Just what i was looking for, i just bought some Maisto from dollar tree and was wondering if they would working with HO scale buildings and figures, i have hot wheels but i dont want to open them.
As mentioned in many replies Hot Wheels are mostly 1/64the scale, the "HO" Slot cars are about 1/64th scale and Matchbox are all variety of scales.
As for Matchbox this quote "This famous, originally English, manufacturer of die-cast models has always released models that collectors often refer to as 'box-scale', i.e. the models had to fit into the boxes they were sold in and the actual scale of the model was of secondary importance. There were, however, several models that are actually very close to 1/87." Came from this page http://www.87thscale.info/matchbox_ii.htm
Hot Wheels has never officially declared their cars to be any specific size, except on occassion they will run a limited series of labeled to scale cars and they did this briefly in the Mid 2000's in 1/87 scale, presumably produced in the same China factory as the Malibu Classics/Fresh Cherries/Model Power cars and just branded for Hot Wheels. Like the Malibu and Fresh Cherries they were available at Wal-Mart and Toys R Us for under $2 each. Hot Wheels 1/87, Fresh Cherries and Malibu are no longer being produced in 1/87th scale although the Malibu line is was icensed/bought by Model Power and can be found for anywhere from $5 to $10 per car.UPDATE since originally writing this I have found out Model Power suspended business and had now struck a deal with MRC to produce and market some of their products. There are also two other under $10 lines "Welly" and "High Speed" but I have not been able to get confirmation either of these are still in production although I heard Welly has a deal with Atlas so they may still be around.
The slot cars were labeled as HO Scale in a marketing ploy for people to buy them with their train sets, and in fact Tyco, Life Like and others put out HO train and slot cars sets with crossing tracks. The cars are much closer to 1/64th scale and originally all of them were made to fit the same size chassis so that is why an Indy car looks as big as a NACSCAR.
EBAY ALERT. There is another company named Maisto that has many retail and internet (especially ebay) models for sale and NONE, let me repeat NONE are 1/87 scale....be particularly careful on ebay as these are often misrepresented (as are the Matchbox and Hot Wheels) as 1/87 in the Ebay ad but again they are NOT 1/87th scale. I have emailed Maisto and they assure me they have NEVER put out any models close to 1/87 scale!
Hope this clears things up a bit.
As mentioned before, Ricko is a good source of scale cars, including some nicely detailed classics that fit right in with most steam eras. If Rolls Royce is your thing, for the country club set, Praline has a nice set. And since I 'live' on eBay, a quick plug for a store called 'WeHonest' (yeah, yeah, I know - but they ARE..), that sells slightly smaller cars (1:100), outfitted with LEDs front & back for around a buck each. I got my motion-controlled track signals from them, too.
Matchbox/Lesney Rolls-Royce Phantom V is a huge 1:43...
I made an HO scale ruler on the back of a business card, and keep it in my wallet.
For cars, I look for something about 7' wide and around 18' long, and around 5' to the roof. For trucks, say a dump truck, it's alittle different, but they can be closer to 8'wide and up to 9' to the cab protector. Pick-ups could be between 7' and 8' wide, and about 20' long, and maybe alittle over 6' to the top of the cab.
I find Hot Wheels and Match Box to be too big. I know it's hard to find something that looks decent, without looking too "toyish", for under $15.
I'm always on the search for cars, and pick-ups. Semi trucks are pretty plentifull.
Mike.
My You Tube
Most toy cars such as Matchbox or HotWheels are close to S scale (1:64). Some of the trucks are close to HO, though. The best test is to put one of the toy cars beside an HO scale model car and see if the sizes look right. This will allow for "close enough" scales, say between 1:82 and 1:93.
S&S
Modeling the Pennsy and loving it!
