coach (a Rietze model) fitted with working
interior and external lights.
There are no new offerings for TT this year.
New kits in N scale include ‘Mittelstadt’ signal box (above) (August);
a loading dock with crane (July); a platform
with cast-iron canopy (August); a field track level
crossing, with hut and barriers (July); an oil
tank (August); a wood store (October); two new three-storey
city houses with ornate facades, weathered (both
April); a half-timbered two storey village house,
weathered (July); three sets of farm accessories
haymaking, hay rolls and bales, and straw bale
figures (all October).
As in HO, some familiar kits will be offered ready-made - ‘Karlsberg’ station
building, a goods shed, a two-road loco shed, a
concrete mixing plant, a rural farmhouse, and a moated
castle (all September).
In March some new fences will also be offered in N (though not as wide a selection
as in HO) and there is to be a new set of modern
(dummy) street lights (April).
There will be some new figure sets - construction workers and filling station
personnel (June), and two sets of passers-by, merry
drinkers, and deer (October).
New Z scale items include a small town hall (March), two types of fencing (March),
and two figure sets - passers-by and policemen (both
October).
Scenics
The selection of ready-made trees is increased with packs of three birches (c.9cm
tall), four black poplars (12cm), and six poplars
(10.5cm).
Additions to the Premium tree range (individually handmade, with fine foliage,
flexible branches, and a metal-cored trunk) include:
4cm bushes (3), 4cm thujas (6), 5.5cm deciduous
trees (5), 8cm apple trees (2), 8cm cherry trees
(2), 8cm alders (2), 8.5cm planes (2), 10cm oak,
13cm birch, and 14cm alder; there will also be
a pair of leafless trees, and set of five low relief
trees and brushwood, intended for placing against
the backscene. (All September.)
There will be a new selection of natural scatter materials representing stone
in various colours and sizes, including coarse
grey-green and beige stones, fine mid-grey
gravel, medium and fine beige-brown ballast, and
a dark grey ballast designed to match Märklin
C-Track. (All November.)
Pola
The Pola display was part of the Faller stand, as usual, since the brand name
is now only being applied to G scale products,
described on their own flyer. The items are weatherproof
to allow outdoor use.
New are a half-timbered house (April), a market stall selling potatoes (June),
and a set of ten window boxes (June).
July should see the release of some new figure sets - two signal box staff,
two track workers, six seated figures, and six
goats.
Vollmer
Major new railway items in HO are ‘Altenkirchen’ station (above)
(due in June) and ‘Altenburg’,
similar in style but smaller (July) (below).
Other planned railway structures include a single track loco shed (below)
(April), a goods shed and store, and some lineside
huts (both September), and a post office and
parcels depot (June).
The modern multi-storey car park is to be reissued in new colours in April;
July sees a snack bar and a small petting
zoo, with animals, while in September the ‘Klimperle’ piano
factory might make a lineside industry.
Especially for (2)007, ‘Casino Loyale’ (a re-work-ing of Baden-Baden
station building), with appropriate accessories,
can be expected in June); naturally the kit
comes with a licence to build! Presumably the
box should be shaken, not stirred ....
In the budget series there will be three kits for houses based around the same
structure, which has rendered walls with stone
quoins, in different colours and with varying
details (all May).
Packs of flowers (red and blue asters, white tulips, and a mixed meadow) should
all blossom in April, with a flower kiosk and
a stall selling strawberries following in July.
New figure sets (each of six items) include DB staff, track workers, goods delivery
men with loads, construction workers, policemen,
standing passengers, walking passengers, and
joggers. (All July.)
The N scale range gets a Schwabian local tavern, a set of railway arches accommodating
various enterprises, horse stables, a sheep farm,
and a petting zoo. (All October.)
Märklin/Trix
Structure kits are planned for a car factory - a large office block, a small
gatehouse, and two workshop buildings (one looking
very much like a loco shed!), all in the style
of the early 20th century (below). The
kits will all be limited editions, laser cut
from special hard architectural card.
