Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

57 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Testarossa casting looks to have been modified by HW🤔

Here's the Corgi one from 1989 (I don't have one so pic is from the '89 catalogue)

 

That one's a real oddball. Corgi base but Hot Wheels, er, wheels

It's not the same as the old Corgi version 

I think it's this casting with a different base

 

[Split_Pin]

9 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

That one's a real oddball. Corgi base but Hot Wheels, er, wheels

It's not the same as the old Corgi version 

I think it's this casting with a different base

 

That's bent my mind 😂

So it's a Hotwheels shell, updated base, marked as a Corgi, unlike the others which actually were Corgi castings at one point.

[Datsuncog]

3 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

So it's a Hotwheels shell, updated base, marked as a Corgi, unlike the others which actually were Corgi castings at one point.

**Faints**

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

Got this from @bunglebus today.

I was curious about the maker as I've never heard of them before. There's almost nothing about Rubicon online, except about a manufacturer of small military vehicles.

It's a basic model, like a 50s or early 60s Corgi with glazing, rubber tyres but no interior.  It's also very heavy. It might be white metal?

There's a few for sale on ebay and they also make some other cars like a Renault 4CV which seem to be worth around £50 upwards (Rich gave me this for £7!)

I'm not even sure how old it is, part of me thinks it's recent and meant to emulate models from the 1950s/60s (does a very good job too).

I always liked these 300SLs as a kid and I had the Corgi 1/36 version. This was totally eclipsed by the very nice 1/24 Bburago version which my friend Euan gave me for my birthday when I was about 8 or 9. I also have a Juniors version and a Solido example.

I think I'll put this with my Corgis of the 50s though 

I did a search and came up with this.

The link to Miniature Car Shop Kojima is not secure so I have not posted it.

Quote

Miniature Car Shop Kojima Co., Ltd. is a model car specialty store that boasts a track record and reliability for 30 years. In the first place, we ran a toy store in Hatchobori, Chuo-ku, but in the early 80s, we launched our first original brand "Rubicon" and the focus of our product mix shifted to model cars. Since that time, we have started to directly import products from overseas garage manufacturers in order to meet the needs of our customers. In 1986, when the store was relocated to Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, it was incorporated and then relocated to Nishi-Oi, Shinagawa-ku, in April 2012.

After looking at some pictures they did a Renault 4CV and a Shelby Cobra. Some listing for these suggest that they were kits made in the mid 1980s.

 

By the way, in 1/43rd there are two fairly decent models that can be picked up quite cheaply.

The Italian made Bang can be found in various colours.

And here's the Schuco version.

 

[Split_Pin]

Oh gosh those are nice.

Cheers for the sleuthing on Rubicon too, I thought the model dated from the 80s or 90s. Nice to have something from a very unusual maker and which is in metal not resin.

[bunglebus]

I did wonder if perhaps that Rubicon Merc had been repainted, if it's a kit that would explain it. Was feeling slightly guilty after I noticed the slightly dodgy silver work to the grille and bumpers.

There's one on eBay for slightly* more than £7

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133904374500?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=i5EPYI21QNq&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=X5RtjeAxSP-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Actually another has appeared since I found that, under £20 posted

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204314542807?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=HJDcZ_hiSei&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=X5RtjeAxSP-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[FakeConcern]

I have been mostly doing restoration/repaint stuff recently and finished off these two Corgi VWs

yellow

and blue

both inspired by catalogue renderings that didn't come about

I need to get a Cooper Maserati now

I have several Lotus Climax

I bought a Steve Flowers Corgi copy Racing Trailer kit to see what it was like and it's tiny compared to any of the red ones I have

I wondered if they got it wrong as there's no chock for the front wheels and it's too short for the Lotus to sit properly on it, then that sme evening I saw on ebay what seemed to be genuine Corgi one the same

So I'm not too sure what is going on, Van Cleemput doesn't mention any apart from the two types I have already.

A few weeks ago I picked up a Norev Jet Car metal Renault 12 for 50p missing the bonnet and a rear door

I really like opening everything

so i decided to try to make a replacement door and bonnet

Aluminium sheet as on the Volvo 480 I did before

I've started working on the door hinge and using filler to get the shape of the bonnet

I have a couple of Norev plastic Renault 12s which are pretty much exactly the same except plastic! Anyone know the story of these? It seems strange to make exactly the same model out of metal and plastic. Also which others were made in both materials?

I also did this Corgi Mini Van as in Van Cleemput's book and in the Brighton Toy Museum

[bunglebus]

Very nice job on the VW pickups.

I'm on the lookout for a trailer I didn't know about until recently too

Have you ever seen that one? I didn't think it was used at all other than in the twin pack with that R5, which I found the other day.

Wiki says it was used three times, 1980-81 in TP21,

1985-85 in TP106 behind the Renault (but shows a yellow one instead of white)

and 1998 in a 5 pack

[FakeConcern]

21 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Very nice job on the VW pickups.

I'm on the lookout for a trailer I didn't know about until recently too

Have you ever seen that one? I didn't think it was used at all other than in the twin pack with that R5, which I found the other day.

