Shite in Miniature II

[Datsuncog]

3 hours ago, Bren said:

When I look at my 1970 catalogue you realise by 1980 the offerings were very poor 

I suppose there's a number of issues to consider - one being the nostalgia factor.

Those early 1980s catalogues are a bit of a high watermark for me, as it shows all the cars and trucks I was lusting after in the toy aisle in Stewarts. But that's my own personal bias there!

Corgi Toys in 1980 were very different from those a decade earlier, it's true - the detail wasn't as crisp nor the castings as refined. The annoying paint blebs and casting swarf that blights a few of mine were, apparently, caused by the sheer volume of models going through the Swansea factory - more care meant slower lines, and higher costs. As Mettoy's financial situation worsened in the early 80s, quality control took a nose-dive so only those models with serious defects would be pulled - cosmetic marks like the smudges and bubbles all over my Supra's paintwork would have been grounds for rejection in the 1960s or 70s, but these were now boxed up and sold.

But comparing the 1970 and 1980 catalogues also highlights the changes to the toy market over the course of a decade - Corgi's core customers had dropped in age (and hence in spending power) from 13-16 year olds in the late '60s, to 6-9 year olds by the late '70s. Clearly, there was a tacit assumption that younger kids wouldn't care about paint bubbles, or fine detailing.

Comparing Matchbox catalogues of the same vintage would probably reveal a similar pattern - I'm really digging the regular wheels King Size from the 1970 catalogue year at present. But those from the 1980 catalogue objectively aren't as good - comparing the Scammell crane truck of 1970 with the Bedford TM Skip Truck of 1980 shows a major step down, in detail, construction and overall satisfaction. But then Lesney were battling the same market forces that had already claimed Dinky by the time the 1980 ranges hit the shelves. One thing I will say is that Lesney had better quality control around this period; I've rarely seen otherwise-mint Matchbox toys suffering from sloppy paint.

I agree with you that the later Corgis aren't as good, in absolute terms - but there's still a lot to love. I remain tickled by the Honda Prelude from the other week's tat stall... it's a fine model.

[bunglebus]

6 hours ago, TheDoctor said:

I've got that magnum too somewhere... 

Edit: here it is... 

Is the Landau roof a later edition or was it made that way?

I gained a couple of bits today; 

Corgi Juniors sugar truck was in a job lot. Not very exciting so headed to eBay

Also not the most fantastic range Corgi created, these Cubs will also be getting sold on

Another Fastback. I have one more coming from Datsuncog then I'll dig out my existing ones and keep the best versions and do an 80s cal-looker out of one

Larger Corgi Polio 

This dragster is by Lintoy. I think it's missing a scoop but I'm sure the spares box will have something suitable. I do need a bigger shelf for my 1/4 mile related cars now

Next up, MB Scammell pipe truck - missing the small plastic hook that connects the trailer if anyone has something suitable? 

I honestly didn't set out to collect all the Mazda trucks but this was the main reason for bidding on the lot

5 door Corgi Range Rover is in decent nick

Lastly, Superfast era trailer - anyone know what should be on it and the tow vehicle?

[bunglebus]

I also got these - was going to customise them but - my Cougar dragster is purple, and my Milligan's Mill has an orange interior...it's a disease I'm sure!

 

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Different colour of the Corgi Range Rover is in decent nick

Cor, that's a rare one - 1984 only, and didn't appear in the catalogue (prototype resin was in flat blue). I was bidding on one in a tatty box last year, but got cold feet when it hit £50...

[bunglebus]

Cool, I got my wires crossed and was thinking about the Dinky one from the other week. It came in the lot with the blue Mazda pickup for not a lot of money.

Having a look on eBay there are green, blue, several versions of RAC and police liveries plus some anniversary editions - but only one this colour, boxed for £50. Nice.

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Is the Landau roof a later edition or was it made that way?

