Best Place to Buy Multiple 50s Taxis (Found Them!!!!)

I think you have a challenge if you want to find them all at one place.  Most sites have three to six of anything.  Not sure if you want all of them to be exactly the same or if some variety of brands is okay - twelve of anything might be hard to find -but a few each of Plymouths, Fords, Chevies, and Checkers, would be easier to find.  If so, Amazon has two Ford  taxis from '49 at the moment (only ten left to find, now), and  Diecast Direct might be your source for two or three of each other brand, but they are almost never the low cost guys.

There are several toy shops on 27th st between 7th and 8th in NYC that sell cases of die cast including NYC Checkers. I think 12 to 24 per case. $20-$30 a case. They sell to the street tourist traders.
I know in LA there is a similar area.

There is a very good chance that the "cheap" cabs you buy in bulk will be larger than 1:43.

       
       

May be but he wanted cheap.
Oh and any curves tighter than 200 inch radius without speed restriction on a mainline is not prototypical either. And real trains don't go in circles. You've got to pick your fights. There is another forum for "true scale" adheirants.

I am not a rivet counter. Something that looks realistic is good enough for me. They are going to be parked in a lot anyways. I am going for overall appearance.

 

Thanks to all of you for your replies.

Just remember that Checker Marathon was built 1961-1982 so it's not really correct for 50's layout......even though they kinda look 50'sish!

I have a number of late 40's early 50's Fords and Mopars etc.

have you tried your local flea market? 

Thanks Dave for the info. I have so much going on in my life that I have no time for flea markets.

 

I was hopeful that somebody in Forum land would have a connection for the cabs.

 

This 1/43rd scale Checker Taxi from Ertl is one of my favorite models.I don't know who would have a bunch of them for sale,but they were cheap when they came out around 20 years ago.The model is probably available on Ebay at a good price.

Dan

 

 

 

Thanks Dan for the suggestion. I will try Ertl.

Found the taxi cabs I was looking for. I took Dan's advice and found seven Ertl Checkers at under $ 10.00 each. These will do the job in filling the taxi cab holding lot in our new train station complex.

 

Thanks again Dan for the suggestion.

One of our most active Forum members has been trying to contact me about my purchase source for the cabs. His e-mail address has been having difficulty this weekend so I have been unable to get this information to him. If you read this reply, I could only get seven and my source does not expect more. I am still looking for a few more and let you know if I find them.

Brian...thanks for posting this.  My e-mail is now fixed and I am getting e-mails from everyone at this point....so you can try again.  I did find out your source and talked to the owner..  He did not share who bought what was left of his inventory but I figured it out based on putting it all together.

 

Anyway, I just got a call from another "source" so I may be able to help you....shoot me an e-mail as I think it will work this time.

 

Thanks,

Alan

A vendor  called enigmatoy on the famous online auction site has a 1/43 Checker cab for $4.75 + $4.50 shipping.  Many dealers will discount shipping if buying more than one.

 

It is not museum quality but may be close enough.

Okay, but for me, modelling 195o and earlier, I need Checker cabs from the 1940's.  The "square Box Checkers" are considerably later than that, maybe 1955 or later.  I knoe that they continued producing this same style car, in both sedan and station wagon style until well into the 1970's.  Later they came with Chevy V-8 motors to replace the Continental Six that was the first option. 

 

But the 1940's design, with "faired in fenders" rather than the "slab side" of the newer cars is what would populate my layout.  I do have a couple of 1949-1950 Chevy Yellow cabs, which look Okay in an urban center.

 

Oh well, sooner or later I'll have all of the cars of my teenage dreams.

 

Paul Fischer

Didn't Solido(or Vitesse?) offer a late 40s Chrysler in a taxicab livery? 

Here's a link for some NYC Checkers @ $3.00 each or so. Pretty cheap!

http://www.toyd.com/newyorcittax.html

Thanks guys for trying to help!!  Love this forum!

 

Alan

I think these look pretty cool even though they are more 60s in reality.

 

The Checker design is so Fifties they work OK and 99% of visitors will not know they are a 60's thing. So if it looks good....use it! The first time I saw one I figured it was a Fifties car!

http://www.eastcoasttrainparts.com/

 

East Coast Train parts.

I think he's out of New jersey.

he sells them at the Syracuse Train show

up here in Nov.

5-7 each.

he gets them in bulk

Great looking station, by the way!!!

Here's one of my taxi's from Diecast Direct.

Popi:

 

Thanks, I love the station too. These Checkers certainly will pass for what I am trying to do.

 

 

Alan:

 

I you are reading this thread, your e-mail is still down. I sent a response to you this morning and it ca,e back undeliverable.

 

Edward:

 

Love that taxi as well.

Brian....don't know why your e-mails are not coming through but I have test e-mailed all those folks I usually converse with and have gotten back responses.....

 

Alan