Shite in Miniature II

[Christine]

Bunglebus  is trying to track down  that house and garden  .. and going  equiped with metal detector and spade ! 

[egg]

Not amazingly happy with this, but have finished the Beetle, ignore the fluff on the rear wheel, left base unpainted as a future owner can easily do it if they want. The black paint that this was covered in has proved incredibly resilient to removal attempts, which meant the wheels have got a little scratched.

[flat4alfa]

  On 17/05/2024 at 09:37, Datsuncog said:

Yes, I had a red 205 just like that - bought in Mallorca in 1988.

Gozan sounds familiar. They were sold loose from a vac-formed tray; white and blue versions were also available alongside red and yellow.

Even as an eight-year-old, I thought it was odd that the five-door 205 was modelled as a rally car rather than the ubiquitous 3-door. One of the headlights fell out not long after I got it, to my irritation.

Mine was lost a long time ago, annoyingly. Roughly big-Corgi scale but maybe a little on the larger side, so 1/32 is probably correct.

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We have to find the Jeep and Dump Truck now

[Tenmil Socket]

  On 16/05/2024 at 17:21, bunglebus said:

Just back from picking up my sub-£5 job lot. I'm a bit lost for words to be honest

It's the weirdest mix of lovely old stuff and utter junk. I didn't put out some of the bigger ones as they belong in the bin

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Nice score! Gotta be the bargain of the year that surely?

[danthecapriman]

  On 17/05/2024 at 10:02, egg said:

Not amazingly happy with this, but have finished the Beetle, ignore the fluff on the rear wheel, left base unpainted as a future owner can easily do it if they want. The black paint that this was covered in has proved incredibly resilient to removal attempts, which meant the wheels have got a little scratched.

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That looks brilliant! I quite like the base like that tbh, it almost looks slightly patinated with the dark bits left. If it was mine I’d spray some clear varnish or lacquer over it to stop it oxidising or going dull. The body looks fantastic too.👍

[egg]

  On 17/05/2024 at 10:08, danthecapriman said:

If it was mine I’d spray some clear varnish or lacquer over it to stop it oxidising or going dull.

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ah yes could do, thanks. Last year I discovered I needed bi-focal glasses (which I've not sorted), and I've just learned why, can't bloody focus so well now on stuff this size. Mini-shite may be classified as a 'slightly older gentleman's hobby', but to be honest it's a young man's game 😆

[flat4alfa]

  On 17/05/2024 at 09:45, bunglebus said:

And yes I have at least one gold Bat Trailer. I glued the broken blade back on the Bat Copter last night but the Bat Boat's fin is AWOL

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Not sure how we can get one of those but one donor candidate should turn up at a car boot knowing your luck!

Could give this guy a nudge as he does support all the other bits and might have plans to do the fin?

  Quote

107 Batboat transparent blue plastic screen £3.00
107 Batboat plastic dash unit £3.30
107 Batboat plastic steering wheel £0.90
107 Batboat clear plastic screen £3.00
107 Batboat black plastic suspension (2 per model required) Each £1.50
107 Batman plastic painted £3.30
107 Robin plastic painted £3.30
107 Batboat trailer red plastic towing eye £1.45
107 Batboat (second issue) symbol and stripes £3.00

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Also in the range

 

[danthecapriman]

  On 17/05/2024 at 10:12, egg said:

ah yes could do, thanks. Last year I discovered I needed bi-focal glasses (which I've not sorted), and I've just learned why, can't bloody focus so well now on stuff this size. Mini-shite may be classified as a 'slightly older gentleman's hobby', but to be honest it's a young man's game 😆

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That why I now prefer doing 1:43 sized stuff! Easier to see it and easier to mess around customising it!

I used to do lots of 1:76 stuff for my OO gauge model railway but it’s getting harder to see and handle the small scale stuff! The last 1:76 one I did was an Oxford diecast Ford Zephyr into old banger condition and it was doing my eyes in. Since I’ve been doing 1:43’s instead it’s been much easier. The down side though is they take up much more space.

[flat4alfa]

Interesting facts about Mego Corporation, who produced (or imported and retailed) the Speed Burners

  Quote

[by 1976] Mego [was] the sixth-ranked American toy manufacturer, based on retail sales.

