AndyW201

Sadly no, I've been on the lookout for that since you put pictures up of it! 😆

@Spottedlaurel happy birthday! Had my weekly pilgrimage to Morrison's to get my unhealthy food stash for the Scotland truck run. I was pleased to find my local store has started doing diecast again, with Hot Wheels and Matchbox mainlines, along with some 1/43 Jada Star Car things, (KITT, BTTF DeLorean, F&F etc). Sadly the Hot Wheels and Matchbox were still old cases, the HW was the batch that Aldi got in months ago, and the Matchbox was that batch that has been everywhere since 2023, yep, the one with the green Ranchero and the blue Nissan Sentra... But it was encouraging all the same, that particular Morrisons has been one of my more successful hunting grounds over the years. It wasn't all bad news though, they had some Matchbox 5-packs in, and they looked like pretty new ones. I was going to get some pics, but loitering around Berwick Hills Morrisons early on a morning taking pictures of toys isn't the best of ideas... There were some nice packs, including a "British Roadways" one, with a Trafalgar blue-ish Minor saloon, The new Coffee Cruisers one isn't bad either, but this is one pack I couldn't leave behind, The Skyline GTX is still one of my fave castings, not a bad livery either, Not sure about the colour on this one, but I've been after one of these spaceship Civic Type Rs for yonks now, so it's nice to finally get one, First Matchbox Impreza too, though I've got quite a few Hot Wheels ones, The Mazda 3 looks quite sharp in white, Great colour scheme too on the 4-Runner.

Had a delivery today. A few years ago, there was a glut of Opel dealer models flooding onto eBay at heavily discounted prices. I had a Vauxhall at the time, (now the wife's car), and with the majority of them being made by Minichamps, and I can't resist a cheap Minichamps model, I snapped quite a few of them up. This was one I didn't manage to at the time, and has since proved quite hard to track down. This particular model appeals to me on a few levels, a love of sporty cars that you wouldn't expect to see a sporty version of, cars that answered a question that nobody asked, and cars that were everyday street furniture right up to the point when they suddenly weren't. So, a version of a car normally found in supermarket or garden centre car parks, but with a 178bhp turbo engine, low and stiff suspension, 17" wheels and batwing Recaro seats. It wasn't a bad time for Vauxhall back in the mid 2000s, with a modicum of BTCC success, and the whole VXR thing giving their image a bit of a shot in the arm, but the Meriva and Zafira VXR & OPC suggested something a bit stronger than Golden Virginia being passed around the table at Vauxhall/Opel marketing meetings... So, the Meriva could probably never be described as pretty but it looks pretty purposeful with the OPC (VXR to us) paraphernalia attached. One thing Minichamps manage to do well is capturing the lower ride height of the sporty models. Detailing is good, particularly the front and rear lights. Nice to see actual miniature Opel badges, rather than tampo printed, and the correct OPC tailpipe. The snowflake alloys are done well, with discs and nice painted calipers beneath. Even chassis and suspension detail is pretty good. Usual Minichamps detail inside, including those Recaro seats. Having owned a new Corsa C SXi many years ago, the dash is all familiar stuff. Being a reduced price dealer model, it is all a bit black and plain. I've seen the proper OPC-branded version in Arden blue and that has nice colour-coded seats and trim, but I'm not paying the price people ask for that version... Only problem with this is with paint imperfections, which seems to be a thing with Minichamps. A few of mine have gone like this, including this car's bigger brother, the OPC Vectra, which is the same colour. But they were a fraction of usual Minichamps money, so I'll live with it. This should go well with the rest of the All Voxalls R Shit collection, I've got a black Corsa C by Minichamps that I've had since I owned the real thing, which fits nicely with this, as well as a Vectra C OPC and OPC versions of the Astra H and J. I'm on the lookout now for the Minichamps dealer Zafira OPC, but seeing the prices people want for them, it'll take a while...

Possibly should be some susie coils on the back of the cab with some coloured wires representing the trailer air lines? I've got the Corgi Brian Harris ERF with crushed car load and the susies are on a small plastic block pushed into a hole in the rear of the cab. Then again, I can't see any small holes in the front of the trailer that the other end should push into. Bloody nice truck though, I love the styling of the Ergo cab.

Would anyone be interested in this? (Sold!) This Vanguards Crapi got damaged when a shelf fell on it and bust the windscreen. (A front spotlight has also been lost, never to be seen again.) I've fashioned a windscreen from a piece of clear plastic, not great but not terrible either. Only other fault is old sausage-fingers here also lost the front fixing screw when I had it apart, so another longer screw is in, but it holds the car together, and can't be seen when on display. Still a nice model that displays well, or good for a custom job. Has a nice set of Rostyles, and it's the GT XLR special version, with rear screen louvre and boot spoiler. Sold as unboxed, but would be packaged securely. I've now got a replacement cheap off eBay, which just needed the front bumper sticking back on, so this is surplus now. £9 posted anyone?

Looks like an early LX, they came with 13" wheels and those trims, with the red stripes.

I was thinking the same myself. It does look similar, ride height-wise, to my old car, that the trims came off, That had been lowered with 35mm GSF springs when I got it, I didn't even realise till the first time I had it on a ramp. Similar too to my other Nutria Brown 190. I did have this one lowered though...

Thanks to the hot tip on here, I've just nipped down to the local Lidl. As expected the bin was fairly well rifled through, so no Quattro or yellow Civic alas, (the two I was most after), but there were still a few worth having, Autoshite-themed surfboard on this version of the Landy, Don't normally go for the motorbikes or mopeds, (although I do quite like the Honda Cub casting), but I did like the look of this Vespa, Nice to see the Alfa in a road going colour scheme

Nipped to Tesco on the way to work. Nothing special there, M case Hot Wheels and the remainder of the last Matchbox dump with all the good stuff gone and only a few of those weird skinny tractors and 70th anniversary cop cars left. I did grab a Matchbox 5-pack while the Clubcard £5 offer is on though. As discussed on here before, multipacks can be a bit hit or miss, but I quite like the selection in this one Never had one of these Mini vans yet, it's nice, if a bit over-wheeled like all MB Minis. Mini Countryman isnt bad for a modern, but spoiled a little by the all plastic top half, Jeep Wagoneer looks nice with the faux wood panelling, And the Volvo V60 ia a nice casting still. It was the Merc S123 that I really got it for though... Quite close to the Terracotta colour that a lot of them came in, with a nice bit of tan MB-Tex inside. Quite a nice bit of detail inside too, for what is basically a pocket money toy.

Happy birthday!

Other arrival was this, Having a few sporty Escorts now, from MK1 to 5, I fancied a MK1 Focus to continue the line, and have been watching these for a while. Tickford had commissioned diecast retailer PDQ diecasts to have these made as a corporate gift to mark the Focus RS's 10th anniversary. A bit of a licensing fracas with Ford ensued, and by the time that was sorted, Tickford had been sold to Intertek, who weren't interested in the model. Leaving Dave at PDQ holding the baby, so to speak, and 2000 models to shift. Lately he has been selling some small batches at almost half price with small paint defects. They were cheaper than Vanguards/Minichamps to start with, so I finally got one as a late birthday present, after having them on eBay watch for years. This does have a couple of small spots, on the roof, I have a few Minichamps models with the same. Ah well, I'm not going to be able to retire on it as an investment, so it's going straight in the display cabinet anyway! It was cheap. It's made by Premium X so it's a well made thing, with plenty of detail. Like the real thing, it sits nice and low. Apart from the slight defects, the Imperial blue paint looks lovely too. Being a "premium" model, the badges are actual badges, not just tampo printed. Nice detailing on the rear screen too. Detail runs to brembo logos on the calipers, My shite phone camera doesn't really show it well, but interior detail is well above the norm, with realistic steering wheel trim and gauges, Decent heater controls and radio, Correct Sparco seats and seat belt buckles, Even the green starter button...

