Going to Europe - Germany & Czech Republic

[Fluesheet]

Tools:

Unimat displayed a range of machine tools from a set for kids, to a set for hobbyists, to a more "professional" set. The difference between the hobbyist and professional set is quality of materials - you can work harder metals with the latter and do so with a finer tolerance, otherwise they were essentially the same tool. A kit can be configured into two tools - a mill or a lathe. These are the perfect footprint for me if I were in the market, but are somewhat expensive. I got the impression of great manufacturer support. The two folks pictured knew the product and were very enthusiastic. You would think this was a no brainer at a trade show, but some folks were surprisingly standoffish.

The first photo is the hobbyist line, the second, their professional line. They also had a CAD CAM set up going - that's the mob of people in the background of the second photo. The kid's set would be a lot of fun for a machinist grandfather to introduce their kids to the craft. My buddy may pick this line up. Incidentally, Unimat is also the distributor of Sherline machine tools in Germany - they had one Sherline set up for CAM as well.

Question: Unimat rings a bell - were they previously distributed in the U.S.? I think I recall the name popping up when I was drooling over Sherlines a few years ago.

   

   

[sgtcarl1]

I have seen Unimat products advertised in some of the Wood Working magazines, and hobby/craft magazines I have recieved, over the years.

[Fluesheet]

Thanks Carl. I'd thought I'd seen it, but after doing some web searches assumed it was a brand that was no longer being produced. The vendors said they occasionally show up at model engineering shows in the U.S., but don't have a very big marketing footprint.

Matt

[sgtcarl1]

I was quite impressed with Prague, especially the stately buildings. If they look that good now, just think of what they must have looked like before the wars!!! Loved the city square and the massive clock. I have a tourist book on it as well as the pics I took-would be glad to share those, too. Did you see the "unique" fountain in the city square in N'burg? Audre alias "beautiful wife"

[Fluesheet]

Carl,

Are you referring to the fountain that is placed across the market square from the church? Or this one?

   
(That is me, but don't blame me for the pose - I was blindly following instructions !!! I will own not acting my age though...)

Matt

[Bob C]

Yes, Matt...UNIMAT used to market quite actively in the US in the '60s/'70s. They had ads in MR and RMC almost monthly and several of the LHSs here stocked the multi-function units and accessories. They were much better promoted than Sherline, which was sold more as a Pro tool (more$$$ for Sherline, but percieved better quality). Think there was some financial trouble in the early '80s (?), and they disappeared. Always wanted one of them, though had NO clue how to use one ! Bob C.

[Fluesheet]

Dingler:
This company had some absolutely beautiful larger scale models. The first image with the professional looking video crew was not that uncommon at the fair. Several groups were setting up at different vendors doing commentary.

The close ups are of a Pacific type locomotive. Unfortunately, the full length photo I took was spoiled by glare. It's worth taking a look at his web site (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.dingler.de/">http://www.dingler.de/</a><!-- m -->). This particular model under the "Neuheiten" ("innovation") link. Check out the photos there. Amazing detail - including operating reversing mechanism. This model was 1:32. The center crank driver really caught my fancy, as did the crosshead detail.

   

   

   

Matt

[Fluesheet]

I didn't get this vendor's catalog - I'll have to check my video to see if I captured the company name.

I found these locomotives very interesting. Where as the photo in the previous post is of a three cylinder engine, with a single crank in the center, this is a locomotive with two cylinders, *both* of which are inboard of the drivers. I'm doing some educated speculation here, but I would guess that is one possible reason for the minimal counterweighting (little need to offset a "rocking couple" (waddle). Note the lack of main rod - only side rods and valve gear (eccentric crank and what looks like rotary - poppet possibly?). I have close ups of the cylinder area if there is interest. Does anyone know more about this locomotive?

   

Electrics are big in Europe - this vendor was selling nothing but pantographs and catenary poles. The had a short layout with a very uneven catenary to show how well their pantographs "tracked" (sorry, no photo of that!).

   

[cnw1961]

The NMBS Type 12 (the green steamer from your last post) is from Belgium. Here is a short video of the prototype: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8hWac3OWoc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8hWac3OWoc</a><!-- m --> . Turn down the volume before you play this vid or the Belgian barrel organ will blast your ears

[Fluesheet]

Thanks Kurt. That eccentric crank flying around without a mainrod for background (last scene) was a very cool sight.

[Fluesheet]

This was an interesting item. A model of Wuppertal, Germany's suspended railway. The prototype has been in service since the turn of the LAST century and is still used on a daily basis. Most of the cars are modern, but they apparently have at least one car-set from 1901 - apparently that train is very popular for wedding receptions and the like.

The model is built mostly of etched brass and is 7feet long (and can be extended). The car-sets are powered by a onboard rechargeable battery which will power it for about 25 hours. The vendor is Lutz Hielscher Technische Spielwaren (Technical Toys) - <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.hielscher-dampfmodelle.de">www.hielscher-dampfmodelle.de</a><!-- w --> - mainly sells very small live-steam and sterling engines - my friend distributes some of this Lutz's products, so knows him well - great fun to talk to.

He also had one in N scale!

   

[Fluesheet]

This was very cool - a number 1 gauge Big Boy weighing in at 160kg (~350 pounds), 2.5 years in the making, that will sell for about "We think about $150,000, but that hasn't been finalized". hock:

Super well detailed - a fully functional, remotely extendable smoke deflector was the coolest example. It was nice and stoutly built - the running gear suggested live steam well enough that I had to ask that question, just to be sure. I wasn't the only one. He plans on building 20 - all uniquely numbered (just like the real thing!).

The beautiful O scale A above it looks almost tiny in comparison! I didn't ask about it - this booth was supposed to be for Kohs and Company, so in hindsight I'm wondering if it's one of their models.

I thought I had more photos of detail, but I must have taken that with the video camera - I was juggling three cameras the entire time (phone, video and still)!

   

[Fluesheet]

Most of the larger vendors had dioramas to display some of their products, this one is Brawa. As far as fine detail, color and textures, I think Brawa's display was one of the better ones as a display of craftsmanship. Good scenic detail knows no international borders!

   

Not much railroad in this one, but a nice effort...

   

[AF350]

Great pics Fluesheet


Dingler looks like a cool bunch of trains, did you see any TT gauge trains? I have a catalog from an old german company that made TT scale/gauge trains TT = Table Top

[Fluesheet]

I did see a fair amount of TT gauge. Now that I think about it, I may have seen more TT than N. Interesting scale - 10 years ago I would have been interested in that size (assume there was some american stuff) as a nice balance between N and HO, but then I turned 40!

TT scale is 1:120. I honestly didn't know this until I saw a display at the fair that said "1:120"

(TT and OO are both scales that I sort of kind of am aware of, but they are VERY low on my personal radar!)

More pictures later. Still need to get Marklin and some other big ones up.

Matt