Last year back in 'lockdown' in cold rainy England, it was a great opportunity to pick up the indoor hobbies again. However this time instead of the 1/24 scale plastic kits, I noticed these YouTube videos pop up about restoring old matchbox and corgi diecast cars. Further research showed it was quite a big thing already, with 3D printed wheels and other accessories available for fixing up on these small scale 1/64 size metal cars.
They take some interesting and delicate work to bring up their condition, for one the paint stripping and preparing a metal surface for paint at this scale is also a learning process. Don't be afraid to get out some diamond files and fill imperfections in the surface with filler, before sanding everything down smooth and to shape ready to receive paint.
Then there are the windows, often small plastic glass which has become scratched and faded, with muck ingrained to it. This requires sanding down, the polishing for hours to get it back to a clear state.
Interiors require little more than soapy water and a toothbrush. Axles and wheels often completely shot and require replacements to be lashed up. eBay helped me find some 3D printed wheels, then I used an alloy tubing 1mm diameter to create axles.
In The Beginning ...
They looked pretty battered. They're not going to fetch anything at Sotheby's. However, they can be made into cool little mancave ornaments. They go well with a collection of Hotwheels and other 1:64 scale model cars. Something to enjoy collecting, as a kind of fantasy garage!
It all begins with a very beaten up matchbox model. They can be picked for very little money at junk stores and car boot / yard sales.
This Maserati Boomarang was a fun build
Maserati Boomarang
The Boomerang is an interesting and very bizarre concept from Maserati in the 1970s. It has a wedge shape very low to the ground, and windows on both halves of the doors. If you google this car you will see, but just for an idea here is a photo of the original concept car:
Bonkers interior of the Maserati Boomarang
What about that crazy steering wheel with all the dials and controls within. Unfortunately at 1/64 we can't capture much of that detail, however it would be cool to get this in a 1/24 or larger kit.
The collage below shows steps from paint stripping, polishing, primer, and cleaning the glass. I didn't have photos of the finished piece sadly. It was finished but had been packed in storage for the time being! The last shot in the collage you can see it's been painted silver and almost put back together. I really thought I had a photo of it, if I find one I'll have to update this post.
Various steps of the process
M1 Procar Niki Lauda conversion
For this BMW M1 Procar, I made my own decals. Using special decal paper for inkjet printers and adobe illustrator. I sourced the layout and various logos from the Internet, then had to size them very precise on the computer. It took a few goes to create the file, but I was happy with the results in the end. This one also got some 3D printed wheels from eBay, in the BBS style which is correct to this car.
Airbrushing the 3D printed wheels at 1/64 scale. They turned out even better than I'd hoped for.
Template for design and prototype decal sheets
It sure was a wreck in the before .;
Up close you see some of my hand painting is a bit wonky and it's no master modeller job. However, in the metal and on a shelf you can't tell, as it is enlarged and the camera also exaggerates flaws on small subjects like this.
A one off!
Finished wheels
I'd decided to tackle doing a few at once. Next time I'll slow down, 2 or 3 would be the maximum to keep focused on detail and quality. However they all turned out quite pleasing. Doing the main initial steps like priming this way saved the effort of doing setup and cleanup several times over. I was also able to paint strip them all in one batch - less times to mess around with nasty chemicals. So it does make sense to work on 2 or 3 at once, just take time on individual finishing.
I did some major steps like priming all the same time.
Initially, was thinking I'd find a way to replace the glass for the siren on the roof of this Land Rover. Then, I had the brilliant idea of just removing it completely. It was die-cast metal, so first I cut then filed it down, then filled, sanded, and primed it. The glass was shot on this, I used some clear acrylic plastic from some packaging to cut new windows and glue them after painting.
Land Rover gets a roof remodelling
How the LR turned out, with Porsche that was made earlier
Preparation
First they're taken completely down to the bare metal. Then stripped in commercially available paint stripper overnight. Then washed down, and a wire brush takes care of remaining paint. Abrasives are used to get all the gunk out of the surface. Any filling and filing is performed to remove moulding imperfections, lines, or other damage. The body can be finely tuned this way. Next, primer, a few coats applied thin one by one with a long drying time. Metal like this is tough to paint, you need to prep it well to avoid flakes and slides later.
Finally these 2 are ready to get hit with some paint. The BMW first in white, before the red overlays were done with thin model masking tape. The Boomerang was painted in silver, like the original concept car.
White vinegar makes interior like new
Previous goes
I've also covered the two above in this post.
Thanks for reading
Hope you have enjoyed these hints and tips or just found the process interesting, maybe you are thinking of embarking on similar projects! Almost everything was done with modelling equipment I already had, so I do plan to make more of these some day. There's a box full of them waiting for overhaul!
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Shout out BitShares Open a free named account today. : https://newtonclassics.co.uk/scalemodels/matchbox-restos-land-rover-and-the-boomarang/
Super fun to watch. The detail is amazing. Niki Lauda conversion is a real treasure.
Awesome mate! Some of those YouTube videos on refurbishing old toys are excellent and nice to see you breathed some new life back into those old Matchbox cars. Are you collecting the Majorette cars here in Thailand? I'm not a collector but I couldn't resist the different taxi and van ones they sell in 7/11!
I've been trying to stick with hotwheels and matchbox, but lately it all seems to be Majorette. I have bought a couple of the ones I liked and am tempted by the Porsche ones they do now :)