Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

Is it too early to open presents?

I got this lovely 3D printed Matchbox light, which will be going up on the outhouse wall, if I can find a space

Best present ever though, has to be this fantastic Mebetoys Porsche 912

What a beautiful toy, and it's somehow survived with all the external plastic parts, spare wheels, tilting seats and opening everything 

Detail on the door cards

Rear seat with armrest

Six trumpets on the slightly odd looking motor 

Love it. Straight in the display case for this one

[andrew e]

Not even going to take a little paint off the skirting with it first 😆

[MiniMinorMk3]

16 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Is it too early to open presents?

I got this lovely 3D printed Matchbox light, which will be going up on the outhouse wall, if I can find a space

 

Nice sign.

16 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

 

Detail on the door cards

 

 

 

 

 

How many watts is the sound system?

16 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

 

Six trumpets on the slightly odd looking motor 

 

 

So it's a 912, which was fitted with the 356 4 pot (original Euro versions, not the later US version). That means the six trumpets is wrong, but then the engine looks like a transversion DOHC 4 or V8. Perhaps the designers at Mebetoys knew it was a 4 but did not get a look under the engine cover.

Nice old model by the way.

[Split_Pin]

Merry Christmas Shite in Miniaturists!

I got a couple of Italeri 1/24 kits that I'd asked for, a Volvo F12 and Audi Quattro rally car.

But the best was this in my stocking:

 

 

[Datsuncog]

Just squeezing in a couple of pics taken over lunchtime yesterday - you know how it is.

First up is the Toyota Celica GT- Four - a Hot Wheels Silverline release from their '90s Street Scene' series, picked up from The Entertainer about a week ago.

Oh, it's nice. The silver suits it well, and the subtle badge and graphics detailing lifts the whole thing.

There's a good weight to this one - it has a sturdy metal base fitted, and other than the one-piece plastic wheels, it's hard to tell that this isn't a Premium release.

This example does have a slight flaw, mind - I thought it was a diagonal mark on the paint just to the right of the back wheelarch, but it's actually quite a deep gouge in the casting itself that's then been painted over.

Ah well - street-racing scars, mebbe? Very pleased with this one, nonetheless!

Then there's the '73 Honda Civic, which is a full-on Premium version:

I was tickled to find the first mainline release of this in lime green nearly a year ago, but at the time wished it had a little more detail just to show off how well it had been modelled. I got my wish!

I'd like to compare this against the mainline releases, and also the more factory standard Matchbox release from a few years ago.

Just looks so appealing. Definite highlight of the series for me.

Metal base a-go-go!

Happy Christmas, kids, and hope 2025 brings more diecast hi-jinks to everyone.

[Tenmil Socket]

Merry Christmas all !

[danthecapriman]

Merry Christmas everyone!🥳

I didn’t get any miniature shite, but I did get a very handy model making spray booth with extractor which will definitely come in very handy in the new year.

[bunglebus]

43 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

That looks like it would sit well with the Starlet

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Merry Christmas everyone!🥳

I didn’t get any miniature shite, but I did get a very handy model making spray booth with extractor which will definitely come in very handy in the new year.

Nice, I've built my own, but I have used some Xmas money and ordered a proper airbrush compressor to go with it, rather than have to drag my 25L one outside and piss the neighbours off, as well as drag various hoses through to connect it all up.

Got given one of those green cutting mats too, another thing I should have bought years ago

[danthecapriman]

56 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Nice, I've built my own, but I have used some Xmas money and ordered a proper airbrush compressor to go with it, rather than have to drag my 25L one outside and piss the neighbours off, as well as drag various hoses through to connect it all up.

Got given one of those green cutting mats too, another thing I should have bought years ago

All I had before was some scrap cardboard and old newspaper to catch the dust & overspray. I was relying on open doors & windows for ventilation. 
This one has a proper booth with extractor and filter so should be a 100% improvement! 
I’ve got a proper air brush and compressor set which I found the other day after a couple of years packed away.

Just need somewhere to start doing models again now.

[Bren]

Father xmas brought me this - 

It's the only boxed majorette I have. I loved these since circa 1980 - I remember swapping something to get this in junior school - no rear cover or trailer. There was an Australian TV series called the outsiders on  around that time which featured a holden EH ute - which reminded me of this.

