Toys you had as a kid and that you kept

[paulo57509]

Matchbox models made by Lesney in England in ca 1/76 or a bit bigger,

Am green Mercury Cougar with finger steering and a red Pontiac Grand Prix Sports Coupé, Saggy door on the GP.


A red Rolls Royse Silver Shadow and a gold BMC 1800 Pininfarina. I vaguely remember adding the white walls at age 10 or so. I used a circle cutter and adhesive white plastic foil. They still look good! I still have great close-up vision but I'm not sure if I can still do that sort of thing.

The Grand Prix looks like it came out of East San Jose.

 

[4WD]

Remington 870

 

[vavavroom]

Just pulled this out of the old toys bin today…

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I think my Grandparents brought this back from a trip to Germany back when. I think this is the starting point of my “bug”.

Ah, the old 190. One of the first cars to hide the wiper arms under the hood to protect the people you'd run over.

I have this MB 300 SE by Matchbox that is, other than the color, a dead ringer for my grandpa's car that he drove into the mid-'90s. His was pale metallic green. The model is ca 1/70 scale.

 

[vavavroom]

The Grand Prix looks like it came out of East San Jose.

Well, the suspension is shot because the car was involved in so many brutal chases so it's naturally slammed. You can't see that in the picture but the Mercury has a severely faded hood. It fades from green to silver. Looks like they painted it green over silver and the green rubbed off or faded. Fancy paint job!

 

[vavavroom]

I started this thread with a ca 1/50 Corgi Ho,mes wrecker. I don't remember when I custom-built a smaller 1/87/ H0 version that while not identical in detail captured the essence of the larger model. The goal was to make a very used and grimy-looking wrecker you'd see outside of a dilapidated rural shop. I probably built this model in 1988 The model was intermittently part of a model train set. It was kit=bashed with some heavy mods to the cabin. I was too lazy to greenscreen a sky in to the photos.

Scale comparisons 1/50 vs 1/87. The 1/87 model is 2.5 inches long.




Together with a '50 Ford Woody Wagon made by MC.

 

[vavavroom]

A Matchbox Alvis Salamander Foamite Crash Tender in 1/93 scale made by Lesney in England. This model is about ten years older than I am.

 

[paulo57509]

A Matchbox Alvis Salamander Foamite Crash Tender in 1/93 scale made by Lesney in England. This model is about ten years older than I am.

...and the "squirter" hasn't been broken off!

 

[vavavroom]

...and the "squirter" hasn't been broken off!

The plastic ladder and two hoses are still attached to the roof!

 

[vavavroom]

Here's a picture of the fairly detailed back of the Salamander. It looks like I applied a sloppy black wash to bring out the detail. Can't remember doing that.

 

[Dave P.]

the Fischer Price airplane, original Rock em Sock em Robots, original Mattell Electric football handheld game, a Coleco version, Steve Austin, 6 Million Dollar Man action figure (lost the engine he used to curl), electric football (the metal, green vibrating field) with 6 different teams...we didn't throw much out in my house.

I had that same electric football game. Never completed 1 single pass and may have never scored a rushing TD either.

 

[iahawk]

I had that same electric football game. Never completed 1 single pass and may have never scored a rushing TD either.

haha...that white plastic quarterback/kicker was awful! I don't think anyone ever really completed a pass. Kicking a field goal was slightly more likely.

 

[vavavroom]

Two Ford Galaxy Matchbox cars by Lesney. A fire chief and a police car version. I have already posted the Impala Taxi that goes with those vehicles in another thread. These are a bit more beat-up than most of my other models.

 

[Turbo Actual]

Hess Truck with helicopter. The helicopter still operates surprisingly.

 

[vavavroom]

In another thread, the topic of zinc pest came up. I also mentioned that I found an old Matchbox car under a bush in my backyard while mowing the lawn. I presume this is a car that once was mine and that I gave to my son who lost it in the backyard. It must have been under that bush for at least 12 years. At a first glance, it looked pretty good. I took it apart and stripped the paint intending to restore it. The paint stripper is not gentle on zinc alloys but is generally safe. After stripping the model I noticed that part of the bed was paper-thin with light shining through pinprick holes. I filled the holed with C/A glue mixed with powdered zinc. I then etched the model in phosphoric acid solution in preparation for primer. The solution was harsh enough to reduce the already thin section to the thickness of a layer of paint that crumbled. I replaced the bed with a piece of textured styrene. The width of the slats is not right but I don't care. In the first picture below you can see the combined effect of the corrosion of zinc and the etching solution. The etching solution is quite necessary as it gives the surface a nice tooth for the primer to stick really well. I will post an update once I have restored the model. It won't be in like-original condition but it will be modified.

