Shite in Miniature II

[Felly Magic]

Hattos's must have got a collection in of Vanguards, as they have a fair few second hand cheapies, Funds are low atm otherwise i could have gone mad and spent a fortune

[Datsuncog]

But, as one door closes, another opens...

Across the way, on a charity shop stall, there were these...

Hmm. Plenty of knackered Poundland tat, but even so...

Not-so-neat custom paintjob on a Corgi VW Polo, and another Superfast Hairy Hustler (but with broken glazing)

Battered and dreadful stab at a Peugeot 205, and beat-up Corgi Turbos Saab 9000. Appears to be a Tyco slot-racer lurking at the bottom, too.

Terrible terrible crude Chinese attempt at possibly a Fiat 131 (if you squint a bit). Also: fake Transformers (Gobots?) which I'm fairly sure I also owned once.

So... did I buy anything?

 

Well, maybe.

Maisto Peugeot 205 GTi; no-name unknown (looks a bit like a Chevrolet Monza at the front - anyone know?); Hot Wheels Peterbilt blackwall; Majorette Citroen Visa Chrono (missing tailgate)

Also, a no-name Toyota Corolla E110 sedan (Japanese version), which ain't so common.

Seventies Matchbox Superfasts too...

A scrawled-on MB1 Dodge Challenger, a nearly-intact Blue Shark and a reasonable Volks-Dragon.

Eighties Matchbox:

A later incarnation of the Challenger (marketed as the Revvin' Rebel, with a copyright-flirting glance at the Dukes of Hazzard?) and with a missing roof, Holden HJ Ute (Ruff Trax; probably once part of a racing team gift set along with a Kenworth transporter and Chevrolet stock car) and a lifted CJ Jeep (with rare intact screen surround)

Seventies Corgi Junior Whizzwheels:

De Tomasa Mangusta (glass wrecked, BUT I do have another with no paint but better glass); Lotus Europa; Mercury Cougar XR7 (badly painted)

And some Eighties Corgi, just to finish on:

Volvo 760 (nearly unmarked); Fiat X1/9; Mercedes 500SL (with collapsed back axle); Buick Regal patrol car.

Ok, so maybe I went a bit overboard... I neither need nor especially want most of these - with the possible exception of the red Challenger, on which I might attempt a clean-up since my own example went missing in a pile of builder's sand at Achill Island in 1990. 

But hey, it's all for charriddee, right?

And they gave me a corking plastic bag to take it all away in...

So if anyone wants anything here added to your own boxes at 50p a throw - just ping me!

[Split_Pin]

Corolla is a Welly model and quite desireable. I have it in red. 

[Datsuncog]

^^^ Good to know! It does look very similar to my Toyota Camry in terms of colour and wheels; nice to find a model of a relatively commonplace car.

This one's suffered a bit from its time in the toybox, but still reasonably presentable.

[mercrocker]

That yellow Monz-alike is actually,  I think, meant to represent a 1983 Plymouth Turismo.   Dunno who the diecast-er is, though.

 

[eddyramrod]

The "no name unknown" is a Dodge Omni coupe, which was Horizon-based and evolved into the mid-80s Dodge Charger.  No idea which manufacturer, but I had three of the Hot Wheels version in my clearout.  They've all gone now.

 

Edit: beaten to it by Mercrocker!  The Plymouth would, of course be the same car in all but detail.

[mercrocker]

Ah...clarifies the grille difference nicely, thanks Ed....I had forgotten about the Omni but have a brochure on the Plymouth so that was the one that sprung to mind.

[Sudsprint]

On 5/9/2019 at 6:47 PM, Datsuncog said:

Yes, that's the Eligor version alright, same as mine - supposedly in police trim, according to the box (maybe explains the big roof mount aerial).

Weirdly, I couldn't drum up much interest in the one I had during last year's clear-out! Can't recall who got it in the end, but I genuinely didn't realise it was all-plastic (well, rhodialite) until the very end, having bought it in France c.1995.

[EDIT: pics added - and also it appears that Dean36014 won this one as part of the DaveNumbers Memorial Diecast Roffle haul last July]

 

Re. Forum viewing woes, as far as I know my Firefox mobile browser was updated with the latest version only over the weekend, and my head's turned with all the text shunting up and down the page at random while trying to post this. Just keeps pinging right up to the top of the post, and I have to scroll back down again. Quite,  quite maddening.

I have to say that if I had been carted off in a full sized Police car that looked as sinister as this I would be seriously worried about my genitals.

 

[paulscavalier]

My majorette makeovers.

