Shite in Miniature II

[Split_Pin]

5 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Just the 2 doors. 

Better than the ONE that opens on my Polistil Renault 5 from the same era 😂

[bunglebus]

6 hours ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Why are those Hot Wheels on the cork board so expensive?

They were all Super Treasure Hunts. At least half were sold by the end, including the £175 Ferrari F40. I had considered the £35 MK2 Escort if it had still been available.

[bunglebus]

I've been acquiring far too many project cars lately, Cougar Dragster and Dublo Morris are the latest

Back doors are odd, supposed to be a security van, or just PO with extras?

Draguar looks like it could make a good custom, there are some tiny stress fractures in the canopy but it seems that's just par for the course with these

This is a good find though, I've been slowly getting all the Majorette Hot Rods together but the Chevrolet must have been added to the range a bit later

Slightly crap pic of it in the blister as I had to lay it flat due to the plastic being detached from the card. Means we can have a better look and switch the engine tops around:

That pickup is the hardest to find, only ever seen it as shown on the packaging here

[FakeConcern]

@Split_Pin There's a boxed Britain's LR + Horse box on ebay atm and the LR has the sticker showing a sheep just like yours, so it looks like yours is a proper set!

 

[Split_Pin]

14 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

@Split_Pin There's a boxed Britain's LR + Horse box on ebay atm and the LR has the sticker showing a sheep just like yours, so it looks like yours is a proper set!

 

Aw brilliant! Amazing the two have stayed together all that time. My cars and trailers always got mixed around, they still do!

[sheffcortinacentre]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

I've been acquiring far too many project cars lately, Cougar Dragster and Dublo Morris are the latest

Back doors are odd, supposed to be a security van, or just PO with extras?

Draguar looks like it could make a good custom, there are some tiny stress fractures in the canopy but it seems that's just par for the course with these

This is a good find though, I've been slowly getting all the Majorette Hot Rods together but the Chevrolet must have been added to the range a bit later

Slightly crap pic of it in the blister as I had to lay it flat due to the plastic being detached from the card. Means we can have a better look and switch the engine tops around:

That pickup is the hardest to find, only ever seen it as shown on the packaging here

Minor van would be good spec

[AnthonyG]

On 15/02/2026 at 12:00, Tenmil Socket said:

A little frustrating sellers put the sticky price labels on perfectly good boxes ☹️

The word ‘moronic’ comes to mind, similar with charity shops when they sticker up ‘vintage’ paperback books. One had a bunch of 1950s/1960s green crime penguins, with both the price sticker and a gift aid sticker affixed to the front cover!😐

Back to models, I would want the stall holder to peel off any price sticker before handing over money for a ‘mint boxed’ item. 

[andrew e]

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I've been acquiring far too many project cars lately, Cougar Dragster and Dublo Morris are the latest

Back doors are odd, supposed to be a security van, or just PO with extras?

Draguar looks like it could make a good custom, there are some tiny stress fractures in the canopy but it seems that's just par for the course with these

This is a good find though, I've been slowly getting all the Majorette Hot Rods together but the Chevrolet must have been added to the range a bit later

Slightly crap pic of it in the blister as I had to lay it flat due to the plastic being detached from the card. Means we can have a better look and switch the engine tops around:

That pickup is the hardest to find, only ever seen it as shown on the packaging here

That pickmup sure looks like the Orange blossom special?

 

[666jjp]

something for most,

https://www.ryedaleauctioneers.com/catalogue/5416d41c5cae5e2768bde180dd2991ee/02d8863b5de7d5d97f6ef64910788336/toys-models-comics-sci-fi/?currentPageNo=1

[Christine]

shiney one ! 

[Lord Sterling]

Firstly I'd like to say a big thanks to @bunglebus for the recent package I received containing these:

Absolutely amazing. 

I have taken a small liberty of introducing a couple of cars to a sharpie pen for minor added details:

Bottom of rear lights have had a bit of orange added as I waiting for the white to set. The wheels had a bit of silver missing so this has been reapplied but only in places where they were missing. 

The Leyland recovery truck and Fiat Uno had a tad more detail added too.

Here is the Fiesta in more detail:

Speaking of details, or lack thereof. I find it a tad annoying when model manufacturers skip on small details that would make their models look a bit more premium. Take for example my 1/43 Solido Jaguar XJ12. It's not a bad casting, although there are better one out there. However, the apart from the shape, the double round headlights at front are what make a Jag recognisable and this is where it lacked detail:

The headlights themselves look void of detail, they're usually silver behind them, so I wanted to rectify this. 

I took the Jag apart to see if I could get behind the headlights. I recently watched an episode of Paul Restorer on YouTube and got inspired on how he added a bit of silver behind a model cars headlights to give it more of authentic look. So I decided to do the same with this Jag.

