Used Motors

nevard_110709_cars_DSC_2811_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

We all love those ready-to-push diecast model cars that can be bought for the price of a posh pint (well in Surrey anyway!). Whilst they are probably better than what can be made from a white metal kit costing 4 or 5 times as much, everybody else down the railway club will own a whole set of cars identical to yours.

A full sized car will be shiny when clean and new, for some reason gloss does not scale down well without the result looking toy-like, however we can create a better looking miniature effect. These cars from Oxford Diecast and Pocketbond Classix are the result of about 30 mins sat at the table under the sun in the garden and here's what can be fitted into that time......

1. Dismantle (you might need to drill out the soft rivets)
2. Wash over the body  with a brown/grey paint mix (any old paint, I like acrylic and emulsion).
3. Dab off, leaving just enough pigment in the recesses, the amount depending whether you're going for banger or beauty.
4. Remember to treat the wheels too.
5. Reassemble temporarily without the glazing.
6. Blast over with some Testors Dullcote aerosol matt varnish - Google for a supplier.
7. Once dry, dismantle and reassemble with the glazing.
8. I didn't like the glazing on the left had car, a Ford Popular because it was set far too deep inside the car so I discarded it and used Krystal Kleer Glazing fluid instead.
9. Add a dab of super glue where the drilled rivet heads were to hold the car together.
10. Place on your layout in a parked pose - unless of course you add a miniature driver, in which case queue it at a level crossing or traffic lights so the lack of movement does not look silly (unless you are modelling the M25 of course).

Further reading: there is of course a lot more than can be done, so much so that ace modeller George Dent and your's truly penned and article for Model Rail 156 (for back-issues tel: 0845 121 4000).