Some recent Lesney restorations

[MBXPilot]

I agree. I do enjoy making reproductions of rare variations, such as the red wire wheel Ferrari and ARAL tanker. I'm a broke college kid and making a repro is the only hope i have of putting one on the shelf!
But I do them for my own enjoyment, and if I were to sell one, the listing would state very clearly that its a fake. I hate people that try to pass it off as the real thing!

[motorman]

Good man. However you must consider that these customs of rare variations may not live in your collection for ever and could make there way onto the open market. Some customisers mark the base of their customs in order that they can be identified as customs on the open market. That said if they are never going to leave your display thats just fine.

[GHOSTHUNTER]

I don't do any restorations like those shown by "MBXPilot", but if I did, mine would be held together with small screws, screwed back into the original 'Rivet' posts.

Ghosty.

[MBXPilot]

That is a good point. I don't plan on selling any of my Lesneys. I have about 300 now and they're very near and dear to me.
I've been thinning down my modern diecast collection a bit, but these aren't going anywhere!

Even if they do get sold someday, I doubt anyone will be fooled by the JB Weld that holds the car together
Maybe someday I'll figure out how to do screws.

[MBXPilot]

New 14d custom I finished tonight. This is a new color I haven't tried before. It ended up not being quite what I expected, but I do like it! I thought it was going to be a bit more of a straight up silver, but it has some gold in it too.

Iso After 1 by MBXPilot, on Flickr

Iso After 2 by MBXPilot, on Flickr

Iso Group by MBXPilot, on Flickr

Check out some more photos of the restoration process on my blog!

[Tinman]

I agree. I do enjoy making reproductions of rare variations, such as the red wire wheel Ferrari and ARAL tanker. I'm a broke college kid and making a repro is the only hope i have of putting one on the shelf!
But I do them for my own enjoyment, and if I were to sell one, the listing would state very clearly that its a fake. I hate people that try to pass it off as the real thing!

I too enjoy seeing the work of others, keep showing us your projects!

I've a reputation for restoring common models into some hard to find ones. It's a double edge sword as many like to see these restored models and yet some others feel it ruins the hobby. Regardless, I love restoring models and making customs.

Please don't take this as criticism (your work is good), but I feel this should be noted: The red Ferrari Berlinetta color trial (with wire wheels) was done with the same paint as the XKE Jaguar. It should not be confused with the last issue plain red which carried over into the superfast era.

[nickjones]

Ok ok I take it back!!!
I guess I just feel like this forum is out of my league and don't post too often!

Hi MBXPilot.
Please don't feel this way, Everyone who has an interest in Matchbox toys is welcome here. Be it restorer, newbie or a collector for 40 years.
Most of the forum members began collecting by buying playworn models and restoring them, I know I did and I still make the odd custom when I get the spare time.
And for every forum member there are ten unregistered visitors so you might not get a lot of replies but a lot of people enjoy looking at you recreations.
Lesney were not known for their use of colour so it is nice to see these "what might have been" models.

[MBXPilot]

I agree. I do enjoy making reproductions of rare variations, such as the red wire wheel Ferrari and ARAL tanker. I'm a broke college kid and making a repro is the only hope i have of putting one on the shelf!
But I do them for my own enjoyment, and if I were to sell one, the listing would state very clearly that its a fake. I hate people that try to pass it off as the real thing!

Please don't take this as criticism (your work is good), but I feel this should be noted: The red Ferrari Berlinetta color trial (with wire wheels) was done with the same paint as the XKE Jaguar. It should not be confused with the last issue plain red which carried over into the superfast era.

Was it really? I had no idea! I bet that color looks great on it. Next time I get a Berlinetta to restore, I might have to try that. I've managed to match the E Type red pretty well. I believe that Berlinetta is one casting that no collector can have too many of haha.

[MBXPilot]

So I haven't been active on this forum in a while, and I'm trying to change that!
I'm not currently doing customs, as I'm away from home. I'm in Cape Cod Massachusetts for training for a new job I've just taken. After training, I'll be moving somewhere in the US, not sure where yet. I also don't know when I'll be able to get a proper workbench set up again. But for now, I'll share some of my projects from the past year.

Dodge Dump Truck by Logan Abner, on Flickr

Ford Zodiac by Logan Abner, on Flickr

Peugeot by Logan Abner, on Flickr

Lincoln Continental by Logan Abner, on Flickr

Porsche by Logan Abner, on Flickr

Snowplow by Logan Abner, on Flickr

Ford by Logan Abner, on Flickr

van by Logan Abner, on Flickr

Van by Logan Abner, on Flickr

Rolls Royce by Logan Abner, on Flickr

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Some really good restorations there and if asked, my favourite would be the Two dumper Trucks. The Rolls-Royce is also nice in that metallic Red.

Good luck with your New job training.

GHOSTHUNTER.