stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Apr 15, 2005 3:22:29 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
As the registry of current 1/87 vehicle manufacturers continues one should notice that there are the 'major manufacturers' but granted,and specially at this scale,there are the 'specialty' manufacturers: Individuals or concerns who want the reproduce the vehicles which do not graduate in miniature very often or at all.
This tendency came from the 1970's and mostly on 1/43 scale. Brooklin is one of these. Now is stated that the hobby in general is following this tendency: specialization.
That means that at the long run, individuals will be offering miniatures that are unique to this scale. At the same time, the big concerns also will be paying atention to these tendencies and release an interesting item now and them. Others, such as Brekina, will specialize on historical/classic vehicles and take as it may, the net resul is an interesting array of vehicles and also means variety. After all,face it,no one wants five differents copies of Porsche 911 or Corvette no matter what C (C1,C2 and so on) it is.
The listing of current manufacturers continues:
Boley. Factually,this is a toy manufacturer,but they also created their 1/87 division. Granted,these include vehicles in 1/72 scale. They also were toy distribuitors and handled items such as Welly. (on eBay one will see Boley-Welly articles). The first 1/87 vehicles were cheap copies from Busch (Plymouth Fury) Wiking or Rietze (Mitsubishi Pajero) and a good amount of 'rebadged' (or sold with the former's manufacturer's name) Action toys miniatures such as a Volkswagen bug and several construction and farm equipment. By this Centruy, their main products were replicas from Navistar or GMC. Alas, some of the Navistar miniatures were avaliable either before or prior to the release of the real vehicle. Fire trucks such as a Seagrave or S & S joined the line-up. Current aditions are miniatures from Ford or Oshkosh. Kinsmart is a toy manufacturer whose vehicles are powered. Larger cars are the rule,but several,such a 1955 Chevrolet pick-up did approached 1/87 scale (the pick-up was 1/82). However,they also produced a powered and very detailded Chevrolet Caprice Classic police unit. Sure enough,these also ended up on Boley's 1/87 division. This time, the name Kinsmart do show up on the Caprice. There are 1/72 vehicles,such as brand-new GMC pick-up. There are Hongwell connectios as well,such as a Jeep Willys (lots of details in it,including the other 4x4 shifters) that is also marketed as Boley. The trucks are very well done.
Ricko. Auto Art did something similar a tad before: made 1/64 scale models that looked like their 1/18 scale counterparts. Ricko went towards 1/87 scale on that and as I just heard, they are extremely well detailed. Since 2005. Interesting subjects as well such as Alfa Romeo,Maserati and Lamborghini. Promised: circa 1963 Lincoln Continental.
Chinese brands. No secrets here:Made in China markings and that is basically it. At the packaging,if that is avaliable, a distribuitor name and adress. Some of the Wiking Mercedes 'O' series buses were reproduced and these had a little motor in it; Matchbox did a MCI 'E' series bus in 1/87 scale (authentic,with MCI markings at its base) but it was basically interiorless because it had movie publicity as its side and that was the function of these manufactures. The Chinese released around 2003 a series of MCI 'E' series with several liveries and these had full interiors and the non-missing little motor. A more recent discovery last year was the 'Greyhound bus' (MCI 102) that was,in fact, a promo for Greyhound albeit 1/90 scale. I saw this only once at eBay; never anyplace else be it as Greyhound or other liveries. By the time Lledo was being produced in England,several of its products were reproduced by the Chinese. One of these was Lledo's Daimler Fleetliner Double Decker bus. These were kept on 1/87 scale and offered in several liveries. I am sure that there are others,specially on the truck department. But as everyone knows,these are cheap toys albeit some are fit to be rebuild to a decent miniature.
Of couse,there are the ones from this site and the ones which are offered by Walthers.
One last word: Cutters miniature cars and Superba. These individuals are the case that are mentioned above. Their final products are not a common site in miniature and fill gaps on collector's wishes.
