Datsuncog

Probably time to wheel out my gripe again about how, after Mattel took over from Tyco in 1997, Northern Ireland had no Matchbox rep for over a year and Mattel UK could not have given less of a shit. The toy and model shop I worked in at the time started stocking Tomica and Siku instead, because we just couldn't persuade them to bother their arse to sell us any Matchbox stock. The shop in question had been a Matchbox stockist since it opened in 1962, and I can remember getting some of my most prized childhood examples there in the early '80s. They still had a 1960s countertop display showing the full 75-model range, and I'd get to point at the one I wanted and the owner would pull out a boxed one from behind the big mahogany counter. It was the kinda magic that builds a lifetime attachment to a brand. It's probably a topic for the Grumpy Thread, but it kinda boils my piss the way Mattel will tickle the bollocks of their US Ambassador to Collectors by printing their names onto models as cute l'il Easter Eggs for those in the know, while collectors over here spent years literally hoking around under filthy understocked Tesco shelves just to try to find releases. My opinion of them is... not good.

Good to see there are some more Matchbox coming through - are those from the case with the orange Kadett coupe? I was temporarily thrilled when I spied an overflowing Matchbox tub while passing through Tesco earlier - but it was just more of the same selection offered out for months now. Hoping to get a look into the big Home Bargains tomorrow evening, so we'll see what's what... and could be worth my while to schedule a stop off at Poundland too.

Talc has a drying effect too - as a kid I was told to use it on my feet after getting showered to avoid athletes' foot. I used to keep a container of it in my gym bag, as a puff or two after towelling myself off post-shower did make me feel a bit less clammy before wriggling into my clothes. That said, I only finished the container (purchased in 1996) a few weeks ago, so I'm not overly concerned that I've exposed myself to lethal levels of asbestos over the past 27 years...

I'll certainly have a look - it's been a few weeks since I was last in that branch, but they had three last time I checked. Will see what I can do! Hey, it'd still be more use to customers than your average Kwik-Fit branch...

Mail call today courtesy of @Spottedlaurel: Oh yes! A very nice Lesney King Size Mercury Commuter. I've had a few of the later Speed Kings race support versions of the Commuter with nylon wheels pass through my sweaty mitts, but never an early police one with the steerable wheels. It's great - in broadly similar condition to the rest of my King Size cars, so just lightly worn. It would have been nice if Lesney had continued developing this line with further Corgi/ Dinky sized offerings - I can think of others from the 1-75 range which would have looked pretty neat scaled up, like the VW 1500 and Mk2 Cortina. But it seems that the Hot Wheels flap of the late '60s panicked Lesney into thinking that the future lay in huge-engined fantasy castings painted brightly - so these lovely little models were bastardised into (what some might consider) lairy speed-wheel parodies of themselves. I must dig out the others as - thanks to the efforts of the top folks on here - I now have a full set of the King Size cars, and their smaller counterparts from the miniatures range! Oof. Back of the net.

Awesome! That's looking much tidier now. They seem to have done a nice job on all the problem areas. Onwards and upwards!

**Sets urgent reminder to call into Home Bargains sometime very soon** Was that the only set they had on the shelves? A branch near-ish to me still has some of the service centres available, but I've yet to see more from the Matchbox range in there.

Not guilty! (This time)

I would - or at least try to remove the blister from the card as neatly as possible, if you want to keep the packaging too. I use a steel nailfile to try to lever apart plastic and cardboard with minimal tearing. Usually it's not too messy. I kinda like the current crop of packaging illustrations on both Matchbox and Hot Wheels, and would probably prefer to keep the unblemished backing cards if I could - but haven't had much luck with either acetone or lighter fluid when it comes to loosening the adhesive. But older, more-or-less generic backing cards like that on your Mini; I wouldn't feel too bad about binning. While certain Hot Wheels toys do seem to have a degree of scarcity and a higher value on the secondhand collector market, they were still churned out in their millions. The adult collector market and online auctions ensures there will always be plenty of unopened examples in circulation for those who feel that's important - but for me, I like to handle them.

