Hi all,

Previewed this set over the weekend. All cars based on the current Customs selections, with added gold details and pinstriping by Tom Kelly.
I have a lot of pics posted, easier to link the feature than to weigh down the board with a lot of photos.
Click here to see:

M2 12 Days Of Christmas (http://www.joesdiecastshack.com/m2xmas.htm)

Joe

I'll probably get a few of them, and when I do I plan to detampo the pictures on the roof.

I'll probably get a few of them, and when I do I plan to detampo the pictures on the roof.

Thats what I was thinking.

Joe, nice work on the very appreciated preview of this series .
I will be looking for the 50 Olds (NEW CASTING!!!:thumbsup:), the 53 Ford ,54 Chevy , and the 54 Dodge .. The colors are awesome on these . the Silver choices .. no so much..
I have to agree with you other guys ,, The artwork on the roof will be disappearing :drunk:

Joe, nice work on the very appreciated preview of this series .
I will be looking for the 50 Olds (NEW CASTING!!!:thumbsup:), the 53 Ford ,54 Chevy , and the 54 Dodge .. The colors are awesome on these . the Silver choices .. no so much..
I have to agree with you other guys ,, The artwork on the roof will be disappearing :drunk:ditto

Wow! I'll be watching for these! Thanks for the preview!!!!!!!!

Hi Guys,

I just got the full set of 12, and like all of you, I'd like to remove the pictures from the car roofs.

What is the best method that doesn't damage the paintwork, and is this also safe for the plastic sunroof on the 1954 Mercury Sun Valley?

cheers, Martin

Talk about digging up a thread from the grave :tongue:. But since you asked, carb cleaner and q-tips work, and it's gentler than something like fingernail polish remover. I can't say what it would do to the plastic skylight.

I'm totally against the de-tampoing though. The designs are part of what make the 12 Days of Christmas cars unique. I wish I would have bought them when they came out, but I'll track down a set eventually.

Thanks for the swift reply Full Flaps!

Now I've had a closer look at the cars I realise that they also have sparkly paint, so removing the tampo would not make the car "normal". I ordered these online (Fox Valley Hobbys) without realising fully what they were.

I'll keep them unaltered (and most likely still in their blisters) and acquire the castings in the Auto-thentics line.

Thanks for the swift reply Full Flaps!

Now I've had a closer look at the cars I realise that they also have sparkly paint, so removing the tampo would not make the car "normal". I ordered these online (Fox Valley Hobbys) without realising fully what they were.

I'll keep them unaltered (and most likely still in their blisters) and acquire the castings in the Auto-thentics line.

Welcome to the Forum :wave:

Holy Snykies as this is an old post from 2008

Enjoy your M2s as they all have great details to them :thumbsup:

DeTampo them; I did the OLDs and replaced the wheel covers with the spinners like the stock offering. I use lacquer thinner and very carefully. Now I know Gerald and others will warn us of the hazards of using thinner but I've was raised on it. The fumes have a wonderful smell that gets sweeter everytime.

I'm not sure about lacquer thinner, but I do know that carb cleaner WILL EAT plastic!! Even a slight touch will dull it. Nail polish remover will leave the plastic intact.

This series never tickled my fancy, but it sure seems to have appealed to many others. Collect what you like! :thumbsup:

Yea, becareful with Carb Cleaners & Brake Cleaners as they will eat through the paint and plastics while Kustomizing your car... I use OPI Professional Nail Polish Remover to remove the Tampos from the paint & use Automotive compound to remove scratches and decals from the windows... The nail polish remover is a little bit more in $$$ but worth every penny over the walmart or dollar tree brands.

I've used Goof Off for detampoing with great results. Don't get it on plastic though, to play it safe, I use blue painters tape to tape off what I don't want to get Goof Off on.

I used nail polish remover once and it wore through the paint pretty quickly on the areas where the finish was thinner(luckily it was a badly tampoed HW to start with, so I just made it into a demo derby car). I found Goof Off to be more forgiving but I imagine it would still remove paint if you kept at it.

Since any compound used to remove tampos is a solvent of some sort, naturally care should be taken in all cases. Afterall, a tampo is painted on. ;)

What is the best method that doesn't damage the paintwork, and is this also safe for the plastic sunroof on the 1954 Mercury Sun Valley?

Simple disassembly of the car helps a lot, especially when the plastic sunroof is concerned. Take the car apart and the 'glass' falls right out. Keep fluids that commonly remove tampos away from clear plastic altogether. That said, I have successfully detampoed plastic 'glass' using Q-tips (they don't scratch like cheaper brands will) and 99% pure isopropyl alcohol from the pharmacy. Be patient, it takes some elbow grease and time but the results are worth it.

