When I first started watching diecast "restoration" videos a couple years ago it was taboo even to suggest to sand down a casting line. I am so happy to see more guys doing it in order to make the car look better. I never understood the thought process of people thinking the designers wanted a big casting line running down the center of the vehicle. The line is there only because of mass production not design. I always saw it as a manufacturing defect not part of the design. So it never bothered me to clean it up and make it better than new. But hey we all can't be happy with a malformed chunk of pot-metal. Hahahahaha!
What always got me is that if you had a model that was so in need of restoration because of abuse or age or whatever... It's already worthless so keeping that casting line in for provenance or posterity like it's a piece of art.. is already pointless. 😔🤔
Sweeney Dunston my sentiments exactly. The music had a nice nostalgic feel to it, especially as I watched the pages flip and said to myself “I had that, still have that, wish I had that…”
I had a Matchbox Motorway - one of the coolest racing toys ever. A track with a driven spring. It was awesome! Any Matchbox would fit on it. Ahhh - the memories.
Just a Hobbyist Photographer that is starting to print my own work with a recommendation. Some papers have Paper Profiles basically special direction for your printer to print on their paper. Hope this helps if you run into any trouble or gives you better results.
When you where going through the catalog at the end I noticed some of the cars my dad had when he was a kid, he still has the box full of them and when I was younger I would play with them. This was a REALLY cool video dude :)
Brilliant job on the Scammell, looks factory fresh again! I think the thing with the Matchbox colours was partly keeping with the catalogue images and partly those were the colours used on real cars in the UK at the time. Hot Wheels really bought into the marketing psychology right from the start, their colour range was designed to be flashy in order to grabs kids attention and keep it even if those colours couldn't be found on the real cars.
Thank you for sharing your work with us again. It was great to look through the catalogue too. My Uncle had the K-4 GMC truck with hopper trailer and I remember playing with it when visiting my grandparents in the '80s. Happy days!
Thank you for another great restoration! I have several of these including a few without the plough blade. I’m not a collector but I restore Matchbox Lesney and I’ve been giving a few away to colleagues as gifts.
60 years old here from the north , the snowplow was a favorite . Broke off few plows and needed replacement trucks I think I the same truck 2 or 3 times.. After they stopped making them I got the Husky ( Corgi Jr ) snow plow.
You absolutely have the best and most informative channel for restorations of toys that I have seen. Thank you for posting and for all of your hard work.
Both my Mother and Father worked at Lee Conservacy Road in the mid 60’s to mid 70’s.....I must have had every model in that catalogue in various states of manufacture and finish. We had a 4’ x 2’ cardboard drum full of them that we used to tip out in the hallway to play. I wonder just how many gems were just thrown away.
You got me with that Audible bit. 😂 The irony is that more people in the comments are mentioning their company now than in any videos they actually sponsor.
my great aunt had a son with a disability and she had a tub full of unopened hot wheels she had been buying and saving. when she died the tub was given to me and some other cousins. I preferred playing with the oldest ones because they were so much heavier and stronger. They are lost to time now. Wish I would have saved a few.
Just a suggestion for you, I have found that when dealing with Matchbox restorations, to remove bends in the castings it helps to heat the part in very hot to boiling water and then you don’t have as much risk of damage to the part as it will be easier to bend back into shape. Rob T. Australia.
Beautiful restoration and catalog presentation at the end made up my day. I love old hand painted ilustrations or coloured black white photos... Also streak of greed was present...
The catalog was nice choice: It was a different era - love that the kid was wearing a tie in one picture! Great entry! Matchbox seemed to focus on more real world vehicles and I guess missed the hot rod scene that Hot Wheels clearly captured. The Audible mention was very funny!
Lesney tried to jump on the hot-rod bandwagon Hot Wheels had started with the "Superfast" changeover in the early '70s; however, they did it in a very charmingly British way, by sticking Hot Wheels-style wheels on their existing stock of castings of things like commercial vehicles, buses, and family station wagons. Actual, you know, _hot rod_ Matchbox cars didn't come along until a little later, presumably when someone at Lesney finally figured out why the Superfast thing wasn't setting the world on fire. :)
That was my favorite match box. The old style drug store had a little gift shop and the display of match boxes they had in stock and you could see all of the boxes stacked underneath the display. I loved going there . I was 4 in 64. I had the king size tractor trailer with the dozer but I believe the tractor was a little different then the one in the catalog, I got it in 69 or 70 and I imagine the catalog might be an earlier addition.
luv that you give MMM a shoutout - though was that a dig at marty, that he and the rest us have to make do with a drill press and scissors, while you use your fancy lasers and too cool mini-lathe! lol! great resto
Beautiful result as always, maybe a tiny bite of snow on the diorama to connect the snow plow and the time of the year. But I love it anyway, and thank you for sharing your catalog. God bless you and your family
The dump truck looks absolutely gorgeous, I love the old lesney Matchbox cars. They are definitely way cooler then a lot of the red lines. That catalog is way too cool my friend, I have a couple of catalogs, but I don't think any that early. For me the catalog is just as cool as your dump truck my friend.
Well done on this restoration! Thank you for your time and talents to give these Matchbox toys a second life, and to allow many of us to remember our youth for a few minutes when these models were brand new. Nice touch at the end of the video flipping through the pages of the catalogue with the instrumental piece. Keep up the good work! For those who commented on the origin of the music. The title is “Farewell” by Jincheng Zhang
I'm not sure if this has been posted, but when you're bending metal you ALWAYS want to heat it up first, otherwise you make it brittle and easier to break. I had a stainless steel water bottle that I had kept in the refrigerator for too long and the bottom swelled out and it wouldn't stand straight. I got my hands on an industrial dryer, similar to a hairdryer but MUCH hotter, and heated it up. I then used a rubber ball peen hammer and tapped the bottom back in place. Aside from the paint ring, it's as good as new. Also, I apologize if this is condescending, that isn't my intent. I'm an avid collector as well, and I just don't want you to experience unnecessary heartache. I really enjoy your videos and I'm happy that you've continued to make them with everything going on.
I loved the book ending and just doing a mental tick list of what I once had and also the ones that you have worked on. going through like I remember that video oh and that one too. Keep up the great work 💜💜
Don't know what it was, the orange & light gray color combination or just the truck itself, but this was my favorite as a kid in the 60's and still is today! Thanks for sharing another great restoration video!
Very nice....my dad and I have a huge matchbox collection with some very early gray wheel models...I enjoy seeing you restore them and have some kid painted gray wheels I could send you
