AndyW201

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,

Christ, that kid loitering around the Superfasts could be 1980s-me!

Nothing much new in the usual haunts. Got this recently in the post, many thanks to @Spottedlaurel for grabbing it for me. The one variant in this series I've been unable to find. One of my favourite castings too. And being a semi-premium, it gets a bit more detail than the mainline versions I've got before, Having already found the Camaro, Charger and 240Z, I think I can fight my not-a-completist tendencies and not bother with the rest of this collection Though I probably wouldn't leave the RX8 behind if I came across it... Also got this to make the postage up a bit. Already have a long card one, but it's such a nice thing, I can open one up now.

I remember the Australian LTD being in the UK Ford brochure in the early '80s. A not-very-successfully stretched and tarted up Falcon XD.

Yesterday, the missus handed me this, As a super-fan of the drama series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (see profile pic), this caused much excitement, as I knew they'd recently done a re-release on these., Yay! Another TV/film vehicle for the collection. The 1/43 version of the Bedford HA van as driven in series 2 by one Barry Spencer Taylor, ace electrician, prince of trivia, and one-time Wolverhampton and District Sunday Methodist table-tennis champion (mixed doubles) Great for doing quick getaways from gamekeepers after fishing for trout... Not so good for transporting coving... The first release some years ago sold out straight away and has commanded high prices since. However in a commendable (and rare) example of a model company listening to requests, Oxford announced two more short runs last week, (which also sold out in less than a day), and unbeknown to me, the missus had put herself on Oxfords mailing list and got one ordered as soon as she got the email to say they were in stock, bless her. So, yeah, the Oxford HA has come in for a bit of criticism regards proportions, detail, etc. But screw it, it's still a HA van, it's a fairly old casting now, and no bugger else makes one. To my eyes, it's not that far off anyway, seeing as the real life vehicle looks like it was designed on an Etch-a-Sketch... I suppose the main fault with this version is that it's not weathered, like the real film vehicle was, but at the price that Oxford knocks these out at, its probably not possible. At least the blue lower half is done in a semi-matt finish so it doesn't look too new and shiny. And the font on the signwriting is fairly faithful, including the off-centre "B Taylor" where it had been hastily painted over the original owners name. The ladder is a nice touch as well, as is the painted brightwork on the windows, takes away the cheapness somehow. Main point of criticism among collectors on the HA seems to be on the headlights, which to be fair, look like they were taken from a slightly startled Foden S80. Grille and badging are pretty decent, although Barry's van did have the later black grille. Back end detailing, such as it is, isn't bad either. Earlier badge again though. All the same as a massive fan of the programme, I'm happy to finally have one of these, would have been nice if they'd done Dennis's VW T2 in 1/43 to go with it. (They did do it in1/76 though) What do you reckon Barry? "Uh... yeah, Bostin'!"

Same here, the colour really appeals to me. Wouldn't mind, they were on Hattons site for £23 when they were doing the closing down sale, but I wasnt quick enough, the scalpers will have got them all.

Gorgeous! 199 Blue-black with mushroom leather by the looks of it, perfect combo.

Time for some Thursday Trucking Tacho-break Tat, It's taken me a year to get one of these, but it came on eBay with a seller I've bought from before, at a hugely discounted price. It's the original black release of the RS Turbo that goes for the most money, along with the white and red ones, as those two were only available as part of a box set, so are hard to get on their own. I was glad to get an offer on this then, as for me, Mercury Grey is THE colour for a MK4 RST. Usuall detailing here, the correct vents and '90 spec bumper are there, along with nicely done spotlights. Rear features the '90 spec spoiler and correct chunky back box for the Turbo version. Nice rear decals too. Great interior detailing too, the two tone grey Recaros look spot-on. Only half-assed gripe is the wheels. The spokes look decent but the wheel nuts are poorly defined and can't be seen from a distance. Still, after getting the Vanguards MK4 XR3i, I've been wanting an RS Turbo for a while, and in this scale, its only really this one, or the hard-to-get Neo version for about four times the price. This will do nicely.

Thanks all for all the positive comments so far! Having had the three generations of baby-Benz, I can say this one feels more "classic", owing a lot more to the 190s than the W203, with almost identical front and rear suspension, and a steering box, as on a 190. The way the doors shut, and things like the big steering wheel, the short throw and lovely mechanical feel of the manual gearshift, the font on the instruments and the leccy window switches on the centre console all take me back to the feel of the 190s too. To drive, it's no ball of fire, (it's one supercharger and about 30 horses down on the newer car), but it doesn't get left behind either, and the ride is lovely. It's an older Merc in looks and feel but still eminently usable as an everyday car. I'll probably miss Aircon in the summer, but at least there's a fully operational sliding sunroof there. I'm pretty sure late in '98, for the '99 model year, all C Classes got Aircon and leccy windows all round as standard, so this will have just missed it. By then, I don't think there was much in it between the top and bottom of the range, barring alloy wheels. The Elegance was just the Ghia of the range with extra chrome trim and more wood inside. Its been mentioned often that with the 190 and early C Class, Mercedes built a Sierra, and having driven many Sierras for a living back in the '90s, its not far wrong.

I have been thinking along the lines of H&R springs for it. Over the last 25 or so years, every car I've had, bar one, has had either factory sports or aftermarket lowered suspension. Now though, with approaching a landmark birthday and suffering from gout and sciatica, especually in the weather we're currently having, I'm quite liking driving a car that "floats". Compared to the W203 which has the AMG sport suspension pack and 17" wheels, driving over a loose stone in the road feels like going over a brick in that This one definitely needs that front end to come down somehow though.

