Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

Karmann should look like this

 It's not a casting they used much, more's the pity.

That Zylmex Rolls Royce is ace, that exact one set me on a very long and slippery slope years ago finding obscure due casts

[morrisoxide]

11 hours ago, bunglebus said:

That Zylmex Rolls Royce is ace, that exact one set me on a very long and slippery slope years ago finding obscure due casts

Oh dear. Looks like I might be going down the same Zylmex slope. 

Edit: It looks like mine is missing the vinyl roof.

[FakeConcern]

What scale are the Zylmex? I have a Mustang Cobra and a Monza and the scale is bit strange, seems just a bit smaller than 1/43 although this

suggests it is 1/43

https://www.bcnstockcars.com/gb/ford/1957-ford-mustang-cobra-pacesetters-zylmex-r656-mib-1-43-vintage-rar.html

[bunglebus]

2 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

What scale are the Zylmex?

All sorts. The Rolls is 1:64ish, Cobra Mustang is 1:43 as you say. They also do a few huge ones

And some tiny ones

If you get bored, I've got an album full of the ones I've found

https://www.flickr.com/gp/bungle_bus/73rLATtn63

There are some catalogue scans in here somewhere 

https://www.flickr.com/gp/bungle_bus/ho5e852V0g

There's also a fantastic reference list on Facebook 

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16kcaAm5kb/

[sierraman]

Only Zylmex I can recall ever having was some sort of really badly proportioned BMW M1. 

[bunglebus]

D85

The later cars are not really any different to any other far East cheapie, but the earlier stuff is pretty nice

 

[danthecapriman]

I’ve had quite a lot of Zylmex over the years, mostly the smaller scale, 1:64ish, stuff. I’ve always found them to be very hit or miss tbh. Some look quite good but others are really quite bad! One thing they’ve all had in common though is that cheap light weight feel to them you get with most far east cheap stuff. They never felt as hefty or high quality as a Matchbox or Corgi.

Ive got rid of just about all of them now, but there is a charm of some sort to some of them. Can’t quite explain why, but there is a certain appeal to the better ones.

[danthecapriman]

Bits and bobs going on here. I’ve done something to my arm though so can’t do it for long! Holding tools and models isn’t exactly comfortable at the moment and any pressure is painful too. No idea wtf I’ve done to it.

I’ve done the unthinkable! I’ve stripped two modern Vanguard’s Fords!😬     
Mk2 Escort was the metallic green Ghia version, Mk2 Capri was the red one with awful wheels. Both will be getting downgraded to poverty models. No prizes for guessing the colour of the Capri!   
The Escort’s paint came off really easily but the Capri’s turned into a sticky red paste and was a right pain to shift. Still needs a bit of scraping to get the last bits off. 
One good thing Corgi have started doing, is using a tacky non setting glue on their lights which is making removing them sooo much easier than before without breaking them.

I’ve had a look at the 1:43 3D printed Elf/Hornet I got a while back too as I’ve found a cheapy partwork Mini to pinch the chassis and wheels from as the print doesn’t come with anything. Some other bits might fit too.

For now I’ve given the shell a quick tidy with a file/sandpaper then a coat of primer.

I’m also in the process of making some moulds of Vanguard’s Cortina mk3 grills and Escort mk2 grills. The basic versions of the Cortina with single round headlights and the later rectangular headlights versions are quite hard to find, and for whatever reason they come with a heavy scene tax applied too. 
My plan therefore is to use the quad headlight versions which are much more common and have cheaper variants as code 3 customs but fitting reproduction grills to make basic versions of the mk3.  
I’ve already got models with the required grill types so I’ve popped them out of the models and made moulds from them. Unfortunately my first casting attempt in resin failed as I left them out in the shed to cure and the resin doesn’t like the cold temperatures so it hasn’t set properly! I’ll have to try again on the weekend but put them indoors to set.