[ETCHY]

23 minutes ago, Bren said:

Father xmas brought me this - 

It's the only boxed majorette I have. I loved these since circa 1980 - I remember swapping something to get this in junior school - no rear cover or trailer. There was an Australian TV series called the outsiders on  around that time which featured a holden EH ute - which reminded me of this.

Cool toy

Here's the show's intro'. I remember that being on in the 1970's !

 

[Bren]

19 minutes ago, ETCHY said:

Cool toy

Here's the show's intro'. I remember that being on in the 1970's !

 

They are on youtube. I watched them recently- enjoyable but dated - but it is from 1976.

[bunglebus]

On 11/09/2024 at 11:16, bunglebus said:

Built myself a spray booth out of scrap ply

Extractor is the fan from an overhead door heater out of a shop, tumble dryer hose from that to a bit of plastic soil pipe I spotted in a skip (it was new...) and a bit of packing material as a filter

I made it so it folds flat, as space as at a premium

I used to just paint outside the back door but have spent £££ getting a new patio etc this summer, I'm not about to start spraying it funky colours.

Tried it out this morning and it works a treat, filtering the particles out of the air and I couldn't smell fumes at all. Lighting needs a bit of work but I've plenty of LED strips about

This is my very Heath Robinson setup, I've now added an extra light dangling above the booth which comes on with the fan.  The illumination was all focused on the work bench area before.

I quite like painting outside but the weather severely limits when I can work.

I've pretty much finished my latest project, a replica of my boss's van

Inside are 1:64 figures to represent the pair of us off on an adventure somewhere 

And in the back a flight case

Just like the ones we often transport 

What's missing is an in-joke in the form of a step ladder, as the eBay seller let me down but didn't bother to tell me until I chased it yesterday

I've ordered a different one which may be even better than the first

To explain, we often do shop rip-outs, and almost without fail there's a stepladder left in there, so there are dozens of the things in his warehouse now. I amuse him by sending his pictures of random ladders I see, he loves* it

Here's how it started

It's held together by the front grille pushed through a slot in the base, so near impossible to take apart without breaking anything, very annoying!

[Bren]

This came as well - 

I am not a fan of this type of packaging - the earlier more colourful boxes take me back to childhood. The model is nice complete with security guard and bullion.

[MiniMinorMk3]

I know there's quite a few of you who buy those reproduction Corgi Toys. Well they are starting to appear on the second hand market. There's an auction coming up on the 6th of January with a number of lots. It will be interesting to be what they make.

There's also a lot of other interesting things in the auction including some very nice mint and boxed Superfast.

British Toy Auctions | Sale of Vintage Toys and Models

The estimate on all the Corgi lots is £60-£80

Corgi Toys - A boxed collection of seven Corgi Toys 'Made in China' re-issued diecast models and

Corgi Toys - A boxed collection of six Corgi Toys 'Made in China' re-issued diecast models. Lot i

Corgi Toys - A boxed collection of seven Corgi Toys 'Made in China' re-issued diecast models. Lo

Corgi Toys - A boxed collection of six Corgi Toys 'Made in China' re-issued diecast models. Lot i

Corgi Toys - A boxed collection of seven Corgi Toys 'Made in China' re-issued diecast models and

 

 

 

 

 

[flat4alfa]

So a big loss then

£60 would be payback on just a pair of them

Think I’ll let mine sit on eBay for £20 each BIN / Make Offer

Or do the CogRoffle thing

[MiniMinorMk3]

In other auction news that Oberon Matchbox Auction is now on line.

Auction Search

There's plenty of rare colour variations

Big wheeled red Mustang

Transition Superfast Zodiac in Pale Blue Metallic.

Red RS2000

There's some unusual Bulgarian and Hungarian Issues

A few Lone Stars

And a few Majorettes

 

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

4 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

So a big loss then

£60 would be payback on just a pair of them

Think I’ll let mine sit on eBay for £20 each BIN / Make Offer

Or do the CogRoffle thing

That's just the estimate. The auction house could be wrong and they go for £40 or £140. I'll post the results when the auction has happened.

