Shite in Miniature II

[MAF260]

Some haul today, very happy!

B&M bangers:

followed by a clearly recently restocked The Range:

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, RoadworkUK said:

Always thought Matchbox caught the 800's lines extremely well.

I think it was the first Matchbox I ever noticed to have a sunroof panel. I remember seeing it for the first time in WH Smith, Clacton, on a rotating display, and being consumed with want. 

Well here it is done, sort of 

There's still a little bit of pink staining to the plastic infill part between the upper and lower body - I'd always imagined this would be part of the interior, but it isn't. As I mentioned the other day, the rear lights are a separate piece too, so there are six main components here, plus the wheels, axles and suspension spring. 

Boot sale didn't have much on offer today, my usual seller was absent, so I picked up half a dozen tatty Matchbox, and a 26th variation of the Corgi Buick Regal.

I did persevere with the one I'm customising, as I realised I couldn't use the earlier, nicer body with the later, 3 post, jacked-up base, which was an essential part of the style I'm after.

The later one is really bad, I took a couple more comparison pics today where you can see the messed up rear lights and terrible casting lines on the rear quarters and A pillars 

[FakeConcern]

On 17/09/2025 at 11:06, AndyW201 said:

Hey @FakeConcern, have you got the Universal Hobbies C4? Currently available from Jumajo on ebay.

Works out at about £25 with the postage.

 

On 17/09/2025 at 19:40, FakeConcern said:

That looks excellent! I don't have many road trim C4 Coupes in 1/43 the best is a Norev facelift Loeb, the Bburago version is pretty terrible TBH. all the rest are rally versions. I do have quite a few Nu Ray 1/32 and a few smaller scale Hot Wheels & Majorette which are all very good.

I really want that one, but it's a bit more than I want to pay so I'll have to wait until I've drunk a bit more wine!

Thankyou @AndyW201 for thinking of me and posting it,,,

[AndyW201]

Was gutted yesterday. Been off work all week, and had to nip to Portrack with the Mrs after taking the kids to school. She wanted to nip into The Range, which left me near to Smyths just after opening time, after a delivery.

Yeah, still too late! Despite the mainlines on the pegs being all old unsold stuff as usual, there were 4 guys at the diecast section, with the store manager in tow, with handfuls of new case stuff, including one guy with the new M3 Touring Super TH. So now I know why there's fuck-all there when I go on a Saturday.  Ah well... Though a couple of them looked a bit sick when I dropped into the conversation that I'd found the Matchbox  Super Chase Cobra in Tesco.) The Mrs remarked in the car on the way home that the sight of me in the diecast aisle with a load of other middle aged men was one of the most tragic sights she'd ever seen... 🤣

Still, all was not lost. I finally found a 1/43 M3 that had escaped the scalpers' attention,

Further to the recent Vanguards price discussion, I honestly dont think these are bad value at £18.99 for a fairly well detailed 1/43 model.

The metal base especially giving it a nice, weighty 'feel'.

Something I noticed when trying to photograph it under the lights is that this isn't really a factory-fresh representation, as there is a hell of a lot of flake in the silver paint.

The wheels appear to be a bigger upgrade from the standard BBS jobs too.

Sunroof is a proper stamped job rather than a decal. Interior is a bit hard to capture through the blue tinted glass,

But the seats are decent and sculpted, Recaro-style.

And the centre console is recognisable as an E30 one, with details like the handbrake, electric window switches and a gearknob that actually looks like one.

Being a slightly modified  M3, it should make a nice period companion to the Ixo Merc 190 Cosworth custom version I got not long back, as they were rivals in their day.

[AndyW201]

17 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

 

"1 sold in the last 24 hours"...

👀

[danthecapriman]

25 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

 

That’s nice! 
You must be as weak willed as I am!😄

I keep saying to myself ‘no, you have enough. DONT’ but really I know damn well I’ll end up buying whatever it is later that day anyway. 
I was looking at a(nother) truck model yesterday… this morning it’s in my eBay orders list. Along with the other two from Spain I definitely shouldn’t have bought. 
It’s like a disease!

