I am trying to help a friend find some 1930’s through 1940’s for his layout. He’s been very accurate on all of his details keeping everything period correct but hasn’t had much luck finding cars and truck from that era. Can you guys recommend any good sources or manufactures?
Thanks in advance.
Allegheny,
I model the New York Central in the early 40s in HO. The best and most numerous cars that I’ve found so far in the 30s are from Sylvan Scale Models. They make sedans, vans, and trucks in N, HO & O scale, and have really expanded their line in this era in the past couple of years. Here’s the direct link to their HO line:
http://www.isp.on.ca/Sylvan/ho-scaleproducts.htm
The kits are resin and the detailing is very nice. I was missing a hub from one of my cars, e-mailed them, and they mailed me a replacement - NO charge! I highly recommend them.
Jordon Models is another one. To me, Jordan kits (styrene) aren’t as nice as the Sylvans but are still decent. They have a nice variety of vehicles going back to the Model Ts.
Athearn also just released some Model As earlier this year.
Hope that helps…
Tom
Classic Metal Works is another one, especially for trucks, although they recently released (and are pushing like mad) the 1936 Ford Fordor Vehicles
Part 2: Is he modeling late 1940s? Because not only can he must use of some of the Alloy Forms releases , but he can also use lots of surplus US WWII Military trucks.
Part 3: Just in case he doesn’t know (Ha, everyone knows by now), the Athearn Model A’s look very nice, and were plentiful on American highways till the early 1950s…
Also might try the IMEX trucks–they come in several roads, and (at least in my fallen flag road) are frequently on ebay. I think all of their products are listed in the Walther’s catalogue/website.
Jim
I just got a Fordor sedan at the weekend - the red one - really nice model
Jon
Try Greg’s Garage for your era. Not highly detailed but wide variety.
The only on line listing I’m aware of is
www.thetrainexchange.net/gregs.htm
hope this helps. I usually buy them at local swap meets.
Doug
If he needs some trucks, try Sheepscot Scale Products. They have a large variety of trucks and truck bodies in their catalog. Most of the truck kits are cab & chassis, so you can add any type of body you want.
Ready-to-run American cars suitable for 1930-1949 era:
Athearn: 1931 Ford Model A, pickup, sedan and sport coupe (great model with lots of colors, buy lots).
Busch: 1931 Ford Model AA panel truck, 1947-49 Dodge Power Wagon, 1950 Buick Special Riviera Hardtop (introduced Fall 1949).
Classic Metal Works: 1936 Ford, 1941 Plymouth Coupe, 1948 Ford Convertible.
Masterpiece: 1934 Chrysler Airflow Imperial Eight (New model that should be available either at the end of August or beginning of September).
Ricko: 1931 Lincoln Model A (available with top up or down), 1934 Cadillac Aerodynamic Coupe.
Roco: Willys Jeep, CCKW 2.5-ton truck.
Woodland Scenics: “Auto Scenes” 1939 Ford.
Not American, but look right for the period:
Brekina: 1934 Citroen Traction Avant (A company in Los Angeles sold them as the Challenger in the United States).
Busch: 1931-35 Mercedes 170V sedan, Busch 1935 Horch 835 Cabriolet, Busch 1937 BMW 327, 1945 MG TC roadster.
Ricko: 1927 Mercedes-Benz 630K Cabriolet (available with top up or down), 1935 Horch 851 Pullman, 1936 Wanderer W25 Roadster, 1939 Horch 930 Convertible (available with top up or down).
In addition, there are some excellent kits available from Jordan Highway Miniatures, Greg’s Garage, Sylvan Scale Models (highly recommended) and others.
If you can find some of the discontinued Wikings, like the Horch 850 and Mercedes-Benz 540K, they are often fairly cheap and look right at home. Wiking also had some old Mercedes trucks, the L2500 moving van looks good.
This isn’t an exhaustive list; just what I could remember off the top of my head.
By the way, the CMW large trucks are not suitable. Despite what has been said, the White WC-22 actually was produced from 1950 to 1959. The White COE is a 1953 model and the IH-R190 dates from 1954. The bus is also from the early 1950s.
Sorry
I have been in touch with Jim Thomas at Train Exchange. He does have a stock of the Greg’s Garage cars but I bought all of the remaining kits in his inventory. He still as some of the finished cars in stock.
The owner of Greg’s garage has retired and the molds have been purchased by a new owner who is endeavoring to get back into production. Jim suggested that I give him a list of the additional ones I want so he can give some guidance as to what he already has orders for. I suggest that you do the same.
Classic Metal Works is probably the best in my opinion followed by Athearn’s new Model A’s. I picked up a few Model A’s for my car show scene and they look great.
Perahps I have a different definition of “best.” I have nothing against CMW and their 1948 Ford is one of my favorite HO vehicles, but in terms of prototypically accurate detail, the Ricko and Masterpiece models are way ahead of the CMW cars and the Athearn would probably be the best value, considering total bang for the buck. The Rickos are only a couple dollars more than the new CMW 1936 Ford and the Athearn Model As are just a couple dollars more than the old CMWs (by the way, the Pymouth has been discontinued for a while, so finding one is going to be a matter of luck or eBay). Plus, the Athearns are offered in such a wide range of colors, you can buy 18 models without repeating a combination of body style and color.
The Busch models are also very good and the trucks offer the additional advantage or being available as pickup or stake beds. Incidentally, I should have mentioned the 1950 Chevrolet 3100 pickup, which was introduced in the fall of 1949. It’s virtually identical to the 1948-49 models; in fact, the only visible difference between the 1949 and 1950 model years is a small cowl vent cover on the driver’s side.
Now distributed by Atlas http://www.atlasrr.com/cars/masterpiececars.htm