Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

13 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Oh, and you may have other plans for this one, but I happen to have a spare bonnet for one of these (found in the school playground c.1988).

It's off an earlier green version and the hinges are snapped off, but I'll throw it in with your next tat delivery if you reckon it might be any use to you...

 

13 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Oh please to the bonnet (hood!) and the body donor (after it has departed from its Rockets chassis)

...because Eddy has got me a Whizzwheels chassis

So that would mean a three-way rebuild !

I'm happy to send the Caddy onto a new home - it was only the plastic part which retains the wheels that I needed, so it's not drilled out, has pretty good glass etc.

I don't know if that chassis part differs between models or was a one size fits all.

[bunglebus]

8 hours ago, crad said:

this appears to be a mostly buying miniture shite thread but if its allowed and there is interest i will happily show my collection of smol cars aquired during my 20 years upon the earth. here's a teaser anyway, featuring my #1 dream car.

I'd like to see them, I like a Trabant.

There's all sorts in this thread, finds, collections, restorations and customs.

[eddyramrod]

this appears to be a mostly buying miniture shite thread

 

Oh don't worry about that!  It just happens to be what's been going on over recent pages, and we all like a bargain, don't we?  There's everything going on in here.  Have a couple of before-and-after pics of some of my restos to keep you amused...

As you can see, some of my longer-term residents (I'm 61) have suffered many ham-fisted Humbrollings.  Of the five shown, the Land Rover is now orange and will soon be rebuilt, and the Mini Marcos is now yellow.

And here are some I finished earlier.  Each gets drilled apart (the bit I hate), stripped in a caustic-soda bath, and repainted using aerosols, always beginning with primer.  They also get new tyres if the old ones can't be saved.  The purple Impala above is Ford Purple Velvet, doesn't it suit it!  The driver in the blue Healey is Roger Moore, saved from a Corgi Saint Volvo that I painted black in an earlier batch.  Both sportscars have new windscreens by me, cut from plastic packaging (never throw stuff away that could be useful!).

[Sudsprint]

Eddy - how do you drill them apart? 

I need to tackle a Spot On Austin 1800 - so the stakes are high!

[bunglebus]

There's also plenty of scans of old catalogues, and occasionally Datsuncog can be persuaded to tell us an interesting tale about various die cast manufacturers, or the time he found the hook from a Corgi Land Rover recovery truck under a bush and kept it for 30 years just in case.

[eddyramrod]

You need a means of holding them still!  Not having a vice I've improvised using an old pallet (must put up a photo...).  Many of the rivets holding these together are smooth, not having a dimple in the middle, so I have to make one (not always successfully) with a hammer and nail, because one thing you don't want is your 5mm drill slipping off and drilling all round  the chassis plate.  Believe me, some of my chassis plates have suffered badly during this process!  If there is a dimple it makes seating the drill a whole lot easier.  You can get drill bits smaller than 5mm but they are horribly easy to snap, and may not drill off the entire rivet head.  5mm usually will take care of that.

 

Actually if you have a proper bench drill with adjustable jaws you're laughing, it's precisely the right tool for the job.

 

Good luck!

[bunglebus]

I use a 1.5mm drill bit first, then a 4mm or so depending on the rivet size, nice and slow to just remove the head and not damage the base, I find the small pilot hole helps guide the larger bit.

If the rivet post is long enough I use the 1.5mm drill then a 2mm tap so I can put a button head screw in to hold the base on afterwards.

On the rivets that are smooth, I use an automatic centre punch before drilling. I do have a vice to hold my cars but never use it really, just rest them on a work surface.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124204257758

 

[155V6]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

 

I'm happy to send the Caddy onto a new home - it was only the plastic part which retains the wheels that I needed, so it's not drilled out, has pretty good glass etc.

I don't know if that chassis part differs between models or was a one size fits all.

There are 4 or 5 different sized chassis on the Corgi Rockets,there is a small capital  letter on there to identify which size it is.

[flat4alfa]

On 5/30/2020 at 7:57 AM, Sudsprint said:

Eddy - how do you drill them apart? 

I need to tackle a Spot On Austin 1800 - so the stakes are high!

My method:

- Support the body upside-down on a worktop

- Use a centre-punch to recess the rivet if not one already

- Use a small drill bit 2mm to create a guide hole

- Change drill bit to 4mm to take the outer rim of the rivet away

- Prise the body apart from the base

- Drop the lot on the floor and scream, because clumsy dork.

[MarvinsMom]

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I'd like to see them, I like a Trabant.

There's all sorts in this thread, finds, collections, restorations and customs.

a re-cap of some of the repaints that i've done, which are on this thread, somewhere!

