@vodkafan, nice job.
I'm with you on the durability of die casts. Costs for used and even some NIB models are normally reasonable, repainting is usually easy, and many lend themselves to nice conversions. One example, I have a Lesney Matchbox Scammel as captured kit in my 1:87 DAK.
A wargaming acquaintance has inspired me with a number of Lledo 1:64 die casts he was worked up as generic, expedient troop transport. Since the Lledo models vary widely, it seems many of their 1:64 work well with 1:72 and true 25mm figures... many not so well with 28mm (Dinky 1:60 seems better here), or true 1:76 or 1:87 figures. There seems to be plenty of opportunity to employ die casts in Pulp and out-of-the-main scenarios, such as VBCW.