Matchbox cars and trucks?


goscrewyourselves

I'm the one
Hi Guys,

How close do the Matchbox vehicles come to 1/87th scale? Are they usable on a HO layout do you think?

The reason I am asking is because I want to get a few tandem axle rigid cab overs and cannot find any anywhere in the normal places. Thought the Matchbox stuff might come close.

Failing that, any suggestions for say kit bashing a prime mover or something?
 
Check the bottom of the vehicle. Sometimes, but not always, the scale is listed as part of the manufacturer's information.

For example, Hot Wheels has had the Mack MC fire department squad truck in a variety of colors over the years. The scale is listed on that as 1/90. That is close enough in my book to be useful on my layout as a fire truck.

For other trucks, it depends on the truck. Some of the other fire trucks have a different scale listed on them. However, since the truck chassis are available in different wheelbases in real life, a rig may still be useful as a short wheelbase version. I will compare the rig in question to a known 1/87 model, such as the old Model Power American LaFrances. If the truck compares favorably, you can bet I'll find a use for it. It doesn't have to be a fire truck for it to get compared to the Model Power trucks.

I don't bother with Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars. They are never correct, even for "good enough" use.
 
Typically, Matchbox cars are 1/64 scale (S scale), and are too large for HO (1/87 scale). But, since many of the Matchbox vehicles are all scaled to fit the same size packaging for store displays, that means that many of the trucks are made in various smaller scales to make them fit in the same size package as a passenger car. With that in mind, there are likely several different Matchbox trucks that are about 1/87 scale or even a much smaller scale. You pretty much have to judge each one individually to determine if the scale and proportion is right for HO. Probably the easiest way to tell is to compare it side by side with a 1/87 scale truck that should either be about the same size or at least has some features that are about the same size as the Matchbox truck. Also, get some 1/87 scale truck wheels and see how they look on the Matchbox truck. If they look too small, then the truck is probably a larger scale.
 
Great thread Tony, thank you!

Great information everyone, I've learned a few things, thank you!

I have been batting around the idea of buying my grandsons an American Flyer set now made by Lionel for just this reason. My boys love their cars and they do use both matchbox and hot wheels as well as other vehicles when they play with their trains. Right now at 5 and 6 scale accuracy is even less a concern for them then it is for me. I prefer my 3 rail Lionel toys so that tells you how much I care about accuracy. Having said that I have to say I enjoy the realistic details on the new stuff too. Ok now back to my point. Some day my boys maybe more interested in accuracy and S might be stepping stone to HO or even N for my boys. They may be much more serious modelers then I am and I want to provide every opportunity to make sure they stick with this great hobby.

Another problem I have with all vehicles in general especially in O gauge is the differences in size regardless of what the manufacture says it is. Lionel is true to traditional scale vehicles but they seem a bit small when used with standard O (scale) Lionel locomotives and rolling stock. MTH has it own size as does K-line and other manufacturers. Is this phenomenon something you only see in O or is it a problem in HO and other scales as well?

As Jim pointed out with matchbox and hot wheels, do all manufacturers play so loose with scale accuracy? I have bought dozens of O vehicles and you have to see it in person to actually know if they look right together. For this reason some of what i have bought I wish I had not bought. What I have been doing is to put ones that match, together on the layout, but that limits what I can do. Even I don't like things to stand out because of size. I am only now beginning to buy HO vehicles but I don't want to have the same problem I have with O.
 
Hi Guys,


The reason I am asking is because I want to get a few tandem axle rigid cab overs and cannot find any anywhere in the normal places.

I have a couple Athearn cab overs that are old blue box kits, found them on ebay; I will try to find a picture and post:

I collected match box in my youth and after the nieces nephews and brothers got a hold of them they somehow disappeared. They seemed to be a bit big for HO.
 
I think this is early 70's but may be 60's without doing research I am not sure.

Athearn cab over.jpg

I also have one marked BN that came with a Northern Pacific trailer, I want the trailer on the layout.. I sold this one on ebay because I don't do east coast.
 
I like that rig! I wish I had known you were selling it. Can I ask how much it sold for?

Chessie was in operation from 1973 until CSX was created in 1986 I think. It could easily be mistaken for a more modern cab over as well. I am no expert but I have worked on many rigs in my time. If I could see the headlights I could tell more. Medium duty trucks don't change models as much as cars and light trucks do.

I bought a Model Power B&O rig and the conventional cab tractor looks modern to me, but B&O colors were not used after 1973.
 
