Shite in Miniature II

[danthecapriman]

11 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.

I’ve had my later Cortina mk3 in bits today and unfortunately I can’t get the grill out without breaking it. It’s obviously got a shit ton load of glue holding it, so I’m buggered there. It’s also got the early dashboard in it so your buggered there!

But, I did find a Vanguard’s mk4 id forgotten about so I’ve made a mould for its dash. 
Hopefully it’ll work ok how I’ve done it, if not I’ll try a different way. You might have to use your original steering wheels though as the Vanguard’s one looks a bit awkward to reproduce.

 
I’ve got a second batch of early base mk3 grills drying off indoors now after the cold ruined the first ones. They look good so far but I’ll leave them alone as long as possible.

[bunglebus]

4 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Look at that red interior!🥰

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.

Yes side trims were standard on the last year or two of L production. Red interiors are the best, that's what my silver Ghia had. Other stinking colours included blue and green, the black, beige and brown ones are nowhere near as pleasing to me

FWIW I like the square Cortinas best, MK2 and MK4. Probably as much down to my dad having a 1600E and 2.0S as anything else I suppose 

[bunglebus]

Trip into town netted the new Silver series of rally cars

With one omission - all the Escorts were gone!

[bunglebus]

At home I received some white Matchbox - a Roadblasters Unimog

And a late Specials 959 with the Chinese screwed on base, a hangover from it being an Alarm Car at one point 

[sierraman]

Little known fact. They planned an RS200 as a Specials but in the end decides to just do it as a 1-75. 

[danthecapriman]

I found one of the new Vanguard’s Fiesta mk2 XR2’s earlier while I was in the shed.

Bought it a few months back to look it over for modifying into a Ghia but in the end opted to start with the blue base model. I’m not massively into hot hatches so if anyone fancies one this is available. 
It’s brand new, completely unmarked. £25 posted??? Cheap as chips m8!

[andy18s]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Trip into town netted the new Silver series of rally cars

With one omission - all the Escorts were gone!

Goddam it, another Audi to try look for... it's hard enough saying no to the 1/43 Rothmans Porsche that Hotwheels are doing 

[ambassador84]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Trip into town netted the new Silver series of rally cars

With one omission - all the Escorts were gone!

Quelle surprise 😮 

[Lord Sterling]

2 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

if anyone fancies one this is available. 
It’s brand new, completely unmarked. £25 posted??? Cheap as chips m8!

Yes please!

[danthecapriman]

3 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

Yes please!

Owd aaarrt yur aanndd, me owd chyna!

All yours anyway. I’ll ping you a PM in a bit.👍

[FakeConcern]

3 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

I found one of the new Vanguard’s Fiesta mk2 XR2’s earlier while I was in the shed.

Bought it a few months back to look it over for modifying into a Ghia but in the end opted to start with the blue base model. I’m not massively into hot hatches so if anyone fancies one this is available. 
It’s brand new, completely unmarked. £25 posted??? Cheap as chips m8!

If you have any XR3s you don't want, then I'm yer man!

[bunglebus]

I grabbed a cheap job lot for this, as I think it would look nice as a bit of a custom

Cracked glass, but flat as a pancake so hopefully I can create some replacements 

I have also let myself down and paid a scalper for a Super Chase

This will of course guarantee pegs full of them before the month is out

[danthecapriman]

57 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I grabbed a cheap job lot for this, as I think it would look nice as a bit of a custom

Cracked glass, but flat as a pancake so hopefully I can create some replacements 

I have also let myself down and paid a scalper for a Super Chase

This will of course guarantee pegs full of them before the month is out

Those Standard Atlas vans are nice little things. They make nice code 3’s too. @eddyramrod has some.

[sheffcortinacentre]

10 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

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.

Yes that would be great, let me know & I'll send you something for post/time etc.

[sheffcortinacentre]

8 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

I’ve had my later Cortina mk3 in bits today and unfortunately I can’t get the grill out without breaking it. It’s obviously got a shit ton load of glue holding it, so I’m buggered there. It’s also got the early dashboard in it so your buggered there!

But, I did find a Vanguard’s mk4 id forgotten about so I’ve made a mould for its dash. 
Hopefully it’ll work ok how I’ve done it, if not I’ll try a different way. You might have to use your original steering wheels though as the Vanguard’s one looks a bit awkward to reproduce.

 
I’ve got a second batch of early base mk3 grills drying off indoors now after the cold ruined the first ones. They look good so far but I’ll leave them alone as long as possible.

No problem that would be great , no problem modding it, I think the part works might be ixo.

