Shite in Miniature II

29,303 · 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.

42,733 · February 21

13 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

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!😆

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.

The Duel truck is the one that was used in scenes to extend it out from being a TV movie to a film release, 2 trucks were used, so that was used where Mann is getting shunted at the Railroad and where he pushes the school bus. The other one went over the ravine, a guy went to the actual ravine to look for it on a YouTube video but it wasn’t there anymore, if you look on some of the behind the scenes photographs it shows a crane in the background which presumably was used to haul the truck out. It’s private land so doubtful they’d have left it there anyway. Anecdotal stories relate that it was hauled out and it went back to the oil company they bought it from to take the engine out of it. The rest got scrapped. Not sure on the validity of taking the engine out it sounded fucked to me.

29,303 · February 21

33 minutes ago, sierraman said:

The Duel truck is the one that was used in scenes to extend it out from being a TV movie to a film release, 2 trucks were used, so that was used where Mann is getting shunted at the Railroad and where he pushes the school bus. The other one went over the ravine, a guy went to the actual ravine to look for it on a YouTube video but it wasn’t there anymore, if you look on some of the behind the scenes photographs it shows a crane in the background which presumably was used to haul the truck out. It’s private land so doubtful they’d have left it there anyway. Anecdotal stories relate that it was hauled out and it went back to the oil company they bought it from to take the engine out of it. The rest got scrapped. Not sure on the validity of taking the engine out it sounded fucked to me.

Interesting. Why on earth would anyone want an old truck engine that’s just been thrown over a cliff though!? I can’t see that being true?

Im not sure if it’s true or not, but apparently the two trucks used were actually subtly different types. In some scenes you can (apparently) tell, although it’s been so long since I’ve watched the film I don’t know if that’s the case.
The Valiant isn’t a vehicle you see much about online though, despite being almost as much a star of the film as the Peterbilt.

There’s a few videos on YouTube of various locations where they filmed it, then and now. Some of them really don’t look all that different.

42,733 · February 21

36 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Interesting. Why on earth would anyone want an old truck engine that’s just been thrown over a cliff though!? I can’t see that being true?

Im not sure if it’s true or not, but apparently the two trucks used were actually subtly different types. In some scenes you can (apparently) tell, although it’s been so long since I’ve watched the film I don’t know if that’s the case.
The Valiant isn’t a vehicle you see much about online though, despite being almost as much a star of the film as the Peterbilt.

There’s a few videos on YouTube of various locations where they filmed it, then and now. Some of them really don’t look all that different.

The film extra one has a different chassis slightly and I think the swamp cooler on the back was different.

66,263 · February 21

2 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

The Valiant

Definitely several of those used too, I remember going through the film on DVD and pausing it to look at continuity errors etc ages ago. Ones of the cars has a strip of silver tape along the boot lip where the trim had gone missing or was different to the main vehicle

29,303 · February 21

33 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Definitely several of those used too, I remember going through the film on DVD and pausing it to look at continuity errors etc ages ago. Ones of the cars has a strip of silver tape along the boot lip where the trim had gone missing or was different to the main vehicle

I’d imagine they had a number of them in the filming given how it got beat up as the film went on.

Id like to do a model of one in 1:43 to go with my Peterbilt model but I don’t think anyone makes that particular type of Valiant.

42,733 · February 21

16 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I’d imagine they had a number of them in the filming given how it got beat up as the film went on.

Id like to do a model of one in 1:43 to go with my Peterbilt model but I don’t think anyone makes that particular type of Valiant.

Closest I could get was a Matchbox Mercury Fire Chief car, has a passing resemblance to one.

29,303 · February 21

6 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Closest I could get was a Matchbox Mercury Fire Chief car, has a passing resemblance to one.

There are a few earlier Valiant’s available but they’re just not right, 66/67 etc but the movie car is 70/71 model. Never mind.

I suppose I could paint a random spare body red then put it in the vice. Then park the Peterbilt on top of it to resemble the final bit of the film😄

3,471 · February 21

On 20/02/2026 at 13:58, danthecapriman said:

Partwork Dodge Challenger and Charger. Both acquired cheaply, and much less than their IXO counterparts.

Are they remakes of the Matchbox Muscle Cars series?

66,263 · February 21

Today's terrible packaging is an open plastic tub inside a purple bag

Within were a dot-dash wheeled Super GT

A Roadblaster

A tidy Laser Wheels Porsche

And a nice Hot Wheels Stutz, among other things

66,263 · February 21

I sold a bunch of my China/Hong Kong stuff a while back including all my Summer cars. Of course spotting a load of them still sealed in blisters was too much to resist

Terrible Rolls Royce on the card is represented by this black example

Not just saloons, though, Sports Cars too!