Wiki says it was used three times, 1980-81 in TP21,

1985-85 in TP106 behind the Renault (but shows a yellow one instead of white)

and 1998 in a 5 pack

I don't look out for any thing except 1/43 usually. Is that Matchbox or Corgi Juniors, I have no idea?

[Split_Pin]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I did wonder if perhaps that Rubicon Merc had been repainted, if it's a kit that would explain it. Was feeling slightly guilty after I noticed the slightly dodgy silver work to the grille and bumpers.

There's one on eBay for slightly* more than £7

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133904374500?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=i5EPYI21QNq&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=X5RtjeAxSP-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Actually another has appeared since I found that, under £20 posted

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204314542807?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=HJDcZ_hiSei&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=X5RtjeAxSP-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

The first listing confirms its white metal indeed!

[Split_Pin]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

I have been mostly doing restoration/repaint stuff recently and finished off these two Corgi VWs

yellow

and blue

both inspired by catalogue renderings that didn't come about

I need to get a Cooper Maserati now

I have several Lotus Climax

I bought a Steve Flowers Corgi copy Racing Trailer kit to see what it was like and it's tiny compared to any of the red ones I have

I wondered if they got it wrong as there's no chock for the front wheels and it's too short for the Lotus to sit properly on it, then that sme evening I saw on ebay what seemed to be genuine Corgi one the same

So I'm not too sure what is going on, Van Cleemput doesn't mention any apart from the two types I have already.

A few weeks ago I picked up a Norev Jet Car metal Renault 12 for 50p missing the bonnet and a rear door

I really like opening everything

so i decided to try to make a replacement door and bonnet

Aluminium sheet as on the Volvo 480 I did before

I've started working on the door hinge and using filler to get the shape of the bonnet

I have a couple of Norev plastic Renault 12s which are pretty much exactly the same except plastic! Anyone know the story of these? It seems strange to make exactly the same model out of metal and plastic. Also which others were made in both materials?

I also did this Corgi Mini Van as in Van Cleemput's book and in the Brighton Toy Museum

I've got that 12 in plastic, I had no idea they made it in metal. Quite a few which I owned from the mid 70s era had full opening features like the Renault 6 (the only other one I still have) and Peugeot 504. Weirdly, the Renault 5 only had opening doors though. That 12 is a good find and you've done a grand job on the missing parts. I thought that rear door was the original that you'd just rubbed down, before I read what you wrote.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

I don't look out for any thing except 1/43 usually. Is that Matchbox or Corgi Juniors, I have no idea?

Matchbox, I found this the other day, but no trailer

 

[Tenmil Socket]

Anyone got a spare rear hatch for a Hot Wheels Peugeot 205?

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

14 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

I have been mostly doing restoration/repaint stuff recently and finished off these two Corgi VWs

yellow

 

and blue

 

both inspired by catalogue renderings that didn't come about

I need to get a Cooper Maserati now

 

I also did this Corgi Mini Van as in Van Cleemput's book and in the Brighton Toy Museum

Great work on the R12.

The Cooper Maserati for the gift set is the standard Corgi 156 issue, so should be easy to find one. The actual car was a Rob Walker Racing Team Cooper driven by Jo Siffert.

 

Corgi attempted a version of the Mini Van in 1994 using the Lledo Vanguards casting.

[MiniMinorMk3]

14 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Very nice job on the VW pickups.

I'm on the lookout for a trailer I didn't know about until recently too

Have you ever seen that one? I didn't think it was used at all other than in the twin pack with that R5, which I found the other day.

 

TP 21 with Nissan

TP 21 with SM

Hitch and Haul

Became TP31

TP 106 

[Christine]

 Tim sent the majorette Civic !  Its lovely ! 

[bunglebus]

[AndyW201]

Was at Asda earlier. Sadly no more Majorette singles as yet, and the Hot Wheels were the usual mix of mainlines (I remember when the Proton casting was launched and being very excited about it and that I'd probably never find one in the wild. Now Im feeling that I'm destined to see that particular case in every single retailer around here for eternity...). The only premiums were the usual Crass & Spurious Mustangs and Torinos which seem to be the peg-warmers of that collection. But, up at the top of the racking, I spotted an opened box with "Hot Wheels" and "Furious" printed on it. This is where being 6' 6" tall comes in handy, after a slight reach up into the box,

Bingo! I found the W140 Merc from this collection at Smyths a while back, but I was really after this Porker.

Its nice, particularly the Fuchs style wheels,

In other news, a DanParcel arrived this week,

I've only got a couple of Mk2 Cavs in the collection, so this is a nice addition, up until now the only way you could get one of these Astro silver versions has been the mint and boxed route, and they're rarely seen under the £40 mark, so this new unboxed one is most welcome.

Its actually 20 years now since this casting was first seen, and 15 years for this version, so it's been nice to look this one over and see how it holds up,

Pretty well it has to be said. Detail is as good as on any recent release. Features like the lights are actually better if anything. At the time, seperate fog lights, rather than painted on, were a desirable feature.