Took a spin further afield yesterday morning to a far-flung branch of B&M, in an effort to track down some of the more elusive Hot Wheels specials... Sadly, despite a fairly well stocked display there wasn't any of what I was after - neither an Ultra Hots SP2 nor a Blue & Orange Anniversary Gazella R were anywhere to be seen on the pegs. Plenty from the retro pick-up trucks range for £1.99, plus the Mud Runners for £3.49 (I kinda like some of them but they're really not much more detailed than the mainlines range; why they're twice the price baffles me a bit) Only three Ultra Hots remained - the El Camino and Brazilian Charger, which seem to be the two most common finds, plus a '67 Shelby. I can only presume the cases contain unequal numbers of each model, hence loads of El Caminos and Chargers in the limited number of stores that stock this line - but not so many of the others. Not really sure to be annoyed by this, or impressed by Mattel's ability to keep everyone on their toes through creating artificial scarcity. Five of the eight Flying Customs were still available here - no Shelbys, no Plymouth GTXs and no Nova wagons, but a few of each of the others remained. No Escorts left in the Fast & Furious range, of course. And the Lightyear character cars are, unsurprisingly, reduced to clear. This store had plenty of 2022 and 2023 mainlines on a separate floor display, but I think we're all pretty much sorted now? There were IMSA Audi 80s and Mercedes 560 SECs too, but I've grabbed a fair few of each for myself and others in the past few months... so unless anyone still needs anything from the mainlines, I'll probably not be picking up any more. Until a new case drops, obviously...

It probably doesn't necessarily look like it, but this is my happy place. The Audi and Chevrolet are looking heaps better. The Rovers are gonna need a dab of T-Cut, I think...

Aaaaagh Ultra Hots. I just had to bloody stop off at B&M, didn't I? I've already a request in for the SP3 from @w00dy - but is anyone else interested in the other five of these here, at £1.99 a throw? [EDIT: it's a VW SP2, not SP3 - hey, it's been an intense kinda day...] Is @bunglebus still seeking the Mercury Cougar and the Firebird? [EDIT: yup] I've already got a Brazilian Charger and an El Camino going spare, so I'm not buying any more of them - but there's two each of those remaining in this store, plus another Civic and another Shelby Mustang left on the strips. No Gazella Rs, annoyingly. Still a few of the more desirable Matchbox remaining, at £1.69. I couldn't just take myself straight home, could I? 🤡

After leaving the market, backpack bulging but wallet waning, I wandered over to The Entertainer. That's right - I hadn't forgotten that they were now punting out their Matchbox Hitch & Haul range at a slightly more sensible price of £4. Annoyingly all they had left was the Rodeo Set and multiple packs of the generic Construction Set - I might also have been interested in the Jeep and Trailer set with the luckless hiker being set on by wolves and bears, but no dice. They had loads of Hot Wheels too - unusually both long card and short card packs. I checked to see if there was a Gazella R in the Orange 'n' Blue Anniversary series - as I believe @flat4alfa was still seeking one - but sadly not. There were these 'British Street Scenes' vehicles though - which I think might be based on the old Chad Valley castings from the early 2000s? These are packaged as being made by Richmond Toys - but it seems to be the same LDV ambulance, Vauxhall Omega police car, RM bus and Austin FX4 cab as I recall from a long time ago now. Basically a heritage range, now? But looking at the Land Rover Discoveries... I was surprised to see this one was absolutely thick with dust on the model itself. Not on the packaging - on the model inside it. The box was perfectly clean. I wonder if these had been left sitting unboxed in a storeroom in some Chinese factory for quite some time? Hmmm. Interesting, but pricey enough at £12. I like the Siku stuff The Entertainer carries - but crumbs, it's pricey. Still, this coach was pretty cool. Beats the holiday liveries, anyway. And then - because I may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb - I headed over to the Smithfield model shop. Basically I was after a few loose Majorettes for @Spottedlaurel - though the best I could do was this single Dodge pickup: I'll keep looking for more, never fear! I also procured this... What a colour. Not a BMC original shade, I wouldn't have thought. Available for £1, if anyone fancies it! Then this blackwalls Hot Wheels oddity - a Cannonade. With opening bits - not something many of them seem to have. Hong Kong era, too. Also looking a new home at £1! [EDIT: now taken!!] Ok, so I was starting to lose the run of myself now. Oddity from an archaeologically themed playset (?) Isuzu Amigo/ Vauxhall Frontera SWB. Raaaar! Again, £1 if anyone fancies taking it on. And lastly... A no-name (possibly MC Toy?) Mercedes 307D van. I didn't realise until after I'd bought it that the headlamps were missing. Damn. Also available, at £1. And that I believe is that, for this week kids... Happy Friday, folks. Now, I'd better go before I'm locked in for the weekend...