66,263 · February 21

Arriving separately was a very cheap, mint, boxed Speed King

Not everyone's cup of tea but these a quite fun things, to find it complete and apparently unused is a nice feeling. A new bit of acetate would improve the box no end

66,263 · February 21

In other news, my friend gave me a couple of his childhood cars. An unusual Tonka

And this Commuter, which he's asked me to restore

Found some donors

Unfortunately I wasn't impressed with the wheels on any of them, so I dug this out

The wheels are slightly different but outward appearance is the same. Base has had a bath in citric

An a once over with a whizzy wire brush

Interior cleaned, glass sanded and polished

Body is in the stripper, so now I need to consider paint - any suggestions on a close match? If I can't find anything I may have a plan b...

29,303 · February 21

30 minutes ago, Snake Charmer said:

Are they remakes of the Matchbox Muscle Cars series?

No, I think they’re completely new castings from the likes of IXO etc etc. Much more modern than the Matchbox ones.

29,303 · February 21

23 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

In other news, my friend gave me a couple of his childhood cars. An unusual Tonka

And this Commuter, which he's asked me to restore

Found some donors

Unfortunately I wasn't impressed with the wheels on any of them, so I dug this out

The wheels are slightly different but outward appearance is the same. Base has had a bath in citric

An a once over with a whizzy wire brush

Interior cleaned, glass sanded and polished

Body is in the stripper, so now I need to consider paint - any suggestions on a close match? If I can't find anything I may have a plan b...

Tamiya TS-20 metallic green?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235908244056?_skw=tamiya+spray+paint&itmmeta=01KJ0N9XM51HDW0KXDZ3JY40NZ&hash=item36ed3a2258%3Ag%3A1coAAOSwHoJngTX4&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA8GfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xBRSuZtfcF4hf%2Bvhp6%2BuiZC%2FDpbIy9DAmS%2BgUrBsklQ2h83OULozO1VTf6dPqZrRAeEogcwT%2FamtFbu44Qd%2FkDjEeipdkyXxHRiWctCJOncLa%2FFauspKG2FeWMxHNgDnjeLAeHbItAAKgb3CqoNk8A6uTqL%2BTaM4kdvqJ%2Bd7pvtZFFhqw6a4Z1MwqHeJQU%2FExxf8eCJODyOLlNnuM03ZQt3RMAKVgq5IgmvWWnGzvS60TRiiDDoWbvyW5644fzytrWSyQRSnQr1qi4SAP2LoTq7AqOelZVZZol6Nt3VV6Ey0A%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR6Dap5WQZw&var=536338856368

I used it on the Rolls Royce I’ve been doing with the brown/tan roof, which I can’t find a photo of now!

66,263 · February 21

I was thinking of this if I can find the code

Squeeze green? What a mad name 😃

29,303 · February 21

6 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I was thinking of this if I can find the code

Squeeze green? What a mad name 😃

That’d definitely work well.

My dad had a Fiesta in that colour as a learner driver car some years back. Istr it had some nice pearl style flips to it in sunlight.

42,733 · February 21

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

I sold a bunch of my China/Hong Kong stuff a while back including all my Summer cars. Of course spotting a load of them still sealed in blisters was too much to resist

Terrible Rolls Royce on the card is represented by this black example

Not just saloons, though, Sports Cars too!

Morbid fact, the yellow Mercedes of unknown make was on the news a while back when they were looking for Ben Needham. They’d found it buried and it’d been identified as the one he’d been playing with when he disappeared so suspect wherever he is/was likely is nearby.

66,263 · February 21

In other news, I found a new Ferrari last night

66,263 · February 21

On 09/11/2025 at 17:15, FakeConcern said:

@bunglebus What a morning for you!

Yes PLZ to the Solido Pug 305

(and the Bburago 1/24 Mustang if you don't keep)

On 09/11/2025 at 18:30, RoadworkUK said:

Dem 1:24s tho.

What a haul.

(Especially that Bagheera...)

On 09/11/2025 at 22:39, andy18s said:

If you decide to part with the 405 I'd be very interested....

I've still got most of those Bburagos, I do need to sell them so if anyone's interested please shoot me a PM. I'm keeping the Audi and VWs though

13,680 · February 21

28 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I've still got most of those Bburagos, I do need to sell them so if anyone's interested please shoot me a PM. I'm keeping the Audi and VWs though

PM sent!

9,986 · February 21

41 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I've still got most of those Bburagos, I do need to sell them so if anyone's interested please shoot me a PM. I'm keeping the Audi and VWs though

How much for the 405?