Shite in Miniature II

[ETCHY]

I love 70's matchbox cars.

Really reminds me of the newsagents shop that had a vertical display thing in the window that used to hold them in their card boxes (I'm making a crap job of describing that but I hope you know what I mean). I'd sometimes get a car bought for me (after much nagging) as a kid.

The owner of the shop was a bit of a grumpy old sod unless you were buying a toy car, in which case it would be got out of its box & he'd sit on the floor with you & zoom it across the floor "to test the wheels were running alright". 40 odd years later & I still remember that

[Frogchod]

4 hours ago, vulgalour said:

.  Planning to do it as a Russian bakery van, just need to do some research into liveries and maybe have a go at making my own decals which until now I never have.

Decals are fairly easy to do.   Biggest problem (for me) is doing the artwork.    I think I done a brief guide on here as to how to do it, probs about 100 pages back. 

Pm me if you want some tips.

[vulgalour]

I think it was your posting on it that got me looking into it a bit more, than some of the Youtube folks I follow started doing them too.  I reckon my printer is up to the task and I can do the graphics if I've something to work from.  The trouble I'm having is finding an actual Russian bakery or bread manufacturer in image searches without ending up being witness to horrific American abuse of cyrillic letters.

[vulgalour]

Got the interior and engine done on the Beetle. Those grey hoses in the engine bay need a little more work once the glue has set, namely those mould lines that show you really badly on camera.  I never worry about interiors being absolutely perfect because on a kit that's fully glazed with no opening doors like this, you never really see what's inside that much.

I was undecided on the exterior about whether to leave it plain orange, or two-tone it.  I did a bit of an image search to see what the norm was in the US since this is, ostensibly, a US-spec Beetle, and two-tone seemed the favoured route.  Went with white and it works really well, makes the orange seem even more vivid than it did.  Camera isn't that keen on this orange, it can't seem to see it properly and I can't correct it digitally to show the orange in its full splendour.  For the rear lights, I tried painting them with clear red on the inside first and then chrome, unfortunately the chrome paint reacted with the red paint and lifted it all off. However, it's not all bad, the chrome is still a good coverage on the inside of the lights so when I paint the outside of the lenses with the relevant clear paint, they will look a lot more like real lights.  Actually masking the lights off so I could paint them once glued to the body was a bit of a faff and the colour match is just a smidge off, hopefully clear coat will help unify everything.  To help the white look a bit more realistic, I used some dark brown ink to wash in the panel gaps, the same for the engine vent, a small touch that's always worth doing.  I used brown since it blends better with the orange and white, if the car was just white all over I would have used a grey, black can be too stark a contrast when you do this.

Next is going to be a final check of the body before clear coat and spray painting the wheels white so I can paint the centres black, this is easier than trying to paint the rims white over the black and gives a more uniform finish.  I might remove the 'towel rails' from the bumpers before I fit those too, I'll make up my mind on that one once I've got to the point that I'm test fitting the chrome pieces.

I'm still struggling with the Russian bakery thing too, mainly because I don't actually speak any Russian or know any Russian speaking folk (at least, I don't think I do) so the nearest I've found to what I'm after is this.  I don't know if it's an actual company logo there, a brand like Tesco Finest, or even if that would be a suitable livery.  My alternative at the moment is to make a very generic пекарня van, providing Word Hippo's translation can be trusted (it probably can, going off search results for images which do bring up what that is; a bakehouse).  One thing I have discovered is that bread is a big thing in Russia, culturally, which I wasn't actually aware of until now.  It's always good to learn new things.

[bunglebus]

Lovely job on the Beetle - what year is it supposed to be? Got a 64 no. plate light and up to 62 tail lights by the look of it

[Datsuncog]

Tat, gentlemen?

Only the very finest.

Yes yes yes: another Friday, another heap of tat on the stall. Some good pickings.

Turnover is brisk at the minute: again, very very little from last week. Tragically, there were none of the £10 Vanguards from last week; and only a few commercials this week. A real shame, as I was bitterly regretting not going for the red Triumph 2500. Sorry Eddy.

So what have we?

Oosh! Lesneys and suchlike, plus MoYs and Corgi Classics.

Market Blokey may be getting something of a system together - I was advised that the loose models on the tray are £2 each.

Also mostly £2 - MoYs and Lledo DGs, plus a stray Corgi Cameo and some mildly knackered Dinky Beechcraft planes.

Since he was knocking out mint/boxed MoYs at £2 last week, this lot failed to set my pulse a-racing.

Cars behind were priced at £5 each for the Corgi/Dinky restoration projects; Atlas Dinky repros at £10 each; boxed Vanguards commercials at £10 each; boxed Atlas Dinky Supertoys at £20 each.