I put a bit too much silver around the headlight, I'll have to resolve this soon. But on my Alfa 156. It worked spectacularly well:

Even with the money box Escort van I've got, the small details just let it down, so I decided to give it a bit of rectification:

So the small dots on the wheel looked like a bad photocopy which I assumed it was and the headlight had too much of a large line whereas the real van has much more pronounced holes in the wheel and the headlight doesn't have much of pronounced line between the headlight and indicator. 

[Split_Pin]

Hmm, you must have beaten me to it on the Superkings Leyland, I thought I'd secured dibs on that 😐 I guess I was too slow.

[bunglebus]

Sorry about that, you did ask looking back. 

I try and keep track of who wants what on my high tech notepad system but must have got that one wrong 

[Split_Pin]

Nae probs, it happens!

[Lord Sterling]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Hmm, you must have beaten me to it on the Superkings Leyland, I thought I'd secured dibs on that 😐 I guess I was too slow.

If I see one. I'll get it for you 😉

[FakeConcern]

Thanks everyone & especially @barrettfor the input regarding the 1/43 plastic Firebird and T-Bird. Following the lead that AMT made kits that scale , I found these pics showing both cars...

[Datsuncog]

Took a run into the city centre yesterday to get some sort of remedy for my horribly dry hands, which have suffered a lot this winter from the effects of the cold and repeated exposure to plasterboard dust (even through gloves):

This stuff feels a bit like coating your hands in lard, but if it works... 

Happily, this brought me very close to the model shop in Smithfield.

Less happily, they were closed over lunchtime, again.

This happens a lot. For a place that's only open from 10 til 4 (not 4.30 as advertised) and often closes for the day at 1.30 (like they did on Friday), they're pretty darn generous with their breaks. 

So, no Glo Racers today - but since I was there, and since there was no one around to tell me off, I thought I'd show you all what's in the outside display cases these days. 

Corgi Commer minibus in Samuelson's Film Services get-up was nice; bit chipped for £20 (and missing the camera operator) but I'd still really like one of these. 

Dinky Anglia 105E not all that common; used but not dreadfully abused. £15 on that one. 

Mostly unboxed MoYs and Matchbox Dinky making up the rest of this shelf, but look a bit closer... 

Scandinavian rubberized vehicles always get my attention, even though I liquidated my mini-collection of them some years ago. These two Jeeps were probably either made by Tomte-Laerdal or else Galanite. 

The Jeep FC wrecker looks like it may have been 'inspired' by the Corgi casting; though the mechanic riding in the rear bed is a nice original touch. 

Towhook still in place, too. 

Yellow Corgi Whizzwheels Marcos is a less common version:

Lesney Speed Kings Charger not in superb nick, but complete. 

Most of the stuff here is kinda dross, though. 

Ditto here:

Corgi Land Rovers and horse boxes looked quite good; Whizzwheels Mercedes C111 less so; Husky Ford D-Series and low-loader could be better, for a tenner. 

Why he gives shelf space to so many Maisto pull-backs from the Shell sports car promo and MoYs I'll never know. 

I remember those Corgi Classics Toymaster twin-packs when they were new:

Big Lesney Super Kings Peterbilt refrigerator truck is uncommon; not exactly cheap given the cosmetic degradation, but the de-silvered grille could probably be refinished and the trailer yellowing might respond to a dab of hydrogen peroxide. 

Corgi Prelude doesn't really look like the stuff of glass display cabinets! Simon Snorkel fire ladder with various bits missing not exactly collector-grade either. 

White tyres on the Corgi Jeep FC cherry picker don't seem quite right; Lesney Majors grader was very clean though. Canopy on the Battle Kings half-track is usually missing, so that's a nice one - even if the rubber tracks have gone missing.

Not sure who the market is for a plastic Smurfs guitar or tiny PVC tote bag, but ok. 

More big stuff by Corgi, Dinky, Lesney and Majorette - nice, but not quite bargainous at anything between £15 and £30.

Lastly, some more US import Matchbox at £10 a throw, including a Jaguar SS roadster in that recently discussed 1982-only box with the three illustrations. 

Corgi Whizzwheels in weird modern reimagined packaging continue to annoy me. 

I wasn't going to hang around for another hour, so I had a look in Poundland, Poundstretcher and The Entertainer - none of which had anything of interest. 

B&M did however have a full box of the latest HW Silverline F&F releases, just chilling on the floor. 

Nothing I was mad keen to own, though. 

A brief trip through Cash Converters brought some new stuff:

Boxed Lesney Super Kings Ford A-Series pulling a powerboat was in very good condition - at £45, still a bit rich for my skinflint ways but certainly appealing. 

