SPECIAL THANKS. I would like to thank Paul Watson for his sponsorship of several lead figure collections on this blog. Having decided to clear his spare/surplus figures, he generously forwarded them on with no other requirement than they deserved to be restored. I would also like to mention George S. Mills, who kindly furnished a quantity of plastic figures which greatly enhanced several collections.

Saturday, 9 September 2023

DINKY BULLDOZER (WW2)

On Thursday I popped into a local collectables shop. Spotted this Dinky Blaw Knox bulldozer in a rather sad state for £3. Missing its caterpillar tracks, much of its paintwork, and twisted on its axles, it was still a useful model to add to my WW2 American army, and the shovel-blade gear still worked.

I was able to construct extensions to some caterpillar tracks in my spares box, saving money on its restoration. Some plier work straightened up the model.

Original state

Took several hours to paint strip, and several more to fully clean the model.
Here it is primed and given two coats of drab green, with black paint to some of the detail. Was tempted to add a US star but keeping it plain will allow other armies to utilise it. A coat of varnish provides protection.
I then added the caterpillar tracks, and rejoined them using a combination of glues.
I must admit Dinky made a quality model with their Blaw Knox Bulldozer, it's a very fine die-cast. I really enjoyed working on this project!

MGB 

4 comments:

  1. Nice work. Have a look at You Tube,' Bill Making Stuff; and his 'Tonks' have homemade tracks that look good.

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    1. Cheers Q. My extensions are made of thin plasticard, and the use of two types of glue seem to be working peculiarly well. They even roll fine on the wheels, not that my games require such. Makes me wonder if it would work in making entire tracks. But I will look up your suggestion too.
      Michael

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  2. Another excellent restoration Michael, looking much better than new! Your research photos bring to light how important this piece of machinery can be on your table in various scenarios! Very well done indeed!

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    1. Thanks Brad, It was very much an off-the-cuff project, but pleased with the end result. It took about seven hours, but at £3 plus paint, I'm not complaining.
      Michael

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