andy18s

Today has been the best day I've had in a long time, I got money back on the taxes, and I've had the highest temperature since October with close to plus 10.
And best of all, dad and I have now got something we've been dreaming about and wanting for years a small wheel loader.
It is Chinese and electric but this brand has been sold in Norway for a long time and has a good reputation and we have a dealer close by who seems good so it is worth taking the chance on and it has exceeded expectations so far .And it may look like a toy but is bigger than it looks and can lift 500kg.
Have tested it on snow removal today and am very happy with it so far.

Missed out on this 3 pack today.
Seller wanted too much though and wouldn't take any offers.

And decisions were made.

I know. 
What am I even doing with my life?The Park & Play Garage was one I've been trying to find for a while - it's a cracking big set.
Not wildly cheap at £27, and that's apparently a reduced price, but it's no cheaper anywhere online that I could find; and hey, I'd sooner support an independent business than give Jeff Bezos more of my hard-earned.
He don't need it.
The Helicopter Rescue set wasn't one I was as mad keen on, but at £14 it was also a good bit less than I've seen it anywhere else. More toy-like, it's true, but still - this is one of the first Action Drivers releases from 2020, so I suspect it'll become harder to track down before long.
I haven't opened either of them yet - it's something to look forward to.
And there was more...

The Chevette drag racer came from the same toy shop; I had the opportunity to buy this several times last year, for a good bit less in Home Bargains, but for some reason I baulked. Time to make good on that.
And I didn't really have time to swing by Poundland on my way out, but I did anyway - and lo, there were recent-case mainlines on a couple of pegs. Not many, and some I had seen already - a couple of green Mk1 Golfs, a lot of green '33 Ford coupes, a solitary blue '70 Ranchero - but the Ford Interceptor Utility and Toyota Hilux were worth bagging in exchange for some loose coins in my pocket, I felt.
So I did.
And with that, it was definitely time to run.
What I'm going to do with these is anyone's guess, but I feel kinda giddy and excited by them - and, leaving aside whether that's age-appropriate, isn't that meant to be what toys are all about?

I didn't buy the Canyon Adventure playset - not today, anyway. I previously saw this set in TK Maxx just before Christmas last year for £22, and I wouldn't say that I won't, at some stage.
But I kinda like the architectural sets, for preference.

Similarly, I didn't bother with the Bus Station as I already have it - at only £4.99 from Home Bargains last summer.
Although mine turned out to have incorrect pieces in the box, so the roadway bits won't fit together. You gets what you pays for, maybe.
More to come on these, doubtless!

Missed out on this 3 pack today.
Seller wanted too much though and wouldn't take any offers.

Missed out on this 3 pack today.
Seller wanted too much though and wouldn't take any offers.

Missed out on this 3 pack today.
Seller wanted too much though and wouldn't take any offers.

Missed out on this 3 pack today.
Seller wanted too much though and wouldn't take any offers.

Passed with two advisories. Nearside rear wheel bearing noisy (I had heard it a while back, glad it’s a wheel bearing not the diff) and nearside rear wheel arch slight corrosion. 
 
he was very impressed with it, and the emissions were really low too! It does run good 👌

I go to Poland, the service and care is excellent.

The Mrs had an emergency wisdom tooth extraction last month.
Phoned the dentist to arrange it asap.
She got an appointment to go for a panoramic x-ray at 9am,with the actual procedure an hour later.
All sorted within 48hrs of the 1st call.
200 lev/ £95 was the total cost including her 1st lot of painkillers to follow on with. 
One of the benefits of Bulgarian life.
No ID card needed so you could fly over to Varna or Burgas for a week,get work done then fly back.
Sofia would be possible but more expensive all round.

The Mrs had an emergency wisdom tooth extraction last month.
Phoned the dentist to arrange it asap.
She got an appointment to go for a panoramic x-ray at 9am,with the actual procedure an hour later.
All sorted within 48hrs of the 1st call.
200 lev/ £95 was the total cost including her 1st lot of painkillers to follow on with. 
One of the benefits of Bulgarian life.
No ID card needed so you could fly over to Varna or Burgas for a week,get work done then fly back.
Sofia would be possible but more expensive all round.

You probably lost them with elaborate....

I picked this F150 up this week.
1/25 scale but without any markings apart from Made in Thailand underneath. 
Nicely detailed down to the rubber tyres.
 

I picked this F150 up this week.
1/25 scale but without any markings apart from Made in Thailand underneath. 
Nicely detailed down to the rubber tyres.
 

You probably lost them with elaborate....

You probably lost them with elaborate....

I made good progress with the bodywork repairs today.
I got the Sunday Times out again and had another go at spraying the windscreen pillars.


Success, this time no more chemical reactions. The paint match is approx 95% correct.

I had a third attempt at spraying the bottom of the offside rear door. This time everything went ok.

