Shite in Miniature II

[Spottedlaurel]

Another one here with a fondness for that CX. Mine came as a slightly unlikely inclusion in the Stunt Jump set, but in fairness it was faster than the overly-wide BMW CS with no suspension.

I think it may still be around in one of the boxes that master SL played with, but I've bought a couple more since in case it doesn't turn up....

[bunglebus]

9 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Anorak says no. Bullet turn signals again, early 1500 Squareback.

Just quoting what it says on the base

9 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

It seems they were, yes

Two of each, too

They are fantastic, I'd like one of the Beetles. Being as I've never seen them before they're no doubt unobtanium these days

[bunglebus]

Got a few of those CXs, blue is the nicest looking

White or yellow interiors

Red to hide the mishaps in the ambulance

 

[flat4alfa]

On 24/01/2024 at 21:14, Datsuncog said:

 

Quite an assortment here. Lone Star Ranchero is missing its tailgate, but isn't too bad for a tenner

I wanted it since last visit. Been on my mind since!  But no.  Will leave it for now, time moves on. Well, ok, it doesn't quite! Not in that establishment..

[danthecapriman]

Got a bit more done on the FG today between doing other things.

Rubbed the filler down on the new bits of the chassis sides, then glued the bit of air tank back on I had to cut off during the chassis stretch. 
While the glue dried I started disassembling the cab. Which was an absolute pleasure to take to bits! Everything came off easy and nothing broke either. Marinated the cab for a few minutes in paint stripper then a good scrub with a wire brush, followed up by a warm soapy wash and scrub with old toothbrush.

Once dry test fit on the chassis to see what it looks like!

Im pretty pleased with that! 
The cab just needs the two rows of grill slats filling (just above the big radiator grill), and I’ll fill the two outer holes on the roof. These were just for marker lights but I won’t use them. Then I’ll pinch the cab roof orange beacon light from the donor Pegaso and drill a little hole to fit that.

These two Frod’s have been through the stripper too. An F100 and F150.

Theres something very therapeutic about stripping the paint off these and shining them up afterwards!

[Split_Pin]

It's a great model that. As a bit of an FG anorak (they were built about 5 miles from where I grew up) I was just about to say you need to remove the extra 2 cooling slats that Sava included but you are all over it!

[FakeConcern]

7 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Got a bit more done on the FG today between doing other things.

Rubbed the filler down on the new bits of the chassis sides, then glued the bit of air tank back on I had to cut off during the chassis stretch. 
While the glue dried I started disassembling the cab. Which was an absolute pleasure to take to bits! Everything came off easy and nothing broke either. Marinated the cab for a few minutes in paint stripper then a good scrub with a wire brush, followed up by a warm soapy wash and scrub with old toothbrush.

Once dry test fit on the chassis to see what it looks like!

Im pretty pleased with that! 
The cab just needs the two rows of grill slats filling (just above the big radiator grill), and I’ll fill the two outer holes on the roof. These were just for marker lights but I won’t use them. Then I’ll pinch the cab roof orange beacon light from the donor Pegaso and drill a little hole to fit that.

These two Frod’s have been through the stripper too. An F100 and F150.

Theres something very therapeutic about stripping the paint off these and shining them up afterwards!

That's all looking great! I don't know how you get on with it so quickly...

[FakeConcern]

See if you can spot my silly mistake on this re paint Haha

 

[danthecapriman]

2 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

See if you can spot my silly mistake on this re paint Haha

 

Two of the same door!? Nice finish on it though.

[Richard_FM]

23 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Thanks. I'll probably never top the completion rate of 2020, but I am still plodding away with a few. Got a Celsior and Fiat 131 Abarth to finish, and I've just started on a couple of Datsun 240ZGs.

Good to hear!

[danthecapriman]

10 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

That's all looking great! I don't know how you get on with it so quickly...

I always think I’m slow! 
It’s frustrating at the moment with all my modelling stuff being packed away. Which unfortunately means I can only go so far with certain things. All my paints for brush painting are packed, chrome pens packed, air brush packed… most of my tools are too. I spent ages looking for a steel ruler the other day! Couldn’t find any of the 3 I’ve got so had to go buy another one! Drives you mad.

