andrew e

In Sainsbury's, and they seem to have a load of late 2023 and early 2024 Hot Wheels cases mixed in together across two dump bins...
Anyone mad keen on any of these?

Civic and Skyline are especially nice. I've grabbed one each for myself.
Annoyingly, Sainsbury's prices are quite high at £2.30 a throw - so I'm not gonna be buying any more speculatively tonight, but will be here for the next 30 mins or so!
If you want any, do shout...

The Cambridge is looking fab @danthecapriman Just how Corgi should have done it!
Despite feeling shit today (I've managed to catch covid) I got a few bits and bobs completed between bouts of coughing and sneezing.
Mini pickup has had the bits of glazing that show polished as much as possible and the interior painted with black humbrol satin. This model is made from one I got to use the interior on another which I'd ruined the plastics with thinners so the good bits are in a green van now. The rough bits are from stripping the new paint off after it reacted with something and I didn't go over the top cleaning it up where it will hardly be seen.

Anyway here it is all back together

For the number plate I gooled mini pickup and used a reg I found

I kind of tried to keep it looking like it was made by Corgi

Comparing to Van and Countryman

Yes the interior of the pickup went into the green one

I also finally put together a Corgi Elan I painted ages ago  after seeing one someone had on here 155V6 maybe? Anyway I liked the purple with white stripe so here's mine

Needed a repro screen and the steering wheel comes from a Maisto Porsche

The Bburago 900 Turbo that I added the Aero body kit to is done as well, I know it's LHD and I stuck a UK plate on it, but I couldn't work out what a period Swedish one would be like. Perhaps I should have put an Italian one on.

It didn't have a steering wheel (I mean it never had) and I fitted one from a Corgi, but did no other modifications as I didn't feel like it any more, but wanted to get it finished.

It is interesting seeing it with the other Saab models I have, the Dinky 96 and Polistil 99 from childhood

 
The 9.5 I got the other day intending to use the Aero wheels on the 900, but decided it's too nice to ruin, however I am always a bit disappointed when the tailgate of an estate doesn't open

The two 99s are very consistant in size from the front to the rear wheel, extra length is in the hatchback

The grill on the Polistil isn't great though

While looking for the Saab 96 and 99 I found the other two Dinky Mini Clubmans (Clubmen?) I have, one is MIB and the other I already had is not as good as the one I got at the weekend
Interestingly the worst one also has sparkly lights which are yellow (been replaced?)  and has a different number plate

During the afternoon a large box was delivered...

It must have taken @Dick Longbridge hours to wrap this lot up, thanks again!
Since I was a bit off colour I didn't feel like wasting the excitement of unwrapping it all so that will wait, but I had a quick peek...

As promised, the old Corgi A60 is painted!
I still couldn’t decide on colours. I very nearly painted it maroon with white stripe, but having tested the paint colour first I wasn’t convinced. 
But, to be honest the colour scheme corgi used was nice. It was just the L plates and roof wheel thingy that bothered me so I decided in the end, if it ain’t broke… or whatever!
So,


Lada Adriatic blue with a gloss white stripe. The blue will tone down a bit once it dries. 
The stripe was a bastard to mask up well. A combination of fairly rough casting edges along what would be bright trims on the real car and this particular car has some pretty heavy chips and dings in the same place so the tape was hard to cut where they were. But, it’s a toy that’s been played with over the past half century plus so what do you expect!
The good thing is though I can disguise the wavy edges between blue & white by painting in the bright trim which Corgi didn’t do. That’ll have to wait a few days though as the blue needs to harden off.
There is a bit of a ding/damage to the boot lid too which I didn’t fix, and a slight - very slight! - bend to the roof… but it’s an old toy!
Not sure if I’ll find a replacement front solid axle for this or just glue the original steering wheels in the straight position. 
Obviously the steering mechanism won’t be getting refitted so the steering wheels will just flop around independently of each other if I don’t glue them.
I still think Corgi missed a trick not releasing this model later, maybe by altering the tooling to remove the L plates and fill the hole in the roof, and punt it out in various colour combo’s but what’s done is done I guess! We’ll never know!

\

Some random shots from across France, some old some new all shite!
Will start off with a couple of blinders complete with failure to proceed!


Future shite we never got offered:

Where the streets have no shame:





Just parking….






French Ramrod:

FIN.

More rubbishy diecast disposals coming up in three, two, one...
 
 

That was my original intention! The Patrol photobombing was a bonus!

I had wondered what happened to this and was going to ask, but you beat me to it!
The one I had as a kid was a swap and I liked parking it and generally steering it around, but the L plates and huge red wheel always bugged me. I sold it on here last year!
Talking of the steering Corgis, I also had the VW polizei car but had really wanted the orange rally version in the shop window. Unfortunately the shop only had the former for sale so that's what I got for my birthday.

The development of the Steve Green Cortina





 

I did my own version of a hidden treasure Allegro quite a few years ago. It was for a mate and was a cruel reminder of his own car, languishing at the bottom of his garden!

And the real thing:

I actually did it from memory as I didn't have the pic, and I wish I'd spent more time getting the green slime right!

Nissan Terrano is it not? Novacar did a similar one in the 90s I'm sure.

