Shite in Miniature II

[eddyramrod]

Yesterday I spent some time with the ole caustic soda, stripping shells that I've previously drilled apart.  So now I have the shells of 20 assorted models awaiting primer; maybe 5 or 6 to go back in for another bath as the paint sticks too well (three of which are earlier restorations, so really I'm quite pleased with the adhesion) and a handful more upstairs in my model room, still waiting their turn.

Still no pics because I still haven't replaced my dead-loss crappy camera.  Sorry.

[FakeConcern]

10 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

Yesterday I spent some time with the ole caustic soda, stripping shells that I've previously drilled apart.  So now I have the shells of 20 assorted models awaiting primer; maybe 5 or 6 to go back in for another bath as the paint sticks too well (three of which are earlier restorations, so really I'm quite pleased with the adhesion) and a handful more upstairs in my model room, still waiting their turn.

Still no pics because I still haven't replaced my dead-loss crappy camera.  Sorry.

I have a big box ready to be stripped off now, I'll try to get some pics when I do it.

Roger Clark Crapi

Escrote from @danthecapriman

My original Corgi Countryman (just got some doors from Steve Flowers

Corgi Police Mini Van, not sure what to do with this as I have two others in good cond, I'd like to do it Pea Green as I had one that colour, but just at the moment I'm only using paint I already have

Mini Magnifique will be a custom, I hope

More to come later...

[bunglebus]

32 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

Yesterday I spent some time with the ole caustic soda, stripping shells that I've previously drilled apart

I used to use that stuff but it can affect older castings - last thing you want is to melt the body!

I prefer to use paint stripper these  days, doesn't bother me if it takes a few days sitting in a plastic tub. Current victims are the Civic, green Matchbox VW Dormobile, Corgi MK1 Escort and your old Dodge Magnum (sorry).

The Magnum was a really weird choice for Corgi, they're not exactly a stunner

I'm thinking of making it black to go with the dark windows

[danthecapriman]

12 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

I have a big box ready to be stripped off now, I'll try to get some pics when I do it.

Roger Clark Crapi

Escrote from @danthecapriman

My original Corgi Countryman (just got some doors from Steve Flowers

Corgi Police Mini Van, not sure what to do with this as I have two others in good cond, I'd like to do it Pea Green as I had one that colour, but just at the moment I'm only using paint I already have

Mini Magnifique will be a custom, I hope

More to come later...

Oooh, a Crapi! I’ve got 2 of those myself waiting to be stripped and painted! (Surprise surprise!). Ones a rough Roger Clark white one, the others in that weird day glow orange colour they did. One of them will be going Miami blue since I’ve got a can of that here. Exactly the same mix as my real mk2.

That Escrote is good to see! I’m pretty sure that one came from a boot sale about 25 years ago! 
 

What colours you doing the Escort & Capri?

[eddyramrod]

1 minute ago, bunglebus said:

I used to use that stuff but it can affect older castings - last thing you want is to melt the body!

I prefer to use paint stripper these  days, doesn't bother me if it takes a few days sitting in a plastic tub. Current victims are the Civic, green Matchbox VW Dormobile, Corgi MK1 Escort and your old Dodge Magnum (sorry).

The Magnum was a really weird choice for Corgi, they're not exactly a stunner

I'm thinking of making it black to go with the dark windows

Your car, your choice, of course.  I never saw the model in anything other than yellow when new, although since I hardly ever saw one at all that doesn't say much!  In recent years I've seen a few at the fairs but again, they've always been yellow.  There was a point when I had three of them, one of which I'd painted purple...

[bunglebus]

23 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

Escrote from @danthecapriman

Good luck, that one drove me potty trying to get the casting lines sorted out, that's why I ended up doing it as a ratty version in the end

[FakeConcern]

I want the Roger Clark Crapi white again (although it looks pretty good in Humbrol yellow!) and I may even buy some repro stickers for it.

I still have my pre WhizzWheels (or whatever) Escrote so thought I'd do this one up in some orange I already have, I may have mentioned I'm trying to do budget restos so the Corgi Minis I already did were both paint I had on the shelf and these will be too. Amazing you had that so long at let it go haha. I get far too attached to stuff.

[bunglebus]

4 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

Your car, your choice, of course.  I never saw the model in anything other than yellow when new, although since I hardly ever saw one at all that doesn't say much!  In recent years I've seen a few at the fairs but again, they've always been yellow.  There was a point when I had three of them, one of which I'd painted purple...

They were only ever yellow, and a very short lived release. I only managed to find one a year or two ago via this site. I didn't know they even existed until just before that!

[FakeConcern]

1 minute ago, bunglebus said:

Good luck, that one drove me potty trying to get the casting lines sorted out, that's why I ended up doing it as a ratty version in the end

Casting lines? What's those?

 

 

Haha

[danthecapriman]

Has anyone had any success with soldering repairs to these cast metal vehicle shells?

