Märklin Model Railroads: Bringing Classic Toys to Life at Spielwarenmesse 2017

The hobby of model railroading or model trains accompanies many enthusiasts throughout their lives. We don't know whether the word Märklin is already a synonym in the dictionary, but many people use it accordingly. And not without reason. You are amazed when you see how much attention to detail goes into the vehicles, buildings, tracks and landscapes. This applies not only to the look, but also to the sound. We visit the company at the Spielwarenmesse 2017 to be shown new models.

Märklin, Trix and LGB - 400 new products at the toy fair

Simone Dericks: Hello Mr. Peschel, hello to you. I am delighted that you are here! You've brought over 400 new products to the trade fair and we're going to take a look at a few of them. What have you brought with you? Eric-Michael Peschel: We have brought 400 new products for the Märklin, Trix and LGB brands to Nuremberg and we have, of course, brought corresponding models from the largest gauge, the Königsspur, gauge 1. We are showing here a beautiful class 42, which we have not painted, where you can see exactly which materials are used in our company. One is die-cast and the other is brass. Brass, because people can see that this locomotive has value, that it brings weight to the track and therefore also has tractive power. Simone Dericks: You can't produce that by machine, can you? Eric-Michael Peschel: Yes, we do both. On the one hand, we do machine production. Die-casting machines from different segments, where these boilers are cast accordingly. But of course we also produce brass parts and plastic parts by machine. The machining and precision work can only be done by hand. The detailing and the exact degree - because our model railroaders are the ones who look at the model and check whether all the rivets are in place, the scale and the length are correct and measure everything - has to be right. And the women actually do this for us because they have such good fine motor skills. The women work on this model and their busy hands also assemble it.

Model railroads with authentic construction and realistic sound

Simone Dericks: When you listen to the sound, it sounds so true to the original, when I close my eyes I could be standing at a train station! Eric-Michael Peschel: We have a team. When we launch a locomotive on the market, the team goes and checks where the locomotive is, whether it is still in running order and then the sounds are recorded. In other words, we get in touch with the operator of the locomotive, set up microphones and record the sounds. These are then, of course, digitized and installed in the locomotive. Simone Dericks: This is the top class, you say. How many classes are there at Märklin? Eric-Michael Peschel: There are different track sizes: We have the smallest track size - that's a scale of 1:220 - the smallest system railroad, where the locomotives are manufactured accordingly using die-casting. Then there's the N gauge, which we have from the Trix company, Minitrix. The scale is 1:160. Then, of course, the widest gauge in 1:87 scale. I will show you a beautiful class 42 later, which is a completely new design from our company. Then of course here in 1:32 scale. And for the people who have a really big garden. We also have a 1:22.5 scale garden railroad for them, where people can play model trains even in winter or when it rains.

New features for the Märklin 42 series

Simone Dericks: So there is so much to discover at Märklin and let's take a look at this class 42, which interests me! Mr. Peschel, I'm sitting here with the class 42 and you've also brought us a train. What's new about it? Eric-Michael Peschel: The complete locomotive. A class 42 was actually a very important locomotive. It is a heavy freight locomotive that was still missing from our range. This is the only reason why we made this completely new design this year. We already had this locomotive on our radar a year ago and have already made all the preparations in the factory. So this locomotive will certainly be available in specialist shops in 5-6 weeks. It is already being assembled in Göppingen. Here we are already showing the finished model with the matching wagons. These are ore wagons, which means that the load here is not just any plastic granulate, but real ore. Simone Dericks: May I take it in my hand, because I would like to know how heavy it is. (Takes it in her hand) Yes, it has a good weight. It's actually very sturdy. Eric-Michael Peschel: Yes, exactly. The way you're already holding the locomotive, it's obvious that you've become a real model railroader in such a short time. Simone Dericks: Yes, I'm starting to develop a love for it. What should I invest if I'm interested in the new series? Eric-Michael Peschel: The locomotive as it stands costs €390. 390 sounds quite a lot at first. Of course, you have to add that the locomotive has almost 300 individual parts. We see time and again when people come to our factory and take a tour of the plant that they go out and are amazed that the locomotive only costs €390, because then they see how intricately the model is made. It has a full sound, just like you've seen before in 1 Gauge. All the sounds and features are included here, of course, and you can hear them.

Märklin with Bundesliga license

Simone Dericks: What I've often seen at various trade fair companies at the fair is licensing. Does Märklin also have something there? Eric-Michael Peschel: We have acquired the license for the Bundesliga 2017/2018, which means that we are now not producing our own team, but we are producing 18 wagons with the individual Bundesliga clubs. I'll show you that now. Simone Dericks: Oh, I'm interested! Now we're at the Bundesliga! Eric-Michael Peschel: Exactly, we have a total of 18 wagons. We've organized them in the same order as the current Bundesliga. This means that we will certainly update the table today and make some changes. So there are a total of 3 sets of wagons, each with 6 wagons and of course a locomotive. This locomotive is the driving force behind the Bundesliga. Simone Dericks: In other words, the way you display it here, the customer can always put together his wagons every Saturday, just as the Bundesliga is at the moment. Eric-Michael Peschel: That's our idea. Let me put it this way, playful moves, that's an ambiguous story. Simone Dericks: Thank you, that was a really excellent and fun conversation. I hope to see you again next year, when you will probably be back here at the trade fair with lots of news. Eric-Michael Peschel: You can be sure of that. Thank you very much.