Shite in Miniature II

[warch]

On 11/09/2025 at 18:25, Split_Pin said:

Ive been getting spammed by Temu with adverts for 'Massdi Diecast' 1:64 Land Cruisers. They look pretty detailed and I think they've got suspension. I went to see if AliExpress had any as Im not ready for Temu uet 😂. They did. £12.25 posted seems steep for a 1:64 but I'm hoping its decent....

I've seen these (GCD), 1;64 Hilux with working steering. Cost HFM but neat models all the same.

[Split_Pin]

Ive seen those too on AliExpress,  I think about £15 posted.

[warch]

11 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Ive seen those too on AliExpress,  I think about £15 posted.

Bargain. I do like Aliexpress, it looks so shady, but I've yet to actually have a bad experience buying off there.

[Datsuncog]

Called past the market again this morning, but you folks really haven't been missing anything at all.

Millar's general tat stall was absent this week, but then he'd nothing much to get excited about last week - a handful of '90s Corgi Classics at £pricey enough was the extent of it.

Colin's stall had nothing new either - I did well with the Matchbox Collector models last week, but there was nothing else today to tickle my fancy.

Some of the antiquey stalls are now offering great* deals like these:

Ye gods.

I overheard Paddy of the Antiques Shitshow stall chatting with two PSNI officers doing the rounds, expansively gesturing over his kingdom of old 35mm cameras, boxes of beermats and broken tools:

"I sell shite, y'know? This is all just shite for tourists."

You don't say.

Alan managed to raise the bar slightly, but only slightly.

Mmm, Corgi SD1, Efsi Land Rover S3 lacking its canopy roof, and a pretty well-used My First Matchbox Ford cherry picker:

Matchbox Mod Rod and most of a Cement Truck also in evidence, plus a Corgi Juniors airport fire truck lurking amongst the cheapies.

But nah, not today.

Possibly @bunglebus' good lady might have spotted something worth having, were she here?

I had to content myself with a (very nice) takeaway coffee and a cinnamon scroll in lieu of any diecast.

But stay!

A jaunt through The Entertainer at lunchtime revealed a jackpot discovery, the BMW 3-Series Compact just chilling amongst all the unwanted road rollers and push-me-pull-yous from 2023 that no-one wants.

There were simply loads of Hot Wheels Jaguar XJC racers, grey Mercedes 190Es and the pink-interior Porsche 911 floppytops too - both on the pegs and set out on a table. Like, at least six Jags.

And I thought I'd been uncommonly lucky last week. 😆

I refrained from grabbing more diecast simply to make up their long running 3-for-2 offer, and just paid for the BMW.

Downstairs, a flick through the Mattel pegs of the last remaining city centre branch of Poundland didn't reveal anything I was after, so I nipped in to the model shop in Smithfield.

Which turned out to be a good call.

I've been looking for this UPS liveried Express Delivery. Now I can organise a grudge drag race against the FedEx version.

And there was also this, hidden away in one of the trays of loose toys:

It's not mint, but it's certainly a very clean example of the Peugeot 205 Turbo 16.

I've had a few fair-to-middling examples pass through my grubby mitts before, but I think this one's a keeper.

Not outrageously priced, I don't think.

Boom!

Happy Friday, kids.

[bunglebus]

Funny enough, I was sorting my Matchbox earlier and made a mental note to find a better example of that exact 205

 

[Zie]

Full set found in B&M. Still looking for the Reverse Coloured F1 Espace. 

[chancer]

Oh ya beauty....ive been waiting ages for this. Got the Xr2 on preorder as well so hopefully it won't be too long til its on its way

[MAF260]

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

Nice! That’s certainly worked well on it.

Those pens are also known as Molotow liquid chrome pens. Same things really. I think it was @bunglebus that told me about them.

The Molotow ones need a bit of time to dry properly before touching, I don’t know if these are the same?

 

They appear to dry quite quickly as I put my fat fingers over the parts I painted when taking the photos 🤦🏻‍♂️

[MAF260]

6 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Has anyone used the liquid chrome pens on real cars?  
I was thinking of using them to re-do the chromed plastic trims on my door cards. I don’t know how well it’d last though.

I first saw these in use where somebody had refreshed the chrome on a car badge. There was no comment made about longevity, but I suppose the pens are inexpensive enough to reapply occasionally.

[Lord Sterling]

Some inspiration from this group reminded me that I wanted a 1/24 Bburago Fiat Panda. 

When I first got this, it was clean but tired. It had been stored somewhere and caught a lot of dust.

Firstly, the rear numberplate was about to come off so a tiny dab of locktite glue on each corner saw the plate stuck back on properly. 

I took the liberty of taking a marker to paint in the rear tail lamps, I cannot stand it when details like this are left out, even though it was designed as a toy for children rather than a collectors item. The front indicators where given a dab of orange sharpie.

Next the interior, I took it apart to dust it out and I hated the steering wheel colour. 

I tried my best to blacken the steering wheel. It is mostly covered but the red still seems through quite a bit so it'll need another going over at some point. The steering spokes got a touch of silver Molotow.

I took out the screen as there was a load of crap stuck behind it:

Which got brushed out with a clean soft paint brush:

Unfortunately, when I took the screen out, it was a bit of a faff and I ended up cracking it, but fortunately only around the inside where it attaches, so no crack is seen on the glass that is seen on the car.

The dashboard had some old plastic flashing which I sliced out with a Stanley knife. Now it looks neater. It got given a dab of soft black sharpie to get into corners etc....

It looks Ok, but the steering still needs a better going over. I'll get there at some point.

Also, I got myself a couple of these:

I have one Jag on display and this kne can stay in its packet.