Shite in Miniature II

[Dick Cheeseburger]

7 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Got the Corgi A60 done today!

Theres a few marks on the glazing but it’s not too bad really and saves buying a new unit. The back axle seems very loose though? No idea why. It seems to move forward and backward an awful lot so I might open it again and see why. Probably just the slots it sits in have worn out so maybe a bit of plastic section fitted in will cure it.

I might have a go doing another one the same but in a different colour at some point. Just to see what Corgi were missing out on!

We could do with a before and after shot! Nice work, Dan. 

[danthecapriman]

11 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

We could do with a before and after shot! Nice work, Dan. 

Cheers!

The earliest photo I can find of it was just before the paint was stripped off.

Before(ish):

   
During:

     
     
After:

[eddyramrod]

That's seriously impressive work on the grille there Dan!  I've done a couple of these, I know how much the L plates are a part of the casting.

[danthecapriman]

10 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

That's seriously impressive work on the grille there Dan!  I've done a couple of these, I know how much the L plates are a part of the casting.

They are a sod to get off aren’t they!

The front one came out better than the rear. I got rid of the bulk of it with a dremmel (not a dremmel!) and sanding attachments then finished off with small files. 
The back one had a big void inside it. Like an air bubble had set in the casting. Flattening it all out did leave a bit of a low spot still though.

Its a real pity they didn’t re-tool the casting to make them without the L plates.

[barrett]

Hello MEN. Been a while since I've had anything to contribute to this thread as I've specificaly been trying not to waste money on stupid toy cars that I don't even collect, but I have aquired one new thing recently so now you all have to see it, too.

It's Politoys M 508 Innocenti Morris IM3 - the Italian attempt at sexing-up the old ADO16

You might say this is something of a spicy meata-ball. I wouldn't, but you might.

Bit of a dramatic arch gap from that angle, actually, and the (I'm assuming) grandmas and children wmployed to apply the hand-painted bits didn't do a great job on the rear lamps

Transverse A-series confirmed. Quite a decent fist of that I reckon.

MACRO MODE of the lovely rear badging which clearly reads 'Innocenti Morris'. Also a nicely textured parcel shelf, because all the ladies like an accurately-rendered parcel shelf

If we can assume the Spot-On 1800 is accurately scaled 1:42 then I reckon the IM3 is 'about right' at 1:43. Would be interesting to compare it to the Spot-On 1100s some day.

Anyway, that's all. I'll go back in my hole now.

 

[bunglebus]

Got myself a little present, and I think it pleases me more than finding brand new stuff in the shops.

Don't know why we only really got the ex-Kenner Fast 111s Mustang in one colour here, not that there were many more liveries available elsewhere either

[bunglebus]

I found a thing. I was sorting out pictures of my recent finds. Matchbox Fruehauf Tipper

The most recent one I got is labelled as Major Pack M4

It seems later down the line, Lesney made it part of the King Size range under K-4 instead

 

[FakeConcern]

While reading my Van Cleemput book recently I was struck by his notes that during late 69 early 70, Corgi were playing around with the idea of a Porshe 911 Carrera with the newly introduced red spot Whizzwheels before scrapping that idea and going with the Targa version. The 509 Polizei was released June 70 and the plain clothes blue/green 382 Jan 71.

Now as a kid I had (still have) a blue one from new and a green one I got from some kid I don't remember missing the boot/engine cover. As a kid I always thought if it was a Targa then the roof panel should be off otherwise what's the point dude? So...

Actually the Van Cleemput bit is a pack of lies, but I did cut the roof off my green one. Recently I was just playing around with the body shell of the scrap 911 Targa I bought to salvage the boot for my old green one (the interior went to @andrew e) and thought I should make it into the classic hard top 911. Alluminium strip went into the new C pillars after filing down the roll bar.

I didn't make the B pillars as thin as they should be as I wanted it to look like Corgi had made it (can I call it a Fake Corgi @flat4alfa?) so they had to match the original parts of the casting.