Corgi Commer van, before

Commer van, after

Spot-on Armstrong Siddeley, before

and after

Corgi Bedford TK car transporter, before

and after

Corgi Bedford TK Pullamore low-loader, before

after

Corgi mini, before

and after

Corgi Triumph Herald, before

and after

Matchbox Kingsized Scammell Foden wrecker, before

and after

and some others without the before, starting with Dinky Mini Clubman police car

Corgi Chevy Corvair

Dinky Vauxhall Viva HA

i use the same technique kind of as Eddy, i get the rivets drilled out, then strip the casting used some cheap paint stripper then paint with Humbrol enamels. this may well be considered heretical, but its just how i like to repaint them. and as i have plenty of half used little pots of paints left over from the Airfix kits made up during my youth, well why buy more? sometimes they come out better than others, that is like life.........

we are kinda short of any specialist tools, so when we have been drilling the rivets out its usually me holding them still while Kerry does the drilling. the best method i've found is to drill a small pilot hole, and then open that out with a larger drill.

where odd replacement parts are needed i have been buying them off Steve Flowers Model spares, they have been closed during the recent lockdown, but are now, according to their website back open. such parts tend to be tyres and glazing units, though i have had replacement bonnets and the like when needed.

 

[bunglebus]

I wish someone would make Steve Flowers a better website where you can just add what you want to a basket and buy it. Guess I've been spoilt by the likes of eBay and Amazon, but I'd probably buy his stuff if it was easier. I know he lists on eBay too.

 

Here are a couple of before/afters just for fun

 

20190919_103916 by RS, on Flickr

20191017_121127 by RS, on Flickr

 

20190919_103932 by RS, on Flickr

20200330_105741 by RS, on Flickr

 

35743782886_4faf9e64dd_o by RS, on Flickr

001_zpstdqpdtxg by RS, on Flickr

 

P1010016_zpsbzwkp5ly by RS, on Flickr

P1010028_zpswl3w3mvn by RS, on Flickr

 

007_zps3d049ac7 by RS, on Flickr

010_zps54bb961c by RS, on Flickr

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, 155V6 said:

There are 4 or 5 different sized chassis on the Corgi Rockets,there is a small capital  letter on there to identify which size it is.

Just had a look at the little lot here

CHASSIS #A

Volvo P1800

CHASSIS #C

Bertone Carabo ; Bizzarrini Manta ; Eldorado ; Merc 280SL ; Aston DB6

CHASSIS #D

Mercededs CIII ; Morgan

[flat4alfa]

45 minutes ago, MarvinsMom said:

Matchbox Kingsized Scammell wrecker

Nice job

It's a Foden, not Scammell

[MarvinsMom]

of course it is. silly me!

in my defence, it is still quiet early on a saturday (i think) morning.

[flat4alfa]

29 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

OH!  What is that then?  Tonka or Buddy-L or... . and what are its dimensions?

[Spottedlaurel]

33 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Just had a look at the little lot here

CHASSIS #A

Volvo P1800

CHASSIS #C

Bertone Carabo ; Bizzarrini Manta ; Eldorado ; Merc 280SL ; Aston DB6

CHASSIS #D

Mercededs CIII ; Morgan

Of my two, Jensen is C and Carabo is C2.

[bunglebus]

44 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

OH!  What is that then?  Tonka or Buddy-L or... . and what are its dimensions?

 

That one's a Tonka I think, don't know the size but one of their smaller offerings

P1010033_zps2yylzeqg by RS, on Flickr

 

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

Just had a look at the little lot here

CHASSIS #A

Volvo P1800

CHASSIS #C

Bertone Carabo ; Bizzarrini Manta ; Eldorado ; Merc 280SL ; Aston DB6

CHASSIS #D

Mercededs CIII ; Morgan

1 hour ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Of my two, Jensen is C and Carabo is C2.

Just checked my Cadillac - "C"

Old MacDonald's Truck - "D"

Chevy Astro - "A"

 

However I have good and bad news, I found another C chassis for the donor car, but I may need its window unit as mine is cracked.

20200425_105218 by RS, on Flickr

I do have a Jaguar that needs a C chassis though

 

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

I wish someone would make Steve Flowers a better website where you can just add what you want to a basket and buy it. Guess I've been spoilt by the likes of eBay and Amazon, but I'd probably buy his stuff if it was easier. I know he lists on eBay too.

Never spotted him on eBay, but a few other vendors priced at twice his price...   which make you wonder who their source is....

I see it that while Flowers remains 'cottage industry' with the cheap website, it will stay cheap.  As soon as costs rise, so do all the other vendors in turn

Model Supplies address is a house in a cul-de-sac, so I assume he's working alone in the shed. 

[155V6]

30 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

CHASSIS #A

Volvo P1800

CHASSIS #C

Bertone Carabo ; Bizzarrini Manta ; Eldorado ; Merc 280SL ; Aston DB6

CHASSIS #D

Mercededs CIII ; Morgan

Just checked my Cadillac - "C"

Old MacDonald's Truck - "D"

Chevy Astro - "A"

 

However I have good and bad news, I found another C chassis for the donor car, but I may need its window unit as mine is cracked.