So, after six 190Es, two W202 C Classes and one W203, I was going to give Mercs a rest and was happily shopping for a nice, simple uncomplicated FWD hatch among Astra H and Js and MK2 Focuses (Focii?). I soon found 2 grand or so still doesn't get you a hell of a lot, and I started fancying something that was a bit retro but still usable. I started looking at MK1 Skoda Octavia VRSs again, my old black one was one of my favourite cars I've ever had, as well as one of the most reliable. Sadly, trying to find a nice, original one of those that hasn't been de-catted, with "300 brake pop & bang remap M8", and rattle canned knock-off Audi S4 alloys is near impossible, especially finding one that wasn't hundreds of miles away. Then, while looking at older cars, I noticed that there were a lot of low mileage, tidy looking W202 C Classes coming out of the woodwork, now that a lot of the old rusty sheds are starting to die off. On the whole, apart from predictable rust issues, I hadn't really anything bad to say about the ones I had previously owned, 2.0 Esprit manual. Owned 2006-2008. Replaced a 190E. Low mileage, nice to drive and mechanically trouble free. Needed rust repairs at 8 years old! Replaced by another 190E... Another one in Azurite blue, 2.0 Elegance auto. Owned 2018-2019, was a temporary car to get me out of the shit when the Octavia failed it's test. Was a great winter beater, and went on to be owned by a few more shiters on here. And I fancied an older car again to do things like Drive It Day, and a few local shows. There's an old car show near me they do a couple of times a year, that you just turn up to and park up on the show field, and they're not snobby or arsey about what they let in. I fancied a car I could maybe take there. Now the oldest W202s are over 30 years old, they're just about starting to be regarded as a classic-in- waiting, rather than a rusty disposable shed (and prices seem to be reflecting that.) Problem was, there were still no prospective cars anywhere within a few hundred miles... Until this showed up on eBay, in Stockton, 5 miles away! C180 Elegance manual. Now, it was a grey, miserable day when I took the photos of this car., so they don't really do the colour justice. There were a lot of early W202s finished in red, but the old Imperial red is a bit darker. The later Magma red is so much brighter and more vibrant, I've only ever seen the Sport and Esprit models in this, it's such an unlikely shade for an Elegance, I love it! Yes, something needs to be said about the comedy ride height. The previous owner took it in to a local garage late last year for a service and new discs and pads. They advised him that the (original) front coil springs were starting to show some surface corrosion and the PO had them fit a new pair. So something has gone awry, my guesses are either, 1) using generic, non -genuine springs with the wrong rating for the bottom spec 1.8 engine. 2) front wishbones have been torqued up on a ramp with the wheels off the ground or 3) Front shocks on their way out, I've seen it happen on these and 190s, as the springs are so long and under so much tension, when the shocks are knackered, the springs push the front of the car right up. Does seem like something to do with those new springs though, This is a pic from the dealer that the PO bought the car from a year ago and it looks a lot happier on its original springs. I'll get it in to my tame mechanics soon and get it looked at . (That dealer was asking 5 grand for it, although it only had 44k miles on then. I certainly didn't pay that!) So, it's a three elderly owner, 50,000 genuine mile example. Real giffer spec for one of these, someone really wanted a top of the range C Class but weren't prepared to tick any of the option boxes, so as well as the non-metallic paint, we have, Manual gearbox, No air-con (leccy sunroof though), Cloth seats. Check out those mint bolsters though! Ordered new from North Riding Garages of Pickering (Bangers & Cash country!). Pleasingly, the original dealer plates remain, old style font FTW! It does have history to back up the mileage, although it does seem to have been serviced on a mileage basis, rather than time. It also seem to have spent some periods being laid up, and has also obviously spent a lot of time being garaged as the paint is in really good condition, still vibrant, shiny, largely fade free, and no laquer peel whatsoever. Bodywork is, really really good for one of these, probably near-mint in fact. Considering how 1998-onwards cars like to eat their own front wings, this front wing is near perfect apart from some slight bubbling behind the mudflap, hasn't broken the paint yet though. There's a small area of bubbling (less than fingernail size) at the very leading edge of this wheel arch, right above the bumper. Door bottoms are mint, even on the inside Rear arches are as clean as a whistle, even inside the inner lips. Want to get this thing Lanogarded to within an inch of its life though. Drivers side lower dogleg section has a thumbnail sized area of bubbling that will need sorting. And the usual top corner of the number plate recess (TADTS). So far though, that is it for bodywork blemishes. I think that for a 25 year old one of these, it's one of the better ones out there. Wheels were refurbished late last year, when the car was serviced, tyres were replaced at the same time, they're off-brand (Tracmax. No, me neither...) but are all-weather apparently.... The grey cloth interior is again, practically faultless. The seat pattern is still vibrant, carpets have been protected by the original ribbed Merc mats and rubber mats on top of those. Vibrant orange instrument needles! always used to be a cause of excitement in 190 circles in showing that a car had been garaged away from UV rays... Nice period window stickers, still in good condition. I do want to find a nice, period Blaupunkt stereo for it eventually, the modern Pioneer one currently fitted is good, but a bit out of place. Interesting how Blaupunkt re used their old stickers by just laying a picture of a keycard not very subtly over the old "CODE" logo... Nice and clean under the bonnet, And inside the boot. So, unexpectedly, back in an older Merc, but so far, small niggles aside, I'm very happy with it..

This is the post from the last time I owned a W202 C Class. All things considered, it wasn't a bad car for the small amount of money I paid, and went on to be a bit of a forum bike. After a fraught two and a half years with a W203, which looked like it was going to cost about three times what it was worth to get it through it's next test, I was on the lookout for a nice, simple "an car" and have a rest from slightly old Mercs for a while. Yeah, I did well there, more to follow...

That Skoda was my favourite Matchbox release at the time, just for the fact they actually did a Skoda 130, probably the Hot Wheels Proton of its day. Mark, one of my mates at school was a fellow model car nut, rally car fan and loved Eastern European cars, (his dad had had various rear engined Skodas and his brother had a Polonez Prima). He must have had at least 50 of those Matchbox Skodas at the time, most with different rally liveries added by him. I've always wanted to do a road version with one as a 130LSE with vinyl roof, probably in the Terracotta colour the posh versions always came in.

