Toy, Model & Collectible Replica Cars

lemko · December 2008

A friend just gave me a really nice Danbury Mint 1:24 scale model of a 1956 Packard Caribbean hardtop:

It features reversible seat cushions that mimic those on the real car - leather on one side and a brocade pattern on the other. The model comes with a magnetic tool to reverse the cushions.

tmart · December 2008

Wow, it looks real!! Fantastic model.

roadburner · January 2009

Nice model, Lemko. I picked this up on eBay:

I also have a 316i Compact. Someday I want to kitbash a model of my 1995 Club Sport. I'll need to pick up another 316 as well as an M3- the M3 will provide the mirrors as well as the M Technic aerodynamic pieces.

fintail · January 2009

Cool, must be a Euro market model. I wish I could find some kind of decent model of a W210 E55....there was a Japanese plastic kit of a pre facelift car, nothing else that I know of. Minichamps needs to come to the rescue.

roadburner · January 2009

It's Revell of Germany. The bodyshell is pre-painted. I have a Dragon E36 M3 Lightweight that is also pre-painted. It sure makes it easy to build a good looking model- though I kind of feel like I'm cheating...
I'll be on the lookout for an E55.

stever · January 2009

Win some models.

Open to residents of the U.S. and Canada, 18+, one entry per household, ends Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Vault Sweepstakes

stever · January 2009

Weekend sale, today through Feb. 1.

Enter this code to receive the special discount  ENEWSVALENTINE2009. $10 off $75 or more. Model prices run from $10 to $110.

National Corvette Museum

stever · April 2009

Ridemakerz - Affordable Muscle Cars

roadburner · April 2009

A Limited Edition Schuco 1:87 BMW 328

fintail · April 2009

That's pretty cool, Schuco toys are kind of old fashioned and charming.

Several years ago they made a tiny piccolo fintail commemorating the car that won Monte Carlo in 1960.

roadburner · April 2009

I love the Mercedes of that era; I almost bought a 220SE when I was in coolege.

fintail · April 2009

That's what my car is...it's a great old car, so ahead of its time.

andys120 · May 2009

Ever since I began collecting 1:18 diecasts I've wanted a good replica of a 1960s
Porsche 911.

Last year CMC came out with a 901, the prototype of the 911 series which was gorgeously detailed, as are all of their miniatures, and expensive ($318.75!).
link.

The expense deterred me but Auto Art has come to the rescue with a beautiful little
1965 911. It's not as detailed as the CMC issue (no removable wheels etc) but the
shape is perfect and the fit and finish are excellent and it's less than 1/3 the cost
of CMC's 901.

The color is a deep cherry red, and it appears to replicate the Euro market version with 356 style disc wheels, checkered upholstery and the "9111" on the trunk skewed to the right side (I believe it was centered on NA-spec 911s.

Even better news is that Auto Art is planning a '73 911 Carrera RS/2.7. I suppose it'd be too much to ask for a copy of McQueen's '69 slate grey 911S (as seen in Le Mans)

fintail · May 2009

AutoArt makes some nice products. I am waiting for them to make a 1:18 fintail and any scale W210 E55...they are making models of some pretty ordinary cars now, so these should come sometime.

stever · June 2009

This month's Road and Track has a blurb about the Japan Society Gallery show in NYC showcasing rare Japanese Tin-Toy vehicles. 20 fun photos at the link.

roadburner · June 2009

I recently picked up these two oddballs kits on eBay:

My plan was to build a diorama with them for the Wonderfest model contest, but they arrived a bit too late. Oh, well, at least I have an early start on 2010...

fintail · June 2009

I've never seen anything like those before.

The second one reminds me of the "2001 SEL" in 'Spaceballs'

roadburner · June 2009

They are from Crusher Joe, a Japanese Anime TV show. I doubt that Munich or Stuttgart gave their official blessing to the show's producers, but who knows?

stever · June 2009

Toy Collector and Audi Combine to Celebrate Automaker's Centennial (Inside Line)

writer · June 2009

This company is new to me. From what I gather from their website, it is a fairly young company. The current product line is purely US brand cars with a focus on GM products. They are producing some very interesting and unique 1950's models in 1:64 and 1:24. I picked up a couple at Walmart recently.

One is a 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air and the other is a 1953 Oldsmobile 98. While you might not consider the 1954 Chev that unique, they found a new way to make it so. The bodies on these two particular models is transparent plastic which allows you to see the interior and engine compartment detailing. And yes, there is some evidence or real effort to get these details right. The seats of the two models are different. I will have to guess that they are correct because I do not know the interiors of these cars that well. They certainly look about right for that era. Engines are also represented differently.

If the local Walmarts get one of the 57 Chev's in, I might buy one. I only have a plastic body 1:25 of a 57 right now. In fact, M2 has both Bel Air and 210 version for 1957. While the Bel Air is the better looking, the 210 was most likely the biggest seller (though I expect the 4 Dr. would have been the biggest seller).

