It's surprising how much of the 'patina' on an old SPV is actually just dirt; I discovered this while restoring my own vehicle. Nevertheless, paint chips were sufficiently plenty that I opted for a full restoration, including the paint, plus replacement parts, plus new decals (waterslides, of course). Several parts required careful bending to restore original function, including the rear track axles, and the hatch for the cannon, which had to be carefully adjusted to link properly with the mechanism that holds it shut; restorers should beware: pressing the hatch down too far will disengage the hatch from the spring steel that supplies the action: make sure this is properly engaged again before putting the SPV back together. Cheers.
Glad to see you gave this a light restoration. Too many people seem to think it's better to do a full repaint job on these older dinkys and corgis just because they arent mint.
When l was a kid, Dad returned two of these because the sprung loaded side door wouldn't stay closed after a very short play period. The shop keeper swapped the 2nd for something else, saying it was a factory problem with the Spv door. l can't remember what l received instead but l was extremely disappointed.
It looks like what the SPV needs is a rail inside the SPV to stop Captain Scarlet's feet from interfering with the door when it opens. The original SPV seats would kind of lock into place when raised. The reproductions don't seem to do that.
The reproduction parts use a soft ABS-style plastic which is more durable than the styrene originals, but is somewhat underweight, can arrive slightly deformed and often displays heavy mold flash. Trim the flash, soak the parts in hot water to restore their original shape, and put on a coat of enamel paint to add weight. A single lead shot in Captain Scarlet's seat will help the door action.
Love you're work mate
It's surprising how much of the 'patina' on an old SPV is actually just dirt; I discovered this while restoring my own vehicle. Nevertheless, paint chips were sufficiently plenty that I opted for a full restoration, including the paint, plus replacement parts, plus new decals (waterslides, of course). Several parts required careful bending to restore original function, including the rear track axles, and the hatch for the cannon, which had to be carefully adjusted to link properly with the mechanism that holds it shut; restorers should beware: pressing the hatch down too far will disengage the hatch from the spring steel that supplies the action: make sure this is properly engaged again before putting the SPV back together. Cheers.
Glad to see you gave this a light restoration. Too many people seem to think it's better to do a full repaint job on these older dinkys and corgis just because they arent mint.
When l was a kid, Dad returned two of these because the sprung loaded side door wouldn't stay closed after a very short play period. The shop keeper swapped the 2nd for something else, saying it was a factory problem with the Spv door. l can't remember what l received instead but l was extremely disappointed.
Thanks for taking the time to do this !
It looks like what the SPV needs is a rail inside the SPV to stop Captain Scarlet's feet from interfering with the door when it opens. The original SPV seats would kind of lock into place when raised. The reproductions don't seem to do that.
The reproduction parts use a soft ABS-style plastic which is more durable than the styrene originals, but is somewhat underweight, can arrive slightly deformed and often displays heavy mold flash. Trim the flash, soak the parts in hot water to restore their original shape, and put on a coat of enamel paint to add weight. A single lead shot in Captain Scarlet's seat will help the door action.
Hello john really enjoyed this video, I have 9 of these, your 2 videos will be of great help to me thanks for posting thumbs up no 5
Repro parts need fettling. They are like pattern parts for cars. Not at all like the original parts.
Good videos on this.