Shite in Miniature II

12,888 · June 1

Nice Majorettes! Mrs SL has found a few boot sales near to where we're staying in France this year, so fingers crossed I'll find a few.

A modest haul from today's rather quiet toy fair up in Norwich:

Garage was the most expensive thing I bought - seller said Matchbox, is that correct? Nice 1960s/70s European look to it. Unusual caravan is by Matchbox, late '90s? Morgan's wheels look odd from here, didn't notice that at the time - think it;s the axle shifted across.

Marina worn but tidy and complete, seemed well worth £3 to me. Boxed 'minibus' was just £1 - handwriting on the base says Jan '81, 45p, probably about the right price for something of that age?

10,166 · June 1

Finished another Fake/Counterfeit Corgi today

based on the Hot Wheels Mini Pickup and intended to compliment the Corgi Hot Wheels surfer Land Rover I did a while ago

It didn't end up as good as I wanted partly because it took so long getting the arches right that I rushed some of the finishing. I didn't chrome the grill like on the Hot Wheels as I hate it when a real mini van has a chrome grill so it stayed painted

I also decided to leave the interior red as I think it looks good with the BRG and I left the van load area plastic as I did that in my last one and it makes it more Corgi-ish

Does anyone know what the significance of "De Felice" is? I know Hot Wheels often reference stuff, but I couldn't find the connection on line used the same rear number plate as the HW.

The wheels are from the Corgi Mini Cooper 282, but reversed on axles from a Lazybones Stingray and spaced out to fill the arches

As I said I rushed it a bit and I can just see a line of glue between the bumper and the body on the front, I'll take it apart and get rid of that as it annoys me

obviously very similar to the other pickup I did

The Whizzwheels are much bigger than the spun wheels with rubber tyres

Here with some random Corgi Mini Van friends

while doing this I noticed that the green van from a recent toy fair has the "rare factory error" Austin Countryman grill! I managed to palm the last one off on @flat4alfa!

41,355 · June 1

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

Does anyone know what the significance of "De Felice" is? I know Hot Wheels often reference stuff, but I couldn't find the connection on line used the same rear number plate as the HW.

Adam deFelice has been a Mattel employee for over 20 years, predominately in the Sculpting department

He is known as ‘the happiest man in the building’

10,166 · June 1

4 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Adam deFelice has been a Mattel employee for over 20 years, predominately in the Sculpting department

He is known as ‘the happiest man in the building’

That's great and thankyou, I don't know why I couldn't find that out but now I'll be changing the numberplate to Van Cleemput!

41,355 · June 1

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Tesco at Lakeside have got their Entertainer section open

But but …. did you do it though?

The Jump, Hop, Balance ….ROAR ??!

I hope it’s on CCTV

50,080 · June 1

2 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Unusual caravan is by Matchbox, late '90s?

2000, Canyon Base 5 pack according to Wiki. It's only been released once, in its first appearance in the same year, as an individual casting. Other than that it's always been in some sort of multipack

26,180 · June 1

@bunglebus could I claim that Zodiac please? If it's available...

50,080 · June 1

7 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

@bunglebus could I claim that Zodiac please? If it's available...

I knew someone would want it!

I mean this one sold for £2.75 + post on eBay

Shame I don't still have it as there's enough to make a decent resto between the two

41,355 · June 1

Ideal* Zodiac Beach Jolly Car project

Quote

29,295 · June 2

Crumbs chaps some next-level miniature shiting in the last few days! The boot sale hauls are grand, I am jealous.

@danthecapriman the Cortina is brilliant, I love the rusty bits!

I managed a quick scour of The Entertainer and Tesco yesterday. Both fully stocked with both MB and HW but does anyone else know what case they are looking at within a few seconds of hoking? I was looking for the BMW E30 Touring and MK1 Jaguar but were still on the Proton cases.

I'm off to Dundee today as my son has a basketball tournament but There a big retail park nearby so I'll see what's what there.

2,543 · June 2

14 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

Lovely display there!

Thanks, an unfinished project started after a thread on another forum asking what 12 cars you would own following a lottery win. I decided to collect my 12 favourites in 1/43 scale and display them in that cabinet, an old Civil Service key safe l was given. The search for a Dodge Challenger led me to start collecting the set of Matchbox Musclecars in my early days of Ebay membership and they came from all over the world and that complete set with the shelves and some paperwork came from America.

As the key case is quite large I intended to have multiples of the 12 leading to hours spent looking at 1/43 scale cars and and I could not resist some of the Minichamps cars so I have more than the cabinet could handle, most of which are not in my 12!

4,628 · June 2

A gap in the Vauxhall/Opel collection filled. TBH I dont know why its taken this long to get one of these as they've been on the market for a long while now, but meh.

I finally have a Shove-it.

Two versions of these partwork Chevettes have been done, a conventionally Vauxhall-badged one with black interior for a Polish series, and this ones a bit more of a curiosity. Being part of the Opel Collection series, its a model of the Chevette that was sold through Opel dealers in Germany and The Netherlands for a couple of years after the launch of the Kadett D (Astra Mk1) as a sort of budget replacement for the Kadett City.

Main differences from our version being the Vauxhall griffin badge being replaced by Chevette lettering on the front panel and the Vauxhall lettering on the rear panel being replaced by the number plate being mounted between the taillights, as on the previous Kadett. Strangely though, the Vauxhall branding remained on the road wheels and steering wheel.

The Polish partwork version came in a basic plastic blister, but the Opel came in a display case/plinth with a card inset with basic tech info. Sadly the original plinth seems to have disappeared at some point,

So, overall, its a pretty good model, especially for a cheapo partwork job. Its been mentioned before that the front ride height is a bit SLAMMED YO! and the arches are a bit on the large side. It does seem like this casting was meant for some sort of rally variant, but the 'sporty' Rostyles kind of balance things out a bit. And the thing is, if you want a Chevette like the ones we had in the UK in miniature, there's next to no choice, apart from the expensive Trofeu rally versions and then there are the countless partwork South American spin-offs, all of which would need modification. Its not even a car that was modelled in period. I'd have loved a Corgi one in 1/36 as a kid...

Little details like a different bumper casting with a light for the relocated number plate and a seperate piece for the exhaust back box are nice touches for a cheapie model.

Similarly, there are a few bits of detail inside that are better than on models that cost a lot more, things like the steering wheel & column, gear lever & handbrake, and heater vents all done in black and dial details again stop it looking like a cheapo partwork job.

23,956 · June 2

3 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

A gap in the Vauxhall/Opel collection filled. TBH I dont know why its taken this long to get one of these as they've been on the market for a long while now, but meh.

I finally have a Shove-it.

Two versions of these partwork Chevettes have been done, a coventionally Vauxhall-badged one with black interior for a Polish series, and this ones a bit more of a curiosity. Being part of the Opel Collection series, its a model of the Chevette that was sold through Opel dealers in Germany and The Netherlands after the launch of the Kadett D (Astra Mk1) as a sort of budget replacement for the Kadett City.

Main differences from our version being the Vauxhall griffin badge being replaced by Chevette lettering on the front panel and the Vauxhall lettering on the rear panel being replaced by the number plate being mounted between the taillights, as on the previous Kadett. Strangely though, the Vauxhall branding remained on the road wheels and steering wheel.

The Polish partwork version came in a basic plastic blister, but the Opel came in a display case/plinth with a card inset with basic tech info. Sadly the original plinth seems to have disappeared at some point,

So, overall, its not a bad model overall, especially for a cheapo partwork job. Its been mentioned before that the front ride height is a bit SLAMMED YO! and the arches are a bit on the large side. It does seem like this casting was meant for some sort of rally variant, but the 'sporty' Rostyles kind of balance things out a bit. And the thing is, if you want a Chevette like the ones we had in the UK in miniature, theres next to no choice, apart from the expensive Trofeu rally versions and then there are the countless partwork South American spin-offs, all of which would need modification. Its not even a car that was modelled in period. Id have loved a Corgi one in 1/36 as a kid...