Hotwheels, matchbox, and other diecast cars such as johnny lightning and ertl are usually around the 1/70 to 1/60 ish scale depending on the vehicle you are buying, usually between 1/72 and 1/64. They do make vehicles that are designed for ho railroad but are more expensive and have a limited selection. Most hotwheel like diecast will look ok on a train layout but they are slightly bigger than intended for ho however you do have more companies that make this scale car so finding the cars you want are much easier and they are more detailed. With railroad vehicles usually you will find cars from the 1950's like belairs and ford f-100s and maybe some odd sport cars and muscle cars. I use hotwheels, matchbox, johnny lightning, ertl, and other 1/70 /60ish scale cars on my train because I like they way they look and the variety of vehicles, my advise would be to keep them in a town on the layout and keep the bigger ones away from the trains because you will not notice their size then. If you are doing model railroading for a club or for a show then yes you should use the expensive tiny ho vehicles but if you are just doing it for fun or spending time with your family then I would just use the hotwheels cars.
Hot wheels have always been scaled to fit on their track. That is why the dump trucks have the same wheel track as a Beetle. That is their purpose, not to serve as scale vehicles.
Years ago, I only had a few vehicles. A mixture of Monogram Exacts, Life Like, some Con-Cors and Match box trucks.
Then the Model Power / Malibu cars took the hobby by storm. Followed by the Fresh Cherries and Reel Rides. Latter the Athearn JD tractors showed up at Walmart. Finally the 1/87 Hot Wheels.
All on the cheap. We were living fat and happy.
Before they dried up, I acquired a nice selection of cars. My layout soon looked like traffic gridlock. The Match box trucks were replaced by Boleys.
Nowadays the Malibu cars are still available under the Model Power brand, along with some new versions. The Athearn tractors are still available. The Boley truck line has been purchased by Walthers.
All at hobby prices but at least they are still around. Maybe the Cherries and Reel Rides will resurface.
Jim
On my previous layout (and when I get scenery going on my current layout), I have three Hot Wheels fire trucks, two Hot Wheels rescue squads, and two Matchbox ambulances. While not 100% accurate to the equipment used in the show Emergency!, I feel they're good standins until accurate models are made. Below is a pic from before I did some touch up on them.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
Hot Wheels Cars are too big, however Hot Wheel and Matchbox Trucks (as well as the mini Hess Trucks) are passable on an HO scale layout IMHO. But I prefer Classic Metal Works, Model Power Minis or Ricko.
Joe Staten Island West
Bachman and model power would have less expensive vehicles, Classic metal works, walthers, and woodland scenics wold have more expensive models. there are others also.
Life-Like makes a couple of sets of plastic cars / pickups that are good for a transition era layout. They don't have interiors but for a 'back of the layout' scene work fine. They're not very expensive.
I don't recall seeing a scale on any of the small Matchbox cars that I have, but the general concensus seems to have always been that they're closer to S than HO. (BTW I still have my big Matchbox carrying case from c.1969 with 50 or so cars in it, be interesting to see what they're worth now.)
The "Models of Yesteryear" had the scale on them (or the packaging?) and were roughly the right size for O scale (IIRC from about 1:43 to 1:50 scale). I had several of those on my old Lionel layout in the seventies.
Thus Spake the LION:
Getting enough cars on a layout can be a problem, the little buggers are expensive. If you can find some el cheapo maybe you can live with the difference. If they are too big, they can always occupy garages (where the whole car cannot be seen or can be cut down) or smosh them up and put them in a junk yard. If they are too small this is better, you can use them to adjust the visual perspective.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
cacole Most Hot Wheels are S scale. Matchbox does not seem to be any particular scale that's equivalent to trains.
Most Hot Wheels are S scale. Matchbox does not seem to be any particular scale that's equivalent to trains.
Not quite true some match box cars but very few where made in 1/76 which just happens to be OO scale.
Pity that did not take off in the US.
If you find any Dinky Dublo cars these days you will have to sell the house and family they are very collectable
and command some very silly prices in good condition with box they only cost a few pennies brand new
regards John
?set=pcb.495729067134640&type=1 Here is the link to the my Hot Wheels that I have to this day, all 21.
Since this thread is being revived my big question is why you can buy a Hot Wheels for $1-2.00 but an HO scale vehicle without much more detail is $5-10.00 or more?
JohnnyReb, like you if I had back all the cars ... Heck, I even had a full set of the Matchbox King Size that my mother gave away when I went to college. Those things are worth something if you can find them now in good shape.