In 1976, Mego hashed out a deal with the Japanese toy manufacturer Takara to bring their popular 3" fully articulated Microman figures to the United States under the name "Micronauts." While [the company president] was in Japan, Fox's lawyer Mark Peders dropped by the office to show stills from the upcoming motion picture Star Wars, but no one in the office could sign the deal, so Peders visited Kenner in the same building and Kenner president Bernie Loomis was in the office and signed the deal. This decision seemed of little consequence to Mego at first, because the Micronauts figures initially sold well, earning the company more than $30 million at their peak.  [en.wikipedia.org]

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Mego were bankrupt by 1981. 

[danthecapriman]

Speaking of 1:43 stuff…

I got a Bond Chevy Nova to turn into a civvy car. Stripped it then as an experiment tried using masking tape to make a vinyl roof.

Definitely works, although I’d try to find slightly thicker tape next time. I think I need to put some matte varnish over the white to get rid of the shine too. Just got to do the bright trims next to tidy up the edges a bit. The tape has a nice texture to it that looks a bit like vinyl, you just need to go light coats with the paint so it doesn’t fill the texture.

I’ve also built a Bedford TK removals truck! 
Dinky cab (which is a superb casting!), IXO Deutz chassis cut down. Scratch built front axle and body.

    

If the Dinky TK isn’t exactly 1:43 it’s incredibly close! It looks perfect next to the 1:43 Transit.

Just got some last bits to add under the cab, then a bit of filler and a rub down/wash off before primer.

 

[Datsuncog]

Summer is a-comin' in.

No Friday market funsies for the foreseeable, kids, but here's some lunchtime laptop pics of one of yesterday's acquisitions:

Yes, it's the Hot Wheels Team Transport not-a-Fiat truck with 131 Abarth rally car in a mildly stylised mid-70s works racing livery.

Vague Fiat 662 N2 vibes, maybe?

And - it opens up at the back. Bit of a squeeze to get the car in though, another mm or two of extra height would have made all the difference.

Unfortunately the top deck is static, so no HOT LOADING ACTION possible - it's just a display platform, effectively.

The truck's a bit lighter than expected, to be honest - despite the box claiming 'metal/metal' for body and base on all these premiums, only the cab and lower bed are metal on this - the base, upper deck and loading ramp are all made of plastic, unlike my other Team Transports.

Wheels do come with rubber tyres, though.

The Fiat 131 is quite nice, though.

Good detailing, as you'd expect at this price point, with chunky arches that do the job even if they look a bit plasticky.

Certainly passable as a works rally car, even if the brand name sponsors are missing.

Decals on the metal body seem to have been printed, as they have a slightly fuzzy, pixelated quality. Decals on the plastic front spoiler are crisper tampo applications.

The rubber-tyred wheels look good in the arches, though a bit daft when seen from below

Base is a good weighty metal item, though.

Annoyingly, there's been some fluff or fibre that's got onto the roof during painting - four small pieces, which seems to have been lacquered over. Invisible while the car was still in the packaging, but sadly a bit visible now.

Overall, the 131 Abarth is a nice bit of kit - and a pleasant stablemate for the MK2 Escort RS1800 of a similar vintage.

As with the others from this range though, it's all a bit 'nearly' - they're nice items, but sit vaguely uncomfortably in that liminal space of being too good (and expensive) to be a kids' toy, but not quite good enough in terms of design, quality control and licencing to be a seen as a 'proper' model.

I guess they're collectables, and as such they just need to appeal to collectors...

[junkyarddog]

I just opened mine and was somewhat disappointed about the fixed upper deck!

The car is superb though!

[flat4alfa]

  On 17/05/2024 at 09:45, bunglebus said:

Think the D Type is a Tootsitoys

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Ah yes ok TootsieToy Midgets

[flat4alfa]

  On 17/05/2024 at 10:48, danthecapriman said:

If the Dinky TK isn’t exactly 1:43 it’s incredibly close! It looks perfect next to the 1:43 Transit.

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What's width of the Bedford,  cab arch to arch?