I used a 240 grade padded sand paper to take the shine off the sills. Messy business.

But a good result.

I painted both sills with the new paint I bought on Monday. The previous colour was too loud, it looked more turquoise than blue. This shade is darker than it should be but looks less offensive. 
As previously advised, my iPhone's camera struggles to correctly present the original blue paint. The flood light doesn't help either. The paint match is actually a lot better. 


Next, I had to sort out these storage scars.

I rubbed down the corrosion down to fresh metal.

I masked up the scars to keep the repair patches as small as possible.

I then squirted blue aerosol paint into a pot and used a small sponge to dab multiple thin coats of paint over the masked off patches.

I did this wherever the paint was damaged.

With the masking paint removed, you can see where the paint was applied, however once cut back and polished, the repairs should look ok.


There was a deep scratch in the middle of the offside rear door.

I applied masking tape close to the edges of the scratch.

And applied numerous thin coats of aerosol paint.

With the masking tape removed, the scratch is almost invisible and will look better still once the paint is cut and polished.

The rear screen side plastic panels were also damaged during storage.

I dabbed some matt black paint onto the plastic. The paint was still wet when I took this photo.

Last week I found out that acrylic primer and aerosol paint reacts with oil based paint and causes wrinkles and cracking. Today, by chance, I discovered that dabbing the blue aerosol paint over the oil based paint that was applied 3 hours earlier, without using primer, does not cause any problems. Very odd. I dabbed paint over the offside rear arch, which now looks a lot better.


The fuel filler panel seal was covered with blue overspray.

Five minutes with a stanley blade got the old paint off. Much better.

That was it for today. 
I will leave the paint repairs to dry overnight and tomorrow I am getting busy with this stuff.

I hope the paint will respond well to a good cut and polish.
Can't wait to see the Sierra shine. 

Just following on from yesterday's little packaging-opening party, I thought I'd document how I get models out of their blister packs.

I like to open up any models I acquire and handle them, not just keep them pristine and unopened. No judgement on anyone who chooses differently; that's just me.
But I also like the packaging, as I feel that's all part of the toy's appeal too. 
I love the artwork, and for older models it plays a big part in the nostalgia factor.

Late 1970s and early 1980s Lesney artwork styles bring back strong memories of staring at toyshop display cases, trying to decide what to spend my pocket money on. I've only a couple of boxed Lesney from this era, but I'd like to find more.
Ideally, I wish Matchbox would make their oddly named 'Power Grab' boxes as their standard mainline packaging, as I find them so much easier to open and store.

And hey, maybe if there's a continuing drift towards reducing plastic in packaging, it could happen - I note that the 2023 power grab boxes came with tissue paper liners to protect the model inside, while older releases had clear plastic bags doing the job.
Meanwhile, the 2024 Moving Parts range (like Bunglebus' newly arrived VW Type 3 fastback upthread) boasts both recycled metal in the models, and 100% biodegradable paper-foam packaging. However, this packaging has drawn some criticism online from collectors who've found that it doesn't seem to protect the models from damage, or paint rubbing while in transit. So we'll see.
But anyway. For now, most Mattel mainline releases come in plastic and cardboard blister packs - and removing the model without trashing the packaging is something of a challenge for me, since I like to keep both.
I've tried and failed to emulate YouTube videos which use acetone as a solvent to dissolve the blister adhesive - and consumer-grade paint thinners also seems too weak to do the job, though I understand Wilco-branded stuff was good, if sadly unobtainable in Norn Iron.
So, what's my favoured technique?
I've a little plastic tool apparently designed for use with modelling clay. It's thin and angled at one end, and just slips easily between the card and the plastic blister in the middle, where there's generally a gap or dimple in the plastic.

See-sawing it backwards and forwards as I go cuts through each side of the printed paper on the backing neatly, preventing tearing.

I generally just go up as far as the top of the blister side, so as to leave a 'hinge' connecting the blister to the back.
Then the same for the other side, and out it comes.

Of course there's some tearing along the glued surfaces - but when the blister's lowered back down again, it's really not noticeable.

So I can mess around with the lil' Honda, display it for a bit, and then ultimately put it away again in the original packaging without it looking too  shit. I don't glue them shut again or anything - it'll never be MINT UNOPENED and I don't intend to pass them off as such, but that's not why I collect these; I just do it because it's fun, not for the resale value.
We all know where that ends up, anyway.

Incidentally, I've noticed that a few Matchbox come with a bit of stiff clear plastic behind the model - the Bronco Sport had this yesterday, as does the Lamborghini LM002.

I'm assuming this is to avoid paint loss from rubbing - though I dunno why some models have it, but not others?
So yeah - there's some I might open straight away, and others I'll maybe put away for a while, then come back and open them when I feel like it.
I'm unlikely to run out of them anytime soon...

So what did I get?

