Re: HO scale vehicle @ Walmart

That may be true, but I've bought several of the Malibu International HO cars at W-M. The detail is actually quite good for the price, especially when compared to the ones that go for 5x the price in the hobby shop. They make great parking lot fillers and auto-rack loads. Look for them also on the clearance shelves at W-M for even better prices.

P.S This isn't "news", the Malibu cars have been available for probably a couple years now, and have been discussed extensively on some of the other forums.

Stevert

My local Wal-Mart Supercenter has the Norscot construction equipment (see p.

775 in the last Walthers catalog) for $5.97 each (Walthers show $20.95 each). Singles are $1.97, and car plus travel trailer at $2.47. Full interiors, good paint, nice chrome detail... many of these show in the $12-$15 range in Walthers...

Maybe, but their HO diecast vehicles are pretty good. The worst is the VW beetle - the chrome surround on the windows is too wide. But the other vehicles are nicely done.

Also, Model power's N scale steam locos are excellent.

The WalMart models differ in colours, etc, but appear to be the same otherwise.

They are not the same models. The models made for Walmart have fewer parts, and are not as detailed. How do I know? Fellow at the club showed me both versions. He considers the WM versions good enough for flatcar loads.

Walmart is good at getting makers to produce to a "price point." You get what you pay for at Walmart...

sbolte wrote: Walmart has good HO scale vehicles that same to be the same as the current ones from Model Power. They are by Malibu International and retail for $2.22 per single car and $7.98 for an assorted 5 pack. Steve

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There's a review of "Star Cars" in the May issue of Model Railroad News.

Bill Bill's Railroad Empire N Scale Model Railroad:

History of N Scale: Railroad Bookstore: to 1,100 sites:

the current

retail for

*the* worst,

Their 'Toys-R-Us' level stuff is gotten better than Life-Likes the last year or so.

I've noticed most of their entry-level/beginner stuff is no longer using 'pan-cake' motors, and actually has all-wheel pick-up now.

Len

I'd be the first to admit I'm not a nitpicker, and as far as such details go, "good enough for flatcar loads" and "you get what you pay for" work for me on my layout! Friend and I compared the Norscot items, his being the hobby shop versions, and we agreed that the WM ones were fine for our needs. No cars on his part to compare with the Malibu International ones, but several in the club indicated they were quite satisfied with what they saw, and planned to wander by the toy aisle in WM next time they were in.

Now to find a tanker truck or two for my corn syrup facility...

Matt

The Walmart 1:87 vehicles look pretty good to me. They are very shiny, but a shot of Dullcote ought to fix that. The selection could be better and some of the rigs, like a sports car pulling a camper, would look odd on any US pike. But for the vehicles that fit into your time frame they are pretty good. David Starr

Matt Furze wrote:

Len:

IIRC Model Power has never had pancake motors. The MP diesels I have had were crufty enough, but they were 8-wheel drive, central motor, no flywheels, plastic axles, all wheel pickup. Not great, and very light, but not completely horrible.

I think some of the earlier RS2's may have had vertically mounted motors on one truck.

Some of the Model Power freight cars look all right for cheapie trainset stuff. IIANM they are old Marx dies. The 40' boxcar isn't bad, for what it is, and it's one of the rare trainset cars without 'claws'...I think it's a 1937 AAR design.

I am referring to the HO stuff in all this.

Cordially yours: Gerard P. President, a box of track and some grids.

This discussion has gotten "way off track" (pun intended). Back to the vehicles & model railroading...

I'm guessing that these are in the toy section at Wal-Mart; how are they packaged (blister packs, boxes, how?) and are they under different brand names? I think I saw Norscott and Malibu in the posts; are there others? Thanks!

dlm

I've never seen them, even though I've been through the toy section many times. But I have a 16 month old boy, so I might have overlooked toys for older kids. (Though I usually don't since I'm just an adult boy myself...)

The Norscot models are in blister packs, predominately yellow/black, Norscot name all over them, 1:87 scale prominent also. The Malibu International cars, Malibu name one one end, are packaged in a plastic container with black cardboard wrapped around it, car visible from one side and both ends. Red band across the top, broken up with the words "Model Collection" and Scale 1:87 underneath. There's also a set of fairly modern

18-wheel tractors with sleeper, same packaging but without the Scale 1:87, though the price tag on the shelf read 1:87. Yes, in the toy aisle along with the Hot Wheels and other such items. Even spotted a Nascar set of 1:87 cars, individually packaged. No use for such on my layout, but YMMV.

Matt

The cars got an excellent review in the June Railroad Model Craftsman starting on page 103. Steve (model New Haven RR so vehicles have to be 1969 or earlier!)