Shite in Miniature II

[flat4alfa]

On 14/12/2024 at 21:17, FakeConcern said:

Some more Fake Corgis mixed in with originals and original catalogue.

On 14/12/2024 at 23:15, bunglebus said:

Is the Astro a copy, don't remember seeing one that colour?

Interestingly, that was the first time the Chevrolet Astro I was shown by Corgi, as it wasn't in the 1967-68 combined main catalogue or the 1969 main catalogue.  That page is from the fold-out pamphlet 'The Fantastic World of Corgi Toys' printed 1969, isn't it?

 click

There followed advertising seen in magazines and comics into Spring 1970, wearing 'Red-Spot' Whizzwheels with the separate tyre, however by this time it was a blue metallic

  click

It seems the first showing in a main catalogue was the 1970 issue, and by that time wearing the one-piece Whizzwheel type

To prove there was a really early one in a colour metallic orange-ish, there is one here.  It is on the cast 8-spoke wheels with separate tyres (or should that be tires) and was bought at a car boot sale in Devon a few months ago

I bought it mainly as a spares car to help build up a 'Red Spotter' out of the others.  Once looking about for other examples in the colour, decided against!  The camera and lighting might make it seem flat orange, but it is a metallic and less bright to the eye.  Also note the inset plastic part in front of the screen is satin black, not chromed over opaque.  Anyway, here it is having a party with its friends that are in various state of undress

The base casting is identical for all wheel types, it seems.  It also ought to be given a sympathetic clean...

Perhaps the intention was to get a colour near the actual concept car from 1967 ?  Yet opting to go for a metallic paint they had in stock ?

 

The actual concept car lives on today as part of the GM Heritage Collection and remains in the bright red non-metallic

Apart from that, can you tell I'm not sleeping at the moment...

[FakeConcern]

6 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I do like fakes and copies. Is the Astro a copy, don't remember seeing one that colour?

I'd be interested to see the bases on the non original ones 

The Astro, Miura and Firebird are copies, the bull is from my original bright red Miura and all the others are just standard originals.

I probably have pics of all the cars before I started, but it was ages ago. They were all rough ones, only the Firebird had Red Spots and the Miura was a late one with cast in spare and no mirrors.

20 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Interestingly, that was the first time the Chevrolet Astro I was shown by Corgi, and it wasn't in the 1967-68 combined main catalogue or the 1969 main catalogue.  That page is from the fold-out pamphlet 'The Fantastic World of Corgi Toys' printed 1969, isn't it?

 click

There was also advertising seen in magazines and comics into Spring 1970, wearing 'Red-Spot' Whizzwheels with the separate tyre, however by that time it was blue metallic

  click

It seems the first showing in a main catalogue was the 1970 issue, and by that time wearing the one-piece Whizzwheel type

To prove there was a really early one in a colour metallic orange-ish, there is one here.  It is on the cast 8-spoke wheels with separate tyres (or should that be tires) and was bought at a car boot sale in Devon a few months ago

I bought it mainly as a spares car to help build up a 'Red Spotter' out of the others.  Once looking about for other examples in the colour, decided against!  The camera and lighting might make it seem flat orange, but it is a metallic and less bright to the eye.  Also note the inset part in front of the screen is satin black, not chromed.  Anyway, here it is having a party with its friends that are in various state of undress

The base casting is identical for all wheel types, it seems.  It also ought to be given a sympathetic clean...

Perhaps the intention was to get a colour near the actual concept car from 1967 ?  Yet opting to go for a metallic paint they had in stock ?

 

The actual concept car lives on today as part of the GM Heritage Collection and remains in the bright red non-metallic

Apart from that, can you tell I'm not sleeping at the moment...

Yes that's the leaflet I've had from new, you can see the young me used a biro to decorate it! Not sure when it came out, but as the London Sydney Marathon was in Nov/Dec 1968, I expect you're right.

That orange Astro you have is very strange, a great find even if someone previously made a Fake Corgi! A lot can happen between 1969 and 2024!

(BTW I don't have trouble sleeping, I 'm about to drive to Norwich and try to miss the traffic!)

[bunglebus]

They definitely should have stuck with the original colours. I've done a Rockets version to look like the original concept, along with a Yatming @Datsuncog sent me, which was I think the first custom I did using thinned nail varnish via the airbrush 

I recon if @flat4alfa's version is original, it must be some sort of pre-pro or colour trial. The rivets look different but that black plastic insert in front of the screen would be impossible to fake really. Great find, dibs!

[bunglebus]

15th today

Can't see this one anywhere in the main picture, mysterious!

[Spottedlaurel]

Yesterday's charity shop finds, 4 for £1. Same place I got the really good haul of Majorettes etc the other week.

Cavalier certainly the star buy. Prairie looks good in this colour, possibly the best I've found so far. The Jaguar is nice, picking out the top of the bumper in silver is a nice touch. I prefer the metallic blue example.

BMW 850i is apparently an Ultrahot from the first time around, it's a new one to me. F1 by Majorette, good to find at least one more even if it's not really my thing. VW and yet another Corgi SD1 made up the eight that I 'needed'.

[Tenmil Socket]

59 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Yesterday's charity shop finds, 4 for £1. Same place I got the really good haul of Majorettes etc the other week.

Cavalier certainly the star buy. Prairie looks good in this colour, possibly the best I've found so far. The Jaguar is nice, picking out the top of the bumper in silver is a nice touch. I prefer the metallic blue example.

BMW 850i is apparently an Ultrahot from the first time around, it's a new one to me. F1 by Majorette, good to find at least one more even if it's not really my thing. VW and yet another Corgi SD1 made up the eight that I 'needed'.

