ON THE MOONBASE BENCH: WHIPPED AND FLIPPED!

 On the bench at the mo are a few projects.

I'm patching up the chroming on these old plastic Light Sabre handles. The Missus is making little Miss Moonbase a Doll's House Suitcase.

Something I finished last week for Wotan, the redline Hairy Hauler. It got a new DIY window and a new metallic green coat. Next to it is my redline Whip Creamer with new DIY window and mock spinner. These windows were both cut from Super Glue package blisters.

Work continues on the two larger die-casts for Junior for Easter, the Lunar Bug and the 007 Moon Buggy. I'm just waiting for some red paint for the Bug roof and a simple DIY attachment for the Buggy 'arms'.

Wotan told me that the Whip Creamer has been re-issued in modern styling but still retaining a plastic roof and spinner. Its called the Whip Creamer II.

In a lightbulb moment I bought this cheap one on Ebay for a few pounds.

I really don't like the modern style at all.

The original redline is SO much slicker!

So it wasn't too painful for me to remove, with some difficulty I might add, the roof and spinner from the new one. I then sawed off the curved ends of the roof.

eh voila! whipped and flipped!

Not too bad I must say! Worth the investment in the new Whip II for parts, Do you agree?

Right up to date are these cheap Corgi and Matchbox die-cast scrappers, which have just arrived in the docking bay at Moonbase. They include the purple Freeman x 2, which I adored as a kid. You too?

There's quite a lot of paint loss on this ensemble.

I started with the pick-up sans its front grille.

I had a spare from something else, which did the job.

I'll keep you posted on further work in progress on all these projects.

RODIMUS PRIME AND A HOT WHEELS ZOWIE! BINGO! ... Oh and a couple of mystery figures!

 Last Sunday's boot sale was fun.

I was so chuffed to pick up a modern re-issue of the Transformers Rodimus Prime, the big truck at the back here.

As I'm unlikely ever to find an original 1980's Generation 1 Rodimus, this is as close as I'll get without taking out a second mortgage. For just £6 I got the front cab - Hot Rod - and the fabulous opening rear trailer. Its a wonderful thing, which I first really noticed in my Loose Action Figures 'bible' bought way back in 2000 at the NEC. I've been steadily collecting its contents ever since!

My new Rodimus is just missing the secret canon. Think SPV and Swift Removals and you get the idea.

Have you got a Rodimus Prime?

We also picked up a nice 1993 SPV for Junior for Easter for £2 - just missing the missile and in great shape, together with a slew of late 1970's Hot Wheels including a tiny Zowie, the little one at the end. 

I've cleaned them up a little since getting them home.

The metallic red Corvette is very Hot Wheels in looks but is actually a Matchbox Superfast. The 'Woody' and Hot Rod are both late 1970's Hot Wheels, with the brand name in straight lettering on the base.

The little Zowie is my fave of the bunch and is the first I've seen for decades. I had them as a kid in the Sixties, together with tiny planes, although I've no idea what the planes were now. Zowie planes? The Zowie doesn't pick up much speed so I can't imagine Mattel issued track for it. Anyone know about Zowies?

 I may make a missile for the Vivid SPV.

Other items seen on the day included this Lanard jet. Was it for their Corps! range of action Joes?

I think this was a mis-shot, though the seller always has interesting bundles for a pound!

...... including the mystery 12 inch figure sprawled across the Go-Kart in the centre. What is that? Head shot and background removal added for clarity.

And the 12 incher next to the Batjet with black shorts. Who's that?

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Postscript!

Mystery solved! I checked it's make this week! Taiyo 2002.

It's the Taiyo Edge BMX rider! Presumably the horrible hollowing of his limbs was to lighten the load!

Here he is on the Tube in action on an RC version!

https://youtu.be/hkAiMmzRRK4?feature=shared

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Till next Sunday! More Car boot therapy!

Draguar has Risen from the Grave

I picked up a beaten bargain Superfast Draguar at the Sunday sale. 60 pence. The dome was cracked open and the chroming faded. The paintwork wasn't too bad though.

I adored the Matchbox Draguar as a kid aged 9. It was so damn cool with that blister and all.

Rummaging in my bits box I found a clear Cornetto topper, which could well make a decent dome.

The cracked original is on the left.

It worked!

The plastic was thin enough for me to squeeze into an oval, which under tension, keeps itself in position!

