Busch HO scale State Police cars...

...my birthday present from where I work (actually the check they gave covered them), my grand slam set from every state I've ever called home.

The Maryland car was the hardest to find...I actually convinced myself that they simply weren't made. Had to come all the way over from Germany...


The Louisiana one was next hardest, I knew they were available, they'd simply slip out of my grasp like one of Troy Landry's gators whenever I got close. This one came all the way over from Austria...


The Delaware and Florida ones were easy table pickin's at swap meets, hardy any effort at all and picked up years ago...they were the ones that drove my quest...taunting me like two recalcitrant kids helping their siblings to hide from Dad...

Matchbox Pierce Velocity 100' Aerial Platform...

As a fireman's kid growing up, what can I say? It sure stands up to most HO trucks offered out there. Its only detraction...the boom is 45' long and reaches 35' in the air, a good bit shy of the 100 foot mark on both counts.

Duratrax 1/10 scale Evader ST electric stadium truck....Happy New Year...

...celebrating with family and friends and staying off the road.

...or is it off road?

Blessings, grace and peace to you and yours, may you have a happy and safe celebration...

Duratrax 1/10 scale Evader ST electric stadium truck....

...a gift to my son from an online friend. My boy thinks the battle scars just make it all the cooler...especially when he did his own aerial 360 back-flip off the neighbor's driveway yesterday---and planted it on its feet. Not bad for a first time R/Cer...he'll be impossible to live with now....

LSU 9, Alabama 6....

"...'round the bowl and down the hole...Roll Tide, Roll!!"

1956 Post Cereal premiums...

A long standing mystery for me has finally been solved.

For years this little truck graced my grandparents Christmas garden. My earliest childhood memories of this garden always included this little truck, primarily because it was so out of scale to the surrounding details, it being near N scale vs the near HO size of everything else. I was always told it came from a box of cereal.

When Pop Gus went home to our Lord some years back, Mom passed this and several other vehicles that graced that layout all those years ago on to me. Upon finding a link to "Ken's Cereal Car Collection", a favorite vehicle on my N scale layout now has a more complete history...

LSU 40 Oregon 27...

Not a great game...but a solid one.

1:64 scale Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr. remote control NASCAR racers...

...produced by Motorworks about 5 years ago. Picked up at a yard sale in like new condition---Sr's car was not even opened---they have excellent detail and very good paint, my son and I will be road testing them tonight.

They steer much like a real car, with both front wheels turning on their own steering points, the front end being fully adjustable...it simply amazes me how far rechargeable battery and micro-motor technology (the top picture being fairly close to actual size) have come in just the last 7 years....




UPDATE: The battery in Jr's car is toasted, leaving me free to experiment with it for future rail models, unless I find a source for replacement batteries.

The mechanism for steering is quite ingenious, using a rare earth magnet on the tie rod that is drawn to either side by small electromagnets.

M1358 CH Mack truck desk set...

...I finally found out the origins of my desk set. This set was offered in the Mack Shop catalog back in 1990-91 for the princely sum of $82.50 at the time (...that's $136 in today's Monopoly money, but that's another story...).




That the truck is facing in the opposite direction is most likely a preproduction change rather than something done later in life, there is no evidence of tampering with the felt bottom.

The name plate shown was a separate piece, left loose to be engraved and then mounted with double side tape.

Many thanks to the Mack museum curator for helping me identify this piece.

A review of the Maruka 1:150 scale cement mixer and Fujimoto 1:150 scale MR450 container handler...

Having won these in a contest, I first want to make clear that they are greatly appreciated. They were offered up by a modeler out of their own pocket and were not part of some corporate promotion. With that, I can go into an honest appraisal of the models for the benefit of other potential purchasers.

THE PACKAGE:


Other than a rather cryptic warning about Pac Man, assembly instructions were lacking. I didn't need English, however, an exploded view would do nicely and help things along.

Also, 1:150 is NOT N gauge. N gauge is 9mm between the rails, N scale is 1:160 prototype to model ratio. There is a difference. I use N gauge track in my HOn30 (1:87.1) modeling to model 30" gauge track. It is also used in On18 (1:48) modeling to model 18" gauge track.

Fujimoto 1:150 scale MR450 container handler:




Beautifully detailed, it comes with rubber tires and fully extendable lift arm and grabbers. Even the cab adjusts forward for the operator's vision in high lifts. Because of the custom nature of these beasts, being built to specific customer specs, the size difference between the scale ratios matters very little. The added details are finely done and fit well. I recommend a gel type ACC glue to keep things in place.

It is a great looking piece.

Maruka 1:150 scale cement mixer:




Great so far...right? Rubber tires, nice paint (even in Japanese), separate details including a positionable trough to aim your little LPBs cement right at Jimmy Hoffa's feet.

But then...look at it next to an Athearn N scale (1:160) fire truck...


That would be quite a beast to drive around on the highway...:10 making a big difference in side-by-side comparisons. Except in isolated scenes, the truck simply will not look right on a scale layout.

It is however, quite close in scale to my Micro-Machine fleet so, on my layout, it works. If you're a stickler for scale fidelity though, your best bet would be to look elsewhere for cement trucks.

Oh now you know I've GOT to get me one of these...

...from the Car Guy blog...

Maruka 1:150 scale cement mixer and Fujimoto 1:150 scale MR450 container handler...

Woot!!!!

I won a drawing on a modeling board...





And when you figure being N scale makes them about this size...


...you can appreciate just how well detailed these are.

Many thanks to the modeler who offered these up.

Go to a home school swap meet with your wife...

...you never know what you'll find.

Transitioning from a field man to management appears complete, I now have a pewter Mack tractor desk set. Picked up at a nearby thrift store for $2, it has all the qualities a modeler would want on a desk set. This one is about 1:64 scale...

UPDATE 6/20/11: Looks to be a model CH613, help....I can't find these anywhere....

HO scale Mercedes tractor/trailer DHL promo...

I put the 'cuss' in customer when I find out you have promotional diecast---just cough it up and I'll go away....

1:12 Sterling Silver Bentley Blower

...yours for only £ 29782.98*** excluding the VAT of course.



***$47,963.57 USD

Sweet...

A little tip on adding "snow" to your model work...

I found that baking soda sifted carefully onto the scene, makes the best snow. It has a subtle sparkle to it and it vacuums up easily if you watch the humidity. It does seem to have an adverse affect on Mini-Metals chrome. Not long after this shot, the chrome plating disappeared slowly...hubcaps, bumpers and all..., until there wasn't a trace left. Hummm...?

Bachmann HO scale "Trackster" Jeep Hi-railer, circa 1985...

...they actually run very well for only two wheel pickup. They also came as a van and a box-type step van...very desirable in HO collector circles, they often fetch $20+ at swap meets for mint examples.

Classic Metal HO GMC #4103 Trailways Bus, Washington...

Breaking out of my laziness to take pictures in a proper scale setting, I present to you this model of a Trailways bus. I bought it in honor of my dad, a devout union man who, as a temp driver for Trailways, refused to cross a Greyhound picket line when those guys were on strike...sigh.

Daze end...

Been awhile since I posted some model scenery...

"Stylized" John Deere Model "D"...

Sometimes my job takes me to some pretty interesting roadside attractions...this one is special because most of these came with rubber tires, not steel.