Shite in Miniature II

[Noel Tidybeard]

ooof look at that simca

[FakeConcern]

43 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

ooof look at that simca

Too late as Eddy has nabbed it already!

Not sure on the make as no name on the base, presumed to be Altaya or Ixo.

 

[sheffcortinacentre]

7 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

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.

If you do a facelift MK3, MK4/5 flat dash in rhd I'd be up for a couple.

[sheffcortinacentre]

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Anyone?

Taunus TC1 coupe  , herpa or schbak  don't think I've seen navy blue ( prone to a pillars cracking.

[bunglebus]

2 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

Taunus TC1 coupe  , herpa or schbak  don't think I've seen navy blue ( prone to a pillars cracking.

It's around 1:64 scale going by the cars around it, I thought Taunus too just unsure who made it. I don't like to ask sellers questions in case they do research and realise they have a rarity 😁

[Spottedlaurel]

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Anyone?

Looks like a Datsun Laurel Coupe to me, the C130 model with rather heavy rear quarters. Yatming?

[sierraman]

21 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

If you do a facelift MK3, MK4/5 flat dash in rhd I'd be up for a couple.

Almost forgot this but in Smyths at Drakehouse they had the Ford Racing Team HW in. I remember you saying you were after one. 

[sheffcortinacentre]

3 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Almost forgot this but in Smyths at Drakehouse they had the Ford Racing Team HW in. I remember you saying you were after one. 

Ta bungle bus has just got me one.

[bunglebus]

7 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

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

Sacrilege, Ghia MK2 Escorts are the best. Having said that, I like pretty much all MK2s except GLs, I have a long standing annoyance at them as I feel if you wanted a nice one, you bought a Ghia, if you just wanted to get from A to B you bought an L - only misers and fleet buyers bought base models/Pops. For some reason I get very annoyed at the people who didn't want to treat themselves too nicely so bought a poxy GL!

Having said that, one of my fantasy builds is an early base model 2 door in white on Lotus steels with hubcaps, and something very revvy under the bonnet...

[sierraman]

6 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

Ta bungle bus has just got me one.

Well if you need another they’ve got them in! 😂

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

Too late as Eddy has nabbed it already!

Not sure on the make as no name on the base, presumed to be Altaya or Ixo.

 

That Simca is indeed an IXO/Altaya. It’s from a French Simca magazine partwork. I’ve got one here! There’s also a van in both the box style and standard van style (I have the standard van too). Along with loads of other Simca vehicles. Naturally we didn’t get that partwork here.

The Dinky Hong Kong T-Bird is a bloody good find. It’s quite a scarce one to find. I think Dinky France did one too which also comes as a reproduction model and can still be found quite easily. It’s usually in a bright green. Maybe the front end bits might fit?? 
 

[danthecapriman]

38 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

If you do a facelift MK3, MK4/5 flat dash in rhd I'd be up for a couple.

I’ve still got to take the grill out of the facelift Cortina I’ve got here to make the mould. I thought I’d done it already but stupidly I’ve made two moulds of the original base version! Doesn’t matter of course as it just means I can make double the amount at a time.

They won’t have the separate headlights. I can’t get them out without breaking either the grill or headlight but they should look fine just painting the headlights silver then a coat of clear varnish or glue ‘n glaze over to give it a shine.

Is it just the facelift grills your after?

[danthecapriman]

13 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Sacrilege, Ghia MK2 Escorts are the best. Having said that, I like pretty much all MK2s except GLs, I have a long standing annoyance at them as I feel if you wanted a nice one, you bought a Ghia, if you just wanted to get from A to B you bought an L - only misers and fleet buyers bought base models/Pops. For some reason I get very annoyed at the people who didn't want to treat themselves too nicely so bought a poxy GL!

Having said that, one of my fantasy builds is an early base model 2 door in white on Lotus steels with hubcaps, and something very revvy under the bonnet...

😆 ohhh-kayyy…

What year did the square headlights start getting used on the lower spec cars? Presumably around the time the grill badge changed from the old FORD text to the blue oval badge??

I must admit, I’d love an Escort mk2 but it’d have to be a standard low spec 2 door for me. That’s how most of them seemed to be from what I remember. Beige, signal yellow or that terracotta red colour seemed quite common. A neighbour had a midnight blue one too.

[sierraman]

4 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

😆 ohhh-kayyy…

What year did the square headlights start getting used on the lower spec cars? Presumably around the time the grill badge changed from the old FORD text to the blue oval badge??

I must admit, I’d love an Escort mk2 but it’d have to be a standard low spec 2 door for me. That’s how most of them seemed to be from what I remember. Beige, signal yellow or that terracotta red colour seemed quite common. A neighbour had a midnight blue one too.

