Our Railway Express Agency delivery truck kits are based on a common design, cowl length vans were used by REA from 1929 into the 1970’s. The van bodies are of a standard type fitted with truck fronts from various manufactures. These trucks were as common in their day as the brown UPS trucks are today. Large railroad terminals would see clusters of these vehicles being loaded and unloaded from the express cars often attached to passenger trains.
The trucks were painted a standard dark green with red wheels, chassis and details. Roofs were painted aluminum or perhaps some were white. The iconic red diamond logo was a characteristic feature found on all REA equipment. Older trucks often remained in service long after the model became obsolete. It would not be out of place for a 1930’s model truck to appear on the streets of the 1950’s. This is particularly true during Holidays and rush periods.
Our kits are a straight forward build though some experience with cast resin kits is very helpful. It is 1/43 scale to keep it compatible with the majority of vehicles used by O scale railroaders. As far as we know it is the only O scale model available of this style van. The kit includes everything needed except paint and cement. There are even advertising posters which in real life were routinely changed every month. Lettering and logos are provided as water slide decals and high quality glossy printed paper. In real life the lettering and logos were applied to the trucks on metal placards,with porcelain or painted lettering; the printed paper replicates this appearance, but some modelers may prefer to apply decals . Both methods look great! The front wheels may be posed straight ahead or turned to either side. The interior and the underbody detail is simplified. Three pages of instructions guide you through assembly and finishing. Some hints and tips make your project a little easier.
The truck is available as four different kits: OK1 is a 1930’s version and OK2, 3 & 4 are various cowl styles from the 50’s.
OK1 1930’s Style Railway Express Agency delivery truck kit.
1/43 scale unfinished urethane resin kit
$40.00
What comes in the box
What comes in the box
OK2 1950’s Railway Express Agency delivery truck kit. Style “A”
1/43 scale unfinished urethane resin kit
$40.00
OK3 1950’s Railway Express Agency delivery truck kit. Style “B”
1/43 scale unfinished urethane resin kit
$40.00
OK4 1950’s Railway Express Agency delivery truck kit. Style “C”
1/43 scale unfinished urethane resin kit
$40.00
What comes in the box
What comes in the box
Note: the advertising posters for the truck sides are picked randomly for packaging. Additional posters may be downloaded and printed from this link; www.scaleartmodels.com/reatruckposters.jpg Right click on the image and choose “Save picture as”. Save it in a folder you can find easily. Open the file on your computer with a photo or drawing program such as Photoshop or Microsoft paint and print. The individual posters should print to be about 1.6” X 1” is size. We printed ours on matte presentation paper with a high quality print setting.
For those who would like one of our trucks ,but would rather have it “ready to run”,
we offer beautifully finished built-
Choose styles from kit photos above. Use drop down menu to add your choice to your shopping cart.