I’ve always had a thing for VW Beetles and the Corgi 1:43 scale which ran through the 1960s and 70s is I think a well-proportioned model and comes with quite a few colour and wheel variations to collect, the bright orange version being the most common of these.
A less common variation is no.383 the bright red car with flower stickers and green bumpers and base plate.
I found one of these a while ago in very tidy condition except it had broken suspension which seems to affect quite a few of these, the plastic piece which locates the axles goes brittle and snaps leaving them loose in the body.
After having a good look and deciding that I couldn’t fix the axles back in place without drilling the rivets out and ruining the car, I thought I would have a go at taking the wheels out to give more room to fix something inside.
Rummaging through my spares box turned up a few new wheel and axle options and I’ve gone for some modern Lamborghini alloys! My first thought was to glue the axles to the base but I tried some thick packing foam stuffed inside it does a good job of holding the axles in place and still has as much suspension movement as the original did and the wheels still turn.
So, you might not approve of my wheel choice, but I think the fix is a good one and is sympathetic to the car with no further damage done and no glue needed.
What do you think of my Resto job? We’d love to hear from you! Leave your comments in the box at the bottom of the page.
