Shite in Miniature II

[eddyramrod]

2 hours ago, morrisoxide said:

Opened the MB Jag.

Then I had to do something about the silly cart wheels, so out came the dremel. I sanded down the spokes.

Then I fitted morrisoxide's TM panteded hubcap/wheel trims. This time next year I'll be a millionaire selling 1:64th hubcaps.

But they are the top bit from a rivet.

Voilà.

OK, another on the list of Unobtanium Toys I Absolutely Need!

[ETCHY]

2 hours ago, morrisoxide said:

Opened the MB Jag.

Then I had to do something about the silly cart wheels, so out came the dremel. I sanded down the spokes.

Then I fitted morrisoxide's TM panteded hubcap/wheel trims. This time next year I'll be a millionaire selling 1:64th hubcaps.

But they are the top bit from a rivet.

Voilà.

Nice mod they look good.
Good shape that, really captures the lines well.
I still wonder why Jaguar made the XJS when they had the XJC too ?🤔

[Nibbler]

NEX FSO Polonez Caro turned up in the mail the other day. The matchbox models turned up in a plastic bag  together with some shit sold as a bundle at a charity shop today. 

[Datsuncog]

2 hours ago, ETCHY said:

I that some sort of Bedford Green Goddess type fire engine ? (dead centre in red with brass bells on) ?

Yep, that's a Dinky Supertoys #956 Turntable Fire Ladder - which I think is based on the Bedford S-Type ('Green Goddesses' were military-spec Bedford RLHZ trucks bodied for the civilian Auxiliary Fire Service as self-propelled pumps, but the front end looked similar).

The one on the stall had lost its ladder and wasn't in great overall nick, but it's a handsome big thing, and not too hard to find better examples online.

[ETCHY]

2 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Yep, that's a Dinky Supertoys #956 Turntable Fire Ladder - which I think is based on the Bedford S-Type ('Green Goddesses' were military-spec Bedford RLHZ trucks bodied for the civilian Auxiliary Fire Service, so not very far off).

The one on the stall had lost its ladder and wasn't in great overall nick, but it's a handsome big thing, and not too hard to find better examples online.

Cool ta for that.
I have a bit of a thing for the old Green Goddess. I remember when Operation Fresco was on in the early 2000's some were stationed nearby. Bloody cool, I love a neeeh naw, neeeh naw type siren !

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Nibbler said:

NEX FSO Polonez Caro turned up in the mail the other day. The matchbox models turned up in a plastic bag  together with some shit sold as a bundle at a charity shop today. 

Nice early Lesneys, #31 American Ford Station Wagon but what's the other? #43 Hillman Minx?

[Nibbler]

26 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Nice early Lesneys, #31 American Ford Station Wagon but what's the other? #43 Hillman Minx?

Oh yes! It’s the Hillman Minx.

[FakeConcern]

 I finished my cliché Matchbox KS General Lee today...

As suggested by @bunglebus I used M2 machine screws (salvaged from an old laptop) to hold it together.

I was as usual trying to make it look like a toy of the era rather than a wholly acurate scale model and as such had to decide how much and what detail to include. Some of this was decided for me by my lack of (and declining) ability. I put in a wire roll bar and made a push bar from plasticard and steel pins.

I decided against putting the quarter light windows in as the original toy didn't have them. For the same reason I didn't try to paint the silver chrome around the window frame. However i thought the chrome strip on the rear quarter is a feature of the General Lee so included that and felt that plenty of Corgi and Dinky toys had a vinyl roof with that strip moulded in so it was ok.

I also put the CB antenna on as again plenty of toys had an aerial fitted, not sure if Matchbox did or not though.

The home made decals done on my crap old printer actually don't look as bad as expected.

I am making progress on other projects, but still being held back by my stupid fear of Steve Flowers. I've been in the process of doing an order to Model Supplies since before Christmas, but never seem to finish it partly because I think I may get another project needing parts at the next toy fair/boot fair/junk shop visit whatever. Just an excuse I know and I must do it soon!

[junkyarddog]

Catherine Bach who played Daisy was 70 years old yesterday...........

[bunglebus]

That Charger looks cool, love it!

[Dick Cheeseburger]

28 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

 I finished my cliché Matchbox KS General Lee today...

As suggested by @bunglebus I used M2 machine screws (salvaged from an old laptop) to hold it together.

I was as usual trying to make it look like a toy of the era rather than a wholly acurate scale model and as such had to decide how much and what detail to include. Some of this was decided for me by my lack of (and declining) ability. I put in a wire roll bar and made a push bar from plasticard and steel pins.

I decided against putting the quarter light windows in as the original toy didn't have them. For the same reason I didn't try to paint the silver chrome around the window frame. However i thought the chrome strip on the rear quarter is a feature of the General Lee so included that and felt that plenty of Corgi and Dinky toys had a vinyl roof with that strip moulded in so it was ok.

I also put the CB antenna on as again plenty of toys had an aerial fitted, not sure if Matchbox did or not though.

The home made decals done on my crap old printer actually don't look as bad as expected.