As I'd by this point sprayed the boot lid Tara green ready to fit to the green Targa'd Targa, I took one from a crap Polizei one I had and made a spoiler from plasticard and P38. I decided not to detail all the chrome around the windows like the superb work that @danthecapriman has done on his Cambridge not you understand because my eyes and co ordination are no longer up to it, but in the interests of looking like a genuine original (Fake) Corgi.

After all that I've decided not to fit the new boot to the green one as I've got used to it like this and it's part of the history with me! As you can see the blue one has the box still and the leaflet inside too

I've also been working on the door for the 50p AutoPilen 480ES

It needs another skim of filler

and the handle and mirror adding

as well as the interior detail

Meanwhile there was a very damged, ripped parcel on the doorstep when I got home today and I'm grateful to @bunglebusfor wrapping this lot up with his usual care. I'll take a proper look at them later

the Dinky Alfetta is interesting and I have two Solidos already

the blue one has a base almost the same as the Dinky, but the white one has a die cast base

I just want to say to thanks to @Spottedlaurel for the pics of the Mirafiori project, I love it and makes me want to get on with my 1/43 Mebetoys one!

Lastly @Datsuncog those Matchbox Pizzahut play dioramas at £15 seem pretty good to me, we've been thinking for some time that £20 is the new fiver so I'd pay that to get a nice present for a kid and would have loved it when I was one. Actually I do anyway...

[Justwatching]

Long time, no post.

A box of 1:64s arrived last week, so thought I'd share before they disappear into the suitcase where they're all shamefully hidden. 

Had to open the Stratos.

It's my first Mini GT model and I'm quite impressed. No defects, very weighty for its size, and rolls nicely too. 

[sheffcortinacentre]

11 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Ever since Saturday's unexpected finds, I'm still lost in the Matchbox Action Drivers wormhole - for reasons I can't entirely fathom.

I really didn't think I'd ever happen across either of these sets, let alone both at once.

From watching YouTube videos I'd been led to believe that the FedEx set is a difficult one to find even in the US - and I've seen none at all offered out on eBay or Amazon, even at scalper prices.

I mean, there's not an awful lot to the set, to be honest. These smaller sets in the range don't take very much assembling.

But - some clicky-clicky and a couple of stickers later, we have a passable parcel depot building with a parking/loading area out the front.

There's a few different working features incorporated here - the customer door slides open and closed manually using the little blue tab poking through the roof.

Revealing a 3D counter and a 2D counter assistant within.

And the front of the little parcel box outside drops down:

But the main draw is the spring-loaded door that operates whenever a vehicle backs over it, flipping up the loading bay shutter and propelling a little figure with a handcart out onto the dock with frankly terrifying velocity.

If only the parcel-slingers round my way were such eager beavers.

The vehicle supplied with this set is the generic 'MBX Express Delivery', a sort of composite slabby walk-thru delivery van of the sort which still seems to be fairly commonplace in the US. It's been in the Matchbox range since 2015.

While it's an appropriate enough accessory for the set (and this particular FedEx version was also available separately as a mainline model last year, so it's possible to assemble a small fleet for your depot, if you so desire) sadly the once-opening rear door was deleted when it was re-tooled in 2021.

An opening roller door on the van and some actual parcels - a bit like the Lesney No.62 Commer TV Service Van and accessories - would have been pretty cool.

Like a number of recent Matchbox commercial vehicles, this one also features a plastic body fixed to a diecast base - perhaps an understandable cost-conscious choice, but to me it feels kinda lightweight and, well, not very Matchbox.

Moving across to the Pizza Hut set, then...

It's a similar setup, with a single building unit and just a tall sign outside in the car park.

There was a US version released in late 2021 which featured a red roof and an older-style Pizza Hut logo which I believe was exclusive to Target stores; it seems to be moderately spendy if you can find one now. This is the 'International release' from 2022, with a grey/black-roofed store and more contemporary signage.

