Shite in Miniature II

[flat4alfa]

5 hours ago, egg said:

There's a MB W123 for sale here for £1 in Lincolnshire (Gainsborough)

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2251734634936164/

Sold

[flat4alfa]

On 10/22/2019 at 8:29 PM, bunglebus said:

Only Tesco are selling Matchbox, unless you happen to find any in Poundland - and they've had naff all of anything for ages 

Statement by Tesco stating they are sole importer

https://www.tescoplc.com/news/2019/iconic-matchbox-makes-comeback-tesco/

“We are very excited to have won the exclusive UK licence for Matchbox”

[New POD]

6 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Statement by Tesco stating they are sole importer

https://www.tescoplc.com/news/2019/iconic-matchbox-makes-comeback-tesco/

“We are very excited to have won the exclusive UK licence for Matchbox”

Won.  Like a raffle ?  

The truth is more "We used our clout to negotiate a contract that forces Matchbox to only sell to us at a price we pretty much set, and for us to set the price we sell at, because we've made sure that Nobody else can sell them"

Won my arse. 

[flat4alfa]

Either way, they are a sell out, stocks are drying, there is a FB page dedicated to the 2019 Matchbox Tesco search

https://m.facebook.com/pg/MakeMatchboxGreatAgain/posts/

eBay has plenty of sellers making multiple times the aisle price in profit - just search ‘Matchbox 2019’

[Christine]

Tesco tonight had 2 boxes of hotwheels ..try as I might, I  couldn't  find a VW trekker thing ..but did find 2 Land Rover series 3 ,  which I bought.. There was an Audi UR quattro too, but I didn't buy that..Now I see the Trekker thing is a Matchbox !  I would swap a Land Rover  for a Trekker thing if anyone wants ?

 

[Spottedlaurel]

I popped into a local Tesco tonight. The Matchbox case was behind a couple of HW boxes, so I dug it out and it really was a case of the dregs being left behind along with a few HWs chucked in there. Lotus Europa the only thing of any interest, and I already have one of them.

I was thinking about the age of some of the cars in the range, like that W123 or the Europa. About 35-40 up to 50 years old - are they of much relevance/interest to youngsters or are they shrewdly tilting them towards people of a certain age?

Some are older than various Models of Yesteryear would have been when they were launched in the '70s.....

[egg]

Apparently there's an SVX on the way, or is it already out there?

http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/matchbox-subaru-svx/

[bunglebus]

It's not finished, but I couldn't resist a mock-up with its compadres

 

20191024_172500 by RS, on Flickr

20191024_172609 by RS, on Flickr

 

Also, goodies arrived, mostly via Split_pin

 

20191024_170915 by RS, on Flickr

20191024_170851 by RS, on Flickr

20191024_170824 by RS, on Flickr

20191024_170754 by RS, on Flickr

20191024_170717 by RS, on Flickr

20191024_170739 by RS, on Flickr

20191024_170624 by RS, on Flickr

20191024_170659 by RS, on Flickr

(Zylmex)

 

And this from TK Maxx

 

20191024_170404 by RS, on Flickr

[ETCHY]

That Aston DBS is so cool. How come i've never come across one of those !

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Just got sent to 24hr Tesco for some coloured tights.

This was what I came back with, apparentlly it shows up my immature and selfish way of turning every situation to my advantage - as if that's a bad thing!

Anyway no W123s although there were a couple Thunderbirds and Rancheros, I don't want those but if anyone does I'll pick them up tomorrow for £1.10 plus postage.

[flat4alfa]

On 10/15/2019 at 8:28 PM, bunglebus said:

I've been keeping an eye on Tesco as they're restocking. I want the Trekker!

Got one for you!

 They've filled the box up since Yesterday.  No Merc W123 wagon though

 

'Customer Service' lady checked price on the scanner and said the Matchbox are now 'on clearance' at £1.10 each.  So I asked if there was more stock out the back but she said 'no, because clearance'.  Didn't want to help really. 

