00 scale road vehicles from non-railway sources

[fodenway]

10 hours ago, ianmacc said:

Hi. I’ll take a better picture of it tomorrow. All the cars have glue on the wheels so they’ve been on a transporter or similar which has detracted from their value. 
 

I am unsure about the Fiat now. I’m not a collector I’m a modeller but I’m loathe to “ruin” a rarity. The wheels are shot anyway so replacing them wouldn’t make any difference. I may do a light improvement like I did with the Lima Fiat 131 a few pages back. Trouble is it would look rather good beige with rust spots on the sills and arches! 

I remember a few years back when there were literally hundreds of well-used Ladas parked up at Carnaby airfield near Bridlington. Apparently they were worth far more "back home" than here, and so were being shipped back by some enterprising Eastern European chap.

[PhilJ W]

36 minutes ago, fodenway said:

I remember a few years back when there were literally hundreds of well-used Ladas parked up at Carnaby airfield near Bridlington. Apparently they were worth far more "back home" than here, and so were being shipped back by some enterprising Eastern European chap.

Apparently Lada spares were in such short supply that such re-exports were viable. It was rumoured that the dismantling commenced as soon as the ship left port and anything that wasn't wanted was pushed over the side.

[ianmacc]

10 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Apparently Lada spares were in such short supply that such re-exports were viable. It was rumoured that the dismantling commenced as soon as the ship left port and anything that wasn't wanted was pushed over the side.

That’s true (the re-importing at least)! I saw a ship leave Teignmouth harbour with an unofficial Lada cargo on top of the containers! Top Gear also did a feature where they all bought one and drove to Hull and had a competition to see who could make the highest profit. 

Edited March 26, 2023 by ianmacc

[ianmacc]

Pics of the H0 scale Fiat 850. Very faded and the wheels are shot with glue but an interesting little thing. 
 

Probably a wagon load for a continental manufacturer of some kind? 

Edited March 26, 2023 by ianmacc

[ianmacc]

Decided to bite the bullet and improve the Fiat 1200 aka Lada. 

 

Removed the glue soaked original wheels. Will use the wheels off the Oxford Allegro for no reason other than its surplus as the 4mm scale owner has just received their new Maestro! 
 

Managed to prise the chassis away sufficiently to paint the grille area as it would have been a pain to do it with the bumper in situ. The back is glued so will have to manage. Was able to draw out the glazing through the gap. 
 

Just need the time now. It may sit in this sorry state for weeks now! 
 

The tiny little Fiat 850 makes another appearance! 

 

 

[ianmacc]

First pass trial fit to see how it will look. 
 

Need to apply silver to bumpers and the grille plus tail lights and maybe number plates. It’s probably about 1/74 as it is fractionally larger than I remember Ladas being back then.

Edited June 8, 2023 by ianmacc

[Clive martin]

Those cars look fantastic ,someone very local to me owns a very tidy  1984 Lada estate in a shade of beige you just dont want to be down wind of it, the smell of petrol fumes is quite shocking!

[ianmacc]

I decided it could belong to the local farmer away from the depot confines as it doesn’t stand up well against the professionally made Oxford Diecasts!

 

As far as I’ve time to take it for now. 

[ianmacc]

1 minute ago, ianmacc said:

I decided it could belong to the local farmer away from the depot confines as it doesn’t stand up well against the professionally made Oxford Diecasts!

 

As far as I’ve time to take it for now. 

PS who can spot the farm cat?!

[fodenway]

On top of the shed, keeping out of the way of the squirrel on the dustbin?

[quicksilvercoaches]

I've never seen one of those Rivarossi Fiats/Ladas. There is a cheaper and easier way to get a 1/76 Lada thanks to @m0rris's 3D print.

 

 

Not quite finished yet and still waiting for glazing. Colour is the correct Lada Cream that incredibly was still available off the shelf in Halfords a few years ago despite the number of cars existing in that colour surely being in single figures!

[fodenway]

A pair of mongrels in 1/76 scale! The American Ford H tractor unit was made from parts of two Matchbox Toys, the top half of the cab being from the recent Ford C series truck, and the grille from the late 1960s "Ford Wrecker" (N series), with scratchbuilt bumper and lower wheelarch panels. Mounted on a modified chassis from an old KeilKraft/Amerang Kenworth kit, with the fuel tanks from the Matchbox C series added. The wheels came from a long-forgotten resin military kit. The trailer is a much modified Kibri kit, with a few small parts from the Airfix Scammell Tank Transporter in the mix. The rusty REO Speedwagon, (rescued for preservation) on the back started life as a Swedish coach in the Atlas "Buses of the World" range. Only the bonnet, wings and wheels were used, mated to the cab from a Hasegawa military GMC truck, and mounted on an Airfix Austin K6 chassis from their 'Emergency Set' kit. Other detail parts came from various sources, usually left-over parts from other kits or 'toys'.

[PhilJ W]

Some time ago I obtained some model tractors made by Universal Hobbies attached to keyrings. Some are far to small for 1/76 but three are very close. One, a 1960 Ford Major is exactly 1/76 scale as if sat alongside the Oxford version of the same they are identical. The next is the Massey Ferguson 135 which is also of similar size. The third one is a bit of an enigma as it is not named but resembles a Massey-Harris tractor of the 1950's. They also produce farm trailers in the same size but generally to a smaller scale that do not look out of place alongside 1/76 machinery.

Edited August 3, 2023 by PhilJ W

[Les Bird]

I also acquired some of the keyrings with the Ferguson tractors. Once the key ring attachment was taken off , the result was a good representation. I think I paid around £1 each.