Cutters are the sucessor of Stone Mountain Castings which,along other things,offered an extensive line of four-door sedans, a type of car that is mostly ignored by most manufactures. Not only that,but several models from Buick,Oldsmobile and a Nash was also a part of their line-up. Their 1953 Ford is also superb and I am not forgeting the pre-war studebaker pick-up. Under Cutters, the vehicles are quite interesting as well and some feature base details. I have some of the Stone Mountains and these are to my view,fantastic. Hence,the Cutters can only be better. 4-doors Buicks from the 1950's do not appear this often,hence, it is a blessing for the collectors as well.
The same is true of Superba models: unusual vehicle kits that look good when finished and subjects (Chrysler galore) that are not this often reproduced and at this time station wagons are offered too. Some Studebakers also saw the light of the day. Another series of vehicles which were wished by the collectors.
Thing is,MAR did pointed last year that the hobby was going towards models that were specialty-type; Cutters and Superba are an example of it. And of course,there are more in there.
Continues at the next thread.
|
|
stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Apr 17, 2005 22:52:06 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
Thirty years ago, Hong Kong was known as a supllier of cheap toys. Not only that, but as it happens today with the Chinese, there were unauthorized copies from miniatures from other manufacturers. There was a series of plastic Matchbox clones, the most famous being the Model of Yesteryear trolley (I happen to have the latter and some of the plastic Matchboxes). Currently,there is a book on the subject.
It is stated that Germany has the hold on 1/87 scale model cars. USA produced a few and in between in these and in general these were kits, manufactured in other countries, offered by train manufacturers and so on. Japan did not really try to play at this scale,albeit the offerings from KATO and Model Planning are interesting; in a small amount, so are the ones from Tomica.
Is also known that since the mid-1980's,the Chinese are the biggest players on the modeling/miniature/toy world. True,as Hong Kong, their first offerings were cheap toys but some of them, like the offerings of SS (Sunnyside, which , basically put China on the map) were of higher quality albeit most of them had to have the little motor which lately became less and less potruding. Their first offerings in 1/87 were at the heavy vehicle side; at times, copies from other brands. New Ray came with the first cars that can be called as toy-ish; yet, these can be improved and unusual items,such as a Mazda crew-cab pick-up and Range Rover 4-door were offered. The company been offering trucks lately. The other player is Ricko and these are high quality vehicles as expected from the Germans; Widea been around a tad before, and these are decent, specially the little Nash Metropolitan and Rambler. On the diecast side, there are the offerings from High Speed and Hongwell (the latter is a very well known 1/72 scale manufacturer ,but at its site, there is a listing of 1/87 versions) that ended up as Schuco, Model Power and Boley offerings. As I hear, these are at the toy range, and the details can be variable. Finally,there is the phenomena that is being going on lately: everyone else manufactures its wares in there (well,almost) be it the Germans,Japanese or Americans and at these cases only the vehicles that are felt that will sell in big quantities are molded. For the rest of them, do them as a semi-toy version (did you saw Life-Like's Divco stepvan?) ,wrongly detailed or leave to the 'specialized manufacturers' which is stated that is the future wave as far as the hobby is concerned. This site alone mentions a miriad of unknowns that offered from several to a handful of vehicles; and there were the others from the past which also offered items that were interesting (Anguplas and William Brothers among others). There are the ones who called quits for a while such as Norev (not exactly your 1/87 manufacturer, but the vehicles offered at this scale are interesting to say the list) and BDB (very interesting selection) but came back to business; finally, the train manufacturers which more and more are adding road vehicles to their selections (remember: even Roco do offer rail vehicles) and the non-1/87 vehicle manufacturers (toys and otherwise, the best known being Matchbox and Mattel) complete the circle. This is what is going on the 1/87 scale vehicle hobby as today. Alas,the chinese also entered at the egg-surprise range. More details at the next posting.
Some more manufacturers:
Widea. Heard of them around 2003; got their Metropolitan by 2004. A Rambler, among others, are offered. Not this many new vehicles lately but endless liveries on their current ones.
