Dollar Store Truck Upgrades

[Fred_M]

Now it's time to do some dollar store trucks. Here's a box of raw materials. You have to GAUGE these by site as to scale. The two trucks look great, but the Jeep is too big. The grandson will smile when he gets it and he will carry it around in his little hand all day. That's worth more than the dollar right there . FRED

 

[Fred_M]

Oops, forgot the pic.

 

[Fred_M]

So off comes the "loads" which will go to my junkyard module under construction. These loads snapped and or broke off with a screw driver. In fact i was amased how easily theses two came apart! They are only dollar store items, but I wouldn't give them to a little kid (CHOKE HAZARD). I then built some beds from hobby wood and toothpicks. FRED

 

[Fred_M]

I then painted the beds with acrylics and dug some junk out of my junk box. These were found in CDreaders I junked. I also painted the loads and built crates for them. I wrapped a piece of balsa with a corner of a page from Terminal Hobby's cat. for the box. I did these three dollar store trucks in two hours while watching reruns of Law and Order on sat. last nite. I am showing them with a $10 scale ambulance so you can see they are pretty close to 87. Good enough for me. Cost for three trucks, less than two bucks. They also took about as much time as the ambulance too. FRED

 

[Fred_M]

Not to be outdone by the dollar stores wallmart is now offering some cheap trucks that look HO scale.

 

[Fred_M]

The dumps are too weird looking for me so they will be junked and put in the salvage yard after the grandson get some play from them (prepairs them). The rest I lightly weathered. I like the loaders with no safty cages and all. Next I'll put in some 1/2 LPBs. FRED

 

[hocaboose]

Neat trucks-I'm always looking for the cheapies too as some of the new models are beautiful but way too expensive.

Pete

 

[Benny]

I actually have an entire box FILLED with the stuff I did back in High school with this type of stuff...never much, but it seems I have bene fixing these truck s sinks I was a kid playing with them.

And By the way, they used to break just as easy back in 1984 as they do now. And yes, your child should kno the difference between "food" and "toy" before you give them these things.

 

[screwysquirrel]

Toy Trucks

I just remember on my old HO set (a Tyco over-under Figure 8) from the 1970s, I used to run my old Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars on the painted road. They were a LITTLE out of scale, but worked pretty well anyhow.

 

[NYC-BKO]

Since seeing this post, Fred, I have been looking but alas haven't found any treasures like you did. Same stores carry different items in different parts of the country I guess. Haven't even found anything at flea markets to use. The search will go on.

Nice work on the ones you got!:thumb:

 

[Pitchwife]

I just remember on my old HO set (a Tyco over-under Figure 8) from the 1970s, I used to run my old Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars on the painted road. They were a LITTLE out of scale, but worked pretty well anyhow.

Hi SS. Your post remended me of the reason I kept thinking about this hobby for so many years, adding slot cars to the action. Then I found out that HO slots are 1/64 and HO trains are 1/87. Close, but so far away. Then I found out about Johnny Lightning Thunderbolt slot cars that are 1/87 scale. I started a thread several years ago on the subject. If you are interested it is at Slots & Trains . The centurytel links no longer work nor do some of the pictures as I have changed sites, but if you are interested I can make the information available again.
I kept hearing that you should start small, so I put the 8' x 32' HO layout on hold and am almost ready to start construction on an 8' x 9' walkin N scale layout, which will be posted in the June-July Track Planning Contest. That IS smaller than what I originally had in mind.