Trio of Roco Minitanks

Three American vehicles from Roco.  M26 Dragon Wagon, Dodge Command Car, and M29 Weasel.

M26 Dragon wagon

Ivan is coming

F-Toys make a series of motorized tanks in 1/72 scale.  I was able to buy five - two T-34/85s, two Tigers, and a Jagdpanther.  Here is a video of the T-34.

The detail is pretty good, and it cost around $10.00.  

T34/85 by F-Toys

World War I Staff Cars

I went to a toy fair the other day and was able to pick up some reasonable priced World War I era cars.  They were not in their original packaging, but I believe that they were made by High Speed and were given away as part of a Reader's Digest promotion.  

1906 Rolls Royce (I believe - it could also be a Pierce Arrow)

Rolls Royce next to AHM kit 5801 "3 houses under construction"

Wind-up toys

I picked this up years ago and came across them during my cleaning.  Both of these are replicas of toys originally made by Paya of Spain.

Battleship "Espana"

I love old ships, and this toy does a good job of evoking early 20th century battleships.  Maybe a little too whimsical, but I really like the way it looks.

Forward turrets

Photo of the Week, 9/23/12

France, October 13, 1944.  Japanese-American troops going through rugged terrain.  (National Archives photo 111-SC-195139)

Battle of the Bulge

Visited the Kruse Victory Museum in Auburn, IN.  The museum is impressive, holding over 150 vehicles from the major participants of World War 2.  Below is a diorama, artist unknown, that was of particular interest to me.  It is 1/35 scale, and, if I had to guess, about 20 feet by 10 feet in size, if not bigger.

Description of the historical setting; the diorama depicts the final days of the battle.

Stuart (lower center) and Sherman (right) pass by a knocked out Panther.  

This photo does a nice job of showing the size of this diorama.

Relief column entering the town.

Photo of the Week, 9/16/2012

US corpsmen load a wounded American soldier from a Dodge WC54 on to hospital ship. (Acme photo by Norman Williams)

Photo of the Week (9/9/2012)

M60 tank, belly up, after going off the side of the Bruckner Muehle stone bridge.  Amoenbuge, Germany, 11/4/63.  (National Archives 111-SC-607231)

Johnny Lightning (Part IV)

This is Johnny Lightning's WC-64 Ambulance. Goes well with 1/72 scale figures.  Shown are Forces of Valor's 29th Infantry medics, and a Dragon Ranger.

WC-64 with medics

Right side of Johnny Lightning WC-64

Rear of Johnny Lightning WC-64

Replacement tires for Ideal Motorific

One of my weaknesses is vintage toys.  I played with Motorific track when I was a kid.  It was a hand-me-down from an older brother and by the time it got to me it was just the track - no cars.  The track worked well as a 2 lane road for my Hotwheels and it was easy to build fairly elaborate roadways.  Flash forward to  adulthood when I started to search for toys of my youth.  I never knew the name of the toy as a kid but was finally able to find it on Ebay.  Now I have a modest collection of track and the cars (and trucks) that run on it.  Problem is, most of these toys were stored in hot attics and the tires are hard and crumbly and don't provide much traction.

Old Motorific tires

Above is a photo of the original tires.  Whatever rubber Ideal used, it doesn't react well to heat and age.  I wanted my cars to be 'runners' so I've searched for replacement tires for awhile now.  I finally found suitable replacements made by American Heritage Models.  It is part # AHM43-801, Automobile tires 1930's and 1940's (3 1/2 mm by 16 mm).  They come 20 to a pack, and I got them from Diecast Direct for $5.95. They are fiddly to put on, but once seated properly they do the trick.

Motorific T'Bird with new tires

I put them on the interchangeable chassis, shown here with the Ford Thunderbird body.  I painted the front tire with white acrylic paint to show the whitewall.  Needs some work, but looks presentable.

While I had the toy out I decided to try Novus plastic cleaner on it.  It cleaned it up nicely.  Unfortunately for me, the toy is missing the rear bumper.  I will need to try and sort that out.  Below is a video with the car running on new tires.

Mororific is about 'O' scale and the car looks good next to the 'O' scale gas station

Workbench

I have been trying to organize, catalog, and pare down my collection of stuff.  I've done a pretty good job of cataloging what I have, and have started to sell off stuff I will never get around to building (I'm looking at you, 1/35 kits that seemed like a good idea at the time).  Finally did a good cleaning around the work bench.  Here's a view.

Barracks (in progress) is from Marx, and is about 1/72.  Trucks in lower left are by Pegasus, a bargain at 2 kits for $10.

Photo of the Week (9/2/2012)

M3 halftrack.

M3 halftrack moving through thick mud.
US Army photo courtesy of Patton Museum