Also realised the aisle price label has been wrong all along....

Then saw a yuletide 5-pack edition.  Thought it a bit naff and maybe old stock, but reverse does state 2019.  Didn't touch it as I have rule that the C word isn't entertained until half-past December.

 

Looked on eBay again and determined I could clear my petrol wastage during the green W123 hunt by buying some in, like.  Probably.

 

Bought the 5-pack on a £4.50 whim as I like the special edition van

[eddyramrod]

I popped into Tesco today, fully intending to scoop up all the w123s.  But there weren't any.  Oh well.

Why would I do such a thing, with my well-known antipathy to German cars?  Simply because you guys love the model and I would have been able to pass them on.

You're welcome.

[Jon]

On 10/23/2019 at 8:11 AM, flat4alfa said:

If I said ‘Heller Cliclac’ what would you say?

Would you say ‘Mon dieu, avec les Renault Trafic modele reduits super!’ ?

Maybe not.

This is excellent, as I'd totally forgotten I had one of these as a young child - the tacky blue customised one, which very much wasn't to my tastes, even as a nipper. I'm sure I pulled the chrome add-ons on and off several times, to the point where the locating tabs broke; entirely an unintentional outcome but a pleasing one, nevertheless!

 

On the subject of vans, I saw this on Trademe the other night and thought of you:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/toys-models/die-casts/other/listing-2369724552.htm?rsqid=22c41b4331c846b59b1b973ff7ee3059-001

I had no idea this was a thing at all until I found it but if it takes your fancy and no-one else bids, I've calculated that I could have this landed on my doorstep for a smidge over £21, which seems quite fair compared to Ebay Polistil 1/25 prices. And if you were willing to bide our time, I could bring it over to the UK with me when I visit next summer!

 

[bunglebus]

Is it tat Friday?

[Datsuncog]

On 10/25/2019 at 6:37 AM, bunglebus said:

Is it tat Friday?

You know... it is!

After a long break, it's a good 'un, too:

Loose models - all priced at "About the £5 mark"

I was very tempted by the Corgi Dyane and Matchbox Superkings Capri II - but they were just slightly below display quality, for me. The Dyane also had some odd stickers of what looked like a duck wearing French national costume on the doors and bootlid, too. Most strange.

Renault 5 wasn't too bad; Fiat X1/9 and Kojak Buick Regal had some battle scars but were otherwise fairly good examples.

Corgi Classic Collection Mercs from the early 80s. The red Gullwing was good, the silver one less so. Both the big tourers at the back had bits missing/broken though.

Husky Ford Camper more dirty than damaged, still with the sliding door in place.

Bedford S-type is a plastic model, probably 1950s or 60s, stamped Made In Hong Kong and with a round maker's logo I couldn't decipher. Quite charming, though some A-post damage, sadly.

De Tomaso Mangusta is a Corgi version - and, IMHO, superior in detail to Dinky's offering, with what looks to be a very detailed (and detachable?) backbone chassis. Missing tyres, but otherwise quite clean.

Elan is also by Corgi, missing the windscreen but still with its 'I've got a tiger in my tank' boot decal.

Ro80 is Dinky with the working lights, missing the battery cover but otherwise still in decent nick.

Very dusty Porsche 959 might be a Maisto? Dunno what the story is with the big plastic JPS racer at the back! 

Buses and trucks, including some local hauliers like Dukes and McBurney, so there'll probably be strong interest on those. Back in my model shop days, anything local was invariably pounced on very quickly (Ulsterbus models especially).

And earthmoving equipment - didn't check, but might well be by Joal. Another big seller, back in the day - there were lads who spent hundreds of pounds on model plant equipment . Not my bag, but takes all sorts, hey? Some James Bond partwork tat, too.

1/24 and 1/18 soopacar giffer trinkets by Maisto, plus an EFE Leyland artic and an OOC rendition of a London Travel Optare Delta.

Jag XJ220 looks like it has Shell logos on the base, so probably another early 90s fuel promo giveaway item. Collect 10,000 tokens, or something like that...