[bunglebus]

All of those in the last auction post would be very welcome here, I don't think any will be in my price range though.

The Corgi Model Club cars are lovely things, but other than selling them in eBay to American buyers in the early days, before they were available everywhere, they're not going to make a profit. To be honest I don't really care about value, other than when I'm trying to buy something I want!

[sierraman]

This is the thing with those Corgi reissues, they’re to be enjoyed as an ornament like anything else, almost 100% of them will survive having been produced in the tens of thousands. The originals were from a time when there wasn’t a consideration that they’d be in any way valuable in the future so 99.9% of them got played with, box went in the hearth, then run through the mud in the back garden the following summer. I figure take them for how they’re intended - at least they’re tasteful unlike the Days Gone tat. 
 

I did think though on the reverse of this my youngest has these things called Mini Brands, they’re all the rage supposedly. The gist is they’re miniature versions of branded goods like packs of cereal etc etc. Thinking back a few years ago we bought them the bloody shop, had tiny racking and a counter etc. I could see that becoming worth a quid or two in years to come as it’ll all, as in our house, get lost. 
 

Will today’s Matchbox become valuable? Possibly, because it’s so fast paced these days, in 1992 there would be a few new issues, the distribution was there and the production would go on for years possibly. However now you might get a release that’s available for a matter of months then unable to be found again? Who knows? 

[sierraman]

8 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

In other auction news that Oberon Matchbox Auction is now on line.

Auction Search

There's plenty of rare colour variations

Big wheeled red Mustang

Transition Superfast Zodiac in Pale Blue Metallic.

Red RS2000

There's some unusual Bulgarian and Hungarian Issues

A few Lone Stars

And a few Majorettes

 

 

I’ve said it before but those labels look well suss on that RS2000. 

[calebaaront]

Present from Mum & Dad yesterday. I now have a miniature version of my P4. 

[AndyW201]

(Belated) Christmas greetings to all miniature-shiters. Did get some diecast from Santa.

First,

Yeah, predictable! A casting I've not had so far though. I've got a few Mk4 Cortinas, so was pleased to see a Mk5 come out (an all new casting, not just a tarted up Mk4). Sadly the first release, the GHK 1Y Crusader, was riddled with quality issues, the Cardinal red 1.6L rectified some of these issues, and is a nice model for those who like it "base". But when this one came out, I had to have it (and then stash it away for Christmas!), as it has a great AS colour scheme. Solar gold is just a winning colour for an old Ford.

And it's modelled on an S-pack version, which makes it a rarity. All my Vanguards Mk4s are S models, so this one should go nicely with them. As can be seen in the close ups, the quality on this version still isnt 100%, just seems to be a thing with this casting sadly.

Corgi have done a decent job of the shape, and seem to have avoided the slightly weird rear roofline and three quarter shape of the Mk4. The Mk5 seems to have suffered with a slightly bent rear bumper side capping, which to be fair, seemed to be standard fit on most of the real cars back in the day...

Being an S-pack car, it looks good with the extra driving lights,

Ghia badges are tiny,  but nicely done. Aerial stub detail is a first on a Vanguard model.

Hard to tell on the Dairy Milk interior, but the door cappings and facia panel are done in a slightly different brown to represent the Ghia spec wood trim. Being an early Ghia, it has the correct A frame with pads headrests rather than the later fully padded ones.

The icing on the cake on this one for me though is,

Dealer sticker!!! Nicely done Corgi!

[Datsuncog]

Unpackaged that Hot Wheels Team Transport with the Nissan 300ZX yesterday too:

The Z-car's very nice, but it's the transport vehicle that really takes me to the fair.👌

[sierraman]

A highlight for me was this. I have the original 4x4 Pick up in the same livery. 

[bunglebus]

Glad it's not just me that's pleased to see that livery return 

 

[sierraman]

20 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Glad it's not just me that's pleased to see that livery return 

 

I’d like to see it on a few different models, the F150 Lightning would look good in that scheme. 

[Split_Pin]

1 hour ago, AndyW201 said:

(Belated) Christmas greetings to all miniature-shiters. Did get some diecast from Santa.

