Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

Matchbox certainly pushed this one as a promotional item

[Datsuncog]

4 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Christ almighty! I’d forgotten all about those.

[MiniMinorMk3]

First batch from my latest auction lot are these vintage Corgi and Dinky models.

First is this early Corgi 208 Jaguar 2.4 Litre. 

This is the first version from 1957-1960 that had no suspension or interior. It has accessory wheel white wall decals applied, which are fine for the age and car colour.

Tin base just like a Dinky.

Talking of white walls, some daft youngster stuck some on the Vanwall and over time one had fallen off.

Left side ones were starting to peel...

so I finished the job. The tyres are rock hard so I'm glad those sticker came off easily.

Next is a 455 Karrier Bantam truck. 

This is another early Corgi made from 1957 to 1960. Pity it has lost a tyre.

Next is a 465 Commer Pick Up truck.

Still has the brown bench in the back.

Transolite

Good tyres

First of the Dinky models is the 260 Royal Mail Morris van.

Ridged hub and most of the decals still there.

Base is a bit rusty and wavey. 

480 Bedford Kodak van

Again with ridge wheels and most of the decals still present.

Tyres look like half chewed liquorice, but base is straight with only a bit of spider web corrosion under the paint.

Finally we have the Spectrum Patrol Vehicle.

A bit of paint loss and a missing aerial

Good decal on left.

All the glass is intact.

Wear on base. I had to look up what the cog on the base was for as I had forgotten after all the years that have passed since I pushed mine around. Turns out it is supposed to make a rocket noise. Well after a bit of inspection it looks like the cog teeth are a bit worn, and the corroded parts inside have put an end to any noises coming out of this Vehicle. Not to worry, people ask silly money for these even when they look like this, so I should be able to get most my investment back on this one old bit of tat.

 

[bunglebus]

 

[bunglebus]

2 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Still has the brown bench in the back.

Well I didn't know that was a thing! Now I need to find one

[MiniMinorMk3]

Breakfast toys. I remember pouring whole packets of cereal to get to the toy before my brother. The some clever person at the cereal place decided to put the toy in the box, and not in the inner bag. The first time that happened with thought we'd been ripped of after pouring out the cereal and not finding this weeks bit of tat plastic. Only after removing the inner bag from the box did we find the prize.

[bunglebus]

 

[andy18s]

15 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Bachelor's Peas Transit in matching box

BP R5

Nova 

Schweppes Firebird 

A big stack of promotionals I got off @andrew e a while back

Not all of them had sponsorship on, but the Polo Porsche did

Weetabix promo

The Golden Wonder crisps one

Weetabix Leyland 

And a Pepsi

Plus Coke

Maybe that's straying from the path, as lorries, fuel tankers etc would always bear some sort of company logo

Alitalia Capri

Shell Sierra - there are of course loads of motorsport type liveries

Like so

Homefire Sierra

Elf R5

British Airways TR7

Frosties Ferrari 

Bachelors Porsche

Frosties Porsche 

Duckhams Landie

Somewhat knackered BP Wrecker

Alternative colours

Shell version 

Pointers Transit 

Lots of Chevrolet vans with sponsorship 

Fuji Hot Rod van - part of a set?

Pretty sure this was too

Loctite Renault 

And a Dyno-Rod

Or just the company name

I left out the usual AA, RAC, British Gas, Telecom etc too

I've got the same Bachelor Transit somewhere,along with a Ford Iveco truck in the same livery.

I'll have to dig them out for some pics. 

[sierraman]

58 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Matchbox certainly pushed this one as a promotional item

I must have got 20 odd MB38 vans, it’s one of those if you are completionist you have to seek out. The livery is usually more fascinating than the van itself. We had a Dewhursts Butchers near us a kid and they had their branded ones in the window round the edge. Looking back now I can’t help but think they were a bit of a H&S risk. 🤣

[quicksilver]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

The Frosties Corgis were great (or indeed, grrrr-eat!)

I think the Siku Jeep came a little later:

It must have been popular, as they're probably the most widely-found Siku around:

And then there's the Matchbox Firebird that started it all:

So unexpectedly popular that Kelloggs quickly ran out of stock and had to rush-order a second batch, at significant cost, so as not to let all the little tykes down.

 

I think the end of in-pack giveaways were a combination of manufacturers trying to cut costs, some high-profile cases in the media of toddlers choking on things hidden in food that weren't actually edible, and a growing sense that 99% of the products were ending up as plastic landfill, so not very eco-conscious... all of which I can understand, but I absolutely loved some of the giveaways. I remember Kelloggs in the mid-1980s having little plastic mini-kits of aircraft and I think a tiny submarine that rose and sank in water if you put baking powder inside it?

But other offers were crappy things like bike reflectors and folding spoons, which didn't really grab me as much.

