Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

Just found out via FB this is happening - but not near me

[bunglebus]

Deliveries! Couldn't resist this lovely boxed Polistil Alfa. Antonio and Francesca look very happy with it too

You've seen one before but I'm still behind the curve with the CMC releases, so my Thames has only just got here

Finally a couple of VWs. Golf is really tidy and is the first I've had with the original surfboards still in place

Fastback looked tidy, and it is - but it's also unnervingly sticky despite being washed. I don't know quite what's going on here

[FakeConcern]

That Alfa is lovely (is it 1/43?) and the little figures a nice bonus!

[MiniMinorMk3]

In silver

[egg]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Polistil Alfa.

I had one from DC 5 years ago, not sure where it is now, maybe I moved it on! Must have done.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

That Alfa is lovely (is it 1/43?) and the little figures a nice bonus!

They helpfully list it as 7-76. No idea why they do such odd things with scales

[egg]

Just noticed some sellers have these knurled rivets now for baseplate replacement, good idea rather than the smooth ones.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256135015841

[MiniMinorMk3]

You might want some of these to help getting the rivets in with out clouting the base of the model.

Mushroom Domed Rivet Leather Belt Band Round Punch Hole Cutter Work Tool 3-15MM | eBay

 

I used a similar thing when I replaced the engine number on on of my Minis after an engine rebuild that required the block to be decked.

 

However, I do not think these are a good solution, as the rivets are not the correct shape and the part that requires drilling on the models body may not have enough diameter to actually drill a hole that will not split when you try to put the rivet in.

[egg]

23 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

However, I do not think these are a good solution, as the rivets are not the correct shape and the part that requires drilling on the models body may not have enough diameter to actually drill a hole that will not split when you try to put the rivet in.

Yes, take your point, I think I use a 2.5mm bit on Dinky/corgis - working on one at the mo, and yes, you could put too much pressure on the thin wall remaining, especially if it's a couple of degrees out with your drilling.

[Christine]

Honda Honda Honda 

 

[FakeConcern]

Today I was excited to receive my latest Cogbox and as expected, I’d forgotten most of the contents!

The Hot Wheels Yellow Submarine & Transit camper van are for Mrs Concern, she was suitably appreciative. The C4 VTS in green is much nicer than the red one I have as the spoiler is black rather than clear which rather ruins the red one.

I’d totally forgotten the tiny Mini Pickup, it’s so cute!

The Solido Clio Valver is much better than expected, I thought I’d be re painting it, but I’m just going to find a suitable steering wheel and make some rear lights and that will be it.

I still have the roof luggage for the Fiat from my missing childhood toy, I need to dig it out now.

The two Corvettes are really nice! The silver one has almost the exact same damage as my childhood yellow Lazy Bones version, I have already fashioned most of a replacement for it and now need to the same again for the silver one.

I had intended to re paint one of the red ones (the other one from a recent Danbox), but can’t decide which as they are both pretty good as they are.

The funny thing is my Yellow one has totally flat suspension, but the paint apart from being faded is hardly chipped at all, while all the others have good suspension.

The Lotus Elan chassis will complete my childhood Lotus Gift Set, not sure how it got lost.

 

You may notice the custom made lid (made by the young me when the original fell to bits) features a maroon Elan, that Elan is currently in the process of being re finished and when I stripped off the very chipped maroon paint, I found the front end had broken off and been glued back on years ago!

I now have a few more Elans as I love them!

You may also remember a while ago I re painted a Dinky Escort from a Danbox and was trying unsuccessfully to make a louvered rear window. I bought a Steve Flowers replacement and fitted it this afternoon, what PIA. The car wouldn’t fit together with it and I thought it was the custom bucket seats touching the thicker plastic glazing unit, which it was partly. I cut the seats down and still had the same problem. Eventually worked out that the thicker side windows were stopping the back seat going in high enough. Much filing later and it all went together.

Thanks @Datsuncog

[FakeConcern]

Now I’m in Elan mode, I’ll relate an anecdote from when I was a kid at a family party. As always I had one of my favourite toy cars with me, a green Lotus Elan DHC. I was playing with it when it came to the attention of my cousin (about 15 years older than me) and his girlfriend. She recognised the Elan as my cousin had a real one (he’d previously had a Lotus 7 too) and asked to look at it. She commented on how detailed and realistic the interior was and told me of the time they picked up a friend in it and she sat on the transmission tunnel, pointing out the ridges in it and laughing at the memory of the ridges pressed into her legs making marks that lasted ages (she always wore mini skirts!).

I was always confused and still am as to why Corgi put small “Mini” wheels and tyres on the gift set Elans and large car cast wheels on the orange and white (also blue) ones.

Just in case anyone thinks I criticise Steve Flowers parts quality too much, I also bought replacement glazing for this orange Elan. I punched the roof rivets at the back out, pulled the hardtop up slightly and slipped the repro glass in. Easy!

Of all the Corgi Elans I’ve owned, I’ve never had one with the fixed chassis and Tiger in my tank decal so I’m pretty pleased to be able to buy one from @155V6!

[Christine]

I've got a chassis , cast wheels  but no body 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Split_Pin]

17 hours ago, bunglebus said:

They helpfully list it as 7-76. No idea why they do such odd things with scales

That's the date the model was released, July 1976. It was common amongst European manufacturers at the time. Check under a Solido or Norev of the same period and you'll see. Pretty cool if you ask me.

[155V6]

On 8/4/2023 at 11:13 AM, Datsuncog said:

Yes, van not bus... Things they do get confused in all the excitement...

Seemed very clean, though.

 

I picked up a Lego Chevrolet (?) Flatbed truck in Esso colours a few years back:

Think it went to @andrew e for a quid after a few years in the tat box wardrobe wilderness, so you may direct any begging letters in his general direction...

There may be a couple of Lego Mercedes trucks in the next part of my for sale thread 😉

[bunglebus]

Not been to any boot sales for weeks due to work and inclement weather. 

Yesterday was a washout and I didn't fancy traipsing through the mud this morning, so we went to the late start one. Admire my massive* haul

[bunglebus]

I think I must be getting better, as I'm now able to leave tatty old 70s Matchbox behind. A lot of what I found isn't especially unusual, I don't think I've seen these Fire Cheif stickers on the Gran Torino before

X1/9 isn't bad

Yet another variation on the US/Chevy Van

SD1 still in the blister is a nice find but I don't know why the card's been cut down

Weetabix Sierra

Tonka Beetle with funky kid paint

Novacar Espace

Majorette Sonic Flashers

Best, and most expensive find is this Lone Star Taunus

[Datsuncog]

No car boot action at all from the Frozen North this weekend - even though we saw no especially inclement weather over Casa DC, there were weather warnings in place yesterday for high winds and flash flooding - and areas to the south of us were quite badly hit by Storm Antoni.

So even though it turned out reasonably pleasant yesterday morning, I thought it likely the Abbey's car boot people would have made the decision on Friday night not to bother their arses loading up.

A turn through the Cityside branch of Poundland on Friday evening did reveal a load of slightly older Hot Wheels from earlier in the year, which must have been found in a storeroom or something:

Plus the dregs of the 2021 Matchbox long-cards.

With any luck, this might mean that newer Hot Wheels M-cases are on their way... Not that I collect Hot Wheels or anything. Ahem.

More burning of the midnight oil occurred last night, as Friday's newly scrubbed and dried market purchases were transferred to their assorted secret stashes...

Since rather more major renovation works than originally planned are now slated for this back bedroom, I'm having to get these shifted elsewhere pronto. So if you're gagging for your next tat fix anytime soon, hit me up!

(Oh - and @bunglebus and @andrew e, your combined parcel was posted on Friday, so should be touching down early next week Chez BB)

Some further digging into exactly what I came home with on Friday led to further intrigue.

It seems that that particular Market Tat Box was rather more than just a load of common-or-garden playworn Lesneys.

While The Nemesis came away with what he believed to be some unusual colour variations, I can only presume @flat4alfawas also wearing his lucky y-fronts on Friday - as not only was the rare red-cab version of the Accessory Pack A-2 Bedford Transporter picked up from there, but also this No.52 Maserati:

Doesn't look that unusual, but it turns out that a red body paired with metal spoked wheels is The Rare One.

Or so Charlie Mack reckons, anyway.

Well, crumbs.

A £3 bargain, that!

Now I'm fretting about what other wonders I might have overlooked...