Little details like a different bumper casting with a light for the relocated number plate and a seperate piece for the exhaust back box are nice touches for a cheapie model.

Similarly, there are a few bits of detail inside that are better than on models that cost a lot more, things like the steering wheel & column, gear lever & handbrake, and heater vents all done in black and dial details again stop it looking like a cheapo partwork job.

Nice!
I’ve never seen the Opel collection version, only ever the Polish blister package one - which I have 3 of now!

There is a rally version of it available, and there’s the Chevy Chevette badged version with the weird front end styling. Then there’s another two variations for South American ones called the Chevy Marajo which come in saloon and estate form with either early or late styling.

One of my upcoming projects is to convert the saloon and early estate into a Vauxhall Chevette saloon and Vauxhall/Bedford Chevan respectively using the Polish hatchback as a front end donor! But I have thought about making a casting in white metal or resin using the hatchback’s front end as a pattern.

Theres some great cars available in that Opel collection worth looking out for.
I got this ~~Omega A~~ Carlton recently!

Wheels need toning down a bit really but lovely model.

23,956 · June 2

This weekend I’ve been getting a bunch of my custom models closer to being finished.

Started off with the Dinky/IXO/Scratchbuilt ‘bitsa’ Bedford TK removals truck.
I was thinking of what livery to put on this and couldn’t decide but found a photo of one very similar to this which I liked so quickly sprayed it before I had time to change my mind!
Obviously there’s still loads to do but it’s getting there.
Dinky did a fantastic job of that casting. It’s really really good considering it’s an old toy. Once you put a decent set of wheels (of an appropriate size!) on it and give it some extra details it really stands up well I think.

I need to decide if I’m going to reuse the Dinky cab interior or make one from scratch/parts?

IXO based race support vehicle partwork Transit mk2 is about done.
Just done as a plain old Transit van. Side door was swapped side to side, interior swapped to rhd and a cab bulkhead made which you can’t really see so I might as well not bothered!

Argentina partwork Sierra 1.6L is just waiting for a bit of paint to dry before headlight lenses go back in.
This one had the front bumper modified to euro spec, then repainted from yellow to authentic Ford red (can’t remember which!). Bumpers & trims picked out in dark grey and interior detailed and swapped to rhd (which was an absolute whore to do!).

There’s a ceramic blue estate version not far behind this one that’s just having its glazing refitted, so that won’t be long now.

4,628 · June 2

3 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Theres some great cars available in that Opel collection worth looking out for.
I got this ~~Omega A~~ Carlton recently!

Wheels need toning down a bit really but lovely model.

There are some great cars in that collection, yes. I do still have a few Vauxhall/Opel shaped gaps to fill too, makes a change from buying Vanguards Fords all the time... 🫢 And those chrome wheels can look a bit odd on those Designer Series editions, but some of them look really nice in the silver. I've been hunting for the Ascona 400 street version for a while now.

I got this Opel Collection Kadett /Astra GTE a couple of years ago from Jumajo, which was a bit of a bargain.

23,956 · June 2

3 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Theee are some great cars in that collection, yes, I do still have a few Vauxhall/Opel shaped gaps to fill too. Makes a change from buying Vanguards Fords all the time... 🫢 And those chrome wheels can look a bit odd on those Designer Series editions, but some of them look really nice in the silver. Ive been hunting for the Ascona 400 street version for a while now.

I got this Opel Collection Kadett /Astra GTE a couple of years ago from Jumajo, which was a bit of a bargain.

That Astra/Kadette has been in a few different partworks in different colours so far too.
There’s your black version, I’ve got a red Polish version and I’ve seen a few more in green with a funny grill and a brownish colour too.

The older Vauxhalls are quite difficult though, as lots were Vauxhall specific with no similar Opel versions so nobody makes them. I’d kill for a 1:43 PC Cresta/Viscount!

4,628 · June 2

37 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Some great work there! I love that ratty Cortina, great attention to detail.

I feel that my shitbox edition Mk3 GT could have been Daz's previous ride before 'upgrading' to the Mk4...

23,956 · June 2

16 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Some great work there! I love that ratty Cortina, great attention to detail.