I think nearly every major diecast toy manufacturer put out cereal promotional models with Kelloggs in the '80s and '90s - I can also remember a Matchbox Ford Model A van for Kelloggs' cornflakes, a series of 'chromed' Majorette monster trucks with Rice Krispies, and the unique Corgi Cameo series of Brooklands Racers (and cardboard display diorama) with Corn Flakes - they also put out a 'Cars of the 1960s' range (Mini, incorrect Beetle splittie, 2CV, Minor), plus Land Speed Record cars by Lledo.

I believe my first ever Oxford Diecast was a Bullnose Morris van acquired through collecting tokens from Jordans Cereals.

Those are ringing bells too. I definitely had some of the Brooklands racers (but I thought they were Lledo?), the sixties cars with the cardboard service station that wasn't the same scale and the record cars, and maybe one or two of the monster trucks. My first Oxford Diecast was acquired under similar circumstances except it was from a box of Soda Crystals my granny had and I'd never heard of Oxford Diecast until then. I had the Jordans one too and IIRC this was so popular they ended up doing three or four re-runs. Oxford Diecast have come a long way since those early days of copying Lledo and are now the most numerous brand in my collection.

I suspected the demise of in-pack gifts was down to kids eating them, but why did the token giveaways stop? I guess having to wait until the whole box was finished before your parents bought another to get more tokens, repeating that several times to accumulate enough, sending them off in the post and patiently waiting for the thing to arrive just took too long in an age of kids with short attention spans used to instant gratification.

[sierraman]

50 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Those are ringing bells too. I definitely had some of the Brooklands racers (but I thought they were Lledo?), the sixties cars with the cardboard service station that wasn't the same scale and the record cars, and maybe one or two of the monster trucks. My first Oxford Diecast was acquired under similar circumstances except it was from a box of Soda Crystals my granny had and I'd never heard of Oxford Diecast until then. I had the Jordans one too and IIRC this was so popular they ended up doing three or four re-runs. Oxford Diecast have come a long way since those early days of copying Lledo and are now the most numerous brand in my collection.

I suspected the demise of in-pack gifts was down to kids eating them, but why did the token giveaways stop? I guess having to wait until the whole box was finished before your parents bought another to get more tokens, repeating that several times to accumulate enough, sending them off in the post and patiently waiting for the thing to arrive just took too long in an age of kids with short attention spans used to instant gratification.

Loads of things back in the day had coupons etc, remember in Co-Op they had the brown books that you’d spend ages sticking the ‘5’ or the ‘40’ stickers in. Or fags where you had the Superkings catalogue where if you gave yourself emphysema you’d have enough for a 14” Nicam Television. 

[Split_Pin]

Received a brace of resto projects from @FakeConcern today.

I wasted no time in digging out a set of AMT Camaro wheels and test fitted the missing one:

That's a yes! Not sure if I'll fit all 4 or just leave it as is, depends how hard the other wheels will be to extract.

A good wash and some Glue 'n' Glaze for the missing light lenses and this one will look really nice again.

The wee Fiat is going to be a challenge to get looking better.

I can sort the bent windscreen, the glazing is OK, I can make some new bumpers and paint is no problem but finding a suitable set of wheels will be hard as one has a missing tyre. I did have a smashed Saico Minor which might have had some suitable wheels but I binned it. It's really small (obviously as the real car was tiny!)  for a 1/25, not much bigger than a Corgi Sierra.

If anyone's got any wheels with an approximate diameter of 18-20mm I'd be very interested. Or even a tyre that will fit the 13-14mm rim.

[bunglebus]

I found another unusual European die cast of a Volkswagen with bits missing

Yeah it's a Majorette K70, not common but not hen's teeth either

But this one is an early example with the square headlights

Most have twin round lamps

Can't remember if I have a door donor in my project box but I'll find one somewhere and give it a once over

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, quicksilver said:

I definitely had some of the Brooklands racers (but I thought they were Lledo?)

You're right - they were by Lledo, not Corgi.

Must have got myself all in a lather with this morning's general excitement!

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, quicksilver said:

I suspected the demise of in-pack gifts was down to kids eating them, but why did the token giveaways stop? I guess having to wait until the whole box was finished before your parents bought another to get more tokens, repeating that several times to accumulate enough, sending them off in the post and patiently waiting for the thing to arrive just took too long in an age of kids with short attention spans used to instant gratification.

I think another factor in the death of token giveaways could be the soaring price of postage - I seem to recall that you might send off your eight tokens or whatever with a 20p piece taped to a piece of cardboard to cover P&P, back when a second class stamp was 18p or so, and after 28 days or thereabouts you'd receive a car in the post worth a pound or £1.50, maybe more.