[danthecapriman]

11 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Was gutted yesterday. Been off work all week, and had to nip to Portrack with the Mrs after taking the kids to school. She wanted to nip into The Range, which left me near to Smyths just after opening time, after a delivery.

Yeah, still too late! Despite the mainlines being all old unsold stuff as usual, there were 4 guys at the diecast section, with the store manager in tow, with handfuls of new box stuff, including one guy with the new M3 Touring Super TH. So now I know why there's fuck-all there when I go on a Saturday. Ah well. (Though a couple of them looked a bit sick when I dropped into the conversation that I'd found the Matchbox  Super Chase Cobra in Tesco.) The Mrs remarked in the car on the way home that the sight of me in the diecast aisle with a load of other middle aged men was one of the most tragic sights she'd ever seen... 🤣

Still, all was not lost. I finally found a 1/43 M3 that had escaped the scalpers' attention,

Further to the recent Vanguards price discussion, I honestly dont think these are bad value at £18.99 for a fairly well detailed 1/43 model.

The metal base especially giving it a nice, weighty 'feel'.

Something I noticed when trying to photograph it under the lights is that this isn't really a factory-fresh representation, as there is a hell of a lot of flake in the silver paint.

The wheels appear to be a bigger upgrade from the standard BBS jobs too.

Sunroof is a proper stamped job rather than a decal. Interior is a bit hard to capture through the blue tinted glass,

But the seats are decent and sculpted, Recaro-style.

And the centre console is recognisable as an E30 one, with details like the handbrake, electric window switches and a gearknob that actually looks like one.

That is actually good value for a 1:43 like that. A Vanguard’s would be at least double the price.

Looks a lovely model too. The thing that keeps me from buying those 1:43 Hot Wheels though is the ‘boy racer’ style of them all. Some are worse than others, but I wish they’d do them more standard. Saying that, that M3 looks about the best of them so far.

Your missus is right too🤣     
It must look absolutely ridiculous to ‘normal’ folks.

[AndyW201]

Picked up a few from Aldi, slowly they're starting to get more newer stuff in,

I generally don't bother with the Art Cars but I had to make an exception for the Mini van.

Still loving this Mk1 Jag casting,

And a few purchases from Ana's Hot Wheels site arrived today.

I missed out on this Moving Parts Anglia when it first came out. It seems that, unusually, they've done a second run of it.

It's not a bad representation of an Anglia at all. Even if, on this Moving Parts version, it does look a bit like the front window openings have been made by hammering a flat-head screwdriver into the door.

And there's a little bonus on this one with the doors AND  boot all opening.

I hope they'll do a normal non-HP version of this one day.

Apologies to @bunglebus as I think I got this a few seconds or so before him. I've not been able to get the Premium versions of the Mk1, but this is one of the few non-Premium ones I haven't had, and have been looking for.

The colour is stunning on this one,

Dating back to 2021, before I started bothering with Premiums, I've wanted one of these Starlets for a while. I got one of the Silver Series J-Imports versions last year, but I always wanted this one, as apart from the low stance and wide arches and rims, it looks relatively standard with a nice straight colour and no graphics all over it.

[bunglebus]

Here's my finished custom Corgi Buick Regal

No, wait, that's just the colour I chose. I've been itching to use it ever since buying a touch up pot a little while ago

As you may be able to tell, I also took some inspiration from the Track Car version with its side pipes, these ones were out of the spares box and originally big rig stacks I think.  Casting was truly horrible, I'm actually amazed those rear lights came out OK as they are properly wonky. I did go slightly cross-eyed dabbing individual blobs of clear red in each lens after chroming them, same with the side marker lights.  It nearly ended in disaster when my silver pen filled one of the headlight recesses up to the top, luckily I wicked the excess out with some paper towel and got away with it

 

[matt79]

Starting to have a bit of a clear out at home, and found some of my old models I'd made from years back. I was big into code 3 police conversions, as well as customs. I sold most of my collection off about 15 years ago, when life stuff (divorce) got in the way I lost interest in the hobby. I'm now looking to get back into model making. 

