Shite in Miniature II

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, AndyW201 said:

Resprays are out of my skillset though.

I respectfully disagree with you there.👍

Those Cortina’s you’ve customised look fantastic so the next step is to try a full repaint. As @bunglebus said, just pick a cheap vehicle to try things out on. If you bugger it up just strip it and have another go. 
Last year or whenever it was when I started I just used some old Corgi Buick Regal’s (the bigger version) to test on. A few bigger Matchbox Superkings and Dinky cars followed. It’s just building confidence. 
I kid you not, the biggest hurdle to doing it is getting going on the first one or two. Once you’ve pulled one to bits and messed around with it the fear disappears and it’s easy!

I could probably find you something to try it out on here for free if you want? 
But you definitely can do it.

[eddyramrod]

@AndyW201 I have to agree with Dan there.  All you really need is practice.

Pick up a couple of older cars at your local boot sale or toy fair; don't pay much for them. 

Doesn't matter how much paint they have left, or if someone's already had a go with the Humbrol.  Doesn't even matter if they're complete, if it's just for practice.  Something 60s or 70s will be ideal, preferably Corgi or Dinky.  They'll be held together with a rivet or two, which can be drilled from underneath. 

Whatever you remove, save in a clean, used icecream tub.

You want another such tub to put the body in, while you cover it in boiling water. 

Add a capful of Caustic Soda (tenner a bottle in B&Q) and let it stew for a couple of minutes.  You should probably be wearing disposable gloves at this stage because it's nasty stuff on your skin.  I've mentioned Corgi and Dinky above because the paint comes off with relative ease, good for a beginner.  Matchbox King Size, and anything newer like Vanguards or IXO or Atlas Editions, tend to have rather better paint that's tougher to strip.  When the liquid looks like it's taken on a good mix of colour, use pliers or tweezers to bring one of the shells out.  You may well find you need to give it a rub with an old toothbrush to get whatever paint remains; if that doesn't work try a small wire-brush, and if that doesn't, then put it back in.

Once you've got all the old paint off, dump the shell in a bucket of water overnight to get the Caustic off it.  The following day, drain the water out and put all the shells somewhere they'll be safe for the rest of the day, to dry.

If you're just doing a straight repaint, without any modification or repair work, you can now spray them with Etch Primer.  Aerosols from Halfords or any other suitable supplier will do.

And 24 hours later it's time to choose a colour!  Start with a single colour, don't go masking up for two-tones and such until you've done a few.

When the colour coat has dried you can do whatever detail painting you want to do by hand, probably with a very small brush, then you can reassemble the car/s.  Some people drill and tap the rivet posts and use tiny screws to fasten the parts together; you can also buy reproduction rivet heads.  I don't worry about stuff like that, I just use glue.  UHU, Gorilla, whatever you like really.

And then you end up with something like this...

The blue Ford Thunderbird actually comes apart, the roof is an individual piece, so going two-tone is somewhat easier.

There you go Andy, step by step.  You CAN do this.  Good luck!

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

It seems the lever pulls forward a latch to release some fluid to the ‘wick’

It may well do, but it also stops you being able to press the hood down in one position. The lack of hairs on my hand after the first attempt at getting it working are evidence of how exciting it was!

[Split_Pin]

Aye another vote for having a go at a respray, as above. I can go years not doing any and then I can end up knocking out 4 or 5! Small cars are so much easier than big panels on real cars. Just make sure the surfaces are well prepared and get light but even coats each time. 

[RoadworkUK]

14 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Good to find the yellow Autozam.

 

Yep, the Autozam broke my cold-turkey spell on 1:64s; a really nicely captured little thing.

Fortunately, the only purveyor of miniature tat that I'm near to anything close to regularly is the Twickenham branch of Poundland, and the fact that it's generally very poorly stocked with Hotwheels or Matchbox does a good job keeping me starved. 

In other news, though, a chance stop at a random convenience shop near Larnaca netted this:

It's from that Cars of Europe 1:43  partwork series that we're denied in the UK, sold with a flimsy magazine for nine euroquid.

Quite a nice little model; I even quite like how one of the headlights is ever-so-slightly squint, as if a DIY repair has been carried out poorly.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Just had a bit of auction success this morning. 

A mix of Corgis and Dinkys

Best lot has some Spot-On models

More Corgi and Dinky

I wanted the Mini and the Sweeper.

Lots of missing bonnets, but £12, £15 with commission, it's difficult to turn down.

Another tray of rubble for £12

And a final tray of rubble for another £12.

 

More on this once I have collected my winnings.