I’ve recounted this many times befofe but my brother is 17 years older than me. I can remember being about 8-9 and my mum telling me my brother had bought a ‘sporty escort’ in my head erroneously thinking it’d be an XR3. We got back to the house and it was much better, it was a 1.6 Sport (had the kit was probably* a 1.6 in a 1.3 shell) with a Peco exhaust. It sounded unbelievable at the time. Then six months later he swapped it for a 1992 Lada Riva, literally the story of that man’s life. 😂

[danthecapriman]

12 minutes ago, sierraman said:

I’ve recounted this many times befofe but my brother is 17 years older than me. I can remember being about 8-9 and my mum telling me my brother had bought a ‘sporty escort’ in my head erroneously thinking it’d be an XR3. We got back to the house and it was much better, it was a 1.6 Sport (had the kit was probably* a 1.6 in a 1.3 shell) with a Peco exhaust. It sounded unbelievable at the time. Then six months later he swapped it for a 1992 Lada Riva, literally the story of that man’s life. 😂

😄 what went so wrong!?

I like Lada Riva’s too in all fairness.

[bunglebus]

40 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

What year did the square headlights start getting used on the lower spec cars? Presumably around the time the grill badge changed from the old FORD text to the blue oval badge??

No it's a bit later. The badging etc changed around late 77 early 78, it was the runout 1979-80 cars that got square lights on the L and extra trim etc

[eddyramrod]

47 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I must admit, I’d love an Escort mk2 

I'm very likely the only person here who wouldn't!  OK they were a top rally car in their time, but I'm not likely to be spending much time sideways on forest tracks, so that doesn't matter to me.  They were a fairly adequate basic saloon at the time too, but basic isn't my territory either; and there are many cheaper, better-built and better-equipped cars available now.  Two doors are only enough if the car only has two seats; Escorts tend to have four seats and so need four doors.  When the mk2 was new, late 70s, was my Learner Years and consequently two of the driving school cars I used were this model, both two-door Populars.  Fuck me they were horrible!  And our family car, which carried my L plates, was a 1963 Triumph Herald.

Were you (anybody) to give me an Escort today I wouldn't even collect it.  I'd just send it to Mathewson's.  Were you to give me a Triumph Herald in comparable condition I'd keep it and love it.

Yes, I've always been the only person marching in-step.

[danthecapriman]

14 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

I'm very likely the only person here who wouldn't!  OK they were a top rally car in their time, but I'm not likely to be spending much time sideways on forest tracks, so that doesn't matter to me.  They were a fairly adequate basic saloon at the time too, but basic isn't my territory either; and there are many cheaper, better-built and better-equipped cars available now.  Two doors are only enough if the car only has two seats; Escorts tend to have four seats and so need four doors.  When the mk2 was new, late 70s, was my Learner Years and consequently two of the driving school cars I used were this model, both two-door Populars.  Fuck me they were horrible!  And our family car, which carried my L plates, was a 1963 Triumph Herald.

Were you (anybody) to give me an Escort today I wouldn't even collect it.  I'd just send it to Mathewson's.  Were you to give me a Triumph Herald in comparable condition I'd keep it and love it.

Yes, I've always been the only person marching in-step.

See, I’d have an Escort any day over a Herald!😄 takes all sorts!

The Popular didn’t even come with a proper interior. No carpets or plush door trims on those - you got a rubber floor mat and basic door trims. And that was about your lot.

The mk1 Escort is my favourite of the two. The mk1 is a good looking little saloon, but that dropped off a bit for the mk2. This applies to both - but I like the normal models. All up to and including the E or Ghia. That’s what a small cheap lightweight saloon car should be. Mexico’s and RS’s?? Nice enough I suppose but you can keep them. They’re done to death now and I find them a bit boring honestly. Too much money involved and not enough sense.

[eddyramrod]

3 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

The mk1 is a good looking little saloon

On what planet?  It's a crude lump that followed one of the sharpest and prettiest things Ford UK ever made.

4 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

They’re done to death now and I find them a bit boring honestly. Too much money involved and not enough sense.

Now here we are in full agreement!  

[sheffcortinacentre]

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

I’ve still got to take the grill out of the facelift Cortina I’ve got here to make the mould. I thought I’d done it already but stupidly I’ve made two moulds of the original base version! Doesn’t matter of course as it just means I can make double the amount at a time.

They won’t have the separate headlights. I can’t get them out without breaking either the grill or headlight but they should look fine just painting the headlights silver then a coat of clear varnish or glue ‘n glaze over to give it a shine.