I was thinking of repairing a screen pillar or something with some strip brass or copper I’ve got left from something else, soldered into place then filed as required after to finish it off. Obviously I’d imagine soldering with an iron not a torch as I don’t want to melt the casting! 
Just wondering if anyone has tried it and if the pot metal will take solder or not?

[AndyW201]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

You found that in B&M? I've been trying to find one but Smyths got a solitary box in which of course got raided 3 seconds after it was put out

Yep, that was in B&M. I've been in that one store for the last few weekends and it's the first time I've seen them. There was one Escort, one of the  Dodge Charger Hellcats and one of the off-road Dodge Charger things. I'll have to keep calling to see if any more appear, as I do fancy the Supras and the Silvia...

[bunglebus]

BuM disappoint

[Split_Pin]

11 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Has anyone had any success with soldering repairs to these cast metal vehicle shells?

I was thinking of repairing a screen pillar or something with some strip brass or copper I’ve got left from something else, soldered into place then filed as required after to finish it off. Obviously I’d imagine soldering with an iron not a torch as I don’t want to melt the casting! 
Just wondering if anyone has tried it and if the pot metal will take solder or not?

Unlikely to work. I just araldite the part in place and then file it smooth once it's dried. I did that on a Marina Coupe nearly 30 years ago.and it's still fine now.

[Christine]

What you do is strip the shell and leave it in a strong copper sulphate soloution , or hook a battery charger up to it and electroplate the copper on  quicker . The solder will  then  bond to the copper . I read that somewhere...

[danthecapriman]

Glue sounds far easier then.
I’ve soldered up some fair sized overhead line supports for my model railway, all made from scratch using bits of copper, brass & nickel silver rod/strip, which took some doing! It worked well, and it’s very strong. But, I just didn’t know if the diecast car body metal would solder, and how easy or not It’d be to get enough heat into it without melting it. 
I might still try it at some point on something. Maybe try using the solder to fill a cracked pillar or something.

[Datsuncog]

Anyone up for some Lunchtime Laptop loveliness of the diecast variety?

Of course you are, or why else would we be here?

In all last week's Matchbox/ Hot Wheels retail consternation, plus assorted Tat Boxes arriving, this kinda got overlooked...

It's the latest from the Corgi Model Club - the No.327 EmGeeBeeGeeTee.

While I'm maybe not the biggest MG fanboi out there, I really like this one.

Proportions and detailing are really good - Corgi clearly put a lot of thought into making this a really good model as much as a toy. Chrome bumper and grille detailing, plus gem headlamps and wire wheels, suggest that maybe they had one eye on selling this item to aspirational adult MG owners as much as to kids?

Opening doors and flippy-down seats add further play value...

While the opening rear hatch with a suitcase inside is just lovely.

It's little touches like this which remind me of just why I'm so drawn to the older Corgi toys.

The box illustrations are superb too - and it's being able to own and handle these replicas without fear of dropping and devaluing a mint original which keeps me renewing my CMC subscription, even during these difficult times.

I would have been well impressed with this one in 1967; I still am today.

Blurb gonna blurb.

This is the first time I've ever seen a Corgi BGT properly - I did find a later rubber wheels MGC on the tat stall a few years ago, which was the same casting but modified with a humpy bonnet and painted yellow and black which I think went to @Noel Tidybeard - but I've never seen an original B like this one. Not sure whether they were comparatively expensive to others in the range - though the big Corgi Bible reckons to over half a million examples sold, so they can't be that rare, surely?

Ah well. Pleased to have this one!

[MiniMinorMk3]

Some of the modern diecast Escorts released over the last 20 years or so.

Trofeu

Minichamps

Vanguards

They all have their good points and bad points, but overall I think the Minichamps is the best.

[MiniMinorMk3]

5 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Anyone up for some Lunchtime Laptop loveliness of the diecast variety?

 

That does look great. I had the yellow and black MGC, it was one of my favourites back then and I think is still one of the best castings that Corgi did.

[MiniMinorMk3]

And going back to Capris, one of my favourite '70s models is the Solido Le Mans Capri. It came in metallic and dark blue, both of which are not quite right.

As with many of these Solidos, not all the decals were put on at the factory, and a small sheet was supplied for teh buyer to affix the rest. However, many models can be found with the decals being done incorrectly, as seen on the metallic blue car. The eagle eyed amongst you will spot the out of place Lancia HF decal on the bonnet. 

This dark blue version still has the decals sheet intact, but you still need to find a good few pictures to get the decals right as the box art only shows the one angle.

 

[Datsuncog]

I seem to have encountered rather more MGCs than Bs over the years - which is odd, as the regular wheels version of the C was only sold for one year (1969) before swapping over to Whizzwheels in 1970 and (as far as I can tell) never even had its own box, relying instead on an overprinted box from the B.

I did find a rough but still quite charming Dinky MGB roadster a while ago too - think that one went to @egg.

[MiniMinorMk3]

The MGC came in it's own boxed that showed a blue and white car. There is also a very rare orange bodied version which was issued first.

[Split_Pin]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Some of the modern diecast Escorts released over the last 20 years or so.

