Shite in Miniature II

[Datsuncog]

On 7/29/2023 at 12:15 PM, MiniMinorMk3 said:

That yellow submarine is probably one of the many reissues that Corgi have done in the last 20 years. I think they have done about 5 reissues of it celebrating various Beatle anniversaries.

And talking of Beetles, that Gamma is a good find.

Pretty sure that one was an original Yellow Submarine rather than a rerelease - I neglected to take pictures of the base, but it was stamped 'Made in Gt Britain' and had rubber-tyred wheels using late-60s style Corgi cast alloy hubs. From recollection, the somewhat hodgepodge range of Beatles Collection models from the late 90s onwards were all made in China, and the sub was fitted with smooth nylon one-piece wheels.

I probably should have bought it, as I think I'd be worth at least a tenner even with the missing bits, but I'd blown the last of my cash on the Gama and Matchbox Dinky and was too lazy to go and find a cash machine and then come all the way back again... hopefully another collector found it and it made their day!

The Gama is pretty great; the glazing has slipped back in the casting, oddly, but it's only a screw-on base so should be an easy fix for the new owner!

[MiniMinorMk3]

Just now, Datsuncog said:

Pretty sure that one was an original rather than a rerelease - I neglected to take pictures of the base, but it was stamped 'Made in Gt Britain' and had rubber-tyred wheels using late-60s style Corgi cast alloy hubs. From recollection, the somewhat hodgepodge range of Beatles Collection models from the late 90s onwards were all made in China and fitted with smooth nylon one-piece wheels.

I probably should have bought it, as I think I'd be worth at least a tenner even with the missing bits, but I'd blown the last of my cash on the Gama and Matchbox Dinky and was too lazy to go and find a cash machine and then come all the way back again... hopefully another collector found it and it made their day!

The Gama is pretty great; the glazing has slipped back in the casting, oddly, but it's only a screw-on base so should be an easy fix for the new owner!

As t was GB made then yes probably an original. However, with all the damage it's not worth more than a couple of quid. Mint and boxed examples can be has for less than £100. Tere are loads of them out their.

[Datsuncog]

On 7/30/2023 at 11:08 AM, Jon said:

And @Datsuncog - that's great news! I'll be in touch to make payment!

No worries!

Would deffo be interested in talking about swopsies with regard to your spare Land Rover Station Wagon... no rush whatsoever!

And yes, I reckon your no-origin base LR Fire Dept pickup could well be a New Zealand made model - there seems very little to go on about those, but someone's removed the lettering...

[TheOtherStu]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

If I can't get it at the original price (£2.50 or whatever it is these days) then its not happening. Sorry but I'm done lining someone else's pocket as far as diecast is concerned.

 

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

I agree, it’s silly the amount charged for really basic stuff you can get in Poundland/Entertainer etc

Fair enough, but even so, anyone fancy making up a list of stuff to look out for?

[bunglebus]

When it comes to Matchbox and Hot Wheels we generally agree on what's hot and what's not. I don't actually like that Volvo super all that much but I'd be very pleased to find it all the same 

[bunglebus]

Maisto 1:18 Honda S2000 looks in very good nick for a tenner 

[andrew e]

Another Gama that’s family owned  since new! Phone number and real Merc long gone though, though the sandwich board left outside many w house still exists in my brothers shed I think!

[MiniMinorMk3]

I've had a few of those Gama 1302 Bugs, mostly in the green gold metallic.

The casting goes back to the Gama hard case days.

The gold coin was used to loosen the screw holding the car to the base.

If you have yellow Gama models, it's best to keep them away from bright light.

This one must have been on a very long holiday in Southern Europe.

I've also had the 1302 in the generic red that Gama dipped a lot of their later production in. Here's a 411 in that red.

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

And back on the Land Rover theme, here's a couple of Series 1s from the Matchbox Collectibles range.

First up is YYM35054 from the First Great 4x4s Collection

Great chassis detail on some of these Matchbox models.

Scond is YYM38052 from the Great Outdoors Collection.

This looks like some hideous fictitious livery from an over enthusiastic model designer.

Does have a dawg and guns on the back

More Land Rovers to follow during the week.

[bunglebus]

Had some bits land while I've been away, starting with a pair of Zodiac Toys Midnight Roadsters - as far as I can make out, Zodiac imported various Hong Kong area castings and sold them as their own brand. Don't know yet who made the Thunderbird....

