Shite in Miniature II

[Junkman]

Some dead rare Siku shite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[junkyarddog]

That is fantastic!!

[andrew e]

As a Siku perv I can say Junkman has done very well there getting the full garage, hats off!

[MarvinsMom]

fiiiiiin-iished.......

 

 

i'm quite pleased with how it has turned out.

especially considering what a horrid black and red thing it was when i paid a whole £1 for it, and it had no bonnet or boot lid (them fitted are reproductions, as is the glazing) and with only 2 tyres (again modern replacements fitted) so even my attempts at restorations is an improvement! the dents in the roof are courtesy of a previous owner.....

 

 

and with some others on the dresser (and on its side for some reason....)

 

[mercrocker]

Ooooh...Dinky Vogue.  Very nice!

[MarvinsMom]

Ooooh...Dinky Vogue.  Very nice!

 

thank you, its a rough old thing really, but not that rough i want to pull it to bits and repaint it!

 

plus it wasn't many £'s to buy....

 

[eddyramrod]

Another gorgeous casting from the Golden Age.  After many repaints, I modified mine to represent the Super Minx we had in 1983; I probably did it in 83 too!  Wouldn't mind finding another one now, preferably a repaint project.

[Split_Pin]

Thats also a lovely Dinky. I'm not sure when the tinplate bases were phased out in favour of the sculptured diecast type but this must be one of thelast of the former?

[MarvinsMom]

Another gorgeous casting from the Golden Age.  After many repaints, I modified mine to represent the Super Minx we had in 1983; I probably did it in 83 too!  Wouldn't mind finding another one now, preferably a repaint project.

 

that would be the only way of getting hold of one thats not silly money to buy..

 

talking of rough old things, check this out, the pale one is a Husky Studebaker Wagonaire, and the blue one is a Matchbox Studebaker Wagonaire.

 

what are the chances of 2 makers making different versions of one (very) obscure station wagon!

[mercrocker]

I think the sliding roof novelty probably helped make it a worthwhile subject.....Bit rare, that Husky with the tyred wheels and drop down tailgate.   They continued the casting into Corgi Juniors with the TV cameraman in the load area and also as an Ambulance.

[Split_Pin]

The Husky example looks much finer in detail but the chrome parts often become chipped and yellow which is kind of characterful in its own right! I only have 2, the SD bin lorry and the Jaguar MK10 fire chief car.

[eddyramrod]

I've had several of both those models.  I always thought the Husky was probably the better casting, but like others here, it puzzled me that two companies made such an oddball.  In fact Vulgalour now has one of my old ones; a Matchbox IIRC.

[mercrocker]

Some of the Husky castings were actually quite nice.   The chrome plastic baseplate was fragile, relying on a pushed-in tab to locate the axle and provide some degree of articulation.   The ones that survived into the cast baseplate era are quite decent models, particularly those with the separate tyres and wheel castings.    They were a bit cheaper than Matchbox models and whilst that was obvious to a kid like me I was still quite happy with the outcome of  a ten minute browse in Woolworth.   Subjects like the Sunbeam Alpine, Transit Camper and Lancia Flaminia just weren't obtainable from other makers.   I still have a couple of dozen Huskies and like seeing them every day!

[Split_Pin]

Less obscure subject, but I'm now trying to think of 2 key manufacturers of a similar period who produced models on the same subject at the same time.

 

I have a Dinky Ford Corsair 2000e in silver and black but I recall that there is also a pale blue one and its made by Corgi?

[mercrocker]

Both the Corsairs were Dinky.....The 2 door pale blue example (also in red) morphed into the attractive, but incorrect, 2 door 2000E

[mercrocker]

Another example is the Studebaker Golden Hawk, modelled by both Corgi and Dinky and not a subject that would often have been seen by British kids.   Remember, though, that the American, Canadian and "Colonial" markets were all quite important for all the UK diecast makers.

[Split_Pin]

I have the Hawk and quite a few other American models that were my dads. He grew up in Port Glasgow so zero chance of seeing any American cars there.

 

He did however have an American cousin who visited my dads family with his in about 1960 and he gave my dad a black Corgi Chevrolet Impala. My dads cousin was a good bit older than my dad at the time and he was subsequently killed in the Vietnam war. Last year relatives of my dads cousin visited Scotland so he met them in Glasgow for a meal and I lent him the Impala back which he took the with him to show them what he was given by their long lost relative.

[eddyramrod]

Less obscure subject, but I'm now trying to think of 2 key manufacturers of a similar period who produced models on the same subject at the same time.

 

I have a Dinky Ford Corsair 2000e in silver and black but I recall that there is also a pale blue one and its made by Corgi?

Four-door Corsairs, which would have been correct as the 2000E, were made by Matchbox and Impy, and IIRC even Minix.  It surprised me that the Citroen DS was most-modelled in Safari form, by Corgi, Dinky and Husky, but there were so few Morris Minors, a car you could see a hundred of before your next DS.  Dinky, Matchbox and Spot-On had the 105E; Husky made theirs as a van.  Corgi and Dinky both covered the Renault 16 and the Ford Thunderbird (58-60) too.  I'm sure there will be other examples if I sit and think a bit more...

[Split_Pin]

That used to annoy me as a kid that you couldnt easily get a Minor. I was delighted when Corgi brought out the saloon in black driving school and dark blue in 1988. I got the latter from Santa that year!

 

The Corgi 16 was far nicer than the Dinky which was too square and low profiled in my opinion. Need to think of more 'doubles' now!

