Shite in Miniature II

[vulgalour]

Here's that caravan with the Corsair.  I like this combo.

 

The last thing I'll put in here for now is this Mercury Cougar.  I know, Starkers and Crotch didn't have a Cougar. Here's the story; I was given a big box of diecasts on the proviso that I keep this Mercury in this paint scheme, the person giving me the models had painted this one back in the day, as kids did (and still do).  i finished the restoration on it today and when the lacquer has had time to fully harden, I'll send it back to them in the post so they can enjoy it.  I don't have this model in my collection yet, I've not stumbled across one that's both playworn, worthless and complete yet, but I will eventually.

 

 

 

 

I try not to spend more than £1-2 on a model for repainting unless it's one I really want and I do have absolutely loads I've still got to get through so I've not bought any new ones for ages.

 

If you'd like to see befores as well as afters on these, let me know. I'll stick both in when I do an update again.

[Felly Magic]

Well done there Vulg. I can haz a delivery of kwalitee used BL tat in 1/43 scale. GR12 seller, wud use agen lol

 

[vulgalour]

Was sorting through duplicates last night and found I do have a Mercury Cougar after all.  I also found I have way more duplicates than I really want or need so I'll get those up for grabs later.

[Felly Magic]

Happy days. I used to do lots of repaints when I was working for a model shop, wished I'd kept a couple for myself, I became a dab hand at doing Leeds City Transport buses, as I could get more or less the right shade in rattle cans. The shop owner moverstocked on DMS fleetlines, and I would say I did at least 36 of them as pseudo LCT buses, people snapped them up, and it was a great time filler when the shop was dead

[vulgalour]

They're much more fun than other kits or miniatures because you can do them pretty quickly.  I like repaints much more than kit building, there's a much better reward to time spent ratio with them.

 

Unlike this thing.  K&R Replicas kit I promised Mike I'd build for him.  It's a really nicely detailed thing, but the smaller unplated castings are extremely fragile and the plated casting are infuriatingly slippy.  The 'glass' that goes in doesn't fit particularly well either and is so thin it seems quite prone to damage but is essential for keeping the even more fragile interior free of dust and the need to clean it out.

 

Anyone else built one of these?  I'm not really enjoying it, nice as it looks.

[Split_Pin]

K&R Replicas are terrible, avoid at all costs.

 

I like to think that I can usually make an average job of kits but the 2 Dolomites I built 20 years ago were awful.

 

The shell of the 1300 was so warped that it was impossible to make the vacuum formed glass fit, and the Sprint came without front lights. Some parts needed a large amount of fettling to make fit. Headlamps and grilles in particular were really foutery.

 

As soon as Vanguards brought out their Dolomite I put the K&Rs in the loft, now they are thankfully sold.

[vulgalour]

At least I'm not imagining it being a chore.

 

 

Varying condition, varying manufacturers, some are really nice, some are just spares.  50p each is what I'm asking.  Postage on top.

 

 

[vulgalour]

I'd like a quid for this Matchbox Laser Wheels Corvette, plus postage.

 

I'd like two quids for these VW Campers, plus postage.  Both now claimed.

[Felly Magic]

Better shots of the ex Conrad of this parish Vanguards BL shite, Marina will be fettled later. Need to make a chin spoiler for the Sprint too, I was planning on hunting down a Dolomite in white from evilbay, but saw Conrad's and I had to have them at the mega bargain price, plus there was an Autoshite business card in the box. You are a legend Conrad, many, many thanks, it's cheered me up no end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOICE  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[vulgalour]

 

That was quick!  I've numbered them to make it easier and marked which ones have sold.

[Split_Pin]

I could, yes. But the postage is going to be the same for one as for all, so it'll be like, seven quid.

Y0 Conrad do you still have the ZT? If that's 7 quid posted thats a barg for a VG model.

[quicksilver]

They're much more fun than other kits or miniatures because you can do them pretty quickly.  I like repaints much more than kit building, there's a much better reward to time spent ratio with them.

 

Unlike this thing.  K&R Replicas kit I promised Mike I'd build for him.  It's a really nicely detailed thing, but the smaller unplated castings are extremely fragile and the plated casting are infuriatingly slippy.  The 'glass' that goes in doesn't fit particularly well either and is so thin it seems quite prone to damage but is essential for keeping the even more fragile interior free of dust and the need to clean it out.

DSCF6820.JPG

 

Anyone else built one of these?  I'm not really enjoying it, nice as it looks.