[danthecapriman]

  On 17/05/2024 at 14:00, flat4alfa said:

What's width of the Bedford,  cab arch to arch?

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51mm or a sliver under 2’’

[danthecapriman]

On another forum someone measured up the Dinky Coles Hydra crane truck, which came out at:

‘Found it on a 1961 Dinky scales list: 17/64in. scale so approx. 6¾mm to 1 foot, or 1:45·2 scale’

I think it’s different to how more modern toys & models are scaled being all old imperial measurements.

[flat4alfa]

  On 17/05/2024 at 14:23, danthecapriman said:

51mm or a sliver under 2’’

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Width Measures to approx 1:43.14 after all.  Hurrah!

The source I had for cab size before was wrong....  so went back to GM's own data sheet

If you have bumper to centre front wheel, we can do a bit of a length effort too

[danthecapriman]

  On 17/05/2024 at 14:48, flat4alfa said:

Width Measures to approx 1:43 after all.  Hurrah!

The source I had for cab size before was wrong....  so went back to GM's own data sheet

If you have bumper to centre front wheel, we can do a bit of a length effort too

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Bloody hell that is incredibly close!

Roughly 27mm from bumper front to hub centre.

But, don’t forget that wheel isn’t Dinky! It’s an IXO wheel that I’ve moved the axle on to fit the cab. Dinky’s wheels are toy wheels and undersized.

[flat4alfa]

  On 17/05/2024 at 14:57, danthecapriman said:

Roughly 27mm from bumper front to hub centre.

But, don’t forget that wheel isn’t Dinky! It’s an IXO wheel that I’ve moved the axle on to fit the cab. Dinky’s wheels are toy wheels and undersized.

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Isn't that the Dinky chassis then?  If not, it cant be used as it is a foreign imposter of dubious lineage.  *Other xenophobic assessments are available.

[danthecapriman]

  On 17/05/2024 at 15:18, flat4alfa said:

Isn't that the Dinky chassis then?  If not, it cant be used as is a foreign imposter of dubious lineage.  *Other xenophobic assessments are available.

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Nope! The only thing on that truck now that’s Dinky is the cab casting! The chassis and wheels are from an IXO Deutz, which was a bonneted truck. I’ve taken the Deutz cab off, sawn off the front section of the chassis with its cast on wheel arches and made a new mounting for the Dinky cab. Then made an entire new axle in the right place for a cab over and fitted that to the chassis.

 

I only feel compelled to do this sort of thing because… I don’t know why!!

That particular TK cab came from a broken refuse truck. Grey chassis in pic. I’ll only do stuff like that to damaged donors.

 

[flat4alfa]

  On 17/05/2024 at 14:46, danthecapriman said:

1961 Dinky scales list

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Found that out elsewhere.  I thought it had been posted before in this thread, never mind here it is again.  Might as well post it here in duplicate, just in case that forum page is lost one day

Meccano Memo no. 17157:

1 inch = 1 foot

And also done did this table, source figures from the same fella on that forum but should have worked it out myself if I had a brain

[danthecapriman]

  On 17/05/2024 at 15:34, flat4alfa said:

Found that out elsewhere.  I thought it had been posted before in this thread, never mind here it is again.  Might as well post it here in duplicate, just in case that forum page is lost one day

According to the Liverpool Museum, sources are: Dinky Toys and Modelled Miniatures (Appendix 2), page 293-294. The Great Book of Dinky Toys, page 217.

And also done did this table, source figures from the same fella on that forum but should have worked it out myself if I had a brain

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Interesting to see how little at that time was actually done in 1:43 or 9/32 given the ranges of cars/trucks and O gauge model trains.

Also, I reckon that Cole’s crane listed in that chart isn’t the Hydra crane but the older orange and yellow Cole’s crane with the single seat cab on the truck. I’m almost positive the Cole’s Hydra was quite a bit later and was to the imperial (your majesty!) 1:43 - 9/32 scale.

[egg]

  On 17/05/2024 at 10:02, egg said:

Not amazingly happy with this, but have finished the Beetle, ignore the fluff on the rear wheel, left base unpainted as a future owner can easily do it if they want. The black paint that this was covered in has proved incredibly resilient to removal attempts, which meant the wheels have got a little scratched.

