DodgeIntrepid.Net Forums banner

Mini-Me

14K views 83 replies 14 participants last post by  95intrepid99kid 
#1 · (Edited)
I went on a silly kick wanting to buy the die-cast models of the Intrepid that Brookfield put out - they did some really nice models before going belly-up, both of Dodge and other Mopar, and some others. They seem to have made some metal, and some plastic, dealer models, but the 1st Gen Intrepid was a die-cast metal model. Made of over 60 individual pieces, I do believe that much, if not all, of it was hand assembled.

Anyway - PICTURES!

Me:


Mini-Me:






The car was originally a very dark charcoal, near black, with silver bumpers and side moldings. I completely took it apart, except for the trunk lid, headlights and foglights. The 'chassis' drops out the bottom with two screws, taking with it the seats, axles, wheels, etc. The hood comes out with two screws and a little bar on the underside of the dash, and then two screws remove the dash. The doors in front come out with one screw each from underneath, and the back doors come out with one screw from each side. The rear window and front window are glued in to the roof, easy to pop them loose, and same with the long OTIS/mirror. The door panels are hot-glued in, they pop off nice. The rear parcel shelf also pops off easily. Then the engine, cowl, and wipers come off all together by popping the glue loose. The tail light lenses come out really easy, not hard at all to break the glue bond on both the quarter panels and the center bar on the deck lid.

With the body completely stripped, I scuffed the whole car except for the B and C pillars by hand using a white Scotch-Brite pad. This knocked down the gloss on the factory paint. I did the same with the doors, except everything above the belt-line. The curves in the bumper and molding were very hard to scuff, and I thought I did well enough - turns out I sucked at it, and should have used a chemical scuffer or something.

Anyway, I then shot it with single stage rattle can paint that is pre-mixed in Indy Red PRB. Bought it on eBay just to do this model. The paint laid on just fine, except where I didn't scuff it enough. It beaded up like water on wax really bad. So, some of it didn't go so well.

I then put it all back together using a crafters superglue gel. You can see the paint beading problem in the photo below pretty well.



And as long as I'm at it, here is my new exhaust, along with my new license plate, and the car sitting on the trunk.



The car was a gift for my nephew - he is autistic, and he has a car for everyone who visits the house... Last time my car was there, he had an ugly 2 door Camero to represent my car - but it was his only red car... So, I gave him this one. The only difference is the wheels.
 
See less See more
6
#39 ·
Pretty cool... I can't believe the amount of detail in the interior.

The only models I've ever seen of the second gen variety were the NASCAR ones and the occasional cop car. I'd love to find one like that of a regular (like an ES) second gen!
 
#40 ·
I have looked and looked, and there is a purple second gen Concord out there - supposed to be slammed and painted ghetto - but I've only seen a cover of the box, and it is only a drawing of the model, not a picture of the assembled one.... So, not sure what it looks like. There is a 1:43 scale Police edition that comes out of Europe, that could be down-modded to a civilian ES I'm sure, but I have no idea what it looks like up close.

Got my hands combing through a few more leads... Wanna find a blue 1994 and I also want another dark charcoal one...
 
#44 ·
Yup, that one. Looks like your paint in your sig pic.

I want a 94 to repaint in my color, since I have a 94 myself... But the only difference in the models from year to year is the paint and the back license plate... The bottom of every car is stamped "1993".
 
#47 ·
I picked up a chargold 1993 model when I owned my php a few years back, its almost identical to that car down to the gold wheels. I think chargold is the most common color for these models, what others were available?

-Chargold
-Candy Red
-Purple
-Blue

I know they also made the concorde and the LHS, did they ever make a Vision?
 
#48 ·
Vision was never made, the LHS, Concord, and New Yorker were all made, but only 1993-1996, because the company went through financial issues and was sold off before the 1997 was produced, even though they did make a few 1997 vehicles (I think that was after being sold, though).

The other color is black.

I will be posting pictures of them all (Intrepid) soon.
 
#49 ·
Here are the colors of the Intrepid models, they were only made in these colors for these years. All cars have the same casting date on the bottom, 1993, just the back bumper plate changed.

1993 Char-gold
1994 Blue
1995 Black
1996 Candy Red
 
#51 ·
An interesting listing here... http://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRA-RARE-...Action_Figures_Diecast_US&hash=item2a264d0aaa

First I have ever heard of them. The price is downright SILLY, especially because they were never produced in that color as the real thing, right?



The headlight plastics are also different side to side... the amber corners don't match. Just seems confusing. I'd wonder if it could be proven they are actually from Brookfield. It is apparent that the models took a BIG decline from 1995 to 1996 - as the 1996 models were actually sold at the ToysRUs level of retail stores. I wonder if someone didn't buy up a shipping crate lot from China, and issue them privately as custom colors in small editions... This display box is that of the retail level, not the dealer level (as shown by the "diecast" sticker).

I like collecting them - but WOW, not at that price. I'll have to watch this one and see where it goes.
 
#57 ·
An interesting listing here... http://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRA-RARE-...Action_Figures_Diecast_US&hash=item2a264d0aaa

First I have ever heard of them. The price is downright SILLY, especially because they were never produced in that color as the real thing, right?

...

I like collecting them - but WOW, not at that price. I'll have to watch this one and see where it goes.
Looking closely at the pictures I'd say it looks fairly legit. Its either real or someone spent a lot of time and effort faking it. The two things that seem off to me are the corner lights like you mentioned and the box not having any reference at all to being limited edition, usually thats the very first thing they try to brag up on the box! Even if it is just a sticker. Either way, theres no way I'm spending that much! I'd send him an offer for half his starting price if I knew he wouldnt be ridiculously offended.

I'd also like to get a couple more to redo like my cars. I've noticed they dont show up as cheap as they used to but if you end up with a spare or two let me know.
 
#54 ·
You and one other member really want a 1995 just like that. I haven't found the rattle can Spruce Pearl though like I found mine. Really, masking is not that hard, but it is the paint prep... I've got a few extra models I am going to be experimenting with trying to chemically etch for paint prep.

Tim - your car has body key colored moldings, doesn't it? Does it have the ES/Sport claddings, or is it just the fog bumper?
 
#58 · (Edited)
I have a 94 model year one, Its missing a few plastic bits through. Maybe one day If I'm feeling destructive enough I'll take it apart and see what I can tinker. I'd love to find a set of proper scale model wheels that look like the 300m Special Wheels.

edit: A little digging, these are as close as I've been able to find so far.
http://www.megahobby.com/spiderchromerimswtires41/24-1/25pegasus.aspx
or maybe these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hobby-Desig...U_Toys_Hobbies_Model_Kits&hash=item3f1f4b1eaf
 
#59 ·
Nice find on the wheels, yea, I want to take one of mine and repaint it again to match my car - with the correct wheels to my summer wheels.

What plastic bits are bad on yours? I'll try to make a how-to on taking them apart for you.
 
#63 ·
On that "limited edition" one, I might be willing to offer him something - but he's going to argue back that the other "rare ones" (the 1996 model sold in toy stores) are going for $40. I paid too much for my last one I got, but only because it was one of the truely rare ones.

They do seem to come and go on eBay in waves...
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top