I feel that my shitbox edition Mk3 GT could have been Daz's previous ride before 'upgrading' to the Mk4...

😄 maybe your mk3 could be Daz’s brother Baz’s car!

4,628 · June 2

2 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

😄 maybe your mk3 could be Daz’s brother Baz’s car!

Could well be! I've seen cousin Gaz's Escort... 😆

50,080 · June 2

Gaz's Escort looks like this now

50,080 · June 2

Today I have mostly been at Stonor Park VW show. There were lots of little cars available, of course most of the VAG/Porsche stuff has plenty of scene tax added. I'll leave some pics here, but there was a bit of a sad tale relating to this case which I'll come back to

Some very desirable stuff dotted about

Hong Gong. Yep.

36,040 · June 2

On 30/05/2024 at 18:16, barrett said:

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.

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.

I've had one of those that came from behind the Iron Curtain. Interesting to note the bonnet hinge is different.

23 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

Finished another Fake/Counterfeit Corgi today

based on the Hot Wheels Mini Pickup and intended to compliment the Corgi Hot Wheels surfer Land Rover I did a while ago

That remind me of this little Italian number.

50,080 · June 2

That case up there was closed when I found it - on one of the hottest days of the year. The cars inside were literally too hot to hold, so sadly this Schuco, and lots of the others, now have melted glazing

£1 well spent all the same

I also bought some weird VWs, and there were a lot more I would have picked up given unlimited funds!

New Bright Beetle reminds me of the Polistil Go Bugs, a bit

Very unusual plastic bug

Worth it just for the comedy stickers

Last VW is this Maisto, I've been watching these on eBay but none were priced at what I was comfortable paying

Especially as I only really wanted it to go with my Spanish beach find

Non VWs in the shape of a decent Lamborghini

And a Hot Wheels Renault 5

4,455 · June 2

6 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

A gap in the Vauxhall/Opel collection filled. TBH I dont know why its taken this long to get one of these as they've been on the market for a long while now, but meh.

I finally have a Shove-it.

Two versions of these partwork Chevettes have been done, a coventionally Vauxhall-badged one with black interior for a Polish series, and this ones a bit more of a curiosity. Being part of the Opel Collection series, its a model of the Chevette that was sold through Opel dealers in Germany and The Netherlands after the launch of the Kadett D (Astra Mk1) as a sort of budget replacement for the Kadett City.

Main differences from our version being the Vauxhall griffin badge being replaced by Chevette lettering on the front panel and the Vauxhall lettering on the rear panel being replaced by the number plate being mounted between the taillights, as on the previous Kadett. Strangely though, the Vauxhall branding remained on the road wheels and steering wheel.

The Polish partwork version came in a basic plastic blister, but the Opel came in a display case/plinth with a card inset with basic tech info. Sadly the original plinth seems to have disappeared at some point,

So, overall, its not a bad model overall, especially for a cheapo partwork job. Its been mentioned before that the front ride height is a bit SLAMMED YO! and the arches are a bit on the large side. It does seem like this casting was meant for some sort of rally variant, but the 'sporty' Rostyles kind of balance things out a bit. And the thing is, if you want a Chevette like the ones we had in the UK in miniature, theres next to no choice, apart from the expensive Trofeu rally versions and then there are the countless partwork South American spin-offs, all of which would need modification. Its not even a car that was modelled in period. Id have loved a Corgi one in 1/36 as a kid...

Little details like a different bumper casting with a light for the relocated number plate and a seperate piece for the exhaust back box are nice touches for a cheapie model.

Similarly, there are a few bits of detail inside that are better than on models that cost a lot more, things like the steering wheel & column, gear lever & handbrake, and heater vents all done in black and dial details again stop it looking like a cheapo partwork job.

Most real ones had slammed fronts due to weak springs.

23,956 · June 2

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

That case up there was closed when I found it - on one of the hottest days of the year. The cars inside were literally too hot to hold, so sadly this Schuco, and lots of the others, now have melted glazing

£1 well spent all the same

I also bought some weird VWs, and there were a lot more I would have picked up given unlimited funds!

