Shite in Miniature II

[sutty2006]

Another find. 
 

siku frontera and caravan, I’m amazed I kept the box. Probably because of how impressed I was with the whole set. 

[danthecapriman]

Few more recent arrivals/finds.

These ones are fresh out of a much needed bath, some were filthy!   
Lesney Mercedes is in superb condition, easily the best one of these I’ve ever had. 
Lesney Lincoln was absolutely rancid on arrival, someone had sticker bombed it and left it covered in sticky residue which had then attracted loads of dust, dirt, bum hair the lot! Unfortunately I couldn’t save its original paint which just peeled off in sheets after a good scrub to get the sticky crap off.  
Matchbox Lincoln is very good, in a colour I didn’t know they made. I thought they were all white.

 

Corgi Caprice in a less common colour than the yellow cab/police cruiser colours.

[155V6]

7 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

If I can see a cast swage line halfway down the door on that Yatmong, then it isn't a copy.  The picked-out window frames also are not on either Hot Wheel HW.   Cor.  Like.  Selling the CogSale™ duplicate in your sale?

I'd probably sell the carded one to be honest.I've got quite a few Yatmings,all loose,so the carded one doesn't really fit in.Meanwhile,I found another variant

[vulgalour]

Coming soon.  Having a clearout of diecast that I don't feel I'll get around to doing anything with.  It's mostly 70s Matchbox and a few Husky. 

There's also some repaints/customs that will be up for grabs done to my usual standard.  If you're interested in the WH40K Skitarii in the background of the second shot they're for sale too, done to a decent standard and ready to use, a pretty good starter force and the two knights are still fully articulated, fairly standard colour scheme.

I'll get some better pics and whatnot up soon.

[FakeConcern]

On a Bookface group someone posted a link to these repro Corgi TDF bike wheels which are hard to find.

They are slightly less delicate than the originals on the bike, but still plenty good enough. The ebay shop is in France and I'd never found it before. Price was reasonable (IMO) and arrived very quickly through the letterbox.

So if you are having trouble finding bits it's worth having a look, they have quite a lot of stuff that Steve Floweres doesn't have

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?ssPageName=&_ssn=3mja_laboiteajouets_minicirque

 

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, vulgalour said:

Coming soon.  Having a clearout of diecast that I don't feel I'll get around to doing anything with.  It's mostly 70s Matchbox and a few Husky. 

There's also some repaints/customs that will be up for grabs done to my usual standard.  If you're interested in the WH40K Skitarii in the background of the second shot they're for sale too, done to a decent standard and ready to use, a pretty good starter force and the two knights are still fully articulated, fairly standard colour scheme.

I'll get some better pics and whatnot up soon.

*rubs hands together 

[155V6]

I've started a new thread to sell some models.First up are some modern-ish Majorettes

https://autoshite.com/topic/54528-155v6s-haphazard-diecast-sales/?do=getNewComment

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, vulgalour said:

Nice Hi-Rakers 34. They make good customs

[Jon]

A couple of weekends back, we got up early to drive to a 'retro fair' about 45 mins away. I'd bagged a couple of Matchboxes there the month prior (some still boxed!) and some other smalls but no such luck this time.

At a loss at what the heck to do in another town so early, we headed out for breakfast but then came across a colossal charity shop I'd not seen before. This place is huge and bizarrely, open only on Thursdays and Saturdays. It's divided into two adjoining buildings, with separate entrances; the rear is the cheaper, everyday stuff that actually helps the community (fill a banana box with clothes for $10) and the front is the hand picked good stuff, with prices to match.

Since it bankrolls the part that directly helps the locals, I found a basket of semi-pricey diecasts and did some cherry picking.

 

First up was this Matchbox Dodge dragster, as they seem prevalent on here but I'd yet to find one:

The stickers are good but the axles are bent - I've accepted it as is for now and just think of it as 'stanced'.

 

Back end is likely the scruffiest part but it's a nice little casting. Has anyone done a civilian mod one of these? I'm thinking on spun wheels, like a miniaturised Superkings version.

