Shite in Miniature II

[antony denman]

way to hot to work on the granada so did few models am leaveing transit and zodiac few days as i want to 2 tone them,aston made good un out off 2,robbed the wheels back bumper seat rest to complete my db5.belive it or not the silver paint i used was for car wheels look ok to me,yes am skint flint will use what i got,bedford van just sprayed green,next week i will detail them,

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Neat work. Love the Kenwood Transit.

[bunglebus]

I'm making slow progress with my projects.

Wild Honey is done except re-assembly really but need all the interior and engine parts to dry before I touch them. Dinky MK1 Escort went in the stripper as I decided the paint was too thick causing problems with the doors etc closing, but the filler primer I used doesn't want to come off, even after a few days sitting in thinner too. It's as stripped as I can get it but I've had to fill a couple of bad casting flaws so that'll have to wait a few days. I also found an old project that was fighting me where I'd filled and modified the casting, rubbed it back and primed it but I can still see loads of problems. Given up for today, didn't help my mood that I got sniped on a rare Matchbox I'd been after for ages too ?

[flat4alfa]

I had a heap of paint issues on many projects and lost the mojo too a while back. All bagged up and parked though, so not lost 

Also stopped buying things now.  Post Lady must be wondering what has happened.  If she asks me I’ll just say ‘I’m cured’ !

Big sell-off coming.  Factory slot cars and track spares first I reckon, followed by most of the got-out-of-hand 1/64 collection. Will keep all home-builds though

I really need to get some rainy day funds together and stop the impulsiveness 

[Datsuncog]

43 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Also stopped buying things now.  Post Lady must be wondering what has happened.  If she asks me I’ll just say ‘I’m cured’ !

BREAKING NEWS: UK RECESSION BUGGER-ALL TO DO WITH COVID-19

More on this story from Ron, after the weather.

[AndyW201]

Yep, I'm doing a great job of not spending money on diecast too.

So here's what I've bought this weekend...

I've had this on pre-order for a while, my mate's shop finally got it in stock.

For me, it's been worth the wait. As I've mentioned before, the S is by far my fave Cortina variant, despite it never really being a  common variant, even when new. (I only remember one example around here, an immaculate Cardinal red one, which was actually used by a local mini cabber in the late '80s). Apparently there were only 3000 built in total. I suppose most 1970s Ron Haslam-sideburned family men wanting a sporty 2 litre Ford just went for a Capri.

It's a good eyeful, this one. A typical sporty Ford, lairy colour, front spots, stripes and the usual dartboard wheels.

Not forgetting the black rear panel. Even rarer this version, being a 2.3. A bit annoying that the tailpipe is solid, rather than hollow. A common thing on Vanguards models lately, it seems.

But a big plus point is the interior. As mentioned before, Corgi are at least starting to add interior detail (wooden door cappings on the mk3 Cortina 2000E and tartan pattern on the seats of the Capri 3.0S for example), and they've done a brill job of the Cadiz striped seats on this one (the real car this is based on was one of the very few with orange stripes, most were grey)

So having got the model I went out for, I made the mistake of looking at the other recent Vanguards releases he'd got in. 

Oops!

Not a release I was aware of, but when I saw this, I had to grab it.

There have been many many versions of the MK3 Capri casting, but I love this version in white. I've got the 3.0 S in Silver and the older 2.8 injection in Caspian blue/silver, as can be seen this the later Injection special version, identified by the RS 7 spoke wheels and colour coded grille and headlight bezels. The real thing also got half leather Recaro seats.

Love the 80s ness of it, probably down to the colour.

As usual, a great job on the side stripes and the rear decals.

So,. A great job done on not spending money on diecast this weekend. Looking forward to not buying more next weekend...