Kibri
As usual, the new items leaflet is more of a proposed production programme:
with such a large repertory, most of the offerings
are re-releases of re-runs, often in different
colours or combinations. There are several themed
groups of related structures and accessories,
often involving the vehicles and construction
equipment for which Kibri are noted.
HO - an enclosed brick-built water tower (fourth quarter) (below), a steel
water tower and separate water crane (fourth
quarter), a signal box and footbridge, plus
a footbridge extension (both third quarter),
coal tubs with narrow gauge track (for a
loco depot); a concrete plant with silos and
fuel tanks (second quarter); a sawmill with
portal crane and accessories (second quarter);
a typical Westerwald church and (separately)
the churchyard stone wall (third quarter); themed
sets collecting existing houses for the Harz,
Münsterland,
and Märkgrafler Land (second and third
quarters), plus extra single structures.
N - Herbede mine complex, partly new tooling, repeated from HO, with winding
tower, engine house, coal washer, administration
block and tower with bridge (second quarter).
Schönried station is offered in a set with
matching alpine houses (second quarter), while
in the third quarter we get ‘Krefeld’ over-track
signal box, a footbridge (below), ‘Osterburken’ platform
and canopy, and ‘Munderkingen’ post
office.
Z - a goods shed with loading dock and portal crane; a trackside store house;
and a collection of factory buildings (all fourth
quarter).
The principal railway item in HO is ‘Borsdorf’ halt (above), of
wooden construction, with fencing, nameboard,
timetable board, bell, and separate toilet
block; the kit is due in May.
However, the main
new structure kit is a village forge in half-timbered
style (above), with interior detail and accessories;
it is scheduled for September, along with
a large dovecote in half-timbered style,
plus a well (below).
Other May releases include a wooden store and lean-to garage (below); a small
supermarket with interior detail; and more
economical card buildings for beginners -
a small station with goods shed, a signal
box, and a single track loco shed.
Also planned is bumper pack of detailing accessories - huts, fences, tools,
bicycles, stacks of timber, rubbish and recycling
bins, and more; plus accessory packs for scratchbuilding
or kitbashing windows and window surrounds,
and industrial windows.
This
year’s addition to the range of plastic
sheet materials is wooden cladding with
cover strips at the joins (due in September).
A major new kit is planned for TT - a large overhead coal hopper suitable for
a main loco depot. It is based on the one
at Chemnitz-Hilbersdorf, a variant of a DDR
standard type, and fits between two tracks
(at 51mm centres). It is due in September,
and represented at this stage by a prototype
picture.
Also coming at that time is a small workshop complex with crane and office.
In
N, the main new kit (expected in September)
is for the ‘St.Marien’ clinic,
five separate buildings, as constructed
in the 1970s using the pre-fabricated
panel system; so with a change of signs,
etc., it could have other uses.
Accessory packs of windows and doors for domestic and industrial buildings should
appear in May.
As to scenics, there will be further packs of trees made from sea foam and foliage
material, of assorted sizes, in leaf green
and dark green. Foliage mats (25cm x 15cm)
will be produced in matching colours. The
range foliage colours will be augmented with
lilac. All are due in May.
Piko
Piko list four new HO structure kits as part of their Hobby range - a mineral
oil depot office and store; a kebab take-away
kiosk; a suitcase factory (above);
and a high school in East German pre-fabricated wall panel style (above), complementing
the apartment blocks already offered. All
are due in the second quarter.
New for Gauge 1 is a small station building, ‘Altdorf’, brick built
with attached goods shed (above).
New for G scale there will be three different market stalls, while for the American
market expect a single track covered
wooden bridge (below), a feed & seed merchant,
and as accessories a pair of rocking
chairs.
All these new items are scheduled for the second quarter.
All Piko large scale structures are weatherproof and equally suitable for garden
railways or indoor use. They are easy to
assemble, realistically weathered, and mostly
have doors that can be opened.
Heris
Heris are offering structure kits in their HO ‘JuniorLine’ - after
the success of the windmill and the large
container crane, a sawmill with working
tipping log wagon unloader should become
available this year; planned is a substantial
loco shed, with annexe (below). Although
basic, the mouldings do have reasonable
detail, and the kits could be ripe for modification
and enhancement.