 

Party trick is let down by the broken support but perhaps a judicious dab of glue could fix this. However, I'd hate it to end up like a Friday Market modified special*, so I'll opt for the lazy option and just ignore it.

 

It's not in excellent condition but I do like the shape of these Thames vans - especially the impractically small rear windows. I'm pretty sure a green Thames van (minus the Singer signwriting) was my Dad's first wholly owned car; his first jointly owned car was a Citroen Big 15. Writing this, it's only just dawned on me that we both had Citroens as first cars, although I'm not sure how favourably an AX would compare.

 

 

Then I struck lucky with this Zodiac - been on my want list for ages! I had one in my toy box growing up (unsure where it came from) and think I had the diecast version before I saw a real one. In later years, I bought a Dinky police version and despite all the opening bits, this was still my preferred choice between the two. Luckily, this one still has the spare wheel - were these still being fitted when the casting was modified to accept the big fat wheels?! Must've looked super old fashioned, if so.

The nearside front wheel is bent but rather than worry about it, I'll just pretend it's steering. And beggars can't be choosers when I haven't seen another over here (apart from the other one in the same basket, albeit missing the bonnet).

 

What's really strange though is that I was only thinking about this casting that very morning as we left the house, so make of that what you will! Anyway, very happy that this one is in the fold.

[andy18s]

Project anyone?

[bunglebus]

8 hours ago, Jon said:

Matchbox Dodge dragster

I'm afraid you've been ripped off - it's got the wrong sticker. You might as well send it to me...

It seems they quite often got whichever sticker came to hand  - and there are loads of different colours bases out there 

[flat4alfa]

Whichever the sticker or paint-fade level, the axles always end up bent worse on these than many others

A channeling energy from the hard launches endured by the real things, perhaps

[flat4alfa]

I did not know this.

[Jon]

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I'm afraid you've been ripped off - it's got the wrong sticker. You might as well send it to me...

It seems they quite often got whichever sticker came to hand  - and there are loads of different colours bases out there 

Ooh, I got a variation! Would've been nice to receive a wacky coloured base with it, too. 

I'm guessing the snake graphics never got stuck on other variants, since they seem a bit too long for others.

[MiniMinorMk3]

On 6/22/2023 at 9:18 PM, flat4alfa said:

Never knew about these either.  Matchbox Kingsize prototypes!

Not put my finger on what that was supposed to be.  I see elements of a few cars 

 

I stumbled across this picture on the interwebs...

and did an image search, which I think is the car that the Matchbox prototype was based on.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present the Serenissima Ghia from 1968

It was designed by Tom Tjaarda and displayed at the Turin Motor Show.

 

The Only One Ever Made - The 1968 Serenissima Ghia GT (silodrome.com)

 

 

PS, I just read back and Barrett had already posted an image of the Serenissima. 🙈

[MiniMinorMk3]

Tyco ad found on the interwebs.

[Datsuncog]

Good sleuthing!

That Serenissima looks to be the one - and I've never ever heard of it. Tjaarda vibe checks out, then.

Had Lesney gone ahead, millions of kids might have been familiar with this one - kinda like the otherwise obscure Monteverdi Hai.

[bunglebus]

Toys Я Us re-opens near me on Sat - is there a branch near you?

[eddyramrod]

If that's all of them, then the answer is no.

[flat4alfa]

Hmm...  I discounted Serenissima as it's a mid-engine.  Compare the wheel base and 'axle' positions.  Rear axle line too far forward for a mid-engine.  The Matchbox proto is of a front-engined GT four-seater with a boot area, a less-powerful car. 

The Matchbox has a flatter upper bodyline like Fiat Dino Coupe fender and a taller cut-off Kamm-rear upper too,  whereas front is equally-tapered top and bottom on Serenissima

Tjaarda didn't go for the stepped swage line along the flanks either, that was more a Leonardo Fioravanti (Pinin) favourite back then

Saying that, all those designers were all having lunch around the same pizzeria table in those days.

