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Kickstarter: ME Models Tracks for both metal and ABS only track pieces

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28 minutes ago, Jeffinslaw said:

I received my tracking number! I'm excited!

-Jeffinslaw

So, they're shipping to people ordering from the website before the backers again...

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2 hours ago, coreyg said:

So, they're shipping to people ordering from the website before the backers again...

Mine shipped after major store orders. You will get yours though. Mike will make everyone whole :)

-Jeffinslaw

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14 hours ago, Jeffinslaw said:

Mine shipped after major store orders. You will get yours though. Mike will make everyone whole :)

-Jeffinslaw

I just got an email saying mine is shipping Tuesday.  I guess they are shipping everything at once and it takes time to ship everything.  That makes sense and I'm very happy to finally get it.

 

-Corey

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You are not alone. Aussie here. No contact since I got a PM on here 28 May 2015. Ordered one of each loop in ABS.

 

Edited by K-Style

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I wonder why with this kind of company policy people even bother to buy the rails. That's quite beyond me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

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1 hour ago, McWaffel said:

I wonder why with this kind of company policy people even bother to buy the rails. That's quite beyond me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Only option out there currently.

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17 minutes ago, jrathfon said:

Only option out there currently.

I mean I get that Lego track is quite limiting, given it only has a set radius and all, but I'd rather go out and buy Lego track and use it in my layout right away than spend money on something and wait two years for them to eventually arrive? 

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29 minutes ago, McWaffel said:

I mean I get that Lego track is quite limiting, given it only has a set radius and all, but I'd rather go out and buy Lego track and use it in my layout right away than spend money on something and wait two years for them to eventually arrive? 

My crystal ball must have been defective 2.5 years ago when I backed the kickstarter.  They had a prototype for the straight track which they had been selling a couple years earlier and it looked (to me) like they had everything figured out and just needed some startup cash to get stuff going.

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Been following this thread for awhile, and it appears some are becoming impatient!  It may be helpful to know that ME Models is two people who decided to make L gauge track with very limited resources.   While the ABS track was designed and built with some challenges, the 9-volt track was much more difficult to design and manufacture.  I'm guessing the final design is a result of the difficulty presented when attempting to put metal over the ABS track they had already produced.  It takes $$$$$!

That said, for those who do not like ME Models result, I can offer the results of my efforts in converting ABS L gauge track to 9 - volt track.  I pledged through Kickstarter way back when ME Models started and took the ABS track and covered it with SS Tape.  Been running heavy 8 wide trains on it for about two years.  The results fall short of satisfying!  Labor intensive, requires fixtures, and less than ideal shelf life.  Track does not relocate easily (shows) and the centripetal forces on the curves causes the tape to loosen.  All one would need to do is spend several thousand $$ on highly conductive tape and developing an adhesive that will permanently adhere metal tape to ABS plastic!

Photos show three R88 and two R 104 tracks

STF-23-3.jpg

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22 minutes ago, asleepatheswitch said:

That said, for those who do not like ME Models result, I can offer the results of my efforts in converting ABS L gauge track to 9 - volt track.  I pledged through Kickstarter way back when ME Models started and took the ABS track and covered it with SS Tape.  Been running heavy 8 wide trains on it for about two years.  The results fall short of satisfying!  Labor intensive, requires fixtures, and less than ideal shelf life.  Track does not relocate easily (shows) and the centripetal forces on the curves causes the tape to loosen.  All one would need to do is spend several thousand $$ on highly conductive tape and developing an adhesive that will permanently adhere metal tape to ABS plastic!

I would imagine the permanent adhesive is not a good solution either, since the metal tape its self wears of. So after a lot of use, not only can you not replace the permanent tape, but the track is not as conductive and may make track useless entirely. I think what we really need is to hope that metal 3D printing becomes more readily available.

//Edit: Also, prices for track need to be somewhat lower than genuine Lego, if you're trying to sell to a broader market than just people who want custom radii. 9V track goes for $3.00 - $3.50 a piece so $2 for reproduce track is what they should aim for. I don't see that happening with the current production processes.

Edited by McWaffel

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1 hour ago, McWaffel said:

I would imagine the permanent adhesive is not a good solution either, since the metal tape its self wears of. So after a lot of use, not only can you not replace the permanent tape, but the track is not as conductive and may make track useless entirely. I think what we really need is to hope that metal 3D printing becomes more readily available.

//Edit: Also, prices for track need to be somewhat lower than genuine Lego, if you're trying to sell to a broader market than just people who want custom radii. 9V track goes for $3.00 - $3.50 a piece so $2 for reproduce track is what they should aim for. I don't see that happening with the current production processes.

The price you are quoting is for used track. If you compare the price of new 9V track on BrickLink, which had an average price of $5.56 over the last six months, ME Models is better priced. When looking at used price, if you can find a good amount of 9V track at $3.50ish (one store has 423 pieces at $3.14 each) then that is the better route to go. I spent a good amount of time talking to Mike from ME Models and he was telling me that in order to manufacture the track the same way as Lego did it, you would be looking at $7 a straight. So that explains why they went with the model rail roading standard of using the rail joiners. It offered a good price point.