[sheffcortinacentre]

8 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

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.

I think the Studebaker Avanti is an ugly thing.

[danthecapriman]

5 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

No problem that would be great , no problem modding it, I think the part works might be ixo.

Part works ones are definitely IXO. I’ve got both and the only difference is the quality of the finish. One of my IXO ones is actually very very close to crystal green.

The dash mould is done, tomorrow I’ll give it a try and see how they come out. 
This is one of the early base mk3 grills I did today, so the resin I’ve got now is working well on the fine detail. They do just need a bit of tidying up on the edges and backs to get a nice fit.

[eddyramrod]

10 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

Anglia... always looks too tall and narrow to me

Agreed!  But to me it's still much more pleasing than the style-free lump that succeeded it in 1968, and every generation that followed.  And yes, it has four seats and only two doors; I never suggested that Ford were unable to make mistakes!

2 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Those Standard Atlas vans are nice little things. They make nice code 3’s too. @eddyramrod has some.

@eddyramrod has one!  Mine suffered a broken window unit too; the part isn't available repro so I did the only sensible thing and made it a panel van, like the one my parents had when I was 4 or 5 in the 60s.  Here it is, on the left of this pic...

As you see, I did nothing about the windows.  This was one of Dinky's earlier window-equipped issues so I regressed it to the previous generation.

The three cars with it are all models that were issued as two-doors but needed converting to fours to represent the cars I remember.  Most recent conversion is the 100E, from a Vanguards Popular to a Prefect, which in fact was the car that came after the Atlas in our driveway.  Earliest conversion is the Cortina, once a Vanguards Boy Racer, now the last car my dad bought new.  Canny buyer that he was, he waited for the new 1600 Crossflow engine to come out late in 1967, then snapped up the last 1500 Super in the showroom!  This was my first conversion to four doors, and I'm not very happy with the B pillars.  I might have to pull it apart and redo it, better.

 

[AndyW201]

I know I said I wouldnt be going out and buying diecast before Christmas, but this came in the post today, it was ordered a few weeks ago, so doesn't count in my eyes!

A lovely little thing, this. A casting that I don't think has been seen before, or after this version. Many trips to the usual haunts failed to turn one up when it was released, so I've had to go the AliExpress route. I got fairly lucky and snagged this for about the same price (including shipping) that I would have paid in a shop.

A fairly unusual subject, I liked the 323s of this generation (especially the fastback), si its noce to see it modelled.

A typical feature of Japanese  performance cars of the time is the small paragraph of technical information on the flanks!

[danthecapriman]

47 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

Agreed!  But to me it's still much more pleasing than the style-free lump that succeeded it in 1968, and every generation that followed.  And yes, it has four seats and only two doors; I never suggested that Ford were unable to make mistakes!

@eddyramrod has one!  Mine suffered a broken window unit too; the part isn't available repro so I did the only sensible thing and made it a panel van, like the one my parents had when I was 4 or 5 in the 60s.  Here it is, on the left of this pic...

As you see, I did nothing about the windows.  This was one of Dinky's earlier window-equipped issues so I regressed it to the previous generation.

The three cars with it are all models that were issued as two-doors but needed converting to fours to represent the cars I remember.  Most recent conversion is the 100E, from a Vanguards Popular to a Prefect, which in fact was the car that came after the Atlas in our driveway.  Earliest conversion is the Cortina, once a Vanguards Boy Racer, now the last car my dad bought new.  Canny buyer that he was, he waited for the new 1600 Crossflow engine to come out late in 1967, then snapped up the last 1500 Super in the showroom!  This was my first conversion to four doors, and I'm not very happy with the B pillars.  I might have to pull it apart and redo it, better.

 

I thought you had a couple of the Atlas vans. I could’ve sworn I sent you one and you already had the van conversion. Obviously not then.

I really really wish Corgi would do the Cortina mk2 as a 4 door (and 5 door estate actually but let’s not push it!). I don’t think there’s any chance of that now though unless they do a new retool of the mk2.

Thats a lovely shade of blue on the Corsair too.

[sheffcortinacentre]

Think the only 4 Dr MK2 Cortina is one of the white metal ones ( Lansdowne,or pathfinder?).

Only EST is the corgi mk1 & again think it's one of the above did a MK4 Ghia EST.

[AndyW201]

There were a few 4 door Mk2s, going back to the Mikansue 1600E from the early '80s, there are also versions by Matrix, Lansdowne and British Heritage Models. All nice (and all 1600Es I think) but £££££ sadly.

