Shite in Miniature II

[Datsuncog]

So look - there's more, quite a bit more, but it's all stuff I kinda want to hang onto, at least for now.

But my phone's glitching, the sun's turned the place into a pizza oven, and I think it's maybe time to scoop everything up and head on home.

I'll post the rest of 'em up later for your delectation, if I get the chance - but until then...

Happy Friday, kids!

Now go enjoy that weekend.

[flat4alfa]

14 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Has @flat4alfa already thrown his raffish trilby into the ring to secure secure this one?

Yes, because all the borkwen bits on the one here are good on this one!

[RoadworkUK]

And with that, the week is over. Nothing but mindless tedium in store for the next six and a bit days until our next glorious taste of St George Market excitement. 

[junkyarddog]

Best tat Friday evar?

[Datsuncog]

I think the market on 6th March 2020 just about edges it for tat cornucopia and rarities for buttons, but it's been a bumper day of it I reckon!

[Datsuncog]

(I might be slightly delirious, so maybe best not to listen to me for a bit)

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

A mystery wrapped in an enigma!

Mystery no more!

Autocraft kit from 1955, produced by SMEC

SMEC (Scale Model Equipment Co) were at Steyning in Sussex.  Probably wasn't cheap at the time if the Jaguar logo allowed on the box

Scaled at 1:32, as I suspected when it was laid out on the table in comparison to the others

Thanks for getting this.  I do like an oddball

[flat4alfa]

8 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

I think the market on 6th March 2020 just about edges it for tat cornucopia and rarities for buttons, but it's been a bumper day of it I reckon!

Of course I had to go and look that up 

Page 550 !

[AndyW201]

Bloody hell! Tat Friday - Premium Edition this week, and no mistake!

I'll be honest, I had that Vanguards Lotus eyed up as a slotmag-donor for my Marina TC if it proved to be a bit tatty, but after seeing that trick with the headlights, it'll go straight into the collection, what a corker!

No problems with the Cararama Beemer either, if it's an'80s/'90s/'00s German barge, it's of interest to me. My brother had an Oxford green E39 528i so it can loosely be grouped in with the "cars I've had experience of" models.

Cheers as always Tim, great stuff!

[Split_Pin]

Some cracking finds, that Hilux is great. I have a Mazda RX7 on a 1993 L plate, still boxed that I got from one of you chaps a few years ago. No opening features and generally lacking the solid charm of earlier models but an interesting model nonetheless.

I also like the MAN and the detergent car!

[egg]

59 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Lastly (nearly), the Charity Stall Tat Box refugee, this Corgi Citroen DS Break.

what came first the ski club iteration or Grenoble olympics version ❓

 

oh hang on they did one for 64 too??

[Datsuncog]

On 6/7/2023 at 9:07 PM, sheffcortinacentre said:

Could you get 2 of those service centres?  As per usual can find anything round here. Ta

OH MY GOD I THINK IM GOING TAT SUPERNOVA

[danthecapriman]

@Datsuncog could I please claim the plastic Torino?

[FakeConcern]

I always seem to be out when Tat Friday is on haha!

If the Elan chassis is available I'd be interested.

Also I wish I hadn't missed the Teledial Firebird as I've been looking to get one for my Tri Deck Transporter, but as I never seem to get one I think I'm going to swap the wheels on a Red Spot one!

[HMC]

Dug out a few of my older acquisitions, some  are not in the best shape…

 

I used to love the period correct plates on these!

[Tenmil Socket]

7 minutes ago, HMC said:

Dug out a few of my older acquisitions, some  are not in the best shape…

 

I used to love the period correct plates on these!

That Cortina is nice... nice pictures too.

[bunglebus]

45 minutes ago, HMC said:

I used to love the period correct plates on these!

They also seem to have always been ones not issued by DVLA too.

How many had reg numbers and what were they?

RSH 88T on the Cortina

[RoadworkUK]

I love how crisp and accurate Matchbox used to get model designations, particularly on Fords. The Volvo 760GLE is another good example.

[flat4alfa]

2 hours ago, egg said:

what came first the ski club iteration or Grenoble olympics version ❓

 

oh hang on they did one for 64 too??

Corgi 436 Citroen Safari Wildlife Reservation: 1963-66

Corgi 475 Citroen Safari
Olympics Innsbruck: 1964-65
Corgi Ski Club: 1965-68

Corgi 499 Citroen Safari Olympics Grenoble: 1967-69

Corgi 510 Citroen DS Tour de France Paramount film: 1970-73

Corgi 513 Citroen Safari Alpine Rescue: 1970-71

Corgi 807 Magic Roundabout 1971-73

Two other variations that didn't make production were the Police (with dogs in back) and the Hearse (with coffin)

[FakeConcern]

[Jon]

4 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Aha...

Hongwell Cararama E46 appears to be an E39, now I look at it more closely.

If you're not bothered about a 5-Series, I'm sure it can be rehomed elsewhere!

Free Blu-Tac! 

Esprit is correct, though.

I think this was an early pre-production version, or Colin Chapman's personal car, or something special?

Base looks to be not so much cast as lightly rubbed against the die.

But - what's that little lever behind the front air dam?

Oh! Now that is nice.

Other than the mangled wiper, this one's actually in better shape than I'd first thought.

And if Mr Alfa decides he doesn't want the Imp, you're next in line!

It's your lucky/ unlucky (delete as appropriate) day!

New one on me.

Looks like it's had some mild outdoor play...

But the doors are like really floppy.

I've never come across a Corgi of this era with really loose doors before...

double rare.

Yes indeed - here y'go!

It's not perfect, but hopefully it'll display well enough for you!

Working bits do what they ought.

There is, unfortunately, a bit of a crack in the windscreen.

And the bucket platform may have had someone step on it in the dark.

But overall, it's not bad for £5, you'll hopefully agree?

Think it's had replacement tyres at some point, as these look a bit small!

The spare on the side looks a bit bigger.

Yes please - and the Siku Aral, if not already claimed!

What a day!! History book stuff.

[Zie]

Must have been restock day by me today. 

Home Bargains. 

B&M

Morrisons. 

[sierraman]

Think I might see if the car boot throws anything up tomorrow. 

[quicksilver]

Talk of DS Safaris makes my latest creation appropriate. This started out as a battered old Husky ambulance.

The famous BBC Roving Eye VGY 997M. The DS itself needed some filler over the headlights to convert into a facelift version and I replaced the wheels with a set from an Oxford Diecast model. The camera is from a Matchbox Mercedes TV van, aerial from Scale Model Scenery (and is VERY fragile) and the trailer is modified from a set of 3D prints found on ebay, one of which luckily happened to be almost the right style.

Really chuffed with how this one turned out, so I made one of the generator trucks to go with it. This was relatively easy, just a repaint of a rather garish Oxford circus truck, and isn't entirely accurate but close enough.

And for my next project - the last roving eye car was a green Disco 2. Guess what Oxford have just released.

[Noel Tidybeard]

13 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

THEY DID WHAT

the prelude & acclaim were made in 2 met blues 1 darker that the other

[Datsuncog]

4 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

I always seem to be out when Tat Friday is on haha!

If the Elan chassis is available I'd be interested.

Also I wish I hadn't missed the Teledial Firebird as I've been looking to get one for my Tri Deck Transporter, but as I never seem to get one I think I'm going to swap the wheels on a Red Spot one!

Can certainly add that Elan chassis to your personal Tat Box! No charge; I just wanted it to go to someone who'd appreciate it!

Sorry about the teledial Firebird - I thought you were all sorted for one, otherwise I would have tagged you... daaaah!

Things move fast on Tat Friday...

[eddyramrod]

I would have snapped up those Atlas copcars at a fiver each, and the Vanguards types.  If you see them again....

[Datsuncog]

15 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

I would have snapped up those Atlas copcars at a fiver each, and the Vanguards types.  If you see them again....

They were pretty good value - though some of them had an unfortunate amount of tinkling from broken-off parts within, as they didn't seem to be screwed down and had thus endured a bad time of it in transit.

On a quieter day I probably would have nabbed them, but it was heartbreaking what had to be left behind today - as I really couldn't justify a third trip to the ATM.

I'm sure I could have easily spunked £200 on tat today, but that's not a recipe for domestic harmony...

Anyway, I'm certain more Atlas police cars will show up on the stall before long, so I'll bear that in mind - but the same can't quite be said for Shinsei Mitsubishi trucks!

[Datsuncog]

Well, as mentioned yesterday there were indeed a few models I nabbed for myself. So for the sake of completeness (and please note I definitely didn't fall asleep before I could finish tapping this out last night) here we go...

Thanks to @Split_Pin's encouragement in helping me reassess these '50s Dinkys, I picked up this #162 Ford Zephyr.

(I think my phone was on the verge of catching fire at this point - hence everything going green...)

There's a few odd flicks of red Humbrol on the doors, but hopefully that'll come off. It's otherwise very clean and original.

One to hold onto; cos I just like it.

Then, you know I'm a sod for these Corgi Commers...

Although I've lately acquired a blue chassis, I'd only hoped to turn up a loose rear section in a tat box... but there were in fact three largely intact examples on the stall today.

This is the paler metallic blue version with the barred windows and side decals - there was also a darker blue version of the same body casting, but with an on/off button on the underside, rather than the axle-mounted cam switch seen here.

Battery-based mishaps appear to have occurred at some point in the past:

But I'll see what I can do to get it flashing again.

One to keep - at least until a better version shows up!

Then there's these, also from the Corgi stable:

The Lotus Elan chassis and twin-cam engine we've mentioned earlier, and it'll be going to @FakeConcern. I believe Corgi Model Club has the Elan with removable chassis in the works, so I'm looking forward to that one!

The trailer is actually one I've been keeping a lookout for years.

It's the #109 Pennyburn Workmen's Trailer, an odd but quite charming little model of a typical site trailer by Corgi, which only appeared for the 1968 and 1969 catalogue years.

As well as a set of moulded-in tools, this originally would have come with a separate plastic broom, shovel and pick - now long gone, as you might imagine.

It was also available in blue and white with no insert, as a camping trailer pulled behind the silver and blue gift set version of the Rambler Marlin. 

To this end, the baseplate is stamped as the more generic 'Pennyburn All-Steel Trailer' - though the box for this one would have stated 'Pennyburn Workmen's Trailer'.

Corgi managed to shift an estimated half a million of them in two years, so they were certainly an appealing enough little toy - and I'd guess a fairly inexpensive part of the lineup so, like the Heinkel, probably garnered a lot of sales from kids who couldn't quite manage to save enough pocket money to buy one of the bigger and pricier models.

While chezbois.com says they weren't able to establish whether a real-life trailer marketed as 'Pennyburn' ever existed, the big Van Cleemput book is unequivocal:

"The model reproduced all the features of the new steel trailer manufactured by Pennyburn Engineering Ltd of Londonderry. It already formed part of the mobile equipment used by many contractors and local authorities."

Since North West Trailers Ltd is still located in the Pennyburn Industrial Estate - just outside Derry - I reckon this is the same outfit, with a name change at some point over the last fifty-odd years.

So that's a rather lovely local link for me - and part of the reason why I really wanted one of these. The other reason being that it's just really nice!

Marcel notes somewhat drily that the toy, with its tiny removable pickaxe etc, "would undoubtedly not pass today's toy safety standards."

So it's a keeper.

Then there's this:

I know I've backed off Vanguards a little of late, but I was quite tickled by the Pat Moss rally A40 procured for @AndyW201 a few weeks back. It reminded me that I didn't have an A40 model and, since it was the first car my grandfather owned in the mid-60s, it'd be nice to have an example in the collection.

So when this appeared in the box for £5, I felt it'd be rude not to... especially as these do seem to be a little harder to find than some other Vanguards releases.

My grandfather's Countryman was black with a red roof, and I believe such a colourway was modelled in the range - but this is close enough for now.

It seemed to be missing a wiper, but luckily it was loose in the bottom of the box, so I'll reattach that at some point.

And lastly...

Yes, these were the three '£1 models' which morphed into 'three-for-a-pound models' at the whim of Charity Blokey.

The odd thing was that the Matchbox No.43 Dragon Wheels definitely wasn't in the box when I carried out my first unsuccessful attempt to buy some stuff from him first thing, so I dunno where it appeared from.

But it's in really lovely condition, given its origin and price point.

I don't think I've ever owned one of these before, and while I might have been tempted a few years ago to dismiss it as 'fantasy crap', it's actually quite delightful.

I think it might pair pretty well with my Dodge Charger funny car of the same vintage.

Ridiculously pleased with this one. A keeper.

And we've discussed the no-name Hong Kong FIRE BIRD TRANSAN upthread...

But it's not in bad shape overall, and the opening doors are actually quite well engineered.

If anybody fancies this, 25p takes it!

And finally - finally - a quite decent shell for the Mustang Wild Cat.

There was no base in the tat box for this, and I'd mated it with an equally lost plastic base that once belonged to a high-lift Corgi Jeep, just to make an unholy hybrid for the pics.

Looks alright, actually.

But when it came to doing a purchase, I then decided to pretend the Elan chassis belonged to this, for the purpose of ensuring that random bits got saved not binned.

So this is fairly tidy, surprisingly, and I'd guess that it might have been a quality control slip-up where the rivets weren't quite peened over enough to secure the base, and it all came away not long after it started being played with.

There's no sign of being drilled, anyway.

I can remember five of my childhood cars dying in this way - not just one but two 1/36 Corgi Ford Escort Police Cars; a Matchbox Super Kings Ford Sierra XR4i (in pale blue); a Siku VW Passat B2 wagon; and a Guisval Ford Fiesta. The bases would just pop off where the rivet failed, not necessarily due to abuse, and because light units, suspension, interior, glazing etc would then follow suit, that was generally that... goodnight Vienna.

The Passat and Fiesta did earn an honourable place in my Toy Scrapyard, though.

So if @flat4alfacan make use of this with his spare glazing and interior units, happy to add this to your box for 25p!

 

I did treat myself to some HOT SOAPY ACTION late on last night, giving everything a good scrub with the trusty toothbrush.

The Funmates Torino in particular looks miles better already; the others appear quite a bit better but they just feel so much nicer to the touch, after decades of grime from attics, cupboards and garages. They're kinda soft and smooth now, rather than gritty and icky.

So I'll get The Spreadsheet updated in the next day or two, and hit people up as requested in PMs!

 

Oh yes - and there's also the Matchbox Action Drivers sets I found in the Cityside branch of Home Bargains on my way home:

@sheffcortinacentre had tasked me with finding two examples of the Auto Shop set, and after a bit of puzzled searching I was delighted to clock a pair sitting high up on an overstock shelf. So that was serendipitous, as I doubt there's any more to be found round here.

Because I'd left the last vestiges of my self-control somewhere in the centre aisle of the market some hours previously, I also bought myself the Bus Station playset which was stocked out on the shelves - partly as it's appealing; partly as I can weakly claim I'll give it to my nieces someday; and partly because the transport planner in me is faintly perplexed at Matchbox's concept of a drive-thru bus station. I mean, like - what?

I'll open it sometime soon - but I think today needs to be spent on things other than diecast. While I absolutely love love love it whenever a fantastic day like yesterday unfolds, I know I can get a bit too sucked in.

So, healthy balance and all that.

And that - I think - is that, finally.

Happy Saturday, folks.

[bunglebus]

46 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

I think it might pair pretty well with my Dodge Charger funny car of the same vintage

Well they do share an interior.

This, along with the Volks-Dragon were definitely favourites of mine as a kid. Now you need a Hot Chocolate and a Big Blue