Maybe optimistic, but at least it makes some sense.

Dinky R16 is a Made in England model, not Dinky France. Other than missing its tyres and some deliberate paint loss to the flanks, this wasn't in bad shape.

The Dinky Imp, however, was - as well as the missing bonnet, the roof had been thumped, knocking it out of shape and bending the b-pillars. Jag XK120 was a previous restoration to a reasonable standard; Corgi Datsun Z-car missing its headlights.

Barely-visible Dinky Ford Fairlane police cruiser not bad though; just tyres and paint needing some work.

Corgi Beetle (visible in previous shots) seemed to be the German police version with a red bonnet from the East African Safari version, inexplicably. It was also missing its headlights - what was up with whatever kid owned these?

More incompletes: Dinky Landie police tow truck missing glass and lights; civilian counterpart had lost part of its front bumper. Corgi Cortina GXL in peelermobile livery missing its roof light, but otherwise not bad.

Corgi OSI/DAF Citycar in the background also lacking headlights; I did dither over that. Bedford CAs not too bad either, though the red one missing something from the roof.

And hiding round the side... golly gosh.

Yup, a brace of Spot-On models- Austin 1800 and Austin A40.

£10 each for these, and yes I was tempted. However, the A40 had had its base attacked and part of it was missing, the rest very bent... the 1800 similarly had a damaged base, plus broken glazing and missing bumpers. You can see the front rivet has been damaged on the 1800 too. It looked a bit like someone had attempted to lever the bases off with a flat screwdriver, and succeeded only in breaking/damaging the castings.

So I left them for another collector, despite the very appealing local connection.

Ah now.

In case you're wondering, the black Cortina-shaped object in the foreground there is a Taunus from the 007 partwork collection... with missing bumpers and some scratches, £5 seems a little steep when I can buy an as-new, still sealed example from the model shop in Smithfield for £7.

Very clean Corgi Juniors Capri in red was also a fiver.

 

So much for the primary tat stall, then... but this isn't the only diecast purveyor in the market; far from it.

Quite a few other oul lads generally have a couple of battered, Humbrol-encrusted Dinkys on their stalls of assorted 'collectibles'. I tend not to take pics of these, as inevitably said oul lads then start crapping on at length about how them's Dinky Toys, you wouldn't remember them, they're rare so they are, they're for collectors, that's why they're £25 each...

One general tat merchant did have a few vaguely interesting examples this morning, though:

Having previously had these in a box at £2 each, I think 50p sounds nearer the mark. The green plastic item at the front left seems to be a friction-drive Tri-ang stab at a Bentley Continental, though the body was broken and the mechanism fairly rusted up.

Whereas, a few stalls over, £6 was the going rate for yet more sodding Days Gone, in with all the dust-filled Edward VIII coronation mugs. Porsches, too.

More shite-friendly stalls are also available...

So - that's it for this morning titillation.

Regrettably, I have to attend a meeting in a distant town this afternoon, so I highly doubt I'll be able to head over at lunchtime.

But I didn't leave with empty pockets either... more to follow.

[egg]

Well done DC, the effort you put into the weekly update is appreciated. New smoll Norev arrival for me today.

 

[Split_Pin]

Excellent report as always DC. The Spot-On 1800 is decent for a tenner. You can buy a new front for it for £notmuch, not sure about the glazing. My example has the same problem with the bumper corners are missing.

[egg]

1800 window unit is £2.80 from Model Supplies. Grille £3.10. Probably worth £20 though in restored condition...should see your investment back.

[vulgalour]

5 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Lovely job on the Beetle - what year is it supposed to be? Got a 64 no. plate light and up to 62 tail lights by the look of it

Box has it labelled as a '66 and that seems right, it's got the bigger back window and the flatter hubcaps and it seems normal for that rear number plate housing to be on it for that year on US ones from what I've seen.  Actually glad you pointed out the rear lights, I realise the mistake I made on those now, they're supposed to be a sticky-out lens rather than the flush type I've done, so I'll be doing some very careful orange paint removal to correct that.

[Datsuncog]

Here's what I came away with:

Seventies-tastic, hey?

 

I've been looking for a Corgi Scimitar GTE for a while now; while early 70s Matchbox cars were part of my childhood, for some reason Corgi Juniors of the same era just weren't.

As can be seen from the base, there's a slight degree of confusion about what to call this model - as it's a concept car of a concept car; the Ogle Scimitar GTE, based on Reliant's own prototype Scimitar GTE which (confusingly) had been developed by the same team, headed up by Tom Karen of Ogle Design.

