Yat Ming Autos - Not Bad At All

Yep. I've picked up a couple of them. I think they're the ones who were making some of the automobiles for K-Line. Road Champs are pretty good too if you can find them.

I agree.  I've bought a few of their die-cast models and they look pretty nice.

 

- Mike

Yep...we have a place here in town that has them for $3.00 each!!

 

Alan

I'll add my 2 cents - I like 'em fine also.

I have about two dozen of them.  They are certainly great value for the money.  They vary in scale a bit when you measure them against the prototypes, but I place them where they look good and it works out. 

The 1998 LOTS convention car, the Auto-Loader car uses Yat Ming Studabaker Golden Hawks.  They got the idea from our train club, Tri-State Station, in Fremont, IN.  We were on their layout tour in 98'.  Studebaker Champs also work well. 

 

BK....not worth the trouble.  By the time one packs and ships and counts the time involved...nope, not interested.  The place I get them from in town buys out old stock from a wide variety of sources.  Until this spring, he was selling them for 2 bucks a piece.  I bought all I can use...even repainting some of them so it looks like I have more variety.  I figure he is paying about a buck or buck fifty for each one and then he doubles his money.....

 

Alan

I like them too.........but I HATE Caddy Converts on the layout.....One of them is too many for me. I'd like to see more 50's era non GM cars. Ford was number one in sales in 57 and much of the decade......but all we get is 'parade Cadillacs'!!!

leavingtracks says it's to much trouble to buy cheap and re-sell and double his money...he says it's to much work to wrap and ship. BTW Alan do you remember the cars you seen?

AMCDAVE can't find anything but Caddy fliptops.

What you guys can do is shoot me an email with your wants and I'll find it for you.

Lee Willis I think your scale ruler is broken.

Bob

Good thing it's not your layout then, eh.

 

Pete

I have some in both K-Line and Yat Ming and they look the same to me. I picked up quite a few many years back from $2.00 each.

100% CORRECT!!!!  That's why it's a great hobby. YOU can have ONLY Caddys! I, coming from a fine scale HO background, tend to like a more realistic mix and lament the fact we have 1.2 million more 1/43 die cast Caddys than the total real car production!  I think it's more likely than not most folks would like a good mix of makes and models.

BK....the cars that are locally available are the same ones that K-line offered.... If you are interested in them, then the name of the local store is D and T Bargain Center.  Look it up on the internet and see if they are willing to ship directly to you....

 

Alan

I really like the Yat Ming autos. Yat Ming keeps producing in various colors which is nice too. 

I have several and think they are great for the price....Greg

Type in Yat Ming 1:43 in ebay and there are 7 pages of them, trouble is almost all of them are $8. plus shipping some are $18 or $19.

Yat Ming diecast autos/trucks are a mainstay of our store's O gauge accessories.  They sell well and don't break the bank for inventory. 

 

To see a good listing of the current selection available, go to www.diecastdirect.com and look for Yat Ming under their manufacturer's list.

 

I also have a bunch of Yat-Ming and like them alot . I have been trying to by auto's in the 30's-40's circa and finding it a little bit hard finding them without having to spend 30-40 dollars each or more. Considering I don't want convertibles and I have enough trucks. 

I have some in my display cases, right next to models costing $30.-$175. each. The '49 Cadillac, as well as the 2 Studebakers were good enough to make it into the series of books covering "the best" of 1:43 diecast and handmade models. I have the Cadillac in all 5 colors it was offered in over the years.

That being said, the Yat Ming '57 Chevy HT and wagon models  are pretty bad, IMO.

I run them on my layout. Cant beat them for the price. Even up close they look nice

The Yat Ming cars are great for a layout - I only wish they offered a greater variety of models, especially in the 40's and 50's. Trying to fill a station parking lot or a street scene can get very expensive, very fast if you buy Minichamps, Franklin Mint, or Brooklin cars. For layout use, the expensive cars simply aren't worth the difference since they are basically part of the scenery, not the central attraction. I once managed to snag a Brooklin car on the Bay for 25 bucks or so. When I compared it to a cheaper one of the same model, it was nicer - but at layout viewing distances, nobody who wasn't a collector of die-cast cars would notice the difference. Yat Ming offers a very cost-effective way to get some cars on your layout. I have about everything they make in steam-era autos. 

 

It's hard to get a decent assortment of 30's, 40's, or 50's cars without spending a lot of money. You can get a '41 Ford, a '57 Chevy, a Studebaker, a couple of different Caddies, and a few more, but I just spent an hour or so on eBay looking at die-cast and the market is still dominated by convertibles, luxury brands, hotrods, and oddballs. It's actually easier to find a Messerschmitt bubble car than a '36 Buick business coupe (the car Philip Marlowe drove).  I'll buy anything Yat Ming has to offer in the right era.