I gained a couple of bits today; 

Corgi Juniors sugar truck was in a job lot. Not very exciting so headed to eBay

Also not the most fantastic range Corgi created, these Cubs will also be getting sold on

Another Fastback. I have one more coming from Datsuncog then I'll dig out my existing ones and keep the best versions and do an 80s cal-looker out of one

Larger Corgi Polio 

This dragster is by Lintoy. I think it's missing a scoop but I'm sure the spares box will have something suitable. I do need a bigger shelf for my 1/4 mile related cars now

Next up, MB Scammell pipe truck - missing the small plastic hook that connects the trailer if anyone has something suitable? 

I honestly didn't set out to collect all the Mazda trucks but this was the main reason for bidding on the lot

5 door Corgi Range Rover is in decent nick

Lastly, Superfast era trailer - anyone know what should be on it and the tow vehicle?

That trailer is from a twin pack possibly, it would have had a plastic cabin cruiser on it. 

[bunglebus]

Swapping parts between various broken De Tomasos lead to having this one complete except tyres. It can wear these wheels out of the spares box until I get brave enough to do a Flowers order

 

[eddyramrod]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Is the Landau roof a later edition or was it made that way?

I gained a couple of bits today; 

Corgi Juniors sugar truck was in a job lot. Not very exciting so headed to eBay

Also not the most fantastic range Corgi created, these Cubs will also be getting sold on

Another Fastback. I have one more coming from Datsuncog then I'll dig out my existing ones and keep the best versions and do an 80s cal-looker out of one

Larger Corgi Polio 

This dragster is by Lintoy. I think it's missing a scoop but I'm sure the spares box will have something suitable. I do need a bigger shelf for my 1/4 mile related cars now

Next up, MB Scammell pipe truck - missing the small plastic hook that connects the trailer if anyone has something suitable? 

I honestly didn't set out to collect all the Mazda trucks but this was the main reason for bidding on the lot

5 door Corgi Range Rover is in decent nick

Lastly, Superfast era trailer - anyone know what should be on it and the tow vehicle?

I rather think that came from my collection.  ISTR adding the landau roof many years ago.  Someone has another that I painted purple, also with a landau roof.

[DoctorRetro]

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Is the Landau roof a later edition or was it made that way?

 

It's an @eddyramrod repaint from a tat sale of a few moons ago. Quite a nice thing actually. Did have whitewalls when I got it but I didn't like them so got the sharpie out.

Edit: it may have helped if I'd read the post above... ?

[Dick Longbridge]

@bunglebus

Good lord, that's brought back some memories. I love the way this thread is reminding me of models I owned but had completely forgotten about.

I had one of those really early days - it must have been binned/lost early on as well as I can't recall seeing it for decades. What's it labelled as? 

What sort of size is this one? What is it? Quite fancy* one... 

*told myself that I need to sell a load of models before buying anything else...

 

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, Dick Longbridge said:

What's it labelled as? 

What sort of size is this one? What is it? Quite fancy* one... 

I have this one near minty for swaps:

Base says nowt but Corgi Cubs and patent blurb

Size compared to Dinamite Cougar:

[bunglebus]

Do the pickups come without glass? Assumed it had broken.

Both clubs surplus to requirements 

[Bren]

Cubs were aimed at the very young - I believe they went on sale in 1976.

[flat4alfa]

On 3/29/2020 at 2:24 PM, flat4alfa said:

Majorette Hot Rods 1941 Willys in 1/32 scale

I have two. 

Make that three...

Like Willys...

[flat4alfa]

DOLLY AND KEN RECEIVED THEIR NEW DOGGING WAGON TODAY !

Dolly was pleased to now have his 'n' hers Discoverys in the fleet.

Ken has the [Speedypower] Discovery I facelift, still on those big massive wheels; while Dolly now gets to use her very own [Britains] Discovery I, in original trim.  She never did care for the ride in Ken's.

Ken noticed straight way how quickly the windows steamed-up...

Then Farmer Tom got over-excited and smashed her back door in

Those doggers.

[barrett]

4 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Cor, that's a rare one - 1984 only, and didn't appear in the catalogue (prototype resin was in flat blue). I was bidding on one in a tatty box last year, but got cold feet when it hit £50...

I remember gleefully smashing up an identical one with a hammer when  I was about 12...

