Shite in Miniature II

[danthecapriman]

14 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

No boot fair today because of rain, but toy fair was good...

My fave is the less than perfect Gama Astra GTE

Opening boot and doors

Also pleased with this Crapi Mk2 missing the front bumper. Never heard of Luso

I thought it was a repaint, but a quick Google suggests it's not

Solido Clio Williams

Nice as well

Another I'd not heard of MC Toys BX

Nothing opens, boo!

Dinky Beetle with opening everything

Missing seat back and strange marks on paint, but not bad

Politoys Ferrari

Not my favourite subject, but opening everything

Three crappy, but cheap Spot Ons

and a few scrappers

Wrecked Lincoln has a couple of parts I wanted

 

Nice haul!

Ive never seen or heard of Luso before. Crapi looks cool though. 
Your Spot-On P5 is nice too, I’ve got one here to restore now I’ve found the grill & bumpers I got from Mr Flowers for it. I must’ve packed them away going on two years ago and only just found them! 
Yours looks good enough to put the new bumpers on and leave the paint as it is though?

[FakeConcern]

1 minute ago, danthecapriman said:

Nice haul!

Ive never seen or heard of Luso before. Crapi looks cool though. 
Your Spot-On P5 is nice too, I’ve got one here to restore now I’ve found the grill & bumpers I got from Mr Flowers for it. I must’ve packed them away going on two years ago and only just found them! 
Yours looks good enough to put the new bumpers on and leave the paint as it is though?

I have a very nice P5 already, but this was cheap and not nice. It looks ok in the pics, but actually badly hand painted. As the grill and lamps are still there I may try making bumpers for it or make it into something like this P5B rally car

I meant to say @danthecapriman that Matchbox bus is great! You must have endless patience for all that masking...

[Split_Pin]

Aye that MB Regent is a belter, well done Dan!

[danthecapriman]

Cheers chaps!👍

It’s weird really. Patience is definitely not one of my strong points normally! It honestly doesn’t take much for me to lose my temper with things.😄

But doing models is somehow different. I just don’t lose my cool at all really. Most odd.

[eddyramrod]

That P5B rally car is from my old neck of the woods!  NFY is a Southport combination, late 1969 IIRC.

[eddyramrod]

2 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Cheers chaps!👍

It’s weird really. Patience is definitely not one of my strong points normally! It honestly doesn’t take much for me to lose my temper with things.😄

But doing models is somehow different. I just don’t lose my cool at all really. Most odd.

The models are therapeutic.  Seriously, that's what it is.

[danthecapriman]

Just now, eddyramrod said:

The models are therapeutic.  Seriously, that's what it is.

It must be I think. It’s weird how you can just sit down and get into something and totally relax. Then before you know it a few hours have gone by. Pretty much the opposite of what most of life is like nowadays.

[MiniMinorMk3]

22 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Great find. I would be sending it straight to Vectis if I had found it.

[MiniMinorMk3]

22 hours ago, bunglebus said:

 

Big Corgi helicopter will be sold on, all the buys today were 50p bar one so I should be able to make a few quid back here and there

She liked the look of the Mog van that someone else has had a go at. One for the project pile

 

 

22 hours ago, junkyarddog said:

Moonraker 007!!

 

21 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Is it supposed to do something? There are cast lugs under the main body that looks like they should lock into something else 

It fires rockets.

Same casting as the Spy Who Loved Me chopper

[MiniMinorMk3]

15 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

Also pleased with this Crapi Mk2 missing the front bumper. Never heard of Luso

 

 

I've had a few Luso Toys over the years. They were made by Metosul in Portugal.

Here's a Capri that is on Ebay

Luso Toys 1/43 Scale M10A - Ford Capri Mk2 3.0 #3 Racing Faberge - Blue | eBay UK

The Capri is one I have not seen before.

Here's the ones I have had come and go.

Unpainted Mercedes SL

Jagerbomb BMW 320 Group 5

Warsteiner BMW 320.

I stuck the decals on this one.

Abarth 131

Porsche 935

Best of the bunch is the Citroen GS Traffic Police vehicle.

 

They are quite rare but not very highly prized. I always had trouble shifting them.

[eddyramrod]

I think I'd rather like one of those little Citroens!  As always though, it would depend on price, and you know me, I like a battered example to restore.

Like these...

 

These are my prizes from the boot sale I've been frequenting this weekend.  We were late-ish yesterday so a good few sellers had gone and the rest were packing up.  All I scored was the Omega.  So this morning we got there somewhat earlier and found a better mix.  I'm pleased with these.

Now... one of my many "group" projects in the system has been a couple of dedicated vehicles one might have found at a banger track in the early 80s.  

The old Corgi Cadillac ambulance makes a lovely parade car, so the drivers can soak up the adulation from the crowd...

And because my imaginary track is a relatively slick operation, their old Chevy C30 wrecker is painted in the same colours!

Cab and chassis from the 007 partwork; wrecker body and crane from a Matchbox Battle Kings truck.  Keep watching, because eventually you'll see the rest of that truck!