So, the last few other bits found recently, At the B&M next door to Tesco, I found a few of these F&F editions. I managed to get all 10 of the last collection, but these seem to be it for this one. Naturally the Skyline 2000 GTX was nowhere to be seen, but these aren't bad models in their own right, barring the Crass & Spurious connection, I was pleased to find the Datsun, as it seems to be another sought-after one. Being a semi premium (but without real riders wheels) edition, these do have a nice bit of tampo detailing. And I do always love a '70 Charger, Smyths, as usual had nothing apart from a dozen or so each of the Boulevards that no one wants, shit loads of the £9.99 Jay Leno sets (that seemingly no one wants, though I'm tempted to get one just for the Mercedes renntransporter thing), loads of empty shelf space and a load of mainlines from 3 or 4 cases back. However there were a few of these, which have always intrigued me, And, after I ignored the silly generic castings, I found a few that seemed to be the desirable ones. Apart from the Focus. Predictably that one had sold out. Again, semi premium, so as well as the neon tampons, you also get all the light, grille and badge detailing. I just wish they'd bring this Golf out as a nice, normal factory spec mainline... The Civic EK9 is one of my favourite current castings,

Had to get in a bit of late night shopping on the way home last night, first day driving the recently-acquired W202 as well. Amazingly, our local Tesco, a barren wasteland when it comes to fresh diecast, actually had some newer Matchbox in! Now I'm not anti-modified cars by any stretch, I've owned quite a few, but it has to be said that Matchbox are really knocking it out of the park lately with nice, standard looking releases with factory colour schemes and graphics, etc. This F150 being a good example. A lot of the time, I'm starting to prefer the Matchbox releases over Hot Wheels. Just a shame Matchbox are even harder to get in my neck of the woods... This is the first of the Renault Kangoo casting that I've bought, it's the first livery of it that I've liked. For a smol commercial vehicle, it's nicely finished and detailed. Shame they don't do the Mercedes Citan version but you can't have everything... Have to say, like, they do love their modern SUVs... Saying that, I'd rather see a case full of real cars like these than a case full of airport tugs, speed cameras or fantasy shite like mobile toilets or dildos or whatever... This is a casting I've not seen before, this another example of the Matchbox version being far more attractive than the Hot Wheels IMO, Of course, my favourite find was this, What a little sweetie! I think this just pips the silver GTi to be my favourite version of the Golf. No Volvo alas, but I was chuffed just to find some newer releases. Some new Hot Wheels too, but after a hoik around, I didn't find much. Doesn't look like this case is one of the classics .. I've now got this, and the Turquoise one. I know they're both Barbie branded releases but this Corvette casting is a really nice one. First time I've seen this 'Cuda in the wild too, with the new wheels, Let's hope, as @bunglebus alluded to in an earlier post, that Entertainer taking over Tesco's toy supply might mean newer stuff appearing more regularly. Not that our Entertainer is much use on that score...

Theres also a JDM style version made by First43, available in a more realistic silver or red. A lot dearer but it looks more detailed. My parents had a metallic dark blue B11, but a 2 door saloon, B829 MPY. it was the first brand new car they had, they had quite a few Nissans after that. Later on, in 1990, when I was doing a training scheme at a local Rover dealer, I saw CKK 517Y, an immaculate metallic green Sunny 4 door in the compound. They had just got it in as a part ex, and after some enquiries by the mechanic who I was working with, the sales manager said I could have it for the £500 they gave for it. I was just a few weeks from turning 17, so my dad drove it home. Sadly it didn't work out well (for me anyway), as my sister passed her test a few months before me, and my parents sold her the Sunny from under my nose, for the trade price I paid for it. Relations were strained in that house for some time, I can tell you...

Have had quite a bit of diecast come through the door lately (I'm expecting a couple more this week) so might have to wait a few weeks! Seems to be a few on eBay,

Shitting Blazes! That is amazing! Apart from being non metallic, that is practically the same as the first car I bought. I need to get one of those.

Good point regarding the 1/76 range, and Oxford do some great subjects in that scale. It just would be nice if a couple of them could be done in 1/43 too. The Firenza is a great example, I got mine the moment it came out and it still has pride of place in my display cabinet. I've not bothered with the Cortina, I already have a Dragoon red Vanguards tin top version, and a Lotus tin top so I've never really felt the need to get a Crayford one. Apart from the LR Discovery, Volvo Amazon, Datsun 240Z and Lotus Elan though, there is nothing else in that 1/43 range that grabs me though. Although they need to be commended for having the balls to produce that Morrisons Bedford CF ice cream van. When they do it in a livery that I like (picky bastard me!), I will be having one or two. 5 years or so ago, I'd have laughed if anyone had suggested a 1/43 scale Metro, Maestro or Montego. And Lyndon Davies has always dug his heels in and said it will never happen as there isn't the market. But out of nowhere, came that Greek partwork IXO Montego and collectors went mad! Punters over here were paying £60-£70 for those when they first hit eBay. And after getting hold of the 1/76 Maestro, I'm convinced the time is right for a 1/43 version. Opaline green MG? I'll say!

Agree 100% to all of the above. Development & tooling costs, along with wages in the Chinese factories have, like everything else, rocketed, coupled with the fact that the market has suffered to such an extent that almost every Vanguards release is now down to around 1000 units, compared to 2500-3000 in years gone by. So it's not surprising we see re colour after re colour of the same castings, and it's something the manufacturers have to bear in mind when considering new subjects. Will there be enough interest to support several releases?

Yes, those Atlas police cars are a good way of getting a Vanguards model at a lower price, especially if you're going to code 3 them. I picked up the Cortina GT pretty cheaply, mint and boxed with only one of the searchlights missing. I went for that version as, at the time, it was the only version of that casting with the proper GT tombstone seats. This became a weathered shitbox-spec boy racer GT. I did the same to one of the Marinas as it was a cheap way to get hold of a Vanguards Marina 1.8 TC. I do share the frustration over the partwork stuff that is available in Europe, and further afield, while we get shite all. Luckily sellers like Jumajo in France and Bimax in Italy have been a good source for filling in gaps in the collection, at still fairly reasonable cost. The irony is that Atlas did look at doing a modern-ish classic partwork collection over here a few years ago, using Vanguards castings. They got as far as a prototype Daytona yellow Cortina MK3 GT and promotional material, then promptly canned it. What could have been, eh? Like others, I also share the frustration over the Vanguards range, but it's a sad fact that Hornby are seriously in the shit, probably over the bad decisions made on the railways side, as mentioned previously. Corgi seems to be the only part of the business that's doing well, so they need to concentrate on what sells well. Fords sell well. Other marques do not, it's as simple as that. I was as bemused as anyone else when the modern Transits and Rangers were brought in, but they have sold like hot cakes, I think even Corgi have been surprised how well they've done, I even have to admit to having bought one of the Tangerine Focus STs, as I like the colour, and I do love a hot hatch... Sadly other marques havent done so well. The fairly recent series 2 Jag XJ and Triumph TR6 are fantastic castings but have been relatively unsuccessful. The Jags are still on the website, and still haven't sold out, despite being reduced in price. Same goes for the last releases of the Cavalier MK2 and Astra GTE, the Cav took 4 years to sell out. To put that in perspective, that was only the 6th version of a pretty popular casting, and it struggled. In January, they brought out the THIRTY NINTH version of the MK1 Escort. Guess what? Flying off the shelves! Every Ford box set sells out despite the slightly ridiculous pricing, the Triumph set they brought out recently, bombed. A lot of communication has been made to the head of Vanguards by one of the guys on the Facebook page, who has done polls across a lot of the diecast pages to get a good idea of what people want, and to their credit, they have at least acknowledged it (which is an improvement on before), promised to take it on board and they have promised more of an emphasis on "British heritage". Regarding that, we'll have to wait and see... Pricing wise, hmm yeah. But frankly, if you pay the full RRP for a model, you need your head looking at. Most recent Vanguards purchases I've managed to find for a good chunk under the RRP and for a couple of quid more than an IXO model (the properly packaged releases, not the more basic partwork releases, most of the time I find it worth it for things like a metal base, spring suspension, RHD, better interiors and proper UK reg plates. For example, I fancied an Escort Cosworth Monté, in Jewel Violet. Both companies did one and the Vanguards one beat the IXO one hands down. And if a Vanguards model is expensive, don't look at the price of a new Norev, Trofeu, Neo or Maxichamps model, let alone the likes of BHM or Silas.... Bit of a wall of text there, but to sum up, as a fan and collector of Vanguards for decades, I'm as pissed off as anyone else with the lack of Vanguards variety (and Oxford Diecast for that matter, look at what you can get in 1/76 compared to 1/43), but I can at least sort-of understand the reason for it.