[Surface Rust]

6 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Took the head staggers and unboxed the Premiums Escort RS1800 from last week.

It's a corker.

Fairly weighty, too.

For such a small model, the level of detail's fairly impressive.

I tend to think of these as quite pricey items at £9, but then again a new Oxford Diecast 1/72 model costs something similar these days...

I'm quite enjoying all the slightly more workaday British/ European/ Japanese vehicles coming from Mattel at present - for so long, their output seemed to be focused on European exotics and American muscle cars, and I've only got a certain level of enthusiasm available for them.

Mk2 Escorts prepped for tarmac rallying are something of a rural Ulster institution - it's amazing how many oul lads on hill farms way up in the Sperrins have something squat and square under a tarp in the corner of a barn... "Aye, she's Cosworth BDA engined... had a wee knock in her on one of the night stages on the Circuit of Ireland back in, lessee, must be '94 or '95... but I'll get her going again!"

Growing up, there were two brothers down the road who had sundry knackered performance Mk2s rotting away in their front garden, along with a few Mantas and (more unexpectedly) a Delta HF Integrale.

So, in a way, this feels like a very local model - and kinda special because of it.

Special enough to evict the Group 2 P6 from its trailer?

Maybe.

Not convinced you'd see many service vans in those colours rolling round the Sperrins, but the Escort looks smart.

There's just something so right about a MK2 rally car.

[Datsuncog]

[Datsuncog]

Very bright moon this morning... initially made me think that the neighbours had left their outdoor lights on overnight.

A crisp 3°C, but no snow, ice or frost thankfully...

The main stall was busy by 7.30:

But I managed to slip into a gap...

[Datsuncog]

As well as the tinplate stuff left over from last week, there was some new stuff out on the stall:

Kinda mixed.

But there were new tat boxes. And they weren't half bad. Some smaller stuff...

And some bigger stuff.

As ever, our local friendly Nemesis was already having a good old hoke, with a fair few goodies set to the side.

Curses.

Small stuff involved many of the Lesneys and Huskys we know and love...

Quite a few had been on the receiving end of the Humbrols, though.

Majorette gooseneck camping trailer was quite nice, though.

Again, bit of a mixed bag in the bigger box...

A lot of repaints in here, and a wide range of eras. Noddy Car is by Morestone.

Matchbox from the fifties to the nineties, plus assorted modern bits.

Dinky Rover P4 looked ok; Lesney King Size Foden missing its tipper flap but otherwise not bad. Corgi Pug 505 cycling support car a bit worn, and lacking accessories.

Corgi DS saloon quite clean (there was a Safari in there also); Highway Maintenance Mazda B1800 had sadly suffered from hitting a lump of debris at speed.

Thunderbird was an odd one - labelled as a DCMT Roadmaster, so pre-dating the Lone Star branding.

Worn, but still eminently displayable.

Brace of Corgi Whizzwheels R-R Vigilants - paramedic and police variants.

Dinky Hudson Hornet not all that common, I don't think.

And this tired but still fairly magnificent Polistil Citroen BX in 1/24 scale...

As you may imagine, I was happily picking through the boxes and scooping potential purchases, when I thought to enquire what the tariffs were looking like this week.

Ten pounds on the stuff in the big box.

Five pounds on the small stuff.

And the 1/24 items?

£20.

Oh.

[Datsuncog]

So that was a bit of a gunk.

The maddening thing is that he's looking £2 for boxed MoYs, Lledos and EFE trucks in here...

But he wants £5 for the chipped, unboxed MoYs and Days Gone and the Humbrol'd EFEs in the smaller box.

I mean, what?

Really?

So, in a bit of a tizz, I went for a wander to Think About Things.

[Split_Pin]

I was about to say please can you nab that BX for me.....

Also the Kojak Regal.

But at £20 and £10 respectively it's a no from me.

Dreamers!

[Datsuncog]

There wasn't very much to be seen anywhere else. The Irish Tat stall seems to have slowed down the procurement of new items lately, so there was nowt there to tantalise or tempt.

The Charity Stall seemed to have sold the Corgi Supervan from last week, and the best they could offer was a chipped and trackless Joal digger and a Majorette Transit Mk3 minibus.

I quite fancied the Transit, but as ever, the stallholder was nowhere to be seen.