£5 a go for newish Hot Wheels didn't seem such a bargain, though - although probably a little cheaper than buying them online and having to stump up £3.49 for postage. 

£15 Escort cabrio and Mk2 Golf rally still with no takers, after many months. 

Can't exactly see collectors falling over themselves for these MoYs or Corgi Cameos 'Village Collection' either. 

Corgi Bond Aston is a weird one - #96655 is a remanufactured version of the original #270 with modern barcodes and safety markings on the box base, apparently available between 1995 and 1999.

It's also the same casting as the recent Corgi Model Club #270 release, albeit seen here in the later 'rainbow' box - wonder if CMC are currently using this older tooling, leveraging its availability now that CMC has been bought over by Corgi/ Hornby Hobbies? I believe that was why Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Yellow Submarine suddenly got shoehorned into the collection last year - Corgi have re-released these multiple times since the mid '90s. 

Well, at £40 I'm not likely to find out anytime soon. 

One ray of sunshine was this modernish Matchbox rendering of a Ford Panel Van, picked out from a charity shop's 50p tub:

Apparently part of a Service Centre 5-pack from 2011, the tiny 'Diecast Service Centre' lettering is just about visible on the doors. 

Maybe not marvelously detailed, and the chip on the nose is a bit annoying, but I like it all the same. 

[Split_Pin]

The owners of the Smithfield Model Shop come across as absolutely barking!

[Datsuncog]

It's unhinged.

And yet I keep going back...

(In fairness, the market's broadly comparable in terms of batshittery)

[Split_Pin]

I would go back too, just in case...

[bunglebus]

[bunglebus]

As hinted at earlier, after several years* of drought, an E Case of Hot Wheels and D case Matchbox landed in Entertainer, somehow missing D case but I'm sure it'll materialise eventually.

From the Matchbox case I selected the very lovely green Porsche 

And blue Continental 

I got rather excited about the E case and bought about half of them

Porsche reminds me of the one from the Nightburnerz 5 pack 

Honda City looks really good with the red interior 

Batboat looks much better in black, rather than blue as previously 

Plenty of pink in this one, including Corvette 

The return of the Simpsons car

And what would be the Super, Cosworth

Yellow cars include Pass 'n' Gasser

Excellent custom Honda e

And CRX

A bit of blue 

Impala looks great, should have got a spare to wheel swap etc

Not a lot of green

Plenty of orange though

Toronado is most excellent 

More new goodness in the form of this Maserati

More white

Slightly odd graphics on this remind me of Greased Lightning in race mode

Found the Forza Porsche 906 in Smyths

[bunglebus]

Tatty Welly Lupo

Bare metalled

Dent in roof noted

Fixed

Rear badge

Gone

Side mouldings

Gone

Casting lines

Gone

Rear wiper deleted

Dash converted to RHD

Primed

Black

Top coat

Clear - used the Auto Extreme stuff same as the colour, seems very good. Hopefully it won't craze!

Hot Wheels wheels on brass rod axles, polished up the bumpers just like the windows, detailed

[bunglebus]

Amazon with exceedingly tedious masking job to recreate the original - deliberately bad just like the factory did it

Back was a little easier. Just the lights to do now

[quicksilver]

7 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

The owners of the Smithfield Model Shop come across as absolutely barking!

From DC's past descriptions, he sounds like a cross between Comic Book Guy and Bernard Black.

[bunglebus]

Finally found a "Hot Wheel"

Along with this - ever seen an Ultra Class?

[morrisoxide]

First HW find this year.

It was from Poundland as The Entertainer seems to have dried up and so has Tescotainer. 

That isn't true I saw a Toronado (with no doors) and a red Cortina (with yellow windows) in The Motorist for £3...        3 Pounds each blimey!

That Dodge 330 is nice I'll be keeping my eye out for a few of those.

[danthecapriman]

Lovely job on that Lupo @bunglebus 

Amazon is nice too.👍

[quicksilver]

13 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Tatty Welly Lupo

Bare metalled

Dent in roof noted

Fixed

Rear badge

Gone

Side mouldings

Gone

Casting lines

Gone

Rear wiper deleted

Dash converted to RHD

Primed

Black

Top coat

Clear - used the Auto Extreme stuff same as the colour, seems very good. Hopefully it won't craze!

Hot Wheels wheels on brass rod axles, polished up the bumpers just like the windows, detailed

Same paint I used on my MG ZS, one of my favourites of the colour shifts I've tried. I've been using Auto Extreme lacquer for ages and never had any trouble with it crazing no matter what brand of paint it's applied over so you should be safe with that.

[bunglebus]

13 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Same paint I used on my MG ZS, one of my favourites of the colour shifts I've tried

I love it, just one more colour to find now