I caught on the tellybox an episode of BBC's The Repair Shop, where this Yellow Submarine was restored to what you see in the picture.
It was of great interest as I both had a Yellow Sub as a kid and I restored one myself in the 1990's, an early and very poor attempt at anything of the sort.
It was a great TV restoration and the craftspeople in the Repair Shop are so skilled it's amazing. I was intrigued as to how the restorer would do it. Bearing in mind that every part of the Yellow Submarine can be bought off the shelf as a repro part nowadays, I knew the restorer would ignore this and do everything from scratch.
Coincidentally the periscopes he made from modelling putty. Years ago when I made my own scopes I used Das Pronto. Mine were terrible. The restorer's were simply brilliant, especially once the paint lady had painted them yellow and red.
With all the mechanisms fixed, a new propeller made from plastic and the periscopes in place, the owner of the special object was thrilled to bits. It all worked and looked fab!
Interestingly the back-story was that this Corgi Submarine was given to the owner's Dad on the night of the Yellow Submarine film premier in the Sixties, whilst attending it!
Have you been given a special toy? Have you restored a die-cast, even a Yellow Sub readers?
The Repair Shop is an excellent programme. It is on Friday nights in NZ. I did not have a Corgi Yellow Submarine back in the 1960s. It was only as an adult collector that I got a later version.
ReplyDeleteSpecial models. A friend of mine, who knew I collected die-casts, bought the Corgi Only Fools and Horses van off someone he knew who was moving back to England, and selling off his collection. My friend died before he could give it to me, but his widow presented it to me at his memorial service. That model means a lot to me, as a reminder of my friend.
I love the Repair shop! Having visited the barn where they work earlier this year, I feel a bit closer! As you've asked whether I've ever restored a Corgi Yellow Submarine, here's a link to my Instagram thread where I take a brand new (reissue) model and customise it with twin red propellors as it should have!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.instagram.com/p/B4mRNa_g455/?igshid=MmU2YjMzNjRlOQ==