Modellbau Kai Brenneis (MKB)
This specialist has developed quite a range of mostly railway-related HO structure
kits in laser-cut card and wood; most are
German outline but they have some Danish,
French, and Italian subjects too. They also
offer a custom creation service, with relatively
small quantities feasible.
Among new items is the road bridge at Hamburg Dammtor (above), designed to extend the embankment along from the station
represented by the Märklin/Trix structure
kit. It crosses the road below at an angle
of 30°.
They are also introducing a range of versatile modular industrial facades (above
and below), seven different elements
including doors and archways, with an attractive
combination of brick and render finish,
three storeys high.
The underlying structure (seen in the views of the station building, below)
is tab and slot which is not only easy to
build but very strong, yet relatively light.
 
Other recent railway-related releases using the same construction techniques
include Bispingen station building (above)
and a brick-built signal box from the Altona
harbour line (below).
 
Stangel
This Polish enterprise makes etched nickel-silver structure kits, with some
cast components, with a very impressive
level of fine detail. They are now delivering
the 1:32 scale structures announced last
year for the ‘Sonnenborn’ branch
line station building, a single track loco
shed, and a water tower.
This year they are planning in Gauge II (G) a Prussian style water tower as
a resin kit, and for Gauge I individual
segments to make up a roundhouse loco shed,
with working doors. There will be various
shed and workshop accessories to complement
the building.
In O they have a selection of town buildings as low relief facades (above);
here the basic materials are plywood and
card, laser-cut.
EpokeModeller
This
concern from Denmark is also exploiting
laser-cut technology to make parts in
wood and card, with etched metal details
and accessories.
New
to their HO range in the coming year will
be kits for Roskilde roundhouse, a crossing
keeper's cottage with all the necessary
crossing components (above), a workshop
or barn (below),
a
small village house, with either rendered
or brick walls (below),
a
covered wood store, a stack of wooden slats,
an ornate verandah (below) and typical
DSB fencing and gates.
They
also propose a selection of Danish bicycles
(below) - ladies, gents, a post bike, and
delivery bi- and tri-cycles.
The list also includes cycle stands, station
bench seats, platform tractors and mesh trolleys,
letter boxes, and beer crates (below).
ER Decor
These Belgian scenic specialists displayed on their stand a superb diorama showing
a vegetable garden with laser-cut foliage
for the plants.
They
are also distributing a new range of
HO scale laser-cut card buildings by
MBZ Modellbahnzubehör /Thomas
Oswald, appropriate for the Schwarzwald
area. The surface textures of the
various elements were especially impressive.
The centrepiece of
their display was a diorama featuring
a Belgian station building, Ronse (above),
in HO, the start of a new range, also
in laser-cut card with real wood doors
and trim. Outbuildings and the goods
shed will follow later, and if successful
more structures will follow.
Their new range of trees was also featured in the scene; they are a realistic
high (c.22cm) and have real wood trunks
and fine foliage.
Weinert
As well as their well-known locomotive kits and detailing parts, Weinert also
produce quite a range of road and agricultural
vehicles, and an increasing selection
of small accessories.
New to the range of scenic accessories in HO is a set of four jacks and two
cross beams as used in loco sheds and
small workshops to lift small locos
(below). The components are brass.
To suit the Peco inspection pit they are marketing a useful accessory made by
KHK Modellbahn of Köln, laser-cut
card inserts representing brick
finish for the side walls and floor,
plus bridging plates (below).
Somewhat more rustic is a set of scales for grain sacks, made up of brass parts.
The sets of pre-printed signal boards and lineside signs which have proved popular
in HO will also be offered in TT and
N.
Haberl & Partner
New to their select range of structures is a small wooden water tank on a low
stand (below), described as American,
but suitable for other settings.
The previously announced water mill building will only be made in HO as there
were not enough orders for the N and
Z versions.
Also new this year is set of station and loco depot signs, and a kit for a set
of office furniture - tables and chairs,
cupboards, and filing cabinets.
To complement their existing threshing machine, there will be a kit of cast
metal and etched parts for a Lanz type
SKS 600 hay baler (below).