M2 Machines/Castline, Inc.

fintail · June 2009

The transparent ones are kind of cool, reminds me of the show cars used at old auto shows and worlds fairs etc.

stever · July 2009

A bit off-topic but if you need something to slice open your Revell box, it's on sale.

Fusion Muscle Car Knife

Comes complete with exhaust pipe.

fintail · September 2009

Hey Lemko, there's a new Matchbox out that you might want:

I've seen it in 3 colors with 2 wheel variations - these mags, and a whitewall style.

lemko · September 2009

I have the exact one pictured - its a 1969 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. I also have the 1964 hearse - no doubt made with the old tooling from the Lesney 1964 S&S ambulance made back in the '60s.

boomchek · September 2009

I like it too! I'll probably grab one when I see it.

Found these 3 Corgis on craigslist yesterday. They look pretty neat. I like the attention to detail. Not sure of price is steep or ok though.

Bentley

Mustang

Ferrari

fintail · September 2009

Those prices would be good if they were reduced by about half. With that kind of wear, they are pretty much considered heavily worn and not of huge value.

I had a feeling Lemko would already know about that Caddy :shades:

writer · November 2009

I have decided to make a small temporary display based on a building and one or two cars. The problem is deciding on a building. Because it is near Christmas, there are a few "collectible" building around. These are mainly ceramic and the quality is variable.

Lemax:

I bought a Lemax on sale, but I do not really like it. The Lemax series is ceramic and it is popular. On the one hand, the detail level is higher than average, but the overall aesthetic is a bit caricatured. If I can find something better, then I will not use it.

The Collectibles Today website, which carries such things as Bedford Exchange products and Hawthorne Village, has a few series. They are either tied to franchises like "NFL" or "M&M's", or they are based on "Thomas Kincade". I like the look of some of "Thomas Kincade" pieces, but right now, they all have snow on them. I know that some of the "Thomas Kincade" pieces did not have snow, but those are all gone now. I guess this is a seasonal problem. Everyone expects these to be Christmas display ornamentation and so they buy the ones with the snow.

This is interesting: Apparently, "Thomas Kincade" sells mostly in the southern US. I will not comment about his work as art. I know it is commonly ridiculed by the Fine Art community, but leave that aside. What I wonder is why snow covered pieces would be popular in the southern US where snow is not so common? Well, OK, maybe I have answered it in the very question. Guys in the south do not know snow. Living above the 49 parallel, all I can say is "Snow? No thank you. . . ."

Seriously, I do not intend to put snow on the model cars so I do not want them on the building. The scene will depict a dry, sunny day.

Back to the pieces: The "Hawthorne Village" and "Thomas Kincade" collectibles seem to be "Artist Resin", which I assume is a type of plastic. I expect it is acrylic or ABS, either of which I would consider much higher quality than polystyrene. It is probably because of the material that these pieces can be made more accurately than the ceramic pieces. In any case, I do prefer the superior realism for what I planning.

I am estimating the scale at around 1:40 range, but I have not made any specific measurements.

Has anyone done anything like this?

boomchek · November 2009

No but I'd like to do a diorama one day when I have some time.

fintail · November 2009

I'd seek out some O-gauge material from model railroading...I think it is close to 1:43 scale as Dinky toys are often used in those layouts.

fintail · November 2009

In Germany I controlled myself and bought only one toy car...a fintail:

HO scale, so it's pretty small:

These are still made in Germany too, the fascinating German HO lineup hasn't fallen victim to the offshoring scourge.

boomchek · November 2009

Looks very nicely done.

fintail · November 2009

I just wish it was light blue.

I bought it at the big toy store in Stuttgart...you would have went crazy there, gigantic HO selection alone, and an entire floor devoted to vehicles, so much stuff not usually seen in NA. Lots of Lego there too. With the strong Euro, nothing was too cheap...but you only live once :shades:

fintail · November 2009

Oh yeah, this made me chuckle...at the Swiss National Transport Museum in Luzern, they have a gigantic model railroad display. On one of the roadways, there is a "crash", and one of the HO scale crashed cars is a W111 coupe. I had to take a pic:

boomchek · November 2009

That's neat too. It's funny how the police car is about 20 years older than the Benzes.

british_rover · November 2009

Budget cuts.

fintail · November 2009

Well, those old Tractions were made until around 1957 in some form, and the W111 coupe came aound in 1961...so it might not be a huge gap.

Knowing Switzerland, some of those might still be in service :shades: ...some of their army trucks looked to be of some vintage.

Speaking of police cars, virtually every police car in Germany was either a VW Transporter or a 3er wagon.

boomchek · November 2009

I thought they also drive Golfs and compacts as police cars. I'm sure the highway patrol there has a few Porsches at their disposal too.

fintail · November 2009

Yeah, I think I saw some Golf police cars in Switzerland. Didn't see anything else though.

I am surprised BMW doesn't run after the police fleet market with MB still owning at least 75% of the taxi fleet.

lemko · November 2009

Does anybody know anything about this company? I've been seriously thinking of getting a replica of a 1961 Chevrolet hardtop from them as they are the only company I know that makes a nice 1:24 scale model of them. I already have a cheap 1:18 scale model of this car. Here is a picture of the WCPD model in Jewel Blue:

writer · November 2009

I have been getting a bit further into this project.

