Shite in Miniature II

[DoctorRetro]

Ah, a Toe Joe.  I've got one, the arms are broken.  I had a conversion idea for it but I need another one to do it, I don't need the wheels or the arms, but I do need the body, interior, glass and possibly the back half of the chassis.

 

I'll send you the leftover parts when I get chance. Don't think I have the glass though. 

[vulgalour]

I'd be happy to rehome the leftovers.  I might have another idea that doesn't need the glass, I'll only know if I have the two bodyshells together for that.

[Amishtat]

A rummage in the back of the garage just turned this up, built about twenty years ago. Very dusty and the rear bumper has become detached but it hasn't held up too badly.

[eddyramrod]

That's really nice!  I luuuuuuuuuuuuurve me a Challenger, I does.

[junkyarddog]

Another Corgi Transit camper tidy up.

 

 

Someone had made up a new rear door on this one,but painted it badly.

 

 

 

 

"Wotcha reckon Eddy?"

 

"It ain't a CF m8"

 

[Split_Pin]

I dug this Fujimi 1/24 Audi 90 from deep in the loft.

 

I built this in the early 1990s and the paint job is horrendous. Mothballed for nearly 30 years on account of the fact that it was given to me as a birthday present by a former friend who turned out to be a massive bully. All water under the bridge now though and somehow this remained in my collection.

 

I was going to restore it but I thought that doing so would erase it's history. As such I just tidied up the lights and black trim.

 

Likely ugly to the perfectionists but I love slightly scruffy and patinated models, way more interesting imo.

[155V6]

That W114 pickup looks like something Tata might have made in the 1980s.   That is in no way a criticism by the way!  

 

In other Merc-flavoured S.I.M news these have landed today from Emporium Eduardo La Ramrodder - 

 

PIC_0011.JPG 

 

The wee Ferrari is something I saw in Ed's pictures and immediately remembered a huge scrap I got into with my kid sister because she had been to Woolworth and bought a Husky THAT I DIDN'T HAVE.   I even think it remained such an issue that she actually took it to Canada when she emigrated!   Fond memories.... 

 

The rubber stuff (fetish cars) came originally from Stavanger in Norway, made by Tomte Lardal and from Galanite in Sweden ( the beige-pink and green Mercs)  and I always associate these with seaside holidays as you could take them on the beach and not bugger them up like I did a Spot-On Sunbeam Alpine.    

 

I think a bath in brake fluid might sort these out but I am very tempted to leave the Wolwo as it is - such a cracking period shade....

 

I only have these left from my childhood days...

 

PIC_0001.JPG 

 

I also remember having a Mini, Police Beetle, Renault Floride and probably some others I have forgotten.   They seemed to mirror contemporary Corgi models quite closely (or MB Kingsize in the case of the Ergomatic tipper).   Bit of fun, anyway.

We had loads of those as kids,I liked the fact that the convertibles had people in them.I think I've still got a yellow Willys Jeep,plus a later Beetle.If you ever see a green Forward Control Jeep tow truck,snap it up.They go for around £90 on eBay.

[vulgalour]

Imagine that blue paint on that Audi but red, on a similar scale Vauxhall.  That would be amazing!  Not sure what you call blue Pogweaseling.

[vulgalour]

 

 

When I was browsing paints I narrowed it down to two offerings from Ford; Daytona Yellow and Jade Green.  Neither are really period correct, I'm just working with what I can get hold of and what feels right.  I took the interior in with me to get an idea of what would match best and honestly, the Daytona Yellow looked much better than anything else.  I'm not too worried if it doesn't look better after a few coats because I do at least know how to get paint off plastic parts now so I don't end up overloading the fine details.

 

In person, and in daylight, the Daytona Yellow does look right, especially against the interior.  Under artificial light the colour varies from sludgy yellow, to nearly brown, to almost green.  In photographs it looks different again.  I rarely work with yellow and this is exactly the reason why.  If I'd found a more primrose type yellow that didn't look grey or beige, I would have gone that route instead, but this will do.

[Amishtat]

That looks great!

[sierraman]

All this is making me want to build a kit. I’ve nowhere safe to put it when I’ve made it but the urge is there.

[Amishtat]

You're not the only one.. Got an unbuilt AMT kit sitting around somewhere but I can't remember what it is. Going to have a look in the shed later today

[vulgalour]

Well, you'll like that I have another update for you then.  Can't do a great deal more now while I wait for washes to dry.  A second coat on the yellow has brought it much closer to what I expected, still won't photograph accurately and I've done my best in processing, it's still off.  A few blemishes in the paint from the second coat that I need to carefully sand out once the paint has hardened, otherwise not bad considering I'm not using an air brush and with minimal orange peel.

 

I gave the interior a dark brown wash, and the engine a black wash to bring out some details and tone down the fakeness a bit.  Slightly different to what I'm used to doing since most of the wash needs wiping off shortly after applying it to save a lot of repainting work, on smaller scale you just put it on and then highlight afterwards, no need to wipe off excess ink.  Brings the seats out nicely and gives the engine a slightly used, oily look.  I'll be going over some bits of the engine with a bit more blue paint, just to make it look clean-used rather than neglected.

 

 

The trouble with inks is they're quite unforgiving.  I had thought the seam running around the front bench seat was deliberate and hadn't removed it.  Now I've used a wash it looks really horrible so I'll have to apply some files and maybe a bit of modelling filler to sort that out.  Won't be bad to repaint at least since it's an easy detail to fix.