I stood around for a few minutes, impatiently, and when no further evidence of a proprietor appeared, hid it under a stray plush rabbit for retrieval later.

On wandering back to the stall, more items had appeared up top...

More boxes of Corgi and Lesney too.

But honestly, I can't be paying those sort of prices for these. I'm not quite seeing a tenner's worth in most of the items offered.

I'm not seeing £20 in a Polistil Jag XJ12 with missing lights and broken bumpers, either.

Apparently The Nemesis does, and in fairness that Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle does look quite clean and complete, so more power to his elbow.

Some boxed stuff had also appeared, but I wasn't quite feeling it.

I didn't even ask how much the boxed Quartermaster was - going by the rest of the wares, probably more than my house is worth.

One thing that did catch my eye was this Corgi Classics set...

While I've minimal interest in acquiring a Bedford OB coach or O Series Pantechnicon, especially in made-up liveries, it seems this set is a slightly unusual piece of Corgi corporate history, reflecting the Mattel takeover of 1991 and closure of the Fforestfach factory.

And it's signed (smudgily) by the then-head honcho of Corgi, Chris Guest.

Presumably this was only made available to Corgi Club members.

Maybe it's not that rare; I'm just not aware of having seen another.

Box is a bit knackered at the back, plus the cartoonist's pic looks a bit like a police manhunt photo.

Mildly diverting as a piece of diecast history, then - but not a set I've any great desire to own.

So, what to do then?

The Nemesis handed over a wad for his purchases and left into the brightening morning; while I just stared at the boxes of not-quite-worth-it tat and wrung my sad little hands.

Argh. Dilemmas. Decisions.

No. Not worth it, not today,

Maybe he'll have the box items back at a lower price point next week; that's happened before.

I went back over to the Charity Stall, hoping to still come away with something from this morning's tat safari, only to find some other rotter had already moved the rabbit and swiped the Transit.

What do we say, kids?

[Split_Pin]

I remember that Corgi set well from the collectors magazines at the time.

[flat4alfa]

11 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

What do we say, kids?

[flat4alfa]

Wait ....is that Budgie Tefal-Head Foden £10?

[Datsuncog]

Yes, but the trailer was missing its base, hitch and axles.

Also, The Nemesis bought it anyway...

[Datsuncog]

Even a late, post-coffee spin over to Alan's Emporium couldn't turn things around:

Meh.

I think it's a something of a busted flush today, kids.

Some decent stuff, but waaaay too spendy.

Ah well. Swings and roundabouts, hey?

Happy Friday, nevertheless!

[flat4alfa]

 

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

Yes, but the trailer was missing its base, hitch and axles.

Also, The Nemesis bought it anyway...

Boo... ah well

Never seen one of those, apparently why is because they are scarce.  In 1:76, produced 1961-64

Creating a base out of plasticard shouldn't be too much of a headache

The real thing.  Thompson Brothers produced these 

Notice the Foden badge just covered by Esso logo badge.  Two extended ones 'Python MkII' were used at London Airport.  Not sure why/when Pluto became Python

ESSO airport fleet also had AEC at Dublin.  Check out the pre-'Aer Lingus' branding Boeing 707

[quicksilver]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

 

 

@Datsuncog was this in the £5 or £10 box? If the former can you grab it for me please?

Nemesis got a bargain with that Budgie Foden. A battered trailer missing its tractor unit went for almost as much on ebay recently and the only one currently for sale is even worse and £35!

[danthecapriman]

How incredibly frustrating! But your right not to get suckered into overpaying, which it most definitely was.

Mr Nemesis must have spent some coin though!

[andy18s]

So this arrived a few days ago,missing it's mirrors but at half the normal price I couldn't say no.

And the Mrs is a Scooby fan so a win win for me....

[sierraman]

Does the Nemesis flog them on through EBay do you reckon or does he just collect?

[flat4alfa]

BP commissioned Thompson Brothers AEC Mammoth Majors as well

BP also commissioned SARO AEC Mammoth Majors.  This one is fondling a BEA DeHavilland Comet 4B

Budgie produced a model of the SARO

 

[bunglebus]

Boxed Quartermaster is cool but as you suspect, probably not a bargain