HPR3136: Matchbox Restoration Part 6

Good day to all in HPR land, this is Tony Hughes coming to you again from Blackpool in the UK. To recap this is the 6th in a series of shows about my hobby of restoring Matchbox and other Die cast models. In the last show I went through the process I use to paint and prepare the casting for reassembly. In this episode I will discuss how I put back the wheels onto the base and reassemble the final model, before revealing in the show note pictures how the model came out.

So before putting back the plastic wheels onto the axles I polished the axles in my drill bit using a little bit of fine wet and dry emery paper.

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After selecting the best 4 of the plastic tyres from the models we originally dismantled I washed these in a little soapy water and after drying they these were fit for putting back on the restored model. The cleaned up axle is assembled on the base with the first tyre in place with the large dome end of the axle sat on a nail punch held in a vice. The second tyre is then placed on the axle and holding this all in place a small hammer is used to peen over the end of the axle by hitting it gently so the end is peened over but the axle does not bend. It is possible to do this stage in a drill press using another nail punch in the drill chuck, but I do not have a drill press at the moment, so have to do this the old school way, with a bit of brute force and ignorance.

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So we now have all the parts ready for reassembly. The base has the axles and wheels back on, the screen has been polished and the plastic seating given a clean in soapy water and dried, and the body is repainted and ready to go.

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So being careful not to damage the paint work the casting is placed with the base side up and the window unit is placed into it.

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Followed by the plastic interior, the eagle eyed among you will notice a colour change to the body work as I forgot to take a picture of this stage on the gold model. You have to ensure that the tab with the tow hitch (yes Matchbox put a tow hitch on a posh car) is fully over the retaining post or the base will not seat properly.

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The base is then placed back on the model by sliding it over the tab at the front and clicking it down over the rivet post.

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I then used some '5 second Fix' UV glue to glue around the post to hold it in place. You can also drill out the post with a 1.5mm drill and using an M2 tap then use a small M2 screw to hold the base in place, but in this case I was happy with the glue as it was for display and will not be handled frequently enough to require the more secure retention of a screw. With these small models there is a risk of damaging the post while drilling and tapping them so it is personal preference as to the method used to hold it all together at the end.

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The model is now completed and the final picture in the show notes is a small collection of what it looks like now it is ready to display again.

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So that is the story of how to restore a Die-cast model back from the dead (well almost). These small models are comparatively easy, but some of the larger scale models with many more parts can take many days to restore, and require a lot of patience to do so. But from small beginnings we all start, and maybe in the future I will feel confident enough to tackle something a little more complicated. I have recently done a few models with opening doors which have a retaining spring holding them in place.

So this short story is finished so this is Tony Hughes for Hacker Public Radio, saying goodbye for now, keep safe everyone and I'll be back at some time with another show. At the moment I'm not sure about what, but I will be back, so Ken can rest assured I still owe him a show.

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