I have been searching around for a decent vehicle selection. Seams that everywhere I have looked has a very small selection. Toytrainheave, MBklien, Ebay, Walthers. Specifically, f150’s (working on a scrapper project and they seam to be the scrappers vehicle of choice around here) Autocar, Classic metal works truck international (either one that is or can be turned into a flatbed) A MAck B61 or newer tandom axle. That is what I am searching for. Just not sure where I could find a decent selection. I figure somebody probably knows of one or places I am missing to look.
In HO, Train World has a large selection of classic metals trucks, American Prototype Hobbies has a large selection of Sylvan trucks, including Mack b61 trucks.mh
The same B-71 Mack painted and details added with a B-61 Mack, are Alloy forms kits. The 54 L series Mack is a Sylvan kit, but with a different suspension and wheels and tires so it rolls…all the Sylvan trucks I make roll, with My own suspension:
The wrecker is a International Transtar white metal casting kit from long gone Walker models:
Sylvan GMC tractors with Ulrich Flat beds:
A Don Mills Kenworth tractor. Other IH Emeryvilles are by Sylvan:
Just a small portion of over 250 vehicles/fallen flag truck lines that I have built.
You didn’t say where you live or what scale you model. I model HO and Oxford continues to expand their line of vehicles which I think are outstanding. Many are from the 1950s which is the decade I model. I think these are highly realistic and true to scale. My LHS is the Train Station in Columbus, OH and I was in their store yesterday and they have a large selection from the Oxford line. If you can’t find a nearby LHS that carries that line, I would search for Oxford vehicles on ebay and see what you can find.
It is true the variety of cars from any era is somewhat limited. You can buy a number of the same model in different colors and spread them around your layout so the redundancy isn’t so obvious.
For links to most manufacturers and current news on HO vehicles check out 1/87 vehicle club http://1-87vehicles.org/index.php Hope that might help. Jim
Vehicles seem a fantastic way to really tie your layout to a specific region/era. I need to get some for the 1980s or late 1970s. The trick is not spending more on them than freight cars!
I’m a bit confused OP - you’ve been a member since 2011 and not seen the various periodic “vehicle complaint” threads (ok, they were rather mild) on this forum bemoaning the lack of variety and the ampleness of price? Various reasons are cited, among them:
Licensing from the Manufacturer
Expense in Die-work, tooling, etc.
Tied to #2, at least recently (maybe still is true) the biggest market for 1/87 vehicles was the collector’s market (The 1/87 Vehicle club certainly seems to demostrate this), and (again, maybe still true) the largest market was European collectors - hence the large percentage of classic and exotic vehicles as well as Emergency vehicles and military vehicles. (Remember the Roco 1976 Dodge Pickup? - As I understand it, Roco made that pickup because it was the basis of the US Army M880 service vehicle of the era.) Europen collectors also explains to some degree the large amount of Mercedes and Audis and Beemers models.
I was going to recommend Shapeways but their current 1/87 offerings seem to be mostly solid castings (which I loathe), and at those 18.00 US$ prices they really aren’t good candidates for back-ground in-fill models. Alas, the period of cheap Motormax and Fresh Cherries in Wal*Mart even ended over a decade ago.
Actually, wasn’t the OPs question where can he find a reasonably modern era Ford F150? Why not the Atlas F150 model?