That's pretty much par for the course when it comes to white metal kits. Some really are atrocious and defy any attempt to assemble them into anything that looks like what they're meant to be. It really isn't a good material for making models - it's so flimsy and distorts out of shape really easily but is impossible to ever bend back to the shape it was before. Resin is so much easier to work with and has largely taken over as the material of choice, which is a good thing.

[vulgalour]

Finished off a couple of customs today.  First of them this VW single cab pick-up that was originally a damaged camper in orange, just the same as the pretty tidy blue one here I'm using to compare.  I could do this one better now, but I'm going to leave it as it is and I'll only do another if I end up with a broken camper in a job lot.  Skinny Superfast wheels at the front and chunky Superfast wheels at the back both to replace a broken axle and to give it a bit of a beefier stance that suited the custom truck thing I was going for.  It was quite a bit of work to piece this one together, because of the pop-top there's not a lot of roof to work with in the same way as shortening the top of a solid van.  The bed of the truck I'm not really happy with so that's not in the picture, I don't really know how to make that look right because I don't really know what I want to do with it.  It'll do for now, it looks good on a shelf.

 

This next one I'm really happy with, not least because it has to be one of the nicest early Lesney castings I've worked with.  Originally, it's a police car and I'm not a big fan of those, I'm more keen on ordinary cars and I'd not seen one of these done as I'd like to see it.  I wanted the car to have one of those odd pinky-browny metallic colours that you only really saw in the 60s and while initially I was going to monotone it, the roof looked so right in white as I was painting it that I went with it.  Interior is the original cream plastic, just with a tan carpet and white dashboard and parcel shelf to match the roof.  This one turned out really nicely, I'm rather fond of it even with the cracked glass.

 

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Y0 Conrad do you still have the ZT? If that's 7 quid posted thats a barg for a VG model.

 

Yes. If anyone cares to make it ten, they get the Hidden Treasures Allegro thrown in too!

 

 

WOW! Unbeatable mulitibuy savings! 

[egg]

I gave a fiver for this today in our local antiques* shop, seemed fair?

 

I think it is a Matchbox 17a - from 1957?

[vulgalour]

Not bad, they're usually about £1-3 when you grab them online, stick another £1-2 postage on top and you're in the right area.  Lesneys are great for collecting because they're so cheap and really tough, especially the early ones that had no glass or interior and those massive steel axles.

 

Grey wheels are oldest, I believe, with black wheels coming slightly later.  There are some with silver wheels, but I can't find info for definite on whether that means they were an anniversary re-release of old models or it was just a variation of the early cars.  Either way, there's not many of these era Lesneys that top £10 each in playworn condition.

[mercrocker]

17a/17b are very similar just the later one has a slightly bigger gap between cab and body, all these seem to have had grey wheels (plastic on the later ones).   As VL points out the pricing is pretty much mid-range - its a nice example which looks like it might still have the tailgate.  Its not too rare to paint although I tend to leave things like this alone.....It is a nice example of 1950s street scenery.

[egg]

Would be easy to paint I guess with no glass etc, dip the whole thing in caustic soda? 

 

I think I'll leave as is though.  I see you can get the removals stickers fairly easily if you want to.

 

Tailgate is intact.

 

 

 

 

[matt79]

Finished off a couple of customs today.  First of them this VW single cab pick-up that was originally a damaged camper in orange, just the same as the pretty tidy blue one here I'm using to compare.  I could do this one better now, but I'm going to leave it as it is and I'll only do another if I end up with a broken camper in a job lot.  Skinny Superfast wheels at the front and chunky Superfast wheels at the back both to replace a broken axle and to give it a bit of a beefier stance that suited the custom truck thing I was going for.  It was quite a bit of work to piece this one together, because of the pop-top there's not a lot of roof to work with in the same way as shortening the top of a solid van.  The bed of the truck I'm not really happy with so that's not in the picture, I don't really know how to make that look right because I don't really know what I want to do with it.  It'll do for now, it looks good on a shelf.

 

 

What about using headless matchsticks to panel out the inside of the bed (I assume its the finish inside of the bed you are not happy with?)

[Junkman]

I have the '61 Fairlane as a factory error.

 

It's without the trace of a doubt the Fire Chief version:

 

 

 

And now look:

 

[vulgalour]

Diecast collecting is one of those weird places where cock-ups are worth more.

 

For paint stripping, I find the best thing on the early stuff is cellulose thinners in a jam jar, dunk the diecast in and leave for an hour or so.  Might need a couple of dunks.  Then scrub off the paint in water with a nailbrush and toothbrush and pick out any stubborn bits with a craft knife or small pick.  Only thing to be aware of is that any plastic parts won't survive this, so if there are plastic bits you can't do it this way.  Instead, use purple meths for plastics as it doesn't harm them and lifts most paints in the same way as thinners, just less aggressively.