[sierraman]

In fairness it could have just been a generic design, you’ve then no licensing issues etc. 

Meanwhile look at this Lancia, that would have been spectacular...

[flat4alfa]

Who likes the Corgi Juniors Aston Martin DBS-V8 ?

Those wheels do look a bit puny though

Ah that's better

What is surprising is the lack of competition for this model. 

Well-catered for in 1:43, some 1:36 and 1:76 as well.  Oh and Airfix did their electronic 'Data' car at around 1:28.

But 1:64?  Surely it wasn't just Corgi?

Well almost.

This was the Matchbox prototype.  In resin, but no puny wheels in sight. 

What a shame.

[bunglebus]

FIL bought me this at the Wednesday boot sale as a thanks for servicing his car

Not bad for a tenner?

[155V6]

Looking through some boxes yesterday,& I found this Majorette Jeep Cherokee.

It's the only raised one I've seen with a daag in the back 😎

[bunglebus]

Big Chief one is the only high one I have with the poodle too

But mine has a white interior

[Datsuncog]

A pleasant arrival yesterday morning:

The latest installment from Corgi Model Club - the #420 Ford Thames Airborne Caravan.

I've been eagerly anticipating this one.

While I've had original two-tone blue and pink/purple examples pass through via the Friday Market, I've never even seen a green version before.

It's a great colour, just slightly metallic in the darker half.

Of course, it's the opening doors and interior which makes this such a peach.

Although the rear doors are maybe a little clunky, in the interests of making them functional while keeping them securely affixed to the rest of the body, the overall effect is very pleasing.

One 'first' gimmick which I don't think was ever repeated, either by Corgi or anyone else, is the 'real' foam seating on the rear bench.

Weirdly, on this reproduction it seems more like a piece of synthetic sponge overpainted in brown - it's a lot crispier than I recall the original version being.

This was, apparently, Corgi's first foray into injection moulded plastic interiors, having previously used thin vac-form sheets to cover the axles and suspension and give a vague impression of the cabin.

The Venetian blinds on the side windows look very similar to the rear blinds fitted to the earlier Chevrolet Corvair and Fiat 1800 - but I can't say for sure whether they're identical or not.

Although nicely done, with a chunky silver steering wheel, the interior does look a little more matte than the original, too.

Annoyingly, my original version is up in the attic right now so I can't do a side-by-side comparison.

The little step at the back, cast as part of the base, is a detail I hadn't picked up on before.

And the usual bumf is included - it's nice to get a bit of context, and I'd rather have a small 95mm x 95mm card like this than a whole A4 binder's worth of filler and needless trivia, which I'd nonetheless feel obliged to keep.

This was a great little model from a time when Corgi's design team were really hitting their stride.

The repro box is as lovely as you could wish for - designed to give young customers the opportunity to savour both the outside and the inside. I love the packaging artwork here.

Opening these boxes whenever they arrive to find the model within really is a genuine thrill - and this is one I've been excited for ever since I saw it in the upcoming releases at the start of the year.

Just glorious.

[bunglebus]

I've not had that yet but I've had an email to say the Police Beetle has been dispatched.

I understand CMC decided to chose the rarest colour, it does look nice but I've never seen one either, mines the colour of pond scum

I'm going to have to check out the sponge seat, I had no idea

 

[Remspoor]

My phone camera is not great, especially indoors.  I took a lot but most were blurred. These were taken at a Carrefour. I wanted to also go to the Toys R Us but I was not allowed . Ours, here in Spain, never closed down.

[bunglebus]

41 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

Nice, still looking for the two MK1 Golfs especially the blue one. The yellow one and pink Beetle are pretty cool too

[vulgalour]

On 6/28/2023 at 7:18 PM, vulgalour said:

Coming soon.  Having a clearout of diecast that I don't feel I'll get around to doing anything with.  It's mostly 70s Matchbox and a few Husky. 

 

Now available over here:

 It's going to take a while to post the whole lot up so keep an eye on the thread over there for new stuff arriving.