Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

58 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Time for some Polistil action. 

 

I would dearly love a Go Bug or a Kaputt Buggy, but they are seriously expensive. Even I draw the line at hundreds of pounds for a single car.

Love the MG series cars, there are still lots more for me to find, but some seem to pop up regularly like the 2CV and Fiat 127, but others seem to only be available in other countries 

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Time for some Polistil action. This 1977 Club 33 catalogue only has small scale (1/43 and 1/64) cars in it. For the big stuff I will have to scan the Hi-Fi side of the other catalogue that I obtained.

This one ran to 64 pages, the other one is twice the size, so if I do scan it I will only do the stuff that was not in this one.

 

 

Funny how they made such a hideous mess of the mk1 Escort in the larger scale, but then their effort of it in the smaller scale looks pretty decent.

Also, serie W - W1 the driver looks to be saluting the Fuhrer!😄

[bunglebus]

Making a bit of progress on the Brown Sugar today

Some kid has really done a number on the body with deep scratches to the roof and rear deck, I'm hoping a bit of filler primer will sort this. I do have a couple of other bodies I can use if I have to

Base looks good, went for the VW off-white as I think a really bright white looks too cold, I don't think the originals are 100% appliance white anyway

Glass came up well, there's a tiny scratch on the back window still

Wheels refurbed

Painted the exhausts/grille and engine, then started looking at pictures and realised the hood scoop is black on most of them, so off it came for some paint

Colour test. Online images show them in anything from a straight poo brown to rootbeer to virtually black, so I don't think my choice will be out of place. Base colour seems to make no difference whatsoever 

[155V6]

Paint stripper advice please

I bought this IXO Escort a few weeks ago

The plan was to strip all the rally livery off & make it into a loose replica of the Mk 1 I had in the late eighties.I bought some dry wipe markers as I heard they could remove tampos,but unfortunately most of the livery is made up of transfers.I tried soaking it in hot water as recommended somewhere else,this did soften them up but when I tried to gently scrape them off,paint started to come off too.

I going to have to strip it all off & repaint it now,but haven't done anything like this for many years,so not sure what would be best to use?

I'm not planning to do any more like this,so don't need to buy loads of anything,thanks for any advice.

[danthecapriman]

1 minute ago, 155V6 said:

Paint stripper advice please

I bought this IXO Escort a few weeks ago

The plan was to strip all the rally livery off & make it into a loose replica of the Mk 1 I had in the late eighties.I bought some dry wipe markers as I heard they could remove tampos,but unfortunately most of the livery is made up of transfers.I tried soaking it in hot water as recommended somewhere else,this did soften them up but when I tried to gently scrape them off,paint started to come off too.

I going to have to strip it all off & repaint it now,but haven't done anything like this for many years,so not sure what would be best to use?

I'm not planning to do any more like this,so don't need to buy loads of anything,thanks for any advice.

This is what I usually use. Goes straight through IXO etc paints.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156417974185?_skw=aerosol+paint+stripper&itmmeta=01JWS66AN1NMWGBSJ9YRTTCC0C&hash=item246b3cdfa9:g:JQAAAOSw6Ppmv1Z5&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1ciJBUXv--sT5pYx%2Fd6Ik%2Fm%2FDojt%2F4Qrv9yc6RBHjTIJT2f9IGwzbr6ozM2W92e2eKqBI8yu99A2k8MFDPSd84IlIHu1TpLTE1HVZFD8vOO48urhecFnPbo2LXycEeUZup2KANU6hHp8g2ggBwxK1NZ85xD3iPx3DjQGApL1PBotE2%2BdKwDaEuUVZhORS6zCWk92RO75Jh3CbEjNcmRu178kNWZusaym3lHpKj8e1pFI0Des94%2Fqs0EVUzAZpIcf%2B0%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR9aqmabmZQ

If you think you could save the original paint, sometimes those make up/nail varnish remover chemicals often work. Just don’t get it on clear plastic! 
Also gently buffing them with white spirit or cutting compound like T-Cut works too.

[bunglebus]

All mine just go in cheapo Wilkinsons (RIP) or B&Q own brand stripper, and sit there for a few days, works a treat

[FakeConcern]

If you are going to strip it as cheap as possible then caustic soda/drain cleaner (cosmic soda @eddyramrod!) is probably cheaper and also very effective.

