Three more chances to vote for your favorite!

 
Don't forget to vote for your favorites in our Fall Photo Contest!

If you're one of our entrants, encourage your friends and family to vote, and remember that they can vote once every day!  So there's today, Tuesday, and Wednesday!  Voting closes Wednesday at midnight.

We wish you the best of luck, and thank you for making this an awesome contest!!

Come back later this week for the launch of our T-shirt Design Contest.

Our Fall Photo Contest is almost over: don't miss out & make sure to come back to vote

TODAY is the last day to get your photo into our Fall Photo Contest!  

I'm excited about the entries we've received so far, and I'm looking forward to the voting starting tomorrow.  

Even if you don't want to enter, make sure to come back to VOTE for your favorite photo!!

Little Men Get to Work: Collection Photos

Thanks to Bill Hurd for sending in pictures of his collection!  Bill is an automotive / product designer.

Tell Us Your Story

I was talking with a collector on our Facebook page the other day, and his posts really interested me.  I asked him about it, and what he does is buy diecast pieces from 3000toys, for example, and customize them to his specifications and standards.   

Anyway, his name is Bob Sullivan.  Bob became interested in diecast back when he was just 7 years old.  His favorite has always been the heavy equipment (I'm definitely with him there!).  Sometimes he would get a piece that he wanted to change up or add some more detail to, so about a year ago he started customizing the models.  

 

 The first one he did was a John Deere 200D LC - he made it into a long reach with a grading bucket.  

 

Since then he's done several others; most recently he customized a John Deere 450D LC to have three different attachments. 

If you're interested in his items, he actually sells them on eBay - his ID is catkomatsudeere​11511.

Thanks, Bob, for sharing your story.

 How about you?  What's your story?  We'd love to get to know our collectors.

~Tasha

Summer Photo Contest

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the Summer Bum Photo Contest! We got some really awesome entries. Voting begins today - so head on over to our Facebook page and vote for your favorites!

Bill H.
1/25 Scale First Gear International TD 25 "Firebreaker"
Cutting a new line in the sand.

Jameson B.
He saves his money so he can have daddy purchase him farm equipment from 3000toys. In the photo, he is "Happily Haying" with his round baler and hay wrapper. =)

John G.
A beautiful diecast 1952 White Tractor 302ot Four-Car Carrier with the Batmobile and the 1948 Chrysler New Yorker, both in 1/24 scale, getting hauled to the 3000toys summer photo contest!

Jr. Mullen
John Deere 450D LC playing Call of Duty: Black Ops

Kevin D.
An old landfill getting cleaned up to make room for a housing development. All machines working hard!

Stefano L.
My Dodge and Case at a lake near my house in South Carolina. Both models are awesomely made!

Will D.
Bruder chillin' on the back porch.

Keith R.
What are the collectibles doing? What they do best, just looking good!!!

Which is it?

Yeah, it's a sand box toy, but don't you just love seeing little imaginations at work?  Apparently this Ertl Big Scoop dump truck can double as a ride-on toy!  Thanks to our own Danna for sharing the picture of her adorable son! :)

Summer, Summer, Summer... and Prizes!

Hey guys, I hope you are enjoying your summer and surviving this heat all right, especially if you're in the South or Midwest.  Just look at that map... wow...

Anyway, I have a few new things to tell you about, and I'll save the best for last... :) 

So first, I realized the other day that there was no easy way to follow us here on the blog.  I don't even know how you would have gone about doing it, because there was no link or anything to help you out.  But kudos to Diesel for figuring it out anyway!  

To combat the problem, I've installed this cool little "follow us" app on the sidebar of this blog, letting you easily just click and follow - no more jumping through hidden hoops.  Since this feature was not available until now (sorry!!), we only have one follower.  I know there are more of you out there; so all you have to do is sign in with your Google account and click "Join this site."  Thanks!!

Ok, here's the second piece of news I have for you: Summer Photo Contest!!  I just launched it this afternoon on Facebook.  Get over there and click on the "Summer Photo Contest" tab on the sidebar.  And have fun!!

Stillwater International Airport

Thanks to Bob S. from Stillwater, Minnesota for sending in photos of his collection!

"Here are some photos of Stillwater International Airport (Corgi Field), located outside of Minneapolis. Corgi Field is a busy place as may be seen: passenger operations, air freight, and since the field is a joint-use airport, you'll see military aircraft there as well.

"Since Corgi Field lies outside the Time/Space Continuum, you'll see aircraft from several countries and very different eras parked alongside each other."

The Real Manitowoc Crane

How fun would it be to operate the models we sell, but the real thing?! We recently had a customer, Ken, tell us about how he does just that.

Ken is currently operating a crane just like the Manitowoc models he ordered. He and his crew are working to replace the Chicago Harbor lock gates. They were originally put in one week after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, so he's excited to get to participate in this somewhat historic replacement.

He also included some pictures of their work! We at 3000toys.com and Ken all hope you enjoy looking at them!






He also told us about his website, KenDerry.com, where he has hundreds more pictures of Chicago and the work he's done there. Below is an interactive book that he's compiled, a hard copy of which is for sale on his website:

Show Off YOUR Collection

We usually spend time on here showing you what you could be collecting, but we want to know... what do you collect? We want to hear from you!

Whether it's Caterpillar construction equipment or semi trucks, Allis Chalmers tractors or tanks, or maybe something entirely unique, we'd love to hear about it.

We're asking you to send in pictures of your collection, maybe a picture of your train layout, you with your planes, or even your son or grandson with his collection of boy toys.

You can send your pictures to photos@3000toys.com, and your picture may be featured on our blog!

Kids love Bruder toys

Our customer, Peggy, sent us this image of her grandson and said he loves his tractors. So cute! This is one of the best fan photos I've seen in a while.