Matchbox 1954 Jaguar XK120SE Custom

And next up is probably my FAVORITE modern day Matchbox casting, the Jaguar XK120SE. I've always been a fan of vintage Jags, and the boys in orange just got this one right in my opinion. Perfect proportions, detailing, and overall look. I have every standard release of this casting, and enjoy making customs too! I thought this nice metallic bronze over black interior suited the classy understated look of the Jag.

Hot Wheels Range Rover Classic

Here's another favorite customizing pasttime of mine, making HW products much nicer!! I've done a Range Rover like this before, but I sold it a while back. And one can never have too many fine old British cars in one's collection!

The Range Rover Classic is one of those vehicles that is just cool. Maybe not the most reliable thing in the world, but undeniably cool! I'd love to have one.

Matchbox Lesney Morris J2 Pickup Restoration

I'm back working on the cars I enjoy the most today! Bringing back old British bangers from the scrapyard. Today's project is a #60 Morris J2 Pickup. I'd love to see one of these in real life, it's such an interesting little truck.

Anyways onto my little Lesney one. Before:

And after:

Lesney #53c Ford Zodiac Repaint

I tried a new color on this old Zodiac, I think it works pretty well! Could definitely see this being a color offered back in the day.

Lesney Matchbox #46c Mercedes 300SE Chassis Swap

This is kind of an odd one that I've had sitting on a dusty corner of the work bench for quite some time now. I came across a strange listing for a mint condition green 300SE body and windows, minus the interior and chassis! Only 99 cents, so I bought it. The plan was to turn it into what you see here, a one of none transitional!
Only problem was, the gold super fast version isn't always the easiest model to find, and my parts supply didn't include a good condition chassis.. So I have waited almost a year to find a good donor car on eBay, and I finally got one! So here it is:

Matchbox 1962 VW Beetle Custom

I think this one might be my favorite custom that I've done so far...

Ever since I was a little kid, I've been a fan of air-cooled VWs. Not a fanatic by any means, but I have always held that a true car enthusiast will always smile a bit when they see an old Bug drive by, and I definitely fall into that category!

But I absolutely love how this one turned out, the Matchbox 62 Beetle is my favorite VW casting anyway, and this one is just about perfect in my eyes. Exactly how I'd have a real one. Black over white interior with white walls. I tried a new technique with the wheels that I'm pretty happy with! A simple white paint pen on the regular Matchbox disc wheels. Not perfect, but it makes for a nice effect.

Matchbox Lesney #50a - Commer Pickup Truck Restoration

I'm back on the vintage Lesney train again, this time with a very cool old Commer pickup. I've been after one of these for a while, and received two into the collection recently! A bi RAOK on one of the diecast forums included one, and now this fresh restoration project.

I thought it was the silver plastic wheel version, but no its actually metal wheels that were painted over!

I tried my best to match the original tan this one came in, knowing that there were several variations on the shade. Not having a real one to compare to, I have no idea how close this tan is. But I like it regardless!

Matchbox Isuzu Amigo Custom

As you may have noticed, I enjoy collecting models of "normal" cars, ones you would see on the road on the way to work every day. Even as a little kid I was that way, one of my favorite cars being the old Matchbox Ford Mondeo casting. Of course, I have my fair share of Ferraris and Lamborghinis and such, but I have always enjoyed those "boring" cars.

And today's custom doesn't get any more boring than an Isuzu Amigo haha. I found it in a flea market scrap heap and gave it a simple repaint. It turned out pretty cool!

Hot Wheels 1969 Chevy Chevelle Custom

This one has been around for quite a while now, but I was just going through the archive on my blog and realized that I never posted it!

I like HW muscle car castings, but they're generally a bit too hot-rodded for my taste. So I like to go back and change that occasionally. This is a 1969 Chevelle that I think came out very nice.

Majorette Datsun 260Z Restoration

Got this little fella on eBay recently, and finally got around to redoing it. It came out pretty well I think!

After: