Shite in Miniature II

[egg]

do you know Nick Jones diecast website no longer works folks? Well, wayback machine has captured it for posterity here, useful for 1-75 info (+benbros, morestone etc)

https://web.archive.org/web/20200223105728/http://www.vintagebritishdiecasts.co.uk/

[danthecapriman]

4 minutes ago, egg said:

do you know Nick Jones diecast website no longer works folks? Well, wayback machine has captured it for posterity here, useful for 1-75 info (+benbros, morestone etc)

https://web.archive.org/web/20200223105728/http://www.vintagebritishdiecasts.co.uk/

I did notice that it stopped working. It was quite a handy site. Cheers for finding that link👍

[155V6]

A box arrived from France in the week

I'd been waiting for this for a while,& wasn't disappointed.It's the Ford Racing Puma in 1/18 Scale by Otto

I wouldn't normally spend this much on a model car,I don't really have the space for 1/18 scale either.I made an exception as it's a version of a car I actually own

Plenty of nice details on this

Interior is nice too

Only issue I had was the top of the aerial came off when I took it out of the box.I thought it was broken,but looking on a Facebook group,it turns out that this is fairly common.The aerial is in two parts,& the top can come detached.If you use a magnifying glass you can see a tiny hole in the base & hopefully glue it back in 🤞

[Split_Pin]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

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-through 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.

Had it not been sat on my shelf right now, I'd have mistaken that old Dinky Zephyr for my dad's example. It has an almost identical patina! I think these are really characterful and the Zephyr is actually an accurate casting in my opinion. The 2 tone paint sets it off. I'm hoping to find a Dinky Austin Devon or a later Corgi Austin A55 Westmisnter.

[MiniMinorMk3]

21 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

I've never seen these Bburagos unboxed before.

Have to say, the R5TurboNutterBastard is a bit more nicely rendered than the Golf GTi, which just looks a bit... wrong, somehow.

 

 

The front looks a bit long ahead of teh front wheels and the grille is slightly recessed on the Golf. It also looks a bit narrow.

 

20 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

 

Esprit is correct, though.

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

 

The Esprit was the first production car chassis number 0100G.

Here's one I had earlier

16 hours ago, bunglebus said:

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

One of the earliest to have a number plate was the Racing Mini, AJN 319H

 

[danthecapriman]

There’s been quite a few new arrivals here, more on those later…

For now though, I have another complete Lesney Major packs truck!  
Trailer was in one lot, and a really good TK cab in another lot. How very convenient.

Nice enough eh!? 
But wait…

BOTH REAR DOORS!!

I do like these Major packs trucks.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Earlier than the Racing Mini with a number plate was the Beetle Rally car, DVB 257G 

[MiniMinorMk3]

And earlier than the Bug is the MG 1100, NMT 659

[junkyarddog]

8 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

And earlier than the Bug is the MG 1100, NMT 659

That is one of my favorite Regular Wheels castings!

[sierraman]

Today’s finds. Ironically weren’t we on about Swop Tops other week? 

[flat4alfa]

18 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

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

I thought you meant Ballade in blue and nearly had a coronary 

[bunglebus]

3 hours ago, sierraman said:

Today’s finds. Ironically weren’t we on about Swop Tops other week? 

Red wigwam van?

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Red wigwam van?

It’s purple, I guess it’s the sun. 

[sierraman]

Shock news! Supposedly Matchbox were planning a Renault 18 in Superkings. How much would we have been spaffing over that! 

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

It’s purple, I guess it’s the sun. 

Only ever found blue ones

[FakeConcern]

21 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

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...

That's very kind of you as somehow my Lotus Racing set has lost the extra chassis, I bought a cheap Elan to replace it, but it's too nice! I'm happy to pay for it though, I really don't want you to be out of pocket.

No problem about the Firebird, I did post some pictures showing the Tri Deck with a Teledial Firebird but they were fake. I photocopied the wheels, printed, cut them out and stuck them on the Red Spot car for a few pics haha!

 

I originally bought two a Red Spot and a Teledial, but the former was mint and too good to open up and the latter was pretty much fucked and has now been repainted and waiting for some other Steve Flowers parts. The wheels will go on another Red Spot I aquired which is also waiting for parts. I am still hoping I'll find how to swap the Whizzwheels without having to open the car up as mentioned in this article since it's also pretty nice.

http://corgitoys.free.fr/English/CORGI_305_Marcos_GT850_Red-Spot_1972-1973.htm

If not I'll open it anyway.

[D.E]

Find of today: Blue-Box BMW E24. These models have a gear on the rear axle interacting with a portruding bit of plastic, which causes them to make a sound that vaguely sounds like an engine. 

I didn't find a lot of interesting stuff lately, my sole purchase last month wasn't even a car... I don't think we have a thread for these things and it is, after all, a miniature, but to avoid cluttering this page with rambling about something that isn't a vehicle and probably not everyone's cup of tea, this story goes into a spoiler:

Spoiler

Who of you are familiar with lying awake, thinking about arousing machines like triplanes, blue three-wheelers and... steam engines? Yes, those magnificent puffing and smoking machines! How fun would it be to tinker with them, but who has the space, knowledge and funds required for a fullsize engine? Not me. Still, I could buy a miniature right? I decided I should try to find a cheap used Mamod or Wilesco or one of the other brands that aren't hideously expensive, and went to sleep.

