1985 UK car park (1/43 scale)

[mg ork]

So here is my full collection to date, as time goes on I will post pics of models mentioning the amount of work required on each one. Once all individual pics of models posted, I am hoping to do different types of dioramas with multiple cars in each pics etc.

COMPLETED MODELS:
1) Vanguards Austin Allegro in damask red (maroon) - minor changes to make model look more realistic

2) Vanguards Morris Marina 1800 in blaze orange - partial respray

3) Vanguards Ford Capri mk3 1.6L in brown - model resprayed

4) Atlas Editions(?) Citroen CX 2200 in silver - minor changes to make model look more realistic

5) Vanguards Ford Sierra XR4i in red - model resprayed

6) Minichamps Ford Fiesta 1.1L in dark blue - model resprayed

7) Vanguards Triumph TR7 in pharaoh gold - minor changes to make model look more realistic

8) Minichamps Ford Escort mk3 1.3L in white - model resprayed

9) Vanguards Ford Cortina mk4 1.6L in nordic (light) blue - model resprayed

10) Vanguards Ford Granada mk2 S1 2.8S in cream beige - model resprayed

11) Vanguards Austin Princess series 3 1.7L in snapdragon yellow - model resprayed

12) Vanguards Talbot Sunbeam 1.3L in middle blue - model resprayed

13) Vanguards Ford Cortina mk3 2000E in modena green - partial respray

14) Vanguards Morris Marina 1800 super deluxe in sandglow colour - partial respray

CURRENT PROJECT:
15) Vanguards Ford Cortina mk4 1.6L in yellow blue - model resprayed

TO DO:
16) Vanguards Ford Cortina mk5 1.6GL in vetian red, model to be resprayed. Awaiting release from vanguards roughly autumn this year.




TO DO
16) Vanguards Ford Cortina mk5 1.6GL in venetian red - awaiting release which is expected Autumn 2022.

 

[mg ork]

So here is the first of those models then - (1) Vanguards Austin Allegro in damask red (maroon).

Vanguards have done a really good job on this aside from the pretty horrendous front and back lights! The shape and size of the model is spot on. The wheels are really nice too, really accurate. The front headlights are spares taken from a mk4 vanguards cortina and re-sized/shaped accordingly and the rear lights are transparent waterslide decals in red and orange respectively, after going over the whole lights in silver. They look much better now, initially the front headlights had pin holes visible and the rear painted on in solid colours.

Other changes:
- Custom made front and back plates/font to sync in line with rest of collection.

- Custom made windscreen wipers as vanguards ones were initially too thin and often not correct shape.

- Exhaust added at rear as for whatever reason vanguards had this missing.

- Chrome window trims on the bottom sides spanning horizontally added, as initial ones were barely visible.


vanguards austin allegro by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards austin allegro by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards austin allegro by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards austin allegro by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards austin allegro by mg-ork, on Flickr


Next up will be the blaze Marina.

 

[Mark1]

Look forward to seeing some pictures,I have a vanguards rover p4 that was my dads also inherited he's 1954 1/1 scale as well.

 

[JR]

Looking good, like Mark I'll be looking forward to more photos.

 

[yak face]

Excellent improvements to the Allegro , it looks brilliant. Looking forward to the rest of the cars. How things have changed though , in 1985 this would have been a very representative selection of motors in the average car park , 95% british made , if you were to do it now in 2022 ,the ratio would probably be reversed - 5% british ( and that would only be vauxhall ( french owned ) and Ford ( usa owned )

 

[mg ork]

Thanks guys for the kind comments. Yep nearly all cars in my collection would have been UK made. I love the variety of colours back then... cream beige, sandglow, harvest gold, blaze orange, brown... wonderful 70s/early 80s colours, nowadays the vast majority of cars are either black or silver, nowhere near as much variation as before. Also, they were smaller cars back then. Not so long ago I saw a Rover SD, a car I used to feel scared of whilst in my dads new C-reg Sierra brought in August 85, it was a large car which looked intimidating, yet the same model almost 40 years on looks dwarfed compared to modern cars! Pics of the blaze marina should be up soon.

 

[mg ork]

So here is the blaze orange Marina then.

The original model from vanguards wasn't far off from being 10 out of 10 IMO and the changes made didn't take as long as I initially thought they would do. The wheels once again are spot on and the actual shape of the model nearly spot-on, with a tweak at the bottom of the side wings (see below).

Changes then:
- bottom of the side wings were too far out and/or not curved in enough. So using a dremel I initially chipped away at the metal which I wanted to rectify, then filled in using uni fine polyester putty and sanded accordingly, and resprayed model colour, rest of model was masked.

- the rear numberplate was part of the main shell, instead of it being a separate unit and didn't look good. Using a dremel I got rid of this, and filled/sanded accordingly, resprayed and placed a custom rear plate and hence looks much more accurate.

- like the allegro, rear lights were painted on with solid colours, replaced by transparent waterslide decals on top of silver. The front fog lights were painted orange from vanguards, corrected with a combination of transparent grey and orange respectively.

- also like the allegro, bottom of side windows horizontal chromed trims were barely visible hence chromed trims added accordingly.