Both sets came with the same vehicle, though - a faintly lairy Mk5 Volkswagen Golf GTi delivery vehicle with red wheel embellishments, and a removable (and quickly losable) clip-on Pizza Hut roof sign;

I'm not sure who 'T-Dawg' is, though. Another Mattel in-joke?

Matchbox sure do like to reference their brand ambassadors and the like with cryptic tampo prints like this.

But the action happens whenever the delivery Golf pulls into the left-hand parking bay, at which point...

Bang! The front door flies open, and the staff member standing at the counter with a pizza box swivels through 90° and they proffer the box in the general vicinity of the driver.

And, uh, that's it. No other movable barriers or features, just the pizza.

But hey, pizza's good.

No doubt there are custom versions of these in existence with kebab shop branding and Mk1 Yaris delivery cars... and if not, there really should be.

The back of the buildings have a little bit of detail to them too, even if it's just a service door and utility connections. Still, it adds a bit of realism.

Pizza Hut also has an additional sticker, cuz BRANDING YO.

Being geared towards car play means that the buildings are pretty low-relief, with most of the footprint given over to vehicle parking, but both of them have skylights in the roof to help show the detail on the inside, which to be fair is a nice touch.

Further details like solar panels and air con units are visible too.

As with all these sets, they come with roadway pieces which clip together to form continuous streets.

Someday I'll get all my sets together and see what they look like - though not today.

So are they worth £15 each?

Eh... from a play value standpoint, probably not. My understanding is that these small Action Drivers sets retail in the US at around the $9 mark, so about half what they are here (even when supposedly reduced from £20).

The sets stocked by Home Bargains last year felt unusually cheap at £5 for the small bus station sets and £7 for the bigger garage sets - but a price point of around £7-8 would seem about the right level for a toy of this nature and complexity. So these were maybe a bit steep, though I have no regrets.

But are these toys, or are they collectables? 

They're probably a bit of both, and Mattel knows it.

I understand the 'kidult' market for toys is starting to creep towards 20% of total sector sales, and on a granular level we know some lines are almost totally geared towards adult collectors (Hot Wheels Car Culture premiums, for example). 

These sets probably appeal to kids, adult Matchbox collectors, and people who work/ worked for Pizza Hut or FedEx alike.

They are nice, though.

I'd love to even see any of this stuff let alone by it!

[flat4alfa]

On 29/05/2024 at 14:39, danthecapriman said:

Anyone in need of a good steering wheel thingy for the top of a Corgi A60 driving school car?

Obviously I don’t need it anymore since I’ve blocked the hole in the roof on mine!

It’s in good shape. Don’t want anything for it either, just a bit to post it. Seems a shame to throw it out!

Yes don’t throw, good idea to adapt onto the Corgi Metro

[bunglebus]

I've heard from a couple of you that deliveries have started to arrive today, not bad considering they went off at lunchtime Tuesday.

Shame about the damage, as you say I pack them the way I'd like to receive them though

[bunglebus]

Just seen this, love it but at €55 they won't be getting my money

[Datsuncog]

9 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I've heard from a couple of you that deliveries have started to arrive today, not bad considering they went off at lunchtime Tuesday.

Yes indeed - a Bunglebox touched down this afternoon here, all A1 and no damage!

Cheers Rich! Some lovely bits in there, much obliged!

[danthecapriman]

56 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

While reading my Van Cleemput book recently I was struck by his notes that during late 69 early 70, Corgi were playing around with the idea of a Porshe 911 Carrera with the newly introduced red spot Whizzwheels before scrapping that idea and going with the Targa version. The 509 Polizei was released June 70 and the plain clothes blue/green 382 Jan 71.

Now as a kid I had (still have) a blue one from new and a green one I got from some kid I don't remember missing the boot/engine cover. As a kid I always thought if it was a Targa then the roof panel should be off otherwise what's the point dude? So...