Only chance of a Mk2 estate I think, is the CMAC 3D printed version.

[danthecapriman]

I was going to say the Matrix, Lansdown, Pathfinder etc models of any car are £megabucks. There’s a few Pathfinder mk3 Cortina’s on eBay at the moment and they’re asking a couple of hundred quid each!

I do have a plan for a mk4/5 estate though. A while back I managed to bag a reasonably cheap Minichamps Ford Taunus TC estate. Obviously the front end is completely wrong for a Cortina but with a Cortina front end grafted onto the Taunus estate rear it’s the same. The Taunus TC estate/turnier metal work is only suitable for the mk4 and 5 though as it lacks the coke bottle style of the mk3.

[bunglebus]

Tidied up the RoadBlasters Unimog

While I was at it I attacked the tatty Model A

Matching the pink was pure fluke using the white and a can of neon pink mixed together. The original paint seems to want to peel endlessly, it's somehow reacted with the new stuff and lifted even more

[quicksilver]

2 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

There were a few 4 door Mk2s, going back to the Mikansue 1600E from the early '80s, there are also versions by Matrix, Lansdowne and British Heritage Models. All nice (and all 1600Es I think) but £££££ sadly.

Only chance of a Mk2 estate I think, is the CMAC 3D printed version.

Same deal in 1:76. Oxford's Mk1 and 2 are both 2-doors, no doubt so they can model the popular Lotus, GT and other sporty versions despite the 4-door being much more common in reality. CMAC saved the day with his 3D printed 4-door and estate.

And on the topic of Mk3 Cortina grilles, Oxford's 1:76 has the usual twin round headlights, leaving it to CMAC to make the single round light L and rectangular light 2000E.

[Datsuncog]

Happened to be in Belfast on Friday morning, so took the opportunity for a quick look round the market. 

General Tat Stall actually had some diecast on offer:

Mostly Bond part work stuff, mind. 

Not too bad at £5 a go. 

Older Dinky stuff was also available at £10 each, though maybe a bit too old for most of us? Ford Shoebox was quite nice, though I couldn't quite work out if it was a repaint or not.

Green vehicle lift was by DCMT Crescent; Bburago 205 had seen better days with lights, wheel etc missing. 

At least there was a spare on the roof still, I guess?

One of the other giffer stalls had a few '40s and '50s Dinkys too:

But nothing to get me too overwrought. 

Colin at the Irish Tat stall had nothing new this week; Charity Stall was similarly lacking any diecast. 

Even Alan seemed to have sold anything of interest from his 50p tray:

Some of the other antiques chancers were still having a laugh:

While the Antiques Shitshow stall continued to offer fantasy pricing:

Yup, that's £15 for a Corgi Thunderbird and £8 for an unboxed MoY. The Lesney GMC refrigeration truck with minimal paint and no door at the back was a comical £6.

Dunno how much the others were, but probably Not Cheap, despite mostly consisting of Far Eastern no-names! 

Ah well, at least the coffee was worth the stop. 

Happy Friday Sunday, kids.

[danthecapriman]

7 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Happened to be in Belfast on Friday morning, so took a quick look round the market. 

General Tat Stall actually had some diecast on offer:

Mostly Bond part work stuff, mind. 

Not too bad at £5 a go. 

Older Dinky stuff was also available at £10 each, though maybe a bit too old for most of us? 

Green lift was by DCMT Crescent; Bburago 205 had seen better days with lights etc missing. 

One of the other giffer stalls had a few '40s and '50s Dinkys too:

But nothing to get me too overwrought. 

Colin at the Irish Tat stall had nothing new this week; Charity Stall was similarly lacking any diecast. 

Even Alan seemed to have sold anything of interest from his 50p tray:

Some of the other antiques chancers were still having a laugh:

While the Antiques Shitshow stall continued to offer fantasy pricing:

Yup, that's £15 for a Corgi Thunderbird and £8 for an unboxed MoY. 

Dunno how much the others were, but probably Not Cheap! 

Ah well, at least the coffee was worth the stop. 

If you see that Bond partwork red Ford wagon again at £5… please! It’s a bargain at that price.

[Tenmil Socket]

I forgot to post a pic of the model pushbike kit that me sister bought me.

 

[Tenmil Socket]

I seem to recall having this yellow Matchbox ewt type thing as a kid (spotted on eBay).

 

 

[eddyramrod]

17 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

If you see that Bond partwork red Ford wagon again at £5… please! It’s a bargain at that price.

I'm up for that too; also the white one and the Chevrolet sedans from Live And Let Die.  And the Dodge pickup.