Love the VW, good score!

[Tenmil Socket]

6 hours ago, matt79 said:

The tiny models look like they could be from 'The Worlds Smallest Matchbox' series, which were available from 1990 to 1992, and issued as a rival to Galoob's Micro Machines range.

Not much info online but there are quite a few ebay listings for them.

I’d forgotten all about them!

[Tenmil Socket]

Check out this blue touring car Sierra I’ve spotted on eBay! 

 

[Split_Pin]

21 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Check out this blue touring car Sierra I’ve spotted on eBay! 

 

I had that, very loosely based on Andy Rouse's Cosworth.

[MiniMinorMk3]

6 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

I bought it mainly as a spares car to help build up a 'Red Spotter' out of the others.  Once looking about for other examples in the colour, decided against!  The camera and lighting might make it seem flat orange, but it is a metallic and less bright to the eye.  Also note the inset part in front of the screen is satin black, not chromed.  Anyway, here it is having a party with its friends that are in various state of undress

 

 

My guess is that Orange Astro is a Per-Production model and is very rare indeed.

The art work on the back of the boxed showed that colour variation when the model was on general release.

And the wheels look like they are from the Cooper Maserati with narrow tyres.

[bunglebus]

Sand Cat custom looking a lot nicer with a clear windscreen 

Funny enough the orange one looks right at home in the normal version, Matchbox should have done it this way to start with

[Pauly.22]

On 14/12/2024 at 20:58, danthecapriman said:

What are those tiny ones? 
I had loads of Micro Machines as a kid, some are still in boxes here, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen those tiny ones.

There call matchbox insiders. I think they fit inside other micro machines. 

[sierraman]

The world’s smallest matchbox, remember those? 

[Split_Pin]

Yes they're Micromachines Insiders, there should be a normal sized one to go with them which is hollow and had a hinge. I had an insiders playset which was a normal playset but one of the buildings opened up into an even smaller environment for the insiders.

You could also get Triplesiders which were normal Insiders inside a slightly larger car. 

[MiniMinorMk3]

As it's a bit quiet here today I thought I'd just post up some random stuff from my Mini collection.

 

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

 

Green Vita-Min?

That Tomica is rather nice too

[bunglebus]

Forgot to post the pics up of the Matchbox 5 pack cars. Oddly there are two Alfa Giulias and two Fiat 500s. I think the Miura is the king of the hill though

[bunglebus]

Day 16

And the picture lines up with the contents, yay!

[bunglebus]

Picked up a small plastic pickup I spotted in a junk shop's window display a few weeks ago

As I suspected, it's an Impulse copy of the Matchbox Mini Pick-Up, and was sold as a Pinch Popper, hidden inside a bigger van body

He'd sold most of the other diecasts, although there are still a few in his display cabinet such as a Corgi (I think) Mini and a Humber Hawk. These Lone Star Tuff Tots weren't there before 

This plated Corgi Consul Classic was a Facebook find. I've had one or two Corgis in this finish before but I don't know which models were released in the bright finish

I spotted that @sheffcortinacentre was selling this Bulgarian Matchbox Mercedes set. I don't profess to know a lot about these, I thought they'd be in Matchbox branded packaging

Merc is marked as a Matchbox with the country of origin altered as you would expect 

The boat looks to me like the one found in Convoy sets, but the trailer I don't recognise at all and is unbranded

[sheffcortinacentre]

Yep it's a weird  set up.

[sierraman]

The consul I think was branded under M&S?

[bunglebus]

[bunglebus]

The other ones that have been through my hands:

 

[flat4alfa]

On 15/12/2024 at 04:10, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Original photo

[flat4alfa]

The Marks & Spencer range was named ‘Trophy’ and limited to 5 models.  Produced for November 1961, it was called the ‘Mirror’ finish and each model fitted with red interior piece and front grilles painted in similar red.  All boxed separately and mounted on their own plinth

Vanwall F1

BRM F1

MGA

Triumph TR2

Austin Healey 100/4

 

The Corgi ‘Golden Guinea’ gift set #20 was also produced the same month and in same colour scheme of red interiors, however grilles and rear number plates were painted silver

Bentley S2 Continental

Cherolet Corvair

Ford Consul 315 (this also with plated base!)

 

The Triumph TR3 was also intended to be a ‘Trophy’ but the production run went for overseas trade and was boxed as a standard model

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

Original photo

Yes that's the original that I photoshopped.

[MiniMinorMk3]

The Studebaker Golden Hawk 211S is probably the most common of the plated Corgis.

Others which are rarer include

 

There are also some pre-production Bond Astons out there

 

 

If you want to see some of the later issue plated stuff then click on the link below. There's everything from Routemasters, London Taxis, Minis, BMW M1, not to mention all the Corgi Classics stuff and numerous anniversary Bond Aston releases..

Vectis Auctions | Search

[flat4alfa]

1960 saw the first models individually sold with plated finishes

Jaguar 2.4

Jaguar E-Type

Studebaker Golden Hawk

Mercedes 300SL Roadster

Mercedes 300SL Hardtop

The Mercedes could eventually be found with either silver or gold plated finishes

 

Later models include

Jaguar MK10

Simca 1000 Coupe

[bunglebus]

I've got the Golden Hawk but in gold painted finish.

There are a few of the Consuls for sale with a box, are these from the gift set and mismatched or were they released individually too?

[sierraman]

22 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I've got the Golden Hawk but in gold painted finish.

There are a few of the Consuls for sale with a box, are these from the gift set and mismatched or were they released individually too?

Probably left over as a surplus then stuck in regular boxes.