Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

https://screenrant.com/matchbox-cars-movie-release-date-cast-story/

[155V6]

13 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

They had a long life, carried under a few brand exercises and range names

First were released by Ideal as Stunt Squad range from 1977/78
Re-released as Universal Stunt Car
Then Kidco Bumper Blasters
Later Racing Champions /  Wintech Stunt Blasters
There may have been a set branded under LJN as well, as part of the parent company

Had this body, a Chevrolet Monza.  Never did find a base!  Sold it on

I've got a yellow Chevy Nova somewhere.Also this one which I've had since new.I got annoyed with it flying apart at some point,& glued it together 🙄

[FakeConcern]

Following on from the recent discussion about stripping paint from die cast cars, I tried out the Rustin’s effort the other day with very mixed results. I was working on two Corgi Bedford TK cabs, one with a Carrimore transporter and a Lotus Climax. At first  I thought it was going to be good as it smelt like Nitromors used to and the paint quickly blistered on the Lotus and one Bedford, but after over an hour with much scrubbing with a toothbrush the other Bedford and the blue paint of the Transporter had hardly been affected at all. I had another go the next day without much change and soon after watched a Corgi resto vid on youtube where the toys were stripped with caustic soda.

So today I dug out the tin of caustic soda in the cupboard since the 1980s and also dug out a few more cars that needed stripping. A quick aside here, I had two Corgi H cabs, one the wrecker that I’m intending to restore and set about opening them up. What a lovely and complex model it is! Quite hard to get apart and also I’m annoyed with myself as on one of them while getting the remains of the horns on the roof off (despite having drilled right through it) I broke part of one of the ladders as I held the cab tight and levered the horn. Anyway I put the toys in a container and filled with hot water, then put a few spoons of the powder in and agitated it all with a stick. It didn’t bubble and steam as much as on the youtube vid I watched, but was obviously doing something as a coloured scum of old paint quickly formed on the surface. After about 30 minutes I picked some of the castings out with a bit of wire to see how it was doing and apart from loose strips of paint, all looked good. Anyway it was the easiest paint removal ever and assuming I can still get some somewhere, I’ll only use caustic soda from now on!

Incidentally the plastic mounts for the Stingray’s jewelled lights seems not to have been dissolved or softened at all!

 

[eddyramrod]

16 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

 assuming I can still get some somewhere, I’ll only use caustic soda from now on!

Might not be very helpful now, but Wilko was always good for it.  Asda is always worth a look, their cleaning aisles are pretty well-stocked in general.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

I’ll only use caustic soda from now on!

Just be careful, I've been told it can actually dissolve castings, especially very old ones.

Caustic soda can be bought in Poundstretcher too if you run out

[sierraman]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

https://screenrant.com/matchbox-cars-movie-release-date-cast-story/

Oh for fuck sake. 😂

[quicksilver]

4 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Selfridges also had those supplied by Zylmex in their own livery.  Not sure why they couldn't find a more umm.. local supplier

"London Routemaster bus" and "Routemaster DMS588"?! What? A DMS is not a Routemaster and is nothing like one so someone at Selfridges wasn't paying attention to the buses going past right outside.

[bunglebus]

8 hours ago, quicksilver said:

"London Routemaster bus" and "Routemaster DMS588"?! What? A DMS is not a Routemaster and is nothing like one so someone at Selfridges wasn't paying attention to the buses going past right outside.

I think it was probably more an error on Zylmex's part, both the Routemaster and this one, imaginatively titled "Bus", carry the same ID number, K710

[flat4alfa]

12 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

I’ll only use caustic soda from now on!

Careful though, the heat generated can affect thin/weak areas and warp plastics.  Screen pillars are a favourite foe.

Remove after a short time, do not leave overnight as it will etch into the casting, eating away as it goes 

Castings only.  Do not dunk turned wheels such as found on Dinky/Corgi/SpotOn.  Unless you want to watch the pretty bubbles reach the surface as they dissolve

But I’m sure you know all this. I didn’t respect the chemical and learned the hard way

[danthecapriman]

11 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Careful though, the heat generated can affect thin/weak areas and warp plastics.  Screen pillars are a favourite foe.

Remove after a short time, do not leave overnight as it will etch into the casting, eating away as it goes 

Castings only.  Do not dunk turned wheels such as found on Dinky/Corgi/SpotOn.  Unless you want to watch the pretty bubbles reach the surface as they dissolve

But I’m sure you know all this. I didn’t respect the chemical and learned the hard way

This is why I’m going to stick to proper paint stripper. I’d hate to destroy a casting that’s lasted this long.

The Transit came up well with that aerosol stripper. There are a few little bits of the old paint left but it just scratches off now. The grill and detail on the front wings I used a wire brush to work the old paint out of the details after the stripper had softened it.

[flat4alfa]

Are you going to fill the roof holes?  If you use modelling clay/putty, leave it proud as it shrinks as it dries

 

[bunglebus]

Check this weirdo out

I had no idea this existed until I saw it. Shame about the stickers, I reckon it got wet at some point as it's remarkably good otherwise. Going in the cabinet with the other OTT and drag race type stuff such as the Corgi Organ Grinder and Glo Worm Capri

[danthecapriman]

20 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Are you going to fill the roof holes?  If you use modelling clay/putty, leave it proud as it shrinks as it dries

 

Yes, it’s not going to be a police van, just a standard civvy panel van. I was going to use a bit of chemical metal putty for the holes! It’s the only thing left suitable that isn’t packed away! 
There’s a few little dings in the metal itself, mainly on the sides and a bit near the windscreen that I’ll skim with filler too. Probably from years of being thrown into a toy box or something!

Its a lovely looking casting though, great detail on it.

[flat4alfa]

11 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Yes, it’s not going to be a police van, just a standard civvy panel van

Ideal livery for your collection*

[eddyramrod]

Never mind for Dan, that's ideal for mine!

 

In fact, if I can lay hands on a cheapo Dinky CF...

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Check this weirdo out

I had no idea this existed until I saw it. Shame about the stickers, I reckon it got wet at some point as it's remarkably good otherwise. Going in the cabinet with the other OTT and drag race type stuff such as the Corgi Organ Grinder and Glo Worm Capri

You got one!

I posted on this thread yonks ago, search on this thread is borky though so can't find it...    they were produced 1975 apparently

Not surprising for a Politoy, never seen one

Or the red one

[barrett]

Sup? As seen in the Miniature Ebay Tat thread, I found a semi-interesting job lot which @155V6 picked up for me, and delivered yesterday. There were only two things I wanted but they're pretty good.

First up its Politoys M540, Ferrari 275GTB

Actually not my favourite casting. It's a tricky shape to capture and they didn't quite manage it, but it has the usual Politoys details and build quality to recommend it

It's missing the headlamps (TADTS) and is a bit playworn but has cleaned up alright otherwise

There's a reasonable engine in there

Exhausts are a nice touch underneath. Funnily enough, this was only released in three colours of which this is probably the most common, then a metallic red, but the classic 'Ferrari red' is extremely rare for some reason. All seem relatively expensive so I'm happy with this one.

Next up is M552, Lamborghini Miura

This is a really nice one which doesn't come up for sensible money very often. All the opening bits – I particularly like the luggage boot opening in the engine hatch (I know Corgi did this too, but not as elegantly)

It's also a bit worse for wear, but will do me until a more complete one appears at a good price (probably never)

It also means I can do a Who Did it Worse vs Mebetoys A20

The Mebetoys engine looks more accurate to me. Politoys should have a separate boot section which houses a spare wheel, but that's sadly missing

The front end is a bit more delicate on the Politoys, plus it has A FLAP which is unneccessary and amusing

Shame the sill covers are missing. I thik the Mebetoys is a little crisper, but the Politoys captures the shape a fraction better, and sits more realisitcaly low, but there's not much in it. Also it's the best colour, so there's that.

[barrett]

This is the remainder of the job lot, in which I have no interest, so shout if any of these take your fancy before they go on ebay.

Actually quite unfucked Politoys 1:24 Fulvia rally car. Missing one headlamp lens but otherwise all there I think, albeit quite grubby. I think this is a very early one as most came after the Polistil branding appeared

Revell 1:18 TT, I think this was a dealer model. The coupes and other colour roadsters seem to make big money, this less so. Quite a nice model if that's your sort of thing.

Mixed lot of Mebetoys 1:28 F1 cars in varying degrees of fuckedness. Utterly unappealing to me, but somebody must love them?

Charity shop fare Corgi x2 and Matchbox x2

Any interest????

[MiniMinorMk3]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Check this weirdo out

I had no idea this existed until I saw it. Shame about the stickers, I reckon it got wet at some point as it's remarkably good otherwise. Going in the cabinet with the other OTT and drag race type stuff such as the Corgi Organ Grinder and Glo Worm Capri

 

36 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

You got one!

I posted on this thread yonks ago, search on this thread is borky though so can't find it...    they were produced 1975 apparently

Not surprising for a Politoy, never seen one

Or the red one

Here's the real thing

Four-Engined 1969 Ford Mustang "Mach IV" Dragster Is Crazy - autoevolution

[MiniMinorMk3]

Last instalment of Vitesse Peugeots

A Partner Weekend

[bunglebus]

@MiniMinorMk3 Wow I never dreamed it was real, I thought it was just a flight of fancy.

I don't usually customise cars I only have one of but I am temped to do a paint and detail on this. 

One day I'll get an inkjet printer to make my own decals too... 

[flat4alfa]

Wait.. what

There was a 1:25 resin kit produced

...and decals to finish

[flat4alfa]

[bunglebus]

That one I knew about!

[flat4alfa]

[bunglebus]

On a side mission, visiting a few more of the usual suspects. 

Entertainer have different 5 packs

Tesco have some F&F stuff I haven't seen, almost tempted by the Jetta

[Tenmil Socket]

I picked this BMW up from a charity shop at lunchtime as it wasn’t too toy like. It’s roughly Scalextric size.

[eddyramrod]

2 hours ago, barrett said:

Revell 1:18 TT

Any interest????

I never thought I'd be saying this, but since I have a good neighbour who owns one, how much for the TT?

[barrett]

15 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

I never thought I'd be saying this, but since I have a good neighbour who owns one, how much for the TT?

I'll have to pack it up and weigh it tomorrow, but it's a big heavy thing so postage might be quite a bit. I'd want £10 + p&p, so might work out at about £15?

[flat4alfa]

57 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

I picked this BMW up from a charity shop at lunchtime as it wasn’t too toy like. It’s roughly Scalextric size.

I quite like that

Are you keeping it?