Slightly raised eyebrows from the Mrs when I got home, two packages landed today. First was a mini-haul from @danthecapriman. I'm secretly pleased with my self-restraint this time. Not being pissed this time round possibly helped as well... These Husky Commer walkthroughs are cute little things, Ive seen a few on here and wanted one for a while. I loved the real vans as a kid as well, there were a few working the streets in our area back in the day as mobile shops (ex mobile libraries), and fish & chip vans. The Corgi VW hot rod was one of my favourite toys when I was a kid, but for years I never even knew there was a standard Beetle by them too. This one is a nice clean example. As is this Datsun 260Z, same colour as the one I had. Another one I was completely unaware of until fairly recently. As a kid I had the Superkings A series U-Haul Luton van, but never came across this in the toy shops. I should be able to form a couple of tow hooks from some of the flexible wire we use to bundle up bandsaw blades at work. Replace the hooks and re-silver the wheels, and it should be reet. This Golf is almost box fresh save for a couple of small chips. My original one had barely a scrap of paint on, and no roof rack by the time I finally parted with it. I shall most likely treat this one to some repro surfboards. Always wanted one of these big Corgi Capris. This one's pretty good, it's all there, glazing is good and the tip up seat backs and steering wheel are still present. Not sure what to do with it yet, as my resto/modding skills are practically non-existent, but I do fancy this in LeMans green or Purple Velvet or something. This one is the highlight for me. Ice cream vans are a bit of a secret obsession of mine, and at the price Dan was asking for this, I had to grab it. It's far better than I was expecting. Tyres are all present and are in great condition, and it sits well on its suspension. Glazing is decent and should clean up well, I think there's a sliding window missing from this side, but it's the serving side anyway, so I'm not too fussed there. The server even still twirls away inside, This one will get a repaint soon, I'm looking forward to getting on with it. My intentions are to not restore it to shiny original Mr Softee spec, but as a 2nd or 3rd owner independently operated vehicle, like the slightly down at heel vans that were around in the '70s. Thanks again to Dan for more bargains and another cracking sale.

Tat box arrival, thanks to @bunglebus First off, filling in a couple more Corgi 1/36 gaps, for the ones I missed out on as a kid. This SD1 is in nice, tidy, slightly patinated condition, Just how I like them, although I have touched up the bumpers. It's a nice, weighty slab of a thing, a reminder of how getting one of these Corgis as a kid was quite an occasion for me. Used to love an opening tailgate and tipping parcel shelf. And an opening bonnet. Pretty good engine detail for the time. In the same category was this Fiat X1/9. Again, it's survived in pretty good nick, including the paper sticker on the frunk. Pretty sure this edition was part of a gift set with a powerboat in Carlsberg livery (Alcohol advertising on kids toys, those were the days, eh?) Nice engine detail, again. Smaller stuff now. I went through a bit of a late phase of buying Matchbox again around about 1986-87, it was the appearance of "realistic" subjects like the Astra GTE and Escort cabrio that did it. I did like the Land Rover Ninety, but couldn't find it in the shops at the time. Ive always liked the realistic colour schemes it came on, and the County-style side graphics. Another favourite of mine in '86 was the MK3 Transit, I had quite a few of those in different liveries. But I've never had the Smiley version. Not sure whether this was the old MK3 casting, tarted up or a whole new one. Obviously the base is different, the wheel arches seem to be a slightly different shape, and the tailgate has the later font on the Transit badge, Interior seems to be the same casting though. Some recent Hot Wheels too. Yet another Proton, and I was wondering whether I would even get one... And at long last I have a green Escort, While I like the race graphics on the white and red versions, I think I prefer this single colour version, as it looks more like a road car, and a bit like the Java green the real RS was offered in. Nice to see matching wheels on this one too... Another one I've failed to find, Smyths only have the ones left out of this collection that nobody wants, as usual. Obviously a standard Jetta/Vento would have been nice, but I'll take this one. I am tempted to try and remove the tampos on it, though and just have it as a plain, white kitted car. Very Max Power...

That's what I was thinking. From old pics I've seen of North Riding garages, (it's not there now), it seemed like a small rural garage, rather than a big plate glass dealership like you'd expect from a Merc main dealer. Much like our Sprinter vans at work, they get ordered from the main dealer in Stockton, but always arrive with Newcastle reg numbers, probably from their site in Killingworth.

Yeah, never thought of that, and I used to pride myself on being a bit of a reg number area geek! KH does seem a bit down the coast for N Yorks, However, According to the original invoice, it does seem to have been supplied new by North Riding Garages. Strange...

