Shite in Miniature II

February 19

Heading back to Blighty so visited for the first time Cite Retail Park in Calais. The giant sized Carrefour was very disappointing for diecasts though King Jouet offered a decent selection. Rather salty on the prices but highlights yet again how bad the UK is for diecasts unless all you want to collect is Hot Wheels and HTI Teamsterz!

68,126 · February 19

1 hour ago, bramz7 said:

Cheap Hot Wheels* Ferrari!

Cost me £2.50 on eBay, from Giles Chapman (yes, the very same).

Bent axles notwithstanding, I can't argue at the price, and opening features galore, although the door hinges seem like the type best left undisturbed.

Mebetoys, think I looked at that and decided I didn't need a Ferrari. Lovely things those Mattel era ones

28,387 · February 19

Picked up these early wheeled Majorette R5 and SM a while back.

In complete but well chipped condition.

SM had the added problem of two snapped of auxiliary lamps under the front bumper.

Castings were in great condition otherwise.

Didn't have the correct green for the R5,and no yellow,so decided on a bonkers bright orange for the SM for arguably the most bonkers 1970s car ever produced.

Filled off the broken spot lamps.

You like them Smoll Eddy?

"Take 'em away,they're searin' me retinas M8"

14,948 · February 19

15 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Along with this - ever seen an Ultra Class?

Its nice and I like the wheels on it, but they are a tad too 'deep dish' for my liking.

I have a BMW 750i of that same 'World Class' SuperKings.

15,343 · February 19

3 hours ago, bramz7 said:

Cost me £2.50 on eBay, from Giles Chapman (yes, the very same).

I bought a whole load of Japanese car brochures off him in 1993, went and collected them from a flat he had in London at the time. Also picked up odds and ends from him off eBay since then. As I recall the brochures were from his personal collection, but I think he may have links to/an association with the Karl Ludvigsen archive?

10,673 · February 19

@Spottedlaurel

I believe he also helped with the estate of Sue Baker as I ended up with the 1993 or so press pack for the Impreza launch which was hers through his eBay account.

68,126 · February 19

Dinky Volvo Amazon from the big job lot I bought a while back

Now looking a bit more like it did when it was new

I left the base original partly as I liked the honesty of it, partly as I can't be doing with trying to reform axle ends, it's just impossible!

You may be able to see in that last pic I had to super glue a tyre back together, I ordered a set of 15mm OD replacements from Steve Flowers but they measured 17mm on arrival! They are replacing them but it's not especially noticeable for the moment. Scratching the inside of the body refitting the base is though, oh well...

It was quite hard finding pictures of good original ones for reference, most are the Atlas versions. The paint on the silver bits and rear lights is approximate at best, so that's how I've done it again

68,126 · February 19

Today's arrival is a real oddity, despite negotiating I paid a fair bit for it but have you ever seen a Corgi 251 Speed 'N' Spin Ford Fiesta?

This just has to be a rebranded Hong Kong casting, but who by I've no idea. I almost wish the blister was loose so I could check out the base, and do some tricks with it

6,983 · February 19

11 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Today's arrival is a real oddity, despite negotiating I paid a fair bit for it but have you ever seen a Corgi 251 Speed 'N' Spin Ford Fiesta?

This just has to be a rebranded Hong Kong casting, but who by I've no idea. I almost wish the blister was loose so I could check out the base, and do some tricks with it

That is absolutely fantastic, I’m well jell! Definitely not a Corgi car though.

44,419 · February 19

7 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Today's arrival is a real oddity, despite negotiating I paid a fair bit for it but have you ever seen a Corgi 251 Speed 'N' Spin Ford Fiesta?

Never seen, or even heard, of that Corgi line - it doesn't show up in any of the early '80s consumer catalogues. Annoyingly I don't have a trade catalogue from 1980 to check, yet.

Is it a bit bigger than yer average Juniors model? The star-design wheels look a touch familiar to me - they appear very like the ones I had on a childhood pullback Porsche 911 that 'wheelied' by means of an arm and single wheel that extended down from the base.