Whereas nowadays, you'd have to stump up £3.25 in small parcel postage to receive a toy car worth about £1.50... so another victim of a shifting economy where the price of manufactured goods has gone down, relatively speaking, but the price of services has gone up?

[bunglebus]

The Kellogg's Motoring Marvels set also included a crap cardboard garage setup, never had this

That out of scale Mini still irks me

[sierraman]

35 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

I think another factor in the death of token giveaways could be the soaring price of postage - I seem to recall that you might send off your eight tokens or whatever with a 20p piece taped to a piece of cardboard to cover P&P, back when a second class stamp was 18p or so, and after 28 days or thereabouts you'd receive a car in the post worth a pound or £1.50, maybe more.

Whereas nowadays, you'd have to stump up £3.25 in small parcel postage to receive a toy car worth about £1.50... so another victim of a shifting economy where the price of manufactured goods has gone down, relatively speaking, but the price of services has gone up?

It used to be ‘send a postal order’ IIRC. 

[sierraman]

Just now, bunglebus said:

The Kellogg's Motoring Marvels set also included a crap cardboard garage setup, never had this

That out of scale Mini still irks me

I can’t stand corn flakes but I think I’d have made an exception for that garage. 

[bunglebus]

4 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

a tiny submarine that rose and sank in water if you put baking powder inside it?

[quicksilver]

11 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

The Kellogg's Motoring Marvels set also included a crap cardboard garage setup, never had this

That out of scale Mini still irks me

That's the one I had. Clearly a much smaller scale than the cars and probably rare as hens' teeth now as it would have lasted about 5 minutes being played with.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Next lot for the clean up were some modern Corgis. Well I think they are modern because they do not have separate tyres.

Not another Metro

X1/9 is a good effort. The early 1.3 engine cars came in a colour similar to this

Opening doors and tow hook.

Chrome engine under the cover.

Pity they didn't do a removable roof panel, but then again, most would be lost from play won examples.

This one is from the 1/36 range.

Next are these things that look like they are straight out of a Gery Anderson show.

The Ambulances are in good condition.

The tow truck has seen a bit more action.

Metal base on van type and plastic on truck type

I never knew this sort of stuff existed. By the time these were a thing I was playing with real cars.

Did they come with glass?

Two very modern Jags.

The XJR-9 is a model of the car driven to 3rd place by Eddie Cheever, John Watson and Johnny Dumfries in the 1988 Daytona 24 Hours

Last Corgi is this 1989 Collectors Club issue.

It has the Swansea address on the back.

 

[bunglebus]

 

[bunglebus]

Never found a High Speed "Crackle"

There's one on eBay...

[Datsuncog]

Took myself over to Cityside at lunchtime, to see if they could meet my diecast requirements - sadly, the answer was NO.

B&M, Home Bargains, Asda, Tesco and Poundland - nothing much going on in any of them, in terms of diecast.

B&M had some 2025 A-case items, but only a handful - possibly they just jammed on a couple from a new box in the delivery to fill up the display.

Home Bargains had no Hot Wheels cars at all, and definitely no Matchbox.

Asda had the scene of someone else's crimes, and that was about it.

Tesco and Poundland had quite a lot of Hot Wheels mainlines, but all older 2024 stuff that I've picked through many, many times before.

And so that was that... a bit anticlimactic, maybe, but ain't that just the way?

[Datsuncog]

I'm still enjoying yesterday's Nissan Pathfinder (US)/ Terrano (Japan) by Matchbox:

It looks every so slightly squashed, but then the real thing looked a bit odd too. 

Introduced in 1985, this vehicle borrowed parts from the Nissan Hardbody pickup and also the Patrol 4x4 and packed them into what we'd now call an SUV body, but this was an unknown market segment at the time.

Japanese spec models were quite plush, often fitted with high-end features like leather seats, CD players and air conditioning, and even came with the option of a 'widebody kit' which extended the arches beyond the parameters of the standard taxation class - hey, it was the boomtime for Japanese society, and what shows you're rich more than deliberately making yourself liable for 'wide car tax'?

US spec versions tended to be a little more utilitarian, up against semi-offroaders like the Ford Bronco and Chevrolet Blazer, but sold pretty well. Five door versions were offered from 1988 on. It was never offered for sale new in the UK, although doubtless a few grey imports found their way here over the years.

Bit of Sharpie might disguise where the tampo print doesn't quite make it.

It's a nicely put together little model, and I'm pleased to finally track one down!

[Tayne]

Saw this advertised at another show today,  not sure if it’s on anyone’s radar.

 

I was also a little shocked at the prices for BL models.

[Tayne]

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Did they come with glass?

 Just the ones sold through Mothercare I think. Otherwise as basic as can be

[andy18s]

Just popped up on a local page.