randyc

Looks great! Wish I could find the patience and motivation to convert diecasts. I barely get plastic kits built anymore - too much going on in life, not a bad thing though. Some great opportunities out there. Like this!

Nice! Show more if ya got em.

Nice additions. And thanks Gramps, for the mini review of the 63 SW. I have looked at that one several times. Anglia, that is a really nice 1/43. I would have thought it a larger scale from the photos.

NICE! Thanks for sharing.

Dang, where is the LIKE button?!

I have sold a LOT of built ups. I don't make a lot of money per se on them, but I have sold enough models, plastic and diecast, to pay for a new riding mower, which I needed. Many of my builtups have been in storage for several years, so opening a box becomes a bit of an event. Things I forgot I had built and want to keep or things I can sell to buy more new stuff. And yes, most older diecasts will show some "rash" in the paint. And descriptions in listings are not always truthful. And sometimes, even the best description and photos will still make a buyer unhappy. Been on both sides of that. In the 40 or so cars I bought last year, only ONE was completely perfect. I sold it on. I even have a Franklin Mint 57 Chrysler 300 that was removed from box first by me that shows some rash. So it really doesn't matter if the car is displayed or kept in box, rash can occur. One theory is that a car that has been displayed and waxed over it's life will hold up better. I don't know. So long as the metal doesn't appear wavy, the rash is just a paint imperfection. how you feel about that is up to you. I don't mind a little paint rash. I try to NOT buy cars that look badly pimpled. however, if the metal looks wavy, the metal may be getting ready to come apart. I had a Classic Metal Works 49 Mercury that fell completely apart. And it was not played with or anything. The 1/18 Ertl 68 Chevelle in black seems to suffer from some pretty sever issues as well. I have seen this one for sale repeatedly with metal issues. I also had one with issues. Not sure if a stripping could stop it.

Also, check for Crown Premiums. Use that as the search on ebay. Limited selection, but pretty nice cars - their 57 Chevy is as nice as the FM and DM cars. I compared them all and kept the Crown. Mine is the Enterprise Rent a Car 50th anniversary set. They make nice 67 GTO, Cutlass, Charger, models. Sometimes they will have advertising tampo'd on the bodies, but a few swipes with some nail polish remover will make short work of that. Search Wix 1/24 - they make an excellent Cobra model - discussed on here quite a bit. Wix makes a nice GT40 that would make a nice historic replica with a repaint. Gramps is working on one of those now. Wix offered a beautiful set of Challeneger in 1/24 & 1/18 in the box. The 1/24 '70 Challenger is best you'll find anywhere. Can usually find the set in a nice box for around $50. You can't build that nice a 1/24 Challenger. I promise. Very few in the world could build as nice a model. The Wix 53 Vette is nicer than the Franklin Mint, which is pretty crude, but today's standards. In my opinion. Wix has a 57 T bird. Wix also had some clunky models along the way. Icons makes (made?) some nice historic racing models, including the Wix Cobra mentioned above. And the Mint models are always out there. You can find deals if you are patient. I'm doing mostly 50s cars and have made several great deals. If you area modeler and don;t mind making a few repairs, you can often make even better deals. Some of their cars are kinda funky though. The 71(?) Cutlass comes to mind - the front and rear are a little off. hte Danbury Mint 68 Chevelle is pretty awful. THe Franklin Mint Falcon is just plain wrong on the front of the hood. But if you gotta have it.... If you got to have boxes and provenance, you are going to pay more. But sometimes that is the best way to protect the cars in shipping. I've had to fix a lot of cars and have had collectors send me cars for repair. The sire diecast.org has reviews of many of the Franklin and Danbury Mint cars. I always check there first. First Gear makes some nice cars, but they are uysually 1/25. 69 Chevelle, 68 El Camino, 67 Fairlane, 70 Boss 428 - all NICE cars. And seems like many of us here are often selling stuff. I am most always. Look through this area of the forum for more reviews and photos of stuff we've collected along the way. These guys are excellent advisors. I trust them all and look here everyday for new acquisitions.

You might consider some foam blocks to try to hold that PE hinged hood in place so it can't move around. Sounds like a scary proposition. I worry enough when I pack things sold on ebay to ship through USPS.

Friend of mine bought one of their cars - not sure if it was this one or not. But it was a Bburago that isn't sold in US. No improvement in quality or anything. Just a Bburago in a fancy box.

Nice additions guys

Well I thought your video was excellent! Exactly what I wanted to see. Thanks for doing those.

The Welly 72 T/A has an EXCELLENT set of rally IIs if you want the ones without trim ring. - best I think I've ever seen. The 67 Bird is pretty good as well, WITH the trim ring, if you can make them work. WElly 68 GTO are nice but are an odd size with the tires that come on them. I couldn't find a set of tires I liked to go with them and the sidewalls are pretty short for the car. Crown premium 67 GTo not bad either. Not as good as the Wellys. And I may have a set of resin wheels. Can't remember for sure how good they are.

Nice cobra!

Not right now - what are you looking for? I'm always on the lookout though. Thrift stores are a good place to find parts cars. I do have a 53 GMC pickup limited edition missing front bumper. I could be presuaded to let it go. lol. Figured I'd find a bumper and keep it.

Somewhere, I bought a siphon feed top that fits a model master jar. Wish I'd bought multiple. But with that top, you can use MM jars and then cap them and save til the end of build. Or longer. And seems like there is a never ending supply of MM jars at my place. Plus testors used to sell just the jars with lids. I assume they still do.

Here's a tip that I think improves kit chrome. Sometimes, it just seems too toy-like. See photo. One wheel has a wash of black detailer liquid. other is straight from kit. I'll leave it up to you to decide if you like it or not. This can be done to bumpers or any other chrome parts. Just depends on the part and the need. If you do it and don't like it, you can wipe it or wash it off with water.

It is pretty large. Yes all four doors open. Fronts are the old dog legs. Can't remember how the rear operate. Working suspension too. Glove box door opens. I'll try to do a more indepth thread on it soon.

Yes they are assembled in a much more complicated manner than the cheaper diecasts. I was used to the Ertls and such. So far, it seems like there are always some "secret" screws. The 57 chevy FM may be an exception. However, on it, I thnikk the radiator hose is glued in after the major assemblies are attached. Which means it is holding the entire model together at the point of separation. Always something. Have to be very careful when dismantling these cars. BUT if you can get cheap enough, there are a LOT of parts to detail a plastic kit build. Things that the kit makers NEVER considered including. So now I have both the white one and the blue one from Danbury Mint for well less than $50 total investment. I also have a yellow NAPA convertible. Plus I still have plastic versions built up somewhere in storage. Too many Camaros...lol

This was actually last week. More 50s metal.

Nice!

So a friend brought me this one. Got $8 invested. Right side tires were toasted. Not sure what happened but they were flat and bent. The tires. Needed cleaning. So why not dismantle? Lol Mint cars are always tricky to disassemble and this one was no exception. Screws hidden under the boot. And the boot is glued with the strongest glue in the universe. I cut through the edge of boot and finally got it apart. Detailed the dash some. Painted the dog legs black. Replaced tires with some from a testors diecast kit. Closest easy fit. Detailed the wheels. Cleaned it all up. Still missing mirrors. I have the passenger side but no point installing it without the drivers. I think I have one in my stash somewhere. I touched up the orange stripes too. Modelmaster Chevy engine orange is pretty much perfect. Also extended the pinstripes on fenders. May foil the fender lips later. Well worth $8.

It does seem very common with this model. Seems like MOST of them are missing the mirror, even when they have boxes and all. And the box adds quite a bit to the price usually. It's a big slot where the mirror goes. May be a poor fit with the mirror and falls out. Then the carpet eats it.

Nice Jag.

Nice additions guys.

NICE!!! Stick that air cleaner up in the airflow.