[bunglebus]

I love the MK4 S - my dad had one, but I'm sure it had black seats with the white chevron pattern like a MK2 Escort Sport - you can just about make it out here

 

Image 43_zpsv5o7s928 by RS, on Flickr

[bunglebus]

Here it is in a 1978 Ford Cars brochure

 

 

[AndyW201]

Yep, I'm pretty sure Cadiz stripes were featured early on, and Chevron trim featured on the Cortina S and Escort sport later on, around '78 on.

This is the real ALY 331S that the Vanguards model is based on,

Another early one, with another rare colour inside. 

I remember this Ford press fleet 2.0 S as featured in the Patrick Mower cop show Target. Would look shit hot with that green Cadiz interior,

[bunglebus]

Well here it is, Wild Honey dragged kicking and screaming into...well at least into the 80s I guess. 

I really don't know where Corgi got the odd spare wheel carrier (?) at the back from, as the real thing didn't have anything like it.

Flames are a bit amateur but I was looking for a home grown hot rod look, so they work for me.

I meant to make a rudimentary dashboard but I forgot, and as these are held together by bending a tab at the front, I'm not going to try now

[Spottedlaurel]

Excellent work there!

My local Tesco had at last got some new Matchbox stock in, I picked up these three and they had at least one more of each in the same colours:

[flat4alfa]

26 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I really don't know where Corgi got the odd spare wheel carrier (?) at the back from, as the real thing didn't have anything like it.

 

Looks great!

I never knew about the rear deck 'fins' Corgi added.  Can't see them on any period photos

[bunglebus]

No. They look a bit cack, hence chopping them off.

 

20200816_191954 by RS, on Flickr

[Datsuncog]

If I were to take a guess, I reckon the fins on the back of Wild Honey were maybe something to do with the Whizzwheels Track Set, launched the same year (1971) along with many others from their dragster/funny car range:

Possibly the fins located into the 'power blaster' launcher, or maybe they lowered the centre of gravity for the loop-the-loop (it is quite a tall, narrow model) - open to any other suggestions!

Corgi developed the Whizzwheels range with the intention of driving more sales through the popular track sets, for both large and small scales. But, once the smaller Rockets track was pulled following court action from Mattel, the already-sluggish sales of the larger track sets, including a drag racing set, contracted further, and only limped on for a few more years.

By 1974, all the drag-related cars (Quartermaster, Commuter, Gloworm, Adam's Drag-Star and Wild Honey) had been withdrawn as Mettoy focused on their new Formula One line, in 1/36 scale - perhaps realising that selling cars to kids could only go so far by the mid-70s, and that authentically detailed models of racing cars aimed at older children and adults was a market worth pursuing...

[flat4alfa]

Quote

Possibly the fins located into the 'power blaster' launcher, or maybe they lowered the centre of gravity for the loop-the-loop

Must have been the former, as fitting a diecast base would have been better to get the centre of gravity down?

See how tight the car backs up to the mechanism, and the shape of the squared knob you pull the mechanism back with

This book you’re writing is going to be brill

[Spottedlaurel]

Datsun Z finished today:

1:24 Monogram Datsun 280Z kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Monogram Datsun 280Z kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Ferrari finished earlier in the week:

1:24 Revell Ferrari 308 GTB kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1:24 Revell Ferrari 308 GTB kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Which means that since late July I've completed this lot, coincidentally all rather more sporting than my usual tastes.....

July/August kit completions by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

To keep me on the straight and narrow I'm still progressing this one, it's finally got a decent coat of paint that I haven't polished through so it's onto the fianl detailing and assembly stage.

1:24 Aoshima Toyota Ipsum (Picnic) kit by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

With all those long-term builds finished at last, this weekend I've made a start on a Nissan Cedric (A.K.A. Datsun 280C) and Ford Courier (Mazda B1800).

[bunglebus]

A couple of arrivals this morning, Dinky ovloV in Police livery, shame the stripes aren't great but I think I have the reflective tape I used on the Dinky Beford CF

Staying with the emergency services theme, Corgi XJ12C coastguard car - can't imagine they would have actually used a V12 coupe in real life

[flat4alfa]

Can you imagine, on first call-out, ten minutes later it was beached !