[danthecapriman]

A few new arrivals lately, but the most anticipated one was from Japan! 
There’s a partwork available over there (that we aren’t allowed yet again!!) featuring Japanese small commercial vehicles. Many probably aren’t much use to me being of vehicles not seen over here but a few definitely are suitable so I’ve ordered a Toyota Corolla estate. Actually a weird ‘van’ version but whatever!

The load in the back should come out easy enough and I’ll just fit a seat in its place. No idea what the writing says but I’ll probably polish that off too leaving a delightful poo brown standard estate.

 
Also decided to do a comparison between the Vanguard’s Escort mk2 and Minichamps/Maxichamps version. 
Green is Vanguard’s.

 
There’s not much between them really. Both have good bits, both have bits that could be better. The headlights on the Maxichamps are a bit bulbous and stick out a bit, but it’s not terrible. The Vanguard’s is more expensive usually so I suppose it’s just a case of pays your money and takes your choice. I’m quite happy with both! 
The base model wheels on the Maxichamps are very nice, which I’m not sure Vanguard’s do that particular style? Either way, low spec Vanguard’s Escorts are few and far between.

The underside details on the Maxichamps model are better than the Vanguard’s though. Nice bit of detail on it but you’ll never see it unless displayed as a rollover!

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 10/12/2025 at 09:30, bunglebus said:

Had a couple of late deliveries yesterday, firstly this Polistil CX that's only lost 12.7% of its bits

ah so you were bidder- 0***6Feedback score (3862) then?

[bunglebus]

My feedback score, don't know where eBay gets the IDs from as I'm bungle_bus on there

[bunglebus]

How's this for a diecast weirdo? Playart Fairlady, I thought it was 1:64 but it's more like 1:43. Don't think I've ever seen one before

[bunglebus]

Anyone?

[sierraman]

Question the other day about Super GTs. Yes they were produced in uk and China in same colours. 

[sierraman]

Early 90’s they became Neon Racers

[sierraman]

I’ve got quite a few of them…

[bunglebus]

13 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Only found the England base version, although every one I've located so far has 8 dots, not seen dot dash until now 

 

[bunglebus]

Red Capri up there must be really rare, never seen that before!

[sierraman]

1 minute ago, bunglebus said:

Only found the England base version, although every one I've located so far has 8 dots, not seen dot dash until now 

 

Different shades of gold…

[sierraman]

Just now, bunglebus said:

Red Capri up there must be really rare, never seen that before!

It’s err a limited edition produced by a small time code 3 modeller in Sheffield in the mid 1990’s. 😂

[eddyramrod]

I've got a few* from a similarly small-scale supplier.  Must be quite the cottage industry!

[sierraman]

1 minute ago, eddyramrod said:

I've got a few* from a similarly small-scale supplier.  Must be quite the cottage industry!

I always buy them when I see them to restore the original ones - so often you see an ISO Grifo with no doors etc so a Super GT is easy to convert so you’ve a sound shell. 

[sierraman]

Supposedly this is one of the rarest. 

[sierraman]

This was the Zylmex I was thinking of. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

My feedback score, don't know where eBay gets the IDs from as I'm bungle_bus on there

they don't show i.d for privacy

[bunglebus]

3 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

they don't show i.d for privacy

No, but it's the weird 0***6 bit - nothing to do with my eBay ID so why do they put anything at all?

[jim89]

1 minute ago, bunglebus said:

No, but it's the weird 0***6 bit - nothing to do with my eBay ID so why do they put anything at all?

So *they* can tell the feds ....

[bunglebus]

18 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Supposedly this is one of the rarest. 

This one?

 

[sierraman]

20 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

This one?

 

No, it’s the beige one that’s amongst the rarest. £35-50 according to Charlie Mack but I can’t see it myself. 😂

[FakeConcern]

I picked up some tat in a junk shop yesterday, I'm most pleased with this one

I thought at the time it was a Dinky I'd not seen before, but couldn't think why not

Missing the front bumper/grill

 

And back lights/bumper

Made in Hong Kong, ahh I see!

This is the rest of the stuff