Shite in Miniature II

[sierraman]

An old Rolls Royce Shadow I picked up ages ago sans boot lid now is complete using one of the Rolls donor cars bought from vulgalour. Quite like the ‘Builders Rolls’ look! I’ve accumulated quite a bit of a scrapyard on the top shelf of the wardrobe so if there’s anything Matchbox parts you are looking for I’ll have a rummage!

[FakeConcern]

Today a package from Ali Express I'd forgotten I'd ordered turned up, which was nice!

I like to have a model of my current car and although I have a nice Matchbox C30 (see earlier post) I wanted something larger scale. I know 1:32 used to be made, which would be ideal, but currently unavailable. Found a 1:24 still in stock by doing an image search.

made by Welly, never heard of them, butseem to be Chinese

Opening bonnet & doors, I think the tailgate is moulded in with the rear lights so fixed.

Good detail inside but LHD

The T5 engine detail is great, it looks just like this

Overall shape of the model is very good, it really looks just like the full size car

Shame this is the original version when mine is the facelift one, never mind it's still a lovely thing

 

I think quite a few people have been fooled into thinking I've bought another C30 T5 for real by this picture on my Instagram account haha!

When viewed on a phone it is pretty convincing, on a laptop, less so.

This gives the game away

[Split_Pin]

Welly are a pretty big hitter these days, mainly found under the 'Nex' branding for larger scale models. They are in the main great value.

Your C30 looks really accurate and good quality. In the last decade they've moved away from the budget end of the 1/24 and 1/18 scale spectrum I'd say. I have a few moderns from their 1/24 range and the fit and finish is excellent.

[flat4alfa]

I’ve long thought Welly are so good they outshine some premium brands and are fantastic value. NEX is a sub-brand and the firm is Hong Kong

http://www.wellydiecast.com/

[flat4alfa]

The Matchbox Super Kings Dodge vans are coming to get me...

[flat4alfa]

Super Kings K-11/K-80 from 1980/81. And a code-3 ‘Red Bull’ special that I took a fancy to

Ok, the ‘Team Porsche’ is from the Race Support Set K-102 and issued a couple of years later, running to 1986

No, I don’t know why I have a fixation on US vans, either

[bunglebus]

I want that Rock N Roll version - you have to show some pics of the funky interior!

[flat4alfa]

Sadly, unlike the Corgi Chevrolet interiors (and some of the Szetoy clones), the interiors are bare. I reckon something should be done about that! Watch this space, etc

Would anyone like to see my Corgi van interiors? Shirley not

[eddyramrod]

22 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I want that Rock N Roll version - you have to show some pics of the funky interior!

I have one, and it's available The interior isn't quite bare, as it does have "padded" sides, but there certainly is a lot of room in it.

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

I want that Rock N Roll version - you have to show some pics of the funky interior!

Well I never! Shows how much attention I’ve been paying...  It does have a fitted-out interior!  But not painted/coloured-in so I missed it

So, in this exhaustive Dodge Van assessment, here are the differences between the Delivery K-80 and the Custom K-11

Side porthole, roof light panel, interior fittings that desperately need a dab of colour

[flat4alfa]

If any of you have any 1:36ish US vans available to sell, in any condition, I have further ideas 

[sierraman]

I had the Ambulance as a kid, had really soft squishy suspension from memory. 

[Datsuncog]

Cor, that's fantastic... I had the Michelin version of the Dodge van when I was a nipper, though to my distress the rear rivets gave way and the base fell off not long after I got it.

My uncle worked as a tyre designer for Michelin, so it may have arrived through him.

Didn't know the Custom Van version had such a groovetastic interior. Niiiice.

 

Incidentally, there's what looks like a Code 2 promotional K-80 Dodge over in that model shop local to me - white, reasonable nick but no box, with the name of some engineering firm tampo-printed on the side.

Looks to be a genuine Matchbox promotional rather than a repaint. Any interest, if it's still there? Can't remember the asking price but I think they want less than a tenner.

I'll have to check what interior's in it now...

[sierraman]

I remember seeing one in the Center Parcs Logo when I was a kid. Never seen another though. 

[barrett]

Not exactly super bargains, but this guy has some very interesting stuff on ebay. My favourite is this Crown, which I've never seen before

And this lot of Lion-Car Dafs. Difficult to tell if the three on the left are repaints, or the recent-ish reissues, but in any case these models are incredibly difficult to find and £100 for six doesn't seem outrageous to me

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/2261davidg?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

[sierraman]

£100 I think would about corner the market in my tastes for tatty broken Matchboxes. 

[Datsuncog]

3 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Incidentally, there's what looks like a Code 2 promotional K-80 Dodge over in that model shop local to me - white, reasonable nick but no box, with the name of some engineering firm tampo-printed on the side.

Looks to be a genuine Matchbox promotional rather than a repaint. Any interest, if it's still there? Can't remember the asking price but I think they want less than a tenner.

I'll have to check what interior's in it now...

So in the spirit of being helpful*…

Turns out it's not a promo for an engineering firm at all, it's for a Midlands toy wholesaler or something (which makes slightly more sense, I suppose).

Paintwork ok, but the driver side mirror is missing and there's some damage to the glazing where it's been knocked out.

The interior is standard K-80 van, with no double beds, TVs or built-in drinks cabinets in evidence.

It's been there for quite a few months now: price on it is £6. So if you fancy it... do let me know.

If there seem to be other examples circulating with trade liveries, it's possible this was indeed a factory promotional.

 

Also, since I was over there, I couldn't help but have a poke through some of the other loose diecast...

Of course I couldn't help myself.

Siku's version of the Matra Simca Rancho is one I've been long aware of, but never before seen in the metal.