[Zie]

Thanks @AndyW201 for the heads up. 

Found these in B&M. 

[ambassador84]

As if HTI and their dreadful generics haven't dominated the UK budget diecast market already you can now pretend you are delivering them too thanks to these cheapo articulated trucks now appearing at Homo Bargains. 😉

At least they are based on the real life DAF XF95 Space Cab.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Auction wins collected, no the cleaning and sorting begins.

 

[Zie]

A job I've not been looking forward to is sorting my neglected cabinets out. I do hate dusting. Unsurprisingly I found more cars I had stashed. 😆

[cms206]

Popped into the local antique emporium today and did a few buys... 

 

D-series is complete but missing the steering wheel - paid a quid.

Dinky TK, complete bar the hook and rope... quid again.

No tractor units for these, but the roffle win Scammell is now under the tilt trailer and a Kelloggs Bedford TM unit'll be under the transporter when I find the spare one.

Paid a fiver on this Solido 1308GT.

 

A quid each on these six...

 

But the one that really did surprise me, again for one whole pound...

Bit scabby, but a Spot On 1100 isn't to be sniffed at.

[HMC]

A Student of mine, from Iran, was suprised i had a bit of knowledge about the Paykan.

When they last visited Iran they bought me a little present from their Local Iranian toy shop…..

[Split_Pin]

That's ace!

[MiniMinorMk3]

As always Minis take priority when I get load of auction rubble.

There were five altogether, four Dinky and one Corgi.

Well worm Morris Mini traveller by Dinky. Needs a new set of tyres and a good scrub with a toothbrush.

Next we have another Morris Mini Traveller. This one has had copious amounts of red enamel applied to it.

Looks like this one was white originally, and it needs tyres.

Dinky AA van has lost its doors. Glass, seats and wheels are good, so it's a spare parts van.

As is the Police Mini with its missing door.

Corgi Mini is later metallic red version that has been treated to some thick enamel on the top surfaces. This will go on the shelf as is.

 

Next I will be taking a closer look at all the Spot Ons that I won. I still can not believe that I got these, with thirteen other bits, for a little over £40.

 

[danthecapriman]

@cms206 very nice haul there👍

@MiniMinorMk3 likewise! Some good stuff in those crates. That Spot-On Cresta is a particularly nice one to have.

The first white mini though,   
I wonder what the results would be if you took a scraping of the ‘grime’ on these old toys and sent it for scientific analysis!?   
99% fecal matter!😆🤮

It always always seems to be suspiciously brown too.

[MiniMinorMk3]

5 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

 

The first white mini though,   
I wonder what the results would be if you took a scraping of the ‘grime’ on these old toys and sent it for scientific analysis!?   
99% fecal matter!😆🤮

It always always seems to be suspiciously brown too.

Knowing what I had on my sticky fingers when young it's probably a mix of Marmite and Bazooka Joe bubble gum.

[eddyramrod]

It all comes off in the Cosmic Soda bath   Top buying there gentlemen!

[bunglebus]

3 hours ago, cms206 said:

Solido 1308GT.

That would be interesting to compare to my Mebetoys 

 

[bunglebus]

The internet is a dangerous place for a young* man with an eBay account 

Got a few older Majorettes with opening bits and number plates, for those making note of them

Wish they didn't have that stupid dog/horse/sea lion poking its head out of the side window though. I mean why that window, it doesn't open! Are we supposed to believe the owner popped the glass out so Mutley could enjoy the breeze?

Anyway. Early Beetle before they cast the front lid shut

Registration 

Simca is pretty cool

Sadly no junk in this trunk

Another Mira Lamborghini, the normal type this time

This is the oddball though, I've got various different Husky/Corgi Studebaker Wagonaires, but I've never seen a green one before

It's the Whizzwheels cameraman version with the big strut things down the tailgate

[Split_Pin]

The Majorette Simca is one of my absolute favourites,  I think I've 3 of them, including a green one. I've never held onto any of the 127s I had because of that dog thing. They should have put it in the front seat and had an opening bonnet instead. The Fiat's clamshell arrangement would have looked pretty cool in miniature.

[flat4alfa]

Crikey- that Spot On haul includes one of these 

[eddyramrod]

It's taken me a few days but I finally remembered I haven't shown you these...

Charity shop, 50p each.  The kind lady was only going to charge me for four items, lumping the two blue ones together, but I happily paid her for five.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with them but I'm sure I'll find uses for most eventually.

[bunglebus]

6 hours ago, cms206 said:

whole pound...