Van Cleemput makes no reference in his big book to Speed 'N' Spin, and there's no reference in the Husky and Corgi Juniors book either.

I know Corgi put out various larger Hong Kong sourced battery powered vehicles in the early '80s, and dabbled in making some of their Juniors in Singapore, but this is completely new to me.

Well found!

44,419 · February 19

5 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

The star-design wheels look a touch familiar to me - they appear very like the ones I had on a childhood pullback Porsche 911 that 'wheelied' by means of an arm and single wheel that extended down from the base.

Different wheel hub design from this BMW 3.0 CSL, but this same general idea:

Although, no maker's mark legible here either from my rubbishy 2019 market pic so possibly a dead end.

68,126 · February 19

4 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Is it a bit bigger than yer average Juniors model? The star-design wheels look a touch familiar to me

Yes I'd say a 1:43 ish, and those wheels are on myriad pull-backs of the era

68,126 · February 19

I think Majorette listened to me moaning at them about not updating the website often enough - went looking for the recoloured MK2 Escort, found wave 3 of the Collection series. The way it works is 50% new, 50% new colours of previous releases, fine with me.

What wasn't so fine was Postman Twat jumping on the box and knackering the cards. Let's start with the recolour, one I think @andrew e might be hunting for!

Might as well take the card off now, revealing a nice little display case within

And so

The new was this Hilux, as seen in Back To The Future. Majorette's effort knocks Mattel's into a cocked hat if you ask me, especially as Mattel used the incorrect standard cab

15,343 · February 20

10 hours ago, bunglebus said:

The new was this Hilux, as seen in Back To The Future. Majorette's effort knocks Mattel's into a cocked hat if you ask me, especially as Mattel used the incorrect standard cab

Very nice! Definitely one to watch out for on this year's French holiday (and the new Supra too).

29,824 · February 20

I’ve done very little models lately. Other stuff on!
Did get an artic trailer modified and repainted though ready for pairing up with a tractor unit I’ve already done. Once the reassembly is done I’ll measure up for some home made transfers to put on them.

I know these modern models are about as popular as a dose of the clap on here, but some new arrivals:

Partwork Dodge Challenger and Charger. Both acquired cheaply, and much less than their IXO counterparts.
I got both with a view to customise, not sure about the Charger yet, but the Challenger will be going plain white as a Vanishing Point replica. I think I’ve got a set of suitable Rallye style wheels spare to replace the ones on the model.

This one’s one I’ve been eyeing up for ages!
Custom trucks partwork Renault AE Magnum. I’d been looking at the original IXO versions of these but couldn’t quite justify buying one at the price they seem to be. This partwork one is the same model just with a custom paint job for a magazine collection. And they (at the moment) come considerably cheaper than the IXO.

As ever, itll be getting repainted as a more normal truck. The custom snake paint job is good if you like such things, I don’t really as I’m a bore! So it’s going to go a bit more restrained.
I remember seeing these when they first came out on the road, and they were like a rocket ship compared to everything else then. That weird cab door more akin to a train or something and the fully suspended cab design with the tall angular style to it. Typically French really just ignoring the usual ways and doing it completely different.
Not seen very much nowadays in original style like this model with the square grill/lights.

44,419 · February 20

16 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I know these modern models are about as popular as a dose of the clap on here,

I wouldn't say that - I'm still very pleased with the purple Challenger I picked up last year!

That'll look excellent in white with rallye-style rims .

29,824 · February 20

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

I wouldn't say that - I'm still very pleased with the purple Challenger I picked up last year!

That'll look excellent in white with rallye-style rims .

It’s a nice model, but being the partwork version sometimes they can a bit questionable with the quality. My yellow Challenger is pretty good, but close scrutiny of the black Charger shows loads of paint imperfections, little scuffs and poor application. You can’t complain really given the price (less than a tenner!).

The real Vanishing Point Challengers used in the filming are quite interesting. I think there were as many as 8 of them, maybe more. Most of the ones used in the action scenes were all 440’s and were considered overpowered by the film crew and stunt drivers. Apparently throughout the filming they averaged 80mph for their whole lives! Other scenes used lesser engined versions as the 440’s weren’t important for those scenes. Not all were white either and those cars were used for interior shots etc.

