Gaslands: The PIT Crew - Where to buy

 

Welcome back to the PIT Crew!

Today, we're going to talk about how to get started with Gaslands. I know, you're wondering why I'm doing this now, after doing several other articles. Well, since Gaslands: Refueled is coming out soon, I thought now is actually the best time for it. Also, I was really excited with Gaslands and wanted to right to it.

Hopefully, you read my review of Gaslands and got the basics from that. And then read my other PIT Crew articles. Now, let's talk about how you get started with building up a Gaslands team.

The first thing you're going to need is the rule book. Of course, you probably want to wait until Refueled comes out, but there's no reason why you can't throw some money at them for a digital copy of the current version right now. Options are always good. After you finish that, you'll want to download the Time Extended expansions. And the errata. And probably the reference sheets.

Now, it's time for the big questions: What brands to look for and where to buy?

Brands -

Hot Wheels:

This one of the two major brands that makes toy cars and you probably have some laying around from when you were a kid. How Wheels does make a quality product (things I never thought I'd have to talk about...) and they make a wide variety of cars. Hot Wheels is great for finding some important vehicles, such as monster trucks and war rigs. They're also the only one that I've found (so far) that makes motorcycles and ATVs. They also have a wide variety of normal, regular cars you'd see on the street, as well as some more fantastical ones. They also have licenses for some interesting Intellectual Properties, including Marvel and DC characters. You could make an entire team with Justice League cars, if you wanted.

Price: $1-2 for regular cars and like sized vehicles, $4 for monster trucks and themed vehicles, and $6-8 for war rigs.

Matchbox:

This brand has a weird dichotomy. They make some really weird stuff and some realistic stuff. We're talking things like buses, vans, and the like. Really boring stuff. They also have the license for Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, so you can use those to make a team if you want. They're about the same price as Hot Wheels and usually stocked by the same stores. I used the Jurassic World golf carts for buggies and picked up a five pack of “city vehicles” that had a pair of buses in it.

Price: $1-2 for cars and like sized vehicles

Metal Machines:

This is fairly cheap brand I've seen around that doesn't seem to have a lot of variety. However, that price can be nice if you're just getting started. They also seem to be somewhat easy to find, usually stocked with the other brands above.

Price: $0.50-1 for cars and like sized vehicles

Fresh Metal:

I've only found collections of this brand but for very cheap. They're priced about the same as Hot Wheels and Matchbox, but that might only be because I found them for cheap. The collections they sell also have cheap buildings and mats. Two collections (police and fire departments) come with helicopters, each of which are different designs. I've found them easy to take apart without damaging them, which is a good thing if you want to do that sort of thing. Given the cheap price, even if you break some of them, you're not out a whole lot.

Price: $5 for collections of five vehicles, $7+ for collections that include cars and buildings

Where To Buy -

Target:

This is probably the most common places people will go for toy cars. The stores are fairly common across the country and carry several brands. The price point isn't always great, usually charging full retail price. However, around holidays, they'll drop to 30% to 50% off. Buying at that time won't make you look like a total creep if you don't have kids of your own (that's a joke, folks).

Ross:

This is the only place I've found Fresh Metal cars with any regularity. I have found some Hot Wheel and Matchbox stuff here, but it wasn't as cheap as Target when they were on sale there. However, I would at least check here while you're out and about. Just in case.

Dollar Tree/Dollar Store/Dollar General:

This is probably the best place to go if you want to pick up dirt cheap cars. They have a brand that comes in 3-packs, which are great for testing the game and learning how to modify them. They are, as you might imagine, made very cheaply and might fall apart or break. You get what you pay for. You can also find Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars here for $1, but the selection is poor.

Ebay:

While I haven't used this myself, a quick check reveals all sorts of cars from all sorts of companies at all sorts prices. I'm sure you know that “buyer beware” applies when using eBay.

Well, that's all I've got to say about Gaslands for now. I'll be taking a break from this series until Gaslands: Refueled is released and I've had an chance to look it over. When I do, I'll be doing another Let's Review about the new version, and then resume with this series. Let me know what you think about what I've said here, and Gaslands in general, if you would.