Basically, Reliant and Ogle Design worked together to develop the GTE prototype ready for the 1968 Earl's Court Motor Show:

And then Ogle Design, at the same show, unveiled the Ogle Scimitar - an even more far-out version of Reliant's GTE concept:

It included (amongst other things) a Triplex Sundym panoramic roof (as resurrected by assorted Vauxhalls and Citroens some thirty-odd years later) and concealed headlights with flip-up covers.

This car was a one-off, intended to showcase Ogle's design flair - and it seems to have gone down well, as not only did the front end of the eventual production version resemble the Ogle more closely than the red original, but the chairman of Reliant, Sir Julian Hodge, bought this car from Ogle for his wife. Happily, TNY13G still survives with its original family.

Interesting that Corgi decided to model this unique GTE rather than the more bread-and-butter version that was to follow - but, quite possibly, they were following Matchbox and Hot Wheels' lead in producing custom and concept vehicles. The shape's really not bad, and although this isn't a Rocket, it seems to have the blacked-out Rocket wheels mounted on standard axles. Nice that it's the same colour as the original - I've seen this model in blue and yellow, but not in plain cream.

As for this...

Well, I think we've had another one of these upthread recently (Bunglebus?), but it's worth showing again as it seems to be the antithesis of the understated Ogle Scimitar GTE.

Lairy paint, ludicrous stickers (that's a very loose approximation of the US flag, no?), and an improbable engine - seems to be Corgi gamely trying to 'do a Hot Wheels' by outdoing Mattel's own Custom Eldorado from their Original 16 range.

I'll be honest - I find this a little over-the-top, but it's a very distinctive toy, I'll give it that. Full marks for effort to the Corgi lads and lasses.

 

On the subject of semi-fantastical vehicles, there's this...

Surprisingly fresh-looking MB55 Hellraiser.

Nope, these aren't really my bag - but I have been on a slow appreciation course of these creations, and this one particularly caught my eye as it's such a plain-looking version, with no mad metallic or loud stickers all over it. I think it should  have had a stylised stars 'n' stripes sticker on the bonnet - but don't know if it's either been removed, or was a factory error and never came with one.

 

What else?

Oh yes - this.

I first thought it was a Majorette, but no -

(Bit blurry, sorry)

Nicely proportioned little thing. I've had a few Norev Jets over the years, in varying degrees of accuracy, and this one's not bad at all.

 

And finally:

More Frenchness, in the form of an early Majorette Triumph TR7.

I seem to only ever recall this casting in a rally livery with humungous Carlos Fandango-style wheels, so this rather more delicate roadgoing model surprised me.

It's not in great shape, but for 50p (from one of the other tat stalls) this seemed a reasonable proposition.

Doors look a bit short, but generally this isn't a bad stab at BL's Ultimate Wedge.

Rear number plate rendering is a touch rubbish, mind.

 

So there y'go.  I didn't get to scamper back for the Spot Ons, I'm afraid - I suppose £10 isn't too bad, and had the castings not been bent/broken I might well have considered nabbing them. But then I wouldn't have that needling feeling of regret to jab at me all next week...

 

If anyone fancies any of these - £2 each, and 50p for the TR7 - give me a yell!

[vulgalour]

Can you chuck that TR7 into the recent* mix for me, please?

[Datsuncog]

^^^ Sure can! Will get all those parcelled up and on their way - cheers!

[bramz7]

Going to correct you regarding the Ogle Scimitar, it was auctioned off a couple of years ago. 

 

I work with the current owner of it. 

[Split_Pin]

Talbot for me please! My eyesight wasn't letting me identify it earlier. It'll go well with my R18 from the same series.

[Split_Pin]

Another Quality Purchase from Burnside Motors (Internet).

JD Power #1 rated.

[Datsuncog]

2 hours ago, bramz7 said:

Going to correct you regarding the Ogle Scimitar, it was auctioned off a couple of years ago. 

 

I work with the current owner of it. 

Ohhhhh, brilliant!

All info was cribbed from the cheerily Web 1.0 site, www.sporting-reliants.com , which may not have been updated for a little while... delighted to be corrected!

Have you seen it yourself??

[flat4alfa]

The package of dreams arrived in the post today

Cheers, Sir Cog of Datsun

[Spottedlaurel]

Interesting to see the Majorette TR7 without overly large wheels - I have a couple of those. Looks OK, better than Corgi's attempt which suffers by looking even shorter and with wheels that are too tall.

[Bren]

Corgi whizzwheels were bread and butter when I was small - some of them are surprisingly expensive now.

The hellraiser also came in metallic blue.