So, this is how it looked in last time. That arch gap had to go, didn't it Mr Crowther? I don't have the correct Mercedes spring compressors, and with my dodgy back being how it is right now, rolling about under a car on the driveway is the last thing I can be arsed with right now. So I paid a visit to my favourite scary bearded garage guy, with a replacement pair of front springs. Couple of hours later, this is how it was looking, Miles better, more or less factory standard now. I would like it lowered a bit, but the speed bumps in our area are a piss take. So much better to drive now too! It used to be quite vague and wandery on my daily dual carriageway commute, requiring constant steering corrections. Accelerating from a standstill, it used to squat quite badly and the front would go skywards. It would make pretty scary banging noises occasionally too, over speed bumps, Mick the mechanic reckons it was because the front was so high, there was virtually no travel on the shocks. Now it's lovely and smooth over bumps and a lot flatter when accelerating and cornering I wasn't taking any chances when selecting which springs to get, with this being almost Colin Chapman "add lightness" spec for an Elegance, (small engine, manual box, no Aircon, no leather,) I went for a pair of springs for the Esprit model, which were about 10-15mm lower than standard, and slightly uprated. I figured this would make up for the lower spec of the car. It's certainly helped the handling. There's a local classic car show in a couple of weeks, which I fancy taking this to. So while it's nice and clean, I'll be getting it jacked up tomorrow if the weather's nice again, or next weekend, and cleaning under the arches as the body colour can be seen under there, but a good scrub should have it gleaming. I'll have to see if my old, old stock of Auto Glym resin polish and sealant wax is worth using too.

That is superb! Very Onslow... I did similar a few years back, when a Vanguards Escort fell off a shelf and got pretty badly damaged, So it got an underseal tidemark all round, metallic brown front wings, (courtesy of a touch up kit from one of my old 190Es!), various giffer scrapes/gouges and a black rear arch replacement panel on one side, Just how I remember a lot of them circa 1988, and it got added to the other Vanguards Hidden Treasures cars as they never did a weathered MK1, surprisingly.

FTFY

It's amazing how many variants there are of those Avenger/1500 part work models there are, along with all the Chevette/Kadett ones. I've had my eye on those Dodge 1500 GT 90/100 ones too, they're pretty cheap from Jumajo. I think they're the Tiger-style ones. They've got slightly different front and rear light treatments to our UK Avengers, but I reckon they'd make a good base for some boy-racer style Avenger models.

Completely agree there. I did think the wipers looked a bit clunky, but that angle really shows it. I suppose being a cheapie partwork job (I think they cost the equivalent of a tenner or less where they're sold, complete with magazine), costs have to be saved somewhere. Other than the wipers, it can't really be faulted. Those Schuco Monzas, though, are something else altogether. I've got that, and the Senator, and they're about the best detailed models I've got, better than Minichamps even. No... No! You're correct actually. That definitely IS the wiper motor housing (And it can stop bothering me now... 🤣)

Aye, that's where I got this from, the guy goes under both names of Jumajo and 1:43 man, I've had a few good partwork model deals from them now. The Dodge was slightly more expensive as it seems to be the most sought after out of that collection, but ended up being just over £20 all-in, not too bad considering it came from France.

Birthday today, so a bit of diecast to open. Not sure if @danthecapriman had acquired one of these among his impressive recent partwork jamboree, so apologies if it's already been seen. But I've been after this one for ages! I've got a few of the Vanguards Hillman Avenger saloons, so when I saw the Dodge 1500 Rural from the Argentinian Salvat Inolvidables partwork by Hachette, I've set my sights on one, as it's more or less a Chrysler Avenger estate. Sadly the only ones seemingly available in this country are the ACA automobile club version Nice, but I did just want a standard version, so would have to get rid of the signwriting and the stuff on the roof. Then came this nice plain metallic blue version, but I've only ever seen it previously on eBay from South American based sellers, at around £30 with about another £30 in postage. Nah! So I bided my time, and waited to see if that nice Jumajo in France got hold of them. Which they did. And I'm pretty chuffed with it, it'll make a nice contrast with the Hillman saloons. Not sure who makes it, (my guess was IXO, but there are normal cross head screws on the base, rather than the weird triangular slot ones). Apart from the tiny Dodge badge on the bonnet, it's just like a UK Chrysler one at the front. Not bad at the rear, (although the tower for the rear mounting screw on the inside of the tailgate jars slightly). The flat bit on the roof is a bit odd, probably a hangover from the roof rack of the ACA version. Love the Rostyles though! Interior, such as it is, is pretty good for a cheapie partwork model, especially the odd Alpine-style single spoke wheel. Brings back memories of BYG 745T, my Dads old Avenger DL in brown with all-brown interior Can still smell that hot vinyl!

If there's still a Jetta available Rich, can I take one? Cheers.