[Amishtat]

Never knew Majorette did a 405,I'll have to keep my eyes open for one

[paulscavalier]

Yes they did a red one and a blue one.  This one was a shagged out red one

[Frogchod]

Been into town today for a car show, so went to see what the local Hachette dealer had.

Inside I found this:

It's based on a real thing. Must've been fun in crosswinds.

[egg]

Nice haul. The arrival of this has made my day...

[mercrocker]

The sucked-Werthers hue of that AMI Break takes nothing away from it's awesome-ness.   Lovely!

[155V6]

Anyone into Hotwheels?.Lidl have got some at the moment in bins,some quite recent stuff.

[Jon]

Hey hey small car renditions enthusiasts, I'm back with more stuff I've been buying that I really don't need but can't resist.

This time, it's a kit that I built*:

 

 

It's one of those motorised Tamiya 1/32 4wd things, which I found whilst checking out model shops in a large town close by. I'd spent a little too much time knocking about this place, despite it being more of a radio controlled aircraft kind of affair, rather than a 1/43 emporium, like I'd hoped.

I'd a bit of history with these contraptions, having bought one of these back in the 1990's (and which should still be in my UK stash):

 

However, I simply applied the decals and made up the boxes, rather than painting my orange Unimog, so it looks very plain, from memory.

 

Not so my Pajero! I thought this would be a good skill tester to see if I can be chuffed with trying to achieve good things with a spray can, before I attack any unsuspecting diecasts of smaller scale.

 

Overall, I'm happy enough with the results, except for the masking job I'd done with the wheel arches - and then the hand painted touching in of silver spray paint that ensued, with predictably crappy results. Plus, I gave more coats of body paint than silver trim, so the thicknesses are different. Good learning curve though and I may even give my 1/24 2CV kit model another go, although I think I'll stick with a single tone colour scheme for now.

Look out for more updates soon enough, as although I've been busy with work recently, it hasn't stopped the buying....

[Split_Pin]

I had that Ami, bought from a Swapmeet 20 years ago but it was in faded granny pants grey. Mint and boxed it was, sold it along with all but 2 of my plastic Norevs about 5 years ago. Wish I had kept it!

[paulscavalier]

On 5/13/2019 at 7:51 PM, 155V6 said:

Anyone into Hotwheels?.Lidl have got some at the moment in bins,some quite recent stuff.

I always have a browse through. I quite like some of the 1980s cars they have done. I picked up a 1985 civic in aldi

[Jon]

On the subject of 1980's Hotwheels, here's a period 80's specimen I found in a local, newly opened second hand shop, which is run by a retired bloke who's happy to sell his stock at reasonable prices, so it actually goes out the door and doesn't sit about. How refreshing!

 

Looks to me to be a Chevy LUV rendition. Not the best snap but it does display that funny 3 stage lift rear axle that some if these came with at the time. Did the adjustable axle models have a name?

 

I also nabbed this Mustang with steering, since I've fond memories of playing with one round at my gran and grandad's house. I say fond; this steering one didn't actually roll very well, which is presumably why there weren't any more castings launched with steering.

 

Also of similar vintage is this white GT40, again something that used to live in the sagging old wicker basket of Matchboxes round at the grandfolks'. Seen here with my oft photographed Bulgarian version which, casting flashes aside, still compares nicely with its 60's brethren, albeit with clumsier wheels.

 

Pretty sure there was one of these in said basket, too, back in the day, though not in this colour. If they didn't do a Commer in a different colour, then my mind is playing tricks. 

 

I like this Dinky tender too (simply called Fire Engine), so home it came also. Reminds me of the 'hamster with stuffed cheeks' Karrier Gamecocks that the NZ fire service used to have back in the day, that operated well into the 1980's:

 

 

Lastly, I was very happy to bag another elderly Siku to my stash, especially as it had a full set of tyres, one of which can be donated to my Magirus dustbin lorry.

 

However, all was not done! Upon paying the lady running the shop, I saw half of something in a cupboard out back winking at me and it looked very interesting! It being her Dad's shop and him not being there at the time, I registered an interest and said I'd come back the next week, to see what he might want to sell it for.....

[DoctorRetro]

Forgot about this messy little job I did. 

[Split_Pin]

Grand stuff Jon! Those Hotwheels were called Jackups, I have that one too but in poor condition.

[eddyramrod]

That Commer pickup was also available in grey-over-red; I had both when I was little!

[barrett]

On 5/11/2019 at 1:21 PM, egg said:

Nice haul. The arrival of this has made my day...

Probably a bit early to start sniping, but let me know if you want to move that on - it's the closest to my 1:1 example I've seen. Might have something to trade (not plastic tat) if that floats yer boat.