If you want cheap straights, buy used on BrickLink. If you want new stuff that may or may not support future power adapters, again, can't confirm nor deny this, then go with the ME Models stuff. 

-Jeffinslaw

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Got my track today! Man it is a pain in the a** to put together. But, it does look great and trains look sooooo much better on it. Unfortunately, it looks like they didn't include the extra half straights and conversion packs I had ordered. 

Overall, very pleased. Now time to order parts to ballast these things so they're a big stronger.

-Jeffinslaw

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As Dfenz said, at the moment shipping costs to Europe are prohibitive. I've emailed them to ask when their European reseller brickshop.nl will have stock of metal curves but no reply sofar.

Shame, would have liked to use the metal curves for my next event in April but can't see that happening now.

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17 hours ago, Duq said:

As Dfenz said, at the moment shipping costs to Europe are prohibitive. I've emailed them to ask when their European reseller brickshop.nl will have stock of metal curves but no reply sofar.

Shame, would have liked to use the metal curves for my next event in April but can't see that happening now.

Same with me, I planned to order a loop of R72 and R88 to replace my curve-straight-curve build loops, but with this shipping cost (50% price of items) I simply won't do this. :(

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On 1/18/2017 at 8:45 AM, Duq said:

As Dfenz said, at the moment shipping costs to Europe are prohibitive. I've emailed them to ask when their European reseller brickshop.nl will have stock of metal curves but no reply sofar.

Shame, would have liked to use the metal curves for my next event in April but can't see that happening now.

 

9 hours ago, Ashi Valkoinen said:

Same with me, I planned to order a loop of R72 and R88 to replace my curve-straight-curve build loops, but with this shipping cost (50% price of items) I simply won't do this. :(

Have you guys checked shops in Europe? Mike said they had been shipping large orders to retailers overseas. 

-Jeffinslaw

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On 1/17/2017 at 8:16 PM, legoman666 said:

32237030386_1a39a97df5_b.jpg

I recommend doing this to eliminate the need for the adapter pieces. 

I received the missing parts of my order Saturday (props to ME Models for getting it in the mail ASAP!) I haven't had any issues with the conversion pieces. I bought some half pieces and turned my conversions into full length pieces. Works well and doesn't add any weird geometry to the loop. Also, the connection on the Lego style side of the conversion pieces are great. Fit very nice and snugly. 

-Jeffinslaw

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What if you want to put a switch right before a turn? You can't, there will be a 1/2 straight in the way. Thats what i mean by mess up geometry.

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A switch right before/after a turn is a bad idea anyway. I actually like that I can now put half a straight between the turn and the switch.

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If you have more than one engine on the head, the second unit tends to "jump" unless there is a straight between the switch and the curve.  Too many derails, I always have a straight on both sides of the switch.

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10 hours ago, asleepatheswitch said:

If you have more than one engine on the head, the second unit tends to "jump" unless there is a straight between the switch and the curve.  Too many derails, I always have a straight on both sides of the switch.

I'm having this problem not on multiple engines, but with the 3rd rail car attached after the leading loco. On every pass, it climbs the rail, go too fast and it derails. Interesting thing, though, I'm having this problem only with the newer PF track. On 9V track this is not an issue... I'm wondering why?

 

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When I have a problem with the cars climbing, it usually because a truck does not swivel freely.  It only takes a brief moment on an R 40 or any curve for the truck to "jump".  There can be quite a bit of back pressure as the cars turn.

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My me-models Kickstarter timeline:

2014, April 17th ... pledged 85 US$ for a full loop of metal R56 rails
 
2014, May 17th ... the Kickstarter project was funded, estimated date for delivery was announced for September 2014
 
2014, September ... nothing happened 
 
2015, January ... ABS rails became available in the regular me-models online shop. I purchased all radii of ABS rails. Shortly after I updated my website with a little report
 
2016, July 17th ... special pre-order option for metal R104 and metal R88 for those who didn't received rails from the Kickstarter campaign 
 
2017, January 7th ... email with shipping confirmation and tracking number from me-models
 
2017, January 26th ... picked up my rails from the local customs office here in Germany, had to open the parcel and present the contents too the officers. "Is this LEGO?" "No, but it is compatible with LEGO." "Ok, please pay 19% tax on the amount for the rails and the shipping." (Yes, this is the way it works in Germany if you buy outside the EU). Finally got my reward from the Kickstarter campaign and the stuff if ordered last summer plus a little extra conversion rails.
 
Unbelievable, almost 3 years waiting and now finally receiving a very valuable add-on to the LEGO train hobby. The weekend is ahead, so I might find time to set up the metal stuff and see how it performs? 
 
I hope everyone with a similar history with me-models and Kickstarter will finally end with all ordered rails very soon.
 
Holger

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