[mercrocker]

On the other side of the coin, how many die-cast manufacturers made a relatively obscure version of a common vehicle and then failed to make any more capital from their casting costs? 

 

I am thinking of the Corgi Motoring School A60 (surely a prime candidate for a Police version), the London-Sydney Hunter and the Wall's Ice Cream Thames/Anglia van, the Dinky Atlas Copco compressor on the 400E Thames and those Corgi Citroen "pick-up" things used for Tour de France and Magic Roundabout models.   Why not a nice saloon or Safari update with the enclosed headlamps?

[Split_Pin]

I can think of a few later 1970s cases:

 

Dinky and Matchbox Superkings - Plymouth Gran Fury.

 

Dinky and Corgi - Rover SD1

 

Dinky and Matchbox Superkings - Volvo 200 (although the former was a 265DL and the latter as 245DL)

 

Hillman Imp. The Dinky example was far more detailed and larger than the Corgi but the latter's opening hatch was ace.

[mercrocker]

 Need to think of more 'doubles' now!

 

another case of one being better than the other.....Corgi Mercedes 600 Pullman, lovely casting but too small to convey the imposing opulence of the real car.

 

Dinky on the other hand managed a truly impressive size and weight, let down a little by the drooping doors.    

 

Corgi of course scored the edge with those working wipers, although the drop glasses in the Dinky doors were a nice feature.

[mercrocker]

Not quite the same model subject,  but the Corgi and Dinky Heralds offer interesting comparison being available in the same two tone blue and white colour scheme.   Dinky won the race by being issued the same day as the real Herald but the Corgi Coupe had that neat pop-up bonnet (as well as an interior!)

[Split_Pin]

On the other side of the coin, how many die-cast manufacturers made a relatively obscure version of a common vehicle and then failed to make any more capital from their casting costs?

 

I am thinking of the Corgi Motoring School A60 (surely a prime candidate for a Police version), the London-Sydney Hunter and the Wall's Ice Cream Thames/Anglia van, the Dinky Atlas Copco compressor on the 400E Thames and those Corgi Citroen "pick-up" things used for Tour de France and Magic Roundabout models. Why not a nice saloon or Safari update with the enclosed headlamps?

Now that has stumped me! I thought the Tour De France 16 was unusual but at least they made an excellent hatch version with 'automatic' folding rear seats.

[Split_Pin]

Not quite the same model subject, but the Corgi and Dinky Heralds offer interesting comparison being available in the same two tone blue and white colour scheme. Dinky won the race by being issued the same day as the real Herald but the Corgi Coupe had that neat pop-up bonnet (as well as an interior!)

Oddly the Dinky one had the correct 'Herald' font stamped onto the tin baseplate, probably for promotional purposes as you say. I didnt know it was launched on the same day as the real car though!

[eddyramrod]

The Dinky CF was well past the company's peak; you only have to compare it to, well, pretty much anything that preceded it.  Few variations were made too.  Matchbox waited for a bit and made a much more substantial CF2, but only as an airport van; same as they only made a BMW E28 as a police car.  There have been some peculiar decisions made in the past, that's for sure...

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

All this talk of the Trans-o-lite models reminded me that it is perhaps my favourite of all the model gimmicks. Once at a toy fair I demonstrated it with the torch on my phone and told the elderly seller that kids in the 60s must have had a great time making the lights work with their iPhones. He then told me that kids didn't have mobile phones in the 60s, in the same tone you'd use to explain to a six year old why there isn't movie footage of ancient Egypt. I enjoyed that greatly. 

 

Corgi Rover 2000 by Conrad Conelrad, on Flickr

 

 

[Christine]

My huskys are all bolloxed.. need an Aston front axle , a Lancia bonnet, a yellow elastic band, and the stop end of a tanker      The blue paint musta been very soft..

 

The Singer I used as a roller skate    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh 2 more !  Also bolloxed 

 

[Jon]

Matchbox waited for a bit and made a much more substantial CF2, but only as an airport van; same as they only made a BMW E28 as a police car.  There have been some peculiar decisions made in the past, that's for sure...

 

Not quite right but still an under utilised casting all the same. Here's a slightly baffling ambulance version I used to own, bought new in (I guess) 1993-1994, from Monkbar Model Shop in York. I used to visit the store on Saturdays as often as pocket money would allow and would buy all the old stuff they hadn't got round to selling but all seemingly with the same sticker price they'd had from new. For extra nerd points, I'd pop the receipts back in the boxes, so I could see when I bought each model. 

 

 

 

Sold almost all of it in 2010 when I emigrated (you bagged a couple of broken Bburagos from me, Eddy) but at least I have the images and I don't have to store them any more!

[Split_Pin]

The Dinky CF was well past the company's peak; you only have to compare it to, well, pretty much anything that preceded it. Few variations were made too. Matchbox waited for a bit and made a much more substantial CF2, but only as an airport van; same as they only made a BMW E28 as a police car. There have been some peculiar decisions made in the past, that's for sure...

I always wanted those as a kid, especially the 5 Series. There was also a Land Rover Defender Airport vehicle. They all had some sort of mechanically operated sign on them.

 

I also have a Superkings Daf 3300 tractor unit. As far as I can recall it was only ever released in a Coastguard livery with a low loader and helicopter. Given that they had a range of other trailers on offer at the time, it would have been great to see it as a fuel tanker or with a box trailer in TNT livery to complement the smaller scale version. The other cab types such as Mercedes,Iveco and Peterbilt were all also available as rigid 6 wheelers so the DAF would have been a great candidate for this.