52 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Crikey- that Spot On haul includes one of these 

There's been a spate of cheap Spot-On 1100s lately, I picked one up a few weeks ago for next to nothing 

 

[Lord Sterling]

When I popped down to see and old friend:

The two boxes in the back have some of my old model cars that I packed away years ago. 

I decided to retrieve some and bring them home. Eventually I'll be bringing all of them home. That garage has been rather damp but a big complaint to the council in a dispute over payments (including a complaint to one of their rather rude employees) saw the garage actually properly repaired. Unfortunately as a result of the damp, some of the car boxes got damaged and the interior of the Micra got very mouldy.

Due to the day seeing my Vectra full of sofa and my cousin in the passenger-seat, I decided to carry only what I could in the rear floor well:

You can the damage to the Sierra Cosworth box, it sat at the bottom of the wooden crate and absorbed some of the moisture. 😟 the model however is still in tip-top condition.

Just added pics of the white Jag. Also retrieved from box. I knew I had something like this but didn't remember. The box has survived the worst. 

Jag is now with the rest of my Jag collection. 

[sierraman]

11 hours ago, bunglebus said:

The internet is a dangerous place for a young* man with an eBay account 

Got a few older Majorettes with opening bits and number plates, for those making note of them

Wish they didn't have that stupid dog/horse/sea lion poking its head out of the side window though. I mean why that window, it doesn't open! Are we supposed to believe the owner popped the glass out so Mutley could enjoy the breeze?

Anyway. Early Beetle before they cast the front lid shut

Registration 

Simca is pretty cool

Sadly no junk in this trunk

Another Mira Lamborghini, the normal type this time

This is the oddball though, I've got various different Husky/Corgi Studebaker Wagonaires, but I've never seen a green one before

It's the Whizzwheels cameraman version with the big strut things down the tailgate

It being a 1970’s Fiat the glass probably fell out when the dog brushed its nose on it. 🤣

[MiniMinorMk3]

14 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

It all comes off in the Cosmic Soda bath   Top buying there gentlemen!

Toothbrush and a bit of Fairy Liquid soon sorted the Marmite and bubble Gum mix.

 

 

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

I spent about an hour yesterday evening cleaning up this  nice example of over painting. 

It is one of those with lighting, but the battery holder is missing.

Because the paint looked like old Humbrol (could be Airfix) gold I had a go with some enamel thinners. This was after about 10 minutes.

The thinner I used does not attack the glass, so I was able to remover the gold from the windows as well.

There are still a few bits that need attention but it is a lot better than the mess I started with.

George can now see out of the window when he goes to pick up Edna from the Bingo later.

Unfortunately the GB sticker was lost during the clean, and the silver trim was compromised by the thinner

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

Spot-Ons The Ugly

Two topless Crestas and a Midget impersonating a  boat.

With some spares from evreyones' favourite parts supplier, the Midget could be restored.

Bentley and Morris Cowley.

Bentley is missing wheels and Morris is, well, a Morris.

A40, Goggomobile and Jag.

Jag is only a body and glass.

Looks like someone has gone through the screen on the A40. The casting is good so it just needs a glass.

Goggomobile has bent base but is saveable.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Spot-Ons The Bad

PA Cresta and Jensen.

Cresta needs parts and a slight repair to a cracked a-pillar.

Jensen just needs tyres and possible a repaint.

Land Rover and Taxi.

Tyres have reacted on Land Rover, this one is the worst.

Also roof has been heavily over painted.

Taxi is cover in a green wash of some sort. I will experiment later with my thinners.

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

Spot-Ons The Good.

Bentley and Rolls.

The metallic paint has not lasted well on the Bentley

It has lasted better on the Rolls, but the Spirit of Ecstasy has gone.

These did have the nearly the same colours. These are going to be left as is because I think they are too good to mess with.

I'm thinking the previous owner was inspired by the Bentley and Rolls when they repainted the Anglia.

It's not a bad finish for a brush paint.

Rear bumper has lost its corners.

If the roof had not been painted so heavily I might have been tempted to remove the green. This is a candidate for making into my dads old Anglia, the first car I remember travelling in.

Best of the bunch is this pair of BMC ADO16 cars.

Morris has lost its front number plate.

The bonnet does not stay up on its own.

Rear bumper is good.

I like the giffer style rear window defogger in the rear window.

The rear window defogger continues the theme on the front screen that looks like the car is out on a rainy day.

The bonnet stays up on the MG 1100.

I thought for a minute did I have some kind of rare all red version.

No I do not. On closer inspection some has done a good job of painting the lower parts and getting a good match.

Still looks good though.