Vintage Toy Collectors BEWARE!

My previous post about the “supply chain crisis hitting me in the 80’s” was intended to be a bit humorous, even if it was dark humor. I’m not laughing now. For those of you out there reading this who are collectors and fans of vintage toys-and particularly toy cars-we may have a real problem.

So, unable to get my cool 5-lug chrome T-Jet wheels for my Road Crew cars from MEV, I went looking for some stock wheels-something that up until recently were readily available. Not anymore! After looking for quite a bit of time for something that fit the bill, I finally went through my purchase history on ePay and contacted a friendly vendor in Rochester in old New York state that I have bought from in the past. Among other parts, he sold some really nice sets of brand new stock style wheels. I asked him when and if he would be offering any more of these any time soon. His response to me was very revealing:

Hello,
Thank you for your inquiry.
As you no doubt are aware, the pandemic wreaked havoc on many small vendors. Our casualty was the vendor who did our chrome.
The search to find a new one has not been easy. Many emails sent out for quotes, some never replied to. The larger vendors are not interested in small time like us, they want minimums that are way beyond our capabilities. Want to keep our business in the USA.
We have finally found a vendor in Michigan that is willing to work with us, now in negotiations on set up charges, quality control, and piece price.
But with the “New Normal”, nothing happens fast anymore. Seems like an excuse to say that “we will get to it, when we get to it.”
Will add your name to the list, when stock is available, will advise.
Fingers crossed.

Now, combine this with the response I got from MEV and a picture is beginning to emerge: the problem isn’t with the supply of wheels for old slot cars; the problem is the ability to make chrome plated plastic!

Needless to say this is going to a be a problem for those of us trying to obtain small parts for toy cars, as chrome plated plastics are an integral part of our hobby.

As for my wheel shortage: I was able to pick up a set of stock style wheels from another vendor, but these are modem repros that are extremely poor quality; at a glance they look nice but they are drilled so poorly that only a few in a dozen are usable. It’s all I could get, though, and although I’m not happy with them I just may buy another set because I suspect that once they’re gone, they’re gone.

Maybe there’ll come a day when these types are parts are available again: my New York vendor’s email does contain a note of hope. However, dear readers, with everything that’s happening in the world today, I wouldn’t count on it! If any of you were thinking about getting some reproduction bumpers or grilles for your T-Jets, you may want to contact your vendors of choice and stock up now!