This is the one I had. Mustard mitt, your one looks great.

This was my most played with car out of all the ones that were given to me by my dad and uncles. It even fitted on my Marchbox Play Track. My example is now on a Corgi Transporter!

The Frontera? They made the 3 door A under one of it's other names, the Isuzu Mysterious Utility Wizard Amigo
Here's an old custom to represent the one my ex wife had

 

Yes there was a Mk1 Granada, Rover P6, Triumph Stag, Vauxhall F-Type Victor, Triumph Dolomite and an Austin 1800.
Also a boy racer Transit in kind of Pepsi colours

I like the boy racer ones, especially the replica of Steve Green's Cortina
 

That’s lovely. Really well done when compared to an original.
That A60 was one of my biggest frustrations as a youngster though! I wanted a standard car not one with the big red thing on top and those cast in L plates really were a let down as they were impossible to get rid of without grinding the thing down. 
Im sure that would have sold well as a standard car too if Corgi would have done it.
Reminds me, I’ve still not finished my original one I’m converting into what Corgi should have done…

Forgot to flag this up when it arrived last week.

The rather delayed March 2024 release from Corgi Model Club - the #236 Austin A60 Cambridge Driving School Car.

I've been looking forward to this one.

A chod-tastic choice of subject matter, and really well executed.
Also a fine reminder of the days when a prospective driver was let loose in one of these vast understeering boats with huge overhangs fore and aft, rather than a nice compact Micra with power steering.

The steerable wheels are, of course, the main feature - but it's also a lovely rendering of some prime BMC grey porridge.
Hard to know whether the design impetus was to model a driving school car, or whether it was to create a miniature Cambridge, but the steering was added at a later stage of design for fear it'd be too dull for kiddy tastes otherwise.

The L plates front and back are highly visible, anyway - and the casting was never modified or used for any other Corgi release. 

The student and instructor figures inside add a further dash of realism.
While, inside the box, are replicas of some educational matter:

There y'go - a highly abridged 'Junior Highway Code', plus some handy European language vocab.

Still, pretty exciting stuff. It's kinda nice that Corgi continued this theme through the '70s with the Corgi Driving School VW Beetle (including cones), and into the 1980s with the 1/36 scale Triumph Acclaim/ Honda Ballade proclaiming the same.

Box looks enticing, too.

And the usual facts and figures info card.

At least these cards are easy enough to store, rather than the floppy A4 sized leaflets masquerading as a magazine which accompanied similar partworks sold through newsagents.
But stay!

I happen to have a moderately knackered original here too.

In terms of colour and detail, it's a good match.

Just the underside colouration is a bit different.

Marvellous. Love it.

Yes the Hidden treasures are not treasures at all. They are a good source for spares for other versions and then you can make them look more scrap than they already are.
The Allegro I had had less brown on it. I guess it was hand painted in the factory.

The weathered Land Rover is the same, with the dirt being inconsistent


I always thought the Marina was one of the better attempts with the coat hanger aerial and the dirty windscreen.

There are a couple of versions of the Transit

The Austin A30 Van is pants with the rust effect being were there is no actual seam.

The Sunbeam has a primered rear wing and what looks like a coated new wing. The roof rip is rubbish.


Reliant Supervan is waiting to be painted yellow like the one from Peckham. Extra points for Tax in Post on the screen.

Minor Pick Up with pealing red oxide primer

And finally the worst of the lot, the Minor Saloon resto that's half under a cover and guarded by a cat.

If you want an even cheaper source of parts then the Boy Racer series can usually pick up cheaply, and all the parts are shiney already.





 
Vanguards and Corgi have tried just about every angle over the years to sell some diecast, but these two series were scrapping the bottom of the barrel for me.

1 Citroen van as pictured, the Merc 450 Inourchased and the rest were red Corvettes with tampos and fairly modern Toyota 4x4 again with tampos.

Spotted this on the Liverpool Echo website but don't know how to link it.

Just how many of those 60th anniversary Majorettes are there?

OK, so been to Cora, and this is what they have:

1/64s:



1/18s:








I was very tempted by both the 635CSi and Aston Martin DB5 but although I can afford them, I've other stuff to pay for so don't want to leave myself without.
Solido also had some 1.43 cars, again, I was tempted by the M3:



Loved these Vespas, cheap too:

Eventually I settled on these 2:

I'd not seen a new release Mercedes 450 SEL by Majorette, I know they did a slightly poor proportioned one in the 80s (as I have one)



I was very tempted by this Porsche too but model buying was getting a tad OTT.

 

So, now I've got some actual time to myself, I went here:

Pêle-Mêle is a kind of bohemian/hipster second-hand bookstore. They also do other stuff like games consoles, model cars and trains, music etc...



EDL! (No, not those twats 🤣)



It's also a great place to get model cars.




Of course, I had to do a buyage (prices still on the cars/boxes)

Also, bought these the other day:

I've yet to go to the store where there is a load of 1/18s. I doubt I'll be buying anything though (or at least l, I hope not, I've got fuel and food to buy.

Postman brought this. A majorette I have not had before - I was envious of my junior school mates who had this.
I think it's only the second toy saab I have owned - I have a boxed matchbox sonnett but that's it saab wise.