My 2018 Diecasts

[Snake45]

I added 18 diecasts to my “Finished/Displayable” list this year. This means I've done my little Snake-Fu detailing and correction tricks and they're as good as they're gonna get. Except for the '65 GTO and '70 Challenger T/A, I acquired all of these this year; most were new, a couple were pre-owned. Two (the '15 Shelby and '12 Mustang) were assembled from kits from Hobby Lobby. Five of these were $9.99 Rite Aid specials. Thanks for looking and as always, comments welcome! Happy New Year! 

 

’65 Riviera: I just discovered that I haven't photographed the pretty blue-gray one I did this year; this is the silver one I did a couple years ago, exact same model with same Snake-Fu mods. Finished March 3.

 

’15 Shelby GT350: Finished May 19.

 

’12 Mustang Boss 302: Finished May 37.

 

’65 GTO: Far and away the most involved project, as I spent a lot of time changing the shape of the roof. WELL worth the time spent IMHO. Finished July 15.

 

’57 Chev 210: Finished August 12.

 

'55 Mercedes 300SL: Finished August 23.

 

'70 Challenger T/A: My favorite diecast of the year, this one is so good it gets displayed with my “real” models. Finished August 26.

 

'05 Porsche 977 Carrera: Finished September 4.

 

'14 Porsche 918 Spyder: The LEAST effort I put into any diecast this year. All I could find to do was sand the tire treads and hit the rims of the wheels with Silver Sharpie. Finished September 9.

 

'07 Porsche Boxster: Finished September 22.

 

'68 Corvette: A really rough, no-name diecast bought for $2 at the local toy show. I did what I could with it but it's still pretty wretched. Finished September 27.

 

'02 Mazda RX-7: Bought for $5 at local toy show. Had to file a nasty mold line off the side of spoiler and airbrush it red to match. Finished September 28.

 

'05 Corvette: Finished September 29.

 

'07 Shelby GT500: Finished October 12.

 

'68 Olds 4-4-2: Finished October 30.

 

'67 Firebird: If this were true 1/25 instead of 1/24, it would be tied for my favorite diecast of the year. As it is, it's a solid second. Finished November 1.

 

'62 Chevy Impala: Finished November 3.

 

'65 El Camino: Considerable work making the door window frames look halfway decent. Finished November 9.

 

[cobraman]

All nice but the 68 Vette does have a strange look about it. The wheels look pretty good however.

[Geno]

Great scores Snake, what did you have to do to the roof of the '65 Goat? It looks really nice.

[Gramps46]

Great looking collection Richard.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Geno said:

Great scores Snake, what did you have to do to the roof of the '65 Goat? It looks really nice.

Glad you asked, and thanks! The whole sordid story is told here: 

 

[Geno]

Thanks Snake, I appreciate the info.

[randyc]

Nice recap.  I bought a LOT of Danbury and Franklins in 2018, but didn't have a lot to do other than cleaning.   That happens a lot when you buy them cheap like I did.  Did get into the Rite Aid cars about same time you did.  Worked on a few of those.   Our Rite Aid is closing this month - thanks walgreens.   So that resource will dry up.  

But as one door closes...new resources have come into place in the form of traders and sellers and buddies making connections that tip you off when they come across things they think I may want.   Supposed to be scoring two nice Danbury mint trucks this week with boxes and all the stuff for $20 each.  Getting my daughter's bf to make the deal a couple hours away, so no shipping involved.  If they can hook up.   

And of course, this has become my #1 part of the forum.   I come here everyday just about and check the rest on occasion.  

A big part of my 2018 list was work done for others.   I have a guy shipping me cars now to repair.  Seems weird to me that people buy these and don't do modeling, but hey, whatever works for ya, I guess.   

I still have a few I need to post up here from recent works/ acquisitions.   67 GTOs from Crown and Icons.  Napa 69 Camaro Convertible, 56 Lincoln Premiere - no work needed, but it's a beauty.  41 Lincoln with bumper issues, 32 Ford coupe.  

Thanks for the recap.   

[THarrison351]

On 1/2/2019 at 8:18 AM, randyc said:

I bought a LOT of Danbury and Franklins in 2018, but didn't have a lot to do other than cleaning.

Me too Randy. I bought 8 this year that needed cleaning and some repairs. I covered the repairs to the Ferrari here. I also did one Welly that I detailed and was documented. Four Motormax that I detailed three of them and documented. I still have a 2017 Mustang GT to detail. And although they're not diecast, AMT sort of marketed their Masterpiece series of pre-built models to compete with the Mints. I picked up two that needed some attention from poor storage. Now I only need one to complete the set.

[Snake45]

11 hours ago, THarrison351 said:

Me too Randy. I bought 8 this year that needed cleaning and some repairs. I covered the repairs to the Ferrari here. I also did one Welly that I detailed and was documented. Four Motormax that I detailed three of them and documented. I still have a 2017 Mustang GT to detail. And although they're not diecast, AMT sort of marketed their Masterpiece series of pre-built models to compete with the Mints. I picked up two that needed some attention from poor storage. Now I only need one to complete the set.

Thanks for your nice comments on my diecasts. 

Oh, wait....

[THarrison351]

Yeah, sometimes we tend to go off on our own, don't we... Nice collection you completed by the way Snake.

Edited January 5, 2019 by THarrison351

[randyc]

I have learned a lot in 2018 from the snake collection.  Still haven't learned to stay on topic though.  

[Snake45]

14 hours ago, THarrison351 said:

Yeah, sometimes we tend to go off on our own, don't we... Nice collection you completed by the way Snake.

Thanks! 

 

12 hours ago, randyc said:

I have learned a lot in 2018 from the snake collection.  Still haven't learned to stay on topic though.  

I've learned a lot from you too this year, Randy. Also from Gramps46 and Geno. In fact, I don't consider one of my diecast posts complete until I've heard from at least two of you. 

[vamach1]

I did not build these this year but I would put them in the diecast category as I did not paint the bodies.   The 67 Shelby is actually quite a nice kit for the price as are the other 68's.  The Testors Mach1 not so much.

[Gramps46]

Well done Rex.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, vamach1 said:

I did not build these this year but I would put them in the diecast category as I did not paint the bodies.   The 67 Shelby is actually quite a nice kit for the price as are the other 68's.  The Testors Mach1 not so much.

 

Thanks for your nice comments on my diecasts. 

Oh, wait.....

[vamach1]

23 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Thanks for your nice comments on my diecasts. 

Oh, wait.....

Thanks Gramps .   Your's are nice too Snake.

[vintagercr]

Nice looking collection!

[randyc]

On 1/5/2019 at 12:07 PM, Snake45 said:

Thanks! 

 

I've learned a lot from you too this year, Randy. Also from Gramps46 and Geno. In fact, I don't consider one of my diecast posts complete until I've heard from at least two of you. 

And that the dang truth!!!  This is my favorite section of the forum since I am doing so much diecast now. 

I have a couople guys sending me stuff for repairs/resto now.  And they pay just like a real garage, even down to 1/24 scale prices.   LOL.   It's hard for me to imagine, but there are Mint car collectors out there that have no interest or setup to repair cars they buy.   But I enjoy working on them.  And I get to review things I don't have sometimes to see if I want them.  I bought a Danbury Mint 60 impala conv after seeing one that I repaired.   That will be one of my first 2019 cars.  Pretty good bunch we have in here.  

 

 

 

[Gramps46]

I think I have already posted most of my 2018 activity so I won't take up any more bandwidth with them now.

I do want to add though how much I have enjoyed and learned from everybody this past year.

Sincerely,

Gary