New Ray. My inventory did not reach these yet, so,if my memory is not doing any tricks. their first offerings were a series of 4x4 'monster-type vehicles,including a 1956 Chevy, that were avaliable at such places as a gasoline station,at the early 1990's. Their first 1/87 toy-ish cars were, as I got them, at 99 cents store, part of a mini-diorama, eg., their Mazda crew cab-pick up was part of a 'construction' diorama that featured bolders,workers,at all; around 1995 or so. Their unique models are stated above. Buses and trucks were offered at the period, including a very nice model of the current Renault tractor but these were close to 1/76 scale and yes, the little motor was there. Buses were the well-known 'O' series from Mercedes-Benz. Currently, semi-trailers,with Ferrarri livery, is offered and these are a tad better than its first offerings. Cars in others scales, specailly 1/32, are their main offering and there are also and endless series of Motorcycles from small to very large scales.
Tomica. Their regular series will offerd the trucks that comes close to 1/87; unique offerings will be a Nissan Diesel COE that were copied ad infinitum by the Chinese and Hong Kong and that includes plastic versions. Another one is a Mazda minibus plus a Mitsubishi Rosa and some other large vehicle types.From the Long series, a very detailed (do not look to the wheels,tough) AEC Routemaster Double Decker bus - a very welcome addition. And there are the Yunjin/Capsule ones but the vast majority of these are around 1/90 or smaller - and even bigger - scales.
Continues at the next posting.
|
|
stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Apr 20, 2005 2:49:20 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
The manufacturer listngs continues:
Hongwell. Probably is my computer, but at Hongwell's site, I am unable to see the pictures of Hongwell's articles even if I click at the scales mentioned. Hence,I can not tell exactly which are the 1/87 vehicles that are molded by them and sold as either Model Power or Shuco. The Volkswagen Samba van may be one of them,because a similar article was offered by them in 1/72 scale. I do know the Jeep Willys which bears the Boley package. It is stated that this manufacturer has a strong presence in 1/72 scale. Also,as Golden Wheel, they manufacture products for everybody else. One of its policies, according to MAR, is to mold the vehicle under another manufacturer packaging and then sell it as Hongwell at a very reduced price. Not only that, also according to same source, the quality of their products is quite high specially in 1/43 scale (love their Dodge Intrepid). If I will be able to have a display of their 1/87 scale wares,I will report accordingly. Missing the point somewhere.
High Speed. If I gather it correctly,it goes like this: Reader's Digest offered vehicles to people so they would subscribe to their magazine, and based on my own experiences, these were not gived away this often. These had a miriad of scales including 1/87 and N gauge's 1/160 scale (I have a non-powered locomotive at this scale). Be as it may, the first articles that I had from this manufacturer was a series of 1/43 scale racers, around 2001. On eBay, two years later, I found this 1969 Olds 442 but someone I know gave me it and by then I knew that this was a manufacturer on it own right. However, I do not know its URL and at eBay High Speed means mostly electronic devices. Thanks to this site,I know that these are supplying 1/87 models for Schuco/Model Power too, but again,I can not tell which. If an Olds 442 will show, that is fine for me. Also, I learned that the same is offering 1/64 cars to Schuco and some are ineteresting models.
These two need further research.
Manufacturers from Walthers. I have a 1972 issue and some others in between,but from 1994 I been getting their printed catalog on a regular basis and if I find any I do not have,I grab that too. Some unusual and at times unheard of manufacturers are listed in there. The problem is that at times is difficult to state what it saw production or not, such as the Dodge Aries from NJ International who never saw the light of the day, plus others. If their vehicle section had very few pages in 1972, today is a big affair on the 2004 issue and now Military Vehicles have a separate section in there. Some,as Jordan, were always present; others as Wiking and Herpa were added at the 1980's and items such as AWM and Albedo were never offered; Rietze, only briefly in the 1980's. Also some companies diseppeared and others got associated with others. Continuing with the new manufacturers policies, some of these will be listed and notes added about the avaliability of some models so far I can tell. Perhaps next entry.