 

Coastguard had these

These days it seems to be majority Hilux and L200

[Tenmil Socket]

17 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I love the MK4 S - my dad had one, but I'm sure it had black seats with the white chevron pattern like a MK2 Escort Sport - you can just about make it out here

 

Image 43_zpsv5o7s928 by RS, on Flickr

I don't know if it's just me but I'm seeing a naughty word that begins with C upside down on that bootlid!

[Tenmil Socket]

17 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

Yep, I'm doing a great job of not spending money on diecast too.

So here's what I've bought this weekend...

I've had this on pre-order for a while, my mate's shop finally got it in stock.

For me, it's been worth the wait. As I've mentioned before, the S is by far my fave Cortina variant, despite it never really being a  common variant, even when new. (I only remember one example around here, an immaculate Cardinal red one, which was actually used by a local mini cabber in the late '80s). Apparently there were only 3000 built in total. I suppose most 1970s Ron Haslam-sideburned family men wanting a sporty 2 litre Ford just went for a Capri.

It's a good eyeful, this one. A typical sporty Ford, lairy colour, front spots, stripes and the usual dartboard wheels.

Not forgetting the black rear panel. Even rarer this version, being a 2.3. A bit annoying that the tailpipe is solid, rather than hollow. A common thing on Vanguards models lately, it seems.

But a big plus point is the interior. As mentioned before, Corgi are at least starting to add interior detail (wooden door cappings on the mk3 Cortina 2000E and tartan pattern on the seats of the Capri 3.0S for example), and they've done a brill job of the Cadiz striped seats on this one (the real car this is based on was one of the very few with orange stripes, most were grey)

So having got the model I went out for, I made the mistake of looking at the other recent Vanguards releases he'd got in. 

Oops!

Not a release I was aware of, but when I saw this, I had to grab it.

There have been many many versions of the MK3 Capri casting, but I love this version in white. I've got the 3.0 S in Silver and the older 2.8 injection in Caspian blue/silver, as can be seen this the later Injection special version, identified by the RS 7 spoke wheels and colour coded grille and headlight bezels. The real thing also got half leather Recaro seats.

Love the 80s ness of it, probably down to the colour.

As usual, a great job on the side stripes and the rear decals.

So,. A great job done on not spending money on diecast this weekend. Looking forward to not buying more next weekend...

It's a shame the exhaust is like that on the Cortina!

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, Tenmil Socket said:

I don't know if it's just me but I'm seeing a naughty word that begins with C upside down on that bootlid!

Yeah that was why he took the only known pics of it - got vandalised on several occasions. The joys of living in Harlow. 

[bunglebus]

On a happier note, Tesco have restocked on Matchbox, lots of Golfs now - and this

 

[Split_Pin]

I have not bought many diecast from eBay recently. I wanted a Siku A6 C5 to go with my A4 B5 and 80 Cabriolet to complete the late 90s Audi lineup. I don't think Siku made an A8 

I like how Siku have marked this as a 1.9TDi, in the same way that the A4 is a 1.8 as opposed to a less realistic top of the range S line type.

[bunglebus]

I don't quite know what happened to Siku, their stuff is not cheap new, but they seem to have lost some of the charm and detail of the older stuff. Are they aimed at kids or adult collectors?

No offense to Split Pin but that Audi looks awful, terrible door gap, cheap looking wheels and no detail other than the grille and headlights. I suppose you could go at with the sharpies and paint pens but it just seems half-arsed.

Maybe I'm being unfair, all makes seem to go though a low point, Hot Wheels output in the 90s are really not fantastic. Just been on the Siku site to have a look and they are noticeably improved, like this for example

 

Or if we're looking at Audis

 

 

That's a pretty good effort, they seem to be trying to fit correct looking wheels rather than generics, decent light and grille detail. Shame they only do moderns but we do have others supplying older stuff.

