Shite in Miniature II

[sheffcortinacentre]

5 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Why can they not just produce all those models as stock road cars? The Supra would have been great but I find this version just sterile. 

Because there originally for American kids.

[flat4alfa]

On 25/03/2024 at 15:36, MiniMinorMk3 said:

627 HUE was the second production Mini built. In 1965 Donald Healey acquired it and had it converted into a roadster.

That’s a new one on me, never knew it it existed or the back story

I do recognise the door-fit though !

[flat4alfa]

6 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Why can they not just produce all those models as stock road cars? The Supra would have been great but I find this version just sterile. 

It’s not sterile, it’s literally winking at you 😉

[bunglebus]

Also got these from @Datsuncog via @andrew e

Ranchero looks especially good in that blue.

Plan this weekend is to sort more cars to sell, I'll try and get them on my sales thread later today and unwanted ones will be on eBay Sunday 

[eddyramrod]

Yesterday I was round the corner from the Sally Army shop, so I had to drop in...

...and spend a whole 20p!  The unopened bag of signs and cones just appealed; the trailer is excellent but probably missing something like a slurry tank.  I'll find a use for it.  Meanwhile, this morning there has been work going on.  Drilling...

...and stripping...

...which is where they are as I type (typing done indoors with coffee, biscuits and snuggled-up dog, the way it should be!).  And in between those two pics, painting happened.

Yes, that's the failed White Arrow van.  I'll do it plain this time.  I know I'll have more Transits to come.

 

[eddyramrod]

The paint on those newer models is proving particularly resistant to the Cosmic Soda.  I'll keep at it...

[flat4alfa]

On 26/03/2024 at 13:35, sierraman said:

Never knew they did a Dinky CF minibus? 

Zoom in and you can see the openings were hand-cut

It is a good idea though, something Dinky ought to have done

[junkyarddog]

1 hour ago, eddyramrod said:

Cosmic Soda

Groovy baby 🤩

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, eddyramrod said:

The paint on those newer models is proving particularly resistant to the Cosmic Soda.  I'll keep at it...

It doesn’t usually put up much resistance against the chemical strippers. Within a couple of minutes most of it just flakes or scrapes off.

[eddyramrod]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

Zoom in and you can see the openings were hand-cut

It is a good idea though, something Dinky ought to have done

Agreed.  I have a couple of these coming soon, so you might just see another one on this thread!

[Spottedlaurel]

Hopefully I'm not having to think about stripping paint today, just final detailing of the Fairlady ZG build:

I'm at home in the daylight, it's a Bank Holiday and I want a day off from work and 'stuff', so it's time to get on with foiling the window trims. With a new blade in the knife, Tamiya mini swab for burnishing and some patience......

Not a job I look forward to, but it is satisfying once done. Arguably it shouldn't be a full chrome trim, more of an insert within black rubber, but that wouldn't be easy on this kit. Tamiya have engineered their recent version of the same car so it can be done properly. I might paint black on the vertical part down to the glass, or it maybe just not bother - to the naked eye, and not when viewed through the lens, it looks OK.

I forgot abut painting the rear panel when I did the arch flares the other weekend, so I had more masking and spraying to do. With the lights fitted it's starting to come together. I'm hoping to complete it this weekend, then I can start Tamiya's version which I'm going to fit with a Nissan RB engine.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Some more old stuff unearthed from the spare room.

These were listed in the 1986 Verem catalogue so are almost 40 years old.

They are two car sets of 1960s cars. the first set has an Alfa Romeo 2600 Coupe and an Aston Martin DB5 Vantage.

Nice street scene card inside the box...

with the cars mounted on a red flocked piece of polystyrene.

Nice metallic paint finish on both models.

They both have opening doors with the usual 1960s poor fit.

Lets get them off the poly plinth.

Some may recognise that these are old Solido castings from the 1960s.

On the base it still has the original Solido ref number and the original cast date. The Alfa has the ref no. 125 and a date of 3/63

The Aston has the ref 130 and the date 1/1964.

The second set has a Peugeot 430 Cabriolet and a Renault Floride.