Has to be here, it seems - the customary parade of unloved and very cheap boxed Days Gone/MoY, plus this time an ERTL vintage Buick, a Renault Spyder and some planes - one Matchbox jet, two Days Gone biplanes.

The white 1930s Mercedes looked ok, actually. How long before I crack and buy a Model of Yesteryear? Place yer bets...

 

Tragically, there was NO 50p tat box on the stall today. I know, I know. I'm gutted too. ?

Despondent, all I could do was look at a tin of 1/72 scale soldiers (not made by Matchbox, theirs were much more finely detailed)...

...and some 0 gauge track.

But just as I was about to leave....

These appeared.

Now, who here likes Mk3 Escorts?

These are priced at £10 each... the yellow one's not quite mint, but they all look pretty good and in decent boxes.

The other one that's not an Escort is a boxed Renault 5, an early version from 1977/78 - the same as the loose yellow one in the very first pic.

I like these, but I've already owned and disposed of my Escorts and R5s, so I held back today.

If anyone wants me to bop back over at 12 for any reason... happy to do so!

 

More tat to follow from the other stalls!

[bunglebus]

Get him in a headlock and demand the return of the tat boxes. If he refuses give him noogies too.

[Datsuncog]

So next I wandered across to one of the other antique and collectable stalls opposite, to have a nosey, and oh look...

A biscuit tin of wonders. 

Mostly 70s Matchbox and Corgi, with a Corgi Heinkel bubble car just visible and a Dinky Leyland National up top, plus a Tuf-Tots Corvette and a tinplate VW T1 with no visible makers name. Many in good shape, though nothing mint.

I don't know what the merry hell that plastic anthropomorphic guitar thing sitting on the orange spring powered go-cart is about, though. Some things are better best forgotten.

And more tat higher up on the stall, too... Corgi Standard Vanguard comes with broken glazing and much chippage. Corgi Ford D-Series transporter not too bad; Lesneys in middling shape overall.

I could feel the elderly stallholder's gaze boring into the back of my neck as I snapped these pics, and there was more than a hint of menace in his gruff query of "Are you alright there?"

A cheery question about the pricing structure of his diecasts met with the usual long-winded justification about how them's old cars, they fetch big money on eBay, you know...

Eventually I managed to determine that the contents of the biscuit tin are priced at £5 each, with the (seemingly arbitrary) selection on the shelves weighing in at £20 a pop.

I thanked him for his time.

 

Moving methodically across to the prosaically titled Alan's Emporium, then (as he sometimes has some decent older stuff in among the old beer bottles and novelty wine holders):

Well, not so much of interest this week.

£2 would have scooped me a Corgi Smiley Transit recovery van, missing its roof lights and a bit playworn but with the dolly and (somewhat terrifying) grab hook and winch still attached.

The Lesney '57 Chevy was unpriced, but typically missing its bonnet (TADTS).

No-name Chinese Mini was identical to ones my grandparents used to bring me back from Corfu and Tenerife when I was a kid, so this had a certain nostalgic tug for me. Unusually, it seems a reasonable stab at an actual Austin-Rover special edition, the Red Hot. £3 on this one.

Lastly, among the rest of the modern plastic tat, was this fairly good casting of a VW T4, which had no name but seems broadly similar to a Telitoy example I sold on last year.

£2 seemed a bit optimistic though, given the general condition. But hey ho, it probably is a 25 year old toy. I shudder to think about the prices I was stumping up for late 70s stuff in the early 1990s.

 

Leaving Alan's assorted wares, I skirted past Giffer Alley with their mangled, paint encrusted Dinkys nestled alongside cigarette cards and tins of loose stamps and foreign banknotes, and on up to the Charity Stall.

Exactly which charity this stall raises money for is still slightly vague, but the fella there recognised me straight away, and ushered me round to the VIP section (ahem) behind the stall.