Actually the Van Cleemput bit is a pack of lies, but I did cut the roof off my green one. Recently I was just playing around with the body shell of the scrap 911 Targa I bought to salvage the boot for my old green one (the interior went to @andrew e) and thought I should make it into the classic hard top 911. Alluminium strip went into the new C pillars after filing down the roll bar.

I didn't make the B pillars as thin as they should be as I wanted it to look like Corgi had made it (can I call it a Fake Corgi @flat4alfa?) so they had to match the original parts of the casting.

As I'd by this point sprayed the boot lid Tara green ready to fit to the green Targa'd Targa, I took one from a crap Polizei one I had and made a spoiler from plasticard and P38. I decided not to detail all the chrome around the windows like the superb work that @danthecapriman has done on his Cambridge not you understand because my eyes and co ordination are no longer up to it, but in the interests of looking like a genuine original (Fake) Corgi.

After all that I've decided not to fit the new boot to the green one as I've got used to it like this and it's part of the history with me! As you can see the blue one has the box still and the leaflet inside too

I've also been working on the door for the 50p AutoPilen 480ES

It needs another skim of filler

and the handle and mirror adding

as well as the interior detail

Meanwhile there was a very damged, ripped parcel on the doorstep when I got home today and I'm grateful to @bunglebusfor wrapping this lot up with his usual care. I'll take a proper look at them later

the Dinky Alfetta is interesting and I have two Solidos already

the blue one has a base almost the same as the Dinky, but the white one has a die cast base

I just want to say to thanks to @Spottedlaurel for the pics of the Mirafiori project, I love it and makes me want to get on with my 1/43 Mebetoys one!

Lastly @Datsuncog those Matchbox Pizzahut play dioramas at £15 seem pretty good to me, we've been thinking for some time that £20 is the new fiver so I'd pay that to get a nice present for a kid and would have loved it when I was one. Actually I do anyway...

Absolutely cracking work as always @FakeConcern👍 Porsche looks absolutely spot on (haha!) for something Corgi could have done.

That 480 door you're making is a work of art too! 
 

 

[bunglebus]

@Datsuncog I was very tempted to pinch the undamaged glass out of the Minibus, almost impossible to find like that now. It was too good to dismantle though

[flat4alfa]

54 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

I didn't make the B pillars as thin as they should be as I wanted it to look like Corgi had made it (can I call it a Fake Corgi @flat4alfa?) so they had to match the original parts of the casting.

 

Didn’t we say ‘Counterfeit Corgi’ ?  Sounds better than using the F-word personified by that devious American man in orange

Looks brill!  Great effort

[danthecapriman]

57 minutes ago, Justwatching said:

Long time, no post.

A box of 1:64s arrived last week, so thought I'd share before they disappear into the suitcase where they're all shamefully hidden. 

Had to open the Stratos.

It's my first Mini GT model and I'm quite impressed. No defects, very weighty for its size, and rolls nicely too. 

They are just lovely! That Dodge/Chrysler minivan looks fantastic. Reminds me of my old Matchbox one!

[flat4alfa]

7 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I was very tempted to pinch the undamaged glass out of the Minibus, almost impossible to find like that now. It was too good to dismantle though

Yes spotted that, I zoomed into the window! Told myself there MUST be a crack out of sight 😆

[flat4alfa]

46 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

 

The CCC is based in Carrickfergus, it’s official.  ‘Corgi Cubs Central’

It’s apparently Mecca for Cubs Collectors. That CogBook chapter will be thorough 😊

Apart from that, am pretty sure there is a complete fantasy Fire engine ladder here somewhere. Must forward it on 

[Justwatching]

27 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

They are just lovely! That Dodge/Chrysler minivan looks fantastic. Reminds me of my old Matchbox one!

I've got two versions - a Plymouth Voyager (the beige one) and a Dodge Caravan in "Garnet Pearl" with woody panelling.

The grill design seems to be the only difference. It's a bit difficult to picture due to the blister packaging, but the Plymouth has straight bars whereas the Dodge is more egg-crate. It amazes me separate 1:64 models are made to capture such minor differences. 