The next morning, I fired up Marktplaats (that wonderful Dutch marketplace where one can find low ballers, dreamers, scammers, illiterates, and people who appear to have taken pictures with a twenty year old broken phone) and dived into the world of dirt cheap miniature steam engines. I found many listings along the lines of "Wilesco D12 for spares or repair, 40 euro". "Wilesco, untested, 50 euro". Etc. Interesting, but what caught my attention was an advert that didn't have any pictures and little info in the description. I could translate it as "old miniature steam engine, some accessoiries included". The price, however, was very low so I gave the seller a call. 

"Yes, the steam engine! I played with it when I was a kid, but I don't think it was ever used since. What model it is? Dunno, it is a simple one. Red base."

Not that helpful either, but with the seller stating it had a red base plate and didn't look very complicated, with my limited knowledge I figured it could possibly be one of the cheaper models made by Mamod, like the one in Lawrie's excellent video. I made a deal with the seller and, two days later, a courier in a scruffy Sprinter brought me a package containing the aforementioned accessoiries (good stuff actually! Things like fall hammers and grinders, some even boxed and seemingly unused. I already sold a few of them for more than the entire lot cost me) and... this.

Hey that's not a Mamod! I think. To be honest, I still don't know for sure who made this. Chimney obviously is not the original one, it's just a piece of tube. Red base plate? Yes, but that's been (poorly) applied with a paint brush, the underside is still the original colour, which is a greyish blue. Wilesco then? Maybe, but so far I can't find a model that is an exact match. The seller was right though about it being a simple model, it doesn't even have a pressure gauge, a water gauge glass, or anything like that. Nope, it's just a liquid fuel burner heating a boiler, which will make the single cylinder move. I hope. I haven't tested it yet...

 

[sierraman]

44 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Only ever found blue ones

Blue is by far the most common. 

[Datsuncog]

On 6/9/2023 at 3:48 PM, Tenmil Socket said:

I can’t remember who it was who had them but this reminds me of those weird cars on here that had a load of diamantés glued to them and figures inside and possibly sun strips on the windscreen.

Arf, well remembered - I found those absolutely terrible custom jobs at the market, in 2020 and 2021. They included a Vanguards Anglia van, a Corgi Mini, a partwork 2CV pickup and unknown Chevrolet Impala - and yes, now you mention it I think this may be from the same 'artist'.

God help me, I ended up buying three of them. They were all passed on, though...

I'll have a look for the pics a little later...

[bunglebus]

The 2CV passed through my hands and went to Flat4alfa I think

[RoadworkUK]

That Vanguards Esprit with the functional pop-up lights inspired me to do some more dicking about with cars and cameras. To whit:

This is a 1:18 BMW M1 by Norev, and it's quite nice.

My favourite bits are the lights, which are quite absurdly well depicted:

Basically, this was all an exercise to see if my new mobile phone can do what my old one could, and it... can't. So I've broken out a 2004 Olympus Mju Mini for these — the best camera I have for macro stuff.

I guess there are unhealthier hobbies.

Fin.

[bunglebus]

Couldn't go to yesterday's boot sales as I was working, but there were a few bits to be had at today's 

[eddyramrod]

Some painting occurred before we went away, and some more has happened today, which I'll show you in a future update.  But these are the ones that are finished enough to go on my shelves.

Remember I bought a shonky old Morris Cowley off ebay?

And now I have not just one, but two FX3 taxis!  Sid James has nothing on me...

You can't really see in this pic, but the drivers are wearing different-coloured coats and hats.  I've got a third one on the way at some point in the future, which I think will do.  I can then regard my Carry On Cabby fleet as completed, I reckon.

[bunglebus]

OK here's some of today's haul, starting with Corgi.

These instructions and parts were all mixed in with a big pile of cars and junk, don't know if I missed anything 

50p's worth of Land Rover 

Later version of the D series and trailer

Capri is quite tidy

[bunglebus]

Who can resist a Diplomat?

Or a Miura

I'm sure not everyone is a fan of the Draguar but I like its 70s nonsense

This was a pleasing find, lesser-spotted red Gruesome Twosome. That means I can restore the one Datsuncog sourced me

These Astra police cars always seem to be tatty. This is probably the best I've come across

Le Sabre

I have better Saabs but I always pick up a 9000

I must have half a dozen of these already. Something about the sprung arm appeals to me

[bunglebus]

Any guesses who made this Ford Explorer?

Lone Star Europa is a nice find, actually one of two but one's missing the engine cover

But I have another with overpaint/cracked windows

MC Hammer Porsche 928

And Golf

Darda buggy 

[bunglebus]

Majorettes - E36 and especially the R19 cabrio were standouts here, actually found two the same. 

Know I know why the Land Rovers have an oblong hole in the roof, finally found one with the roof light in place

[bunglebus]

Finally some Hot Wheels, a few blackwalls and yet another Mini with the removable body. Found a loose base for one too, perhaps I should have nabbed it too

[bunglebus]

A few of today's Matchbox finds have registrations, I haven't shown them all but here's a list of those that have them displayed;

SGO 290F on the Miura,

SAR 857G on the Europa, 

PDB 7 on the Challenger - UK or USA plate?

KG 6567 on the Model A van - interesting as it's the Kellogg's version

78 JCF on the Corvette -again could be an American or English reg

B162 UNK on the Astra

The Saab just has SAAB - a trend I norltice with later Matchbox, as well as being LHD to have wider appeal I guess

[sierraman]

RSH88T