Anyway, pics below if anyone's interested......

[danthecapriman]

6 minutes ago, matt79 said:

Starting to have a bit of a clear out at home, and found some of my old models I'd made from years back. I was big into code 3 police conversions, as well as customs. I sold most of my collection off about 15 years ago, when life stuff (divorce) got in the way I lost interest in the hobby. I'm now looking to get back into model making. 

Anyway, pics below if anyone's interested......

They look fantastic👍

What are you looking to do this time? Same sort of thing or different scale? 

[matt79]

18 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

They look fantastic👍

What are you looking to do this time? Same sort of thing or different scale? 

Size wise I find 1/43 scale is a good mix of large enough for detail but compact enough for display purposes. I will go smaller scale as well, 1/60 (ish) is a small as Id want to go.

Ive got some job lots of playworn shite arriving in the next few days with some (hopefully) interesting pieces to figure out & get on with - Ive got a few plans &  ideas coming together in my mind already for some nice finished pieces if all goes to plan.

Im also waiting on some modelling stuff to be delivered (paints, plasticard sheets, strips, tube etc) for scratchbuild / custom work. I cant wait to get started tbh - feels good to finally get the mojo back 😁

Its good to see what you guys are all producing, Ill share my efforts in due course 👍

(Just noticed some of the pics in my post are upside down....ill try & fix that!)

[danthecapriman]

9 minutes ago, matt79 said:

Size wise I find 1/43 scale is a good mix of large enough for detail but compact enough for display purposes. I will go smaller scale as well, 1/60 (ish) is a small as Id want to go.

Ive got some job lots of playworn shite arriving in the next few days with some (hopefully) interesting pieces to figure out & get on with - Ive got a few plans &  ideas coming together in my mind already for some nice finished pieces if all goes to plan.

Im also waiting on some modelling stuff to be delivered (paints, plasticard sheets, strips, tube etc) for scratchbuild / custom work. I cant wait to get started tbh - feels good to finally get the mojo back 😁

Its good to see what you guys are all producing, Ill share my efforts in due course 👍

(Just noticed some of the pics in my post are upside down....ill try & fix that!)

Definitely can’t wait to see what you get up to!

Id agree, 1:43 is a pretty good balance of size for doing things. Plenty of donor models around too.

[matt79]

Quick question - does anyone know what size(s) the corgi spun metal domed hubs come in? (I was under the impression they only came in one size, around 9mm diameter rings a bell)

This style - 

[bunglebus]

Nice haul from the boot sale, older guy with a carry case full - and apparently has many, many more to dispose of, so he has my details and an assurance that I'm happy to buy in bulk if required...

[bunglebus]

Second boot sale had not a lot to offer, picked up a few as they were 20-25p each if anyone wants them

[bunglebus]

Not the biggest haul I've ever come home with, but I'm very pleased with the condition of what I found. Fingers crossed the old boy lets me have a look at the rest of his stash!

20p Dark Rider

Glow test

Out of the old boy's case, these are just lovely

I think the Stude is unusual having a matching colour sliding roof?

Not in as nice shape, but I've never found a complete Maharaja before

That parasol spins as the car moves, like a Rolamatic

Not the best Monkeemobile I've even seen, but complete with John, Paul, George and Ringo at least

I dug a couple of bits out of a 20p box such as the Mebetoys/Hot Wheels Uno, and the woman said she had more in the car that she was going to throw away! These were the Glow Racer, Corgi caravan, Matchbox excavator and this Radio Rentals Escort van

No landfill for those thanks

[neil72]

Picked these three up at the local car boot, you can tell its getting to the end of the summer as 90% of the stalls were selling absolute dross.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Second boot sale had not a lot to offer, picked up a few as they were 20-25p each if anyone wants them

Escort van, caravan, yellow taxi and Studebaker if going for that money please? I'll settle my bill then if so 👍

[bunglebus]

2 minutes ago, Dick Cheeseburger said:

Escort van, caravan, yellow taxi and Studebaker if going for that money please? I'll settle my bill then if so 👍

The Escort Van and Caravan all yours, keeping the smaller ones! I've got two more vans I'm selling too 

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

2 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

The Escort Van and Caravan all yours, keeping the smaller ones!