I think I got 10.50 for it plus the buyer paid 4.00 shipping cost. I have seen them on ebay for about that price. It came in a lot of four new old stock blue box kits, this was one, the NP/BN tractor trailer was another box, a set of two Mulwaukee Road 40' trailers was another box (shown today in my Swift post), and a set of two Pacific Fruit Express 40' trailers in the fourth box.

I was mainly interested in the NP and MILW trailers but had to bid on the whole lot, I think I paid 28 dollars for the lot of four so came out ok selling the one.

I posted it on here but maybe you were not online then. lasm
 
Thank you LASM. my bad (I'm hip) for missing it. Like I need another vehicle, but it's Chessie!
 
Hi Guys and thanks for the info re Matchbox (and the like) vehicles. Here is what I am looking for in a truck but with a longer wheel base:

Image2_zps15ebf213.jpg


If something like this is already made by someone, how would I go about kit bashing, say a prime mover, into the above picture?
 
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Tony just wondered if you shop ebay because I know I saw one like that yesterday. Their search engine isn't the greatest but I think it would be under accessories.
 
lasm, no I don't shop on that place, especially after reading a few of the comments about it on here from those who do. Thanks for the thought though mate but I'd rather kit bash something than buy from them.
 
Tony I have made over 130 purchases and sold 7 on ebay and there is not a better guarantee anywhere. I find selling to be more of a hassle than buying.

Just thought you would like to know not everyone has had a bad deal with ebay.
 
Thanks mate for your input. I might take a look, but am dubious of it. I know there are good and bad stories about everything, depending on a persons experience with that thing. I remember (sort of) buying and selling some stuff on ebay years ago and got ripped of badly. I guess that more or less has stayed with me. Reading how hard it seems to be now, having to buy something, then contact the seller, then deal with outrageous shipping as a result of ebay greed hasn't helped.

With that being said, I am glad that your experiences are "good ones".
 
Hey Tony,

I only want to share my experience with eBay with you. I have had great luck with eBay.

With limited production in new O gauge eBay was a must for me to build my inventory of rolling stock and a few locomotives on eBay.

The buyer protection is as LASM said the best in the business. I have bought over 200 items on eBay and I have only needed eBay's assistance with 2 purchases. Both worked out in my favor.

When I first started I did not do as well as I do now but that was purely my own fault for not knowing market values of what I was buying. Now I consistently buy Lionel products at 75% off of book value per Greenberg's Lionel Pocket Price Guide. if the price goes beyond that I seldom keep bidding, but I occasionally will go higher if it is something hard to find.

I have bought several HO items and about a dozen Tyco HO locomotives. I was able to repurchase the first train set I ever had on eBay. I lost the original after my divorce. That train is not worth much in real dollars but it is priceless to me. After a bit of work it runs like new.

I am willing to buy used Lionel locomotives on eBay because most parts are fairly easy to come by, but I shy away from used HO locomotives now because I don't need any more projects.

I recently had a limited edition 1974 Lionel GP20 that the power truck locked up on. I searched for parts and found it would cost me at least $120 to repair or more to replace the power truck. I turned to eBay hoping to find any Lionel GP from the era to cannibalize for parts to make repairs. I not only found one, I found the exact Chessie B&O GP20 locomotive I was looking for. It was of course used and the seller was not even sure if it worked, but I took a chance and paid $70 including shipping. To my surprise it looked brand new and did not even have any marks on the wheels from ever being run. Not only did it run, it ran perfectly. I did not have to do anything to it other then to oil and lube it. It came in the wrong box, but I had an original box from my broken locomotive.

I found a 1974 Lionel Bicentennial U36B Seaboard Coast Line locomotive with all 13 spirit of 76 boxcars and caboose in nearly mint condition. Fairly hard to come by complete with all original boxes and in such great condition. I paid $225 including shipping. The complete set lists in the book for over $1100. I believe I got it so cheap because I was the only bidder and the seller had less then 10 ratings. I believe people either did not know of the listing or they were afraid of doing business with a new seller. I knew eBay would stand behind my purchase and it worked out great for me. I run that train for hours and hours every 4th of July.

I could tell you about a dozen other stories of things that worked out even better then I expected.

For me the key to eBay is to carefully examine the listings and set my price and not go over what I am willing to pay. I wait to leave feedback for after I have received the item. If I find the item is not as it was described I contact the seller and 9 times out of 10 they are willing to make a concession to keep their good ratings. If the seller won't be fair I contact eBay and open a claim. I have only had to that twice.

Thanks to eBay I have been able to buy some of my most favorite items.

I would never tell you to do anything but I wanted to share my experience with you. eBay has been a great value to me.
 
Hey Tony,

I only want to share my experience with eBay with you. I have had great luck with eBay.

