A few years ago I made the acquaintance of Marty. I’m glad I did.
Marty is a jovial Australian with the hands and fingernails of someone who has spent a lot of time working with sharp tools and caustic substances, which is explained by his YouTube channel, Marty’s Matchbox Makeovers. It contains dozens of videos wherein Marty does exactly what it says on the label: he performs makeovers on vintage Matchbox vehicles, taking much-loved playthings that are very much the worse for wear and restoring them to their original glory.
If you think that this could not possibly be of interest, think again. There is something fascinating — and oddly soothing — about watching sa person who is extremely good at something do that thing, and Marty is extremely good at restoring Matchbox vehicles. Each video starts by showing the vehicle as it is today, and since most are at least 60 years old, decades of being played with have taken their toll.
Marty gives a brief history of the vehicle, assesses the damage, then gets on with the job, removing axles, wheels, base plates, windshields, and anything else that needs cleaning, fixing, or replacing. Worn paint and peeling decals are removed: sometimes with paint stripper, sometimes with caustic soda. Any remaining paint, or bits of dirt or rust, in cracks and crevices is painstakingly removed with a dental tool.
Wheels are cleaned, or sometimes replaced from Marty’s seemingly inexhaustible store of spare Matchbox parts, and new axles are created. Bent steering wheels are straightened, and missing bits of the vehicle’s structure — often roof supports — are fixed by mixing “super glue” with baking powder and then applying the substance to the voids: once it’s been filed, sanded, and painted, you’d never know it had ever been damaged. Other handy tips include the use of brake fluid to polish plastic, how best to apply decals, and the many uses of a Dremel tool.
The plastic windshields are often beaten up, scratched, or cracked, and Marty will use a cotton bud (Q-tip) to apply aluminium polish and rub it over the entire surface until it’s done its job; once the windshield has been buffed, and coated with a high-gloss varnish, it gleams like new. He has a keen eye for mixing paints and colour matching, and spray paints the vehicles in his spray booth, which is lined with newspapers featuring lurid headlines such as “Redneck Aliens Take Over Trailer Park” (Weekly World News), “Werewolf Seized In Southend: He Fights Cops On All Fours!” (The Sun), and “I Wasn’t Flashing My Willy, I Was Shoplifting Sausages” (Sunday Sport).
They’re a good indication of Marty’s quirky sense of humour, which extends to occasionally including Kevin, a mischief-loving stuffed koala, or creating his very own “Axle Separation System” with its catchy acronym. Sometimes he unboxes items that fans have sent him; other times he visits his local hobby store on Railway Avenue (in Werribee, a suburb of Melbourne); sometimes, through the magic of film, he and Kevin hop in the restored vehicle and take it for a spin.
Watch enough of these videos, and you’ll relish Kevin’s appearances, feel your heart sink when something goes wrong, and cheer when something goes right and Marty utters his catchphrase: “I’m happy with that.” You’ll also appreciate Marty’s patience and tenacity, as he painstakingly and lovingly restoring restores these items that most people would toss in the garbage.
In short, Marty’s Matchbox Makeovers are a true delight, and an example of something we could use more of. Check them out, even if you don’t know a Dremel tool from a drill press, and you’ll appreciate the truth of Marty’s own words: “It’s very therapeutic. That’s what I like about this hobby: you can zone out. Doing something like this you forget all your worries and you’re just concentrating on one tiny thing in the world, and it’s just really cool.”