Also, for anyone looking for farm equipment, a good place to try is Tractor Supply or a similar local farm supplier. They often have racks of pretty good looking farm equipment painted for most of the major builders from different eras. Not exactly to scale, but since tractors come in so many sizes, unless someone is real knowledgeable about Farmall vs Allis, no one will notice. Every layout in the 50s/60s needs a Ford 8n on the farm.
About 4 years ago Hot Wheels did attempt to make HO Scale vehicles which I would purchase and collect from Wal Mart. I purchased a total of 21 before they were discontinued. Here is a post of one of them from the Facebook Group HO Scale Vehicles n Model Railroad.
photo.php?fbid=495508070490073&set=o.435589963135582&type=1&theater
No, Hot Wheels and Matchbox never were HO, and made no claims to be HO. The automobiles turn out to be S-scale, or close enough. You can use them on an HO layout but they will look big. Put them in the foreground and not to close to the trains and it will look OK. They are too big to use as loads for the auto rack cars, they just don't fit.
There was a push in the toy industry a few years ago to introduce a line of 1:87 vehicles. Fresh Cherries was the brand name. I picked up a nice 53 Caddy convertible, a 56 Chevy sedan, a VW beetle, a Type 356 Porshe, and a Ford pickup. Then Hot Wheels got into it, issued a few items marked 1:87. I got 34 Ford hot rod and a Hudson Hornet street rod. The Hot Wheels were not as nicely made as the Fresh Cherries. For a while WalMart was carrying them, but I haven't seen any in WalMart lately.
The trucks and construction equipment, road graders and front end loaders, can work out. The prototypes are made in all sizes from small enough for homeowners to big enough for Interstate Highway construction. The toy ones will scale out as the larger prototypes in HO but nothing wrong with that.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
skippygp123 I realize that not all cars are the same size in real life, but the difference between 2 sedans, one marked 1:87 scale and one from Life-Like, is so different that they do not look right together.
I realize that not all cars are the same size in real life, but the difference between 2 sedans, one marked 1:87 scale and one from Life-Like, is so different that they do not look right together.
Then don't put them close together - use the bigger one in the foreground and the smaller one in the background.
If you want to see which one is closest to scale, just measure it and multiply by 87.1, then google the size of the real car and compare with the result of your calculation.
Smile, Stein
I have a couple of the old Lindberg HO vehicle kits, that seem to measure out fairly close to what they should be, so I use them as comparisons. I also have a couple old Varney and Life-Like cars that seem a bit small. My son had a fair collection of Matchbox, Hotwheels, and others, and some of them match up pretty well with the Lindberg, some are larger and wider, some are obviously smaller. I;ve purchased some of the Matchbox and other industrial type equiopment, like garbage trucks, fork lifts, and as long as a scale figure looks right along side it, I accept it regardless of what a scale rule says. Right now, I kind of figure some of the custom hot rod cars and imagineered ones would look good at a local restaraunt for a Friday afternoon type car show, which is fairly common around here.
I personally think these cars are built to a particular wheel base and tread specification, plus TLAR, rather than any particular exact scale. They could run from 1/64 to maybe 1/96 scale. For our purposes, it's probably a matter of if it looks like it fits, its close enough to 1.87 as to not matter.
Well, now that I've taken a very close look at the vehicles (Hot Wheels and Matchbox) that I have, I can't find a single one that says it is 1:87 scale....although I was sure that that's what I had read. Guess my mind was playing tricks on me.
I did find some sports cars and a VW van with a camping trailer that say 1:87 scale on the package. However, these are smaller than the cars that came with the HO Scale Trailer Train Auto Loader cars that we have.
They are also much smaller than the pick-up trucks that came with some Life-Like sets that we have (campground, farm, etc.)
Perhaps my problem is that I have some of the Life-Like and other older plastic cars? Were they ever supposed to be 1:87 scale?
I do not suffer from insanity...I enjoy every minute of it!!! Over 60 and still playing with toys!
skippygp123 Are Matchbox and/or Hot Wheels vehicles really HO Scale? Many are marked 1:87 scale but they seem larger than the other vehicles that come with Bachmann and Life-Like sets.
Are Matchbox and/or Hot Wheels vehicles really HO Scale? Many are marked 1:87 scale but they seem larger than the other vehicles that come with Bachmann and Life-Like sets.
Not so sure about the "many are marked 1:87 scale" part of the statement above. I have not seen many Matchbox or Hot wheels vehicles marked 1:87 scale, and they usually are not 1:87 scale.
Got some concrete examples?
One brand of vehicles sometimes found in the toy aisles of big box stores that actually are 1:87 scale is the fresh cherries type of vehicles. Often mostly sports cars, a bit flashy for a normal scene near the tracks, but at least the right scale.
skippygp123 If they are not really HO Scale (even though they say they are 1:87 scale), which company makes vehicles that are truer to HO Scale? We don't want to spend money buying vehicles that aren't going to look right on our layout.
If they are not really HO Scale (even though they say they are 1:87 scale), which company makes vehicles that are truer to HO Scale? We don't want to spend money buying vehicles that aren't going to look right on our layout.
Quite a few. Have a look at MB Klein (http://modeltrainstuff.com) and Walthers (http://www.walthers.com), in the H0 scale vehicles section to get some ideas about some brands.
Walthers apparently list 2296 product variations in stock in the H0 scale vehicles section (http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=Vehicles&scale=H&manu=&item=&keywords=&words=restrict&instock=Y&split=300&Submit=Search)
What would "look right" on your layout depends on what era and location your layout is supposed to represent.
Aren't usually a whole lot of tractors in the middle of a city, or a lot of flashy open top sports cars in a small farming community, and a 1930s Ford truck making deliveries looks as weird in a layout set in 2005 as a modern car looks in a layout set in the 1910s :-)
If you are going to be browsing the toy car section of a store .. tuck a LP (Little Person) of your scale with you in your shirt pocket. Hold up the figure next to the vehicle you are looking at. You will get an immediate answer if the vehicle will work or not.
I started collecting Matchbox back in the late 1950s when most of the prototypes were British. I remember a "Morris Minor" that was very close to HO size but there clearly was no one scale for their stuff. They even had a steam locomotive in their line, and a non railroad steam engine, and a Rushton Bucyrus shovel. All metal and very nicely painted. When I see Matchbox now I can't believe the decrease in quality.
Dave Nelson
I suspect most vehicles in the Matchbox and Hot Wheels lines are designed to fit the packaging, with scale fidelity (at best) a secondary concern. A small sports car can be as big as a cement mixer in the same line. And most are too big for HO. However, some may be close enough. It's probably best to look at each car individually.
When I had Matchbox cars as a kid, there did seem to be some attention to detail. The wheels had realistic looking tires. But at a certain point, Matchbox began to use wheels similar to those on Hot Wheels, which appeared to be designed for performance on the Hot Wheels racing tracks, and in any case looked too sporty to be realistic. In fact, Hot Wheels cars either were modeled after hot rods, funny cars, and "concept cars", with an eye towards what looked "cool" rather than towards realism.
Dan
Slot car HO (which includes most Matchbox, etc) is 1:64.
NMRA HO is 1:87
Dave
From Mt Pleasant, Utah, the home of the Hill Valley and Thistle Railroad where the Buffalo still roam and a Droid runs the trains
Matchbox, Johnny Lightning and Hot Wheels were made for their own market. They were never intended to match up with the HO scale model trains. Most people use them for the fact they can be found locally while walking thru a store. If you want to get prototypical you should look in a train catalog. Another thing is that the catalogs are locale to their market, IE, English, Asian, Us and so on.
On a side note, If I had all the MatchBox and Hot Wheels I lost over the years, I would need a dumptruck to hold them all. As the song says "I drove 100,000 miles on my knees"
Johnnny_reb Once a word is spoken it can not be unspoken!
My Train Page My Photobucket Page My YouTube Channel
I really myself dont care much about the vehicle's scale because, it is only a for-play town, not a real serious thing. I mean, my commercial airliners by Schabak are even smaller than my Matchbox toys, but I still include them in it. Largely because a 1/64 model airplane would be much over the monetary limit for me to buy it!
Anyways, Matchbox is mostly 1/64.