Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

Funny you should mention unusual Matchbox Porsches, this one arrived today

Along with this highly detailed Hot Wheels Mebetoys effort

Check out the lump for a door handle

Moving swiftly along, I have somehow managed to find a load of fairly unusual Hot Wheels this week, starting with a pair of Scorchers

Steam Roller

205 is a rather good score (should have cleaned it though)

Orange version of this pickup is much harder to find than the blue one

Another rarity, a Revvers 

Never had a P-917 before. Looks like one of the rival cars from Herbie goes to Monte Carlo 

32 Ford is a little easier to find

As is this 33 - actually a bit newer than the wheels would suggest

As is this Corvette

These two are definitely oldies

But not as old as the Beatnik Bandit

[bunglebus]

Other oddities to have arrived include this TF Chevy Astro, with a different, chromed base to the usual ones that turn up. Actually says Chevrolet on it too, scratched out on all the others I have

Splattered Majorette 

Tidy Rockets GP Buggy - way brighter than the pic suggests

Locksmith Siku Golf - I have one but this is nicer

This one's really out there - and it's definitely not a Galanite

Plastic Range Rover is remarkably well detailed

Made by Plasto in Finland

Tractor that was in a job lot - no idea, completely unmarked. I don't know anything about tractors other than it's an old one

[bunglebus]

A long time ago I went down one of those internet rabbit holes, at the time it was looking for pictures of Matchbox colour trials, especially the larger ones in the Speed Kings and SuperKings ranges. Recent adventures down a similar path lead me to this interesting example, a Gus's Gulper in Milligans Mill green

It has also led me to discover the very last of the Milligans Mills (I think the KP-1 series) were equipped with Dot-Dash rather than Spiro front wheels. Another one to find!

As seen on the rare white version of the Gulper (which has the wrong interior and scoop on the engine too)

However, my original white version has Spiros on the front - and bizarrely enough, the wrong scoop too, unless they were all fitted with the flat type towards the end of production

Anyway, what really sent me into a spin years ago, was this single image from a Vectis auction

Yep, as well as another Dot-Dash equipped Mill, there's a white version! I've been on the hunt for one ever since, without success. Only option available to me was to make my own

Decals were available from Black Square thankfully, and are a right faff to cut out without leaving any obvious extra material around them. The fake white Gulper was much easier! The Vectis one doesn't have the rear decal but I decided to fit one to mine

Glass got a very thorough polish, luckily it wasn't yellowed

Front wheels took a bit of trial and error, borrowed from the back of a Model A van in the end and polished up the same way I do the glass

Engine and body prop were raided from one of my many donors

Here's what I started with

Last time I made my own white one, the real thing showed up not long after, so fingers crossed...

[MVX11V]

Mint Milligans Mill Man! You've produced a stunning model there.

[jim89]

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Tractor that was in a job lot - no idea, completely unmarked. I don't know anything about tractors other than it's an old one

The inboard headlights say Dexta but they were blue...

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, MVX11V said:

Mint Milligans Mill Man! You've produced a stunning model there.

It can sit with this

And this

And this

And this

I think I have a problem 😁

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, jim89 said:

The inboard headlights say Dexta but they were blue...

Apparently a Tomte Laerdal Fordson Dextra

[jim89]

6 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Apparently a Tomte Laerdal Fordson Dextra

No R 👍🏻 

https://tractorandmachinery.co.uk/tractors/fordson-dexta/

[danthecapriman]

9 hours ago, bunglebus said:

It can sit with this

And this

And this

And this

I think I have a problem 😁

They all look a better colour than the factory green! The white one you’ve done looks absolutely perfect👍

[Spottedlaurel]

Happy New Year SiM-ists! May your 2026 be filled with abundant, interesting new releases (and scalpers be banished) and/or bargain-priced tat box finds. Or, if you prefer, exercise a bit of self-control and not fill your loft/garage/WHY with a load of 'stuff' and take time to enjoy what you already have......

My final 1/24 kit completion of 2025:

 

 

 

Painted Vauxhall Polar Sea Blue pearl, lowered and fitted with Fujimi aftermarket "Shadow Spoke" wheels.

[junkyarddog]

Finally found the red Cortina.

Strangely elusive,as least for me.

[quicksilver]

Time for a quick round up of some of the final projects of 2025.

My @155V6 box included this Matchbox caravan. The Transit pulling it was 50p from a market box so the whole rig only cost me a quid!

Alongside it was this old Dinky Yellow Pages Atlantean in pretty good shape. The driver looks like he hails from Springfield.

And for the first time ever I found an Oxford Diecast model in a charity shop. They usually have either no toy cars at all or nothing more than the occasional no-name Chinese tat or Days Gone infestation so this £2 Rapier was a surprise.

 

I've been doing some more experiments with the Rustoleum Colour Shift paints. This stuff messes with my head as the colour changes are so dramatic but a bit difficult to capture on camera.

Some proper truck shite - an Iveco TurboStar. Hen's teeth rare now as they had great engines but the cabs rotted away. That's Nightfire Red, one of the best colours of ever.

And this one is a right bitsa - it has parts from six different manufacturers, some 3D printed, some moulded plastic, some resin, some whitemetal and some diecast, plus bits and pieces of styrene to join them all together! 

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Spottedlaurel said:

exercise a bit of self-control and not fill your loft/garage/WHY with a load of 'stuff' and take time to enjoy what you already have......

Why do I feel triggered by that remark?

[bunglebus]

4 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

The driver looks like he hails from Springfield.

Nah we've got First Bus here

[AndyW201]

Happy New Year, miniature shite-ists.