...but the '57 Chevy is definitely the same one I have loose, itself branded both MC Toys and Zee Toys!

Then there's this mint Playart Jag E Type 

[AndyW201]

Finally got round to opening the couple of parcels I've had recently from fellow miniature-shiters.

First from @Tenmil Socket

Hmm, seems we share the same tastes in breakfast-time fare. Aldi FTW! Inside was something equally tasty...

 Only taken me approximately 40 years, but I finally have an original blue Acclaim. I did have the later red driving school version, but it was this one I always wanted. Obvious party trick with this one was the steering front wheels via the mirrors (which are slightly clunky looking but they need to be like that really,)

but things like the wheels which kind of looked like the real ones, cast in badging and a well rendered shape were things that really appealed with this to me, as a kid. 

This one's in not bad nick, with very minimal paint loss, but as can be seen, under previous ownership, someone's gone a bit mad with the red. Don't know if it's been an attempt at detailing, or a full re-colour, but luckily most of it has been removed.

I had a rub over it with some household wipes, and managed to get some more red out of the crevices,

Some of the red on the rear bumper and drivers mirror was a bit stubborn, so the bumpers, along with the mirrors and side rubbing strips and rear grilles were touched in in black, and the wheels, grille and headlights got a dab of silver,

The effects were, well yeah, bloody non-existent in these pics...

There were also a few smol Ford Focii to fill the box up 

I got the white ST ages ago, I think it's in 201 jnr's stash of cars now. I've never seen the orange one before though, so it's nice to have. It's not really far off the Tangerine Scream colour available on the real ST. I do like Realtoy cars, they had a decent level of detail for the price that Tesco was knocking them out at and I liked most of the subjects that they modelled.

I got the blue MK1 RS in a recent DanBox, so I fancied this white version. I do like the seperately moulded race seats in these. Shame about the wheels on this version though...

[Spottedlaurel]

On 7/30/2023 at 8:26 AM, bunglebus said:

Both the Golf and Beetle please - sorry just seen your post! Also after the blue Golf if it appears

Thank you 

OK, I'll look out for them....

[MiniMinorMk3]

This was one of my favourite Matchbox models, I had all three variations in the late 60s and early 70s.

I guess this model is one of the reasons I like big coupes. 

The reason I have posted this is that Ian Tyrrell has just posted a great video telling the history of the ISO Griffo. As usual his videos are a good what with lost of good historical information and an excellent example of the car to look at.

 

[bunglebus]

3 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

This was one of my favourite Matchbox models, I had all three variations in the late 60s and early 70s.

Matchbox seemed to like releasing that in blue for some reason

[AndyW201]

Next was a, erm, tube of cars from @vulgalour,

Another chance for me to get some more older Matchbox castings in the collection for a very reasonable price. These have also been beautifully restored and detailed with far more skills than I could hope to have!

First off, this MB Cortina. The metallic red one I had as a kid was always one of my favourites. I've been meaning to get a half decent replacement over the years, but the prices you see on eBay for sub-50p tat box examples is a piss take. This one has had a touch of the Crayfords due to a squished roof, and has been done very nicely in a shade not dissimilar to Signal yellow.

This may become a 2.0S convertible at a later date...

I had to have a Mercedes, so nabbed this SL in a nice grey, again with some extra detailing,

Funny that I got the Corgi Whizzwheels Lotus Europa the other week, I now have the Matchbox version to keep it company,

Looking great in the Gold Leaf style colour scheme,

I've always liked the VW fastback too. I had a shoddy narrow wheel example back in the 80s but it had hardly any of its purple paint left and none of its A pillars! This one looks more period in AS beige,

And this autobahn-stormer to finish,

The CSL looks tough in gunmetal grey, great detailing too on this one,

[egg]

1 hour ago, AndyW201 said:

The effects were, well yeah, bloody non-existent in these pics...

A little dab or two with DOT4 on the end of a cotton bud may help remove some more residual red paint (on the metal, I'd be more cautious on plastic)

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, AndyW201 said:

Some of the red on the rear bumper and drivers mirror was a bit stubborn, so the bumpers, along with the mirrors and side rubbing strips and rear grilles were touched in in black, and the wheels, grille and headlights got a dab of silver,

The effects were, well yeah, bloody non-existent in these pics...

 

Two thinks I would try to get rid of the red.

First up is lighter fluid. Swan, Ronson or Zippo brands are good. I use it to get rid of price label glue on the plastic model cases, so it should be safe around the glazing on the car. Dip Johnsons cotton buds in some to help get into the door shuts and window edges.

If it is still stubbon then some enamel thinners might help. Do not use cellulose as this will most definitely cloud the windows.

[bunglebus]

23 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Next was a, erm, tube of cars from @vulgalour,

Looks like one of the cigarettes from the 5th Element

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Don't know yet who made the Thunderbird....

Tis another Zee Toys Grippers

[Snake Charmer]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

This was one of my favourite Matchbox models, I had all three variations in the late 60s and early 70s

Snap, that and the Dodge Challenger. 

[Shite Ron]

On 7/29/2023 at 6:39 PM, eddyramrod said:

More Code 3-ing from the @FakeConcern batch!

Both of these were white already, being police cars, but I've mercilessly stripped them anyway and repainted them, to be civilian cars.  The Imp needed very little, just the front number plate reshaping a bit and the hole in the roof hidden with filler.  The Cortina needed holes filling too, once I'd straightened out the roof with pliers, but also, the police version has a horn speaker cast into the front of the chassis.  Fortunately I have the remains of a bronze scrapper, which included the chassis so I used that, meaning I still have a police chassis spare.

Stripping action has been happening today so there will be more to show in a while.  I need to butter up Mr Flowers now.

Great work Mr Ramrod, I really wanted the Cortina as a civilian car as a child but couldn’t find one. I love the way you have modified it from police spec. Just like the 1:1 scale back when they were decommissioned and everyone fitted a vinyl roof to hide the holes. Superb attention to detail for period correct modifications.

[vulgalour]

@AndyW201 tubes have never failed me yet when posting custom diecast, that's why the Cortina is still in one piece.  Glad to see they all got there safely and have a good home.

[FakeConcern]

A few months ago Mrs Concern found the Corgi 261 007 Aston she had as a child and decided to display it with my tat. She knew villain was missing  so one was supplied in a Steve Flowers order. When we had a proper look at it, we found broken suspension (why did they change to plastic instead of the steel spring) and the passenger seat wouldn’t lock down as the top of the seat was broken off and more Steve Flowers action occurred. So today I had a chance to look at it and after fiddling around to make the suspension fit and work I fitted the ejector seat which stayed down for a few seconds and then released itself. Stupidly I turned it over to see the problem and POW it fired across the room and I lost the spring! What a pisser! I didn’t even hear it land. Now they aren’t expensive from Steve Flowers or on ebay, but postage makes it very dear plus the wait for Steve’s stuff is two weeks or more, oh well.

I have been having some fun with tiny tat though, recently acquired a Matchbox King Size Gran Fury and a car trailer (from F1 set maybe?). I stuck a Mustang dragster on the trailer and then put them together and love the result.

I think it should have motorbikes on the back, but I don't care

I also got a strange futuristic trailer that should live on a tractor and noticed it is the same colour as the Caper Cart so ...

It also is just the right size for a Mini...

[bunglebus]

That Mod Tractor/Caper Cart/Mini combo works really well!

Got loads of the flat trailers, usually found behind a Mercury Commuter and under a single seater 

[FakeConcern]

9 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

That Mod Tractor/Caper Cart/Mini combo works really well!

Got loads of the flat trailers, usually found behind a Mercury Commuter and under a single seater 

Is this a car trailer? Thinking of bidding for it on ebay as I'm now obsessed with trailers...

[bunglebus]

Yes - there are lots of colours to find!

Some of these might be the result of UV damage etc but there are definitely blue, black and yellow versions, plus two distinct bed types 

It also comes as a boat trailer

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

the mod trailer can be made into a camping trailer with a king size skip inserted upside down!

[bunglebus]

From yellow Matchbox trailers to yellow Matchbox pickups - I didn't leave the Derby toy shop empty handed

I also bagged this Hot Wheels Transit Supervan - initially the paintjob didn't enthuse me, but when you look closer it could be a period airbrushed custom

Joining them is this one that I realy do not like the paint on whatsoever - but finding the panel van version of the '59 Chevy isn't easy. This could make a sweet custom

 

[andrew e]

Is the bonnet louvred? That’s fantastic!

[Cookiesouwest]

That Honda is lovely