First,

Yeah, predictable! A casting I've not had so far though. I've got a few Mk4 Cortinas, so was pleased to see a Mk5 come out (an all new casting, not just a tarted up Mk4). Sadly the first release, the GHK 1Y Crusader, was riddled with quality issues, the Cardinal red 1.6L rectified some of these issues, and is a nice model for those who like it "base". But when this one came out, I had to have it (and then stash it away for Christmas!), as it has a great AS colour scheme. Solar gold is just a winning colour for an old Ford.

And it's modelled on an S-pack version, which makes it a rarity. All my Vanguards Mk4s are S models, so this one should go nicely with them. As can be seen in the close ups, the quality on this version still isnt 100%, just seems to be a thing with this casting sadly.

Corgi have done a decent job of the shape, and seem to have avoided the slightly weird rear roofline and three quarter shape of the Mk4. The Mk5 seems to have suffered with a slightly bent rear bumper side capping, which to be fair, seemed to be standard fit on most of the real cars back in the day...

Being an S-pack car, it looks good with the extra driving lights,

Ghia badges are tiny,  but nicely done. Aerial stub detail is a first on a Vanguard model.

Hard to tell on the Dairy Milk interior, but the door cappings and facia panel are done in a slightly different brown to represent the Ghia spec wood trim. Being an early Ghia, it has the correct A frame with pads headrests rather than the later fully padded ones.

The icing on the cake on this one for me though is,

Dealer sticker!!! Nicely done Corgi!

Crumbs, that is nice.

[AndyW201]

Other Christmas diecast was one I've been particularly keen to track down as it represents a car that I've owned.

I know to most people on this site it's a boring modern blob but it was a much loved and fondly remembered car.

This was my own RS. Bought with 130,000 miles on it, to which I added another 30,000, and over the four years I had it, it was one of the best cars I ever owned. Fast, economical and massively practical. Unfailingly reliable too, probably helped by buying one that had been fastidiously looked after and most importantly, not cocked-around with.

Yes, I eventually put some proper sized tyres on it... Feel free to take the piss out of the grille stripes, I thought they looked great...

Did a few German road trips too, this was taken in the queue to get back on the Rotterdam-Hull ferry. One of my proudest moments with the car on this trip was of us coming out of the Martkauf loaded up with the usual Bitburger Pils, sour apple Schnapps and Milka chocolate to see two attractive young German ladies looking all over the car and taking phone pics of it, before getting into a tidy lowered  Mk1 Octy estate on Seat Cupra R wheels, and driving off.

Part of the DeAgostini "Famous Czech Cars" collection, this is the only model of a road going Mk1 Octavia RS (vRS over here). I've long been after a road going Octavia 1 hatchback in model form, I've been tempted by the  original Kaden dealer models, but they are a bit "of their time" compared to modern 1/43 stuff, (but none the worse for that), Abrex did do a very nice Mk1 but weirdly only as an estate. A good mate of mine who did one-off motorsport models was going to do me a road car conversion job on one of the cheap DeAgostini rally Octavias, but he sadly died of Covid back in '21 and the price of those rally Octys has shot up over the last few years.

For a partwork model, this one is bloody hard to find. The only time they come up on ebay is with a Czech seller, for over £50 plus tax, plus shipping. I found this one on AliExpress of all places, somewhat cheaper as it was classed as a "slight second", advertised with a cracked blister pack. As it happened, the packaging was all intact, thankfully, albeit with wrong model name printed on it. The side rubbing strip on the drivers side had been smudged though, so a bit of black paint on the yellow had to be polished off, and the black paint on the strip had to be touched in. Its not perfect on that side, but beggars cant be choosers sadly. (I've managed to tidy it up more on that side since). Otherwise, its a nice model, the Octavia's shape is captured perfectly,

Not a clue who makes it though, Practically all of the other models in that collection are based on IXO castings, the Mk1 estate in the collection is by IXO, as they have just released it in their own packaging. I'm not sure if this is though, as the screws on the plinth and on the baseplate are normal cross-head rather than the usual triangular ones. The base doesnt give any clues either,

For a what is a fairly cheap partwork, the detailing is quite nice, including the small grille badges,

Boot badges and spoiler are all good,

and the RS-specific back box is present.

The original spec 'Spider' alloys also look great. Needs green calipers though...