Cogbox other brands, This one I was really looking forward to receiving! 1/76 isn't really a scale I go for much, but I had to have one. For it's diminutive size, it's captured very well and the detailing is good, particularly the Austin-Rover grille badge. Again, at the rear, the badging is superb. How they do it at this scale, I don't know. The black trim around the rear screen and side windows is particularly neat as well. Interior detail is good too,again for the scale, While I disagree with some of the brickbats thrown at Corgi and the Vanguards range, I can only agree 100% that the boss of Corgi/Oxford needs to stop ignoring collectors and get a Maestro done in 1/43. Being an idiot who likes German saloons, I put my hand up for this Cararama BMW thinking it was an E46 3 series and thought it would go well with my Cararama W203 C Class. Sadly it turned out to be an E39 5 series, but all the same, it's not a bad model. Bar an odd mark on the windscreen, it's in pretty good nick. Obviously these are made down to a low price, but on the whole, they don't look too cheap. Nice glazed lights, and the wipers aren't too clunky for a cheapie, but it's a shame the tampo printer slipped with the kidney grills... Again glazed tail lights and decent badges, but for some reason, someone's shoved an M5 style quad exhaust system onto a 528i... Following the Abrex Skoda Superb dealer model I got recently, I was glad Tim grabbed me this Octy for a fiver. Missing the cardboard outer packaging but the plinth looks good and the almost opaque acrylic case looked better after a polish up. The model itself is in great condition, the paint has a nice deep shine. The shape of the Octavia is captured perfectly. A Mk2 2.0TDi was the last car I drove as a cabbie and it was a decent place to spend a long shift. Like the Superb, detailing is to the usual modern Euro model standard. Great badging, strange to see a diesel version modelled, though apart from the VRS versions, that's likely how the majority of Mk2 Octys were ordered... Interior detail includes the sat nav screen, and even the rear seat belts, This was an unexpected one. I thought Tim was keeping this one for a while, so it was a nice surprise to find it in the box. I'm a real perv for dealer models, especially promo ones that weren't for general sale. My fave is this Vauxhall/Saab one launching the 1.9 CDTi/TiD engines, featuring a Minichamps Astra H Quite rare too, as the Minichamps Astra is next to impossible to get in RHD Vauxhall form. Must see how it compares to the Vanguards one. Ive also got one of those MK1 Laguna ones, as talked about on here recently with the massive display box This one's great, the turntable moving the car round with a little thumbwheel. The model itself, being a Norev is also superb with all the detail you'd expect. Thanks again to Tim for keeping hold of all this and apologies for taking up so much house space...

Finally got around to sorting out the Cogbox that recently arrived. I have to admit to not really knowing how much Friday market tat I had saved up, big thanks to @Datsuncog for keeping hold of it for so long! I was in two minds to post a lot of this on, after the Vanguards vitriol on here of late and the kicking that the last Vanguards purchase got. (tailpipe-gate). But what the hell, the pictures have been taken so here we are... From the earlier yellow box days, I didn't actually really go for Vanguards back then as 1/43 collecting hadn't got as much under my skin. I did get a couple of the Anglia 105Es as my dad had owned a real one and I'd always wanted a nice model of one. Its in very nice condition, this P6. The packaging is immaculate and the car even still has the clear plastic protector on the roof. Sadly the chrome on the bumpers has suffered but that should be easily sorted. Early Vanguards days so we have cast-in wipers, painted lights and solid suspension. Bonus points though for a decent representation of the 2000 wheel trims. The shape is captured well, the casting lived on quite a while, being upgraded to series 2 V8 spec. This will compare nicely with the Mexico brown V8S that I also have. Massive number plate font but nicely done Viking badge. Not bad interior detail for the time. In some ways better than some later Vanguards with the black trim on the dashboard and black steering wheel. A lot of later releases had one colour for the whole interior moulding. A nice early version of the Rover and another gap filled! Another one I didn't get at the time. Again, the box is in great condition. Sadly the model itself looked like it was grabbed from a dusty display shelf and shoved in the box. But it cleaned up nicely! In great condition generally, again the chrome has suffered a bit but not as bad as the Rover. Pleasingly the mirrors have never been fitted and are still sealed in the bag. Nice front and rear detail. The Capri badge looks nice. Some body colour and a splash of silver helps the dashboard detail, with an optional radio seemingly fitted. Nice wheel too. Moving on a bit, kind of phase 2 for the range and around the time I really started to get into the range with the introduction of castings I was really interested in like the Allegro, Marina and MK1 Granada. Better detailing too like body mouldings and badging, photo etched wipers, less generic wheel designs, better lights and sprung suspension. Groo! Out with the wipes and polishing cloth again. This one also came up nicely! Mirrors still sealed in the bag with this one too. Always been a fan of the Farina's styling. As a kid in the late '70s-early '80s there were still quite a few kicking about as daily drivers. One thing that I like about this release is the slightly incongruous white and yellow plates on it Reminds me of the Farinas I saw as a kid having had a mid '70s cosmetic tart-up with a blow-over respray and new reflective plates fitted. One of my all time favourites Vanguards castings, the MK1 Granny/Consul. (Barring the slightly too-small wheels...) I'm actually undecided what to do with this one now. I was after a cheap, rough police GT to rob the spotlights and wheels to GT-ise a base Consul in the collection. In the market report pics this one looked ideal as it looked quite dog-eared. But apart from the small bits of paint loss at the front, it's actually pretty nice. The roof box and light are actually intact, unusual for cheap police versions. I've always liked the fact the Lancashire police cars were modelled with the missing section of livery, as on the real cars (specified because of spills from the fuel filler). A nice companion for the Pat Moss A40 rally I got last year. In lovely condition, even has the protective tissue paper from the factory. I love models with hubcap-less steelies! The real car as modelled was apparently Graham Hill's Speedwell-tuned A35 but it reminds me of something a yoof would have blezzed around in in the '60s or '70s. Only needs a bit of chequered tape and a couple of STP stickers... And a bit of a departure now. Fully into the Corgi era now, even though the Lledo name was still clinging onto the packaging. So, around this time, they went "a bit Minichamps" with a mixture of old, modern-classic and current models. The slide-off lid boxes were replaced with plastic plinths and acrylic cases and detailing went up a notch. Sadly the more modern subjects were, to put it mildly, unsuccessful, (although time has been kind to some of them and castings like the Mk2 & 3 Cavalier, Nova SR, L322 Range Rover, Mk2 Golf, Peugeot 205 and 309 are now a lot more sought after). The Vanguards Astra H actually sold very well in police trim (and weirdly, as an RAC driving school car) but in ordinary road trim, they were hard to shift and could be had on eBay for years for a few quid. Strangely though, as the H has got popular with the banger racer fraternity, the model versions have been hoovered up by guys on the banger models sites, I saw one the other day on the Frizy Banger Models page on FB go for £15 and it was only the shell, baseplate and wheels... This one's in far better nick, even the usually-lost mirrors and aerial are present and correct. So the detailing is pretty much up to the Minichamps standards of the time, great headlights in particular and the headlight washers and towing-eye cover picked out. The little GB flags on the number plates are a symbol of the era too. The frosted effect of the tail lights is done nicely. The badges in the chrome strip are miniscule but are there. Nice SXi spec tailpipe. (I believe it's at the correct angle...) Correct SXi spec snowflake alloys too. Last of the Vanguards, this poor thing was languishing on the top of the market stall table looking a bit sad. It seems to have had a visit from the patented Cogbath valeting process and had the mangled wiper sorted at the Cogworks workshop, so it's now looking quite spiffy. To be honest, at a fiver I did eye it up just as a donor of those superb slotmags for one of my fast Ford projects, but Im very happy to keep this as it is now. Unusually for a Vanguards model, this one has a trick up its sleeve. With a flick of a lever, Wakey-wakey! Great colour combo, nice to see the black plastic moulding of the engine cover continue round to the door panels and dash. Sadly, it's lost its door mirror but it doesn't notice that much really. Good rear detail with glazed lights and nice tailpipes. Those wheels are quite lovely, with tiny Lotus centre caps. Nice Esprit graphics too.