Plus info from some other books and catalogs that I have around the apartment. Danhausen for me was also a nice reference, because they listed this German manufacturer who had a model of the Karmann Ghia 1600, another one who molded mini cars such as the Fulda, and a model bus manufacturer (Dutch protos) from Holland. After that, the second fase of this report: the manufactuers from the past,as reported from three main book references and MAR.
Continues at the next thread.
|
|
|
Post by Marc S. on Apr 20, 2005 8:22:29 GMT 1
Hongwell ... 1/87 vehicles that are molded by them and sold as either Model Power or Shuco. High Speed ... are supplying 1/87 models for Schuco/Model Power too Nick, I am missing the point of your extensive posts in this thread, which appears rather superficial -and sometimes erroneous- to me. Additionally, there are many repetitions of what was said in other threads on this board. I appreciate your knowledge of, and passion for, 1/87th scale vehicles, but I think your posts would do better with more "meat". Hongwell is the manufacturer behind Boley and most of Schuco's truck models. The first Motorart models were also done by Hongwell. The items they sell on their own are labeled Cararama. Highspeed is known as the maker of most of the German beer trucks. All passenger cars in Model Power's and Schuco's catalogues are sourced from Highspeed. Marc S.
|
|
BillC
87thScale addict
Posts: 2,541
|
Post by BillC on Apr 20, 2005 9:23:36 GMT 1
The other player is Ricko and these are high quality vehicles as expected from the Germans. They aren't there just yet, but Ricko is taking its cue from the German modelmakers. In fact, Ricko sourced its tooling and production machines from Germany. Ricko will also be making some changes in the way it designs its models to make them even better in the future. They have developed a very close relationship with Busch that will work to their (and our) benefit. Some of these changes will show up in the second release of new models, currently scheduled for June. Bill C.
|
|
stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Apr 20, 2005 16:26:27 GMT 1
Nick, I am missing the point of your extensive posts in this thread, which appears rather superficial -and sometimes erroneous- to me. Additionally, there are many repetitions of what was said in other threads on this board. I appreciate your knowledge of, and passion for, 1/87th scale vehicles, but I think your posts would do better with more "meat". Hongwell is the manufacturer behind Boley and most of Schuco's truck models. The first Motorart models were also done by Hongwell. The items they sell on their own are labeled Cararama. Highspeed is known as the maker of most of the German beer trucks. All passenger cars in Model Power's and Schuco's catalogues are sourced from Highspeed. Marc S. Dear Marc: Pay attention to the earlier posts. I stated that I would appreciate additions and corrections. Another fellow, Maguntic, stated that he is glad about my efforts. Further, I am covering the extra activities of these manufacturers - that is,if they have done items on another scales or,as Zylmex/Motormax,are not 1/87 manufacturers at all. Further,the feedback of the members of this site is also being added and this info is now avaliable at one place and not all over this site. Thank you for the additions and corrections. If you have more info and/or stories about other unknown brands currently in business,please drop a line. That what a discussion is all about. Nick K
|
|
stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Apr 20, 2005 16:30:05 GMT 1
They aren't there just yet, but Ricko is taking its cue from the German modelmakers. In fact, Ricko sourced its tooling and production machines from Germany. Ricko will also be making some changes in the way it designs its models to make them even better in the future. They have developed a very close relationship with Busch that will work to their (and our) benefit. Some of these changes will show up in the second release of new models, currently scheduled for June. Bill C. Dear Bill: As I stated above, I am glad about additions and corrections. My comments were based on your observations and the feedback from other members of this site. I am glad about Ricko's efforts,too. Nick K
|
|
stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Apr 21, 2005 3:07:09 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
The manufacturer listing continues.
Con-Cor. First appeared at the Walther's Catalog on the early 1980's and it was the manufacturer of Mack AC trucks. Later, at the same decade, products from Herpa were offered. As I read at their site, its owner will retire soon and hence 75% of the stock should be sold. Structures are also offered.
