Shite in Miniature II

[flat4alfa]

42 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I've rotated the first image several times but it's not having it

Arghh it's haunted

[stuboy]

More to add to my collection... shame fire station has a chipped corner...

[Frogchod]

Latest evilbay haul has arrived.

Yes, more Buicks

Franklin Mint Skylark.

ERTL 1912 Buick

White Box 1936 Buick Special.

Not a Buick but a Chapron Limousine.

Somewhere under that naff body work is a Traction Avant

[andrew e]

@stuboy let’s see that Camaro out the box! 1/8 - it must be HUGE!

[sierraman]

That Anglia is top value, hopefully a bit like Atlas they’ll be reproducing the Corgi Range. 

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, stuboy said:

TOTALLY not Knight Rider

[bunglebus]

8 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

@bunglebus has Straight Arrow

Yes, yes I do

 

I'd love the Van Killer, there's a fairly tatty one on eBay that's not cheap enough to justify - for now

[eddyramrod]

On 3/3/2021 at 2:26 PM, flat4alfa said:

the 1977 film The Van that customiser George Barris had a hand in

@eddyramrod probably knows all about this

 

No, I don't!  Not at all!  Something else to look out for then...

[bunglebus]

So, as I mentioned earlier, I was on a tat mission today. You'll have to wait until tomorrow for the highlights of that as there's rather a lot and it's been a long day. Here are the eBay winnings that were waiting for me when I got home though

First up, some oddball plastic stuff. I spotted a job lot on a BIN late one night that contained something I was after, it came with two others that are also rather appealing in their own way.

First up, big BMW M1

Really big

 

Turning it over reveals it does stuff

A rummage through that drawer in the kitchen netted me a single C battery, but that and a careful wedged AA got a result

The light mechanism is quite clever, flipping the lights up and turning them on in one motion. It appears to be motorised too but feels a bit broken in the rear axle department

Second of three plastic delights is this rather clumsy 911

Sponsored by everyone's favourite tobacco company, "Manlboro"

This one has an exceptionally noisy friction motor

Here's the one I actually wanted - Lucky toys Beetle with working friction motor

The other boxes contained some rather tidy 1:64 stuff;

I have a nice Matchbox R17 but I rather like this casting. It's not a car I remember ever seeing for real, its existence was news to me a few years ago  but I really love the shape and style of them

This one's a beauty. First Matchbox I've seen with a brown base

Funny how it works, got that acid damaged Wrangler 911 the other day, today a nice one turns up to replace it

Same make, different model and brand - Majorette 944

And rounding off this Porsche heavy post, a Hot Wheels blackwall 930

 

[Jon]

Despite internal protestations towards non-1/43 stuff, I do still let my guard down, when something comes up that I like.

 

This Corgi Opel Senator is one that I'd not known off whilst growing up. That was probably a good thing, as I'd have made it my mission to get one yet, like I say, I didn't know they existed for years, so I'd have been one unfulfilled chap.

 

It was only a fiver, so I thought that was value for something so appealing. Another favourite large Corgi is the SD1, which has far more opening features, though at the expense of the casting being a smidge less accurate than this one. Barring that rear tow bar, of course! That said, I think this'd look great with a trailer hitched up.

 

Sadly, that's all academic, as somebody nicked it and sent it to Africa! Ah well, at least it'll see its days out in the sun.

[Jon]

Unperturbed from the loss of my Opel, I thought I'd treat myself to a quick time travel trip back to the US, to cheer myself up. The imaginary budget was low, so I'd need to source something cheap but hopefully interesting.

 

Job done! It was the typical scenario of a leftfield thinking college student buying an old British sports car and running it on a shoestring but despite this, the handling was SPOT ON (!!!!). 

 

This one had the windscreen delete option (don't they all?). Consuming that many flies does nothing for the old plant-based diet, so I stopped in at the nearest Mexican, to redress the balance by throwing some bean-based dish down my throat. But as you can see, I arrived on a Sunday. It really is best to apply some forward planning to your fictional journeys, that's for sure.

 

Fortunately, before it got dark I lucked out on this GEM of a bistro. As you could well imagine, my eye was immediately drawn to the inviting decor. My hostess was AMBER and I dined on a lovely feast of onion RINGS, CARAT cake and then had a few of DE BEERS.

 

 

 

[Jon]

Suitably bevvied up to a 1970's driver's acceptable level, I carried on to another bar, where I saw this outside:

 

As I drew up, the overtly attractive conceptual lady owner of this pointed to my Healey and asked: "what is that thing?" Quick as a flash and with a wry smile, a sultry, overtly English tone, Roger Moore eyebrow posture and an off-the-cuff glance to her steed, I casually replied: "I could say the same to you...". Needless to say, we hit it off unfathomably well and continued our evening together.

 

The morning after, I ventured forth from her abode with a spritely spring in my step. Must've been all that coffee she'd invited me back for. I think the conclusion we can draw from this endeavour is that if you choose to drive a cad's car, be prepared to act like one (and also that I write like a failed Mills & Boon author).

 

[andrew e]

That’s a hell of a Trek-ker!

[bunglebus]

And it is a Thing, because it has the large "Elephant's Feet" tail lights. If it had the ones from a late 60's - early 70's type two, it would be a Trekker. 

Both of course are properly referred to as a type 181 being LHD. RHD would be a 182...

 

[Jon]

Fearing that my drunkard lothario stage of life was a bit unbecoming, I wondered whether my mythical time machine (bizarrely modelled on a Hinari boom box) had any other time settings, other than 'genric 1970's USA'. Indeed, through twiddling the fuzzy dials oh-so carefully and looking for the date which came up on the in-built black and white screen, I was able to fine tune my location to California:1995.

 

But of course, this being Autoshite, I didn't select something entirely conventional - you could say, I chose a bit of a mvsevm piece!!!

 

Still, despite the inevitable paint loss which this climate attracts, it's a nice solid piece. The high tyre walls were a particular boon, as 'boulevard smooth' roads are a bit of a misnomer in California and seemingly every road is a boulevard! Except for this one, which is a street.

 

Having had so much coffee-related luck of yore, I decided to chance my luck at this accurately restored establishment but it seems that my make-believe luck was up. Still, I was able to grab a cup (32oz soy cappuccino, hold the sugar) and admire the lamp post that was to influence the game-changing male grooming aid, the Gillette Mach 3.

[bunglebus]

That Jag looks ripe for a cheap blowover in something inappropriate 

[Spottedlaurel]

Midweek progress on the kits......

Fresh paint applied to these two. Honda will probably get some clearcoat. Celica has been clearcoated, will get polished over the weekend.

 

Impala moved forwards, finally got the body/glass/interior/chassis to fit together after lots of shaving and trimming. Also got rid of those hoses/cables on the inner wing, as they have no use with the LT5 engine I'm dropping in there.

Also dug this one out, for restoration about 38 years after I first built it. I had five of that engine/suspension/wheels sprue, as I broke a couple of parts, wrote to Humbrol and a big package containing multiple replacements turned up from Italy (the kit was originally made by Esci, and was only recently reissued by Italeri). My original build was intended as a rallycross car, it'll now be a hi-po road car. Glass might be a challenge, I think I'm going to rescue the front and rear screens, cut them out and replace the sides with clear sheet.

[MarvinsMom]

won't the glazing bit clean up with some very fine wet 'n dry?

i have had some success with that on a couple of glazing units for diecast cars that were in a mancky state like that.

[sierraman]

Look at this Baaaaddd mutha fucker! 

[bunglebus]

18 minutes ago, MarvinsMom said:

Won't the glazing bit clean up with some very fine wet 'n dry?

I have had some success with that on a couple of glazing units for diecast cars that were in a manky state like that.

I'd start with T-Cut. Gone off using things like brake fluid after a couple of disasters

[bunglebus]

15 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Look at this Baaaaddd mutha fucker! 

I like that. The front end treatment never did much for me originally but the black suits it well

[Datsuncog]

14 hours ago, bunglebus said:

So, as I mentioned earlier, I was on a tat mission today. You'll have to wait until tomorrow for the highlights of that as there's rather a lot and it's been a long day. Here are the eBay winnings that were waiting for me when I got home though

First up, some oddball plastic stuff. I spotted a job lot on a BIN late one night that contained something I was after, it came with two others that are also rather appealing in their own way.

First up, big BMW M1

Really big

 

Turning it over reveals it does stuff

A rummage through that drawer in the kitchen netted me a single C battery, but that and a careful wedged AA got a result

The light mechanism is quite clever, flipping the lights up and turning them on in one motion. It appears to be motorised too but feels a bit broken in the rear axle department

Second of three plastic delights is this rather clumsy 911

Sponsored by everyone's favourite tobacco company, "Manlboro"

This one has an exceptionally noisy friction motor

Here's the one I actually wanted - Lucky toys Beetle with working friction motor

The other boxes contained some rather tidy 1:64 stuff;

I have a nice Matchbox R17 but I rather like this casting. It's not a car I remember ever seeing for real, its existence was news to me a few years ago  but I really love the shape and style of them

This one's a beauty. First Matchbox I've seen with a brown base

Funny how it works, got that acid damaged Wrangler 911 the other day, today a nice one turns up to replace it

Same make, different model and brand - Majorette 944

And rounding off this Porsche heavy post, a Hot Wheels blackwall 930

 

Some cracking items in there, well played!

That M1's a monster; I remember having a couple of big battery-powered toys like that, including a gorgeous metallic burgundy Lamborghini Miura which did a similar trick with the pop-up, light up headlamps. I also had a tinplate Talbot Alpine police car with a similar jockey-wheel mechanism on the front; it had a working siren and flashing roof light rather than headlights, though.

Look forward to seeing the rest of yesterday's discoveries!

I have to confess, I've been spending a while browsing Facebook Marketplace and the like lately, to see if I can scratch my neglected itch for tat-boxes; so far though, it's mostly been over-optimistic eejits looking £60 for a dozen dusty Days Gone, or a carrier bag of mostly Poundland no-names with about three 1980s Matchbox in there - but an asking price of £90.

At least it means there's limited temptation!

14 hours ago, Jon said:

Despite internal protestations towards non-1/43 stuff, I do still let my guard down, when something comes up that I like.

This Corgi Opel Senator is one that I'd not known off whilst growing up. That was probably a good thing, as I'd have made it my mission to get one yet, like I say, I didn't know they existed for years, so I'd have been one unfulfilled chap.

It was only a fiver, so I thought that was value for something so appealing. Another favourite large Corgi is the SD1, which has far more opening features, though at the expense of the casting being a smidge less accurate than this one. Barring that rear tow bar, of course! That said, I think this'd look great with a trailer hitched up.

Sadly, that's all academic, as somebody nicked it and sent it to Africa! Ah well, at least it'll see its days out in the sun.

That's fantastic, I do love that Opel. Great choice of backgrounds too!

I didn't know about it until a few years ago either; despite keenly browsing the toy aisles and jumble sales as a kid, it's surprising how many Corgi castings I'd never encountered until recently (like the Renault 11 and Peugeot 505, or the action-packed camper version of the Mazda B1600).

Finding original catalogues has been both a blessing and a curse...

3 hours ago, sierraman said:

Look at this Baaaaddd mutha fucker! 

That looks tremendous!

Makes much more sense as a post-apocalyptic blockade runner than a sort-of-not-quite NASCAR type racer - good choice.

[RoadworkUK]

19 hours ago, stuboy said:

Is that "scale model Firebird" not a Camaro?

Amazing, though, anyway.

[Split_Pin]

4 hours ago, sierraman said:

Look at this Baaaaddd mutha fucker! 

I had that as a kid, looks brilliant now!

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

I've been spending a while browsing Facebook Marketplace and the like lately, to see if I can scratch my neglected itch for tat-boxes; so far though, it's mostly been over-optimistic eejits looking £60 for a dozen dusty Days Gone, or a carrier bag of mostly Poundland no-names with about three 1980s Matchbox in there - but an asking price of £90

Same here. Added eBay tax and postage costs don't help with scratching my die cast itch either.

Just sorting out some pics of my haul, none of it is going to make anyone faint with excitement but there are some interesting bits none the less. In the meantime, I took a few teaser pics for you to try and ID

 

[bunglebus]

I'm going to try and pick the more interesting cars out of this lot as there's quite a few and some are quite common.

Not seen these Majorette DAF lorries before, and I can't decide if they're old or modern. Quite a lot of plastic in their construction but the design looks more 70's than anything

I need to line the Unimog up with the Matchbox version

Pompier has some impressive length when extended

Eye searing orange is not a colour I normally associate with Land Rovers. Good effort with the rear door though

Slightly moth-eaten Merc crew cab

Majorette also cashed in on the custom van scene - must be a straight 6 as it only has one sidepipe

There's always one of these, and always missing the tailgate. Nice early wheels though

Crazy car is...well crazy

I guess this is a Chevy Blazer? Missing its back unfortunately

 

[bunglebus]

There were only a couple of non-brands, mainly these two pickups which I suspect are copied from the Matchbox Mini Pickup

I swear these things are multiplying. If only the Sun Van wasn't one of the Kidco/Dinkys I don't already have

There are a handful of early Lesney offerings, mostly very worn in keeping with their age. This is possibly the most interesting, I don't recall any other casting having plastic lettering instead of a sticker or decal

Another one that always seems to be in multi-buy deals is a hutless Site Hut Truck

This one I haven't had before though, Ice Cream Canteen

Lollypops, children?