As mentioned, carburetor cleaner (or Goof-Off fluid) and cotton swabs work well to remove unwanted car tampos. NAPA-brand carb cleaner is much kinder to the silver painted trim on the car than other fluids I've tried. Goof-Off has no such forgiveness if you happen to slip.

Practicing first on inexpensive unimportant cars is suggested, before tackling the M2s.

Best of luck! It's a lot fun making your own "custom" cars. :wave:

Hey Martin; Here's a Christmas Olds that I de-tampoed with thinner. I also gave it a set of Olds spinners and a new blue interior. The Pontiac is one of the old Auto-Dreams that I also un-customed. This car was just purchased at Marshalls this week. I know the Olds need a hood latch adjustment.
http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu267/PAcarhauler/002.jpg

Hey Martin; Here's a Christmas Olds that I de-tampoed with thinner. I also gave it a set of Olds spinners and a new blue interior. The Pontiac is one of the old Auto-Dreams that I also un-customed. This car was just purchased at Marshalls this week. I know the Olds need a hood latch adjustment.
http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu267/PAcarhauler/002.jpg


THOSE look VERY NICE. DE-Crapping the tampo junk is the right thing to do..

THOSE look VERY NICE. DE-Crapping the tampo junk is the right thing to do..

Incorrect. The 12 Days of Christmas designs are not crap, like some cheap Hot Wheels mainline tampo. They are thoughtful designs by famous car painter and pin striper Tom Kelly, reminiscent of 50's customs. Anybody who thinks these are crappy tampos to be wiped off just doesn't get it.

Again, a matter of taste. The designs on the roof are unprototypical but might make interesting conversation pieces. I want more stock appearing cars in my collection and that's why I removed them.

I removed the tampos from the roof only and left the pinstripes on the rest of the car as I think they look great and are well done.

Thanks for all the responses to this resurrected topic.

I have several ideas on how best to remove the tampos if I decide to, and see that the general consensus is that the tampos are an eyesore and should be removed.

Taken as Christmas Tree decorations (which is what they are designed as) they're fine, taken as models of how a 50s car custom paint job might have been done, not so much.

I'm not a great fan of Custom paint jobs, the Auto-Dreams Patriot series and the Flaming series are not on my wants list, but I respect the skill that goes into creating them. Some subtle pinstripes, as Aqua says, are fine, but the roof designs are a bit OTT for my blander taste.

For now my 12 days cars are remaining in their blisters, and packed in their cases. Maybe at Christmas I'll haul them out and hang them on the tree.

I wish I would have bought them when they came out, but I'll track down a set eventually.

Hey Flaps what ones do you still need? My Wally still has some of these left on the shelves. Maybe I can help. :thumbsup:

Hey Flaps what ones do you still need? My Wally still has some of these left on the shelves. Maybe I can help. :thumbsup:

Which ones have they got and what is their pricing? Because I never purchased a single one :drunk:. Although I'm not normally a completist, I can see adding more than a few of those to my M2 roster. From what I've seen, a full set runs about $48 online.

There have been a few of these lingering around one Wally-World around here, I decided to get the blue Olds and detampo the roof. I noticed the pin striping is the same as on the red one from Auto-Dreams 10, minus the Christmas stuff on the roof.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/motorhed/Olds1.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/motorhed/Olds2.jpg

I'm on a hunt for the red one; already have a set of wheel covers (Olds spinners) on the work bench next to my can of thinner.

I don't mind the rest of the pin striping but I don't miss the Christmas stuff on that one. I love Christmas and I do think the idea is pretty cool and done very well but I only have a few and that's all I want. If I had the whole set, I could see keeping the stuff on the roof and putting them out for Christmas but for only having a few, I'd rather have a plain roof.

I've only seen that one red one but I'll keep an eye out.

Personally, I look forward to using them as actual Christmas tree ornaments! :p

Merry Christmas, past the thinner.

Personally, I look forward to using them as actual Christmas tree ornaments! :p



I think the idea of them as ornaments is pretty cool and I would consider it if I had the whole set but since I just wanted a few, I've detampoed the roofs so they're non-seasonal now lol.

They could still be used as ornaments though, any car could be if you wanted to. The method of looping through the window is a good and nondestructive way to do it. I might put up some red and green cars this year myself.

Merry Christmas, past the thinner.

Once a Christmas car, always a Christmas car. :tongue:

JUST bought Milezones' last red Olds; got the thinner can standing by.