Shite in Miniature II

49,512 · February 14

I unboxed a load of premiums a few weeks back and put them in my display case. Thought it would be nice to get some pictures of them while I have a few hours to myself

That's half of them done...

25,919 · February 14

Premiums, yeah... I can safely assert here and now that there isn't one model in that selection that I'll ever be able to afford. But then, I do try to avoid buying new, however lush they may be (and those are!).

These are going to be bought by "collectors" (or more likely scalpers) and will never be played with; will never see the inside of a 5-for-a-quid rummage box; will never be Humbrolled by enthusiastic seven-year-old hands. Like toys used to be!

I would be delighted to find my predictions proved wrong but honestly, can any of you see it happening?

Exactly.

Oh and by the way, MrsR has instructed me to remind you all that under no* circumstances are you to send me any more boxes of resto-project models, or as she calls them, scrap. So please, take note* of her wishes and do not* ever send me anything else, no matter how much I may admire it.

(And please DO take careful note of the punctuation in that message!)

38,650 · February 14

44 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

These are going to be bought by "collectors" (or more likely scalpers) and will never be played with; will never see the inside of a 5-for-a-quid rummage box; will never be Humbrolled by enthusiastic seven-year-old hands. Like toys used to be!

I would be delighted to find my predictions proved wrong but honestly, can any of you see it happening?

About three or four years back, my local Tesco Extra began stocking the premium Hot Wheels Car Culture range (£7 then; generally £9 now).

Whenever I was in looking through the mainline tubs, doing my 'rat going through a bin' routine (to quote MrsDC), oftentimes I'd find these premiums just slung in with the regular HW releases.

I'm quite sure that more than a couple of these ended up going through the checkout because a kid had picked one out of the blue tub, and a distracted parent mistakenly thought it was just a little £1.50 car based on the shelf-edge label - and would they even realise the price difference at the time, amidst a trolleyful of groceries?

I also encountered a number of torn-open empty boxes from these premiums stuffed in behind the other toys on the shelves - and maybe this is why Tesco don't seem to stock them anymore; too much theft.

Which is all to say, one way or another there are probably a fair few of these Premiums lying chipped at the bottom of a toybox within a mile radius of where I'm sitting right now! So, although I haven't found any in a rummage box yet, I'm still hopeful...

23,703 · February 14

I’ve never found any premiums, Hot Wheels or Matchbox, in second hand cheapo rummage boxes or job lots. But I have found a few recent releases from the mainline ranges. I think the newest was one of the Hot Wheels red Sierra’s. Pretty sure one of you lot had that one off me.
They probably will turn up eventually though, once the kids start getting a bit older and their old toy cars start getting sent to boot sales and charity shops.

23,703 · February 14

I just received an order from that wonderful French gentleman that sells well priced diecasts, and gets me in trouble at home for doing so!
But, within this order I made a wild card purchase because it was keenly priced. A type of car I wouldn’t normally be much bothered with being much more interested in bigger stuff. But, it’s very cool non the less!

😂

Even in 1:43 scale it’s absolutely tiny!
I think it’s from one of the South American collections, which had me wondering who in their right mind would buy one of those to use on the roads over there in real life!? I can’t imagine they lasted long (or their owners lasting long either!) it’s carnage on the road in countries like that but in something this small you’ve got absolutely no chance.

49,512 · February 14

A few Majorettes hanging around in Home Sense but nothing I wanted

And a Street Kak

49,512 · February 14

TK Maxxxx have a few too, got two more Renault 12s if anyone wants one - will swap for ovloV/Escort obviously

23,703 · February 14

This big bastard was in the parcel with the Isetta.

Monstrously big GM Fishbowl bus!
It’s absolutely fantastic. I’m not a big bus geek tbh, but this is impressive! It’s 1:43 again but it’s such a big model, just like the real buses. Very iconic too, pretty much everywhere in the US and Canada were running these in the 70’s and 80’s, even well into the 90’s. It’ll look fab with all my American cars with it!

The driver has been warned not to drop below 50mph though…😄

49,512 · February 14

Popped into work to grab some bits for tomorrow's stupid o'clock start - he'd found a couple of 50p cars in a charity shop

Obviously I have a much nicer Dinky Honda but it's complete at least

This one we both thought was a Sierra at first glance...

...but is meant to be an E36 BMW! That is BAD

10,072 · February 14

53 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

This one we both thought was a Sierra at first glance...

...but is meant to be an E36 BMW! That is BAD

That is terrible, I was thinking it was a Xantia!

9,610 · February 14

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

A few Majorettes hanging around in Home Sense but nothing I wanted

And a Street Kak

Wouldn't mind a StreetKa if you're that way again 😀

10,072 · February 14

i was in Norwich yesterday

I wish now that I'd asked how much the Chipperfields Commer was

Saw this in as well, never even knew it was a thing, cool though!

9,610 · February 14

1 hour ago, 155V6 said:

Wouldn't mind a StreetKa if you're that way again 😀

Edit-Don't worry too much,it seems we have a Home Sense nearby now 😁

4,408 · February 14

2 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

i was in Norwich yesterday

I wish now that I'd asked how much the Chipperfields Commer was

Saw this in as well, never even knew it was a thing, cool though!

I've got that set.

10,072 · February 14

4 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

I've got that set.

Any pics of it out of the box?

4,408 · February 14

I'll try sort some

8,769 · February 14

5 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Monstrously big GM Fishbowl bus!

That's excellent.

I've seen a few 1:43 partwork buses on eBay. Quite tempted by this Neoplan that's quite widely available, but I'm rather disinclined to spend the requisite thirty quid.

10,164 · February 14

2 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

i was in Norwich yesterday

I wish now that I'd asked how much the Chipperfields Commer was

The Chipperfields ticket office van is nice but @bunglebus found this little gem for me, which is my top pick:

The March 1965 adaptation into the Joe's Diner mobile canteen.

Can't get enough of these 6 decade old fonts and designs.

Significant modifications were made to the roof and the offside, to add much more play value. Despite this, it was withdrawn in 1966, though amassed sales of 147000 in less than 2 years, versus the 1962-64 circus booking office (133000), 1960-64 butcher's shop (106000) and the 1957-62 Smith's Mobile Shop (207000).

A serving hatch was added, which then required an interior, rather than a cardboard backing to the windows, as previously seen.

Here's Joe, ready to serve some uninspiring yet no doubt hearty fare. My Grandad was called Joe, so I imagine this one to also be a jolly Scot with a penchant for short bouts of shrill whistling.

Here's Joe showing off his party trick, which is the ability to be spun round to the prep area, via a twizzly knob eminating from his head.

This pleasant little casting really comes alive at 'night', though:

Check out the warm glow from the amber roof panel:

It gives a lovely impression of the romance of these old canteens, before they all changed to white boxy trailers with cheap vinyl sign writing, touting greasy kebabs and warm tins of pop.

Joe's really in his element there, twizzling round back and forth on the spot, whistling the same two notes with great gusto, ad infinitum.

But the real (glacé) cherry on the cake is the front signage, warmly back-lit via the medium of trans-o-lite:

I'm a sucker for old mobile shops/canteens etc. as I love studying all the period detail and as such, this has taken a prominent place on the living room book shelf.

23,703 · February 14

5 minutes ago, RoadworkUK said:

That's excellent.

I've seen a few 1:43 partwork buses on eBay. Quite tempted by this Neoplan that's quite widely available, but I'm rather disinclined to spend the requisite thirty quid.

They are very nice tbh, big things even at 1:43 but almost all of them are types we never got here.

I have this one too, AEC Regent.

Still in its bubble at the moment, but also very nice. There’s three different colours of it too, green, red and light blue which is also an open top tour bus.

Theres also a Leyland Victory double decker, which is huge! I was very tempted, but it was an export model only so we didn’t get them here other than the one that was donated to Scotland after they came out of service.

10,072 · February 14

20 minutes ago, Jon said:

The Chipperfields ticket office van is nice but @bunglebus found this little gem for me, which is my top pick:

The March 1965 adaptation into the Joe's Diner mobile canteen.

Can't get enough of these 6 decade old fonts and designs.

Significant modifications were made to the roof and the offside, to add much more play value. Despite this, it was withdrawn in 1966, though amassed sales of 147000 in less than 2 years, versus the 1962-64 circus booking office (133000), 1960-64 butcher's shop (106000) and the 1957-62 Smith's Mobile Shop (207000).

A serving hatch was added, which then required an interior, rather than a cardboard backing to the windows, as previously seen.

Here's Joe, ready to serve some uninspiring yet no doubt hearty fare. My Grandad was called Joe, so I imagine this one to also be a jolly Scot with a penchant for short bouts of shrill whistling.

Here's Joe showing off his party trick, which is the ability to be spun round to the prep area, via a twizzly knob eminating from his head.

This pleasant little casting really comes alive at 'night', though:

Check out the warm glow from the amber roof panel:

It gives a lovely impression of the romance of these old canteens, before they all changed to white boxy trailers with cheap vinyl sign writing, touting greasy kebabs and warm tins of pop.

Joe's really in his element there, twizzling round back and forth on the spot, whistling the same two notes with great gusto, ad infinitum.

But the real (glacé) cherry on the cake is the front signage, warmly back-lit via the medium of trans-o-lite:

I'm a sucker for old mobile shops/canteens etc. as I love studying all the period detail and as such, this has taken a prominent place on the living room book shelf.

That is lovely (and fantastic pics as always!) and I agree much more exciting than the circus one.

However since I picked up the crane for £2.50 last year

Which cleaned up well so I made a hook and ratchet for it

I kind of got sucked into collecting Corgi Chipperfields models despite having no previous interest. The crane is just sooo nice, really heavy and a lovely model and interesting toy so I've added other bits of the set

Cages

Land Rover before

and after

also trailer and human cannonball above

I wouldn't say no to Joe's Diner as well obv!

25,919 · February 14

As I was saying....

I must have had these over 50 years now! It seems I've used some of them, most likely on cars I don't even have any longer.

10,072 · February 14

On 13/02/2024 at 15:13, eddyramrod said:

There's been work, because the weather has been mild...

This is the Corgi Transit AA speclift I got the other day, with no wheels or even axles. But, the paint is quite a bit better than the one I already have, so I thought I'd put some (slightly) more realistic wheels on it. I have some sets from cheapie no-name 1/64 lorries, which fit quite well... except for fouling the chassis. So I got out my not-a-Dremel and trimmed the chassis to bring the wheels to a better position. It now has twins on the rear! I'll show it again when it's finished.

Many of these came in the same batch and are now drilled...

...and into the cosmic soda...

...and finally the rinse bucket. They can stay there overnight.

Great progress there! You manage to get stuff moving so quickly, I wish I could rather than prevaricating about everything.

Regarding your "not a dremel", can you use it as a drill as well as for cutting and grinding? Mrs Concern was looking at Dremels inB&Q the other day, but decided they were too expensive so I'm wondering what cheaper alternatives there are.

25,919 · February 14

Thank you; I can't afford to prevaricate, I have to leap outside when the weather looks favourable, because in this country, as we all know, you get maybe ten hours a year!

You can indeed use these tools for drilling, but I would suggest keeping them for the finer work. For drilling shells apart I use my hammer drill. Another thing to note is that while actual Dremel kit is expensive, it is at least widely available. Mine is a generic "tribute" effort, for which tools and accessories may not be so easy to find.

Here is my latest crop of shells drying out...

23,703 · February 14

36 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

As I was saying....

I must have had these over 50 years now! It seems I've used some of them, most likely on cars I don't even have any longer.

Blimey! How have they stayed unused all that time!? And kept their wrappers too!
I don’t think I’ve seen them like that before, only ever occasionally stuck to a car. What a cool little upgrade they thought of too.

25,919 · February 14

12 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Blimey! How have they stayed unused all that time!? And kept their wrappers too!

I really don't know. I suppose I just forgot I had them.

21,626 · February 14

2 hours ago, Jon said:

The Chipperfields ticket office van is nice but @bunglebus found this little gem for me, which is my top pick:

The March 1965 adaptation into the Joe's Diner mobile canteen.

Can't get enough of these 6 decade old fonts and designs.

Significant modifications were made to the roof and the offside, to add much more play value. Despite this, it was withdrawn in 1966, though amassed sales of 147000 in less than 2 years, versus the 1962-64 circus booking office (133000), 1960-64 butcher's shop (106000) and the 1957-62 Smith's Mobile Shop (207000).