So how did the lunchtime market go, I hear you howl? Pretty good. The Maisto Audi TT and Minichamps Scorpio longroof were picked up for @Split_Pin at slightly under target price of £10 and £4 respectively. The Audi has the usual Maisto precision and appeal, as 'everything opens'! Interior is particularly nice here, too. It needs a clean, but otherwise will hopefully display well! The big Matchbox Chevy Suburban for @danthecapriman was still there too, and quickly snaffled - and despite the fact it's 1/24 scale, it's still quite a bit bigger than the 1/18 Audi. The detail on it is unreal. I mean, it's of its time - modelling's come on a bit in the 25 years or so since this was made - but it's got all the comms gear fitted and a boot full of firefighting gear. It even has seatbelts and flocked carpets too. Good underside detail and everything. I'm really impressed with this one - hope you like it too, dude! The DTM Vectra was secured for @andy18s, alongside the Majorette 405 T16 : Impressively, the rear section lifts off the Pug, just like the real thing. Will pop those aside with your other bits and bobs! And... I picked up one or two things for myself. I grabbed the Universal Hobbies Bond partwork AMC Matador Coupe, which I believe @flat4alfa had expressed an interest in a few weeks back - but I'm equally happy to keep this one for myself... It's an odd thing to model, and I like it for that. Not so mad keen on the front wheels at full lock, but still - dynamic stance, no? Plus an Oxford Diecast Bentley S1 Continental, which I'd hemmed and hawed about for weeks when it was out for £10 while rattling round inside its cracked display box. It now seems the box has been binned, but I'm not too sad about that. I'll take the £5 saving. Even though I'm not a big fan of prestige stuff in general, I think the big Bentley coop is just one of those cars that looks perfect from every angle. One I'm less sanguine about the loss of packaging is this... This early Corgi Juniors Mercedes minibus was out on the stall in April, still in its original blister pack. Somehow, the packaging has been lost. Which is a real pity. However, silver linings - it did its job perfectly, keeping the bus factory-fresh for nearly 50 years. It really is mint. A keeper! And, staying with Corgi... the SD1 police car. As I say, I have one of these already - a later example with part-tampo decoration, rather than paper stickers all round like this one - so I'll clean this one up and see if I can decide which one I want to keep, and which to pass on. That interior is bright. Base is good, too. Decisions decisions... Oh, and I got myself a Disco 1 off Colin. It's tremendously detailed, given the size of it. But there's more...

Yow! That sounds sore... hope she's ok now! Not a bother - I did grab the Vectra, and as it was part of a number of purchases I bagged it for £4. Since Market Blokey was looking a tenner for the 405 alone back in May, I reckon you're still up on the deal. 😉

Maisto Audi is great bar the missing mirror - happy to go ahead at £10? Scorpio is also pretty good, though also lacking a passenger mirror. £5 asked. I can throw in a full valet as a sweetener... MrsDC's out tonight, so I can close the curtains and get the toothbrush and warm water out, like the big weirdo I am...

It's missing a rear spoiler and aerial, plus there's a bit of transfer loss to the windscreen topper,but otherwise not bad... £5 on it, so let me know if you still fancy it! I also managed to pick up that 1/24 Majorette Peugeot 405 T16 that you'd mentioned back in May - also at £5...

So, a spin round the other stalls proved reasonably rewarding... The Charity Stall had some New Stuff, which was also Old. Sadly not of the 50p variety. Buddy L 'Dixie Hauler' was superficially a bit down-at-heel, but might clean up ok. Rusty, but not quite rotten. Price unknown, but likely somewhere in the £5-10 ballpark. Corgi 'Kojak' Buick Regal was a little bit shabby, with damaged glazing... ...and an amputee Crocker, who's apparently just learned exactly why you shouldn't lean out of moving vehicles. Ouch, that's gotta smart. Other than a very shabby Lesney King Size Dodge horse trailer, a fantasy Superkings fire engine and two 1980s Superking trailers, this early SD1 in police colours was the extent of the older stuff - and really the only one that was Worth Having. So I nabbed this one for myself, for £5 - but I'm not sure if it's better or not than my existing, later version of the peelermobile SD1. I'll give it a good clean later and compare them - but be advised, one of them will be available! This monster of a thing was also on the Charity Stall - huge, heavy and seemingly more cast-iron than diecast. It also had a sort of Rolamatics style set up, where a cranked axle lifted 'flames' from the header pipes when in motion, while the driver joggled a bit. The 'Hubley' name was dimly familiar - and a quick online search indicates that this is a 1990s replica of a much older toy. Even so, it seems I could have doubled the asking price of £20 if I cared to flip it online - though I wouldn't much fancy posting the bugger, I have to say. A quick turn past the Irish Gifts stall revealed two new Oxford 1/76 castings - a Disco 1 and Disco 2 Very nicely rendered, though the price is creeping upwards... Annoyingly, Colin on the stall did get the 1/43 version of the Disco 1 in Foxfire Red - but didn't bring it in to St George's as he didn't think it'd sell. Bah. Two of The Giffers unexpectedly had some Them's Rare Them's Dinkys on their stalls... String Labels Of Doom advised £15 each on the cars and Trojan van, but £30 on the fire engine. Whilst the tatty Atlantean and end-of-the-line Speedwheels Land Rover wrecker were unpriced. I daresay whatever he's looking for them, they're not worth it. And finally, Alan's Emporium had the 50p Tray out - the last bastion of cheapo toy grabbing to be found today. Not that there was much worth having, to be fair. I'd hoped that there could be some decent Majorette action happening for @Spottedlaurel - but this damaged E36 looked a bit too shabby. But I will continue my search, never fear! Meanwhile, one of the Chinesium no-names alongside was losing at the game of 'how little metal can you put in a toy car and still call it a metal toy?' Ah well. And at this point - with a few notes scrawled on a piece of paper - I believe it's time for Round 2...

