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Here's a little project I am finishing up for my son but wanted to share. I also thought it might be fun for others to jump into and do their own and post them up.
Basically, in a nutshell, my goal was to turn this...
Into this:
There's tons of tutorials about getting these things apart so I won't go into all of that except to say that with the MC cars there's only one rivet to drill out as opposed to most of the others that have two. Basically drill a pilot hole and then use a 3/16" drill bit to drill the head of the rivet out and then pop them apart. It breaks down into four main pieces, of which you can see here, except I still have the bottom two stacked together.
Once you have them apart, use some paint stripper (not that kind of stripper!) and be sure to use hand and eye protection. This is nasty stuff but it takes the paint right off of them. The paint comes right off but getting in all the nooks and crannies took the use of an old paint brush. I think this goes without saying, but after using the toothbrush on the car, DO NOT BRUSH YOUR TEETH WITH IT!!! A little clean up and the body of your car should look like this.
Note: In retrospect, and likely these won't be the last versions of my little car, but the bodywork can use some cleanup at this point with a file of some type. I didn't notice till later how much it really would clean up the car to fix some stuff from the cheap molding process. Take a look at my later pics of the yellow along the top of the windshield for an example.
To match my tinting in my car, I decided to tint the windows of the matchbox car. This effect is easily accomplished by painting the INSIDE of the windows. This will keep the shiny window looking surface on the outside while making them very dark.
Now it's time to hit the car with some primer and some color. Note, I stacked the parts just to see how it was coming along.
At this point you could write it off and consider it done. However I wanted some more detail in the cars. I quickly found out that it's been years since I've done any kind of model painting and boy does it show. Not only did it take some time to get my paintbrush skills back, but my hands are more shaky on this stuff than they were when I was a teenager.
I still have some cleanup to figure out how to do on some of the painting and then I'll give them a clear coat and glue them back together but here you can see basically what they look like. How much detail you put in is up to you. I'm kind of pressed for time at the moment with Christmas vacation this weekend and my two year old son not understanding why he can't play with his car and why it's always sitting up on the counter where he can't reach it.
Semi-final look to the cars.
And just for fun, a little before and after - yes, I bought three of these. They had a ton at Walmart and they are a dollar each. Sadly I put more money into the painting than the actual car.
So...go scour your local store and pick up a Mini Cooper toy and start drilling, stripping and painting and let's see what you can do in making your car into a hot wheels car!!!
Last edited by gixxerjasen; 12-13-2011 at 07:25 AM.
Nice... but it looks like you now need to add a rear wing to your life-size R56!
Thanks, but I'm not a huge fan of those wings on the real life car. I actually really like the smaller spoiler I have on mine as I think it really works well with the lines of the car. But I haven't found a Matchbox/Hot Wheels car with that yet. I could possibly fabricate one for the smaller version...but that's a bit more involved than I'm ready to get into at the moment. I have however seen pics of people doing it with other cars and creating custom splitters and everything. Too much work, too little time.
Maybe some masking tape for the edges? Other than that, looks good. I am sure your son will like it!
Yea, I thought I could do straighter lines like the old days. Not so much evidently though. I may try cleaning up the edges with some yellow, we'll see. Maybe on version 2.0. The cars are cheap, I've got the materials now, so it's just about the time.
I like the idea. When my dad bough his Toyota FJ Cruiser, they send him a pretty good sized *custom* replica. I think mini should consider this too...
That would be an AWESOME idea!!
__________________
"Good Golly Miss Molly" MATOC #004
08 MCa OB/W, Leatherette, Anthracite Headliner, Cold Weather Package, Convenience Package, Premium Package, Sport Package, White Bonnet Stripes, White Turn Signals, Chrome Line Interior, Fluid Silver Interior, ClearBra, Front Fogs, Mud Flaps, Alarm. Mods: British Flag Side Scuttles, 1390LMT, Union Jack/Finish Flag Boot Emblem, 35% Tint, JCW Grill, Chrome Line Exterior, 16x7 Enkei T Fork Wheels...
Both of you nice work! I might have to try that myself. When I bought my 350z they had models in their showroom that you could put together your own 350z with the body and interior and screw it together. They were about 2x the size of a matchbox car. I still have my brickyard red 350z saved somewhere. (I just moved so I don't know where stuff is anymore...)