First, regarding scale, I got some figurines from Lemax which go with their buildings and a man is about 2.5" tall. Assuming he is supposed to be 6' tall, then that is about 1:28 scale. This is a really odd scale, but it would go with some Kyosho products.

Regarding "O-Scale", according to the UK Rail King site, the correct scale for "O-Guage" is 1:43, but 1:48 is commonly used for rail pieces.

I actually did look for "O-Scale" railway buildings before, and they are hard to find locally. However, I decided to try again. What I would have liked would have been a "Rail King" post office building which is basically a small "ranch style" (bungalow) building. Taking off the post office sign and it looks very much like the house that some of my relatives owned. However, this was not in a local store. Maybe I will order one later.

Another possibility was Bachmann's Pasticville "Cape Cod". This house is very similar to houses no far from where I live, many of which were built in the late 1940's. These would also be nice to get later.

What I did buy for now, was a Rail King 2-story "Row House". This is a sturdy pre-built with 2 rows of 3 windows on each side and a window and door on each end on the lower level, and 2 windows on each end on the 2nd level. I bought one in a dark red. The colour would have been a very good representation of red brick, but the wall texture is overlapped "wood siding".

This is all unfortunate. I really wanted a single floor building representing a brick faced building. In Toronto, I would estimate that about 80% of all homes are brick-faced/wood-framed houses.

As a point of interest, I have been told that such a building is technically not a "brick house" because a true "brick house" uses the brick as its structure whereas the houses in Toronto do not really use the brick as part of the structure. I do not know if all this is true, but it sounds right.

"Department 56" and Others:

I also found some other stuff around. Walmart has a selection of porcelain pieces. Some of them look roughly "Lemax" quality, and indeed a couple of large churches looked better than what I have seen from "Lemax". Others are very poorly made and are a waste of materials.

But the big surprise for me was a brand called "Department 56" which I found in a store called "Jinny's China & Gifts" at Scarborough Town Centre. They can also be found online using a standard search.

These pieces look like proper "O-Scale" and are much better quality than Lemax. I would say that the appearance is similar in style and quality to the "Hawthorne Village/ Thomas Kincade" pieces I mentioned before, but these are in traditional porcelain. Online prices are similar to the Thomas Kincade pieces, which surprised me. The in-store prices I found were higher, but I generally buy from local stores when I can.

writer · November 2009

". . . this made me chuckle . . ."

Actually, my reaction was an "ouch!"
:-)

roadburner · November 2009

I've got the Faller Limited Edition 1:87 BMW dealership. It's really neat and features rotating turntables in the showroom as well as illuminated buildings. I think they have a M-B dealership now...

fintail · November 2009

Is it something like this? - that's pretty neat. Things like this could really push me over the edge into HO scale models, so I have to resist temptation.

fintail · November 2009

Plasticville...I forgot about those. Years ago my mother found a pile of them at a yard sale and bought them for me, thinking I would want them. I had no use for them though...I think I was in school and had no desire for clutter...so I think she re-sold them. Too bad.

If you are handy with Lego, you could probably also make a few things out of those. With the right pieces, some lego structures aren't bad, but you won't be able to make very diverse architecture out of them, and no real North American-looking buildings. When I was a kid and played with diecast cars, I went the entire OCD route and had to build dioramas and city blocks out of Lego to go with the cars. Up until a few years ago I still had a big assortment of architectural and plain Lego, but I got rid of it the last time I moved. I do have a few buildings left that I never disassembled...they are kind of an odd scale, maybe a little bigger than 1:43.

I would also use Hallmark Victorian building Christmas ornaments in my play as my mother would buy one every year, but the scale on those is kind of iffy. I ruined a some of those as I didn't care for the pastel paint schemes, and had to repaint them.

I am sure you could do some super-detailing on the porcelain buildings...but there must be more in the O-scale world too.

roadburner · November 2009

Yes, my kit was very similar. Mine is mounted on a small particle board base with a bit of landscaping. I'll have to get a picture of it.

fintail · November 2009

Sounds fun. I guess that kind of thing doesn't take up a lot of room either. Hmmm

I could have spent a few hundred dollars on HO scale cars at the big toy shop in Stuttgart, if I was on a binge.

roadburner · November 2009

I could have spent a few hundred dollars on HO scale cars at the big toy shop in Stuttgart, if I was on a binge.

Me too; I've probably got more 1:87 cars than anything else.

fintail · November 2009

I have mostly vintage Matchbox, ca. 1:64 scale...I don't have a ton of room, so I like smaller models.

lemko · December 2009

My best friend gave me a very nice Xmas gift this year - a Danbury Mint 1:24 scale model of a 1954 Cadillac Eldorado. The pics are too big to post without wreaking havoc on the margins of this topic, so here's a link with some very good pics:

1954 Cadillac Eldorado

tmart · December 2009

That's quite a best friend you've got to give you that car. Beautiful model, but for the price it should be.

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