Lesney #32c-Leyland Petrol Tanker Restoration

Keeping with the Leyland theme, here's the second one. Arguably the most desirable of the Leyland cab bunch, the ARAL tanker. No way could my college budget stretch to afford a real one, unless I got REALLY lucky, so I decided to make my own. Starting with this tired BP tanker...

It turned into this! I'm very pleased with how well it came out. I've never seen a real ARAL tanker in person, but from photos on VBD, this one looks pretty accurate. More than close enough to sit on the shelf with the other 32c's and make me smile!

Just need to do a transitional one now, and I believe I'll have all the variations of this casting.

Lesney #51c-AEC 8 Wheel Tipper Restoration

Got two new'uns today. They've been finished forever honestly, but I only recently got around to ordering decals, and those decals arrived today! So here's the first one, a #51c Tipper. Was pretty nasty starting out...

Construction vehicles like this are fun, because they tend to be pretty gross from years in the sandbox, but clean up real nice!

Lesney #64b-MG 1100 Restoration

I decided to try something new with this one, two tone! A lot of these cars came from the factory with that paint job, and I think it looks fantastic on the car. Mine didn't come out so hot, but I think it's ok for a first try.

Before:

And after:

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Lesney #33b-Ford Zephyr Restoration

This was an interesting project to me. I tend to think of these Lesneys like real cars, mainly since I can't afford real collector cars, so these are the next best thing haha. I got theis Zephyr in a large lot of beaters from ebay UK. It had clearly had some love at one point, and had what I imagine was a pretty good paint job before it got all beat up.

I just couldn't bring myself to strip the whole thing down and put it back to factory colors. The blue detailing on the wheels, the bright red paint, it was all just too unique. So I decided to repaint it exactly how it was, blue wheels and all. Maybe I'll even try to make some new Royal Mail decals for it someday. I left the base alone as well. This car clearly has a great story behind it, and I like to think I've preserved that story, while making it a bit more presentable. A sympathetic restoration, if you will.

Lesney #28c-Jaguar Mark 10 Restoration #2

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big fan of old Jaguars. Every time I see a banger Lesney Jag on ebay for cheap, I have to get it. That's probably why I've ended up with 5 or 6 E Types, and now 4 of these Mark 10s. But I love it!! I think this is my favorite restoration yet, it just came out so good, the classic styling is really exemplified by the color choice and wheels. Here's what I started with:

So here we are now, some wheels borrowed from a spare E Type that was beyond help, and a nice coat of steel blue paint. What do you think?

Lesney #12c-Land Rover Safari Restoration

This one was in quite a state when I got it! It had definitely beed "customized" some time in the past. But with a coat of paint and a fresh set of shoes, this old British beast is back on the road again.

Before:

And after. Note I left the original base as it was, only touching up the red overspray near the back. I like leaving a little bit of the original car.