[vulgalour]

I got the Beetle varnished today and a couple of bits of chrome on but I'm a bit stuck for the next phase while I wait for the varnish to harden so I dug out the loaf tin.  I'm actually really impressed with this kit, the level of detail for such a small scale is really quite surprising and the fit is exceptional.  I've deviated from the instructions a little and constructed the body out of sequence so that I don't ruin the paint on the corners when I attempt to glue it up.  The roof I've left loose, both to align the sides - both sides, the front, the rear, and the roof, are all separate pieces on this kit - and so there's just enough flex to slide the body home once everything is painted.  Most of the undercarriage is just black on these so there's barely anything to paint, just a few items like the separate shocks and exhaust really.  Actually, that really highlights the level of detail in this kit, even the gear lever is a separate item and beautifully cast and the whole kit has extremely minimal mould lines while the plastic itself is really nice to work with.  On my experience so far, I'd definitely recommend Zvezda brand kits to anyone with some model making experience that wanted an enjoyable challenge.  I don't mind the lack of tread on the tyres, at this scale it's really not needed and they have gone to the trouble of casting some sidewall detail which is the bit you'd see on a kit like this.  The interior is remarkably well detailed with a full compliment of seats and dashboard guages, there's even finger dents on the back of the steering wheel (not picture here, it's still on the sprue).  Incredible stuff.  Date on the sprue is 2003 so it's a fairly modern kit which goes some way to explaining the detail but still, I'm impressed.

[C1am]

Were Zee Toys officially sold in the UK? I picked up a few examples yesterday and didn't know what they were until I did some research.

[bramz7]

14 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Ohhhhh, brilliant!

All info was cribbed from the cheerily Web 1.0 site, www.sporting-reliants.com , which may not have been updated for a little while... delighted to be corrected!

Have you seen it yourself??

Seen plenty of photos of it in storage, but it apparently needs a new radiator at the moment. 

He's a bonafide Scimitar lunatic, and also has a Gordon Keeble and a Fairthorpe of some kind. 

 

 

[Bren]

5 hours ago, C1am said:

Were Zee Toys officially sold in the UK? I picked up a few examples yesterday and didn't know what they were until I did some research.

Yes - they had a range of diecast aircraft called dyna flites that were pretty good.

[bramz7]

I think I've got a full time obsession now. 

It's quite something seeing how the Solido line descended into more child like content in the 80s. 

I've now started looking at some of the fascinating Vitesse releases of the 90s, some proper fancy (mainly Renault) releases. 

 

In the post I've got (all boxed) Mebetoys 131, Polistil 127 and a Maisto Marea Weekend. 

[morrisoxide]

Matchbox are back on sale in Tescos! I went a bit nuts and spent £13 on this lot. 

 

I do like this Caprice.

.

I need to update on this tread, I've bought loads of miniature shite recently.

[Spottedlaurel]

I picked up one of the Mercedes estates the other day. Usefully cheaper than HW at only £1.25. Box was rather tightly packed and I didn't have time to pull them all out, will have to make another visit and look out for other oldies.

Nice haul there Sam.

[vulgalour]

Beetle update!  I had a minor issue in that the lacquer is very orange-peel (ironically) and to fix it, I'd have to repaint the whole thing.  I cannot be arsed, because the Beetle looks fine sat on the shelf, so I'm leaving it be.  I'm not risking polishing it, that's never gone well for me before.  So, instead, I got most of the brightwork installed ready for the next round of detailing once it's all dried, which will be things like the front indicators and running boards.  I also cleaned up the rear lights so those are correct now, and full-red since it's US spec rather than EU spec, i'll probably leave the towel rails on the bumpers for the same reason.

I'm really happy with how the wheels turned out and that I went for the two-tone, it looks right. I have some chrome paint to clean off the back window, while installing the windows I managed to pick up a spot of chrome paint that hadn't dried from somewhere and splodge it all over the rear screen and didn't realise until I'd finished sticking it in.  Cotton bud and some purple meths will sort it, thankfully.

 

[Sudsprint]

15 hours ago, bramz7 said:

I think I've got a full time obsession now. 

It's quite something seeing how the Solido line descended into more child like content in the 80s. 

I've now started looking at some of the fascinating Vitesse releases of the 90s, some proper fancy (mainly Renault) releases. 

 

In the post I've got (all boxed) Mebetoys 131, Polistil 127 and a Maisto Marea Weekend. 

Love the Beta Coupe in that haul.

As a boy in the early/mid 1970s, as Dinky got cruder and Corgi got larger I started collecting Solidos (Maserati Indy and Alpine Renault being two of my favourites).

[Split_Pin]

Y0 Bramz thats a cracking haul there. Solidos are winners, I can't understand why examples from that era aren't more collectible as they are well made with very good detail. I was excited back in 1990 to get a MIB Renault 12 Break as it had the MK1 front on it and weirdly, I remember it was quite expensive.