[37114]

On 25/03/2023 at 20:42, PhilJ W said:

Apparently Lada spares were in such short supply that such re-exports were viable. It was rumoured that the dismantling commenced as soon as the ship left port and anything that wasn't wanted was pushed over the side.

Definitely true, as soon as the ships cast off the crew would go to work, deciding which ones were resellable complete (not many bearing in mind Europe drives on the wrong side of the road) and then dismantling the rest. When stripped the shells were just dumped over the side, the floor of the humber estuary has a few Lada shells on it...

[ianmacc]

Hi all. Started following the lead of others and rummaging the charity shop and junk boxes for interesting 00 gauge finds.

 

A crude Range Rover mark 1 in about 1/80 and a copy of the matchbox lamborghini Marzal also around OO.

 

Bunging them on a car transporter and sending them on their way but interesting little items.-Anybody know their provenance?

Edited August 10, 2023 by ianmacc

[Darius43]

The Marzal isn’t an original 1970s Matchbox version as it has a plastic chassis and a different body.  It may be a “Super GT” model (late ‘80s stripped down versions using ‘70s castings) as it has a plastic rather than metal chassis but it has a clear amber windscreen so it may be a hybrid.  The rear “window” seems to have been painted over.

 

Original 1970s Matchbox Lamborghini Marzal.

 

 

 

 

Not sure as to the provenance of the Range Rover.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

 

 

[PhilJ W]

There were plenty of copies around at one time of obsolete Matchbox models. There are also copies of Husky models around.  

[ianmacc]

On 27/10/2023 at 06:53, Darius43 said:

The Marzal isn’t an original 1970s Matchbox version as it has a plastic chassis and a different body.  It may be a “Super GT” model (late ‘80s stripped down versions using ‘70s castings) as it has a plastic rather than metal chassis but it has a clear amber windscreen so it may be a hybrid.  The rear “window” seems to have been painted over.

 

Original 1970s Matchbox Lamborghini Marzal.

 

 

 

 

Not sure as to the provenance of the Range Rover.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

 

 

Hi. It’s much smaller than the Matchbox model at about 1/76 scale 

[fodenway]

3 hours ago, ianmacc said:

Hi. It’s much smaller than the Matchbox model at about 1/76 scale 

Regardless of the scale, the Marzal was a one-off concept car that would have done vary little (if any) road mileage, instead being transported in a covered truck  to auto shows. The chances of it being seen in regular traffic, even in Italy, would be almost zero.

[ianmacc]

I actually found another identical one of the range rovers in a different rummage bin at the same junk market a few weeks later. This one had a makers date of 1996. 
 

Sadly the Marzal and Range Rover number one, along with other cars and three Hornby car carriers were lost in the post so gone forever. 

[fodenway]

A fairly recent Matchbox introduction in the 'Retro Series' is this 1975 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, and it works out to exactly 1/76 scale. Full-size dimensions are:- Wheelbase 126.3 inches, width 80 inches, overall length 225 inches. The blue one seems to be quite common, I picked this up, still carded, at Newark Toy Fair a couple of days ago for £2, and the same dealer had four or five left. There is also a creamy-yellow version, and a metallic coppery-red (with red interior) that looks really good, but these last two seem to be fetching higher prices on ebay. With the addition of a driver figure, mirrors, some better wheels and some detail painting this will be a welcome addition to my collection.

[fodenway]

A couple of 4mm scale models you'd be hard pressed to find today - which is just what I did at the Newark Toy Fair last week. These two were made by someone in the early post-war days using "Modelcraft" plans and instructions. They are made from card and wood, with the little Morris 8 Series E being made from a series of thin card profiles, carefully cut to shape, glued together, shellac'd and sanded to shape. The Fordson 7V is simpler, construction-wise, but none the less detailed. To think in those days, kits as we know them today were non-existent, a kit in those days consisted of a set of drawings, instructions and the raw materials (pre-printed and possibly pre-cut wood and card), but you would probably have to mix and boil up your glue (Cascamite was my grandad's choice), and maybe even mix your own paint from linseed oil and pigments. It is incredible that these have survived so long, and show just what can be achieved using only very basic materials - and a whole lot of patience and skill.

Edited January 4 by fodenway

[melmerby]

21 hours ago, fodenway said:

A fairly recent Matchbox introduction in the 'Retro Series' is this 1975 Cadillac Eldorado convertible,

A car that showed BL that unlike the Mini, front wheel drive CV joints worked extremely well even with several hundred Horsepower and torque to match

[Phil Parker]

59 minutes ago, fodenway said:

A couple of 4mm scale models you'd be hard pressed to find today - which is just what I did at the Newark Toy Fair lat week. These two were made by someone in the early post-war days using "Modelcraft" plans and instructions. They are made from card and wood, with the little Morris 8 Series E being made from a series of thin card profiles, carefully cut to shape, glued together, shellac'd and sanded to shape. The Fordson 7V is simpler, construction-wise, but none the less detailed. To think in those days, kits as we know them today were non-existent, a kit in those days consisted of a set of drawings, instructions and the raw materials (pre-printed and possibly pre-cut wood and card), but you would probably have to mix and boil up your glue (Cascamite was my grandad's choice), and maybe even mix your own paint from linseed oil and pigments. It is incredible that these have survived so long, and show just what can be achieved using only very basic materials - and a whole lot of patience and skill.

 

Well done! I'd have snapped those up myself as I've never seen such well-built Modelcraft kits. If they ever need a home, the HMRS would give them one.