Maxi model repaint

It should come as no surprise that as soon as Oxford Diecast released their model of the Austin Maxi I embarked on a repaint to represent my actual car. Read on to discover the trials and tribulations of what should have been a simple repaint project, and see if the finished product looks anything like the real thing...

Smaller wheels make a big difference, but will it look like the real one?

As previously noted, one of my two models had slipped through quality control with missing chrome trim, so naturally it was this one I chose to repaint, and undoing one screw was all it took to reduce the Maxi to its component parts. The biggest problem with this model is its wheels, far too large and also to HLS pattern so they aren't the right style for a standard 1750. A look through my collection of Oxford cars identified the Vauxhall Viva as having a suitable set of wheels, so a transplant was quickly done and I think it greatly improved the Maxi.

Missing chrome not an issue as the paint was about to come off

A coat of Nitromors soon had the Tara Green paint removed, but before I could apply any new paint there was the trickiest job of the whole project to do. The bumper underriders cast into the body only appeared on the HLS and are very obvious so they needed removing, but this is difficult due to their position. Using a small grinding bit in a Dremel, I carefully ground them away while trying to avoid damaging the surrounding detail and eventually ended up with a flat front valance as found on the basic Maxi.

Bye bye Tara Green, whoever you are

That done, it was time for paint and here's where things started to go wrong. There are actually two different shades of Carmine Red, coded BLVC 209 and 209L, and I had aerosols of both custom-mixed for use on the real car. After a coat of white primer I sprayed on the BLVC 209, only to find it looked far too dark and almost identical to Damask Red. There would be no point painting it that colour as Oxford's next release is going to be Damask Red, and I was never going to be happy that it accurately replicated the real car so back in the Nitromors it went.

No point painting it Damask as I'll soon be able to buy one in that colour

It was soon back to bare metal once more, ready for another coat of primer and then topcoat. This time I used the lighter BLVC 209L paint and was much happier with the result. It is now significantly brighter than Damask and comparing it with the real car showed a very close match. In bright sunshine it looks a definite red rather than maroon but in dull artificial light still seems a bit dark, perhaps because the model is so much smaller than the full-size car. It's precisely colour-matched paint though so it must be accurate.

The real thing

A couple of coats of clear lacquer followed to really bring out the shine in the paint and protect it from any damage while applying the detail, and as things turned out I was very glad I did lacquer it at this stage. The Maxi has a surprisingly large amount of very thin chrome strips, carefully added using the paint from a Molotow chrome pen applied with a cocktail stick. While doing this I held the model with a tissue to protect the body colour from any stray chrome paint.

Rather a lot of very thin chrome

When I had finished and went to remove the tissue I was horrified to discover it was stuck to the roof! My heart sank as I peeled off the tissue and found my flawless paint finish had been damaged by contamination from some mystery substance that must have been either on the tissue or was on my fingers and soaked through the tissue. After a bit of swearing, I calmed down and reasoned that the damage was probably only to the lacquer and the paint underneath was okay, so applying more lacquer would hopefully disguise it. Sure enough, I'm happy to report that another fairly thick coat covered the damage completely and there is no evidence it was ever there, much to my relief as I didn't want to strip and repaint it again after putting so much time and effort into the chrome.

Rooftop disaster was averted

I know applying any form of coating over Molotow chrome is not recommended, but have found that Halfords clear lacquer doesn't have too much of a detrimental effect. It did dull the finish a little but if anything this made it more realistic as it looked too shiny on such a small model. Once the lacquer had fully hardened, the lights were painted with Humbrol enamels and then it was time to pay some more attention to the radiator grille.

Technically the wrong grille for a 1750 but right for this particular car

Maxi experts may have noticed that the grille on my car is wrong. The standard 1750 should have an entirely chrome grille with a yellow badge, but YDU's previous owner replaced this with a black and chrome Maxi 2 grille and a red HLS badge. Personally I think the red badge suits a red car better and I prefer the two-tone grille so it is staying as is and the model was finished to match, using a fine artist's pen to black in all except the centre slats.

Before and after

While the bodywork paint was drying, attention turned to the interior, which is moulded in plain black plastic but my car has beige vinyl trim. With the dashboard and steering wheel removed, it was sprayed beige and the parcel shelf then brushed in satin grey to match the finish of the real car. It still has the HLS dash and steering wheel, which aren't strictly correct but there isn't much I can do about them and they're barely visible through the small windows, so this is a compromise I'm willing to accept.

Classic cars I have owned

Once everything was thoroughly dry, the model was reassembled and appropriate YDU 590S numberplates printed out and glued on to complete an authentic replica of my 1:1 scale version. It has joined my collection of models of cars my family have owned and I am very pleased with the result, especially the change of wheels that has made a huge difference. The chrome trim may look a bit rough but don't forget this is a 1:76 scale model so the photos show it much larger than actual size and in reality those strips are less than 1mm wide. It's not perfect, but considering the very small scale (it's only about two inches long) I think I have done a pretty good job and it certainly captures the look of the real thing.

Modelling Bob the Renault 6 in 1:76 scale to go with it could be rather more of a challenge though!