TRAIN TIME: 2023 Halloween Train Layout - Pt 2 The Details

Over the years I've been buying figures, cars, and assorted details to add to the Halloween layout and most of them are shown here for the first time (although to be fair, I've posted them on my facebook groups). The cardboard buildings have all been posted here on the blog in past years and many of the individual detail pieces have also been blogged. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

I'm slowly getting more Harry Potter toys in so this corner has the new Lego Carriage pulled by Thestrals set.

One of my favorite Dept 56 pieces - imagine a near-sighted witch flying her broom into a tree! 😄

My pumpkin patch

The pumpkin patch farmer driving his tractor

This started life as a plastic Banner tractor from the 1950s. It was part of a set I bought but his head had had been broken off and lost by the seller. A small pumpkin bought off of fleaBay provided me a head to use and now the tractor is suitable for Halloween.

Those 'flats' are from a series of classic horror movie houses by PTF Designs and are equipped with LED lights

If there's something strange
In your neighborhood
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!

If there's something weird
And it don't look good
Who you gonna call?
Ghostbusters!

Errtl #36685 1/18 scale Munsters Koach

Today Toys & Stuff forgoes Train Time to bring you a Halloween treat, the classic and iconic 'Munsters Koach' in glorious 1/18 scale!

"The Munsters is an American television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. It stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and the wholesome family fare of the era, and was produced by the creators of Leave It to Beaver. It ran concurrently with The Addams Family.

The series aired at night once a week in black-and-white on CBS from September 24, 1964 to May 12, 1966, for 70 episodes. It was broadcast weekly on BBC1 in the UK. It was canceled after ratings dropped to a low due to the premiere of ABC's Batman, which was in full color. Though ratings were low during its initial two-year run, The Munsters grew in popularity during decades of syndication. This popularity warranted a spin-off series, as well as several films, including one with a theatrical release. On October 26, 2012, NBC aired a modern reimagining of The Munsters called Mockingbird Lane."

--extract frpm wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Munsters

The Munsters was one of my favorite shows as a youngster and it was always hoot watching Herman and Grandpa launch into some scheme that you knew would ultimately backfire. One of the coolest aspects of the show were the vehicles. The car was built by Baris Kustom Industries headed by George Baris, who also designed the iconic Batmobile for the 1966 'Batman' series. They designed both the Koach and later in the series, the Drag-U-La hot rod. It's combination of Old World elements with updated hot rod styling made it an instant hit.

It wasn't long before AMT put out a plastic kit - which I had as a kid and thoroughly enjoyed. Over the years various incarnations of the Koach would appear as kits or die-cast toys such as this one. Ertl had previously put out a die-cast Koach that was always hard to find at a reasonable price. In 2003 they released this version using new tooling but I simply don't know what the difference is between the two. Sometimes, because of their popularity, it becomes difficult finding one at a reasonable price. Of course, one can always buy the smaller 1/64 scale version for just a few dollars.

At 1/18 scale the Koach is pretty big at 10 1/2" (26.7cm) L. All six doors on the rig open and the front wheels turn left and right (but not by using the steeering wheel). The seats have a red flocking applied to them to give the appearance of fabric. My toy has a slightly crooked windshield - it does not seat flush to the body and looks tilted. The Koach is a kool klassic kar from a popular TV series and a must for the kollector of the odd and kool! Enjoy!