Again it has the street scene card.

Extra French Tricolore on base.

These have driver figures just like the original Solido versions.

Detailing and pint finish are up to 1960s standards, but like the original Solido versions there are no opening doors.

These do not have the original Solido Ref No. on the base.

Despite being almost 40 years old they are not that sort after. I guess they suffer from the reproduction stigma. If they were original Solidos in this condition I could flog them and probably pay my car tax and insurance for a year. Instead I will be lucky if they made enough to buy a new Vanguards model.

[sierraman]

Ex @danthecapriman Mercedes having some windscreen surgery. Made a new pillar from a hair grip. 

[FakeConcern]

Toy fair today and as usual picked up much too much!

First two I'd not seen before and never even heard of the Nacoral Inter Cars Saab 99, but I had to have it as soon as I saw it!

Seller wanted £15 for the Saab and £5 for the Escrote, got them both plus some smoll figures for Mrs Concern for £15. I'm intending to make the Solido into a black XR3i I had. I'd toyed with using a Corgi 1/36, but I'd rather 1/43 and not keen on Vanguards prices.

 

Seller wanted £5 each for the Dinky Viva and plastic Norev Renna 6, paid £9 with bug thrown in. The Norev is really lovely and the HA Viva is in great nick apart from missing bonnet. I have a childhood one that I'll pinch the bonnet from and paint it matt black!

Got this bundle for £12, some for @eddyramrod

Corgi Countryman has pretty good paint, just missing door, roof rack etc £4, Solido 126 was £3 and missing bumper on front and the Crescent ramp complete with lever was £5.

I've been looking for a Corgi Countryman in original colour as I had (have, but repainted) on as a kid so this will do until I see a really good one. I got a green service ramp missing the handle last toy fair and saw a red complet one for £15 so happy with this at the price

Dinky Rally Cortina Mk2 with a few other bits for Mrs Concern for £15

I still have my childhood one that I painted with original box and I wanted one in original colours and stickers

It looks much better IRL than in the pics

I'm kind of starting to replace some of my childhood toys that the young me mucked up like this Crapi I got a while back with the one I cut a hole in the roof

Interesting to see them with the Taunus I got last time

Picking my old Cortina and Capri out I found the childhood Saab 99 by Politoys so had to compare to the Nacoral one

they're both really nice, I'd forgotten how much I like the Polistil, but the Combi is really, really nice! Not sure what's going on with the double fuel filler though.

I also recently got a Bburago 900 too, but that's in the middle of a new paint job, talking of paint, the Polistil colour is lovely

Lastly as I was walking out I saw these 1/36 at 50p each. I used to have a Welly TT and liked it and the Corgi 924 still has most paint and the rear hatch/screen so picked them up. Let me know if you'd like either for 50p.

Lastly here's a pick of the lot together

[andrew e]

@FakeConcern you win Easter Friday!!! I’d have not walked past any of that either! SAAB is lovely 👌

[andrew e]

Well it’s no St George’s, but it’s Besacon brocante! The day started promising with this:

Lets have a closer look…  €1Tat box - check - overpriced part works (€15) - check - knackered majorettes - check ✔️ 

But hang on that looks unusual….. so yeah….. of course I buckled 😉

Bearing in mind the only note I had was a €10 we had a deal! The last thing I expected deepest France was a MIB Corgi!

 

[eddyramrod]

Stripping bath number 3 begins...

(The Volvo estate came clean after two and is now in the rainwater rinse.)

[bunglebus]

Majorette Motor Renault 5 in yellow!

[flat4alfa]

So you’re near the Swiss border

I do like a brocante.  If you are ever the other side in Brittany, the one at Guémené-sur-Scorff is well worth a visit

[flat4alfa]

[Spottedlaurel]

Just got my first Spot-On! Charity shop find, far from perfect, but sub-£10.....

[FakeConcern]

6 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Just got my first Spot-On! Charity shop find, far from perfect, but sub-£10.....

OK, so what is it?

[AndyW201]

Would anyone be interested in this? (Sold!)