A little red Sharpie and some fresh chroming and Draguar lives again!

Did you have one readers?

A BUNDLE OF OLD SCRAPPERS

 This old mixed bundle of Matchbox scrappers given to me recently by my Missus has kept me busy on the die-cast bench this weekend.

Here's before I got work on them.

Here's after.

It was a lot of fun trying out the different paint pens I have now.

Its always takes a little time to find the right colour.

I tried Sharpie markers, matt and gloss paint pens and metallic paint pens too.

I was pleased with these three as the finish came out really smooth. The Matchbox train took the metallic pen paint especially well.

It was a great mixed bag to do up.

Hmmm. I need more now!

HOT LICKS

 I've begun cleaning up the die-casts my friend Paul V kindly sent me as a Christmas gift.

The first fab four needed a simple polish.

2012 green Dodge, 1982 red Classic Cobra, blue Porsche Turbo [undated] and a cream Matchbox Jaguar XK120.

These two beauties didn't need much doing either; the flaming 1979 Matchbox Superfast '57 Chevy a lick of black, red and yellow and the smaller 1977 plastic-based Hot Wheels Chevy a little polish.

More work was required on these two lovely 1990 Flippers reversible cars.

Before.

After, some painting and pen work.

The last two in this post needed the most attention, a full repaint.

The terrific white Hot Wheels redline 1967 Ford J-Car and the light green Corgi Juniors Whizzwheels De Tomaso Mangusta.

Before.

After.

The rest of the group, three precious redlines, need metallic paint to do them justice, so I've ordered some new metallic paint pens.

Watch this hot space!

STREET DREAMS

A bevvy of Hot Wheels and Superfast for touching up came in last week. Some great muscle designs here.

A while later duly spruced.

Cabinet ready.

BLUE SHARK MEETS HAIR BRUSH

 

Spruced up this Superfast Blue Shark recently, always a favourite when I was a kid in the Sixties and early Seventies.

A few spots of blue Sharpie pen and a lick of chrome, the biggest job, if I can call it that, was replacing two black plastic exhaust rods. I used two tines from a hairbrush. I'm hard pressed to work out which they are now!

Have you got a Blue Shark? Did you have one as a nipper?

PAUL'S MATCHBOX FORD GROUP 6: ITS SUPERFAST!

Hi,

Among the models I picked up at the most recent model fair in Auckland was a Matchbox Ford Group 6 racing car. I already had a Group 6 racer, which I have had for a good 50 years. The new model being in different colours.

The launch of Hot Wheels in 1968, with their low-friction wheels and high performance, saw the sales of Matchbox models drop, especially in the important American export market. Matchbox (and other brands) responded by fitting new low-friction wheels to many existing models, and launching many new models which had Superfast wheels from the outset. The colours were also jazzed up, and metallic shades were introduced, just like Hot Wheels.

The Ford Group 6 car was the third Matchbox model to be given the number 45, and is referred to by collectors as 45c. It replaced the much more sedate Ford Corsair.

It has the copyright date 1969 on the baseplate, although it actually came out in 1970.

The Ford appeared in several striking colour schemes. First, a normal green car. Then metallic medium green, metallic lime green, and finally metallic purple. Window and baseplate colours varied. Early cars had the race number 7 on the nose, but most had 45.

My original car, which I have had since it was new, is a metallic lime green version. The interior is white (or ivory, according to some listings), with a chrome engine, amber tinted windows, a pink baseplate, and the number 45 on the nose.

The box this came in shows a darker green car, with clear windows and the number 7 on the nose. But it is original.

My new model is a darker metallic green, with a white interior, chrome engine, a black baseplate, and the number 7 on the nose. In fact, the car shown on the box of my original model ! This one did not come with a box.

As a boy, I did not care much for the Superfast models, preferring the realism of the Regular Wheel models, despite their lower performance. But there were a few models which I thought really suited the new Superfast wheels, including the Ford Group 6, which was an excellent runner.

The Ford Group 6 was eventually replaced in 1976 by the BMW 3.0 CSL coupe.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

DAS SUPERFAST

 Here‘s my German catch of Flohmarkte Superfast with the odd Super King and a few recent cars from Blighty for good measure. For the last month I‘ve patched up a handful of these motors whilst sat on my Father in Law´s sunny balcony listening to him tell me stories of his evacuated childhood.

My faves are the big yellow camper and the shiny red jag in the middle.

What‘re yours?