A serving hatch was added, which then required an interior, rather than a cardboard backing to the windows, as previously seen.

Here's Joe, ready to serve some uninspiring yet no doubt hearty fare. My Grandad was called Joe, so I imagine this one to also be a jolly Scot with a penchant for short bouts of shrill whistling.

Here's Joe showing off his party trick, which is the ability to be spun round to the prep area, via a twizzly knob eminating from his head.

This pleasant little casting really comes alive at 'night', though:

Check out the warm glow from the amber roof panel:

It gives a lovely impression of the romance of these old canteens, before they all changed to white boxy trailers with cheap vinyl sign writing, touting greasy kebabs and warm tins of pop.

Joe's really in his element there, twizzling round back and forth on the spot, whistling the same two notes with great gusto, ad infinitum.

But the real (glacé) cherry on the cake is the front signage, warmly back-lit via the medium of trans-o-lite:

I'm a sucker for old mobile shops/canteens etc. as I love studying all the period detail and as such, this has taken a prominent place on the living room book shelf.

That's fantastic.

2,924 · February 15

9 hours ago, Jon said:

The Chipperfields ticket office van is nice but @bunglebus found this little gem for me, which is my top pick:

The March 1965 adaptation into the Joe's Diner mobile canteen.

Can't get enough of these 6 decade old fonts and designs.

Significant modifications were made to the roof and the offside, to add much more play value. Despite this, it was withdrawn in 1966, though amassed sales of 147000 in less than 2 years, versus the 1962-64 circus booking office (133000), 1960-64 butcher's shop (106000) and the 1957-62 Smith's Mobile Shop (207000).

A serving hatch was added, which then required an interior, rather than a cardboard backing to the windows, as previously seen.

Here's Joe, ready to serve some uninspiring yet no doubt hearty fare. My Grandad was called Joe, so I imagine this one to also be a jolly Scot with a penchant for short bouts of shrill whistling.

Here's Joe showing off his party trick, which is the ability to be spun round to the prep area, via a twizzly knob eminating from his head.

This pleasant little casting really comes alive at 'night', though:

Check out the warm glow from the amber roof panel:

It gives a lovely impression of the romance of these old canteens, before they all changed to white boxy trailers with cheap vinyl sign writing, touting greasy kebabs and warm tins of pop.

Joe's really in his element there, twizzling round back and forth on the spot, whistling the same two notes with great gusto, ad infinitum.

But the real (glacé) cherry on the cake is the front signage, warmly back-lit via the medium of trans-o-lite:

I'm a sucker for old mobile shops/canteens etc. as I love studying all the period detail and as such, this has taken a prominent place on the living room book shelf.

That's just a lovely thing, it really is.

Not just a toy somehow, also a slice of history.

49,512 · February 15

Won a cheap job lot on eBay, mainly for a better Matchbox Superkings Volvo ambulance than my current one

it came with several others which are doubles so will get sold on once I find their respective twins

This confused me for a moment, until I realised the glass is a spare to replace the broken original. Small variation here as it has a rear view mirror moulded in and the white version doesn't

35,621 · February 15

12 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

As I was saying....

I must have had these over 50 years now! It seems I've used some of them, most likely on cars I don't even have any longer.

12 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Blimey! How have they stayed unused all that time!? And kept their wrappers too!
I don’t think I’ve seen them like that before, only ever occasionally stuck to a car. What a cool little upgrade they thought of too.

The last time I saw some like that was just before I plastered them all over my Corgi Toys. The number plates would do a couple of clonings before they would become useless.

35,621 · February 15

21 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

I just received an order from that wonderful French gentleman that sells well priced diecasts, and gets me in trouble at home for doing so!
But, within this order I made a wild card purchase because it was keenly priced. A type of car I wouldn’t normally be much bothered with being much more interested in bigger stuff. But, it’s very cool non the less!

😂

Even in 1:43 scale it’s absolutely tiny!
I think it’s from one of the South American collections, which had me wondering who in their right mind would buy one of those to use on the roads over there in real life!? I can’t imagine they lasted long (or their owners lasting long either!) it’s carnage on the road in countries like that but in something this small you’ve got absolutely no chance.