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 Posted - April 10 2009 : 10:07:23 PM
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Ughh  . . . I just got back from 2 hours of wandering around the aisles of Wal-Mart (sorry Romcat  ) looking for cheap HO models. I found some pretty decent stuff though. I also had an "aha moment." Here's what I figured out: When diecast model companies such as matchbox and hotwheels make their models, they make them all the same SIZE not the same SCALE. This means that their hot rod cars are the same size as their trash trucks. In the real world, hot rod cars are not as big as trash trucks. Probably about 1/3 the size. This makes it really hard for model railroaders who want a certain scale, such as HO. You really have to compare models to make sure they're HO scale. However, there are some easy pickings . Wal-Mart has these awesome little cardboard cases sitting on the shelves as you walk down the diecast aisle. Each one has HO scale models, and each one is a different discovery. It makes my day just walking down the aisle when they've just gotten a new shipment and seeing all the amazing little vehicles just waiting to be bought and stuck on my layout. Plus, they are all highly detailed and usually cost under 2 bucks. Today I also saw some EXTREMELY high detail Caterpillar onstruction equipment. They looked exactly like Athearn models, but get this: They were pre-weathered! They had a little spray of light brown paint to look like dirt. They only had road graders and a little bulldozer in stock when I was there, but I think they carry more, they just didn't have them in yet. The only bad thing is that they were 10 dollars. Still, thats 5 bucks cheaper than athearn, and they're pre-weathered. Anyway, back to my purchases. I found a cool construction playset made by Maisto. It had about 12 vehicles, including a semi. The semi was almost exactly HO scale, and I wanted it the most, but it also came with a bunch of other trucks that were close to HO scale. There were some weird tractors that werent even near HO scale though. I also picked up some semi cabs for 4 bucks apiece. I am looking for some trailers, but I think the local hobby shop might be able to help me out there. I got some matchbox trucks that I think are close to HO scale. One tank truck, one front-end loader, and one scraper. The scaper and loader need new paint jobs. I also picked up some of those new Matchbox Big Rig trucks. I got the MW trash truck and the King Concrete truck. Hopefully I'll add these vehicles to my layout soon. Check out the pics:
heres the maisto set with the semi cabs:
heres the matchboxes:
heres the new matchbox rigs:
-Jacob
Quote: "I didn't fail, I just found 1200 materials that won't work"
-Thomas Edison
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Posted - April 11 2009 : 10:23:11 AM
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That Matchbox garbage truck looks identical to the one that used to go up and down our street. It's since been replaced, though.
What do the Caterpillar ones look like?
    
- Matt -
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Posted - April 11 2009 : 5:39:20 PM
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I didn't actually buy the caterpillar tractors since I already had a grader and bulldozer, but I'll look on the internet to see if I can find some pics.
Just imagine an Athearn John Deere road grader with the Caterpillar name and a light spray of tan towards the bottom.
-Jacob
Quote: "I didn't fail, I just found 1200 materials that won't work"
-Thomas Edison
Edited by - Dorptrains on April 11 2009 5:41:52 PM
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Posted - April 11 2009 : 6:28:12 PM
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Ok, heres a picture I found on the internet (its of a case of the models):
You can kind of see the weathering. I'll try to snap a pic the next time im in walmart (wonder how many strange looks Ill get . . . )
-Jacob
Quote: "I didn't fail, I just found 1200 materials that won't work"
-Thomas Edison
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Posted - June 22 2009 : 01:26:43 AM
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I knew we had a post about this somewhere lol. So in anticipation of getting my own layout someday. I've been buying a hotwheels/matchbox cars here and there if they looks reasonable and fit within the 1950-1980(ish) time frame. Plus for under a buck, buying them is instant gratification . So far I have my racing Datsun 510, a buick GN with wheels I swapped on (little newer than I'd like, but it has the boxy look I go for), and 78 Dodge Monaco police car. Last week I found some construction equipment, I was going to make a flat car load...but I don't have a flat car for it to ride on. So as a experiment I pulled out chalks and this was the outcome...
Mine is on the left of course, rest are part of a ongoing digging operation on the rental layout. I wonder why its still going on? (hehe) I thought about buying the Caterpillar ones they are really nice. But they are a little new looking, and I figured I could attempt to weather it myself for much cheaper haha.
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Posted - June 22 2009 : 07:25:30 AM
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Ahh, I have been building up a stock of those 1:87 Hotwheels cars for a while now. They have decent paint jobs, and only cost $1!!! I have 6 or 7 by now, and will post pix soon, and this time for real, because summer is coming...