Ditto the Dodge Conquest and Mitsubishi Starion below. 

[flat4alfa]

5 minutes ago, Justwatching said:

It's a bit difficult to picture due to the blister packaging, but the Plymouth has straight bars whereas the Dodge is more egg-crate. It amazes me separate 1:64 models are made to capture such minor differences.

 

It’s at this stage the packaging HAS TO BE REMOVED for a proper* comparison

Oh woe… why do they do this to us arghhhh

[egg]

Steve Flowers also supplied a 'lid' for this other old truck supplied by DC. Fits OK, tiny bit short maybe.

[Datsuncog]

Great to see the DAFs getting a bit of love - I've never encountered one of the tippers with its 'lid' still attached, so it's nice to see it looking correct again!

[Datsuncog]

15 hours ago, bunglebus said:

@Datsuncog I was very tempted to pinch the undamaged glass out of the Minibus, almost impossible to find like that now. It was too good to dismantle though

 

14 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Yes spotted that, I zoomed into the window! Told myself there MUST be a crack out of sight 😆

If it helps to ease the pain, there is a small crack in the Minibus glazing - though it's on the side where it's barely noticeable, rather than on top like they normally are.

But it's still very lovely, and I do have a weird soft spot for all these early 70s fantasy castings that Corgi put out - I used to hate them, but now I can appreciate them for what they are.

Thanks again!

 

[Datsuncog]

Called into Tesco this morning, just in the off-chance there were any discount diecast to be found in the Carrick branch.

There were!

Unfortunately, all the reduced Hot Wheels were gone, bar a trio of curiously unloved Deora IIIs plus a solitary Max Steel roadster thing.

Daah.

Matchbox weren't reduced, but they were re-stocked...

But seemingly these are all from the mid-2023 case mixes, which are still apparently coming out of the woodwork.

All the Autozams your heart could desire were available, but my desire was sated long ago.

Oh well.

I also called into Poundstretcher, as they were advertising a TOY SALE!!

Plenty of reductions indeed, but none on the hard-to-shift Matchbox or Hot Wheels - still representing less than stellar value.

2023 Power grab boxes and 2022 long card blisters, still on for a sticky £2.50.

Sigh. 

Every other year they've brought in a load around Christmas, and then they've gone half price by late spring.

In 2021, £1.50 down to 75p for Power Grabs represented pretty good value; and last year they had Real Working Rigs going from £7.99 down to £3.99 - but apparently not this year.

But - what's this, lying alone on top of some other stuff?

Since when have Poundstretcher ever sold Car Culture Premiums?

I scanned the shelves; there was absolutely no sign of a home for it.

Had someone bought it elsewhere and left it there by mistake?

Was it packed in with the other grey import mainlines, somehow?

Might it be... £2.50, like the others?

I nervously approached the till.

Meh. 

£10 isn't especially good value for a Car Culture release, especially one that was out two years ago.

I hoped maybe it was a sooper-rare sought-after item worth $$$$, but a quick squizz on eBay indicates these can be found in as-new sealed condition for about £6.

And the card here's a bit creased.

*Deep sigh*

Ah well. Some you win, some you lose.

It's still kinda cool. And a metallic blue MR2 from Tesco gave me something to grin about.

Happy Friday, kids.

[bunglebus]

13 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Since when have Poundstretcher ever sold Car Culture Premiums?

I've found a couple - and like you, discovered too late they're not a bargain 

[sierraman]

I sometimes feel like the entire stock of new Matchbox needs throwing away. Nobody is going to buy it as it’s been on offer for a fucking month of Sundays . Then start again with the distribution but actually do what they said at the beginning and have a 13 times a year distribution. 

[junkyarddog]

Finally found some of the newer stuff.

The Jag is a fantastic casting!

Smoll Eddy's coming over all 60s gangster!!

"Nobody is coming over me M8"

😲

[bunglebus]

@155V6 found this Tonka Fairlady in a charity shop

I thought it would go nicely with my custom one