I posted something in the main forum already so I won't double post, but I just got my R/C mini cooper body today and I am going to be painting it soon to match my car.
Good work. I wonder if there are plastic models of the Mini. They have everything else. I'll have to check that out. Looks like a fun little project and something to do in my spare time. Believe me, I've got lots of spare time. Retired. Already remodeled the kitchen, baths, outside, and just about finished black topping under my metal carport.
__________________ 'Nimbley' a 2007 Cooper S. NM CAI, NM titanium turbo heat shield, 3rd brake pulsar, Zimmerman cross drilled rotors, EBC redstuff brake pads, H Sport rear sway bar, Enkei 16X7 WMD wheels, Yokohama S drives 205/50r/16 shoes, BSH OCC, Forge BOV kit, boost tap. MiniMania alloy upper strut brace, Z series adjustable antenna. Sparkling silver with flat black stripes, limo tint. Blackjack union mirror covers, skuttles, and door handles.
This thread is so funny. I bought 2 Lightning blue hotwheels challenge cars. One I put in my car, the second I wetsanded and my Lightning Blue base coat, clear coat showed up yesterday. I will post my creations as soon as I finish it. Cool thread.
__________________ 2008 Mini Cooper w/Sport Package. Lightning Blue Metallic w/Black Stripes. It shares the garage with a 2004 Cadillac CTS-V, 1987 Monte Carlo SS, 1991 Corvette and a 1965 Malibu SS. With tons of horsepower in the other cars, the Mini is awesome with its 116 horsepower...who would have thought?
Good work. I wonder if there are plastic models of the Mini. They have everything else. I'll have to check that out. Looks like a fun little project and something to do in my spare time. Believe me, I've got lots of spare time. Retired. Already remodeled the kitchen, baths, outside, and just about finished black topping under my metal carport.
There aren't any second generation MINI plastic assembly kits out yet.
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2005 MCS, EB/W, 210 WHP; 182 lbs/ft torque
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
What about a Dremel to cut off the crazy big wing and maybe a little sanding fileing so it will look like a regular R56. Ive always wanted a model of mine but can never find one.
__________________ 2011 Pepper White MCS, PW Peerage #2121, clear front turn mod, 2" stubby antenna, modified K&N intake, cold weather package, resonator delete with magnaflow muffler, M7 Intercooler hot side pipe, ScanGuageII, 17" gloss black Rota RBs, blacked out headlight, taillight, grill trim, Racing Dynamics CF rear strut bar, drilled/slotted rotors, Hella Black Magic 500 driving lights and more to come.
A little clean up and the body of your car should look like this.
I like the idea. When my dad bough his Toyota FJ Cruiser, they send him a pretty good sized *custom* replica. I think mini should consider this too...
I have however seen pics of people doing it with other cars and creating custom splitters and everything. Too much work, too little time.
'Nimbley' a 2007 Cooper S. NM CAI, NM titanium turbo heat shield, 3rd brake pulsar, Zimmerman cross drilled rotors, EBC redstuff brake pads, H Sport rear sway bar, Enkei 16X7 WMD wheels, Yokohama S drives 205/50r/16 shoes, BSH OCC, Forge BOV kit, boost tap. MiniMania alloy upper strut brace, Z series adjustable antenna. Sparkling silver with flat black stripes, limo tint. Blackjack union mirror covers, skuttles, and door handles.
2008 Mini Cooper w/Sport Package. Lightning Blue Metallic w/Black Stripes. It shares the garage with a 2004 Cadillac CTS-V, 1987 Monte Carlo SS, 1991 Corvette and a 1965 Malibu SS. With tons of horsepower in the other cars, the Mini is awesome with its 116 horsepower...who would have thought?
2011 Pepper White MCS, PW Peerage #2121, clear front turn mod, 2" stubby antenna, modified K&N intake, cold weather package, resonator delete with magnaflow muffler, M7 Intercooler hot side pipe, ScanGuageII, 17" gloss black Rota RBs, blacked out headlight, taillight, grill trim, Racing Dynamics CF rear strut bar, drilled/slotted rotors, Hella Black Magic 500 driving lights and more to come.
