Shite in Miniature II

[AndyW201]

Vanguards McRae cars go for stupid money.

Third delivery today, and it's a bit of a holy grail,

Back in 2004 when I got my real Allegro, I started snapping up the Vanguards Allegro models. It didn't take long to get the majority, as they were cheap and plentiful, (much like the real thing until the last few years!).

After 12 different variants were got, I was left with the two most recent ones to find, the Tara green LE and Reynard bronze 1500 Special. These aren't as easy to get as the earlier releases and usually go for strong money. I had some decent overtime in last week, and got a BIN offer of £20 for this Reynard bronze one I've had on watch for a while, so thought what the hell.

This one really is a mint example, both model and packaging wise, even the easily marked cardboard outer sleeve.

Most of the earlier Allegro releases were pov spec series 1s like Deluxes and Supers so by nature didn't have much in the way of exterior detail apart from badges and THOSE handles (very well recreated by Lledo/Corgi BTW). The two rally ones obviously had extra detail (including really well tampo printed rally livery) as did the range topping Lagoon blue 1750SS version. So this one, being the mid range Special also has a bit more going on,

This being a series 2, it has a different grille with the Austin badge inset. Apart from the green LE, it's the only Vanguards Allegro to get the lower front foglights. These look great, the clunky black housings are just how I remember them. (My own 1300 Super gained an Equipe front spoiler and foglights, as well as a set of 1750 SS/HL wheels...)

They even got the number plate font right, that font I seem to remember only 70s  BL cars having.

Again, different to the standard Allegro fare at the back with the (unique to  the Special) half black rear panel, and the badging is spot on. Reversing lights are painted on, but at least they remembered to add them!

Vinyl roof was standard on the Special, nicely done here, along with the coachlines.

And with a bit of black paint, they've done a decent stab of recreating the sill covers and lower wheelarch protectors, introduced with the series 2.

A few half-hearted bitches with the interior; They used the old pov spec series 1 interior so no head restraints,  good stab at the dash  (but the old two clock style) and they retained the quartic wheel! (Although I did retro-fit a quartic to mine...).

Another added to the Vanguards Allegro collection then, sadly as the only Tara green LE on eBay in recent times has a ROFL inducing £120 price tag, I might have a bit of a job completing it...

[Jon]

My wife has a work course today in Auckland, so was worried about what I'd do all day. Yesterday, she went shopping and bought some rather fancy (and admittedly nice) $not cheap clothes and also revealed she'd found some cash in her purse she didn't know she had...

Therefore, finding out last night there was a swap meet on today and going solo with 'bonus' cash in my pocket (I asked first), resulted in this mother of scores:

First up, a lady selling bundles of mags from her late husband's collection for £1 a slab! A fair wodge of the Wheels mags are from my wanted pile and they often sell for $4/5 each on Trademe (I don't buy at that price because miser), so 18 issues for $2 is a barg. Same for the 11 Modern Motors. Spent a few bucks more on the New Zealand Motoring News pile but I've never seen them before. Highly likely they'll be light on actual interest but the fella selling them was nice and chucked in a few extra mags, so happy days.

The Commodore centre cap is something I've been looking out for since my cousin put a hole in one of mine back in 2016, so very happy to nab for $5!

 

Anyway enough preamble - on to the die casts!

 

Got giddy to find a Pilen Oldsmobile Toronado and thus it proved to be my most expensive buy (£12.50 - OK by Ebay prices, so it seems) - but find another in NZ!

Solido Golf was £10, which I think is fair, despite the actual finish of the casting being a bit crap.

Majorette Bernard log truck fished out of a random tat box for $1. Sure I'll find some suitable twigs to fill the trailer.

But I was mega happy to find 2 boxed 70's Sikus, a loose 80's Siku, Solido CX and Marklin Variant wagon, all for £15!!

The glue from the Granada case is loose at one end, which makes it all the more remarkable that the case in the back filled with tiny road cones is still intact. And the VW is an absolute beauty and right up my collecting alley.

Shame it's all fire related stuff as I collect the makes/castings/era, not the subject but it's fire buffs who have kept this stuff in such good nick, so mustn't grumble.

So yeah, a sniff under £50 spent including entry fee but in all honesty, NZ is such a barren land of die cast tat, you have to grab what you can when it comes up. 

And I still spent less than the cost of 3 blouses!

[Spottedlaurel]

8 hours ago, Jon said:

My wife has a work course today in Auckland, so was worried about what I'd do all day. Yesterday, she went shopping and bought some rather fancy (and admittedly nice) $not cheap clothes and also revealed she'd found some cash in her purse she didn't know she had...

Therefore, finding out last night there was a swap meet on today and going solo with 'bonus' cash in my pocket (I asked first), resulted in this mother of scores.......................

Great work! The Sikus couldn't have gone to a better home, and I'd have been unable to resist the magazines. Looks like one of those fastback Corona estates on one of the covers?

[Spottedlaurel]

I was conscious of starting to not fully remember what I'd already got in the modern HW/MBX stash, and having bought a couple of extra boxes I had a bit of a stocktake:

 

Inevitably a few colour variations (particularly the Mk1 RX-7 and REPU) but pleasingly few true duplicates.

A selection put back on display (hanging under the big model cabinet, in front of me as I type) and the rest reboxed with a bit of 'room to spare' for future acquisitions.

[bunglebus]

I daren't do that, think I'd need a sports hall!

[MiniMinorMk3]

14 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

 

Please don't post stuff like this ever again, I have enough trouble as it is!

 

I was gonna put up a Matchbox 29 post, but I'll just stick this here for now showing the early years with colour, sticker and box variations.

[MiniMinorMk3]

12 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

Postman brought quite the haul today. 

Warning, Vanguards content. No Fords though, for a change...

First off.

 

A Vanguards, but not by name, distributed by Atlas editions as part of a part-work British police car series. The same series as the MK3 Cortina GT I "de-comissioned" and boy-racerfied recently.

 

Like the Cortina, this Marina seems to be one of the harder to find ones, and quite sought after, possibly because it's the TC version. I seem to have done well getting this one near-enough mint and boxed for less than a tenner.

 

 

Some more Vanguards Marinas.

1.3 Super

1.8 Super

1.3

And the rusty one.

[MiniMinorMk3]

10 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

 

Third delivery today, and it's a bit of a holy grail,

 

Another added to the Vanguards Allegro collection then, sadly as the only Tara green LE on eBay in recent times has a ROFL inducing £120 price tag, I might have a bit of a job completing it...

Somerville did the Allegro 3 for diehard Allegro collectors. It came in various shade, and a police version. These do go for a justified £100, unlike the far more common Vanguards, which some people set dreamland prices for.

 

 

[Datsuncog]

On 4/21/2023 at 3:05 PM, 500tops said:

Grabbed these in Poundland earlier.

Matchbox are 50p!

He's right, they are.

But weirdly it's the short-card 2023 case releases which are only 50p - the long-card 2022 case Matchbox with Chinese domestic market stickering on the back remain priced at £1.50.

The short-card items definitely weren't there last Friday, either.

Seems peculiar that Poundland are selling them so very cheaply. They must have picked them up for absolute bobbins.

Typically, there wasn't anything on the pegs there that I hadn't already bought a few weeks back at £1.75+...

[Jon]

3 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Great work! The Sikus couldn't have gone to a better home, and I'd have been unable to resist the magazines. Looks like one of those fastback Corona estates on one of the covers?

Good spotting! Here's all the magazines collected today with Japanese cars on the cover:

Our sawn-off eared cat favours new things to sit on, naturally.

I need to give my magazine collection a bit of attention and also look to thin out the odd doubles I have, although I did sell a few off recently. There's something very comforting reading physical media, especially the nuggets of information you can find from period mags. Very happy to read classic car mags but old mags reviewing then current models seem to be a lot more honest! Well, post 60's, anyway; earlier issues of Wheels are quite fawning in their admiration of pretty much everything tested.

I'll very much appreciate the Sikus and indeed, can add them to the collection I bagged just before Christmas:

Bit greedy of me to pick up a SECOND mint Granada wagon with all cones intact but I couldn't walk past a cheapie, especially boxed.

But yes, do remember that I definitely don't collect fire stuff...

 

 

[bunglebus]

Boot sale was sparsely populated due to forecast rain - which started just  as we got to the last of the 30 odd pitches.

One solitary purchase here

Popped into B&M to freshly filled Hot Wheels 

All previous releases though. I had to go elsewhere in the shop and discovered a new toy section that's appeared at some point

There were a couple of F+F cars and monster trucks, I bet it's where all the Flying Customs were (maybe)!

Tried Sainsbury's, are these Matchbox from a new mix?

They also had the new Car Culture series, I grabbed a Porsche and had the same problem as last time at the till - thankfully they let me scan one of the previous series through which worked

[sierraman]

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

He's right, they are.

But weirdly it's the short-card 2023 case releases which are only 50p - the long-card 2022 case Matchbox with Chinese domestic market stickering on the back remain priced at £1.50.

The short-card items definitely weren't there last Friday, either.

Seems peculiar that Poundland are selling them so very cheaply. They must have picked them up for absolute bobbins.

Typically, there wasn't anything on the pegs there that I hadn't already bought a few weeks back at £1.75+...

Worth having at 50p for the wheels!

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Are these Matchbox from a new mix?

Possibly - though that white Corvette was highly abundant in the Poundland 50p mix, and I think the Ford SUV was too (not very memorable, so hard to say for sure).

A few green Rancheros and Cycle Runner Nissan Hardbodies in there too, and lots of the red Renault Méganes and Nissan EV vans, so it's also mixed in with the previous early 2023 case if so.

[flat4alfa]

I must be living in a parallel reality!

I have been out today to 3 towns, visiting 3 Poundlands.  Not one Matchbox, nor any pegs showing they ever did.  In one High Street Poundland the had 0 Hot Wheels, just empty pegs.  The others had sparse stock of Hot Wheels, max five pegs and a third full at most

In 2 of the towns I also went to their B&M.  Nothing new aside from loads of Pixar Cars.  Same old mainline stock from weeks ago, thinning.  No new Matchbox.  

Waste of time and fuel...

[flat4alfa]

This morning, went to the medium size field car boot with massive signs at the roadside.  It was shut again.

Despondent, went into a very large Cancer Research shop (which was packed) and found this Tonka

It was £2

Very nearly left it as the queue to get served was painful

[flat4alfa]

To top if off the mobile phone alert just now had an American accent !!!

FFS.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Just now, flat4alfa said:

To top if off the mobile phone alert just now had an American accent !!!

FFS.

And no way to shut it down until it had finished 🙄😡😱☠️👎🐷💩

[flat4alfa]

4 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

He's right, they are.

But weirdly it's the short-card 2023 case releases which are only 50p - the long-card 2022 case Matchbox with Chinese domestic market stickering on the back remain priced at £1.50.

Those long cards are from 2021.  That the red Dodge Sweptside, the first release colour

Likewise the Land Rover and Speed Trapper were same 2021 range

I wonder where they have been hiding.  And why they aren't the discounted ones.  I wonder if the peg pricing was switched by mistake

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

Possibly - though that white Corvette was highly abundant in the Poundland 50p mix, and I think the Ford SUV was too (not very memorable, so hard to say for sure).

A few green Rancheros and Cycle Runner Nissan Hardbodies in there too, and lots of the red Renault Méganes and Nissan EV vans, so it's also mixed in with the previous early 2023 case if so.

I'd have a fiver's worth of those with these wheels if I saw them at 50p

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

And no way to shut it down until it had finished 🙄😡😱☠️👎🐷💩

That’s why I didn’t switch my phone on today,😄

Stupid utterly ridiculous pointless waste of time and tax payers money in a country like this that alert system is. If we were in tornado alley in the US or somewhere prone to earthquakes, volcanoes or nuclear wars etc etc then I could see a point in it. But in little old Blighty??? No! Maybe the money used for that load of shite should’ve been channelled somewhere more useful? Like, maybe, paying our NHS staff a decent wage or bonus after getting the crap kicked out of them during Covid or something?? 
Maybe this sort of stupid common sense is why I’m not a politician!

 

[danthecapriman]

Anyhoos,

I spotted a bundle of toys on eBay the other day going cheaply. Almost all of it was just modern plastic junk. But, there were a few diecasts peeping out of the junk that had a bit of ‘age’ and collectability about them so I swept them up!

They’ve just arrived, and, like I said almost all of it was absolute rubbish (unless you’re a small child who’d probably love them!) but I did manage to rescue these two.

Which were basically the reason I bought the bundle! 
They’ve just been in a warm wash, hence the steamed windows, but they’re well worth having I think. 
Matchbox FX4 is fairly recent version (2004) but it’s almost pristine and looks great so worthy of a place in my collection. 
But the real star here is the MC Toys/Maisto Granada! These seem really thin on the ground for some reason and seem to come with premium price tags on certain places. This one’s got a few scratches and chips but it’s complete, looks good still and is probably my favourite colour of them. I had a green one as a kid and that too disappeared into god knows where over the years so nice to have one back!

[155V6]

Nothing at all from the car boot today except for this lion which Miss_155 felt sorry for 😂The Mercedes came from Morrisons yesterday

I went to Poundland afterwards hoping to find some Matchbox for 50p,but no luck there either

 

[Remspoor]

18 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Those trucks are cool. I grab the odd bit of tinplate if it appeals, never did work out who made this charity shop find though

 

 search suggests that is a tin plate made by Ichiko of Japan.  This is the nearest to your car I have found.

https://www.ebay.es/itm/291979633515

Here is another example of a Dutch police all be it of a different American car.

https://atg-tlv.com/products/untitled-40

 

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

Tonka

Nice, not one I've had my mits on. ID'd it yet?

[bunglebus]

20 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

 MC Toys/Maisto Granada! 

Cool find. I think someone on here has a decent collection of those, I have a few. Not many 1:64 Granadas made which is I think why they get hoovered up by buyers. I've only found the white one as Maisto 

MC

Colour changer

And the casting I believe is the daddy of them all, Rainbow Toys 

[bunglebus]

11 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

 search suggests that is a tin plate made by Ichiko of Japan.  This is the nearest to your car I have found.

https://www.ebay.es/itm/291979633515

Here is another example of a Dutch police all be it of a different American car.

https://atg-tlv.com/products/untitled-40

 

Perhaps I should look more closely at my own pictures!

[andy18s]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

And no way to shut it down until it had finished 🙄😡😱☠️👎🐷💩

Did you not get the memo about disabling it on the phone beforehand?

[bunglebus]

Do you think the suits at Matchbox would have been happy about this?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256048860822?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=g6bk2rnSR-O&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=X5RtjeAxSP-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[FakeConcern]

Yesterday a tiny box worth £66 arrived in the post signed for (by the postie) so I could get a couple of projects finished off.

My childhood Roger Clark Crapi painted yellow, but only needing a couple of tyres from Steve Flowers...

and a red Crapi with teledials as I wanted one for my Tri Deck Transporter. Stupidly I made a bid on this one on my phone while sitting in the bright sun and with my brain turned off...

I noticed the collapsed suspension, but was optimistic

So no suspension and two broken A pillars, what else?

Oh well at least it was for the starting price bid! The only thing I needed to buy was a repro plastic suspension spring from Steve (1st name terms after all the money I've spent with him)

So here they are finished at last

I also splashed out on the correct stickers for Roger Clark's white Crapi

The plastic spring for the red one was a pain in the arse as when compressed the rear wheels got stuck up. A fair bit of filing and paring to sort it out

I just tickled the red one in with Humbrol (actually Revel) enamel and a red Sharpie rather than full resto

The white one was fully stripped and repainted

I amnaged to get a mark in the black bonnet when I clamped it together despite plenty of cloth to protect it, it didn't polish out but not too bad.

I actually prefer the teledials to the red spots (hides)...

 

I'm pleased with how both of these turned out

I made the missing rear light from the back end of a 2CV interior (handy it was the right colour) left over from a Van conversion I did in the early 80s after visiting France. Funny how I still had that when I have lost complete cars...

[sheffcortinacentre]

6 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

I must be living in a parallel reality!

I have been out today to 3 towns, visiting 3 Poundlands.  Not one Matchbox, nor any pegs showing they ever did.  In one High Street Poundland the had 0 Hot Wheels, just empty pegs.  The others had sparse stock of Hot Wheels, max five pegs and a third full at most

In 2 of the towns I also went to their B&M.  Nothing new aside from loads of Pixar Cars.  Same old mainline stock from weeks ago, thinning.  No new Matchbox.  

Waste of time and fuel...

Me & you both!