Space is at a bit of a premium on this particular stall, what with the boxes of out-of date biscuits and pouches of out-of-date dog food, not to mention the piles of knackered Dan Brown and Danielle Steele novels - so the diecast tend to remain around the stallholder side.

Don't laugh, this is the closest I get to glamourous celebrity living.

This, you may recall, was the same lad who a few weeks back had said he had "a whole load" of diecast recently come into his possession, only he hadn't brought them along that week... nor did he the following week.

But this week, there were indeed substantially more.

I had an initial gasp of delight upon spying the Corgi Juniors Volvo race support car, and also the Majorette Alpine (plus bonus pirate casting of the Superfast Datsun 127X)...

Only to find the Alpine lacked a bootlid and most of its paint, while the Volvo seems to have met with a deeply unfortunate accident involving a lump hammer.

I can't really bitch too much, as I believe that's exactly what became of my own Team Castrol 245DL.

Interestingly though, the Alpine seems to have the tattered remains of Chrysler decals on both sides - assuming it they weren't added as a Code 3 muck-about, it's not a version I'm familiar with.

But the vast majority of the box contents are ultra-cheap far eastern diecast tat of the most execrable quality: check out (what I believe to be) the '67 Mustang fastback resting on the Alpine, with the thinnest possible amount of metal used in its manufacture.

Plus, these cars seem to have been mainly stored underwater along with some AA batteries, so there's much corrosion as well as plenty of deliberately inflicted damage.

Matchbox Airport Coach and Super GT rendition of the Fandango were somewhat more up my street, while the black coupe resting under the coach professed to be a Trans-Am Turbo, maker not stated. Hmmm.

Further hoking right to the recesses of the box brought to light another Corgi Juniors Austin Healey Sprite Le Mans, with slightly more paint than the one I picked up earlier in the month but missing part of a headlight. Lesney R-R drophead was missing its windscreen, plus bonus wonky wobbly axles.

I hummed, I hawed, I dithered... I didn't. I have a lot of tat at present.

 

So that was pretty much that, for this week... on the whole, a pleasant half-hour diversion.

And, as ever, should anything here make you do a dance in your pants, let me know the genesis of it and I'll trot back over and see if it's still available.

Although I did make a few purchases myself too.

Pics to follow!

[barefoot]

Anyone have any interest in a 1/64 UPS P75 package car, exactly the same as this one on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/UPS-DELIVERY-WORLDWIDE-Anniversary-Delivery/dp/B00MBZIP4K/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=

I say exactly, but it's not. The letter from Jim Kelly is still rolled up and tied with ribbon, please feel free to make a derisory offer if it's of interest.

Ta

[egg]

@Datsuncog - Corgi Heinkel Bubble please if it is £5 - and if the glazing isn't too scratched and broken

Thanks.

[Datsuncog]

8 minutes ago, egg said:

@Datsuncog - Corgi Heinkel Bubble please if it is £5 - and if the glazing isn't too scratched and broken

It all looked reasonably good, with a little bit of chipping on the extremities and a moderate amount of bubbling on the grey baseplate paint. Glazing seemed in decent nick, and the whole thing clean overall.

Will proceed over there shortly!

[Sudsprint]

This is tv/film heaven week....

Kojak, The Professionals and Bond.

The Mangusta can double as a Muira smashing into the bulldozer, and the Red Hot Mini can be scuttled over the Alps.

Best of all, get the bowler hatted bear in that vintage red thing, the blue Elan, and buy those 'champagne' glasses and you can recreate your own intro to The Avengers.

 

[flat4alfa]

13 minutes ago, Sudsprint said:

Best of all, get the bowler hatted bear in that vintage red thing, the blue Elan, and buy those 'champagne' glasses and you can recreate your own intro to The Avengers.

Fozzie does Avengers

[bunglebus]

Some of the contents of the biscuit tin might just about be worth a fiver - the blue VW bay window for a start. The Jenson is pretty cool too but they're all too many pennies for me 

[Rover414]

How much was he after for the Corgi Travel London Optare Solo?