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BTW, the Beetle wasn't really intended as a keeper, so if anyone happens to covet one, let me know,

[MiniMinorMk3]

  On 17/05/2024 at 12:27, Datsuncog said:

 

The Fiat 131 is quite nice, though.

Good detailing, as you'd expect at this price point, with chunky arches that do the job even if they look a bit plasticky.

 

Certainly passable as a works rally car, even if the brand name sponsors are missing.

 

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That's one of Hot Wheels better attempts at a rally car liver. Looks to me not much is missing apart from a rally plate and drivers names.

Here's a resin cast Starter 1/43rd of the winning car from the 1977 Tour de Corse

Starter made a mess of the rear lights.

Yellow front wheels and unpainted rears is correct.

And this is a Trofeu Diecast of the winning car from the 1977 Rallye de Portugal. As you can see the Hot Wheels has got most of what it should have on it.

The Trofeu is a better looking model than the earlier Starter.  In fact Trofeus are very good compared to IXO and Minichamps, but these days, when new,  they are quite expensive for a 1/43rd.

 

[andy18s]

For sale here at 15lev (£7) each in 1/87

[flat4alfa]

  On 17/05/2024 at 16:07, MiniMinorMk3 said:

That's one of Hot Wheels better attempts at a rally car livery. Looks to me not much is missing apart from a rally plate and drivers names

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Yes I thought so too.  I still can't quite get over they have done this ..the Ford Escorts yes, but not the 131 Abarth.  As soon as I saw some of you had spotted the new livery portraying the'77 Markku Alen car I was pretty impressed Hot Wheels had released it.  Childhood memories of the Tamiya boxes laid out on the shelves of Beatties came spinning back...

When Hot Wheels first released the 131 Abarth early last year, I was a bit taken back at the choice, wondering who at El Segundo knew of the model and did they know of the rally history.  I presumed it was in Fast & Furious film franchise somewhere.  It did look smart as a road car, but being a Premium I avoided...

Then last year the 'cop-out' Gulf livery was done alongside the Lancia 037, that made it look more like a toy

So... now there is a proper historical livery, what's next?  The '78 Markku Alen Alitalia livery?  The very same Matchbox (and others) tackled when I was a lad, (as you can see I'm still nostalgic about Beatties right now)

But how about the '80 Walter Rohrl Monte Carlo livery instead?  (I bought and built this particular kit some years later, painting it as a dark blue road car, uncannily the same choice @Spottedlaurel chose recently)

There are so many liveries to choose from.  The '77 San Remo Rally winner Jean-Claude Andruet I think would be a smart one on the shelves, (I'm still stuck firm in Beatties, can't leave, sorry)

Previously done some years ago in 1:64 by CM's Corporation of Japan

But better than that, how about Michel Moutons car wearing the same livery?  Mouton was recorded saying “handled like a big truck, not a car”.  Still won the '78 Tour de France though, so all they would need to do is put a number 4 on the door instead

[MiniMinorMk3]

A Starter version of the Walter Rohl 1980 Monte car has passed through here...

as well as a Trofeu Andruet '77 Sanremo car.

On the road car front these white metal MDS Racing trio have come and gone

 

[flat4alfa]

The most realistic* one here is by Summer and measures to 1:50

There is a wind-up motor/mechanism in there, but it's daft - you wind it back, let it go and it rolls along...

...until its last few inches, when it raises up its front and performs a wheelie.  Wow! A wheelie at the END of its run. 

What a show-off.

[FakeConcern]

I've made a start on repairing my broken Mebetoys

Aluminium sheet to make a new sill and A pillars glued up

 

[flat4alfa]

  On 16/05/2024 at 09:39, Tenmil Socket said:

Another Instagram spot… the packaging turns into a service station.

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Spooky... this one just come up, with a Fiat 131 Abarth.  Tesco Value Pack at 99p in 1982 is £4.52 today

First release Matchbox was that 'Team Matchbox’ livery, with clear or amber glazing and red interior

The only Fiat 131 to wear Dinky packaging was this, but they forgot to give it race numbers

Probably one of the more appealing of the later Bulgarian production with chunky tyres: