Author Archive: John Cubbin
Mark Fielder’s Nn3 Pizza Layout
Several years ago, I saw a small model train layout on an Nn3 website that just clicked for me; as soon as I saw this layout, I knew I’d want a similar layout for myself someday. The layout is called The Pizza and the builder’s name is Mark Fielder from the UK. I’ve built many […]
Civil War Era Car Float
In this article, we’ll build the Micro-Trains Line N scale Civil War Car Float (MTL #499 90 960), this car float is the companion piece to the Micro-Trains N scale Transfer Dock (MTL #499 90 961) we built in a previous article. A car float is an unpowered barge with rails on its deck, used […]
Tamiya Acrylic Paint
A few years back, the Testors paint company discontinued their Floquil line of enamel hobby paints, these were a real favorite for many model railroaders. Several years earlier Testors also ceased production of a Floquil-based stain called Flo-Stain and again, it was a popular choice among hobbyists. More recently, Testors made the decision to cease […]
Civil War Era Transfer Dock
Here’s our new kit build from the Micro-Trains Line of US Civil War era laser kits, the Civil War Transfer Dock (MTL #499 90 961). Like the ventilated shed kit we built last time, I like this transfer dock because it’s not a structure you see every day on a layout. This kit absolutely does […]
Paasche H Airbrush Parts
What I like in particular about the Paasche H airbrush is its ease of use and as important, the ease of cleaning an external mix airbrush. This brush is about as simple as they come but it’s long been considered something of a workhorse in hobby painting. When using a Paasche H airbrush, you really […]
Civil War Era Ventilated Shed Kit
Micro-Trains Line has a new series of N scale trains and laser cut kits based on the US Civil War era of 1861 to 1865 and I thought I’d take a look at a recent kit in the series, the Ventilated Shed (MTL #499 90 959). With a footprint of just 2” x 3.75” and […]
We’re Now Raildig.com
Ztrains.com officially has a new name and new web address, Raildig.com. Ok, so what’s a Raildig? Well we started with Model Railroad Digest, pared that down to Model Rail Digest, then Rail Digest and in a moment of editorial clarity we arrived at Raildig. We were going to hold off on the new name unveil […]
Ztrains.com Gets A New Name
We’re making some changes here at Ztrains.com; the most noticeable right off the bat is we’re changing our name. In a week or so, we’ll no longer be Ztrains.com. Now we’ll still be working in and with Z scale trains of course, but we’ll also be looking in to some of the other model rail […]
Glyn Valley Tramway
In our last article, I mentioned we’d be looking in to other flavors of model railroading here at Ztrains and we showed a short video of a British Nn3 layout by Mark Fielder. We also used a photo of an Nn3 locomotive in that article produced by PECO, A British model rail company. I’ve known […]
Nn3 Scale Modeling
Recently I’ve been thinking about a relatively close relation of Z scale, Nn3. N scale narrow gauge, or Nn3, in practice is generally N scale model railroading on Z scale track. The models are N scale; the track is Z gauge, or 6.5mm. As I go along, I’m sure I’ll be corrected on some of […]