Will check it over for you! Certainly no point picking up broken rubbish - I could see that it was missing a door mirror, and the aerial was slightly crooked, but seemed otherwise reasonable enough. I'll head over in about an hour or so - fingers crossed! Yeah, about that...

Could be Superior! The logo was tiny, and in stylised handwriting - seemed to have a letter with a lower loop towards the middle, so Superior would fit the bill.

Likely to be £5 on the Scorpio, and £10 on the TT if that seems like not too much of an ask?

Okay then... Friday beckons! After a three-week hiatus while Market Blokey was away sunning himself, I wasn't sure what to expect upon striding purposefully through the market doors this morning... But as it turned out, all was well in Tatland. Tat was tatting, giffers were giffering. Before we all get too overly excited and lose the run of ourselves, it's maybe worth mentioning that today's stall was mostly the same stuff as we had nearly a month ago, back on 5th May. Though that's not to say there was nothing worth having... Lots of smallish tat, although not much genuinely old stuff. 1/18 and 1/43, plus 00 gauge commercials. TK Maxx dustcatcher-grade tinplate T1 Samba to slice your finger on, if you like. Trainshite was in evidence. Also some big Corgi Classics Chipperfields and Showmen's stuff, at £20 a go. Boxed Maisto Beetle also at £20. Massive Matchbox Chevrolet Suburban is one I've only seen in books before - quite nicely detailed. £10 on it. Boxed models were some Chinese make which my tired old eyes couldn't decipher at this hour of the morning - began with S, but not Sunstar or anything like that. Blue Chevrolet van towards the front seemed to be by ERTL. More americana by makers unknown. Corgi Lotus Elite was dusty but tidy. No JPS lettering, marking this out as a later example. The lack of Corgi branding, after the base tooling was used with blanks for a run of Marks & Spencer exclusive toys, also dates it. JPS Lotus F1 cars were also available in both kiddy-friendly and fag-happy liveries: The two late-70s/early 80s (?) F1 cars were by Polistil. We've seen these Hongwell soft-roaders before... pity the X5 and RX300 are both missing a roof rail. Slightly messy Lesney Scammell heavy wrecker was pretty much the oldest diecast item to be found on the stall today. Assorted trucks, but mostly modern-ish stuff. Some more of those 1990s release posh Matchbox Convoys, though - Kenworth and Peterbilt conventionals, in Corona and Pabst Blue Ribbon liveries respectively. Solido Land Rover SIII wagon still here, though tragically missing its rear door. Scammell Handyman Shell Tanker now missing its tractor unit! Dear oh dear. Escort Cosworth and Focus rallymobiles were fairly detailed, but I couldn't see a maker's mark anywhere on them. New Ray MGF and B; plus various racers from various eras. Some bigger F1 stuff at the back, too. Unimog was quite nice, though seemed an odd scale - bit less than 1/43, it appeared. But plenty of dust. More racer stuff. Focus is by Bburago; Vectra by Onyx. Not sure about the others, mind. Minichamps Scorpio estate just chillin' there with the fast bois. Seemed to be a fiver each on the loose smaller stuff. Plus there was some Ladybird bookshite to be found elsewhere on the stall... Some nice pics and illustrations in here. If you can bear the annoying cartoon child, that is. And other publications, indicating that weirdo collectors are nothing new... Now I'm not quite sure how my day's gonna pan out yet, BUT I'm in Belfast all day today and if I can, I'll try to get back over at lunchtime. So, if there's anything you're mad keen on, let me know and I'll see what I can do. But there were other stalls too...

Nimbo cumulus? Ah well.