Tan 30b crane and others

[Tinman]

The ear or hinge point for the tailgate was broken off on this one. I fashioned a new hinge and used a reproduction tailgate from Steve Flowers. The tip of the exhaust was broken off at the muffler and that had to be replaced as well.




I found this beat up early casting with no brace between the cab and the bed so I restored it into the first known color.


This one really doesn't need an introduction.


I found two Accessory pack garages a while back. Both were missing the doors and both had lots of chipped off paint.


My second Dinky restoration.


The replacement parts are from Flowers, I made the clear windows and the decals.


Anyone like Mustangs with wire wheels?


I saved the original decals and put them on the restored model.

[Idris]

I found this beat up early casting with no brace between the cab and the bed so I restored it into the first known color.

I think recolouring/restoring/refurbishing the no-brace 20a might have been an error of judgement. I don't think I've ever seen the early casting in maroon and certainly Nick doesn't catalogue it. (If you ever find another one, please let me know!)

[Tinman]

I found this beat up early casting with no brace between the cab and the bed so I restored it into the first known color.

I think recolouring/restoring/refurbishing the no-brace 20a might have been an error of judgement. I don't think I've ever seen the early casting in maroon and certainly Nick doesn't catalogue it. (If you ever find another one, please let me know!)

It's the second one I have found. I gave away the first one to a collector who was aware of it being rare ... no one wanted to buy it, and it was offered for sale on several popular venues. This one went to Bill Aprile, the publisher of the last Stannard reprint.

Some obscure differences that make certain castings hard to find or even rare do not always generate much fanfare or interest from the masses. Only the most hardcore seem to find them desirable above all others of it's kind and even fewer will pay a premium for these. Within that already small group, an even smaller group will covet a play worn and beat up model for a small obscure casting variation. While none of that changes the fact that a model is significant for some particular casting feature that it may lack or have ... paint does not alter the casting feature. The model in question retains its differences and paint can always be removed (new or old).

[Malibu]

The ear or hinge point for the tailgate was broken off on this one. I fashioned a new hinge

Thanks for showing this models - I like them.
How did you manage to make a new hinge point?

Stephan

[Idris]

It's the second one I have found. I gave away the first one to a collector who was aware of it being rare ... no one wanted to buy it, and it was offered for sale on several popular venues.

I'm sure you would have had a number of interested parties of you had offered it on this Forum! (As I say, if you find yet another one............)

[Tinman]

I'm sure you would have had a number of interested parties of you had offered it on this Forum! (As I say, if you find yet another one............)

The first one I found was before Nick started the Lafora forum (or maybe just when he was getting started). I offered it for sale on the mcch, Joe's Diecast Shack and on ebay. No takers no one even asked about it. So, I painted that one green and it sold right away. When I came across the latest one, I didn't waste any energy (having already learned my lesson) and put it in green straight away. I've already found two, if I find another, it's all yours.

[Idris]

I'm sure you would have had a number of interested parties of you had offered it on this Forum! (As I say, if you find yet another one............)

The first one I found was before Nick started the Lafora forum (or maybe just when he was getting started). I offered it for sale on the mcch, Joe's Diecast Shack and on ebay. No takers no one even asked about it. So, I painted that one green and it sold right away. When I came across the latest one, I didn't waste any energy (having already learned my lesson) and put it in green straight away. I've already found two, if I find another, it's all yours.

Thank you, Joe - much appreciated.
What's interesting about all this (apart from it being a new variation) is that it can be interpreted as evidence of early production being shipped abroad preferentially. We know this happened as a matter of course with later issues, and we also know that it did not happen with the really early ones (e.g. curved roof 1a rollers were unknown in the States). So, by the time Lesney had got as far as no. 20,it would appear that the US market was sufficiently developed to see initial production runs being shipped over.

[Tinman]

The ear or hinge point for the tailgate was broken off on this one. I fashioned a new hinge

Thanks for showing this models - I like them.
How did you manage to make a new hinge point?

Stephan

I'll put up some more info about this on the weekend.

[Tito]

Nice work. Always inspiring.

[Tinman]

I start out with one of my favorite repair parts, the brass washer. In this case, the washers are about the smallest ones I keep on hand.



I used three stacked together to make the hinge pivot point or little "ear." I glued them together with a swipe of epoxy in between each one.



Next, I filed out a pocket or place for the washers to sit on the upper rear corner of the bed. They were set in place with the same 5 minute epoxy and when it was set, more to shape the brace like shape that sweeps up from the top rail of the bed to pivot point.

Once the second application of epoxy set, I filed and sanded everything to the final shape and sent it off to the Tinman paint shop. I almost took a photo of the model when the washers were set into place and the epoxy was sanded (just prior to painting). But, decided not to bother at the last minute.

The tailgate was placed on the model right before painting. I used a pair of large external snap ring pliers to spread the bed sides just enough to insert the tailgate with my other hand.