Never quite understood the point of these little articulated lorries, I remember having a red and a yellow one with the open trailer, but the army colour fuel tanker is a new one

Silver Cloud is a nice casting but always looks a bit odd on fat Superfast wheels. Something more appropriate and a bit of detail would transform it

Zodiac IV often loses the bonnet. Maybe another gasser build to go with my Lone Star III estate?

Another one that looks a bit ungainly with Superfast wheels is the Refuse truck. Both were in the lot for comparison purposes

I wonder how many marbles/twigs/earwigs have been transported about and dumped out over the years?

Not had this caravan before, I was hoping it could be converted to make a camper top for one of my Lone Star Transits but it's too narrow. I've been scouring eBay for something suitable but nothing really works, so it may have to be plastic or lolly sticks instead

Very tidy LR 90

Think I've only seen one Fiero in the UK, which was stock unlike this one

I wonder what the kids made of this Lincoln Continental when it was released? Can't have been a common sight on UK roads

Not the prettiest Rolls Royce, but the opening doors are a nice touch you don't see on standard Matchbox anymore

Another common find, but I don't often turn down a Mod Rod - incidentally the only Superfast to have coloured tyres

Engineless Hot Rockers seem to be accumulating

Early Field car has lost a few tyres but retained the all-important roof. There's a new version of this out now to look out for

I thought Sooty and Sweep pootled around in a Bedford Rascal, but apparently they started off with a Studebaker

These next two are also castings that seem to arrive with me in vast numbers, but I've not seen a Ford Group 6 with this decal before. Did someone peel it off a Volks-Dragon, or is it original?

Porsche 910 is the other that I always seem to have dozens of

 

[Split_Pin]

DAFs are pre 1975 at least, probably older, going by the model they are based on. Same type as the Superkings 'Pallet Truck'.

[bunglebus]

There don't seem to be very many Husky castings to chose from, more's the pity. The sizing is a bit odd with Husky, often there are are two sizes of the same vehicle, but the difference between them is so little that you wonder why they bothered. This one has a metal undercarriage so is the larger version

This is the smaller version and is for milk, rather than fuel. Often missing the cap that forms the rear of the tank

There is almost nothing to chose between them

Guy Warrior is clearly a Husky but is branded Corgi, so is in the period of change to the Juniors range. occasionally the metal base vehicles turn up with no branding, just a Corgi sticker

Talking of Juniors, there were two Matras, both with the delicate split tailgates intact

Nova has had a makeover. Just needs a Peco exhaust and some TSW Stealth wheels now 

Then Bazza can show off to the birds on Southend seafront. Here's his mate Dazza pumping out the tunes from his Kenwood system

There were no less than four Buick Regals in the box, but I don't recall seeing this odd blue colour before

C111 has obviously been parked in the sun for years

The only larger vehicles are this pair, one of four sets sold like this

 

[Datsuncog]

Liberated a couple more of the Continental Selection from their blister packs yesterday, in honour of the '1980s Motoring in Poland' thread - FSO Polonez and 125P.

Both were the epitome of bargain-basement UK motoring in the 1970s and 80s, with most examples sold suffering badly from fairly approximate build-quality plus the impacts of their cost-conscious owners, who may not have been the most fastidious - leading to massive depreciation on what was already a very cheap car, and vanishingly few examples remaining.

Polonez proportions are perhaps a tiny bit off, and there's a definite ding to the casting above the windscreen - but I can forgive all for that amazing colour. 

I mean, there's not exactly a whole heap of model versions to choose from, really!

Underside detail is pretty good.

The 125P is probably superior in terms of dimensions and finish, and that ochre shade is also tremendous.

Things wot I learned about these while idling on Wikipedia:

• Polski-Fiat was originally set up in 1932 to build a range of Fiat cars, buses and trucks under licence in Warsaw - but WW2 put an end to that.
• FSO was set up in 1948 to build a licenced copy of the GAZ M20 'Pobeda' as the FSO Warszawa, but later expanded to build the home-grown two-stroke Syrena model.
• The letters in FSO stands for Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych, which translates as 'Passenger Automobile Factory'. Mmm, functional.
• In the mid-1960s Fiat were looking to expand into Eastern Europe, and so cut a new deal with the Polish government to use the FSO factory in Warsaw, reviving the Polski-Fiat marque - a policy that also allowed VAZ to build the 124 under licence in the USSR.
• The 125P was launched in 1967, using the bodyshell of the brand-new Fiat 125 launched the same year, but using the older mechanicals from the previous-generation 1300 and 1500 models. The Syrena also remained in production alongside, surviving until 1983 (although built by FSM rather than FSO at that point).
• The Polonez was developed from the floorpan of the 125 mated to a hatchback bodyshell heavily derived from Fiat's experimental ESV-2000 safety car, which Giorgetto Giugiaro seemingly tidied up a little one lunchtime.