BTW, the tailgate on this model is about as thin a part on a 1/64 model as I have ever seen. It's only 0.3mm thin.







'

 

[vavavroom]

Looking through boxes I haven't opened in many years I found a box with maybe 20 unfinished projects. Some look like they are probably close to 40 years old, others may be from weekend projects with my son form maybe 10 to 12 years ago. Here is one of the more interesting ones. A 1/76 scale MB 300 Gullwing with an extended body. I can't remember whose idea that was. I can see the model was cobbled together from two models that were cut with a jeweler's saw. The body was etched, primed, and sanded. Some touch-up work was done and the project was abandoned.

 

[vavavroom]

Here's another unfinished project. I can tell this was once a Matchbox #13 Dodge Wrecker. I filled the hole for the bubble light in the roof and I removed the crane. and I fabricated a simulated wood bed liner. The tail lights and indicators were done with clear resin mixed with pigmented coloring. Then I left the project unfinished. I have no idea if the plan was to have just a pickup truck version, if I was going to make a work truck, or if I was to throw some motorcycles in the back. It's been too long. The body is already painted in a similar color scheme as the original, BP yellow and green. I should probably finish the build. I'll have to make axles and source wheels and tires. If I get around to it.

 

[vavavroom]

A 1/76 scale or so Alvis Stalwart by Matchbox, made in the '60s. That was an HMLC or High Mobility Load Carrier. It was an amphibious vehicle capable of floating and in use not only by the British armed forces. The vehicle was made between 1960 and the early '70s and remained in service into the '90s.k I showed a larger Corgi toy in this thread. It was an Alvis F102 Striker, a cable-guided missile carrier. My old toy still has its yellow plastic top.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Been splitting two large downed cottonwood trees by hand. At 65 a real workout. 5 rounds left. Only for our fire pit!

Man oh man back in my 40s I was still jogging 4 mi a day and ten miles on Saturdays and weight lifting on every other day. I would also chop fire wood by hand a few weekends a month. I sure envy and miss the fantastic shape I had gotten myself into. I was 5'11" and 205lbs and could pass for a (smaller) NFL linebacker. Wife had some photos out the other day of a bunch of us late 30 to early 40 year old guys playing flag football in a lot near a local school and I could not even recognize myself in photos. It sure did not take me long to fall down (out o shape) like a crumbling building once I took an 8 hr a day 5 day a week desk job at the plant. After running that office for ten years I was so out of shape I bid out of the office and went back on my maintenance tools to work outside and in the shops to get back in shape. I did manage another 10 years on my tools and got pretty much back into shape before retirement. One problem I did not plan on that threw a wrench in all of that....... freaking AGE is catching up (67yr old) with me and the wife these days.

 

[vavavroom]

A 1966 MB 230SL. Matchbox by Lesny in ca 1/72.



A Mid-'60s Studebaker Lark Wagionaire with a cool sliding roof. Also Matchbox by Lesny. I think the car came with a plastic dog. The dog ran off decades ago.

 

[vavavroom]

I am expanding this thread to include some new projects because this thread already shows some old scale model projects, It has been eight years or so since I have seriously tinkered with scale models because that's when my son started to lose interest in doing these kinds of projects we had been doing for 6 years or so. My nephew will be staying with us for a while, He has an interest in model building and modification and he's a vehicle nut. I have begun to put together some of my tools so we can restore, modify, build a few models I have a few boxes with unfinished projects and an actual junkyard of old toy cars that can serve as part donors or projects. On the roster are:

-disassembly without damaging the model
-drilling out and tapping rivet posts for M2 and M3 screws or threaded studs
-stripping the models (toy cars!)
-modifying the bodies, drilling out headlights, bodywork, making new baseplates
- making curved windows
-making resin and metal wheels
-etching, priming, painting, decals
-adhesives
-using powdered zinc and resin as filler and for repairing broken parts

Here are some of the tools, there are many more, and box with small fasteners.



Some tools may be difficult to recognize:

The orange-handled tool near the top left is an M2 nut driver
The three little cylindrical tools left of the polybag with the M3 tap are very small nut drivers
The first tool on the left at the bottom is a burnishing tool
The tool below the jeweler's saw's handle is a screwdriver sharpening tool
The little metal tool near the bottom to the right is a very small wire stripper
The pink stick is sawblade wax that also works for tapping