They were all crushed after the film unfortunately.

44,419 · February 20

Not really much to get enthusiastic about at this morning's market - unless you really, really want a box of trashed gluebomb 1/18 stuff, courtesy of the Charity Stall:

The same stall did, however, also offer a MIB Escort van money box just like the recent @Lord Sterling one:

I didn't find out how much Larry who runs the stall was asking, as he was busy nattering away to some other punters.

Colin had some more 2024 Matchbox on his stall, and a few more Greenlights too, but precious little else:

I did waver on the Tuk-Tuk, as this is the first time I've seen one, but I'm not really sure what I'd do with it - so I left it.

Same old crap on the other stalls, including Paddy's wildly optimistic boxed Corgis, and still no sign of Millar and his General Tat stall.

Alan's 50p Tray couldn't quite manage to deliver anything worthwhile this week either:

Ah well. There'll be other weeks...

68,126 · February 20

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

They were all crushed after the film unfortunately

The one that hit the diggers wasn't a Challenger at all, you'd think that would indicate the hero cars were too expensive to destroy?

29,824 · February 20

55 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

The one that hit the diggers wasn't a Challenger at all, you'd think that would indicate the hero cars were too expensive to destroy?

That was a 67 Camaro which had been modified by having it’s engine removed and an explosive charge installed in its place!

Usually with TV cars they get done with a deal with the manufacturer. Obviously the car manufacturer gets good publicity out of it so they usually send the car(s) as a loan then the film company send them back afterwards and the manufacturer does whatever with them from then on. I guess the Challengers were beaten shitless during the filming and sustained high speed abuse meant Chrysler didn’t want them going out on general sale so squashed them.
Interestingly, some TV cars did go on sale after film work - the Bullet Charger used for the non destructive scenes being one of them. It was returned after filming, resprayed yellow and sold as a used car. It’s past only coming to light after another owner spotted various filled in holes around the car which turned out to be leftovers from where the camera’s etc had been mounted. It’s been restored back to how it was in the film now.
There’s rumours of one or two Dukes of Hazard Chargers still surviving too.

68,126 · February 20

22 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

There’s rumours of one or two Dukes of Hazard Chargers still surviving too

Don't get me started on #001 that the guy found and "restored" i.e rebodied

29,824 · February 20

32 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Don't get me started on #001 that the guy found and "restored" i.e rebodied

There is a slight* whiff of bullshit about lots of stories.

(* overly massive)

Older vehicles used in TV are either rented in for the purpose or purchased by the film company and used/treated purely as props. Once filming is over the vehicle (assuming it survived!) usually goes for scrap if it’s particularly low value or goes back back to the film company’s warehouse and stored for potential future TV use. Occasionally you can see the same vehicle in different movies over the years even if it’s just as part of background vehicles rather than as a star car.
usually they just end up being destroyed, scrapped or disappearing into the ether over the years though. The Tremors Jeep was one that was returned after filming but never surfaced again and nothing is known of what happened to it. Most likely sat in a warehouse somewhere for ages then went for scrap after a clear out.

68,126 · February 20

3 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

There is a slight* whiff of bullshit about lots of stories

Yeah unfortunately this one seems to be true, Lee 001 and a bunch of the police cars rotting away on some guy's property, it had been repainted and used in an episode as just another charger in a race I think but was found to have the production companies numbers etc marked on it. Guy managed to acquire it, took it around on tour for a while then restored it using another body, so essentially not the same car anymore. Seemed so proud of himself too

68,126 · February 20

In happier news, there's a guy on YouTube who's a K.I.T.T. nerd and has managed to find an astounding amount of stuff from the show including the original tractor/trailer setup

29,824 · February 20

27 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

In happier news, there's a guy on YouTube who's a K.I.T.T. nerd and has managed to find an astounding amount of stuff from the show including the original tractor/trailer setup

One of the Peterbilt’s used in Spielberg’s first film, Duel, survived too along with a trailer (which is very rare on its own)