...only 2 1/2 days of school left...
D.J. (Yeah, I'm "that kid"... Deal.)
http://railroadrandomness.blogspot.com/
Look; a new blog...
Yippee!
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Posted - June 22 2009 : 09:19:37 AM
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here's a BIG crane truck
/tyco/forum/uploaded/microbusss/crane truck.jpg
made by Majorette & yes it is HO scale says 1/87 on bottom http://tycoforums.com/tyco/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6805
link to more trucks oh look on the bottom of older Matchbox trucks & cars some have what scale they is
Edited by - microbusss on June 22 2009 09:21:15 AM
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Posted - June 22 2009 : 11:13:12 AM
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Your equipment looks good Chris C- what brand is that backhoe? I think I picked one up a long time ago from walmart for 2 dollars, but when I compared it to my other construction equipment, it looked rather small. Maybe it is that way in real life, I guess it just did't look right to me. Nice crane by the way, Microbusss!
-Jacob
Quote: "I didn't fail, I just found 1200 materials that won't work"
-Thomas Edison
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Posted - June 22 2009 : 12:57:21 PM
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Jacob - Not sure who makes the backhoe. But I do know its quite a bit smaller than your standard Matchbox/Hotwheels stuff. Nice detail though. Not really sure where my friend picked it up from.
Also the picture throws things off a little, but I used some acrylic paint on the bulldozer also. The lighting makes the whole thing look different, the inside the bucket has more of a sliver/bare metal look with some dirt thrown in. Either way it looks alot better than it did out of the package lol.
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Posted - June 22 2009 : 4:18:54 PM
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here's my purchase from WalMart too
when I 1st saw this truck I thought Hawaiian Punch truck do they even make trailers for these trucks ?
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Posted - June 23 2009 : 11:26:57 AM
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I don't think they make trailers, I may be wrong though. All you have to do is take an HO trailer and glue a little pin to it.
-Jacob
Quote: "I didn't fail, I just found 1200 materials that won't work"
-Thomas Edison
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Posted - June 25 2009 : 5:23:10 PM
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| Hey Dorptrains I didn't get that crane at Wal-Mart it was a local toy show purchase I got that DAF Matchbox truck at Wal-Mart tho says on bottom 1/86 Darned close to HO I think
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Posted - June 27 2009 : 09:42:32 AM
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lol, 1/86 scale Close enough for me!
-Jacob
Quote: "I didn't fail, I just found 1200 materials that won't work"
-Thomas Edison
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Posted - August 26 2009 : 11:40:46 PM
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I've been prowling Wally Mart & Target more. I've been surprised by some of the things I've resisted lol. Problem with Matchbox is they have more models that I like. But I swear they use the same wheels on everything. Nothing that some paint won't fix. But in the meantime, this caught my eye little over a week ago...
Nice looking. But a little too modern looking. I wondered how far I could kitbash this into something else. The idea was to give it a little bit of a older look. Some work with a dremel, some painting, and a few ideas in my head I ended up with this...
I think I hit my goal of making look a bit like a older model. I could have gone a bit further and opened the sides of the body up and exposed the engine (which I would have to create in there). But the way the whole thing goes together I decided to just avoid it. The acrylic paint I used on the exhaust stack got a little screwed up. Front rims & axle came from a Tyco slot car But it was a fun experiment. Eventually I hope little stuff like this will prep me for bigger things down the road and I continue to learn.
Edited by - ChrisC on August 27 2009 01:26:13 AM
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Posted - August 27 2009 : 09:08:21 AM
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Wal-Mart restocked! Looky what I found!
still hate my webcam
Edited by - microbusss on August 27 2009 09:09:00 AM
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Posted - August 27 2009 : 09:43:14 AM
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quote:
Wow Chris, great job!!!
Mike
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 Posted - August 27 2009 : 6:01:02 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by ChrisC-August 26 2009: 11:40:46 PM
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Very nice Chris! Was the roof die-cast as well? The cut looks nice and clean.
- Matt -
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Posted - August 27 2009 : 6:08:43 PM
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| Yup, anything white was diecast. Notice the steps are gone also, curiosity of a bench grinder. I used the cutting wheel on the dremel to cut the roof off, then a sanding bit to take care of the excess. Sanded what was left, and the paint did a really good job of covering in alot of the scratches so I got some help there. What really made a difference IMO was changing the colors around. Like making the grill a grey color. Color matching the wheels. And painting the seat & steering wheel was a huge improvement in looks over the molded plastic coloring. The whole thing also got a quick dark wash which really gave it that dirty farm use look.
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