Life Size Twin Mill from Hot Wheels exhibition

In June of 2012 I went to the Indianapolis Children's Museum to see a Hot Wheels exhibition. Wasn't collecting then, so I took some pictures but didn't spend a lot of time on the display. One of the things I liked about the exhibit was the life size vehicles based on Hot Wheels designs, such as the Twin Mill and Deora II.

Hot Wheels Blvd. Bruiser (DKG68) - 2015 special edition for Indianapolis Children's Museum

Here is a special edition Blvd. Bruiser (DKG68) Hot Wheels released in conjunction with a exhibit at the Indianapolis Children's Museum. The casting looks just great. The paint job is a nicely done two-tone, the decals look great, and the wheels are a great choice for this casting. The spare wheel visible in the rear window even got painted. One of my favorite Hot Wheels, especially as it has home-town connections.

Bell X-14

It's been awhile since this was a temporary display - the Children's Museum had the Bell X-14 in the lobby. It was on loan from the Ropkey Armor Museum and it is now back there undergoing renovation.

Lionel Girl's Train

From the Children's Museum collection - the poorly selling "Girls Train" from Lionel.

Archaeology at the Childrens' Museum

The Children's Museum has (or had, not sure if it was a permanent display) about archaeology. Here are some photos of its recreation of the Terracotta Army.

Train Layout - Children's Museum

More photos from the Children's Museum. It has a smallish O scale set up with some vintage Lionel pieces. The rock work on the scenery is impressive.

Ruben Wells engine

The Ruben Wells is a steam engine on permanent display at the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Per Wikipedia:

The Reuben Wells is a helper locomotive that was built in 1868. It was designed to push train cars up the 5.89% incline of Madison Hill in Madison, Indiana, the steepest segment of standard-gauge main-track in the United States. Weighing 55 short tons (50 t), it was the most powerful locomotive in the world at the time. It is 35 feet (11 m) long. The train is named after its designer, engineer Reuben Wells.

The display area is so dark its a challenge to get a decent photo.

Vintage Trains at the Childrens' Museum

Part of the permanent displays at the Indianapolis Childrens' Museum is a collection of vintage trains manufactured by Lionel, American Flyer, Ives, and others. The display is behind glass, so getting good photos is a skill beyond me.

Vintage Space Toys from the Children's Museum

After the war, Space travel was becoming more popular and seemed more possible. The serials of the '30s were popular, such as Flash Gordon, and were the basis of various themed toys. Once manufacturing production could be shifted away from munitions, toy production was resumed and expanded to deal with the baby boom. These are part of the collection at the Children's Museum.

Exploration Train by Cragstan, made about 1958.

Life-size Transformer

More goodness from the Children's Museum - a prop from the Transformers movie.

Never saw the movie and Transformers toys came out after I stopped playing with toys, so not that familiar with the line. "Life-size" Bumblebee - truly impressive in size.

Hot Wheels at the Children's Museum

Getting caught up and trying to get organized. The Children's Museum in Indianapolis, a true jewel for me as both a toy aficionado and parent, hosted a traveling display of Hot Wheels and associated items. This was in 2012.

I played with many of these as a child, and was drawn more to the "realistic" models over the more fanciful ones. My friend and I spent many hours building roads in the dirt or using wooden blocks to make highways. Sadly, I didn't keep any of these toys.

Life Size Twin Mill

Deluxe Reading Operation X500

According to Wikipedia, Deluxe Reading was a toy manufacturer based in Elizabethtown, NJ, which produced toys under several names including: Deluxe Topper, Deluxe Toy Creations, Reading Deluxe, Topper Corp, Topper Toy Group, and Topper Toys. The Topper Toys brand was most used in print advertisement and television commercials (children's TV).

Operation X500 was manufactured in the early 1960s

The Children's Museum has one on display.

Children's Museum

Went to the Children's Museum today with the kids.

Front of Indianapolis Children's Museum