[danthecapriman]

I did try using brake fluid ages back and just letting it soak. It didn’t really do much though. Even after a couple of days it was barely having any effect. 
Eventually it did strip most of it but it took an absolute age.

[danthecapriman]

Does anyone know who makes this?

1:43 LAZ-695 bus. 
All the writing is in Russian though and I’ve got no idea what any of it says! 
Im having a clear out of odd stuff for evilBay so a bit more info and possibly an idea of value would help.

[bunglebus]

[bunglebus]

Got a heads up that Smyths had a bucket of Hot Wheels on clearance, mostly it was Silverlines and monster trucks for near retail price, other than these two

Think the Stratos is spoken for but the Viper isn't. Going for sale elsewhere unless anyone wants it?

This however, is staying put

[bunglebus]

Mmm, brown

[sierraman]

46 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Mmm, brown

What are your tips for painting them, mine always look a bit shit and the paint literally falls off quite readily. I use aerosols?

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

What are your tips for painting them, mine always look a bit shit and the paint literally falls off quite readily. I use aerosols?

Most of mine are done with aerosols too, including that one. I think just time spent doing prep, and trying not to rush stuff. I also heat up the cans under the hot tap and the casting with a hairdryer, before each coat and to bake it on a bit. 

Now the paint's settling I can see the scratches in the roof again, I won't be able to do more until the weekend now so I'll see if it needs a careful sand and a second coat. Maybe.

Romping Rabbit had the ghosts of the old roof rack holes appear as I was sanding

It was pretty bad with casting lines all over and that horrible bubbling so many Matchbox castings have along the gutters. Did my best to sort it all out, it'll be a dark colour so hopefully not too visible 

[danthecapriman]

I’ve not had much trouble with paint peeling or flaking off really. A couple of my early efforts did but since putting etch primer on first it seems much better.

The biggest problem I’ve found though is using automotive spray paints. Some are really good but others are terrible for orange peel. A couple I’ve had to strip off and start over it’s been that bad.

[bunglebus]

Primer

And colour. Well funky Citroen shade I spotted out and about, so I ordered some

[RoadworkUK]

959 is gert lush! Cheers re. Stratos... ping me a note and I'll get some digital cash heading your way.

[bunglebus]

Found myself a Hot Wheels* Custom Volkswagen 

*not really, it's from our old friends at Marx

[Split_Pin]

Not really shite but I like BMW models.

I bought this 1/24 New Ray E93 Coupe in TK Maxx about 10 years ago but never really liked it because of the police livery and roof lamps.

Library picture because I forgot to take a before shot:

As it was silver underneath I thought it could be a nice model so I borrowed Mrs_Pin's acetone nail varnish remover and got scrubbing.

It's actually a really nice model for a cheap toy, with lots of separate parts and a very good interior.

There was quite a lot of blue to remove from the bonnet but I got there.

I filled in the middle parts of the grilles black to break up the silver. I'm definitely getting better at painting fiddly bits!

[ambassador84]

For anyone a bit bored of the usual Hot Wheels Matchbox HTI Teamsterz generic shite dominating the UK pegs B&M have got a decent alternative. 

MSZ have finally found a proper stockists for their excellent 1:64 line and at just £1.50 each they are a relative bargain.

[bunglebus]

I bought the Beetle and bus online a few months ago.

They're in BuM aren't they?

[ambassador84]

33 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I bought the Beetle and bus online a few months ago.

They're in BuM aren't they?

Most of these castings aren't brand new as such but probably the first time they've been made available in a big UK store. Yes B&M 😀

[bunglebus]

Beetle wheels are horrid but thanks to the base being screwed on, easily swapped

[bunglebus]

On 12/04/2025 at 13:34, bunglebus said:

Track Car Regal! No exhausts sadly

Remember this? Well, things got even more interesting after I found it.

I posted pictures of it on a Corgi Juniors subreddit, and someone commented how unusual it was to see two in a short space of time, as someone else had recently posted one they'd found under the deck of their house in New Zealand.

I found the post, and messaged the Redditor to ask if they'd consider selling it - and they did. We managed to agree a price, and then tried to work out how I was going to pay for it and get it back to the UK. I tried doing a bank transfer but for overseas transactions there's quite a steep fee.

This is where the hero of the story, @Jon stepped in. Despite not knowing me from Adam, he paid the seller direct and I reimbursed him via PayPal, and was kind enough to allow me to pass his details on the the buyer so the car could be posted to his home in NZ. 

