Christmas Tree and a House

Christmas stuff is pretty cheap in April.

I got this 1/2 off at Dollar General.  It's glass but feels more like resin.

It's a jar.

It matches Race's shirt nicely.

Valentines Day gifts are also cheaper in April too.

I got a little house at Hobby Lobby.

The inside lights up.  I don't usually care about that and often remove and recycle the batteries.

Like the Christmas tree it matches Race Bannons shirt.  I am building a little Santa's Village.
 

Free Stuff in the Mail

The same friend who sent me yesterdays fire truck also sent me a Bigfoot, an Area 51 Alien, and some generic guy.  About 1/72nd scale.

And he sent me this shark.  Shown here with a Batboat.  Although ironically, Batman was operating his helicopter when he encountered a shark.

 A nicely painted bit of sci fi figures!

They are Micro Machines painted up for Starship Troopers.

This is one of the Hot Wheels crushed cars that come with the Monster Trucks.

I don't have the station wagon, so it was quite the score.

Race taking his shark for a walk.
 

Readers Digest Fire Truck

For some unknown reason, Readers Digest magazine sold fire truck models years ago.

This is one of them, one of my friends sent me.

It's a nice model.

And you can't have too many fire trucks.

It matches Race Bannons shirt.
 

Race Cars

M2 Castline Machines makes this 1957 Bel Aire.

It is die cast metal and plastic.  Very heavy, very well done.

The paint job is excellent and all the little details like tail lights and license plates are painted.

The underside is nicely detailed and the interior is very nice.

With flames on the hood, it's just the sort of car Race Bannon might drive.

Or perhaps that woody by Hot Wheels?

Like the '57 it has a big engine and plenty of power.

And a detailed interior and underside.

As a station wagon it has plenty of room in the back and a sweet holiday message on the sides!
 

Polestar TRX

Hot Wheels Polestar TRV truck.

This is an imaginary electric all terrain vehicle.

I think they did a pretty good job with the design.

Hot Wheels have done several different paint jobs on it.

I like these to a lot.

I don't think this would be a good EV in real life, I think the battery space is too small.

It has a good science fiction look and I have considered changing up the rear deck to make a moon buggy.

Part of my surf collection.  I am pretty sure Race surfs.
 

Surf Van

Hot Wheels Buzz Bomb van.

I got this for my Beach Party collection.

It's a nice little van.

I like the surfboards on the roof.

I likely will repaint one of them.

But the original paint job is very nice.

Race Bannon with vans.
 

WWII Buildings and Vehicles

Roco Kubelwagen in front of a dollar store home.

Resin HO scale Panzer IV parked on the road out front.

The company commander visits the tanks in his company.

Hiding in the hedges.
 

Dollar Store Buildings

I like the cheap dollar store buildings and I think they can be easily improved with a little extra paint job.

The yellow building on the left was the starting place for the building on the right.  I painted it up and changed the building color.  Note the windows, once the wooden framing and the windows are painted they are much improved.

This is another building that got a similar painting upgrade.

These buildings are generic enough that I think they can be used for a long period of time and in many parts of the world.

I use the cheap acrylic paints from places like WalMart, Hobby Lobby, and Michaels that are sometimes as inexpensive as fifty cents for a large bottle.

These can be rural, but for older times they could work as town buildings too.

The door sizes can vary a lot on these buildings but I try and get ones that are about an inch tall.  But real buildings have doors that vary a lot, particularly in the days before building codes.