Inscribed on the Statue of Liberty in New York USA is a wonderful creed:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
So goes the similar quest of those who desire to "recover" and "restore" the broken and play worn castings of the die cast hobby. Countless examples of these great toy models reside in a sad state. They hide in boxes and containers, at rest with their broken and missing parts, with wheels worn down by hours of play. Their once smart paint colors all chipped away and missing. Some were once loved to a literal death.
It is these tired cast off and abandoned models, once so dearly loved and cherished, that the restorer brings back to life. The very models that held a warm place in our young hearts have now earned a chance to be reborn and renewed to a position of glory once again. Such is the motivation of the restorer, to reclaim and recover the sad model that's no longer wanted. To rescue them from the dark dusty hiding place and once again let them shine and work like new. These models have a rich history all their own.
As the days and years marched on, people began to look back on these model toys and began to covet and collect them. The models with missing and broken parts as well as the play worn models were culled out by collectors in favor of the mint and excellent condition. The dusty boxes and bins of cast aside and unwanted models grew in number.
The first die cast models to be customized and modified by adults were done for use on model railroads and architectural mockups. Some were only detailed and others received new logos and paint. When the models were new or still easy to find in abundance, no one really considered restoring or reclaiming models from the rubbish heap. Slowly, the cost to obtain mint and excellent condition vintage models made casual collecting an expensive hobby.
Recovery and restoration began slowly and recovered/restored models had little acceptance by the self proclaimed purist collectors of the day. Some went so far as to denounce them as having no value what so ever. Time continues to march forward and those participating and finding joy from toy model recovery increase by exponential numbers. Today, the manufacture of replacement parts and accessories for toy model recovery is a growing business around the world.
The word spreads through the grapevine and hope begins to blossom in dark hidden cardboard boxes and dusty storage bins hidden away from view. "We are desired once again, we can be whole again" the little toy models share among themselves from within their hidden places of refuge.
Go forward my reborn friends, and bring joy to a new millennium!
One day I hope to turn out some quality restored toys just like yours and some others I have seen. a very satisfying hobby, keep up the good work 