These two.
I've been looking for a Honda E for a while - I kinda like them, to be truthful. This looks quite nice in red.
I nearly bought the Bronco Sport last week in the Abbeycentre Poundland store, but put it back again. Today, I buckled.
It's an odd choice of a thing, apparently built on the same platform as the 4th-gen Ford Focus. Apparently, the yanks like 'em. Detailing is good.
And then, over lunchtime I called past another charity shop, and to my amazement...

One solitary Matchbox '33 Ford Coupe, all by itself on a shelf.
I've found more diecast in charity shops today than in the previous decade, and that's no lie.

So I did.
Apparently, this finish is unique to a few multi packs - it's not a mainline.
To cheer myself up, I opened up a few packages of other recent arrivals.
Hot Wheels:


And Matchbox.


Hey, you gotta find some fun where you can in this cold ol' world.

Happy Friday, kids - make it a good 'un.

The Charity Stall was mainly specialising in out-of-date crisps this week, so no diecast to be seen.
Over at the Irish Tat stall, apparently there were new Oxfords in the pipeline but they wouldn't arrive in the post until later today.

So I had a look at the older Oxfords - and although the Rover P5B continues to tempt, I fear I'd just be buying through compulsion rather than actual desire...

Bedford RLHZ 'Green Goddess' was still there, though - mint and sealed for a tenner.
How Atlas managed to wring an entire collection out of exactly the same casting but with slightly different lettering on the side is a source of amazement/ admiration.

Kits to assemble of holy figures is a niche I was previously unaware of, too.
So, with nothing to particularly grab me, I wandered off round the rest of the stalls.
Alan was still setting up, with no diecast to be seen yet. 
As I wended my way towards the newly revamped coffee place, I happened to glance at one of the giffer stalls leading up to it.

STOP THE BUS

🚫🛑🚧

Right then... a brighter but still kinda cold spring morning. A day for tat?

Errr...

Mmm. I think we've seen this lot before, I'm afraid.

The Dinky Pontiac ambulance held together with Sellotape is familiar, somehow.

Dinky Austin vans pretty playworn, but intact.

Which is more can be said for this pair of Atlantics...

Or this duo; it's hard to make out from the pics, but the tan Studebaker has its body quite badly bent.

Still, these restored Corgi 'Lazy Bones' Corvettes were cheery, if a little scratched up from being transported about the place.

Dinky Foden wagon had some epic axle shonk going on.

While more tinplates were in evidence - this one unrestored, and featuring a comically elongated bonnet.
And what's the asking on these. Cheap, right?
No. Still a tenner each.
😲

I had more time this afternoon to make some progress with the non bodywork related matters.
I drained the engine oil. It wasn't that dirty but it stank of fuel. Too many cold starts over the years and excess fuel probably washed down the bores into the sump, hence the smell.
Note to self - clean the sump and crossmember. 

I overfilled the sump slightly, allowing for oil that will find its way into the filter.

The thermostat housing was filthy.

So I gave it a clean. Not perfect but it will do.

I hoovered and thoroughly inspected the luggage compartment. 

Nothing to worry about other than some slight localised surface corrosion.

I painted the seams and rusty bits with the not so good matching Rust Oleum paint.

The floor carpet extends to the top of the rear panel and is secured with velcro. The bits of velcro stuck to the carpet need stapling back but are otherwise ok.
 
The other side of the velcro, which was stuck to the back panel, was knackered. Someone replaced it in the past and didn't do a good job of it. I removed the old velcro and adhesive residue and stuck down some fresh, unfortunately white coloured, very strong velcro. I'm not fussed about the white, it will be concealed behind the carpet.

Then the postman brought a nice little parcel that contained a new water pump and thermostat.

I fitted the new bits, together with the previously acquired fan belt.

Finally, I re-assembled everything under the bonnet....
....added fresh antifreeze....
....reconnected the battery....
.....opened up the garage doors....
....turned on the ignition.....
.....and....
.... the Pinto fired up straight away and ran like a dream. The engine is silent, runs smoothly on all four cylinders and nothing leaked out for the duration of the test.
Winner!!!!
 

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Good news x2.
Neat paraffin removes overspray from plastics. I have cleaned up the front wheel arch liners that someone forgot to cover when respraying the Sierra.

Remember this?

I cleaned up the air filter housing cover and made a cardboard template of the area that needed covering up.

I then cut the lid off an Isopon P38 tin, the only black flexible plastic thing I had in the garage, into shape, fixed it into place with three self-tappers and, hey presto, job done.

The scratches were already there, presumably occurred during the previous repair.
Once re-installed where it belongs, nobody will ever know.

I think I'm winning.
 

Surprised at how bright it was this morning - light filtering round the blinds even at 6.30.
I'm sure it was pitchy-black last week at the same time.

Spring's a-springing, it seems.