Trofeu

Minichamps

Vanguards

They all have their good points and bad points, but overall I think the Minichamps is the best.

Ah now I went through a phase of collecting MK1 Escorts of contemporary manufacture in the late 1990s but I was never satisfied with them.

I had a yellow Trofeu example together with the base Police version but I always felt that the roof pillars were too tall and square. I don't think the Vanguards one was available as long ago as then as it would have been about 1998 and the Minichaps offering wasn't one I was aware of either (although I'd have been happy with that). 

A few years later I even bought a beautiful red 1/18 Minichamps version in red 1300 guise but again I wasn't happy. 

In later years I came to realise that the real issue was not one of realism, but the fact that the models were too finely detailed and, well, modern.

As such I sold them all and it wasn't until I got a late 1960s Dinky police version that I realised that I like models of cars that were made at the time the 1/1 scale version was in production. Or, at the very least, made replicate and evoke the character of the model at the time (which is why I still love the Dinky and Corgi replicas seen in this thread). So, the cruder the better!

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

Corgi Model Club - the No.327 EmGeeBeeGeeTee.

I almost bid on an original in anticipation of this one arriving. I agree it looks nicely done, MGBs in general are a bit MEH to me, that's all. A bit too flat cap/lawn chairs at a car show I suppose

[Datsuncog]

 

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

A bit too flat cap/lawn chairs at a car show I suppose

I kinda feel that way about Jaguar E-Types - just seemed to be what the classic car press was endlessly droning on about during the 1980s and 1990s.

Though I do like the reproduction Corgi E-Type 2+2 rather more than I thought I would.

[eddyramrod]

That MGB is a really nice model.  As was the original 55 years ago!  I had one from new and it was a firm favourite for a good while, I think until I got a Silver Shadow with Golden Jacks.  Subsequently it suffered a lot of repainting and even dismantling, and the remains went a few years ago, I think to another Shiter.  I had the C too and still have that one, repainted in a more plausible racing-green, but it was never as charming as the original B.

[egg]

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

I did find a rough but still quite charming Dinky MGB roadster a while ago too - think that one went to @egg.

You did, it's still in bits...

[Datsuncog]

It's good to have future projects!

[Datsuncog]

2 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

The MGC came in it's own boxed that showed a blue and white car. There is also a very rare orange bodied version which was issued first.

Ah, that's good to know - and, on re-reading, the Great Book Of Corgi does seem to suggest that the No.345 MGC was only supplied in this overprinted box for a short while ('the original box for this item').

However, it looks like only the lettering on the box was changed for later versions - it seems to be the same illustration of an MGB on both boxes, with no characteristic MGC bonnet bulge depicted.

I'd wonder whether the original intention had been to produce a blue and white competition version of the MGB as No.345, and quite late on a decision was made to modify the tooling and make it into an MGC instead, painted up in a different colourway?

A curious choice, if so, given that the real-life MGC was considered something of a flop after a tepid reception by the motoring press - and BL had already pulled the plug on production just as Corgi launched their miniature version in 1969!

[Datsuncog]

4 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Some of the modern diecast Escorts released over the last 20 years or so.

Trofeu

Minichamps

Vanguards

They all have their good points and bad points, but overall I think the Minichamps is the best.

Enjoying seeing some of the Mk1 Escort action there.

I was quite tempted by the scruffy Vanguards version on Friday, but it's annoying that none of the 1/43 available seem to look quite right.

I've had this Trofeu version from new, though.

I think it must have been 1995 or so when I picked this up - distressingly, that's closing in on 30 years ago now, which makes this model older than any real-life MK1 Escort was at the time it was made.

It still has its £18.99 price sticker - so about £36 in today's money (and interestingly the same price point as modern Vanguards).

I really liked the metallic Fern Green on this one.

The white rear plate was a bit jarring, though, and I couldn't work out why the box said 1968 but it was wearing an M-suffix plate.

Still, in terms of finish and fine decals it was light years ahead of the comparable Corgi Classics.

Annoyingly, I chose to display this one out of its box - and it seems the finely photoetched wipers and door mirror fell victim to my mother's duster one day.

Still, I'm sure I can get suitably equivalent replacements.

Rather oddly, I've just noticed that the tyres seem to have melted the display case's baseplate somewhat!

Tyres themselves are fine, though.

I probably wouldn't buy this one all over again, but I'm glad I still have it.

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

Annoyingly, I chose to display this one out of its box - and it seems the finely photoetched wipers and door mirror fell victim to my mother's duster one day.

Still, I'm sure I can get suitably equivalent replacements.

Rather oddly, I've just noticed that the tyres seem to have melted the display case's baseplate somewhat!

Tyres themselves are fine, though.

 

I've had the tyre base melting thing before. Sometimes it takes quite a pull to get a model free if it has never been off the base before.

As for wipers, I get replacements from Grandprix Models. They do all sorts of stuff, but over the last few years the amount of stuff they list has reduced as less and less people supply and build kits.

Product Search (grandprixmodels.com)