"Real Working Rigs" Part One and a Road Champs Bus.

Matchbox brought back the "Real Working Rigs" series a few years back.   Here's a few examples.  Not all currently available but by no means rare.  These $5 vehicles tend to be quite realistic and represent interesting prototypes at a great value. 

RW010 MBX Crane

The other side of the crane has the unfortunate "MBX" (Matchbox) moniker, but overall a great vehicle. size is spot-on and especially with a bit of paint, this thing is a must-use for my layout.  Technically it hasn't got an exact prototype but it is near-as-makes-no-difference a Liebherr LTM series crane.  

RW028 Excavator

A few minor shortcomings in the odd tread side frames and open sided hydraulic cylinders, but overall it's still a great vehicle and with just a bit of work (orange paint on the arm and bucket..) could fit right in.  It's a nice larger size compared to the undersized construction vehicles sometimes found regular matchbox lines.

RW015 Pierce Velocity 100 Foot Arial Platform

This is one of two Pierce firefighting vehicles offered by Matchbox in the Real Working rigs line.

Here's another big vehicle, though it's not Matchbox, not current and harder to find at reasonable prices.

Road Champs Minniapolis St Paul Bus. This one has a listed scale of 1:87, so it should be spot on.

I don't model the Twin cities, but this would be a good trailer load or a repaint to CTA colors would be easy with just the addition of a blue stripe.  It was also offered in CTA colors but that one is even harder to find. 

That's all for today.  I've got two more "Real Working Rigs"  Posts coming up including a selection of very nice International brand trucks.

Be Well,

Karl