Boredom's starting to set in, so I had a run out yesterday, to see if there was anything about. After finding absolutely nothing of interest in Tescotainer (which has gone right down the pan, of late), both B&Ms and Morrisons, I struck (a small amount of) gold in Poundland.

I found a small amount of fairly recent HW mainlines amongst the older stuff, starting with the Shoveit.

Challenger in a very similar colour scheme to the recent Dodge Daytona,

Another nice colour scheme on the Z,

My favourite HW find was this though, despite the yellow windows. At long last I too found the  Lotus Corty in Sir John Whitmore colours.

They had also started to put out a tiny amount of a recent Matchbox case out too, unforunately the pegs are still full of late 2025 releases so all that was there was the GR Supra, in a really nice blue paintjob

And the new Corvette casting. Wow! What a little honey this is,

[Spottedlaurel]

20 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Why do I feel triggered by that remark?

I think we're all as bad! I have a big box out in the garage to put away, but it's too cold right now....

[AndyW201]

So, buoyed by the tat-hunting at Poundland, I headed over to Smyths.

For once, I found something amongst the mainlines, finally found the Mini.

Really like this one. The colour is nice and period and the wheels aren't too out of proportion like on the Matchbox version.

The centre exit exhaust is a nice touch!

I checked out the Premiums. Sadly nothing much different from before Christmas. There was the new Boulevard collection there, but of course the BMW M3s had gone. I did fancy the Nissan 300ZX but would have preferred it without the graphics on the side. While I was trying to sort out the usual jumble on the pegs, the manager guy came out of the stockroom, sided up to me and said "You look like the kind of the guy who's after a Ferrari Team Transport". "Nah" I said, "I've long given up on that". He then waved this in front of me,

Not really the best time as I still don't get paid again until next week, but I couldn't let it go really!

It lives up to all the superlatives already laid upon it. I mean, Ferraris aren't exactly my thing, but considering the usully disappointing TT trucks, this one is a small work of art. The detailing is superb,

The GTO is also a little beauty.

Dont know why, but it just seems a notch above the usual Premium. 

Wish I'd asked him if he had any Stranger Things BMWs stashed in the stockroom while I was there, but I'm happy to have got this!

[MVX11V]

12 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I think I have a problem 😁

It's been a toughie to resist the MB dragsters as a side collection!

Happy new year you hoarders of miniature tat.

 

[bunglebus]

Had a go at fixing the KS Toys Golf that got flattened 

It didn't look too bad in this pic but the roof had two long cracks and both A pillars were broken

This ^ is my other one - I might put the repaired roofrack on that instead 

[Tenmil Socket]

24 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Had a go at fixing the KS Toys Golf that got flattened 

It didn't look too bad in this pic but the roof had two long cracks and both A pillars were broken

This ^ is my other one - I might put the repaired roofrack on that instead 

Will one be available?

[bunglebus]

Maybe! Was pondering on fitting a Matchbox Golf roofrack just to add to the confusion. I'll finish polishing the roof up and go from there

[155V6]

There's another one in here

https://ebay.us/m/ckxPa9

[Tenmil Socket]

11 minutes ago, 155V6 said:

There's another one in here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326460976818?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=_6iESJINR42&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=UdnbkHTuRz6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Links not working unless it sold already?

[155V6]

33 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Links not working unless it sold already?

Sorry,fixed it

[Split_Pin]

I seem to have fallen away from the old collecting of things recently in favour of 1/1 cars.

Mrs_Pin did score me this. According to her it was straight off the peg, right from under the nose of an obvious scalper:

Compared to a very nice Majorette version.

[Lord Sterling]

A couple from me.

Some months back, I struck a deal with @dugong regarding a model he had for sale. Today, it was delivered:

It's a 1/18 scale C15. Fatha_Sterling had one of these as a first vehicle when we moved to Brussels in the early 90s. I remember journeys to my uncles house with Pink Floyd and Dire Straits blasting through the speakers on our way there.

Fatha_Sterling's was a dark blue and had a side opening door. 

Here it is with my 1/18 W140 for comparison:

I also scored this in a local shop:

I *may* already have one though. 

[bunglebus]

Aah the diecast gods love to mess with me. I took that Draguar apart the other day to retrieve the engine

As it didn't seem to fit the Scorpion I thought I'd pop the engine in one of the others I have as it has an unusual colour interior but no power plant. Gave the glass a good old polish up too

Fail. Looks like Lesney changed the casting, probably to stop the engine falling out! At least it has shiny glass now I suppose...

[bunglebus]

This one might be a head scratcher too. I'd like to make the very unloved Speed Kings K-49 Ambulance into some sort of fantasy estate car, it looks to me a bit like a BL prototype that never made production. I was hoping the roof hump would come off and leave a nice flat roof, but of course not! 

I also hadn't appreciated that the rear hatch hinges in a raised section, so I've either got to keep the roof hump, or fix the hatch in place, neither of which are ideal. Got a chunk missing from the bumper too, so this one might turn into a real filler fest

[Christine]

'TAXI ! '

 

 

[eddyramrod]

I've completed a couple over Christmas...

Corgi Jeep FC dressed as a fire truck, inspired by a photo I saw on the web.  And here it is with another in its "before" state...

There are parts from at least five different models involved!  I can say the same about this one too...

Corgi Dodge Kew Fargo reimagined as a heating-oil tanker.  Here it is with some friends...

...only one of which is as Corgi intended, and even then I've changed the colours!  The recovery truck is another one that required five or more donors.

Now we all know Corgi's lovely 1967 Lincoln limo, that mostly came in gold with a pretty rare variation in bright blue...

I've just finished the black one; the pearl-grey is somewhat older.  I know there's at least one waiting to be stripped, which may well show up here in burgundy or navy, or possibly silver.  I wonder if I have enough of them to do all three...