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Show Report

Nuremberg Toy Fair 2018

MATT TAYLOR shows us what he found at this large toy fair in Germany.

As most railway modellers are aware, the first week of February is when all the main model manufacturers meet in Nuremberg for the Spielwarenmesse, or International Toy Fair. This event has been running since 1949, and features around 2,800 stands and attracts around 70,000 visitors. I travelled there with my colleagues Ian Fowler and Terry Smith, and we met with many of our suppliers, and other important people in the model railway industry. As most model railway manufacturers announce their new items around January-February, it's also a great chance to get a sneak preview at new items that no-one else has seen yet!

I flew out to Frankfurt on the Tuesday and then took the ICE train down to Nuremberg. I always enjoy this trip as it's not every day I get to travel on an ICE-3 unit!

I arrived in Nuremberg and went into the show the following day. We had meetings booked all day, every day, so you are moving from one stand to another and very rarely having a break. Meetings lasted every day until I came back to the UK on Sunday evening.

Below I have highlighted some interesting products coming from just some of our suppliers over the coming months.

The new FA120290 Container Depot from Faller really caught my eye. This unit looked fantastic and although this will be a large kit to build, it can become a centrepiece of a layout.

Piko are releasing a new Piko Diesel locomotive in their G Scale range, which will be useful for most industrial layouts. There will be a couple of different liveries, as well as a track-cleaning version in a fun 'track maintenance' livery.

There is an addition to their SmartControl DCC Control system, the SmartControl Light handset. This ergonomic controller is user-friendly, with a control dial and the ability to control up to 24 locomotive functions.

Roco have decided to improve the already good app that's used with the Z21 Digital Controller. The user interface is a lot better and the main new feature is the ability to design track plans on the app. Not just a picture and position points on top of it. A very good upgrade and nice to see them continuing to upgrade the system.

Marklin have continued to build on the myWorld range, with an exciting new Elevated Track Set and an Airport with Light and Sound.

They are also producing items based on the new film called Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver. This book written by Michael Ende is a fictional story about a boy on an island called Morrowland. The new M22790 SNCF TGV Duplex V 150 EMU is a fantastic model and ideal for any collector.

Another one for collectors is this new range of Coca-Cola licensed products in HO Scale.

Kato have announced that they will be the first company to produce an N Scale model of the ICE-4. This is the latest in high speed units which will start to run in Germany in the next few years. I will hopefully get to ride on one down to Nuremberg soon!

The new 10-Car Shiki-Shima Set in N Scale is going to be spectacular. This distinctive locomotive pulls an excursion train, which provides unique journeys through Japan.

Lastly, Kato are releasing a new version of their popular analogue controller. This enhanced version now has 1.2A output, and can power lights on locos and coaches even when they're not in motion. You can still 'stack-up' point switches and other accessories on the side outputs.

These are just some of the new items arriving in the future and gives you all a little idea into what happens each year in Germany. Keep an eye on RIGHT LINES for more details on new items by manufacturer.

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