 

I deliberately buy cheap ones only so I don't ruin something with actual value, and I keep an eye out for a nice lightly worn but not perfect version to go alongside my repaints.  I'm missing quite a few of the very early 1-75 set in any condition, mostly the construction stuff (which admittedly I'm not as interested in).  I'm also trying to find a reliable supplier of replacement tyres, especially for the chrome-hub models.  I've only been able to find the occasional listing on eBay for those and results have definitely varied.  I should probably cast my own, I just never seem to get around to it.

[mercrocker]

Yes, I have seen those!    They must have seen it themselves too because later "Galaxie" versions had the name Ford Galaxie only on the baseplate with a raised platform for the appropriate catalogue number.   Later still, when they went to the Mercury cop car they hedged their bets completely, casting No. 55 or No.73 on the base-plate to enable use on the Park Lane sedan as well as the Commuter wagon (the Fire Chief car was still on Galaxie castings at that stage).  

[MarvinsMom]

Diecast collecting is one of those weird places where cock-ups are worth more.

 

For paint stripping, I find the best thing on the early stuff is cellulose thinners in a jam jar, dunk the diecast in and leave for an hour or so.  Might need a couple of dunks.  Then scrub off the paint in water with a nailbrush and toothbrush and pick out any stubborn bits with a craft knife or small pick.  Only thing to be aware of is that any plastic parts won't survive this, so if there are plastic bits you can't do it this way.  Instead, use purple meths for plastics as it doesn't harm them and lifts most paints in the same way as thinners, just less aggressively.

 

I deliberately buy cheap ones only so I don't ruin something with actual value, and I keep an eye out for a nice lightly worn but not perfect version to go alongside my repaints.  I'm missing quite a few of the very early 1-75 set in any condition, mostly the construction stuff (which admittedly I'm not as interested in).  I'm also trying to find a reliable supplier of replacement tyres, especially for the chrome-hub models.  I've only been able to find the occasional listing on eBay for those and results have definitely varied.  I should probably cast my own, I just never seem to get around to it.

what scale silver hub models? 1/43 scale like dinky and corgi?

 

Steve Flowers Modelspares have one hell of a range of bits available. i have bought quiet a few bits without any issues, and the bits do fit really well.

 

weblink thing included FYI.

http://www.model-supplies.co.uk/

[vulgalour]

I'll have to double check measurements on the stuff that needs it but a cursory look is promising. Into the bookmarks with that one.

[Felly Magic]

Autoshite quality used motors has returned LOL, even has an MOT bay   All bar one of my BLARG fleet of Vanguards, the one not shown is the plod Marina

 

 

 

 

 

[mercrocker]

Autoshite quality used motors has returned LOL, even has an MOT bay   All bar one of my BLARG fleet of Vanguards, the one not shown is the plod Marina

 

Vanguards BLARG fleet.JPG

 

You could always park the jam sandwich in the middle of the car lot and have a bunch of mooning kids drive by in a Dinky Somerset for an Autoshite re-make of American Graffiti.....

 

 

 

EDIT - Bonus Candy Clark content!

[Junkman]

For paint stripping, I find the best thing on the early stuff is cellulose thinners in a jam jar, dunk the diecast in and leave for an hour or so. 

 

How utterly unspectacular and thus not worthy of being part of a hobby, which must contain an element of spectacular mad sciencery.

 

- Put bodies to be stripped in a takeaway food container.

- Fill with boiling water until bodies are completely covered.

- Add a healthy dose of Caustic Soda.

- Watch volcano erupt and witchcraft happen.

 

Disclaimer: Only do this wearing a high viz vest, plastic helmet and other safety paraphernalia carefully designed to make you look like a total fuckwit.

                   I'm not responsible. Good luck.

[Datsuncog]

Finally got some of the 1/43 into their new home in the hall - at the minute it's a random selection grabbed from the attic boxes and arranged as a kinda colour gradient, but think I'll likely rotate them by marque. First time some of them have seen light since 2003.

 

Will take some better pics later - just snapped these as I was heading out this morning, hence squint/blurry/slightly fisheye.

 

 

 

 

Also need to get a small piece of wood cut and inserted to raise the models on the bottom shelf up a little - looking somewhat cut-off at the hub at the minute.

[oldcars]

Yes. If anyone cares to make it ten, they get the Hidden Treasures Allegro thrown in too!

 

IMG_4770.jpg

 

WOW! Unbeatable mulitibuy savings! 

Looks like the rear suspension top arm is away on the ZT 

[Junkman]

That's how authentic those models are.