• The name was derived from 'polonaise', a folk-dance, and was selected following a readers' poll in a Warsaw daily newspaper.

• The unintentional (?) safety slant meant that it was one of very few cars from Eastern Europe that satisfied US safety legislation, and could be sold over there (assuming anyone wanted one). Mandatory EU crash testing in 1994 confirmed that it provided surprising levels of driver and passenger safety - the same round of testing that condemned the Rover Metro as a death trap.
• The Polonez was designed to be fitted with Fiat's perky twin-cam 2.0 litre engine, but problems with licencing meant that at the time of its launch in 1978 it retained the ancient 1300/1500 units instead.
• The Polonez was also designed as a direct replacement for the 125P - but in the event, the 125P remained in production until 1991, by that stage a 25-year old bodyshell attached to 40-year old oily bits.
• A very small number of 3-dr Polonez Coupés were produced, which used the same front doors and rear windows, and looked for all the world like someone had simply wobbed over the rear door shut line and handle.
• The Polski-Fiat brand was killed off in 1983, with all cars branded as FSOs after that date - except for the 126 'Maluch', which reverted to Fiat branding, previously only used for export versions of these cars.
• Nearly three-quarters of all Fiat 126s were Polish-built at the separate FSM factories in Tychy (until 1979) and at Bielsko-Biała; Italian production having ceased in 1979. The 126 then became the 126p after 1983, while remaining available from Fiat dealers, and in 1987 was developed further into the 126 BIS - now with a hatchback and with a unique Polish-designed water cooled 700cc engine.
• The licencing deal with Fiat expired in 1991, and after that Fiat bought the FSM factories in Tychy and Bielsko-Biała, renamed it Fiat Auto Poland, leaving the Warsaw FSO plant to go it alone. The Cinquecento and subsequently the Seicento were both built at Tychy, while production of the aging Uno was moved to Bielsko-Biała  in 1994, with the Fiat Siena and Palio models later taking over the production lines. Today, Tychy builds the Fiat 500 while Bielsko-Biała builds Fiat and GM's joint 1.3 multijet diesel engine.
• The 125P and Polonez ceased production in 1991 with the loss of the licenced Fiat engines, and UK imports halted altogether. The Polonez was re-engineered and reappeared as the facelifted Caro/Prima, now available with a bewildering variety of engine options including the 1.4 Rover K-Series; the Ford 2.0 Pinto and the PSA XUD, although not in UK rhd spec.
• FSO sales resumed in the UK in 1994, with only the Caro now available in either 5-dr hatch or pick-up format.
• FSO were bought out by Daewoo in 1995, forming Daewoo-FSO. A factory expansion allowed the Nexia and Espero models to be built at the Warsaw plant, soon followed by the Matiz, Nubira and Leganza models.
• FSO withdrew from the UK market for the final time in 1997, with sales now minimal. The lightly warmed-over Caro Plus continued to be sold throughout the rest of Europe until 2002, but no longer in Blighty. 
• During the period of its brief ownership by Daewoo (1997-2000), Ssang Yong Musso, Korando and Chairman models were also assembled at the Warsaw factory.
• In 2000, after Daewoo's collapse, FSO found themselves independent again. They continued building the Caro alongside ex-Daewoo Matiz and Lanos models under the FSO name, which were also shipped to the Ukraine for assembly under a deal with AvtoZAZ.
• Also in September 2000, Fiat finally pulled the plug on the 126p after a Polish production run of nearly three and a half million examples.
• Polonez/Caro/Prima production finally ceased in 2002, after 24 years. FSO's Warsaw factory continued to build the ex-Daewoo Matiz and Lanos with Chevrolet badges following a licencing agreement with General Motors, going on to build the Aveo there.
• At the point of the MG-Rover Great Unpleasantness in 2005, a joint deal with FSO was seen as the last-gasp effort to rescue Longbridge. Sadly, after the identity of MG-Rover's supposed Chinese partner kept changing, FSO bosses got cold feet and ended talks (or maybe they were still annoyed about the K-Series).
• The licence to build the Chevrolet Aveo expired in 2011, and was not renewed. FSO still survives, but the Warsaw factory nowadays builds automotive sub-assemblies and other manufactured parts under contract rather than complete cars.  And also, weirdly, Lego.