A while back, DiabloBlanco918 and I struck a trade deal for some Jay Dee Em’s. I sent him my Hot Wheels and he sent a random car off my list of ‘wants’. Well, today I finally found out what he got me!
Sweet, sweet, Cruiserness. It’s an FJ56 done up with a Japanese AM Radio station’s vintage decals. I don’t know how this thing would have been used by the radio station back in the day, but it sure does look cool.
It’s by far the highest quality 64th Japanese vehicle I own, and in the top five for nicest 64th of any origin. The antennae had to be installed by hand (ahem, by needle-nose pliers), which was a pain. But it was also worth the trouble. This is a beautiful model. When I eventually get a small diorama put together I’ll probably take better photos.
But unless you’re an eagle-eyed automotive contrarian like me, you’re probably wondering what was in the other box. Among a couple other casts, I’ve been watching the Spark Voisin C27 Aerosport, a great looking model of my favorite car. So, when one popped up on FleaBay for a little over half what I was expecting to pay, I jumped on it.
I pulled it out of the box, and the base, with car on it, fell right out the bottom of the clear display case. I kind of chuckled, noticing the small piece of tape holding it together was missing.
Then I went to pick the car up, and the base swung sideways. The rear bolt hole had been stripped out... Uhhhhh...
Odd. So I kept looking at this beautiful example of French art deco, gently rolling it on the kitchen table. The front passenger side wheel fell off. Uh oh.
I broke out the Gorilla Glue and put it back on.
Then I inspected it some more. Sure enough, the delicate trim that wraps the bottom of the car from bumper to bumper and rocker to rocker, was discolored and peeling off.
I squeezed the tiny semi-opaque bottle onto the end of a halved Q-tip and did my best at delicate application. Gently pressing on the trim with my finger, I let it set for a little while. Gingerly letting go, I admired my work. This wasn’t so bad after all; I’d have it done in no time!
Then the trim sprang back out. Fudgesicles.
The rocker wasn’t faring much better, with the trim kindly removing itself from both the front and rear edges.
Oddly enough, the hood ornament, fender struts and windshield wipers seem to be in pristine condition. Did the guy give it to his kid to ram around for a few minutes? Was it rolling around in a box? None of this makes sense.
I can see the headlines already:
Why buy a new Camry when you can have this one-off prewar French luxury coupe for half the cost?
So I ask you, dear reader, for ideas. How can I re-attach this stuff? I don’t feel like sending it all the way back to France, losing my shipping expenditures and having to buy another C27 for more money later.
By and large, it’s a solid model. Spark did a great job on the details, and this car is really all about the details. If I can DIY that trim back on somehow, the model will be perfectly fine for display.
Until then, the newbies can take a seat with their brethren. The Land Cruiser has a couple Land Rovers to hang with, but they are so unreliable it will probably have more in common with the LUV and Courier. The Voisin, though, is alone aside from the only other Frenchie, the DS. I hope a TPV and some more Tomica LVs can join them soon!
(Don’t tell the Aurora it’s in the foreign section. It still thinks the Subaru’s GM)