Shite in Miniature II

[Datsuncog]

On 12/5/2020 at 3:33 PM, bunglebus said:

Edocar (MC Toys?) 205 - is this casting borrowed from another manufacturer? 

Quite a varied haul there, and good going for the money!

Edocar, to the best of my knowledge, was a brand marketed by a Dutch company, mostly using bought-in MC Toy/Maisto items (including some former Rainbow Toy castings) - they seemed to be sold through newsagents in the early 1990s. Big 1/40-ish ones were sold as the Edocar Super Series - largely the same classic/ sportscar castings given away with the Shell petrol promotion - while Matchbox size were boxed as the Mini Series, and sold from spinner racks.

I had a couple of them - some new, some via charity shops - and I think I spouted a load of drivel on here about them previously.

When I was going through a catalogue-buying spree last year, I was very drawn to a 1993 trade catalogue on eBay; it's still there, and it's still expensive!

14 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Wonderland Models are still in Lothian Road in Edinburgh thankfully and my head office was a few doors down. Once we all get back to office working, whenever that will be I will celebrate with a visit to their shop (if they have survived )

Heh, I passed by Wonderland Models when I was staying off Lothian Rd in October last year - looked like a fantastic range in there. I was mildly concerned that I couldn't trust myself not to go buck daft in there and end up paying a small fortune in airline excess baggage fees, so I didn't go in... mebbe I will, next time I'm over...

I'd like to think they'll still be there - even with all the retail messing about, hobbies seem to have been one sector that's done really well this year.

The only bricks and mortar model shop near me now is the one in Smithfield, that has a fantastic range of old and new stuff but some deeply optimistic pricing. Plus an owner who bugs the life out of me.

The fella with the antiques shop in Whitehead is meant to be reopening at the end of the week, though - not a model shop per se, but he does have some nice stuff... and he may have uncovered more new items from his Shed of Wonders...

9 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

On a slightly happier note, some new Hot Wheels have arrived.

A few re colours, but I don't mind with the Nova wagon gasser, I love this version,

Ditto with the Silvia. In a nice blue this time. This would look great IMO as a Factory Fresh version like they did with the DR30 Skyline,

The Toyota GT looks good in white, pretty much the only colour I've ever seen them in TBH. I think I may have to open one of these Tokyo Toyotas and de-tampo it.

Interesting semi-matt paint job on the Merc A Class. Now I'm prepared for a flaming here, but I like the full size A Class, in the right colour and with the AMG styling pack. The Hot Wheels rendering is a decent one, the panoramic roof being a nice touch. Nice tampo detailing front and rear too.

Next, didn't realise till I looked at the base, but this is a new casting of the AE86 Sprinter. Apparently the JDM fans are all excited about this one.

A bit disappointing though that a new eagerly awaited casting doesn't have any tampo detailing at the front or rear. 



One release that I didn't know was a thing, until now. 

Another good casting, and a nice colour. Good detailing on this one,

And the one I was most chuffed to get,

Always knew this one would look good in road trim!

Pleased to see this road version has tail lamp and badge detailing to the rear as well, which the touring car versions don't.

Can't wait for the custard edition!

Some really nice versions there, especially the Volvo!

I always thought Mattel chose whether apply tampos to either the front and back OR the roof and sides, but rarely both - yet the Sylvia clearly manages to get the full detail package. I guess they only budget for a certain amount of detailing complexity, but some get a little more... maybe a future AE86 will get front 'n' rear lights, but in the meantime I'm just pleased to see a road version of the 850!

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 04/12/2020 at 17:59, 155V6 said:

eBay lot with the Corgi Fire Tender turned up,it's the later version with no siren,& the squirty bulb is missing but still nice.

Some stuff in the picture will be available

oh gawd how am i going to resist putting my hand up for the mg maestro😬

[155V6]

27 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

oh gawd how am i going to resist putting my hand up for the mg maestro😬

Let me know if you want it 😉

[Noel Tidybeard]

1 minute ago, 155V6 said:

Let me know if you want it 😉

oh course i want it

i have a problem

[155V6]

9 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

oh course i want it

i have a problem

Just going to bed,but I'll get some better pictures up tomorrow.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

Edocar, to the best of my knowledge, was a brand marketed by a Dutch company, mostly using bought-in MC Toy/Maisto items (including some former Rainbow Toy castings) - they seemed to be sold through newsagents in the early 1990s. Big 1/40-ish ones were sold as the Edocar Super Series - largely the same classic/ sportscar castings given away with the Shell petrol promotion - while Matchbox size were boxed as the Mini Series, and sold from spinner racks.

Having a look online, my Edocar seems to have been sold as an otherwise identical Maisto 

and MC Toys

Even a boxed one!

Looking closely I'd say Maisto was the original, then MC and eventually Edocar bases were altered to show the new brand

[Datsuncog]

As far as I can remember, Maisto and MC Toys were the same outfit - the MC Toy name was used at first to market Maisto products in the West, apparently as it sounded less 'foreign' (think Mitsubishi's first European foray under the name Colt).

By the mid-90s, they started producing their own detailed 1/18 range under the Maisto name because these were no longer toys, and before long the MC Toys brand was phased out - so certain castings can be found with either MC Toy or Maisto on the baseplates.

Edocar were a European firm who just bought in toys from the Far East (mainly Maisto) with their own name on the baseplate and packaging, exactly like Dinky's ill-starred miniature range of 1980, contracted from Universal Toys.

They were sold at the same time as MC Toys, but I believe Edocar's distribution network was through newsagents and 'impulse purchase' retail, while Maisto's distributor sold mainly to toy shops and variety stores like Poundstretcher.

I think Maisto now own Bburago, or am I making that up?

[Split_Pin]

I have 2 Granada's, one branded as MC Toys and the other Maisto.

Bburago is owned by the Mai Chong Group now and I think it's  merely a label these days. I  bought a nice looking Scirocco in TK Maxx a few weeks ago but when I opened it the fit and finish is very chunky like a Motor Max or City Cruiser brand. I was expecting something a bit closer to Nex or perhaps I've just forgotten what 'modern' Bburagos are like. I'll compare it with my 1/24 Alfa Romeo 156.

Anyway, it's clear they are not the same as they once were.

[RoadworkUK]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

...it's clear they are not the same as they once were.

They are  somewhat variable, but there are some gems. I think the 1:24 Capri covered upthread is remarkably good. 

BBurago's "signature" 1:18s are, I believe, pitched slightly above the Maisto norm, in both price and detail, but of course there's not a lot in that range to tickle the shitebone.

[Split_Pin]

Good shout on the Capri!

[DoctorRetro]

Charity shop finds today. 

SUMMER Toyota Crown

ERTL Pontiac Trans Am (with added red paint to make it a fake KITT) 

Both available if wanted, they were the only ones worth having. 

 

[Split_Pin]

Both please if that's ok! The Kitt would have had a holographic sticker on its nose when new. From memory, on the one I had as a kid, it was already falling off from new so the paint is no surprise!

I have the 1/24 version in its box that I got from Cars of the Stars museum in the lake District back in 1996 so to have this one again will be great!

Never enough Japanese cars in my collection either, I've gone from 0-60 odds in about 2 years!

[quicksilver]

11 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

As far as I can remember, Maisto and MC Toys were the same outfit - the MC Toy name was used at first to market Maisto products in the West, apparently as it sounded less 'foreign' (think Mitsubishi's first European foray under the name Colt).

By the mid-90s, they started producing their own detailed 1/18 range under the Maisto name because these were no longer toys, and before long the MC Toys brand was phased out - so certain castings can be found with either MC Toy or Maisto on the baseplates.

Edocar were a European firm who just bought in toys from the Far East (mainly Maisto) with their own name on the baseplate and packaging, exactly like Dinky's ill-starred miniature range of 1980, contracted from Universal Toys.

They were sold at the same time as MC Toys, but I believe Edocar's distribution network was through newsagents and 'impulse purchase' retail, while Maisto's distributor sold mainly to toy shops and variety stores like Poundstretcher.

I think Maisto now own Bburago, or am I making that up?

I recall Woolworths selling a lot of Maisto/MC Toys stuff under their Chad Valley brand - Chad Valley on the packaging but the real manufacturer's name on the base of the toys. Edocar also did some sort of deal on everyone's favourite* collectable* diecasts, Lledo Days Gone in weird colours that were never part of Lledo's own range. 

[DoctorRetro]

27 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Both please if that's ok! The Kitt would have had a holographic sticker on its nose when new. From memory, on the one I had as a kid, it was already falling off from new so the paint is no surprise!

I have the 1/24 version in its box that I got from Cars of the Stars museum in the lake District back in 1996 so to have this one again will be great!

Never enough Japanese cars in my collection either, I've gone from 0-60 odds in about 2 years!

Drop me a pm with address details and I'll sort. 

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, TheDoctor said:

SUMMER Toyota Crown

ERTL Pontiac Trans Am (with added red paint to make it a fake KITT) 

Nice 

The Clown is crying out for a nice custom repaint

[DoctorRetro]

16 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Nice 

The Clown is crying out for a nice custom repaint

I didn't really show the 'awesome' graphics on this one... 

[DoctorRetro]

😳

 

[flat4alfa]

On 10/16/2020 at 8:44 PM, flat4alfa said:

EDOCAR catalogue 1987, Holland

@Datsuncog

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, TheDoctor said:

I didn't really show the 'awesome' graphics on this one... 

Mine is sponsored by Peugeot

 

[DoctorRetro]

28 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Mine is sponsored by Peugeot

 

That looks like a Griffin having a stroke 🤣

[bunglebus]

Stripped the Lone Star Mustang, got some casting lines to file and fill

Always thought these had opaque windows but they're just tinted to hide the lack of interior

[andrew e]

That looks a really nice casting for it’s time.

[junkyarddog]

I have Crown envy.

😂

[Dick Cheeseburger]

The title of this artwork is 'Car-nage'.

Created by Dick's almost-two-year-old who loves his toy cars, especially the Superkings. Luckily they were all scruffbags from the outset. The mint stuff remains firmly locked away for now! 

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, andrew e said:

That looks a really nice casting for it’s time.

I'd love to find the Flyers version, that Impy was the first one I'd seen for sale

[bunglebus]

Another new one on me, possibly connected to Solido

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293881879172

 

[Datsuncog]

10 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Another new one on me, possibly connected to Solido

Yes indeed - Verem's product line consisted of remanufactured Solido castings, with no additional detail but packaged in an acrylic box and charged at mucho moolah.

I bought a Verem Renault 30 in Saumur c.1995 and I think it cost me the thick end of thirty quid, even then - a figure of 280FF sticks in my mind, at a time when you got about ten Francs to the Pound Sterling. No more Orangina or pommes frites for me for the rest of les vacances.

Seems that Verem was a separate imprint devised by Majorette after they bought Solido in the late 80s, to monetize otherwise obsolete castings - in the same way that Eligor started off using old Norev and Quiralu moulds.

I picked up a few more Verem over the years, but given that original Solido remain quite affordable even now, I'm not sure what the point was for collectors!

[Split_Pin]

I didn't know that about Eligor, my friend had a few in the late 1980s when the best I had were Superkings.

[bunglebus]

On 11/30/2020 at 7:01 AM, Split_Pin said:

Yes the trucks are in great condition. The Foden appears to have a gear at the larger end of the cement cylinder but I can't work out how that connects to the wheels. 

 

On 11/30/2020 at 3:27 PM, Datsuncog said:

I'm not sure about that either, though I spent quite a while trying to figure it out - I can see there's a tiny plastic nub at the upper end of the mixer cylinder that's broken off, so it doesn't spin smoothly (but could possibly be fixed with a tiny self-tapper inserted through the diecast support).

I'd quite like to take a look at an earlier Regular Wheels version, as I've a sneaking suspicion that any mechanism to make the cylnder revolve may well have been removed for the short-lived Superfast version...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264968265381

Needs a lick of paint

 

[Split_Pin]

Superfast or otherwise that is an exceptional little casting. I wasn't really aware of it until I bought mine from DC.