This Vanguards Crapi got damaged when a shelf fell on it and bust the windscreen. (A front spotlight has also been lost, never to be seen again.)

I've fashioned a windscreen from a piece of clear plastic, not great but not terrible either. Only other fault is old sausage-fingers here also lost the front fixing screw when I had it apart, so another longer screw is in, but it holds the car together, and can't be seen when on display.

Still a nice model that displays well, or good for a custom job. Has a nice set of Rostyles, and it's the GT XLR special version, with rear screen louvre and boot spoiler.

Sold as unboxed, but would be packaged securely. I've now got a replacement cheap off eBay, which just needed the front bumper sticking back on, so this is surplus now.

£9 posted anyone? 

[danthecapriman]

20 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Would anyone be interested in this?

This Vanguards Crapi got damaged when a shelf fell on it and bust the windscreen. (A front spotlight has also been lost, never to be seen again.)

I've fashioned a windscreen from a piece of clear plastic, not great but not terrible either. Only other fault is old sausage-fingers here also lost the front fixing screw when I had it apart, so another longer screw is in, but it holds the car together, and can't be seen when on display.

Still a nice model that displays well, or good for a custom job. Has a nice set of Rostyles, and it's the GT XLR special version, with rear screen louvre and boot spoiler.

Sold as unboxed, but would be packaged securely. I've now got a replacement cheap off eBay, which just needed the front bumper sticking back on, so this is surplus now.

£9 posted anyone? 

Ooof! Yes please!!

[sierraman]

39 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Would anyone be interested in this?

This Vanguards Crapi got damaged when a shelf fell on it and bust the windscreen. (A front spotlight has also been lost, never to be seen again.)

I've fashioned a windscreen from a piece of clear plastic, not great but not terrible either. Only other fault is old sausage-fingers here also lost the front fixing screw when I had it apart, so another longer screw is in, but it holds the car together, and can't be seen when on display.

Still a nice model that displays well, or good for a custom job. Has a nice set of Rostyles, and it's the GT XLR special version, with rear screen louvre and boot spoiler.

Sold as unboxed, but would be packaged securely. I've now got a replacement cheap off eBay, which just needed the front bumper sticking back on, so this is surplus now.

£9 posted anyone? 

The Orange with lourves in the back window was actually a special edition. First one of many on a Capri

[Spottedlaurel]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

OK, so what is it?

Humber Super Snipe estate. Photos to come.

[flat4alfa]

Crikey I never see them under £20, always outbid

[Datsuncog]

Some nice finds here recently; just goes to show that the Belfast market scene isn't quite the be-all and end-all...

No market action yesterday either, I'm afraid, since I was waiting in for a sofa delivery which could have appeared any time from 8am onwards (typically, it didn't arrive until after lunch).

Still, have an afternoon picture of the Tree of Tat, anyway.

An early afternoon trip to Tesco to find some avocadoes tested my willpower to breaking point - as the local store seems to have finally replenished their Matchbox tub with the last 2023 mix:

So, I broke.

I rather suspect the 5-packs will come off their half-price Clubcard offer soon.

Later, an unsuccessful run over to a retail park to procure a lamp instead landed me right beside a branch of Smyths.

It did not escape my notice that their Matchbox mainlines are now reduced to £1, suggesting these are now considered an obsolete line.

There weren't many from this selection that I don't have already.

But there were some.

I also picked up this Hot Wheels Premiums Toyota Land Cruiser - it was the only one left, there was no price on the peg, and I noted that a shelf above full of Big Air Bel Airs from the same off-road collection were down to a fiver... so I took a chance.

Well, ultimately it scanned at £8.99 at the till, so no bargains for me there - but it's a cracking big weighty thing and I do rather like it regardless.

I also nabbed another of the F&F Decades Silverline range, this time the '70 Chevy Nova.

What's odd is that, unlike the El Camino and Grand Prix I picked up before, this has a metal base and is nearly indistinguishable from the much more expensive Premiums release.

There's not even any extra tampo detailing or anything.

The bases are identical, and the only difference seems to be the rubber 'Real Riders' tyres on the Premium, and the bumpers are chrome plated rather than just grey plastic.