Not as delicate as the Corgi Juniors version, and the large wheels make it look a little more squat than the Matchbox version, but still a nice model all the same - and pretty minty.

Opening rear tailgate is a must (though Matchbox bottled it, only adding the lower section as an opening part on their 1-75 example).

This shop puts infuriatingly sticky price labels on the base, which are impossible to remove cleanly.

 

And then there's the Corgi Juniors Duple Vista Coach:

Casting has a lot of flashing, hence the grille and plastic upper half not fitting all that well. The very wide 'Rockets' wheels seem a deliberate decision, rather than just poor axle design - there are cast-in lugs to keep them pushed out way beyond the body. Why it was cast with the passenger door open is anyone's guess, however...

I 'd guess this was to make the rather tall and narrow coach perform acceptably on the Hot-Wheels-style Rockets racetrack that Corgi bet the farm on back in the early '70s.

This is a model I'd tend to associate with the Corgi Emergency 999 giftset (though this one doesn't seem to have been on fire - those included in the set usually came with sprayed-on 'smoke damage'), and is another I've only seen in pictures - hence developing grabby-hands.

Although there are a few paint chips, this model's in fairly good overall nick - though the heavy wear on the wheels suggests this was a well-used toy, so it must have been pretty carefully looked after by its original owner.

Two pounds for a clean and bright toy that's nearly 50 years old? It'd be rude not to.

 

I also noted that the shop had two mint and boxed Matchbox MkIV Cortinas in dark red, and another one in that metallic acid green... £20 each.

I'm seriously tempted...

[Sudsprint]

1 hour ago, barrett said:

 

And this lot of Lion-Car Dafs. Difficult to tell if the three on the left are repaints, or the recent-ish reissues, but in any case these models are incredibly difficult to find and £100 for six doesn't seem outrageous to me

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/2261davidg?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

You would be DAFt not to bid....

[flat4alfa]

Yes please 

 

[DoctorRetro]

I love that Matra Rancho, I seem to recall having a super Kings one as a kid. 

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

Yes please 

Sho' thing: will swing by the next time I'm passing and nab it for you!

31 minutes ago, TheDoctor said:

I love that Matra Rancho, I seem to recall having a super Kings one as a kid. 

For a car that was a bit of a flop in real life, toymakers sure loved the Rancho... Corgi and Matchbox modelled them in both small and large scale versions, while Siku produced the above small-scale offering. I'm sure a fair few other makers put out a Rancho too (did Majorette?)

[DoctorRetro]

No Majorette Rancho that I'm aware of, which is odd. 

There was a Solido one, plus this (magazine gift? ) one... 

[DoctorRetro]

Although Majorette did do the Matra Bagheera. 

 

And this Simca oddity. 

[flat4alfa]

Talbot-Simca-Matra Rancho scales :

 

JOUSTRA - 1/15

OTTO-MOBILE - 1/18

BURAGO - 1/24

MEBETOYS MATTEL - 1/25

MATCHBOX - 1/32

CORGI - 1/36

EDICOLA - 1/43

IXO ALTAYA - 1/43

MEBETOYS MATTEL - 1/43

NOREV - 1/43

SOLIDO - 1/43

VEREM - 1/43

CORGI - 1/55

SIKU - 1/55

MATCHBOX - 1/62

 

No Polistil or Majorette !?!  

[Datsuncog]

I've sounded off about this before, but the Rancho baffled me as a kid because there seemed to be models of it everywhere but I never saw a real one... and I didn't even know who Matra were. The whole thing felt like a weird alternate reality thing going on...

Yes, right enough I should have remembered the Solido version - and I managed to pick up a modern Ixo/Altaya 1/43 Rancho a few years back which I'm still very fond of. Other than the Corgi and Matchbox versions, I've yet to see any of the others on that list!

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I felt almost the same way about the 'Field Car' from Matchbox, I was sure it was a real thing and studied American films a TV programmes  wondering if Broncos, Jeepsters or Scouts might be a full size Field Car.

The nearest I came to thinking I'd seen one was some dodgy Russian/ Chinese military things.

[flat4alfa]

4 hours ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

I felt almost the same way about the 'Field Car' from Matchbox,

Definitely based on the International Harvester Scout, but some details, like the doors, are wrong 

[flat4alfa]

12 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

I've sounded off about this before, but the Rancho baffled me as a kid because there seemed to be models of it everywhere but I never saw a real one... 

Maybe there was no distributor for NI, as I remember seeing quite a few, living in SE England - in fact a family friend had one.  The Simca van cab did rot though, so survival after a few years was poor.  I think most of them were off the radar by their tenth year, there were just 900 left by 1994

[flat4alfa]

http://www.matra-club.net/rancho.html

Quote

In Britain, the car was priced to compete with much bigger cars. In 1978, when it was launched, the Rancho was priced at £5,650 - which put it up against such competition as the Volvo 245 DL at £5,357 and the Citroen CX2400 Safari at £5428. At the end of the scale a Range Rover would have cost £8,528.
Sales of the Rancho were more than the double the forecasts. Thanks to comparatively low development and production costs Rancho was also the most profitable Matra until the Espace. However, Peugeot took a fair slice of the profit on each car and had of course turned down Matra's next big idea. Matra took a strategic decision to end production of the Rancho in 1984 and concentrate their efforts on the Espace

 

[flat4alfa]

http://www.simcatalbotclub.org/rancho.htm

Quote

When Peugeot sold the shares it had in Matra, it was clear that the Rancho would not survive for long, and it last appeared in a UK Peugeot Talbot price list in January 1985. The last vehicles were made early in 1984. But the Rancho had been a great success; it had been intended to make only 20,000, but total production was 57,792. Matra's replacement for the Rancho, the Espace, was to become even more successful and accelerate the MPV revolution started by its predecessor.