[sierraman]

Nothing wildly amazing but picked these up today for a piffling 20p each. Cosmic Blues is mint bar missing engine, but I have a spare 

[Spottedlaurel]

Back home, car unpacked, During the last week+ there's been a 'toy bag' behind my seat to which I was gradually adding during various trips to supermarkets, gift shop at the Mulhouse Schlumpf Collection and King Jouet and Smyths toy shops found on French retail parks:

The Japanese selection. I particularly like the plain black Majorette Cefiro, an odd subject for a French maker? The wheels are quite convincing Volk TE37s. The two Celicas both have tins, not yet sure if the base model differs much from the rally version I already have.

Europeans and Americans. @bunglebus is this Beetle of interest to you? 911 also available if you want it. Dacias appealed as oddballs.

Although I found E. LeClerc stores to be best, it was utterly random as to what ranges they'd have and some stores carried almost nothing. Found very few HWs, mostly multipacks which I try to avoid.

Smyths had the HWs Nissan truck sets with the Silvia and Skylines, at around 20 and 30 euros respectively. They're nice, but I'm not excited enough by them to spend that much.

The older Majorettes etc from the previous week seemed to have survived their week at the bottom of a suitcase OK, now need to find somewhere to put them.....

[bunglebus]

15 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

@bunglebus is this Beetle of interest to you? 911 also available if you want it

I have the monster Beetle...

...but not the 911 - much appreciated thank you.

That Dacia 1300 is a great find!

[Spottedlaurel]

4 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I have the monster Beetle...

...but not the 911 - much appreciated thank you.

That Dacia 1300 is a great find!

I had a feeling that would be the case with the Beetle, sadly I couldn't find the gold one again. Nor the Golf in a tin.

The Renault 12-type Dacia came from the Sclumpf Collection gift shop, not cheap at around 5 euros but I don't remember subsequently seeing it in any supermarkets.

[Split_Pin]

16 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

More burning of the midnight oil occurred last night

That's a fair bit of work there, thanks for doing this.

[MiniMinorMk3]

On 8/5/2023 at 8:14 PM, FakeConcern said:

 

 

Those Corgi Corvettes got me thinking about the Brooklin Corvettes I've had. I know a lot of you do not go for white metal collectors stuff, but there are some who like a 1/43rd model or two. Also some of these Brooklins are over 35 years old.

First is the standard dark blue version issued in 1986. Check out the price when new. Today Brooklins, even though the detail and finish has improved, are well into three figures now.

The the white version that replaced the blue version in 1987.

Next is a very limited run of 200 in silver made for Minigrid of Canada

Next is a run of 500 red versions made for Miniature Cars.

In 1996 the coupe model was deleted and replaced by a gold roadster. This was deleted from the range in 1999.

There are more variations as shown in the Brooklin Models Collectors Guide.

 

[eddyramrod]

Lovely to see those, thank you.  I don't have many Corvettes in my collection, and the main reason will make perfect sense to the Aspergics round here.  A full-size Corvette has a fibreglass body.  Diecast models are metal.  I don't have many Lotus Elans or Beach Buggies either, because the same logic applies.

Cutting off my nose to spite my face?  As a lover of the less-loved and/or less-remembered cars, certainly.  As a lover of American cars, again certainly.  But although I do have some of each, the discrepancy in the material does nag at me a bit.  I don't want to encourage it.

[bunglebus]

I don't think I can live with the digestive biscuits currently propping up the Lone Star Taunus. But I don't know which custom option I prefer either 

Temporarily lowered in this one as the axles are too narrow for the suspension piece 

I suppose there is a 4th option but I don't really want to

[andrew e]

Is there a Gasser option ?

[andrew e]

Some delightfully dull as dishwater Tomica Toyota people carriers! Shamefully I would actually like a full size one as modern Zafira!

[MiniMinorMk3]

44 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I don't think I can live with the digestive biscuits currently propping up the Lone Star Taunus. But I don't know which custom option I prefer either 

Temporarily lowered in this one as the axles are too narrow for the suspension piece 

 

 

This option with the bit between the rim and the centre matched to the body colour.

[bunglebus]

7 minutes ago, andrew e said:

Is there a Gasser option ?

Trying to be sympathetic and not permanently modify anything, wheel swap and paint can be reversed easily