20200425_105218 by RS, on Flickr

I do have a Jaguar that needs a C chassis though

 

A few more

Porsche Carrerra 6 is "A"

GP Beach Buggy is "B"

Capri & both Jaguars are "C"

Both Stock Cars are "D"

I've got a Marcos XP & an Alfa P33 arriving soon,I'll add them when they arrive.

I've got a Ford recovery truck & an Aston DBS somewhere,but they're both missing the plastic base.

[flat4alfa]

42 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Just checked my Cadillac - "C"

However I have good and bad news, I found another C chassis for the donor car, but I may need its window unit as mine is cracked.

I do have a Jaguar that needs a C chassis though

A donor is a donor, so no worries   - this is a 'standard chassis' resurrection idea, in different wacky colour.  By 'wacky' I mean off the shelf rattle can, not something eye-searing awful that will send us to further despair and pain.

In recent weeks, a best-I-could-manage-at-current-prices, Corgi Eldorado Rocket arrived in a job lot Rockets haul (had sleepless nights, yearning, yearning, *twitch*)

I hope that's ok.

[AndyW201]

Mail call!

I think we know where this is going! It was a surprise as I thought I had gone for an el-cheapo partwork job, but it appears that this is yet another GM dealer special.

Ooh! Nice packaging.

I couldn't resist this when it came on eBay at a tempting price. I blame all the Royale love on here lately!

Let's get you out then, my lovely!

So, its a posh dealer model, made by Schuco. There seems to be a small collection of classic Opels sold in this packaging, alongside the moderns. I've seen a 60s Olympia wagon, an Ascona B and an early Monza as well in this packaging. Being a Schuco model, it's not too shabby on the detail and build quality,

The shape is perfect, the paint is flawless, great detailing around the windows, nice fine pinstripes, and check out those alloys!

I'm pleased to report that the proudly green interior is present and correct. Check out the wood trim,

And yes, they have even textured the seats to replicate green velour! Even has separate seat belts front and rear with buckle details,

Nicely detailed underneath, separate front and rear subframes, and exhaust.

For £7 brand new, I'm over the moon with it. Just wish I'd got the Monza when the seller had one of those...

[MarvinsMom]

bloody hell that Senator is something, its a country mile ahead of the Gama(?) Calibra that i had as a nipper......

[Bren]

What are the strut tops like?

[flat4alfa]

SATURDAY NAME THE BRAND PLEASE REQUEST

One on the left (the worn one) came from @Datsuncog a while back and sports a metal base.  Stamped 'Ambulance Van P346'

One on the right (tidier) came from @TheDoctor this week and sports a plastic base.  Stamped 'D123 Made in China'

Do the wheel styles given any pointers?  Thanks

[flat4alfa]

@Christine @Six-cylinder

 

'Bonjour!'

[In comedy french accent]

'Mon cherie!'

[kiss on cheek]

'Oh how niiice it eeeez to meet you'

[flat4alfa]

On 5/27/2020 at 8:35 PM, RoadworkUK said:

Don't suppose you (or anybody else) would be able to point me in the right direction of the right size / shape of replacement tyre for this?

Mine has a tyre missing but is otherwise near mint. I've seen loads and loads of sets of Dinky tyres on eBay, but would hate to end up buying something slightly and annoyingly wrong.

I wondered that too as listings tend to speak in mm - but not sure if they mean external or internal diameter.  And of course the vintage models would have been imperial measurement  Some hubs have a deep recess, some rely on recess on the tyre itself

So, the PULLMAN WITH CONFUSED DECALS was asked to pop over for inspection

The trusty ruler joined us 

Then Chevy Charlie arrived to lift up the gargantuan Mercedes-Benz, so the tyre could be removed for scrutiny

And here we have it

Hub has the recess.   Must be stamped Dunlop and has an outer ribbed pattern.  Approx 16.5mm diameter externally, 12mm internally

edit: 4mm thick

[155V6]

28 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

SATURDAY NAME THE BRAND PLEASE REQUEST

One on the left (the worn one) came from @Datsuncog a while back and sports a metal base.  Stamped 'Ambulance Van P346'

One on the right (tidier) came from @TheDoctor this week and sports a plastic base.  Stamped 'D123 Made in China'

Do the wheel styles given any pointers?  Thanks

Metal based one could be Zylmex?

[Lord Sterling]

49 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

And here we have it

Hub has the recess.   Must be stamped Dunlop and has an outer ribbed pattern.  Approx 16.5mm diameter externally, 12mm internally

So 12mm tyres is what we're looking for? I've got a Corgi Jaguar E-type that needs 2 new tyres, the tyre is about the same size as the Mercs' one (I have the same Mercedes model). I bought some tyres on eBay but they were too large for the wheel arch.

[flat4alfa]

Ah yes, sorry, I should have measured the thickness too

My wife says thickness is all important