So now I really need to get some banger cars made up, because I have a couple of transporters for them already, and at least one more in the pipeline.  Anyone got a couple of these lying around?

The Days Gone 1939 Chevrolet Master sedan.  Perfect old-time banger!

[danthecapriman]

18 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

I think I'd rather like one of those little Citroens!  As always though, it would depend on price, and you know me, I like a battered example to restore.

Like these...

 

These are my prizes from the boot sale I've been frequenting this weekend.  We were late-ish yesterday so a good few sellers had gone and the rest were packing up.  All I scored was the Omega.  So this morning we got there somewhat earlier and found a better mix.  I'm pleased with these.

Now... one of my many "group" projects in the system has been a couple of dedicated vehicles one might have found at a banger track in the early 80s.  

The old Corgi Cadillac ambulance makes a lovely parade car, so the drivers can soak up the adulation from the crowd...

And because my imaginary track is a relatively slick operation, their old Chevy C30 wrecker is painted in the same colours!

Cab and chassis from the 007 partwork; wrecker body and crane from a Matchbox Battle Kings truck.  Keep watching, because eventually you'll see the rest of that truck!

So now I really need to get some banger cars made up, because I have a couple of transporters for them already, and at least one more in the pipeline.  Anyone got a couple of these lying around?

The Days Gone 1939 Chevrolet Master sedan.  Perfect old-time banger!

Nice job on those Eddy. That C30 wrecker really works well. 
It kind of reminds me of that episode of The Sweeney where the villains use that old American converted wrecker to stop a bank van or something. I can’t even remember what the wrecker was now but it was red. That sort of era of American vehicles in this country anyway!

[eddyramrod]

This one... I remember it too   It was a 1958 Ford Fairlane, roughly converted as was the custom in the 70s.  This car was absolutely one of my influences in building the banger wagons.  The half-assed rough-and-ready vibe appeals, but I couldn't resist lifting the look of mine a little, hence the matching colours.  Anyway, thank you for the kind words!

[danthecapriman]

6 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

This one... I remember it too   It was a 1958 Ford Fairlane, roughly converted as was the custom in the 70s.  This car was absolutely one of my influences in building the banger wagons.  The half-assed rough-and-ready vibe appeals, but I couldn't resist lifting the look of mine a little, hence the matching colours.  Anyway, thank you for the kind words!

That’s the one! 
It was one of the vehicles on the show that jumped out at me the first time I saw it as a kid. Big old slightly rough yank tank, driving around in London!

I always wondered what the story was with that car/truck. How did it end up here, who had it originally, when/why was it converted to a tow truck etc. 

[eddyramrod]

The comments on IMCDB suggest that it might have been an actual banger track wrecker!  Back in the day these things were common enough, especially around cities.  And a 20 year old American car wasn't treated with the reverence they get now.  It was big, powerful, tough and cheap.

Maybe I should build another using a Corgi poodle van!

https://www.toyhunteruk.co.uk/product/vintage-corgi-toys-no-511-chipperfields-performing-poodles-truck/

It's not like that's a rare model, they're everywhere.

[155V6]

I discovered something today.

50 years or so ago,I had a Stock Car Smashups set,the one with the American pickup & the VW Beetle.My mate had the one with the 57 Chevy Nomad & the Ford saloon.

It turns out that there was also a set with a Renault 4 & a Citroen 2CV,I'd never even heard of it before

[morrisoxide]

Miniature tat happenings.

The windows are shot in this, so I wasn't too fussed about this one.

Drilled the post right through the bonnet! Bar steward. 

Also you might be able to see both A pillars have snapped, old repair by the looks of it.

I could smell humbrol paint as I scraped the silver and green paint off.

Poundland primer isn't the best but doesn't seem to react.

Fiat Grigio steel 647 paint that should be the same colour as my Panda but isn't.

Drying on the radiator that isn't on.

[Spottedlaurel]

Went 1:1 car shopping today. More small ones were purchased too:

Smyths well-stocked with Wagons and Silhouettes series, I just got the Skyline there. Lancia and Alfa from Asda, and the rest from The Entertainer. I know I have a Land Cruiser already on its way but I don't mind a duplicate of that one.

[danthecapriman]

Anyone have any good ideas about the best way to fix this?

It’s the glazing unit out of that big Triang Jumbo truck I’m restoring. It’s not terrible really, but has a bit of scratches and that crack. You can’t get replacements though. 
That old glue stuff comes off fairly easily, but what is best to do about the rest? &nbsp
Some people I’ve heard dip them into clear varnish??? 
Only other thing I can do is make something to replace it, I’d just rather not have to!

[FakeConcern]

If you can get the glue off, then I think a wet sand and polish would bring it up well. It's never going to look new, but the odd crack doesn't look terrible IMO.

[junkyarddog]

Would something like this be good for fixing cracked glazing?

[Split_Pin]

I used Glue n Glaze to fix this:

It wasn't invisible but as there is a low level of light passing through it, plus the interior is dark grey, it masked the crack further. It may make the crack on the box appear a little less prominent?

[FakeConcern]

On 05/02/2025 at 09:58, danthecapriman said:

Yesterday’s candidates for a good scrub have dried now.