Thanks chap. Let me know if you're letting that Vw Camper go which I put in as part of the roffle win.

[Split_Pin]

Y0 @bunglebus if you mean you are selling the Gas Escort can I get it please?

[sierraman]

Interested in the post office van!

[Lord Sterling]

13 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Second boot sale had not a lot to offer, picked up a few as they were 20-25p each if anyone wants them

Silver Fiat Uno please!

[Lord Sterling]

9 hours ago, neil72 said:

Picked these three up at the local car boot

That silver Sierra Ghia is Mintier than the mintest thing I've ever seen!

[bunglebus]

9 hours ago, sierraman said:

Interested in the post office van!

Beaten to it by Mr. Cheeseburger I'm afraid. I do keep an eye out for these when I'm buying

5 hours ago, Lord Sterling said:

Silver Fiat Uno please!

All yours

[Spottedlaurel]

Last week's acquisitions:

This selection courtesy of @bunglebus, thanks!

And this lot from the chap who always has a good selection at the local 1:1 Japanese car meet.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Not seen the set that Fairlady is from before 

[danthecapriman]

As I was saying about being weak willed…

China Motor Bus Leyland Victory. 
One I wanted a while back when there were quite a few about but I missed them. Then a couple turned up with a seller I use quite often who seems to sell stuff at reasonable prices so I bagged one quick. An hour or so later someone else had bought the other so they must be quite desirable!?

Being a 1:43 it’s a big bugger! Heavy too as the blue section is all metal. 
The real Victory was an export only model and a bit weird as it was a one man operation front engined double decker (rather than more common rear engined we used) which gives it that odd looking front end with quite narrow windscreens. 
Im not sure if its at all suitable for conversion to a UK bus but its a nice model either way!

One of them was actually donated to a Scottish bus museum after CMB had finished with them. It’s still in operational condition too.

[Split_Pin]

54 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

As I was saying about being weak willed…

China Motor Bus Leyland Victory. 
One I wanted a while back when there were quite a few about but I missed them. Then a couple turned up with a seller I use quite often who seems to sell stuff at reasonable prices so I bagged one quick. An hour or so later someone else had bought the other so they must be quite desirable!?

Being a 1:43 it’s a big bugger! Heavy too as the blue section is all metal. 
The real Victory was an export only model and a bit weird as it was a one man operation front engined double decker (rather than more common rear engined we used) which gives it that odd looking front end with quite narrow windscreens. 
Im not sure if its at all suitable for conversion to a UK bus but its a nice model either way!

One of them was actually donated to a Scottish bus museum after CMB had finished with them. It’s still in operational condition too.

One of my favourite buses! I have 5 of the buggers, all 1/76 scale though. 

These were made in the early 1980s with a Guy chassis and Alexander body which does bear some similarities with body styles they fitted to Ailsas, Bristol VRs and a few very early Metrobuses. I'm not sure if they were in CKD form or if one of these fine motors ever rolled out of the Camelon factory complete, I'd like to imagine so though!

Dennis also made the Jubilant which looks identical except it has deeper windscreens. ABC actually went to the trouble of making separate castings for both which is great for an anorak like me 😂

Corgi made a model of ESF647W which resides at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum in Lathalmond and is indeed regularly out and about! They also had an ex CMB Leyland Fleetline which Collectors Model made a replica of but its long, long dead. I dont know why they never did anything with that one, probably ownership issues or something.

I can't wait to see what you make with this one.