Trident. Manufacturer of 1/1250 scale ships (started around 1966) which ventured in 1/87 scale,around 1989. Offers Chevrolet trucks such as the Chevrolet Blazer,Suburban and Pick up. Alsoi has an extensive line of kits of military and civilian vehicles. At MVU, I was told that this company is run by a management of eldery gentleman; hence the new releases come up slowly (I do remember how long it took to release their Ford F350 crew cab pick up and the Chevrolet tow truck). Otherwise, nice line of vehicles.
Wheels Works. Metal kits of trucks from the 1930's.On Walther's Catalog since the early 1980's.
Woodland Scenics. According to their site, they have the most extensive line of structures in 1/87 scales, be it buildings,scenery and acessories. Vehicles includes an ancient Diamond T and Federal truck; a line of vehicles was announced for 2005 and according to the feedback these are not this accurate,but as built these look quite nice. A click at the menu of the site shows the variety of acessories offerd by this manufacturer.
Pirate Models. GMC buses were bought and kept by several authorities and had long production lives. The first one, the GMC TDH from the early 1950's saw production until 1968,despite the fact that the 'new-look - fishbowl was introduced in 1959 and it was so popular that after is production ended in the US, Canada manufactured it until 1986, nine years after the RTS generation of buses hit the roads. The latter was manufactured by TMC in 1980's and as that operation folded, by Nova Bus from Canada until at least end of the century. Pirate Models did offered all of the GMC city buses; in the case of the RTS, the original slant back (the first of the RTS) and square back were also offered. A Grumman-Flxble 870 (yeah,the one with bad frame) and Flexble Metro were also molded and a Parisian bus complete the roster. Metal kits. This company also offered an extensive line of 1/76 scale buses; based in the UK. Walthers since the 1980's.
And so it goes. The list is getting down to very small concerns and manufacturers who operate on selected areas of the world. As stated,comments,additions corrections are welcome.
Continues at the next thread.
|
|
stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Apr 25, 2005 8:25:38 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
There were 1/87 manufacturers that are not around any longer. Some of them are considered crude efforts while are seen as state-of the art creations. Some of them are given below:
Roberts Miniature buses. I believe that I discovered this gentleman via an ad from Model Railroader Magazine. Hence I wrote to him (this was at the early 1980's) and he sent me a catalog of what was avaliable. The info from this pages are at this site. I never ordered nothing from him but I did found some of his buses at the Whistle shop from Pasadena and someone,at the MVU swap meet,wanted to get my ACF Brill coach real badly. These are models of american buses and coaches in 1/87 and 1/48 (O gauge ) scales. Most are unique models and item such ACF Brill, Flexble with fishbowl type windows and AMG Metropolitan were molded plus and endless variety of GMC coaches. MEK issued a Scenicrusier recently, but Roberts also issued one twenty years ago and I had the opportunity to see at the Whistle shop. MCI and super Eagle Models were issued too. I can not tell if he still in business and or when the bus manufacturing ended. These have plaster bodies and I guess that the chassi is 'borrowed' from other sources. My ACF has wiking wheels. Otherwise,these are nice pieces.
Anglupas. The Spanish manufacturer issued cars and trucks from the late 1950's to the early 1960's. EKO's models are based on Anguplas items and as I heard,so where some of the Norevs. The problem of these cars is the plastic: they tend to warp as they age. Some vehicles,such as the Ford Galaxie have a opening trunk (yet, on the one I have,the lid does not stay in place) and the Cadillac limo had opening doors. Very interesting line-up to say the least, be it the Biscuiter mini car or the 1916 Studebaker (this is the only warped model on my collection). Some cars were issued on 1/43 scales and there were some acessories as well. Good literature describes the details from this manufacturer.