[Datsuncog]

Cracking haul there, Jon! Some really nice pieces... I await the mystery item with interest.

I vaguely remember the HotWheels Jackups range too - might have had a couple of them back in the day. I always found the axles on Hot Wheels of the era to be a lot flimsier than comparable Matchbox, Corgi or Majorette, so I can imagine these are pretty scarce nowadays.

[Datsuncog]

13 hours ago, TheDoctor said:

Forgot about this messy little job I did...

Considering that it looked like something that'd been found in a flower bed, I reckon you've done a cracking job at bringing that one back to life. It's now a very presentable little thing, and it wasn't before.

Just remembered I had one of those (Chevrolet?) flareside pickups once, too - don't think there was a maker's name on it anywhere, but quite a neat casting all the same.

Kudos!

[Datsuncog]

Another addition to the Datsuncog large Corgi fleet yesterday...

Oh yes.

I've been after one of these for a while.

As with many 1980s Corgis, the casting is not quite impeccable - quite a bit of flashing and whatnot along the mould/platen joins. But the chromework and glazing is clean, and the paint is virtually unmarked - and it wasn't as pricey as many I've seen for sale online. Arse-end seems to be saggy on nearly all of these, for some reason.

Unusual choice of model, this - in a way, it's surprising that Corgi chose to model this as an Opel Senator, rather than the comparable Vauxhall Royale - or even offer it out with a different grille moulding for the UK market. Possibly it reflects Corgi's efforts to secure more overseas orders?

In fact, in an unscientific survey of my other Corgis...

ALL of these 1980s Corgis - except, bafflingly, for the Matra Rancho - are modelled as left-hookers.

But I do like these big saloon models; they're pleasingly chunky with their all-metal bodies and bases.

The Senator makes a nice companion piece for my Volvo 760 Turbo - which is the only survivor of my original childhood Corgis, and is still in frankly astonishing condition.

I just love this model. I couldn't bring myself to sell it during the diecast clear-out last year, and I'm very glad I didn't.

I bought it from Wellworths in Enniskillen at Easter 1989. Even then, it felt special. The lustre of the metallic green paint, the 'real' wheeltrims, the perfect detailing of the chunky leather seats (with rear headrests)... I wish I'd kept the box, but that concept didn't occur to me for another year or two.

This toy didn't get any special treatment - it lived in my big box of cars with all the others, which is why I'm so surprised the paintwork is still nearly unmarked. A few Matchbox Superkings purchased around the same time (a Jaguar XJ12 police car and a Mercedes C class) had most of their paint chipped off them in no time at all (and, annoyingly, I did keep the boxes for those).

Mercifully, this one was spared Death By Tamiya Paint Pen, unlike nearly all my others. I did give it a slight lick of silver paint to the Volvo badging, but quickly rubbed it off as it looked wrong. This model was great just as it was.

There's significantly more plastic used in these post-Mettoy models, which is a bit of a shame - an all-metal 760 would have been glorious. And probably lethal, if thrown.

I'm still not sure why they blanked out the '760' designation on the base, or whether these ever came with a towbar as per the cut-out (this model definitely never had one - I noticed it wasn't there as soon as I unboxed it, but decided that it looked better without).

And I still love this Peugeot 505 - one of my favourite market finds.

Again, an unusual choice of model - but with Dinky's demise in the late-70s, maybe Corgi were hoping to make inroads to the French market with familiar-model toys that were bigger and chunkier than Solido or Norev's offerings?

Either way, I'm enjoying finding more of the cars I didn't have when I was a kid.

 

Oh, and unfortunately I won't be in Belfast tomorrow, so I'll have to forgo my usual Friday Minishite Market Tat expedition - apologies!

 

(Knowing my luck, this is what Market Blokey's stall will look like tomorrow, in my absence...)

[sierraman]

I had the Senator as a kid but it was smashed in at the front, the grille and the lights were missing. 

 

Does anyone remember Matchbox Glo Racers? They were luminous plastic models, one of them was a Triumph TR7?

[Datsuncog]

On 5/16/2019 at 5:04 PM, sierraman said:

Does anyone remember Matchbox Glo Racers? They were luminous plastic models, one of them was a Triumph TR7?

Aye, that rings a bell... I seem to remember a Porsche 928, Chevrolet Corvette and Datsun 280Z in that weird, sickly yellow colour, but the Triumph is a new one on me... must have a hoke through my Matchbox catalogues later on.

[egg]

@Christine thanks for this one!

[egg]

Norev's Jags don't quite have the accuracy and elegance of their domestic market efforts, but still, happy to add this to my collection.