Sorry to hijack the thread, Garth... LINK -to- BR181 Facebook Post at z.scale.hobo's FB page Rokuhan informed me today that these two BR181's will only be available via Noch, Rokuhan's exclusive European distributor, not even available in Japanese market. So, to buy it, you will have to go through official Noch dealers. This is tentative and surely can change between now and December when the release is scheduled. Frank Daniels Owner - z.scale.hobo, a Noch Top Dealer www.zscalehobo.com
frank you did not hijack the thread this all pertains to the original subject the BR181, I was sworn to secrecy so said nothing until photo was published by Tony on Facebook, very nice looking loco a bit of surgery and a paint job and you could have one of Amtrak's newest in the North East Corridor.
Still tells me: Sorry, this content isn't available right now. Perhaps it's because I'm the last person on Earth without a fb account.
Garth: Log out of facebook and then try to hit that link. It isn't working even for me while I am logged in to Facebook. That's why I put my link in which doesn't require anyone to be logged in to FB to see it. Your photo posted here, though, is adequate and satisfies to curiosity to see the locomotives from Rokuhan. A note to all ... the catenary is merely for show, does not function. MSRP has been tagged at 219.99EUR
They look good. I hope that Rokuhan follow up with more European models and maybe produce something Swiss.
The partnership with märklin starts a new step. First, it was the roadbed track. AZL also partnered with them as they are more open to opportunities to grow their business and Z scale. They cannot make everything.
Hi Jeff: Just for clarification, I think you are mentioning the EMD E8/E9 AZL-Marklin collaboration. It is a wonderful product and a good sign from Marklin who cannot make everything (and they missed a TON of USA prototypes; you could argue that they missed almost all of them). This thread is about a Noch-Rokuhan release, the T950-1 and T950-2 DB BR181 locomotives. Just making sure that nobody construes that this is a Marklin release. Yes, Noch are scenery makers, but their unique position as the Rokuhan Europe distributor put them in a spot where they knew a smaller Rokuhan motor would fit perfectly into a never-before-released by Marklin prototype. Noch informed me that Marklin's motor would not fit into a BR181. So, that's why they went after this release as it filled a gap. If I missed something in your message, I apologize. But the way I read it, I can see if people start to think this is a Marklin product. It is not. It is labelled Rokuhan but was driven by Noch's marketing understanding of a missing item in the European locomotive rosters for z scale. As Holger Spaeing of Trainini told me: "The class 181.2 is a very important and also favorite model here in Germany. It ran to many cities with Intercity trains and had her “home track” in one of the most beautiful German regions - well known also for good wine." Thanks Frank Daniels Owner - z.scale.hobo Irvine, California USA www.zscalehobo.com
Hi Frank, What is the estimated release date for the BR181? Very cool locomotive - I actually made one by hand in brass years ago, and it looks like a locomotive that someone who was just learning how to do things would have built! (ugly!) I would love to replace / compare it with a quality injection product.
Tony of Rokuhan (now retiring, giving the reigns over to family) has had a growing partnership with märklin to supply them. While this was a Noch project, the relationship likely made it easier. Look for more.
Robert: Noch has put a December release, but I usually get new items after about 3 weeks due to the transit time. So I would say mid-January 2016. I will update the thread when the release is announced or if any delays occur. @Jeff: Interesting about the Marklin-Rokuhan connection - this should be exciting and you are right ... it is great to see Marklin reaching out to AZL and Rokuhan! Thanks for the info about Tony - I was not aware he is retiring. Thanks! Frank Daniels z.scale.hobo
Jeff: I just got "off the line" with Rokuhan. Tony Ichikawa is NOT RETIRING and there is absolutely no connection in the Rokuhan BR181 to Marklin at all. My contacts at Rokuhan were genuinely shocked when I asked if Tony was retiring. As I said above the BR181 is solely a Noch-Rokuhan collaboration. I am just making sure that correct information is being presented. Thanks. Frank Daniels z.scale.hobo
Wow, sorry Frank for any misleading info. Its just that Tony told us himself at the Portland NTS show.
As an update while placing my pre-orders with Noch ... these are going to be dispatched from Germany in January 2016. The updated artwork was provided by Herr Spaeing of Trainini: http://zscalehobo.com/rokuhan/t950-1.html http://zscalehobo.com/rokuhan/t950-2.html
Noch has confirmed shipping the BR181's from their warehouse. Expecting them in the USA in about 3 weeks. T950-1 BR 181 211-4 "Lorraine" Ocean Blue/Beige http://zscalehobo.com/rokuhan/t950-1.html T950-2 DB 181 219-7 Traffic Red Paint http://zscalehobo.com/rokuhan/t950-2.html