Is it just the facelift grills your after?

No I want a facelift or mk4-5 dash board, so thought if you were striping one to mould the grille if you wanted some practice ,you could try a dash too while it was in piece's.

No rush just that I've two part work Taunuses/Taunui? ( There way cheaper to cut up than vanguards) & One will really show it's not rhd. 3 would be handy as may have a further project in mind.

[sheffcortinacentre]

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

😆 ohhh-kayyy…

What year did the square headlights start getting used on the lower spec cars? Presumably around the time the grill badge changed from the old FORD text to the blue oval badge??

I must admit, I’d love an Escort mk2 but it’d have to be a standard low spec 2 door for me. That’s how most of them seemed to be from what I remember. Beige, signal yellow or that terracotta red colour seemed quite common. A neighbour had a midnight blue one too.

Square was always just GL/Ghia I think.

[bunglebus]

6 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

Square was always just GL/Ghia I think.

They upgraded the L towards the end with square headlights and the side trims plus a few other bits. Somewhere or other I've got one of those fantastic Ford Cars brochures from the time detailing the range.

Funny how things like a heated rear screen or a passenger mirror were something to boast about back then!

For what it's worth I think the MK1 Escort is possibly the prettiest Ford ever, the rear quarter and roof pillar is particularly pleasing to me for some reason - however the MK2s more handsome looks edge it for me if I was to be in a position to chose. Being an Essex boy these were the thing to have when I passed my test in the 90s, I hate to think how many have passed through the hands of my group of friends and I. I do miss my 4 door @eddyramrod Ghia though....

[FakeConcern]

10 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

 

The Dinky Hong Kong T-Bird is a bloody good find. It’s quite a scarce one to find. I think Dinky France did one too which also comes as a reproduction model and can still be found quite easily. It’s usually in a bright green. Maybe the front end bits might fit?? 
 

I'm not very up on either Honk Kong Dinkys or American cars, but I believe the HKD T Bird is a later gen than the French Dinky one. However looking at this interesting article

https://www.maronline.org.uk/more-hong-kong-dinkys/

It seems that Spot On combined diferent model years when designing the HKD toys!

Does anyone have a HKD T Bird that they would be willing to make some moulds from?

[danthecapriman]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

They upgraded the L towards the end with square headlights and the side trims plus a few other bits. Somewhere or other I've got one of those fantastic Ford Cars brochures from the time detailing the range.

Funny how things like a heated rear screen or a passenger mirror were something to boast about back then!

For what it's worth I think the MK1 Escort is possibly the prettiest Ford ever, the rear quarter and roof pillar is particularly pleasing to me for some reason - however the MK2s more handsome looks edge it for me if I was to be in a position to chose. Being an Essex boy these were the thing to have when I passed my test in the 90s, I hate to think how many have passed through the hands of my group of friends and I. I do miss my 4 door @eddyramrod Ghia though....

Look at that red interior!🥰

For me, the best looking fords were the Capri mk1 and 2, and the Cortina mk3. Mk1 Escort not far behind. 
Ford were on point with styling in the 70’s I think. When a run of the mill repmobile like the Cortina looks like the mk3 did… oooff!!😄 what a car! 
Mk1 and 2 Granadas were gorgeous looking things too. And even the Transit was a handsome thing despite it being a van.

Were the side trims standard on the mk2 Escort L if it was a late one with square headlights? Looks like I might need to make them from some micro strip for my model.

[danthecapriman]

8 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

No I want a facelift or mk4-5 dash board, so thought if you were striping one to mould the grille if you wanted some practice ,you could try a dash too while it was in piece's.

No rush just that I've two part work Taunuses/Taunui? ( There way cheaper to cut up than vanguards) & One will really show it's not rhd. 3 would be handy as may have a further project in mind.

Ah I see, you want the dash! 
I’ll take the facelift car apart today hopefully to do a mould for the grill. If I can get the dash out ok I’ll try it. Whether or not the Vanguard’s dash will fit the partwork Cortina/Taunus I don’t know though. You might need to modify the new casting to fit.

I could make a mould for you and just send you the mould. Then you can cast as many as you want? The resin is cheap.

[danthecapriman]

9 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

I'm not very up on either Honk Kong Dinkys or American cars, but I believe the HKD T Bird is a later gen than the French Dinky one. However looking at this interesting article

https://www.maronline.org.uk/more-hong-kong-dinkys/

It seems that Spot On combined diferent model years when designing the HKD toys!

Does anyone have a HKD T Bird that they would be willing to make some moulds from?

Yeah, I’ve just looked and you’re right. The French Dinky one is a later Thunderbird generation. Bugger!