I am making progress on other projects, but still being held back by my stupid fear of Steve Flowers. I've been in the process of doing an order to Model Supplies since before Christmas, but never seem to finish it partly because I think I may get another project needing parts at the next toy fair/boot fair/junk shop visit whatever. Just an excuse I know and I must do it soon!

That's fantastic! You're seriously playing your skills down.

What did you print your decals onto? They look almost factree!

[Dick Cheeseburger]

22 minutes ago, junkyarddog said:

Catherine Bach who played Daisy was 70 years old yesterday...........

I don't believe a word of it...

[FakeConcern]

5 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

That's fantastic! You're seriously playing your skills down.

What did you print your decals onto? They look almost factree!

Thanks

I just printed them on thin office paper covered them with cellotape and stuck them on. The hardest parts were making them the correct size and proportion for the model and not getting glue fingerprints all over the paint! It did turn out better than I thought it would though.

[sheffcortinacentre]

14 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Well that's embarrassing - I have one

To be fair I got it 7 years ago and it's probably right at the bottom of the box, but still...

In the early 80's tamiya used to do an RC kit in 1:10 ( Possibly  1:12) .

[eddyramrod]

@FakeConcern that's excellent!  Well done!

[MiniMinorMk3]

11 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

 I finished my cliché Matchbox KS General Lee today...

 

That looks great.

[Datsuncog]

13 hours ago, ETCHY said:

Cool ta for that.
I have a bit of a thing for the old Green Goddess. I remember when Operation Fresco was on in the early 2000's some were stationed nearby. Bloody cool, I love a neeeh naw, neeeh naw type siren !

I really like them too - I know a fella who has a real one, and I'm kinda jealous even though I'd have no use for one (he uses his to drain flooded land).

Not sure about any larger scale model examples, but both Oxford Diecast and Corgi Trackside produced 1/76 scale models of the Green Goddess. They were available in quite a vast array of different paint finishes, to reflect demobbed examples sold on to private airfields and the like:

They're mostly obsolete now, but aren't too hard to find second-hand:

I have the Oxford version in original AFS livery ^

And also the 1980s Northern Ireland spec version, a small number of which were operated by the Department for the Environment and painted yellow to differentiate them from army vehicles (but also fitted with riot shields, just in case).

The casting on the Corgi version is a little less detailed than the Oxford release, but still quite nice:

I did have one of these going spare, but I'm not sure now if I sold it on already.

I know of a new Oxford version currently on one of the market stalls, but can't now remember how much he wants for it. Maybe £12 or so.

They do crop up second-hand quite often though - generally for a fiver or less.

Worth having!

[ETCHY]

14 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

I don't believe a word of it...

Lovely..

Nice face too..

[danthecapriman]

Got the Dinky Transit finished today. Finally!

Just a reminder of how it started. 
It was pretty battered. Glazing missing, interior broken, side door hinge broken, tailgate broken. Axles bent etc etc.

 

And now.

It’s actually now made up of parts from at least 3 broken Dinky Transits! 
I should have really bought new glazing for it tbh, but one of the donor vans had this intact glazing so I just reused it. There’s a few scratches and a chip on it but it’s ok.

It also seems the toys have similar problems to the real thing when it comes to using panels from different vehicles! Getting them to fit properly sometimes isn’t easy. 
The tailgate on this van came from another donor van and doesn’t fit perfectly. It was an absolute arse hole to get it to fit it all and unfortunately it resulted in a tiny chip to the paint on the rear roof gutter strip. Annoying but at least it’s easily touched up later.

Likewise, the rear window. It was salvaged from another van and ideally I should have replaced it for a new one as it’s cracked in the corner. (Can you even get the tailgate window new?).

Overall though I’m happy with that. It was more of a test for me to paint these models/toys than anything as I’d not done it for a while so to come out like that is a good result. The masking up for the red stripe was the real test! 
There’s a couple of touch ups to do on the gutter and some silver missing in the headlight bowls and I might do the number plates too.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Mini Project update.

The vintage Corgi has had a bit more paint on the inside.

I'm doing more to the Vangards. 

First up was the exhaust. For this I used a bit of a cocktail stick...

and one of these. These are exhaust tips are for Ferrari 250 GTO models and are made by a company called Tron.

Tron make expensive white metal and resin kits, but also sell various 1/43rd accessories for those that like to add a bit of detail to their models.

 ACCESSORI - SPARE PARTS models - modelli automodelli automodellismo car models modelli da collezione modellini in scala equipe tron modelles kit and kits auto scale 1:43 1/43 (tronmodels.com)

A touch of silver.

I did put the tip on backwards, but it does still look a bit big, just like a Peco Big Bore from 1971.

Whilst the silver was out I also did some window frame detail.

Next thing to address was those dull smooth headlamps.

Well it was back into my parts stash for some headlamp lenses. These were made by Scala 43. They are long gone, but similar ones can be found by Tron.

I have three sizes...

and after a bit of measuring up I settled on the 40 H size.

As this was an experiment I used the broken Corgi for the headlamps. I filed the front surface of the existing lamps flat and stuck the new lenses on. This meant I still had a chrome headlamp rim.

Out with the old...

and in with the new.

That's it for now.

