As some of you may remember from the “Any good news” thread, I managed to arrange and extra day on a business trip in Cincy and was able to spend 5 hours at the show yesterday afternoon. I was very impressed with the show. V. big, as one would expect, with wide aisles and a very open feel to it. It was not too crowded and so it was really quite easy to speak to the company reps on the booths. Here are the highlights from my perspective.
Digitrax:
The new SoundFX decoder was on the booth and being demonstrated. In the quite noisy convention environment it was hard to really hear it well, but seemed very good to my ears. The same decoder has sounds for multiple diesel and steam (They were demonstratind diesel) selectable via CV, and allows downloading of sound. (No explanation of how as yet). Anyway, with an MSRP of $79.98 for the SoundFX and 4 function light decoder, this will really stir up the sound market. They will ship in the fall. I also got my first look, and use of a UT4 and promptly wandered over to the Tony’s booth to buy one.
TCS:
I have read a lot about the TCS decoders, but had never seen one, or used one. The size of the M1 and the MC2 just amazed me. I got to run a loco at very low speeds using the dither capability and was very impressed. I purchased 2 MC2’s from Tony’s (TCS would not sell direct as dealers were at the show) and can not imagine using any other decoder in switching loco applications.
Kingmill Enterprises:
A small craftsman laser kit maker with a brilliant idea. They are releasing software in the fall that allows you to computer generate a structure. Select the building shape, cusomize the dimensions, select the roof type, windows type and location, doors etc. Then choose the siding type etc. The software calculates the cost to purchase the kit. They you e-mail the output to them and they use it to drive their laser machine to make one off custom craftsman kits. turnaround time is expected to be a few days. Cos
My question is, are there going to be any Kato HO announcments, or have the big wigs back in Japan become even more arrogant?! “Everyone should model N-scale.” Theres nothing wrong with N-scale but I prefer HO.
Theres a new NewModel Poster on the Kato website and it shows only N-scale as far as it goes, January 2006.
I forgot to mention that much against my better judgement, I did go and get a demo of the MTH K4 and DCS. I was treated to a fairly defensive discussion about how MTH view the HO market. They are in it to sell locomotives not DCS, although they indicate that DCC has a very small penetration of the HO market and therefore DCS is a cheaper and better solution for a person interested in switching. They are apparently going to offer a module that will convert DCS to DC for people who what to run both their own DCS locos and other manufacturers locomotives ( but not at the same time!) The K4 is not yet shipping and won’t until the end of the summer. I have to say, that the fan controlled and DCS tuned smoke puffs are quite reaslistic. User adjustable from 1 to 9 chuffs per wheel revolution (4 being the prototype). They made a big deal about the scale speed control. Which in my view is totally irrelevent. My layout has so much distance compression, scale speed means nothing! I asked if in reality, DCS ownership basically locked the buyer into MTH locomotives only. The answer was that they could make the DCS, DCC as well, but decided not too as DCC is so complex and they want to keep trains simple. Anyway, there are no “Big” MTH announcements in HO. The troll was just that, a troll!!
Terrific synopis and highlights from the Cincinnati train show! [:D] Really helpful information to know! I’m liking what I’m hearing and reading about the new Digitrax sound decoders. The Kingmill Enterprises idea is an intriguing one. Thanks again!!!
Thanks Simon.
What a grand idea that Kingmill Enterprises has. You will be able to design a building to fit any place for any use. Hope the price is right!
Don’t know what the crowds will be like on Sunday but it was easy to get through the show on Friday and would recommend anyone in a reasonable driving distance to make the trip.
In addition to the scale stuff, the Lego display was incredible.
If you hadn’t already tipped your hand by showing your obvious MTH bias with your unfounded MTH hyperbole posted over the last couple of weeks, then your opinion might count for something.
Post something interesting about anything besides MTH and maybe we’ll listen …
I just got home from the show and all I can say is I was compleatly overwhelmed. I could never have put together as detailed a list of highlights. The layouts were huge, from Z to Lego. Lego had a model of the Cincinnati Union Terminal, the Z scales had the Matterhorn. There were so many great ideas I was, well, overwelmed.
KingMill quoted $19.95 on there flyer. You can check the program out at www,kingmill.com It does look interesting.
I to purchased some Bragdon powders. They had a great display and an informative staff.
Seeing and touching all of the DCC controlers was an education. Are there any other hamfisted people out there that can tell me how easy they are to use?
The hands on teaching stations they had set up for kids was wonderful. The kids were having a great time and it was very informative stuff they were teaching. I hung around the scenery station trying to learn something for a good bit.
I did stumble across the MTH display. Nice looking models but their entry into HO is a joke. Hidden back in the center of the display was a small circle of track with what could easily be one of only 3 HO locos they have yet built. I say three becaust that is how many are shown in the flyer but there is only one in each picture and they are identical except for some decals so it could be the only one. I did not see the DCS system except in the flyer, it looks like a piece of 1950’s auto test equipment with some throw-away stereo wires coming off of it.
I had a few things I wanted to pick up but ended up only buying the weathering powders. NMRA was out of the N scale track guage and I did not even see a BL2.
My wife went with me even though she would have rather been anywhere else. That was the best part of the day for me.
I suppose I was asking for this by even mentioning MTH in this thread. Sorry everyone! At least there will be one sale for MTH, assuming Rivet Counter is not an employee!
Ah-h-h- train shows!! Aren’t they fun??!? A nice report Simon, thanks. And yes, the Bragdon powders are great. The Kingmill idea sounds intriging. I will have to check that one out.
I haven’t taken many pictures, but I thought I’d add my $0.02 to the pot here. I had a short chat with Leon from Kato (and the former owner of my favorite hobby shop, before it closed), and there weren’t any serious announcements for the show. It seemed like a reinforcement of the stuff they already announced.
I finally got to see the Walthers 120’ turntable in action. It was really cool. Really cool.
I spent a lot of time talking with one of the founders of LokSound (ESU? in Europe) and with the distince absence of the Tsunami (I got a very cold shoulder when I said the word at the booth) I think they’re poised to make a really good entry into the market. Their decoders, while limited to 1.1A of draw, are very small, and have a whopping 1MB (8Mb) or about 65s of recorded sound. The demo was impressive. Definitely worth a look.
The Hornby live steamer was an impressive feat, but since it requires an amazing amount of current from a custom pack (17V/7A as full power) to power the resistive heater for the boiler, and because it spits all over the area next to the track, I won’t be getting one for my Carpet Empire. The guys at the booth did have encouraging things to say both about future Rivarossi models and about the possible availability of parts. I got a card and a phone number to call.
The brass dealers at the show seemed to be operating in an eBay-free plane of existance. The articulated Akane I bought last fall (at a fair price I might add) was fetching 50% more for an example in need of a total repaint and significant repair. A less blemished example of a later run was fetching the same astronomical price. I’m obviously not buying brass this weekend.
I had a chance to chat with Tim from FastTracks / handlaiddtrack.com about his jigs, as well as get some live instruction on their use. I think I’ll be handlaying some very reliable #6s and double slips in the future.
Sue from Testors/Floquil/Polly-Scale was kind enough to let me talk
In my opinion, MTH had the best display of the show. All of the people I saw there were impressed by the K4 and DCS. Looks like MTH has their competitors on the ropes.