From there, his aunt and uncle brought it to Scotland as they were flying over anyway, and posted it to me! I haven't even paid for the postage yet

To say this is above and beyond is a huge understatement, we're just strangers on the internet on opposite sides of the planet after all. I know he's not on here too much currently but if there's an Autoshite award, Jon gets my vote

Interesting to see this matches 100% the (few) pictures available online of the Track Car, with red wheels. My first one has the usual pizza wheels that late Regals often had fitted, maybe it's some sort of misbuild? Mind you knowing Corgi's habit of creating endless variations, it could have been deliberate too

[danthecapriman]

9 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Remember this? Well, things got even more interesting after I found it.

I posted pictures of it on a Corgi Juniors subreddit, and someone commented how unusual it was to see two in a short space of time, as someone else had recently posted one they'd found under the deck of their house in New Zealand.

I found the post, and messaged the Redditor to ask if they'd consider selling it - and they did. We managed to agree a price, and then tried to work out how I was going to pay for it and get it back to the UK. I tried doing a bank transfer but for overseas transactions there's quite a steep fee.

This is where the hero of the story, @Jon stepped in. Despite not knowing me from Adam, he paid the seller direct and I reimbursed him via PayPal, and was kind enough to allow me to pass his details on the the buyer so the car could be posted to his home in NZ. 

From there, his aunt and uncle brought it to Scotland as they were flying over anyway, and posted it to me! I haven't even paid for the postage yet

To say this is above and beyond is a huge understatement, we're just strangers on the internet on opposite sides of the planet after all. I know he's not on here too much currently but if there's an Autoshite award, Jon gets my vote

Interesting to see this matches 100% the (few) pictures available online of the Track Car, with red wheels. My first one has the usual pizza wheels that late Regals often had fitted, maybe it's some sort of misbuild? Mind you knowing Corgi's habit of creating endless variations, it could have been deliberate too

That’s awesome! What a cool story with it too. 
Fair play to @Jon too, what an absolute gent!

It’s been some time since I’ve seen one in that good a condition, with all the bits still on it. Pride of place in the collection?!

[bunglebus]

Managed to drop the Brown Sugar and chip it, and I could still see the scratch on the roof, so

And

I can still see the scratch on the roof. Still, the Rabbit is looking good

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Managed to drop the Brown Sugar and chip it, and I could still see the scratch on the roof, so

And

I can still see the scratch on the roof. Still, the Rabbit is looking good

That purple on the VW looks a bit like that purple they did the final Pontiac’s in with speed wheels.

Nice job on those btw.

[bunglebus]

It does! 

It's Citroen Karma Violet, spotted it while I was out and about so I ordered a touch up brush of it

[Split_Pin]

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Remember this? Well, things got even more interesting after I found it.

I posted pictures of it on a Corgi Juniors subreddit, and someone commented how unusual it was to see two in a short space of time, as someone else had recently posted one they'd found under the deck of their house in New Zealand.

I found the post, and messaged the Redditor to ask if they'd consider selling it - and they did. We managed to agree a price, and then tried to work out how I was going to pay for it and get it back to the UK. I tried doing a bank transfer but for overseas transactions there's quite a steep fee.

This is where the hero of the story, @Jon stepped in. Despite not knowing me from Adam, he paid the seller direct and I reimbursed him via PayPal, and was kind enough to allow me to pass his details on the the buyer so the car could be posted to his home in NZ. 

From there, his aunt and uncle brought it to Scotland as they were flying over anyway, and posted it to me! I haven't even paid for the postage yet

To say this is above and beyond is a huge understatement, we're just strangers on the internet on opposite sides of the planet after all. I know he's not on here too much currently but if there's an Autoshite award, Jon gets my vote

Interesting to see this matches 100% the (few) pictures available online of the Track Car, with red wheels. My first one has the usual pizza wheels that late Regals often had fitted, maybe it's some sort of misbuild? Mind you knowing Corgi's habit of creating endless variations, it could have been deliberate too

Superb work @Jon! Great backstory that it was found under someones decking in a country thats possibly the farthest away possible from the UK, and made it all the way to Essex!

I've got a fair few cars from NZ which he brought in a suitcase (among others for shiters up and down the UK!), no idea how that got through the scanners 😂 

[bunglebus]

I R confused