Brian Austin

Or how about "Top 5 numbers"? It was fun to see how much fun David Letterman's writers had with his Top Ten lists over the years, playing with that format. I think he even did a Top Ten list of Top Ten lists.

Be different. Do a "Middle 5" list.

A relatively small shop... A much larger operation..

Here we have a camping club parade brought to a halt by a freight train, again in Marseilles but in 1968. Parades and grade crossings don't generally play well together. ?

This next batch was from Marseilles, IL in 1972. My mother grew up in this sleepy city, and I recall visits in the '80s when my brother and I would run from our Grandparents' house though the neighborhood to catch a glimpse of the trains that passed through.

For fun here are the two for comparison...

This slide was unmarked, but I was surprised to find the locos and lead boxcar closely resemble one of the trains posted above.

My father took these slides in 1976, in northern/central Illinois, though specific locations were not noted. (Note: I found an album that suggests this set as well as the slide in the post below were taken in Ottawa, IL or perhaps closer to Peoria.) Note the mix of paint schemes. In some instances I have crop-zoomed the locos for closer viewing.

Mississippi. Info here. https://www.waterwaysjournal.net/2021/03/01/automobiles-by-barge/

That is what I said in my post. I do not know whether the original WIX labels are there under the Building #19 stickers, though. Here's a WIX truck for comparison: https://www.ebay.com/itm/255498820289

Slightly "compressed" I think. I measured the width of the sleeper best I could (not taking the truck out of the packaging) at around 3-1/8". Trailer width is around 3-1/2", and the proportions seem compressed. It's a stamped-steel and plastic toy, so I'm not expecting high fidelity in terms of scale here. ?

I've seen those Matchbox trucks. Mine is considerably larger. The trailer is a foot long and a hair over 2-3/4" wide across the rear fenders.

The Mighty Rigs were only produced for a short amount of time, and there were only two models in the series. The cab and hood are diecast metal while the rest is plastic. It is between 1:43 and 1:32 in scale. Unfortunately while I was photographing it I noticed the tires had started to disintegrate. I don't think I had touched it for a couple of decades. So much for mint in box. ?

I just pulled this beauty out of my attic. As you can see by the packaging, this toy started off as a WIX promo from 1990. I wonder if these were relabeled for the store by ERTL? I wonder how many of these were produced. Building #19 was a chain of job-lot discount stores in Massachusetts.

One of my friends just recently complained about getting caught up in some issue with FB, regarding community standards. He had no idea what he might have done, perhaps "liking" too many posts? Weird things can happen in regular forums as well.

Many FB Groups make a point of being private to keep out trouble makers and spam. The Groups I belong to relate to model railroading and to my former model car club (folded just before the pandemic). Unfortunately by the time I finally joined FB, my club Group was winding down in traffic. It's very quiet now. As far as "oversharing" goes, I've had plenty of that in real life as well.

Heck, I've seen negativity in club meetings.

I posted the Cobra wagon in response to the Pinto side discussion, which seemed outside of the realm of the thread. ? Also, it might give someone some kitbashing ideas.

That's what the aftermarket is for. ?

I posted this some time ago. Show is from the 1980s-90s. There were also some fascinating model making TV shows in England. Scroll down to my next post in the above discussion. Edit: I just noted that the link goes to the start of the thread, not my individual post. Sorry. See page 5 of that thread.

I first picked up some wheels and parts from Don Mills' shop 20 years ago or more. I think he's still selling. I've always wondered where he got his tires from.

1966 clay.

Sport wagon. ?

Seen at a museum tucked in next to the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Museum in Auburn Indiana (1997).