Shite in Miniature II

[Split_Pin]

You must be on British Diecast Club as well 😀 . I'm the same with HW, I have about 20 now but haven't bought any in a while.

 

I was lucky enough to get the silver Cortina from my wife several years ago, just before the scene kicked in!

[Split_Pin]

You must be on British Diecast Club as well 😀 . I'm the same with HW, I have about 20 now but haven't bought any in a while.

 

I was lucky enough to get the silver Cortina from my wife several years ago, just before the scene kicked in!

[AndyW201]

You must be on British Diecast Club as well . I'm the same with HW, I have about 20 now but haven't bought any in a while.

I was lucky enough to get the silver Cortina from my wife several years ago, just before the scene kicked in!

Yes, thought I'd seen you on the BDC page Iain. I've made a few purchases on there, usually quite a bit cheaper than buying on ebay. I notice we seem to have much the same taste in hot wheels as well!

[danthecapriman]

I like the Vangaurds Cortina's and the mk2 Granada looks good too. I've got the Granny in Highland green and a mk4 Cortina in yellow.

[sierraman]

My eldest is a fan of Matchbox, I can't understand though why you can only seem to obtain half the bloody range in the shops?

[Split_Pin]

Yes, thought I'd seen you on the BDC page Iain. I've made a few purchases on there, usually quite a bit cheaper than buying on ebay. I notice we seem to have much the same taste in hot wheels as well!

Ha ha yes. I try to stick to European subjects or the TV related ones. In the lookout for a KITT from Knight Rider at a sensible price!

[59Impala]

As a new chap on here I'm glad to see that there are a fair few of you into collecting models as well as the real things. I've been collecting/hoarding models since I was but knee high to a grasshopper and now have probably more than I should have! That said I'll be off to the Spalding toyfair on January 8th to buy yet more delights. Great to see what you lot have been buying or indeed have received as very lovely presents. Hats off to Oxford for making that lovely Firenza in 1/43rd but a shame that they don't make very much in that scale. 

[sierraman]

What is BDC?

[Mr A Lawrence]

Before dead centre??

[AndyW201]

What is BDC?

British Diecast Club, a Facebook page for diecast fondlers 😉

[alcyonecorporation]

British Diecast Club, a Facebook page for diecast fondlers

Or the Bumgrape Deciders Collection, a shambolic arrangement of approximately washed individuals who turn up unannounced to a pub in your town to decide whether or not Barrett's blue mystery special was in fact the elusive 1951 Bumgrape Frightening made real (or otherwise).

[Spottedlaurel]

Rather than getting any models for Christmas (I've managed to pick up enough kits myself in recent weeks), the main thing I wanted was time to get on with building what I already have. Today, that wish came true:

 

Messy, but progress being made by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

Too cold to build anything out in the shed, so I moved the essentials inside and onto the dining room table. My son accompanied me for a while, he's got the classic Airfix Spitfire to finish off and he also had a couple of quick and easy models to do - one of those Maisto Assembly Line 1:24 metal kits and an oddball and very toy-like racing Skyline R30 that I'd picked up some years ago.

 

I wanted to make progress with the Prelude and move that one towards completion, and I thought it might also be fun to work on a kit like I used to, starting and finishing it off in the equivalent of a weekend. Easiest one to actually achieve that is this delight:

 

1:43 Heller Leyland Princess by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

After a not-very-punctual start, this is where I am at the end of day one:

 

1:43 Heller Leyland Princess by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

The bodyshell has been prepped and is drying out in the airing cupboard. I found an old tin of Ford Carnival Red which looks pretty close to the Vermillion colour that I remember on these.

 

The Prelude moved forward nicely, with the underside and interior pretty much done but that's highlighted that the non-standard wheels I'll be using need some modification.

 

1:24 Fujimi Honda Prelude by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

[MarvinsMom]

i had no idea that there was a plastic kit for ADO71 Princess!!

 

EDIT- having looked on fleabay those kit are listed BIN for £25!

bloody hell......

[Spottedlaurel]

i had no idea that there was a plastic kit for ADO71 Princess!!

 

EDIT- having looked on fleabay those kit are listed BIN for £25!

bloody hell......

 

I didn't pay that much (I rarely do even for 1:24 kits of subject matter I really want), probably about a tenner.