Ecurie Ecosse came up well. 
Glazing on this is very near pristine. Just a bit of paint wear, but nothing that lets it down enough to warrant a restoration imho. I might put a couple of new tyres on the front as the old ones look like a blow out waiting to happen!

 
Triang FFK is… well, a bit more patinated! 
Still a great candidate for a resto, and it needs it. Now the wet has dried on the glazing you can see it is actually a bit more worn than I thought and the crack has shown up more now unfortunately.

No idea about what scale it is, but here’s a comparison with the Corgi. It’s a big old thing!

Dan mentioning the large Triang lorries reminded me that when he posted originally I wanted to find a pic of me with one I had as a kid, but I couldn't find it then. The other day I stumbled across it and here it is.

It had a red cab and turquoise box van with opening doors

Like this one

On 05/02/2025 at 16:27, 155V6 said:

Some nice stuff there,thanks for the link.I picked up this earlier truck at the weekend,as Miss_155 likes ice cream vans

I also had a milk lorry that was white and blue I thought I took a pic of one in a junk shop (priced at £65 or similar), but can't find it. Like this one

A bit off topic, but I have mentioned before that all the Spot On toys I had came from my uncles that ran a shop, well I believe these Triang lorries did too. The shop was originally my Grandad's who died when I was a baby so never met him. Anyway I was chatting to a cousin about the shop and she produced a few pencils and gave me one

Athold Stone was my Grandad's name

Shop was in Lambeth Walk

And it sold...

Not sure what the first word is, but toys are in there.

Sorry for the nostalgia trip!

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

Dan mentioning the large Triang lorries reminded me that when he posted originally I wanted to find a pic of me with one I had as a kid, but I couldn't find it then. The other day I stumbled across it and here it is.

It had a red cab and turquoise box van with opening doors

Like this one

I also had a milk lorry that was white and blue I thought I took a pic of one in a junk shop (priced at £65 or similar), but can't find it. Like this one

A bit off topic, but I have mentioned before that all the Spot On toys I had came from my uncles that ran a shop, well I believe these Triang lorries did too. The shop was originally my Grandad's who died when I was a baby so never met him. Anyway I was chatting to a cousin about the shop and she produced a few pencils and gave me one

Athold Stone was my Grandad's name

Shop was in Lambeth Walk

And it sold...

Not sure what the first word is, but toys are in there.

Sorry for the nostalgia trip!

I think those ones you had actually pre-date that diecast Jumbo truck I’ve got. The Jumbo diecast ones came mid/late 60’s I think. There doesn’t seem to be a very big range of them either. It’s a few different designs available in a few colours but that’s it.  
Interesting about your grandfather’s shop too. Have you looked at the address on street view? 

[danthecapriman]

Cheers for the suggestions about sorting the glazing out on that Triang truck everyone👍

Theres no cab interior on these trucks and I’ll be trying to restore it staying as close as damn it to the original toy style rather upgrading it. So it’ll stay interior-less. 
That means there’s nothing to see inside so crystal clear glazing isn’t necessary. So, I’ll try a good polish up with super fine wet & dry then some plastic headlight polish to finish. 
I’ll try fixing the crack with glue n glaze since I have some, if not I’ll see about those repair kits.

Over the last few days I’ve had that truck on the bench. It actually followed the AEC bus through the paint booth!

I’ve done it in a colour scheme resembling how some of the real ones were with the gloss black lower panels. The baby blue was some odd leftover enamel in a little can which worked out as literally just enough. 
I’ll use enamel again (shiny and hard wearing) to pick out the badge, door handles etc but that’s it should about do in that respect. It’s not a model and I don’t want to overdo it.

The rear bed needs a repair to the back end then a fine sand to get rid of all the wear and scratches in the plastic. Depending how it comes out I might leave it in its self coloured brown finish as it was when new, or if it looks a bit rough I’ll spray it. 
I have the grill and headlights for it too, which is incredible really as they are not a tight fit at all so how they haven’t fallen out and gone missing I don’t know. I might try to make a mould for them too to make reproduction ones from. You never know.

It’s a lovely casting though and one that’s pretty easy to work on being pretty basic. 

[bunglebus]

50 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

So, I’ll try a good polish up with super fine wet & dry then some plastic headlight polish to finish

Should be effective, self shining floor polish afterwards if it needs it. The plastic looks quite thick which will help. If I can save the windows in this, anything's possible 

 

[Tenmil Socket]

Spotted this earlier 

 

[sierraman]

Big Blue? Looks familiar but not in that colour?

[bunglebus]

39 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Big Blue? Looks familiar but not in that colour?

Oh yes. USA only I think

Beetle Streaker on the base

Along with Hot Chocolate 

Puffy stickers were hot shit when I was a kid

[danthecapriman]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Should be effective, self shining floor polish afterwards if it needs it. The plastic looks quite thick which will help. If I can save the windows in this, anything's possible 

 

Wow, that came out really well! 
The plastic is pretty chunky stuff so there shouldn’t be any issues with it in that respect. 
 

What floor polish do you use?