VBD2 is closed. Please go to https://vbd3.co.uk instead.

I have seen a couple of these for sale online ..
With making a lot of kitsets in my younger days ..

Bare metal cars are easy to make... Just drop the whole car into a pot of brake fluid , It will not harm the plastic but will remove all of the paint, depending on the paint it might take a few days or even a week or so. but it will happen.

I would never buy a bare metal car , knowing this.

I've also noticed cars from two packs have no base number .
So a bare metal prepro can and could be quite easy to make...

I don't like the idea, just saying...I do not like repainted cars..

As for cars in different shades of colour I watched a clip on youtube the other day... some people are dying cars which also dosent affect the plastic but does change the paint.

Aprt from drilled rivots what else is their to look out for?.

Rivit swaps - some fakers hide the fact baseplates have been off by destroying a donor car just for its rivit posts and gluing them to the fake to make it appear factory.It is also possible to respin some rivits after minimal drilling as has been shown here on our customs forum by mrmoko

maldat wrote: I've also noticed cars from two packs have no base number .
So a bare metal prepro can and could be quite easy to make...

Hi Maldat,

Some twin pack issues still do have the original number on the base - usually those castings that were still in "normal" production at the same time they appeared in Twin Packs (e.g. #9 Ford Escort).

Where they have been removed, this has been done by moulding a raised flat panel over the top of the old number. This is because it is easier to cut the number out of the die than it is to fill in the imprint of the number on the die.

Pre-productions do occasionally have complete dates and model numbers. The bases are flush, rather than raised, when there are incomplete/partial dates and model numbers. There are also some models that had the number changed just before going into production, so small numbers of castings were produced with the "wrong" number. Superfast examples of this include the #38 Camper and the #14 Mini Ha Ha.

Cheers,
Gavin

Hello maldat, and Welcome. Occasionally you might see a model that you suspect has been tampered with or does not fit known codes, so this Forum or it's members can be used to share your concerns and questions. Your tip on the bare metal pre-pro is a good one, I would have thought the plastic windows would be destroyed by being soaked in brake fluid.
We have outed quite a few regular wheel fraudsters and shown some their various techniques, but Superfast axles and changeable colored plastic components present a whole new opportunity for those marketing later fakes. Sharp eyes and knowledge of timeline component use are the easiest ways to out these newer fakes, but we all have our shelves with 'purchase mistakes' on them. My advice is to use Nick's Great online variation Guide, and beware if a 'Rarity' is not coded there. If a Seller will not send added detailed pictures you request or has a fuzzy picture on some details, there may be a reason, so beware........kwakers

I have a contact who is a former Employee and would not want me to name him as I have asked. Anyway every so often I get models from him, some are unpainted and most have untouched/unspun rivits, some have chisel cut rivits and some are just plain weird, I have quite a few in different body colours that have slight casting difference's. So despite your warning which is correct I have to counter your argument by saying that there are still some genuine odd bods out there.

tjlglass wrote:I have a contact who is a former Employee and would not want me to name him as I have asked. Anyway every so often I get models from him, some are unpainted and most have untouched/unspun rivits, some have chisel cut rivits and some are just plain weird, I have quite a few in different body colours that have slight casting difference's. So despite your warning which is correct I have to counter your argument by saying that there are still some genuine odd bods out there.

Who are you calling an odd bod Tim??? .................ah yes of course, you meant Christine!, sorry i should have guessed silly me.

tjlglass wrote:I have a contact who is a former Employee and would not want me to name him as I have asked. Anyway every so often I get models from him, some are unpainted and most have untouched/unspun rivits, some have chisel cut rivits and some are just plain weird, I have quite a few in different body colours that have slight casting difference's. So despite your warning which is correct I have to counter your argument by saying that there are still some genuine odd bods out there.

Yes for sure ... will be lots of odd bods.... I was just saying...
I have paint stripped a few old model cars using brake fluid , it does not harm plastic..
You know those old AMT , Revell etc 1.24 scale painted with Humbrol paint . . Brake fluid and a old tooth brush..
Hair spray will take plastic chrome off plastic .. (but test different brands) some are better some are worse ..but I'm thinking brake fluid does too..
Its been a long time since I've done modelling, but have a good stack in the shed...