Just a thought…

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/167861039028?_skw=bond+thunderbird&itmmeta=01KCBJ78C67BHZZ7MEWV03BE5A&hash=item27154c2fb4:g:KM4AAeSwWtpo7rNM&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1e5qqOfOGDGBlLBUOaKQIbt%2FjMR5BuJuTICwit1FaMlDhK2Lptw%2Fmot4%2BRnMRSoI7pvsnaI%2BeAEOVmYeGnC0DL%2FTo1%2BOBnRNMH5gCd7J%2FxeHGamfr2WC6H89VjbAjeLOa%2BUg5T%2BIN0KMz7S3u2yhNIX3dYCMTy%2F7wNIwWL5XLc%2BEMTrU7AncgH%2F%2B%2BnM%2B1v2sggmlOtKAEP6ZT6ii6m7YZ3sKmvg8ixvuB5u9mUTOOluuwYHwvOP69W5WU%2FjCly1HSsDA%2F2YTsR5RDm%2FhzYCiSyY1JQeH3BaNwlGRtM0r8WAMA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7yGnfLiZg

What about these? 
Theyre 1:43 scale so very very slightly different to the HK Dinky but maybe they could be used as a donor?

[FakeConcern]

11 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

I'm very likely the only person here who wouldn't!  OK they were a top rally car in their time, but I'm not likely to be spending much time sideways on forest tracks, so that doesn't matter to me.  They were a fairly adequate basic saloon at the time too, but basic isn't my territory either; and there are many cheaper, better-built and better-equipped cars available now.  Two doors are only enough if the car only has two seats; Escorts tend to have four seats and so need four doors.  When the mk2 was new, late 70s, was my Learner Years and consequently two of the driving school cars I used were this model, both two-door Populars.  Fuck me they were horrible!  And our family car, which carried my L plates, was a 1963 Triumph Herald.

Were you (anybody) to give me an Escort today I wouldn't even collect it.  I'd just send it to Mathewson's.  Were you to give me a Triumph Herald in comparable condition I'd keep it and love it.

Yes, I've always been the only person marching in-step.

I like any Escort really, and I always prefer the higher spec ones as you say the pov spec really seem low rent.

I think Ford were particularly good at bringing out a posher version that made the lower models in the range look awful, not sure if that started with the 1600E Mk2 Cortina as that made all the others look plain and boring.

I'm surprised you don't like two door cars as there are lots of enormous American cars with only two doors that look amazing. Also see below where you slate the Mk1 Escort and allude to (I assume) the 105E Anglia with four seats and two doors! Personally I like two and three door cars and I think the only cars I've owned with four/five doors were the V70 and XM.

To my eyes the Escort is much nicer looking than the Anglia, even as a kid I thought the wide chrome grill looked like a caricature and the reverse slope rear window just bizarre in way the Citroen could get away with, but Ford couldn't! It always looks too tall and narrow to me whereas the Mk1 Escort is lower looking and has the flowing coke bottle shape that looks very pleasing to me. 

However my favourite Escort would be the Mk3 in XR3i/RS1600/RS Turbo flavour, just so you know I'm not going to agree with most people on here either haha!

11 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

On what planet?  It's a crude lump that followed one of the sharpest and prettiest things Ford UK ever made.

Now here we are in full agreement!  

 

[sierraman]

12 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

😄 what went so wrong!?

I like Lada Riva’s too in all fairness.

A track record of fundamentally bad decisions. 😂

[Tenmil Socket]

16 hours ago, sierraman said:

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

Jesus Christ, actually how many Super variants is there?

[danthecapriman]

21 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

 

To my eyes the Escort is much nicer looking than the Anglia, even as a kid I thought the wide chrome grill looked like a caricature and the reverse slope rear window just bizarre in way the Citroen could get away with, but Ford couldn't! It always looks too tall and narrow to me whereas the Mk1 Escort is lower looking and has the flowing coke bottle shape that looks very pleasing to me. 

 

 

I prefer the Escort to the Anglia. I don’t dislike the Anglia of course but the flowing coke bottle style of the Escort just looks much better to me.

But!! I think Ford did the reverse slope far better than Citroen! Citroen’s products just looked absolutely gopping ugly to me! The Ami is probably one of the ugliest contraptions ever conceived in my eyes😄 it’s just awful in every sense. The DS isn’t far behind either. 
It’s all down to personal preferences and styles though. I’ll throw this out there too while we’re on the subject - I don’t think the Jaguar E type is all that attractive either! Enzo was talking out of his arse!😆 If you want a beautiful Jaguar than the mkX is the one.