But not really a lot of difference, given the semi-premium retails at £3.49 and the premium at £8.99.

I'm very pleased with these, and although I've unboxed them I haven't taken any pics yet.

A turn through B&M netted me these...

Two I nearly bought a few weeks ago, but didn't.

The Dodge Ram is very nicely detailed, and the Forester... well, I have a soft spot for Subarus.

Though not as soft as their sills, apparently.

And a turn past an independent toyshop made my jaw hit the floor when I clocked the mahoosive Matchbox Action Drivers Airport Adventure set hiding up near the ceiling, and on sale for just £35.

I'd been over in this store a few weeks ago, how the hell did I miss this?!

This would have been a cracking bargain, but for the fact I'd already pulled the trigger on this one a week or two previously (having had it on my Amazon list for like a year), and it showed up earlier this week.

I thought I'd got a good deal on this, seeing as how some eBay headcases are trying to wrangle £90 for them, but it was still a fair bit more than £35.

Nominally, this is a birthday gift for my niece in September. Or so I keep telling myself. I haven't opened it, but we'll see how my famous* iron-will holds, shall we?

It's quite a bit bigger than the smaller sets in the range.

I did a bit of a photoshoot with my other Action Drivers sets last week; I'll put them up here at some point.

The airport set comes with two vehicles and all.

I don't know why I'm so smitten with these kiddies' toys right now, but I am.

I daresay a psychologist would have some theories, though...

And if that's not enough, I headed out this morning on an IKEA collection run...

[flat4alfa]

I wish my kitchen surface looked like that

Wife would hate it though and would likely be in a rage

[Datsuncog]

Here, have a pic from the reverse view, for a change.

The IKEA click 'n' collect timeslot was given as 10am-2pm, so that gave me a bit of leeway for hoking.

A pit stop at Cityside Retail Park for coffee allowed leisurely perusal of a Home Bargains, Poundland and B&M, but there wasn't much to appeal from a diecast standpoint.

The neverending Asda Living toy aisle jumble sale was surprisingly tidy for a change, and although their Hot Wheels selection was still stuck in mid-2023, I noted they had a much heavier metal rummage bin on the shelf, alongside one of the usual flimsy cardboard efforts.

Fancy.

I also took a spin into the Action Cancer charity shop located in the shopping centre; the scene of the upsetting Lesney-yoinking incident a few weeks ago.

And, oh lookee...

Well, no bags of cars - but a lone Cortina MkIV with some hand-painted stripes.

So I did.

With still no 'your order is ready to collect' message received from everyone's favourite Swedish megastore, I thought I'd see if there was owt in Belfast.

I got parked beside Smithfield, and so, inevitably...

Yes, the model shop.

Yer man does keep quite a good selection of Matchbox and Hot Wheels mainlines, as well as harder to find lines like Moving Parts, Collectors Series and Superfast anniversary models.

I used to not really bother my arse looking because his recent mainlines were generally £2 whenever Tesco and the like were doing them at £1 - but they're still out at £2, interestingly, making them cheaper than many retailers now.

He had quite a few desirable releases too, like the MB Volvo 240 saloon in blue and the MK1 VW Golf in green, and the HW Proton Saga and slammed VW T2 transporter.

Also, the usual loose stuff in a bewildering and unpredictable range of pricing options.

Yes, I put my hand in my pocket, finally.

And then left, while the experience was still relatively positive.

Since I was near to The Entertainer, it seemed silly not to check...

Dammit, they've got the Matchbox back on offer.

And they had some that I'd just paid full whack on.

Oh well.

Ten packs had some nice colour variations, like the metallic black MGB, but I really mustn't.

No Hitch n Haul, Working Rigs or Convoys to be seen, sadly, and just the same Moving Parts as before.

Ah well.

Since I was apparently now doing the rounds, I scuttled over to B&M - but they'd nothing to interest me today, ditto Poundland.

Cash Converters seemed to be rejigging their store, and with no visible diecast downstairs, I went upstairs...

 

[TBC - getting a lot of error messages here so dunno if it's the site or Ikea's WiFi acting up]