87th Scale Modelcars 

One of my interests is collecting (and building) car and truck models in 87th scale. For years these simple plastic models have been used as accessories to model railroads, but the models have become more and more detailed and collecting them has become a hobby by itself. On these pages you will find al lot of information about 87th scale modelcars and modelling.   

A little history

In the early days of 87th scale the models were simple, and not very well detailed. They were often made of one piece of coloured plastic (injection moulded), and had no windows. As technology progressed, modelmanufacturers were able to use more and better moulds thus creating models that were accurate in scale, multi- coloured and had interiors and windows. In the past twenty years the modelmakers have been able to create models with seperate head- and rearlights in the correct colours. Some of these models even have photoetched parts. Most of the moulds for more recent 87th scale models are made with the help of CAD/CAM, some- times using the original factory drawings. (for example if the manufacturer of the real car ordered a scale model as a promotional item.) Over the past twenty years, the modelmanufacturers released a lot of models that have been on collectors' wishlists for years. However, all major manufacturers have to keep a watchful eye on profitability and return on investment (a multi-part mould can easily cost between $ 20.000 and $ 80.000) so models that will only sell in small numbers due to the limited interest in those particular models are very rare. These 'gaps' left by the major manufacturers leave room for smaller companies to create their own models, either injection-moulded, die-cast, made of resin or spincast. 

The manufacturers 

Over the years, there have been a lot of companies (and hobbyists) that made (near) 87th scale models and accessories.When I first started this site I thought it would be a good idea to compile a list of all manufacturers of (near) 87th scale models. Since that time, the list has been growing steadily and I have joined forces with collectors from other European countries to start a webportal dedicated to 87th scale modelling. The latest version of the manufacturers list, which has now grown to over 1100 manufacturers, can be found on: www.87thScale.info .  

This site has since been turned into my personal site on which I will show you pictures from my collection and models from my collection. If, however, you can (and you'd like to) contribute to the new webportal, please feel free to do so. Contributions can be sent to Eric(a)87thScale.info as well as to Eric(a)24Valve.com. You can send your contributions in either English, German, French, Spanish or Dutch. 

Models from my collection

Some 85% of the models pictured here are from my own collection, and therefore a lot of them will have a Mercedes 'star'. But don't worry, there will be lots of pictures of other interesting models because I like to build/rebuild/scratchbuild other models as well. As you can imagine, a lot of models.....  means a lot of pictures. To keep loading times at a reasonably acceptable level, clicking one of the hyperlinks will take you to a new page where you can see the pictures.