[eddyramrod]

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

On a happier note, Tesco have restocked on Matchbox, lots of Golfs now - and this

 

I was in my local Tesco today.  Very poorly stocked, but they did have the orange Golf and the little Subaru Sambar pickup.  Still not the slightest sign of the 1959 Dodge.

[sheffcortinacentre]

A parcel from Mr bunglebus arrived today which prompted a meeting of the newly formed orphans club, which took place at the old eatery out on paradise rd.

The pink ladies put in an appearance along with a couple of truckers.

 

Things started to hot up when the muscle guys turned up along with the lone rodder.

 

The dimplomat got a holeshot  on the charger but before Rodney could get in on the action the rozzers arrived on the scene.

[Volksy]

Well the terrarium seems to be doing its thing. It's a foggy day in there as the ecosphere sorts itself out. 

It's bizarre that it's surging and surviving on its own. 

Hopefully the plants will clear the moisture once they settle in.

They had some late sunlight today, 

 

 

 

 

[antony denman]

sad git been in the loft found my sons micra mechines hes 30 now,why i kept them i dont why,threw all his extras away garages there was even mountain range probaly pounds away sure there more,he had silver micro tool box full off them,took me right back,it started in early 90s when he was about 6 mybe,old driver i worked with had about 6 on his dash,he let my son in drivers seat,he spotted them,driver took a shine to him gave them to him,that was that every birthday xmass he get more,mrs got senitermental over them,she still thinks he 10 lol

[Jon]

Hey @antony denman, that's a very nostalgic arrangement of Micro Machines you've got there, which just makes me more eager to get back to the UK one day and rifle through the ones I've got there - I must have over 100, when I look at how many I remember having! 

Note that the red Testarossa and the white De Tomaso Pantera are FAKE Micro Machines, which were common to have swilling about the place, as they were obviously much cheaper than the genuine articles and from memory, you got more vehicles per box, too. I'm not dismissing them by the way, as in many instances, I preferred them. I had a Chevy van and a Chevy Blazer which were copies and remembering that with tow bars deleted and spoked, dished wheels, I actually preferred them...

 

And @sheffcortinacentre  - congratulations on a photo montage! I understand you'd had issues uploading images to this forum in the past, so glad to see you've overcome that. I'll also award bonus points for the home built road way. 

 

 

Anyway, further details of my time travelling trip. Last time, after laundering my smalls (though everything is small at 1/42, of course), I noticed that I'd parked next to something rather interesting:

 

Yes, a Buick Riviera! One of many cars on my ever-changing/expanding wish list is one of these, so what better way to snag one than in a fictitional 1970's environment, when they were both still numerous(ish) and affordable? 

 

Had a quick sniff about during the customary pez shot, though it was rather hampered by a bonnet that didn't want to stay fully open. I'm pleased to report that all 8 mock cylinders are present and correct and that it's performance along the wet 'n dry is commensurate with its capacity.

 

By this time, I was yearning for some good ol' hearty  USofA vegan scran and this place I drew up to sufficed. Seitan fried 'chicken' - YUM! So progressive.

 

Would be rude not to visit this place and buy all the 240Z dustbin lids they had. As you can see, I'm a very polite person, so I obliged.

 

Then as usual, I found a place for the night to bed down and watch some all color T. In previous places, I'd watched M*A*S*H in black and white, so it was great to see it in all in its beigeness. Not much happened in it though, so I turned over and watched CHIPS instead but that wasn't much better.

Sorry to waffle on so much.

[sheffcortinacentre]

Thanks yep seem to have the hang of it now.

Those where all made this afternoon from what was in the box that arrived this morning ( the rod was the only complete one & SD1 was one of mine).

Particularly pleased with the diplomat,

I'm not a rod fan ( muscle cars are my thing) but i do like recovery trucks (so that's the majorette pickup cut in half with the chassis from the majorette caravan a piece of Ali sheet & 2mm rivets).

Was just getting into dioramas when life got in the way ( they can take to much room up) but would like to build a dealership ( yes no prizes for guessing which).