Same at the rear, look how fine that rear wiper is,

Great lights and rear badging,

Iconic side graphics, and the wheels look great, again for a 20 year old casting.

Saying that my fave Vanguards Mk2 has to be the original 2005 Polar white release, which was a pre-130 SRi, it's all about the wheel trims...

Seems to have fared quite well for being in the loft for about the last 10 years...

So another happy purchase from Dan. "10/10 would buy strangely discontinued Corgi stock from 15 years ago again. A+++++"

[danthecapriman]

7 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Was at Asda earlier. Sadly no more Majorette singles as yet, and the Hot Wheels were the usual mix of mainlines (I remember when the Proton casting was launched and being very excited about it and that I'd probably never find one in the wild. Now Im feeling that I'm destined to see that particular case in every single retailer around here for eternity...). The only premiums were the usual Crass & Spurious Mustangs and Torinos which seem to be the peg-warmers of that collection. But, up at the top of the racking, I spotted an opened box with "Hot Wheels" and "Furious" printed on it. This is where being 6' 6" tall comes in handy, a slight reach up into the box,

Bingo! I found the W140 Merc from this collection at Smyths a while back, but I was really after this Porker.

Its nice, particularly the Fuchs style wheels,

In other news, a DanParcel arrived this week,

Ive only got a couple of Mk2 Cavs in the collection, so this is a nice addition, up until now the only way yo get one of these Astro silver versions has been the mint and boxed route, and they're rarely seen under the £40 mark, so this new unboxed one is most welcome.

Its actually 20 years now since this casting was first seen, so its been nice to look this one over and see how it holds up.

Pretty well it has to be said. Detail is as good as on any recent release. Features like the lights are actually better if anything. At the time, seperate fog lights, rather than painted on, were a desirable feature.

Same at the rear, look how fine that rear wiper is,

Great lights and rear badging,

Iconic side graphics, and the wheels look great, again for a 20 year old casting.

Saying that my fave Vanguards Mk2 has to be the original 2005 Polar white release, which was a pre-130 SRi, its all about the wheel trims.

Seems to have fared quite well for being in the loft for about the last 10 years...

So another happy purchase from Dan. "10/10 would buy strangely discontinued Corgi stock from 15 years ago again. A+++++"

Glad you like the Cav! It’s a really nice model and I’m dead happy with the one I kept. The details on the rear lights were something that I noticed straight away opening them all up! What a realistic appearance they’ve got.

Is the base the same as your white version? I just wondered if they all have that used under license writing?

[Tenmil Socket]

4 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Glad you like the Cav! It’s a really nice model and I’m dead happy with the one I kept. The details on the rear lights were something that I noticed straight away opening them all up! What a realistic appearance they’ve got.

Is the base the same as your white version? I just wondered if they all have that used under license writing?

Do you have any left?

[danthecapriman]

Couple of pics of the Frankenstein AEC I’ve been working on. 
Still more to do but it’s really coming on now. Making the glazing was an absolute twat to do! Lots of trial and error cutting and sanding it to shape until it fits in the opening. Door windows were easy as they fit inside the cab rather than flush in the opening. 
The lower grill needs more attention and the bumper and steps need painting too. Then once the cab is fitted permanently to the chassis I’ll do the exhaust, mirrors, wipers etc.

Driver is a leftover Bond villain from one of the previous project cars. I bet he never thought he’d be chasing British agents one moment then getting a job driving a cool truck!
 

[danthecapriman]

2 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Do you have any left?

Only the one I’m keeping at the moment, but I’m thinking of ordering some more if I can…

[danthecapriman]

14 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Only the one I’m keeping at the moment, but I’m thinking of ordering some more if I can…

Sod it, I’ve just ordered some more!!😁

Do you want one reserved @Tenmil Socket?

[Tenmil Socket]

19 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Sod it, I’ve just ordered some more!!😁

Do you want one reserved @Tenmil Socket?

Yes please mate 👍

[danthecapriman]

9 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Yes please mate 👍

No probs!

They usually take a couple of weeks to arrive so as soon as they get here I’ll let you know.👍

[bunglebus]

Popped back into the charity shop that had a load of old diecast last week, grabbed a couple of bits out of the basket by the till

This is another cigarette lighter like the two Lamborghinis I found at a boot sale months ago

However this was on the mat when I got home, it's utterly ridiculous and I absolutely love it

[bunglebus]

Postie man just dropped this off too

Zylmex 

[AndyW201]

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

Glad you like the Cav! It’s a really nice model and I’m dead happy with the one I kept. The details on the rear lights were something that I noticed straight away opening them all up! What a realistic appearance they’ve got.

Is the base the same as your white version? I just wondered if they all have that used under license writing?

White one's back in the loft now... 🥴

But I got the Helios blue one out of the cabinet,

And the base is indeed the same,

[Tenmil Socket]

I’m bored so I’m gonna sort through these boxes and perhaps create the beginning of a roffle lot.

[bunglebus]

I saw these fake Chinese Hot Wheels/Hot Wheel sets on the market earlier