 

Probably shan't get more done on this today because I've got to wait for the washes to fully dry and the yellow bodywork to harden before I can really do anything else.  That's what slows you down with a kit like this, much more than the tidying and gluing.  I'm very tempted to add some extras to the interior, lap belts on the front bench perhaps, a blanket or a cushion on the rear seat maybe, just something to make it a bit less generic.  Likewise on the exterior I'd like a presidential candidate bumper sticker, I'm just not sure if Carter or Reagan would be more appropriate.  Carter was president from '77, so it would be plausible for a '76 car to have a sticker supporting him, I just wonder if Reagan might look less anachronistic.  Maybe both?

[RayMK]

The 'wash' process is not something I'm familiar with.  It has made the seats look much more realistic and also the gearbox looks just right.  A rug and two canes (walking sticks in UK lingo) on the back seat would look great.  

[eddyramrod]

A car would be unlikely to wear both Carter and Reagan stickers as they were from opposing parties!  You can overdo things, you know...

Period-correct?  Not entirely sure when Jade Green was used, but I suspect about 1980.  Daytona Yellow, on the other hand, is perfect, I had a 72 Cortina in Daytona Yellow and I know it was quite a long-running colour.  Besides if you'd gone for green, you would really have needed to redo the interior.  American cars, especially back then, were extremely well colour-coded.

You are doing a brilliant job with it!

[vulgalour]

I'm using mostly Citadel paints (Games Workshop stuff) because they're very good quality and I know what I'm doing with them.  Washes vary quite a bit depending how you make them and who you buy them from.  The Citadel ones are a nice level of pigmentation and flow really well without either being so thin they barely do anything or so thick they obscure all the details.  You can make them by simply adding water to acrylic paint, the end product can vary quite a lot depending on how much water you use and the quality of the paint.  You can also use artists/calligraphy ink, the sort that come with a dropper built into the lid, though they tend to be very high pigment and can be a bit too heavy without being watered down.

 

The other nice thing about the Citadel paints is they have different finishes.  The brown on the seats is Agrax Earthshade and leans towards a gloss finish which is ideal for vinyl seats.  The black on the engine is Nuln Oil which has a matt, sooty texture to it which again, is ideal for the application.  They do a glossy finish wash too, I just can't remember the name of it and it's not one I have, that imparts a wetter oily look.

 

I like the walking cane idea, I'm nabbing that.  I reckon I can make a couple of bent-wood ones out of a bit of wire and a blob of filler for a rubber foot.

[vulgalour]

Derp on the Carter/Reagan thing.  I forgot American voters tend to stick to a party for life, especially the sort of imaginary person that would be piloting this.

[Skizzer]

Likewise on the exterior I'd like a presidential candidate bumper sticker, I'm just not sure if Carter or Reagan would be more appropriate. Carter was president from '77, so it would be plausible for a '76 car to have a sticker supporting him, I just wonder if Reagan might look less anachronistic. Maybe both?

This, definitely this:

 

 

The Ford-Dole 76 and Reagan-Bush 80 ones are much less fun visually and Re-elect Carter 80 was barely a thing.

 

 

Edit: I take that back about Reagan - if your genteel lady owner is of a Republican leaning (as well she might be) then this one is ace:

 

[mercrocker]

This, for the non-political look....

 

 

[vulgalour]

That's a nice alternative, hadn't considered that.  I keep forgetting how young America is as a country.

 

In more kit news, I was itching to work on something and since I couldn't do more on the Torino I investigate what stuff I hadn't packed away and found the Princess kit I'd started and then not finished for some reason.  At 1:43 scale it's a bit of an awkward one and while it has some nice detailing it's not perfect.  The interior, for example, has just about got the dials and switches cast into the dash panel, and has a good approximation of the gear lever, but there's no handbrake.  Things like that.  I suppose compromises have to be made at this scale.

 

 

 

The underside is fairly accurate, with the jacking point bars present, the triangular fuel tank, and even a fair approximation of the sump and running gear up front.  Exhaust is a bit strange but again, it can be forgiven at this scale and perhaps the european market cars had a slightly different set up to the UK ones when it came to silencers.

 

First coat of blue went on quite well, I was quite happy with this.

 

Unfortunately, very soon there was a reaction with the paint that I'd previously used, it must have been an enamel rather than an acrylic, I wasn't sure so just decided to chance it since the interior hadn't reacted.

 

That's a bit disappointing.  Luckily, there's plenty of methods for removing paint from plastic now - oven cleaner, brake fluid, purple meths, probably more things I don't know about - and I have another kit if I really need a donor bodyshell.  Shows promise, all the same.  I shan't be making it look like my own car, instead I'll just make it look like a nice early Princess 2.  I don't have enough blue left to redo it in the same colour so I might choose a different colour from the stash, we shall see.

[mercrocker]

Damn, that's annoying....On the plus side it has given a good texture for the C post, I suppose.

[Spottedlaurel]

You've already nearly caught me up on my Princess progress. I started mine 2+ years ago as a quick, simple project......

 

1:43 Heller Leyland Princess, day two by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

[vulgalour]

At least I now know I can't repaint mine red.

[Tenmil Socket]

F.A.O Junkman and Conrad, it was great to meet you both yesterday!

[Junkman]

Yeah, was GR9.

 

This is my loot.

 

[Datsuncog]

MOAR Silver Wraiths! Admit it, you're cornering the market.

Nice haul, though.

Well done on the Spot-On Cresta PA, that should tidy nicely. Blue interior a bit less common than white, I think?

I'm trying to identify the red 50s septic at the front - looks familiar, but I can't quite place it. A Husky toy?

[Junkman]

Yes, Husky '59 Buick Electra hardtop. And it is VNM.

 

The RR SW was bought simply for condition. Nothing is broken.

 

[Sudsprint]

Went to the Maidstone toy fair last year and bought cars I had ruined as a lad. Went there again last week and picked up some more (although I overpaid for the Altas DB5)

[vulgalour]

What's the blue one with the yellow headlights?

[junkyarddog]

It's a Corgi Lancia Zagato.