Road Champs. The company is still active as part of Jakks Pacific and I did not saw anything automotive coming from them for at least three years. Yes,from 1993 to at least 2001 they were involved with the molding of 1/43 scale police vehicles (and some of the cars are very collectible now) but by the 1980's they were part of JRI Inc (which involved their wares plus the ones from Yatming and Ja-Ru , a basement die cast manufacturer). By this period, a line of semi trailers of circa 1/90 scale were avaliable which had interesting liveries such as ABF; besides that, a line of motorized cars were offered and that involved a circa 1979 Corvatte,a Camaro and a Datsun Z. I only have the Corvette.As Bob Kelly did explained to me, some other manufacturers,such as Tonka, also did took hold of these cars (I have a Camaro with the Tonka inscription at its base). In the 1990's, Road Champs also had vehicles in other scales and the semi trailers were kept at the racks besides new offerings such as a Super Eagle coach (first as coaches of County musicians and next as a Greyhound bus. See note below. The next was a series of Flexble Metro series of City bus with liveries of Transit Authorities from Dallas,Miami,Minneapolis,New York New Jersey and so on.By 2002, there were no automotive offerings from this company albeit some of its older casting could be found at places such as Rite Aid stores. Note: There were two transcontinental companies operating in the US until the 1990's: Greyhound and Continetal Tralways. The former acquired the latter. While Greyhound is a good MCI costumer, Trailways had a penchant for Super Eagles.As the purcahse occured, some of the Super Eagles did spotted the Greyhound logo but for a very short time. Consequently,provided the miniature from Road Champs has one at all and/or correct fleet markings, that is a very remarkable offering due to the conditions stated above. Myself,I barely saw the real thing;hence this miniature replicates a rare occurence.
Yatming. Being a manufacturer of 1/64 scale vehicles,that meant that its trucks would be around 1/87 scales. As stated,some of its Bernard replicas were Majorette copies. They also did offered promos (I have some of their trucks with K-mart and its predecessor store liveries and some others I never heard of) and at one case,a truck from a tv show, the Kenworth cabover from BJ and the Bear (and very well detailed item).Other truck was Ford's CL9000 and this casting ended as a semi-trailer with Imperial cartons or a tractor by itself marketed as a Chinese generic item.Thing is this happened with most of the Yatmings: they were marketed on several different packagings and the bases were modified accordingly yet one could tell it was a Yatming). For a while,it was associated to JRI group. Now, no 1/87's are part of its extensive line-up but old items are still being marketed.
Continues at the next thread.
Some very interesting lisings on the making. Keep posted.
|
|
stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Jul 4, 2005 7:38:30 GMT 1
Dear Sirs: I found the item below on my 'excursions' at the Brazilian eBay: www.mercadolivre.com.br/jm/item?site=MLB&id=30375691 It goes like that: resin cab,plastic chassi and wooden,unpainted bed. He will produce larger scales of this truck later on. The person who is selling it is also its manufacturer and notice that he is not buggy 666. I also like how the doors open. I also find the wooden bed an interesting and original add-on such as Lee's woody station wagons.
|
|
stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Jul 5, 2005 9:16:21 GMT 1
|
|
|
Post by keroliver on Jul 5, 2005 10:45:35 GMT 1
Siamsky is from Bangkok. Thailand. These High Speed models are available here in Taiwan too. Not in Europe or in the US ??
|
|
stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Jul 5, 2005 18:28:32 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
I am very sure that these will be avaliable in the US. Siamsky is one of my favorite sellers; I can get Tomicas from him.
Thing is,I was asking myself which kind of vehicles,besides the trucks, High Speed were manufacturing. Now I know.
|
|
|
Post by Marc S. on Jul 5, 2005 19:01:55 GMT 1
Nick,
These are the High Speed-built models which Model Power and Schuco have been distributing for a while. They are available in the U.S. as the Model Power Minis series and in Europe as Schuco's Edition 1:87 Metall. A number of threads in this forum made mention of this kind of multi-branding.
At 7.99 US-$, these are way too expensive. They should go for 3.60 to 4.00 US-$. I recommend Truck Stop Models rather than eBay - you will get Model Power packaging, of course.
Marc S.
|
|
stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
|
Post by stanhas87 on Jul 5, 2005 20:14:49 GMT 1
Dear Marc:
Thanks for the hints. I wanted to know which were the vehicles under High Speed (not Model Power or Schuco) brand; now that I know I may want some,but not at $8.00 each.
Nick K
|
|