Fun Ho! 44 Bulldozer repair using Matchbox 8d parts

I was looking at my Fun Ho! fleet in preparation for the April Canberra Model Vehicle Collectors Club meeting - the theme for that evening will be 'state of origin'. I will be taking all my Fun Ho! along - as they are all of NZ origin.

I would like to take the Fun Ho! bulldozer along - but it lacked treads. What to do?

Knowing that many Fun Ho! castings are close copies of Lesney castings, I had a quick flick through Warmans 'Matchbox Field Guide' and sure enough - it's almost identical to the Matchbox regular wheel 8d bulldozer. The main and significant difference being that the Fun Ho! has a lifting bucket at the front.

Matchbox tractor 8d (ebay ad photo)

Fun Ho 44 (photo from the Toy Cabin)

The castings are so similar except that Fun Ho! 44 has a few alterations, that allow it to be used as a bull dozer with a flat blade, and a lifting bucket. My main concern was - would the Matchbox tracks fit the fun Ho!?

I asked on the Matchbox Collectors Community Hall forums for replacement parts suppliers - and received a few pointers. I went with 'RecoverToy' located in Australia. They were able to supply a set of tracks to fit the Matchbox 8d. 

When they arrived - I fitted them - and they were perfect. They aren't black, like the ones in the photo above - but they fit, and suit the playworn dozer. RecoverToy also threw in a sheet of decals with my order - which was a pleasant surprise. I am very happy with the result. 

Worlds smallest scale model car is resin

I once saw some model vehicles meant for the deck of a model aircraft carrier. They were tiny, but still identifiable as vehicles. My eyes probably aren't good enough to identify this model, without access to a microscope. 

Very tiny Indy Car model 

Photo from Wired 'Autopia' Blog

How small is this model ? It is 285 micrometers, or 1/100th of an inch. Smaller than a human hair or a grain of sand! It has been constructed by Austrian scientists using a very advanced form of 3D printing and uses resin as the agent to build the object with. They built this as a demonstration of the new technologies they are developing. 

Of course one has to ask why Austrian scientists in Vienna built a model of an Indy Car, when they could have chosen from any of the fine Austrian cars that have graced the autobahns of Europe. 

I'm not sure if they will be producing any other cars in this scale, or if this is a one off, but its an impressive demonstration of future scale model technology. 

If anyone can advise exactly what scale this is - I'd be grateful.

Canberra Downhill Diecast Dragracers - Round One

After constructing a Hot Wheels racing track - you need somewhere to race it. As a member of the Canberra Model Vehicle Collectors Club, I decided to take it along to the March meeting and set it up and have at it. Two other people had expressed interest - and I had two cars mailed to me by 'Model40fan' at the Redline Racing Forums. Four people is enough for a competition!

The track laid out and all components joined together.  If you look, you can actually see two little cars that have just exited the starting gate.

 There were a few kinks - such as this MAJOR one - and of course, I didn't have a stanley knife to trim it.

The towel is to catch cars that have exited the track after going through the finish line. You can see here where the vintage track meets the contemporary Hot Wheels track (the pieces on the blue painted plank).

Because of the kinks, including some sections where track joined, a few cars tumbled off the track - such as the Hot Wheels Volkswagen Type 181. It was a fast car - but the track needs some improvements.

Half Packid (US Import) vs Matchbox 'Tyre Fryer'

One solution on the night was to lower the track a little. I had the track elevated about a metre to start with, but too many cars came off the track, as gravity, a bumpy track etc caused them to exit the tracks... so we lowered the starting gate to chair seat level. This helped considerably. 

After watching us race, Sam decided to get involved - he had bought along some cars to swap/sell - and came over with this Matchbox Viper. It was pretty quick.

 Viper vs Half Packid (US import)

 Hot Wheels Corvette vs Majorette Morgan

 McDonalds Hot Wheels 32 Roadster vs Matchbox Dodge Monaco

 Hot Wheels Studebaker Avanti vs Matchbox Holden Ute

 Hot Wheels Corvette vs 'Blue Spruce' (US import)

Blue Spruce vs Matchbox Holden Ute

 McDonalds Hot Wheels Go Kart vs Hot Wheels Studebaker Avanti. 

This is the original configuration of the track, with the starting gate raised just over a metre. The starting angle also seems too steep. The other problem is that although there is one button to start races, some cars seem to 'hang' at the gate and not race away. Advice is sought. 

 Matchbox Holden Ute vs Matchbox Ferrari Testarossa. Cars are 'staging' off to the right. 

Lowering the starting gate and the angle of the track, was a partial solution to the problem with cars tumbling off the track. It still didn't stop some cars flying off when they encountered that large bump in the track. 

This is where the two main parts of the track - two 1.8 metre planks - are joined by a hinge, and the four lengths of plastic track join. If I'd had a Stanley knife I could have fixed this kink, but alas I didn't... The wooden guides are not decorative - there are holes drilled through them, into the plank at the front and pins hold the plank on the right in place. You can see some construction photos here.

Racing results (winners Bolded)

Half Packid (US Import) vs Matchbox 'Tyre Fryer'

Matchbox Viper vs Half Packid (US import)

Hot Wheels Corvette vs Majorette Morgan

Hot Wheels Corvette vs Matchbox Holden Ute

Hot Wheels Volkswagen Type 181 vs Matchbox Holden Ute

McDonalds Hot Wheels 32 Roadster vs Matchbox Dodge Monaco (both DNF)

Hot Wheels Studebaker Avanti vs Matchbox Holden Ute

Hot Wheels Corvette vs 'Blue Spruce' (US import)

Blue Spruce vs Matchbox Holden Ute

McDonalds Hot Wheels Go Kart vs Hot Wheels Studebaker Avanti (both DNF)

Matchbox Holden Ute vs Matchbox Ferrari Testarossa

Blue Spruce vs Half Packid

Matchbox Ferrari Testarossa vs Blue Spruce 

And the winner: 

Congrats to Model40fan and the visiting 3 inch sized American contingent!

(the car has a very cool resealable blister and its own printed card!)

Conclusions

1. I need to fine tune the track - remove the kinks, straighten the left hand track in one place.
2. The starting gate needs work
3. I need to experiment with a height to start the cars from
4. Narrow cars do not race well (Avanti, Monaco)
5. Cars with weight at the back do race well

Between now and the next race (probably the April meeting of the Canberra Model Vehicle Collectors Club ) I will work on improving the track. If anyone has advice - please post it in the comments section. 

Oh - Big thanks to Sue who raced around collecting cars that tumbled off the track and also returned cars back to the starting gate... even after her Corvette exited the comp! It was also her idea to lower the starting gate height!

And if you want to race - let me know!