Some (limited success) from the local outlets. Smyths was a waste of time again, old mainlines and only a few premium Hot Wheels lines, with all the sought after ones gone. Shit loads of those new Fast & Furious ones with, surprise surprise, not one Jetta to be found... Big Asda had a recent case in, for once the rummage bin hadn't been rifled through much so managed to find mint carded versions of the Proton and Civic, so the mangled ones I got the other week can be set free. I think everyone here has the Proton now? If not I have a spare, Was pleased to find the purple Skyline too, really like this casting although the first red and black factory original spec release is still my favourite, Unusual to have quite an intricate tampo print, and decent rear detailing too, Another sought after one, we might be about 6 months behind in Middlesbrough, but we're getting there... Tesco had the remnants of the recent Matchbox case in seen above, with the blue F-150, green Golf, Gold Mazda CX5, etc now all gone, but missed this the first time round. Much nicer than the HW Fiat 500 IMO, Still missed out on the Moggie though. FML... Went over to TK Maxx too. There were some new stocks of Majorette, though not to the extent that some of the folks on here have found. No Volvo estates alas. There was some interesting stuff though, in among the 2 pack trailer sets, there was the quite nice LR Defender and airstream caravan pairing that nearly tempted, a couple of colour-change editions, a few Volvo bulk tippers with special Volvo branded card packaging and was nearly tempted again by a MAN recovery truck with sliding bed and a Lambo on the back of it. But the clash of scales between truck and load made my teeth itch... So I got these in the end, Yes, to most it's a hideous modern blob, (to the point I had to zoom in with my camera lens on the boot badge to see which model of DS it is) but the reason I've loved Majorette for decades is the fact that they've always done normal, everyday stuff like this. And I like to think in maybe 40 years time this'll be posted excitedly on an internet diecast thread after being rescued from a Tat box like we would with a Majorette Alpine or Peugeot 604 today... Again, I'm probably more excited than I should be about finding a toy Ford Focus, but it's a MK4 and I've so far never seen one in miniature. Love the colour too, and being an ST makes it a bit spicy... Great detailing at the front, glazed lights, and the tiny badging is superb at this scale and price. And this is a bit of an unusual one. I have the previous shape Majorette Twingo, but this the first one I've got of this shape. I didn't know Majorette were also doing chase cars, but it appears they do. A Glitter effect chase car no less. And it does sparkle. Obviously not going to be worth big bucks like the Hot Wheels or Matchbox chase cars but it's a nice novelty.

New arrival time. Another Vanguards, for which I can only apologise, but another one I've been chasing for quite a while. I've always liked the UK version of the Peugeot 205 Rallye. Not to be confused with the French market mad, lightweight, twin-carbed rally homologation job, what we got was more of a pared down 1.4 XS with stripes, colour coded steels and special interior. There are a few model makers that have done the French market Rallye but as far as I know, only Vanguards have done the UK version, and only in Express yellow. I've not had a Vanguards 205 yet, they always seem to go for big money, especially the Rallye, and that version doesn't come up for sale that often. So this time, I've had to go down the unboxed route, the fact this one had bits missing kept the price down too. Apart from the missing wipers and aerial, which I'm not too fussed about at the moment, the main things missing on this one were the mirrors. With Vanguards, it used to be just a case of contacting Corgi for spares and more often than not, they'd send replacements out if they were in stock. Now they're just not arsed. Sets of genuine mirrors sometimes come up on eBay, but people ask almost the price of a complete model for them. I did however come across a manufacturer of 3D printed model accessories on the bay, and they had a style that looked very similar to facelift 205 mirrors. These were duly purchased for a couple of quid. Quick coat of black, and they were fitted. So, they do look a bit oversized for a 205, but I think it looks better now. The lack of wipers at the front doesn't really show, I think a cut down bristle from the yard brush, painted black, should make a replacement aerial, I've done that before. The model itself is pretty good, with all the usual Vanguards detailing. Only real let down is that this release seems to suffer from slightly over thick application of the paint, which does affect the sharpness off shut lines and some body contours. The Rallye stripes and decals are all nicely done, And those yellow steels look great. I was a bit peturbed at first to see that they modelled the 14" ones from the 106 Rallye rather than the 13" ones the 205 had, but this is correct as the real K988 VTT had the 106 ones fitted. Interior, like most Vanguards of the time, is a sea of black and hard to photograph, but there is a decent rendering of the 205 dash, a GTi style wheel and the bolstered sports seats. So another 'wanted' model crossed off the list, and being cheap and unboxed, it'll be good to join the other '90s warm and hot hatches in the display cabinet. The hunt goes on for a reasonably priced boxed example though,