With limited production in new O gauge eBay was a must for me to build my inventory of rolling stock and a few locomotives on eBay.

The buyer protection is as LASM said the best in the business. I have bought over 200 items on eBay and I have only needed eBay's assistance with 2 purchases. Both worked out in my favor.

When I first started I did not do as well as I do now but that was purely my own fault for not knowing market values of what I was buying. Now I consistently buy Lionel products at 75% off of book value per Greenberg's Lionel Pocket Price Guide. if the price goes beyond that I seldom keep bidding, but I occasionally will go higher if it is something hard to find.

I have bought several HO items and about a dozen Tyco HO locomotives. I was able to repurchase the first train set I ever had on eBay. I lost the original after my divorce. That train is not worth much in real dollars but it is priceless to me. After a bit of work it runs like new.

I am willing to buy used Lionel locomotives on eBay because most parts are fairly easy to come by, but I shy away from used HO locomotives now because I don't need any more projects.

I recently had a limited edition 1974 Lionel GP20 that the power truck locked up on. I searched for parts and found it would cost me at least $120 to repair or more to replace the power truck. I turned to eBay hoping to find any Lionel GP from the era to cannibalize for parts to make repairs. I not only found one, I found the exact Chessie B&O GP20 locomotive I was looking for. It was of course used and the seller was not even sure if it worked, but I took a chance and paid $70 including shipping. To my surprise it looked brand new and did not even have any marks on the wheels from ever being run. Not only did it run, it ran perfectly. I did not have to do anything to it other then to oil and lube it. It came in the wrong box, but I had an original box from my broken locomotive.

I found a 1974 Lionel Bicentennial U36B Seaboard Coast Line locomotive with all 13 spirit of 76 boxcars and caboose in nearly mint condition. Fairly hard to come by complete with all original boxes and in such great condition. I paid $225 including shipping. The complete set lists in the book for over $1100. I believe I got it so cheap because I was the only bidder and the seller had less then 10 ratings. I believe people either did not know of the listing or they were afraid of doing business with a new seller. I knew eBay would stand behind my purchase and it worked out great for me. I run that train for hours and hours every 4th of July.

I could tell you about a dozen other stories of things that worked out even better then I expected.

For me the key to eBay is to carefully examine the listings and set my price and not go over what I am willing to pay. I wait to leave feedback for after I have received the item. If I find the item is not as it was described I contact the seller and 9 times out of 10 they are willing to make a concession to keep their good ratings. If the seller won't be fair I contact eBay and open a claim. I have only had to that twice.

Thanks to eBay I have been able to buy some of my most favorite items.

I would never tell you to do anything but I wanted to share my experience with you. eBay has been a great value to me.

Ebay and Paypal favor the buyer. Bigtime. It is a great place to shop. I know this first hand. Lately I have been selling some Bitcoin on Ebay and I don't even know where to start to explain just how blatantly criminal Ebay and Paypal are towards sellers. As long as they get the fees from transactions they simply do not care about whether the seller gets screwed. The reality is that Ebay is by far the #1 place to find anything MRR related.

Thanks Louis, appreciate the time you took to post your experience. Maybe I will try something from ebay and see how things go.

Stoker,

That is the "problem" I have with them - ebay itself, NOT the sellers. I want that to be perfectly clear to everyone. I have a very hard time 'supporting' anyone who doesn't give a damn about anyone, especially the people that are making them money, other than themselves.

I also seriously doubt that ebay is the #1 place for anything MRR related. I have never used them, and have everything that I need without them.
 
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Tony you are more then welcome.

I agree with Stoker, the only ones making any real profit on eBay is eBay.

I have sold a little over a dozen things, I could not use or ended up with more then one of from buying lots. I'd rather get a little bit and see the items go to someone who wants them rather then have them sitting in boxes under my layout. Something is better then nothing and I am glad to send the items to someone who will appreciate them.

I would also have to agree with Stoker in as far as eBay is the number one place for MRR items. More then half of everything I have bought has come from eBay.

Tony I admire your commitment to stick to your standards, but for me and my Lionel obsession there is no other place to buy NOS (new old stock) at discounted prices other then eBay.
 
I'm with you, Louis.
I haven't used eBay much lately, but have had only one "bad" experience, and that was over a $25 item.
The sellor wanted to refund my purchase, but have me pay the return cost. I had already paid $7.50 to get the item and to return it would be another $7.50 resulting in me having spent $15 with nothing to show for it. I just retained the purchase and left not-so-good rating which ticked the sellor off. I did not like having to pay both way shipping, but that is the only time that I can complain about. I told him that he should refund purchase plus shipping and I would pay the return shipping, but he wanted to argue.
 



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