I'm Moving Out... Let the packing commence

In about a month, I'll be graduating college, and moving to Kentucky to take a job as a flight instructor, and occasional charter pilot. It's going to be a great opportunity to kick start my flying career, and I can't wait! In the meantime though, I'm starting to pack up my apartment.. Quite a mammoth task, as my small apartment somewhat resembles a flea market stall.. Full of books, matchbox cars, and who knows what else! Here are a couple snapshots of what all I have to pack...

Let the fun begin!

Hot Wheels "So Fine" Buick Custom

Well... This one didn't come out quite as well as I was hoping, butI still love it!! I really need to work on my two-tone painting technique. Buick is one of my favorite US brands, and the So Fine, one of the best HW castings ever. I have a lot of extras saved up for customs, and I decided to tackle one of them.

I ended up going with a nice light tan, and dark metallic green roof. I don't know if this color combo was originally offered on Buicks of this era (I bet someone around here could provide some insight to that), but I think it works well on the car!

Matchbox Vauxhall Astra GTE Restoration

Good afternoon everyone, today I want to share with you a custom that has taken me ages to finish. I kept having paint problems with it, had to strip and repaint it three times I believe.

I came across this poor old Vauxhall in the "local" junkyard, and thought it looked worth saving. So I loaded it up on my trailer and took it back to the workshop!

Here's what I found when I got it back to the workshop and had a closer look:

And after a few weeks, and a new paint job, interior, and wheels, here she is!

Lesney #55c - Ford Galaxie Police Car Restoration

This was just a quick repaint, nothing too special, but I do like how it came out! I was going for the unmarked "detective car" look. I have misplaced my flash drive that has the "before" pics, but I'll update this post if I can find them haha.

This is a very well done casting from what I consider to be the golden age of Matchbox, the later Regular Wheel era. It's a fairly common casting, and I know I must have 8-10 beater ones laying around. What do you think of my plainclothes special?

2015 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance Part 1

Hello everyone.. No diecast posts this weekend, I am in sunny Florida for the 2015 Amelia Island Concours! I have been to a few smaller concours events before, but absolutely nothing like this. The show is just mind blowing. Here is a sample of a few pictures I have taken so far..

And a link to my Flickr album for the event: 

[url]https://www.flickr.com/photos/125092831@N02/sets/72157651326322492/[/url]

Lesney #05e-Lotus Europa Bulgarian Restoration

Hey everyone, here's my latest custom. A rare Bulgarian casting, it's a Lotus Europa. It was sent to me by a friend on a forum, looking pretty sorry for itself. But the potential was there for sure! These Bulgarian castings are pretty valuable these days, and this is the only one I have in my collection.

I decided to go back to the original metallic blue that they came in on their debut in the Lesney lineup. 

Aston Martin V8 Vantage - Model of the Day

You gotta love an Aston.. They have (arguably) never made an ugly car, and the V8 Vantage is no different. Though it was the "entry level" Aston at the time, it was a fantastic car. It was released in 2005, and still in production to this day. 

The Hot Wheels version of the car made its debut in the 2005 First Editions series, and has been in fairly regular use ever since. This particular variation was a part of the 2010 Speed Machines series. One of the best series Hot Wheels has ever done, the Speed Machines were chocked full of wonderful European sports and race cars. Very highly valued on the collector market today, I regret not buying more of these when they were new, but I am glad to have the ones that I do have. 

Lesney #15d - VW 1500 Beetle Saloon Restoration

Evening folks, here's my latest resto, a VW Beetle. This was a great era of Lesney models, so crisp and detailed. I have restored a few of these Beetles, but this one is my favorite!!

Before

After

Group picture