It was this film and Convoy that probably got me into trucks!😆

32 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Yeah unfortunately this one seems to be true, Lee 001 and a bunch of the police cars rotting away on some guy's property, it had been repainted and used in an episode as just another charger in a race I think but was found to have the production companies numbers etc marked on it. Guy managed to acquire it, took it around on tour for a while then restored it using another body, so essentially not the same car anymore. Seemed so proud of himself too

I’ve never seen that video. I had heard of the car though.
If it was any other Charger it would have been a parts car at best in that state but being a General makes it special. Which is why I can’t understand why you’d strip away that uniqueness by restoring it with a replacement shell!? Surly now it is ‘just another Charger’??
All the history that was still there in that battered shell is now gone. Odd thing to do.

12,807 · February 21

Well i know the whereabouts of Steve Sopers Fiesta mk1 race car ... he credits it as the first rung on the ladder of his professional career .....and the front spoiler is in my shed ! Genuine series x ! I'm afraid the only way back for it, is another shell , but then it wouldn't be the same car would it?

1,652 · February 21

This fine specimen arrived yesterday courtesy of @Tenmil Socket. Superbly packaged and delivered very promptly, thank you!

I have no idea of the scale, but it’s quite big, bigger than 1:18 scale.

The plan is to do some fettling to get it to resemble my old E30 I sold years ago

It’s in the queue to be addressed at some point. Finding some suitable wheels in the right size will probably be a challenge.

29,824 · February 21

9 hours ago, MAF260 said:

This fine specimen arrived yesterday courtesy of @Tenmil Socket. Superbly packaged and delivered very promptly, thank you!

I have no idea of the scale, but it’s quite big, bigger than 1:18 scale.

The plan is to do some fettling to get it to resemble my old E30 I sold years ago

It’s in the queue to be addressed at some point. Finding some suitable wheels in the right size will probably be a challenge.

Wow! It’s not a million miles off already😄 lovely car.
God knows where you’ll find wheels though. Maybe damaged Bburago’s etc in the big scale? There are some places on eBay that do 3D printed replacement wheels in various scales, which might be worth a look.

1,652 · February 21

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

Wow! It’s not a million miles off already😄 lovely car.
God knows where you’ll find wheels though. Maybe damaged Bburago’s etc in the big scale? There are some places on eBay that do 3D printed replacement wheels in various scales, which might be worth a look.

It's such a good base I had to snap it up. I miss the E30, but think I enjoyed building it more than driving it - 2.8 24v M52 engine and loads of trick parts.

I had a look on ebay and think 3D printed is a potential route. I've seen some wheels in 1:12 scale but have no idea if they'll look right. At £25+ without tyres it could be a costly mistake if they look completely out of proportion.

29,824 · February 21

Just reassembled the artic trailer I mentioned, then paired it up with the tractor unit it’s going with.
I need to resize the ‘P&O Roadways’ logos I’ve got ready on the laptop and the same for the P&O flag logo’s, then they can be printed off.

Still a bit of work to do on the rear end, lights etc.

Also found a set of spare wheels for the Challenger.
The body has now been disassembled and sitting in some paint stripper.

Thinking back to when I started messing around with diecast stuff a couple of years back, I had sooo many problems finding parts and bits & pieces to make up custom stuff but it’s surprising how quickly you start to amass that sort of stuff. Even stupid little details, like a fire extinguisher I need for Val & Earl’s Jeep - I’ve got one sat in my spares box removed from something else ages ago! Throw nothing away.

Sign In

Shite in Miniature II

Recommended Posts

ambassador84

bunglebus

junkyarddog

Lord Sterling

Spottedlaurel

bramz7

bunglebus

bunglebus

Tenmil Socket

Datsuncog

Datsuncog

bunglebus

bunglebus

Spottedlaurel

danthecapriman

Datsuncog

danthecapriman

Datsuncog

bunglebus

danthecapriman

bunglebus

danthecapriman

bunglebus

bunglebus

danthecapriman

Christine

MAF260

danthecapriman

MAF260

danthecapriman

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Browse Forums

Activity