New Bright Beetle reminds me of the Polistil Go Bugs, a bit

Very unusual plastic bug

Worth it just for the comedy stickers

Last VW is this Maisto, I've been watching these on eBay but none were priced at what I was comfortable paying

Especially as I only really wanted it to go with my Spanish beach find

Non VWs in the shape of a decent Lamborghini

And a Hot Wheels Renault 5

I bet the seller of all that stuff in the closed case was kicking themselves! What a major shitter!

HW Renault 5 is a new one on me, never seen one of those before.

4,438 · June 3

I got chatting to a fella in Home & Bargain at the weekend who was looking through the Hot Wheels. He mentioned something about super treasure hunts having rubber tyres?

50,080 · June 3

55 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

I got chatting to a fella in Home & Bargain at the weekend who was looking through the Hot Wheels. He mentioned something about super treasure hunts having rubber tyres?

Yes they generally all have Real Riders with rubber tyres, metal bases and nicer, spectraflame type paint. There are exceptions but generally that's what sets them apart.

Smyths had the new Pop Culture set less the Mutant Ninja Turtles Drag Bus

And one other thing I've been looking for, just going home to take pics

4,438 · June 3

2 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Yes they generally all have Real Riders with rubber tyres, metal bases and nicer, spectraflame type paint. There are exceptions but generally that's what sets them apart.

Smyths had the new Pop Culture set less the Mutant Ninja Turtles Drag Bus

And one other thing I've been looking for, just going home to take pics

I thought he meant on the basic £1.49 type cars?

50,080 · June 3

Yep essentially a premium type car hidden among the regular cars. Here's the basic and Super versions of the Corvette

Hot Wheels '69 Corvette Racer super treasure hunt

38,706 · June 3

Indeed - there's Treasure Hunts, and then there's Super Treasure Hunts.

2024 Treasure Hunts Series | Hot Wheels Wiki | Fandom

My understanding is that Treasure Hunts are standard Hot Wheels mainlines, but are produced in fairly limited numbers so as to be less common in the mixes. This is the case for the Purple Passion in blue tartan print that BB turned up - it's part of the standard 2024 Art Cars mini-range, but deliberately released in smaller amounts so it's harder for collectors to find. They arrive in with the standard mix cases, and retail at the usual mainline price (generally between £1.49 and £2.49 over here, depending where you look).

Super Treasure Hunts are alternative, 'deluxe' versions of a mainline release in the same case mix. They typically have rubber-tyred wheels, as your peg-searching chum says - but it's not a given, and depends upon what's decided upon for each release.

Other tells for STH releases are a semi-transparent 'spectraflame' finish and much better transfer detailing. They're closer to HW Premiums in terms of their features, but retail at the same price as a mainline - assuming you can find them in a normal shop.

For the Escort RS2000 earlier in the year, the STH version has the same range number from the standard release, but are obviously a little different (and have different card illustrations too).

The STH Escort boasts a metal base, two-piece wheels, and tinted green lacquer over a zamac body casting rather than a plastic base, one-piece wheels and green paint.

There'll usually also always be a small 'circle flame' decal somewhere on the model, and also on the backing card just behind the model - printed in grey for Treasure Hunts, and in gold for Super Treasure Hunts.

Matchbox now have an equivalent 'Super Chase' model or three to find in each release year, made in both mainline and Moving Parts ranges.

I did manage to find a Super Chase Corvette on the shelf in Poundstretcher last year, funnily enough.

But generally I can't get overly excited about them - I've enough trouble just trying to find the standard mainlines I'd like without getting pulled into the rare stuff...

Anecdotally, it seems that there's a lot of YouTubers hyping Super Treasure Hunts as a way to make $$$$ by flipping them on eBay with bullshit clickbait videos for the hard-of-thinking.

As I've whinged about previously, this seems to be playing out locally with certain eejits - who may or may not be diecast enthusiasts - trashing the Mattel displays in every store for miles around, seemingly in an effort to find these OMG RARE versions.

In practice, I suspect that most retail staff are now well aware of this trend, and it's likely few STHs ever make it out onto the pegs these days...

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