- at front of model just below bumper, panel made black like on real thing as this was initially body colour from vanguards.

- custom windscreen wipers like on all my models so they are all in sync with each other.

- wingmirrors added as for whatever reason vanguards didn't include these.


vanguards morris marina blaze 1800 1/5 by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards morris marina blaze 1800 2/5 by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards morris marina blaze 1800 4/5 by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards morris marina blaze 1800 3/5 by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards morris marina blaze 1800 5/5 by mg-ork, on Flickr

Next up will be the brown mk3 Capri.

 

[Mark1]

Great job, like how they kept costs down by using the allegro door handles, surprising that Lotus used the same handles again in the early Lotus esprit!

 

[Jim R]

Very nice indeed. A real trip down memory lane for many of us.
Jim

 

[Tim Marlow]

Certainly brings back memories. My mum had a purple one…….and I had a green one for a short while. Burned almost as much oil as it did petrol…..

 

[mg ork]

Thanks for the comments. I knew the early Lotus’s used the same door handles, but bizarrely, I didn’t even realise the allegro door handles are the same ones! Tim, would your one have been in jade green metallic? That was an awesome colour. Hopefully Capri pics should be up soon.

 

[Tim Marlow]

To be honest , I’m not sure…..it was a darkish green with a gold coach stripe. My first car was a Teal blue Austin 1300…..literally fell apart around me in about three years of ownership…..more character than a bland Eurobox though.

 

[mg ork]

So here is the mk3 Capri then, converted into a lowly 1.6L model.

Much like the Marina, vanguards have actually done a very good job with regards to the shape and size of the model, aside from one major flaw - the base is a separate unit which ruins the model. Hence the holes at the front valance trim by the wheel arches, the bottom of side wings, and rear by wheel arches had to be filled in using filler and sanded accordingly. This made the base integrated with the rest of the body, hence looking like one unit like on the real thing.

Other changes:
- right at the middle bottom of the front valance trim there appeared to be a dent or not enough "meat" hence a bit of filler sanded appropriately did the trick,

- front lights sometimes with vanguards are placed too far back so I placed them ever so slightly more forward, for extra or optimum shine kitchen foil placed behind each round light. Love the frowning look.

- front number plate was painted on bumper and rear numberplate way too small; corrected with custom plates to sync in with rest of collection.

- back lights were way too big so made smaller height-wise and especially width-wise.

- custom wipers made to sync in with rest of collection.

- wheels are spares from vanguards mk4 Cortina L usable on mk3 Capri's so that was a nice bit of luck, would have converted to a GL model otherwise.

- interior resprayed coffee beige was just a personal preference. Notice the rear numberplates are still blank and bootlid logos missing.


vanguards ford capri 1980 1.6L by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards ford capri 1980 1.6L by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards ford capri 1980 1.6L by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards ford capri 1980 1.6L by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards ford capri 1980 1.6L by mg-ork, on Flickr

vanguards ford capri 1980 1.6L by mg-ork, on Flickr

 

[Mark1]

Lovely, last mk3 I worked on was about 10 years ago but that had a 600hp v8 with centrifugal supercharger so a bit quicker than standard.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice model. It looks believable and totally to scale. Must admit, I think the mark three facelift killed the character of the car. The mark one, with the hockey stick detail, was the “real” Capri, even if it did rot away fast like everything else of its age.

 

[mg ork]

Thanks for the comments guys. Think the mk3 capris have been immortalised by the Professionals and it’s almost like now more so than ever as they repeat it on a loop on ITV4. I was born in 81 which is the year they finished filming (in May that year) so I don’t have any memories of when the show was originally aired. But I totally love watching the reruns. I wonder how the mk3 Capris would have panned out had it not been for that show. I must admit, I’m mesmerised by the mk3 Capris and the mk1 or mk2 versions for me do not have the same appeal.

 

[Andy the Sheep]

FHB, in 1981 I smashed the gear shift of a Capri with my left knee when my father and another driver had a bit of misunderstanding at a crossroad. I still remember that huge, aching and multicoloured knee! The Capri was scrapped, but it's still one of the few Ford cars I still remember with some affection. For the record: it was bronze with a black vinyl roof.

Andrea

 

[yak face]

Great job, like how they kept costs down by using the allegro door handles, surprising that Lotus used the same handles again in the early Lotus espri

Thanks for the comments. I knew the early Lotus’s used the same door handles, but bizarrely, I didn’t even realise the allegro door handles are the same ones! Tim, would your one have been in jade green metallic? That was an awesome colour. Hopefully Capri pics should be up soon.

The mk2 range rover used them too , talk about getting your moneys worth!!
Lovely capri , I had an X reg 1.6 gl in aztec bronze ( actually a bright Copper colour ) a rarely seen colour on capris , lovely car but gutless

 

[Mark1]

The mk2 range rover used them too , talk about getting your moneys worth!!
Lovely capri , I had an X reg 1.6 gl in aztec bronze ( actually a bright Copper colour ) a rarely seen colour on capris , lovely car but gutless

And let's not forget the tr7!

 

[boatman]

I USE to have a white capri but blew up the engine when i got her to the magic number
chrisb mtb