[MarvinsMom]

3 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

You know... it is!

After a long break, it's a good 'un, too:

Loose models - all priced at "About the £5 mark"

I was very tempted by the Corgi Dyane and Matchbox Superkings Capri II - but they were just slightly below display quality, for me. The Dyane also had some odd stickers of what looked like a duck wearing French national costume on the doors and bootlid, too. Most strange.

Renault 5 wasn't too bad; Fiat X1/9 and Kojak Buick Regal had some battle scars but were otherwise fairly good examples.

Corgi Classic Collection Mercs from the early 80s. The red Gullwing was good, the silver one less so. Both the big tourers at the back had bits missing/broken though.

Husky Ford Camper more dirty than damaged, still with the sliding door in place.

Bedford S-type is a plastic model, probably 1950s or 60s, stamped Made In Hong Kong and with a round maker's logo I couldn't decipher. Quite charming, though some A-post damage, sadly.

De Tomaso Mangusta is a Corgi version - and, IMHO, superior in detail to Dinky's offering, with what looks to be a very detailed (and detachable?) backbone chassis. Missing tyres, but otherwise quite clean.

Elan is also by Corgi, missing the windscreen but still with its 'I've got a tiger in my tank' boot decal.

Ro80 is Dinky with the working lights, missing the battery cover but otherwise still in decent nick.

Very dusty Porsche 959 might be a Maisto? Dunno what the story is with the big plastic JPS racer at the back! 

Buses and trucks, including some local hauliers like Dukes and McBurney, so there'll probably be strong interest on those. Back in my model shop days, anything local was invariably pounced on very quickly (Ulsterbus models especially).

And earthmoving equipment - didn't check, but might well be by Joal. Another big seller, back in the day - there were lads who spent hundreds of pounds on model plant equipment . Not my bag, but takes all sorts, hey? Some James Bond partwork tat, too.

1/24 and 1/18 soopacar giffer trinkets by Maisto, plus an EFE Leyland artic and an OOC rendition of a London Transport Optare Delta.

Jag XJ220 looks like it has Shell logos on the base, so probably another early 90s fuel promo giveaway item. Collect 10,000 tokens, or something like that...

Has to be here, it seems - the customary parade of unloved and very cheap boxed Days Gone/MoY, plus this time an ERTL vintage Buick and some planes - one Matchbox, two Days Gone.

The white 1930s Mercedes looked ok, actually. How long before I crack and buy a Model of Yesteryear? Place yer bets...

 

Tragically, there was NO 50p tat box on the stall today. I know, I know. I'm gutted too. ?

Despondent, all I could do was look at a tin of 1/72 scale soldiers (not made by Matchbox, theirs were much more finely detailed)...

...and some 0 gauge track.

But just as I was about to leave....

These appeared.

Now, who here likes Mk3 Escorts?

These are priced at £10 each... the yellow one's quite not mint, but they all look pretty good and in decent boxes.

The other one's a boxed Renault 5, same as the loose yellow one in the very first pic.

I like these, but I've owned and disposed of my Escorts and R5s, so I held back.

If anyone wants me to bop back over at 12... happy to do so!

 

More tat to follow from the other stalls!

what sort of shape is Kojak's Buick Regal in, shown above?

[Datsuncog]

Ok, so I toddled back over once again...

2 hours ago, egg said:

@Datsuncog - Corgi Heinkel Bubble please if it is £5 - and if the glazing isn't too scratched and broken

Treachery! Treachery and deceit!!

(See below)

 

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Some of the contents of the biscuit tin might just about be worth a fiver - the blue VW bay window for a start. The Jenson is pretty cool too but they're all too many pennies for me 

Yes... they might just about be worth a fiver...

...except in a fit of apparent avarice, it appears that the stallholder had yanked most of the models out of the £5 box, and decided that they're now promoted to £20 models. Including the Heinkel.

He's been on eBay, he knows what they're wurf.

