Jump to content

Shite in Miniature II


Split_Pin

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

With the six cylinder though they could catch you out when wet and turn about suddenly on a crest.  Don’t ask me how I know. Thankfully it was at dawn and I hit nothing, merci, Monsieur Gendarme.

Bimmer-bothering mate parked one of his 325s backwards into some parked cars in Southend after catching a wet manhole cover under power, and I remember doing a 180 on a roundabout on another occasion in one of them. Good tyres are pretty essential although he insists the one he wrote off was already bent somewhere and could never be aligned correctly.

This is the guy who I did the Matchbox E30 cabrio for recently

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

With the six cylinder though they could catch you out when wet and turn about suddenly on a crest.  Don’t ask me how I know. Thankfully it was at dawn and I hit nothing, merci, Monsieur Gendarme.

I had an old E21 320 six that did a nice pirouette once. I was only doing about 15mph round a bend and the back went. Luckily I did not hit anything so was able to carry on my merry way. I also had an E21 316, with the 1.8 engine. That never caused any problems. Great cars those E21s. I'd rather have one than an E30, those are a bit too Yuppie for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

I had an old E21 320 six that did a nice pirouette once. I was only doing about 15mph round a bend and the back went. Luckily I did not hit anything so was able to carry on my merry way. I also had an E21 316, with the 1.8 engine. That never caused any problems. Great cars those E21s. I'd rather have one than an E30, those are a bit too Yuppie for me.

I had several E21s all of the 316 variety. Roundabouts in the wet were no problem.

I then traded in my X plate 316 for the 323i E30. On the first roundabout at the Seafield road junction in Inverness I approached as I would have done in the 316, only this time the back end of the E30 jumped out and I was only saved by the LSD straightening me up. 

I’ve always been careful of the E30 in the wet since then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm working on another "simple" resto today, Matchbox T3 Transporter, the Graffic Traffic version. Compared to the early 70s Pontiac I've just done, this casting is awful - the detail is still there but the metal is full of defects, there's flash all over it and it's just generally much lower quality than the earlier casting.

Base bears the legend "Made in China"

PXL_20240318_124252446.jpg.162a8a8ad66e178e28dcca17029f9cf2.jpgPXL_20240318_124302619.jpg.a016c96bed2b255597f44c33cdd81098.jpgPXL_20240318_124318194.jpg.46743ccd28cd2964eba4db1c4cab6a4a.jpg

I've already started giving it a bit of a sand, this is a resto but the QC is so poor I've got to make it a bit better before laying paint on. Some of these defects will still show but they would have through the original paint anyway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Found this one again:

IMG_2050.webp.ff1c9bfef52f319f0e067fe6ea70731f.webp

Oy. Wake up...

IMG_2051.webp.53cd7daf41a896ea43ad09acd7eba4b0.webp

Anyone in?

IMG_2048.webp.77cbe62a3b7b530d5912c98a38e10870.webp

Guess not!

IMG_2049.webp.3aedee25a600909b7b0796ac5dc802d9.webp

Sills and wheel trims not fitted as I need to see if I can get them to send new door windows - the winding mechanism is shite. Also I think an overhead light LED has gone walkies at the plug end but now the plugs are sealed in a rear arch well...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Slightly raised eyebrows from the Mrs when I got home, two packages landed today.

First was a mini-haul from @danthecapriman. I'm secretly pleased with my self-restraint this time. Not being pissed this time round possibly helped as well...

IMG_20240318_221744.jpg.4152bebc55e23f862bec21f5b7cbc608.jpg

These Husky Commer walkthroughs are cute little things, Ive seen a few on here and wanted one for a while. I loved the real vans as a kid as well, there were a few working the streets in our area back in the day as mobile shops (ex mobile libraries), and fish & chip vans.

IMG_20240318_221759.jpg.cea88ac2d2f5e1bac358ec9615778493.jpg

The Corgi VW hot rod was one of my favourite toys when I was a kid, but for years I never even knew there was a standard Beetle by them too. This one is a nice clean example.

IMG_20240318_221813.jpg.6b778121139ec1b2cd2dce311c1a4dad.jpg

As is this Datsun 260Z, same colour as the one I had.

IMG_20240318_221836.jpg.bd166691f43872e931141780fc646ee6.jpg

Another one I was completely unaware of  until fairly recently. As a kid I had the Superkings A series U-Haul Luton van, but never came across this in the toy shops. I should be able to form a couple of tow hooks from some of the flexible wire we use to bundle up bandsaw blades at work. Replace the hooks and re-silver the wheels, and it should be reet.

IMG_20240318_221854.jpg.069baf47eba661c82777960869367eff.jpg

This Golf is almost box fresh save for a couple of small chips.

IMG_20240318_221905.jpg.a169b9da3357abd6b68cf76b538f6046.jpg

My original one had barely a scrap of paint on, and no roof rack by the time I finally parted with it. I shall most likely treat this one to some repro surfboards.

IMG_20240318_221725.jpg.59cc3a4efc2f00b039ccf37378a747c1.jpg

Always wanted one of these big Corgi Capris. This one's pretty good, it's all there, glazing is good and the tip up seat backs and steering wheel are still present. Not sure what to do with it yet, as my resto/modding skills are practically non-existent, but I do fancy this in LeMans green or Purple Velvet or something. 

IMG_20240318_222110.jpg.5909398eb3d70df9e0a8a3496b905177.jpg

This one is the highlight for me. Ice cream vans are a bit of a secret obsession of mine, and at the price Dan was asking for this, I had to grab it. 

IMG_20240318_222210.jpg.18428ab21a319c17fe4cb7b290be67cf.jpg

It's far better than I was expecting. Tyres are all present and are in great condition, and it sits well on its suspension. Glazing is decent, I think there's a sliding window missing from this side, but it's the serving side anyway, so I'm not too fussed there. The server even still twirls away inside,

IMG_20240318_222408.jpg.7772520ab5edce88b906089a7f67c7f9.jpg

This one will get a repaint soon, I'm looking forward to getting on with it.  My intentions are to not restore it to shiny original Mr Softee spec, but as a 2nd or 3rd owner independently operated vehicle, like the slightly down at heel ones that were around in the '70s.

Thanks again to Dan for more bargains and another cracking sale.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...