 

It's a little odd being LHD. Probably wouldn't be too difficult to swap over, but for something so small that will just sit in a display cabinet I'm not too fussed.

[Split_Pin]

I love that Princess! Prelude looks like it's coming along nicely too. Sadly my kit building skills are rudimentary at best- doesn't stop me trying though!

[mercrocker]

Must get on with some of mine....What paint are you using on the interior parts, SL?   And is that Prelude self coloured or did you airbrush it?

[RoadworkUK]

Wow. A 1:43 plastic kit has to call for some serious precision skills and more than a reasonable dose of patience. Looking forward to the end result.

[Spottedlaurel]

Thanks!

 

Must get on with some of mine....What paint are you using on the interior parts, SL?   And is that Prelude self coloured or did you airbrush it?

 

Bodyshell and floorpan is all done with Tamiya TS aerosol (their primer, colour coat and clear lacquer, polished with Micromesh sheets then T-Cut and an Autoglym resin polish). Interior and all the other pieces are brush-painted with Humbrol/Revell enamel (most of which are rather old and need thinning/the crust scraping off sometimes). I occasionally use acrylic paints, but the enamel seems to brush to a smoother finish.

 

When I was a youngster I used to brush-paint the entire bodyshell - with care and patience they came out OK. I could have done the Princess that way as it's so small, but as I've found the perfect colour I'll use an aerosol.

[Split_Pin]

I have no suitable undercover area to spray my 1/24 Golf kit so I bought a new brush and some Revell paint to see if I can make a decent job of the shell. We shall see!

[UmBongo]

A nice person gave me this as a Christmas gift.

 

I've been after it for a while.

 

[mercrocker]

Thanks!

 

 

Bodyshell and floorpan is all done with Tamiya TS aerosol (their primer, colour coat and clear lacquer, polished with Micromesh sheets then T-Cut and an Autoglym resin polish). Interior and all the other pieces are brush-painted with Humbrol/Revell enamel (most of which are rather old and need thinning/the crust scraping off sometimes). I occasionally use acrylic paints, but the enamel seems to brush to a smoother finish.

 

When I was a youngster I used to brush-paint the entire bodyshell - with care and patience they came out OK. I could have done the Princess that way as it's so small, but as I've found the perfect colour I'll use an aerosol.

 

Thanks for the info!

[Junkman]

I have no suitable undercover area to spray my 1/24 Golf kit so I bought a new brush and some Revell paint to see if I can make a decent job of the shell. We shall see!

 

You can achieve remarkably good results with enamel and a brush, although the flatter the surfaces of the model are, the difficulterer it becomes.

Thus I would rate the Golf maximum challenge in this respect.

 

Bear in mind, that you only have a chance, if you stir the living shit out of the enamel. I do mean it. Stir it for at least ten minutes!

It also helps if you heat the paint.

[Split_Pin]

Thanks Junkman, much appreciated. When you say heat the paint, do you mean 'clasp the tin' or something slightly warmer?

[Junkman]

It'll only work with gloss paints. I put them onto the radiator for an hour or so before I open them.

[Split_Pin]

Excellent, nice and simple, thank you!

[Spottedlaurel]

Today's exciting progress (if only I could report this on something full-size):

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

I know most of the rest of you are more familiar with 1:43, but that clothes peg gives a bit of scale. After a quick coat of primer the Carnival Red came out well (especially so given that the can must be 20+ years old) and now it's drying out in the airing cupboard it doesn't look as if it'll need much polishing. Note the coat hanger offcut painting stand - my usual method is to keep the hook on and hang the bodyshell upsidedown, but of course this was too small.

 

Also found time for a bit of a sort-out in the shed:

 

End of 2016 model stocktake by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

The desk is where I build when it's a bit warmer.

[eddyramrod]

WOW!

[155V6]

I remember those Heller kits,I'm sure they did a Rover SD1 & a Renault 30?

[eddyramrod]

Yes they did, also a Mini and a Range Rover.  I had the RR, probably still have somewhere.  I painted it white and gave it the number plate LOK 537P.  If that looks familiar, you've been watching The New Avengers...

[Junkman]

Excellent, nice and simple, thank you!

 

Not for that.

Besides, where did you manage to obtain Revell enamels in this country?

I've been looking for them, but can only find either Humbrol enamels, or Revell acrylics.

I need some of the Revell semi gloss enamels.