Schreiber Bogen
This company offers a huge range of printed card kits, depicting both historic
and contemporary buildings, grand
and vernacular, famous and commonplace,
in many scales - some in conventional
railway sizes, many others architectural
- but worth considering for use in
the background or with perspective
modelling. European castles are a
speciality.
It is amazing what they can create from flat card their range includes boats,
aircraft, road and rail vehicles,
and figures and animals!
The most useful new item this year for railway modellers, in HO, is the fourth
set of old town buildings, with
arcades at the ground level (above).
Suitable for N is a set of four
old town houses (below); the Brandenburg
gate is also new to the range.
Viessmann
New to the range of lights using LEDs, which offer virtually unlimited life,
lower current draw (allowing three
times the number of lights for a
given supply), and minimal heat generation,
are slim single and double arm street
lights.
There is also a working scale size (in HO) tail light for Epoch II and III vehicles
(above), suitable for use on DC,
AC, and digital supplies.
New scenic items with animated effects include children on a see-saw (above),
and a small rustic toilet with
opening door.
alphamodell
The Hungarian signal specialists are working on a range of Swiss colour light
signals in HO scale exclusively
for RailTop-Modell. They represent
both the system L and system N components
(above). The illumination
is by LEDs with built-in resistors,
and the masts use a multi-pole plug
and socket system.
Brawa
There are some additions to the patented socket-based lamp system, which uses
a small cylindrical socket mounted
in the baseboard and wired to the
supply, and the lamps simply plug
in. The large area metal contacts
ensure positive connection, and
the socket is tolerant of 10° misalignment.
The system allows easy removal to
prevent damage while track cleaning
or in transit, or to allow repair,
or even substitution of the fittings
to change the period.
 
New in HO will be two styles of gas lamp (50mm high) (above) and a modern yard
light (115mm); in N, a gas lamp
(40mm) (above right), a park lantern
(38mm), and a double-arm
platform light (65mm) (below).
Besig
New accessories from this Gauge 1 specialist include a small portal crane, a
new water crane, and a telegraph
pole.
Hack
Brücken
Hack
Brücken produces
a wide range of girder bridges
of various types and sizes, hand
made in metal for HO, TT, N, and
Z. They are suitable for all types
of track, and look fine and delicate
but are quite strong.
Artitec
Artitec kits
are mainly resin, and feature
complex single pieces, with extra
small detail parts and etched
accessories. They are superbly
detailed, yet should be easy to
build - the trick to the finish
is in the painting, and thorough
tips are supplied. The display
models are always inspiring.
New this year in HO are a tall
brick factory chimney, either plain
or with iron rings, and a superb
coaster (above) - not small
but a wonderful feature for a harbourside
setting.
Also new is a small lighthouse (above); like all the other new items it is offered
in both HO and N.
The selection of city facades in low relief will be augmented with department
store and a building housing
a solicitor’s office.
Followers of French secondaires will welcome a small goods shed, and a water
tower.
A number of small accessories are offered both as kits or ready-made - a sleeper-built
buffer stop, electrical equipment
boxes, and an ornate roadside
cross. The same applies to some
vehicles - a horse-drawn cattle
trailer; a cart for ladders; an
oil car; a dairy delivery tricycle;
a set of four German bicycles
(1920-1960), two gents and two
ladies; an electric luggage trolley
and trailer; a small sailing dinghy;
and a small rowing boat.
Artmaster (Norbert Schuh)
 
Artmaster market items made for them by Artitec. Many of their offerings
are military, but marine subjects
are also significant. There
are many additions to the range
this year, including a dockside
watch hut with accessories (above),
a substantial crane (below),
a harbour tug (below right),
 
a harbour launch (below left),
a small barge (below right),
and rowing boats (lower).
 
To complement this hardware they also have figures, and new releases include
divers (above, left), marine
guards (above, right), hospital
staff (below, left), and dockside
workers (below, right).
The new eight-axle heavy load bogie well wagon might well be carrying goods
on the dockside, while the Magirus
RS1500 forestry tractor is for
an altogether different environment.
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