Disaster and more experimentation.

I'm not sure what is going wrong so I'm taking some time out to study. Everything--pics and text look OK until I publish--then it goes awry. To avoid a waste of a post I'm including two of my restorations and then good night until I get this damned blog worked out!

My restorations of Dinky diecasts.

This is a 25 Y Universal Jeep produced in the late 1940's. The model has been stripped down using paint remover and is now ready for primer. As I live in Egypt I shall probably have to use a commercial primer and I'm not sure how that will work. I have a new windscreen that will be painted with a black surround and will be ready to attach once the paintwork on the body is complete. This is a complicated placement because the base of the windscreen has to align with the rivet post so that the rivet holds it in place. I foresee a lot of bending and aligning that may end up in chipped paint and a disastrous result. Will report on progress next time around.

Pics of old Dinkys in my collection.

I've included some photos of my older Dinky's here. Pictured are 3 25 series lorries, a 28 delivery van and a 36G taxi.

There were many variations of the 25 series lorry in various guises and with different chassis'and, despite their 1940's origins they are fairly easy to collect. Some versions are rarer than others so expect to pay for rarity. The 28 delivery van is not difficult to get either, but as with everything else in the diecast world, you will pay much more for mint! The 36G taxi is starting to fetch higher prices now as they are becoming scarce in good condition.

I love these older Dinkys and wish I had more of them. How many toys can you buy today that will last for 60 years and more? They are built to last and many are as strong and as perfect as when they left the Liverpool factory.

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Restorations: To restore or not?

I know I'm jumping around but it is intentional because I want to share all aspects of my hobby and I can also tell you that I am still in TEST mode as I use photos and arrange text. Thank goodness Blogspot does a lot of it for me!

The first question you should ask yourself when considering a restoration is: Is this model too valuable too restore? Because the chipped Dinky Morris Oxford shown elsewhere has a two tone colour scheme it is difficult to source and I have decided not to touch it. I'm not good enough to restore models to authentic quality and even then it may be worth less. I'm new at this so I only restore scrap items bought from E-Bay or BoB (SA). As many Dinky and Corgi models can be over 50 years old, restoration is becoming popular and spares are available.

If you think about it : in twenty years time restored models may be the last survivors!

A Simple Project

The two photos above left are of the Corgi Bedford TK tractor, a common Corgi workhorse often used for tippers, circus vehicles, tankers and a car carrier. This tractor is in excellent condition and had a Chipperfields giraffe cage attached to the back by a swivelling rivet. The plastic cage was missing apart from the floor. I drilled out the base-plate rivets and removed the swivel, also removing the interior as there was a broken mirror (now on order). My efforts produced slight chipping around the hole at the rear of the chassis but this will have to be filed out to take the receiving pin of a car carrier I am restoring. The damage will be sprayed and the TK will look as good as new---ready to pull a new load.

More themes.

My last post was a mess. I still have a lot to learn about graphics and photos and matching them to print. Collector's themes can be as diverse as the pages in an encyclopaedia: Here are just a few examples:

* Fords.
* Fire vehicles.
* Ambulances.
* Pre 1950.
* Trucks.
* Dinky sports cars.
* Racing cars
---and so on.

Many collectors like to build a Diorama around their themes e.g. fire vehicles at a fire station. This adds to collecting pleasure.More pics and less mess on my next blog.

Themes. Why Themes?

Themes are very popular with collectors. This is a taxi theme with: clockwise from bottom a Plymouth Plaza New York Taxi (Dinky), A Dinky Austin taxi from the fifties and an ERTL Austin Taxi. Next is a Dinky 36J taxi from the late forties and finally a Minichamps Mercedes taxi. I do not collect much ERTL as the scale seems to fluctuate and Minichamps models are (however excellent), not as collectible as the "Oldies".