Converting A Toy Into A Diecast Replica

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A few years ago, I bought several 1:72nd scale replicas of Russia's 1-153 bi-plane fighter made by some unknown manufacturer. Their quality was horrible. The top half of the models were bonded to the bottom by a loose screw---one model literally fell apart when I took it out of its box. In addition, there were gigantic gaps, one model had a smashed wind screen, another featured one of its main landing gear about 25% shorter than the other, they had chosen a horrid aquamarine green for the base color, etc. etc. In short, these were badly made toys. However, the designer did include a surprising amount of detail in his basic mold and where was I going to find an I-153 in diecast form unless I tried to fix these little disasters? So, I glued, puttied, sanded, painted, and so on and wound up with two passable I-153s in Soviet markings, plus an "extra", which I later redid in Finnish colors. The following picture shows the original model, at the bottom and the two Soviet redos above it.

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Here's a close-up of the green mottled I-153:

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And the winterized one: