Spottedlaurel

Good luck with the 404, a car I've come to admire the more I've learnt about them. A nice summary of it here: This lovely estate I photographed in Dusseldorf back in 2010 is probably my favourite of those I've seen: Made for an interesting comparison with the DS....

That looks like it doesn't it? Seems to have the usual Majorette thing of random bits and bobs on the interior moulding. Just checked what caravan I already have, it's the 201 "St Tropez" with all-plastic bodywork. TBH, with many of the Majorette cars having towbars then I wouldn't mind having duplicates.

Daughter and her Mk2 MR2-owning boyfriend found one in Loughborough last week, not sure which variant. Does make me wonder if the Capri was up there too......

Should you ever be there again, I'd interested in this Majorette caravan please: Thanks!

That cage looks very purposeful, your own handiwork or bought-in? Sounds rather challenging that you've got to meet rules that haven't been released yet....

Interesting. I'll have the verdict on mine sometime in the next 3-4 weeks......

Quick trip to town to pick up Master SL and get some milk meant another Tesco visit, they seem to have restocked the HWs since yesterday and I came home with these (plus he got a GR Supra as well): They also had the Mk1 Escort (on its way to me), Miura and several of the grey 1986 Toyota Van. The Gran Torino can be filed as a "diecast that look like a carrot" along with the Superfast Tanzara:

If it becomes completely impossible to get my LS400 back on the road then that's the sort of thing I need to look out for next year.

Good use of the word "group" there, not a collection. Obviously.

Morrisons had them at £7.50 last week. I was tempted, but for five cars the pack takes up quite a bit of space. If they'd have a pack with both Toyotas Celica and 2000GT then I'd have been tempted.... Likewise I saw a HW Multipack with the blue R30 Skyline and a Celica, but resisted the urge.

It was Master SL's 17th birthday on Friday, he'd arranged for a lesson with the instructor straight after school that day and then booked his theory test yesterday AM, which he passed. The 54-reg Yaris which Miss SL used as her first car has now been handed down to him. Had my first drive with him today, he's got some things to think about but he did well and we successfully made it back. The Yaris is older than him, and he was well under a year old when I joined AS. My, how time flies..... Meanwhile, Miss SL and her BF have taken a trip out the Peak District in his MR2, last decent drive before horrible weather sets in. We got sent a photo, not of nice scenery but of her looking happy standing next to a Mk1 RAV4. She is after one to replace the Yaris, I assume it was a chance sighting and not a purchase. The other day she sent a link to an ad for a RAV4 with a Camry V6 conversion!

Little haul from a visit to Bury St Edmunds today, most of these came from a real toy shop and the Thunderbird was from a nearby Tesco the other evening: These were from the recently relocated Starlings Toymaster. They had most of the anniversary range in stock, but sadly missing the Skyline. Quite a few from the Moving Parts range and a couple of freshly opened boxes of the boxed Matchbox. Despite it being really busy a chap came and pointed out some others which he was pleased to have available - HW Premium, Jurassic Park and others. Poundland had more of the Moving Parts range, but none that appealed to me and I'd already spent a bit on materials in a real model shop.

No. 1, bought for £500 in 1999. Never really seemed to give its full performance. No. 2, swapped a couple of Laurels with Datman for it. Pair of black doors came from a banger I stripped for somebody, he had the dented white ones for his racer. No. 3, part-exchanged No. 2 and some cash for it. I probably spent more on the last one in total, as it needed a full exhaust within days of getting it, but I was fondest of the second one. Fun fact: The auto-only saloons are something like 155bhp, the manual-only estates get by on just 150bhp.

Fantastic! Certainly brings back some memories. On the late-reg madness thing, I believe there was an E-reg estate. They were even rarer than the saloons, from memory something like 300-350 sold against 800-odd 4-door models. Interesting to see about the 280C - initially they look similar, but the 300C is just that less square (it's marginal!). Edit: Looks like the 280C made it to 1996, getting into the peak era for them being banger raced.

Marvellous news! Look forward to seeing more about it. I used to run them 20-odd years ago as my daily drivers, first a black estate, then a couple of white saloons in succession. I found they have a real sense of occasion to driving them, with quite a high seating position. Steering not especially precise, but it does its job. The most amusing part is the square-rigged styling combined with the smooth, injected V6 making it surprisingly brisk. They can rust, though not too badly, and as they were never very common and not too many parts are shared with other models then spares can be an issue. Even 20 years ago I had to put a full stainless exhaust system on one as it was easier and cheaper than getting a standard mild steel one. There is also a component in the steering (idler arm?) which can be an issue. I have a Nissan workshop manual to lend out if you need to go beyond basic servicing. Good luck!