However, in all the excitement I have noticed that I have stuck one of teh head lamps upside down. Oh well I'll just have to poke it out and put it round the right way next time.

 

[bunglebus]

A few boot sale bobs

I'll have to go through these properly later but there's a Cub for @Datsuncog as well as two Lone Star cap guns and a Crescent. Can't remember what I had as a kid but it definitely used those rolls of paper caps.

The two small red ones at the front are interesting, saying both Matchbox 1987 and Takara 1985 on the bases. Further investigation required!

They actually came out of a bag of cheapies the Mrs picked up for her grandkids

But I fished out a few for myself.

[danthecapriman]

Haha, I had cap guns just like that! Not seen any for ages.

I had a spud gun too which was great fun.

[danthecapriman]

Another one nearing the finish line.

Matchbox Superkings Volvo 245. 
This one started out as the usual red version, it wasn’t actually too bad as it was but I’ve already got a really nice red original one so this one got the custom treatment.

Bare metalled, sprayed into proper Volvo green blue paint (conveniently from my 1:1 740!). Interior left as it was as the colour combo looked ok. Chrome bits picked out in silver. Again, there’s a few marks on the original glazing but you can’t get replacements.

The only thing wrong with this one before was the suspension had gone very loose and saggy. Inside there’s a plastic retainer over the axles which is riveted to the base plate. All that’d happened was the rivets heads were both loose where the plastic had worn away or shrunk so I’ve tightened it all up by using a blunt chisel to peen over the rivet heads further down against the plastic. Seems to have done the trick.

Just waiting for some glue to dry then I’ll touch up the worn silver on the headlights and grill badge. I might paint the tow hook black too.

[Tenmil Socket]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

A few boot sale bobs

I'll have to go through these properly later but there's a Cub for @Datsuncog as well as two Lone Star cap guns and a Crescent. Can't remember what I had as a kid but it definitely used those rolls of paper caps.

The two small red ones at the front are interesting, saying both Matchbox 1987 and Takara 1985 on the bases. Further investigation required!

They actually came out of a bag of cheapies the Mrs picked up for her grandkids

But I fished out a few for myself.

Do the 2 front red ones spark when they roll?

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

A few boot sale bobs

I'll have to go through these properly later but there's a Cub for @Datsuncog as well as two Lone Star cap guns and a Crescent. Can't remember what I had as a kid but it definitely used those rolls of paper caps.

The two small red ones at the front are interesting, saying both Matchbox 1987 and Takara 1985 on the bases. Further investigation required!

They actually came out of a bag of cheapies the Mrs picked up for her grandkids

But I fished out a few for myself.

 

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

Haha, I had cap guns just like that! Not seen any for ages.

I had a spud gun too which was great fun.

I remember two types of cap gun.

The ones that took a roll like this...

and the better noisier ones that took rings of caps and the gun worked like a revolver.

And on the subject of toys that used caps, I had a couple of rockets that you put a cap in and throw up into the air. The cap went off went the rocket landed on it's nose and the more caps you put in, the loader the bang.

[danthecapriman]

11 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

 

I remember two types of cap gun.

The ones that took a roll like this...

and the better noisier ones that took rings of caps and the gun worked like a revolver.

And on the subject of toys that used caps, I had a couple of rockets that you put a cap in and throw up into the air. The cap went off went the rocket landed on it's nose and the more caps you put in, the loader the bang.

I had one of those cap guns with the revolver ‘clip’ of caps too. You could buy the cap ‘clips’ in boxes, they usually came on a red plastic ring from our local corner shop. That type of gun was a chromed effect magnum revolver if I remember right. It was a pretty heavy thing too. Great for pistol whipping other kids in the playground!😆

I don’t suppose toys like that are very politically correct these days!?

 

Edit: I’m pretty sure I had some sort of similar rifle too. I was a proper little gun slinger when I was little!

[bunglebus]

I always preferred the rolls of paper caps, as you could fold them up in a concertina and hit them with a stone for a proper bang!

I had the bomb on the parachute too.

I've never been a violent or aggressive person, but I did like my cap guns. Modern gun toys are deliberately made to look false in lurid colours otherwise people use them to hold up the Post Office etc. Shame.

These little guys don't spark but they have got very fast FWD pull-back engines in them

[Spottedlaurel]

Nissan 300ZX and Honda Civic CRX!

[bunglebus]

Other oddments I brought home include a Corgi trailer (didn't notice the broken hitch)

Matchbox Case Tractor

Lucky Toys caravan - the hitch is rattling around inside despite my best efforts to fish it out!

One for Datsuncub

One of the H.W. Matchbox copies

Another copy, of the Formula 1 this time - no idea who made it

From Matchbox's darkest days

I've got another "Mr Fixer" Cherokee, but this seems to be a colour changer

These were in a 5 for £1 tub, restorable canteen and an army ambulance

[MiniMinorMk3]

45 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I always preferred the rolls of paper caps, as you could fold them up in a concertina and hit them with a stone for a proper bang!

 

 

I tried a whole roll under a 4lb club hammer, that was a waste of 6d.

Just remembered one of the guns I had. A Lone Star Gambler Spud Gun.