This is all that remains in the £5 biscuit tin section:

Some scratched Corgis and squashed Lesneys with bits missing.

(In fairness, the Cadillac does look quite cool in that chromed bronze, though the gouge on the roof does it no favours.)

Well okay then. Be like that.

 

Disconsolate, I wandered back across to Market Blokey, who must have noticed both my trajectory and long face. He nodded towards the fella opposite, who was now vigorously engaged in trying to sell an old 35mm camera to a nice French couple who'd made the mistake of pausing for three seconds to look at it.

"Aye... seems he's setting himself up with old toy cars and all now... but I hear he's looking crazy money for them."

I ventured that twenty pounds had been mentioned, for what looked to me like fairly unexceptional examples of common early-70s Superfasts. Market Blokey shook his head.

"He hasn't a clue. He's making us all look bad."

 

1 hour ago, Rover414 said:

How much was he after for the Corgi Travel London Optare Solo?

The buses are usually about a fiver; I think that one might have been away by the time I went back though. Certainly quite a few had gone (though there had been arrivals too).

7 minutes ago, MarvinsMom said:

what sort of shape is Kojak's Buick Regal in, shown above?

It's unfortunately received a number of deep, deliberate scratches to the bonnet and both sides - otherwise it would have been very nice. Clip-on light still in place, and 'gunfire' clicker under the back bumper still working. But some kid's decided to take a stone to it, for some reason... had it been good, I would have snaffled it to offer out here.

I'm regretting selling my reproduction version now!

[MarvinsMom]

shame, what some kids do with their toys......

 

[Datsuncog]

And so, Tat Friday - Part Two!

Yes, there was great disappointment as the lad on the opposite stall had decided a 300% price hike was the order of the day, pushing the Heinkel and other cars to unaffordium levels. Grrrr.

Such is the krazy, cut 'n' thrust, dog-eat-dog world of trading smol broken diecast in a draughty shed that smells of burgers and on-the-turn herrings.

But on returning to my Supplier of Choice, these were now on the table...

Oho. Mercedes SE is a none-too-amazing repaint, while the Olds Toronado has mismatched Golden Jacks wheels and has taken a fair few knocks - but, like the Jeeps, are in their original boxes.

My raised eyebrows must have been noted, as Market Blokey advised that a fella had wandered in with a whole box of models around 10:30, and some money had changed hands. The rest were behind the stall, if I'd like to come and peer into the box?

 

As you can imagine, I didn't need asking twice.

 

OH DEAR SWEET HAIRY JEBUS

Now, before you soil yourself with excitement (as I probably looked on the point of doing), Market Blokey quickly clarified that unlike the Corgis on the stall, these were all reproduction boxes, not the real thing. But the cars inside were the real thing.

Well, kinda.

Although these will obviously display together very nicely, it was readily apparent that the vehicles within were no better than fair-to-middling at best.

Fair few chips on the Trans-o-lite Rover P6.

Razoredge Karmann had received the tender ministrations of a tin of Humbrol and a brush. Pressing on the spare wheel behind the front bumper to nudge the frunk lid open is a nice touch though, and not a feature I've seen before.

Another Heinkel! But with cracked glazing. Meh.

Well, you get the idea.

Asking price for these was £15 each. Not exactly megabucks, but without the repro boxes these would be £5 cars all day long on the stall.

So - I restrained myself.

Although that feeling on peering into the cardboard box reminded me of why I do this - it's kinda the thrill of the chase...

 

So, now that I've disappointed everybody... it's probably time to reveal what I've ended up with this week...

 

TBC!!!

[egg]

Thanks DC - the Heinkel bubbles go for about £5-8 + postage on ebay - so he might be keeping them for a while. Shame he could have a crisp fiver in his pocket tonite. Thanks for trying.

[155V6]

I picked up the Matchbox Rally Merc 220 from a big Tesco today,the box was nearly full,but it was the only one I saw.They also had some 9 packs for £7.20,& 5 packs for £4.50.Hotwheels 5 packs were £5.00.