[bunglebus]

31 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Make that three...

Like Willys...

I had one of those. Maybe I should have kept it but for some reason I decided to sell it on.

Bit of an odd subject for Majorette really 

[flat4alfa]

13 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Bit of an odd subject for Majorette really 

I’ve got all four of the Hot Rods 1/32 series, might lay them out in a row

During the nineties, Majorette seems to have made a push into the US market.  They also did their sound-chip Traffic Jammers 1/32 range, mainly, if not all, US cars such as Silverados and Corvettes.  I have the Silverado but the circuit died within seconds of connecting a new battery.  Rare over here as I have found out - the best source is eBay.com

[bunglebus]

Only seen the Willys.

I have to avoid eBay.com as the postage always puts me off. Hence I still don't have an Evil Weevil, pretty convinced they weren't sold in Europe 

[Spottedlaurel]

As to be expected, the Matra Museum had a nice selection of Rancho and other models. These from my visit in 2015, hopefully they survived the flooding there a year or two later:

Matra Museum diecasts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Matra Museum diecasts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Matra Museum diecasts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Matra Museum diecasts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Matra Museum diecasts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

[Jon]

6 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Lastly, Superfast era trailer - anyone know what should be on it and the tow vehicle?

 

Here'e a set I had, which the trailer came with:

That's not my scene by the way - what an effort!

 

There was also this one, too:

 

Though I'm sure there will be other 'orange trailer' releases. As an aside, it always irked me as a young'un that the CX had been converted to a van, as  it wasn't based on a real thing (Tissiers aside - I became aware of them later). Took me a while to get the standard blue version, if memory serves. Hopefully I still have that one.

[Amishtat]

55 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

As to be expected, the Matra Museum had a nice selection of Rancho and other models. These from my visit in 2015, hopefully they survived the flooding there a year or two later:

Matra Museum diecasts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Matra Museum diecasts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Matra Museum diecasts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Matra Museum diecasts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Matra Museum diecasts by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

I had that Burago one with "Wind" stickers.. My dad pissed himself laughing when he first saw it 

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, Jon said:

Looks like I need a boat then, I have a couple of CXs. A quick look through my scanned catalogues has found the same trailer behind other vehicles, but only the Citroen has it in orange

[Spottedlaurel]

I think all four of the trailers there had a long life, some or maybe all going back to Regular Wheels days?

Odd to see the Unimog with that goods trailer.

I need to find my blue CX estate, I think it's one of Master SL's boxes. It came to me as a slightly odd pairing with the orange BMW CS in my Stunt Jump set.

[sutty2006]

10 hours ago, Jon said:

 

There was also this one, too:

 

 

I’m fairly certain I’ve got that ambulance in my loft collection somewhere. Must dig it out 

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

I think all four of the trailers there had a long life, some or maybe all going back to Regular Wheels days?

Found it in the 66 catalogue (wiki has it as going back to 61) the orange Superfast version seems to be unique to the CX though

 

Must be a contender for longest use of one casting?

 

Anyway - tat friday?

[Datsuncog]

Well, a wet and windy Friday once more, with a very quiet market this morning...

But worth the battle today, I think...

THE TAT BOX IS BACK, PEOPLE

That's right, after a distressingly long pause, normality of a sort has been restored... the usual cast of distressed Lesneys and snagged Corgis, but oh! The feeling of running one's hand through a bucket of filthy diecast was a portal to The Old Times, even if I was sure to slather myself in hand sanitizer afterwards...

I'll throw a few pics up, though you can probably guess the sort of thing that was in there:

Now, I did grab a fair few of the less trashed ones, so pics to follow later on!

 

The rest of the stall was slightly less thrilling - it seems he did well with the Bond and Atlas Police stuff last week, as there was very little left - sorry @eddyramrod!

All there was left from the Bond collection was a slightly bulbous-looking FX4 taxi, while the lightless police cars were reduced to a Mk2 Zephyr, Jag Mk2 and the Marina, none of which are in brilliant nick.

Also, modernish racing stuff.

Some of the modern commercial stuff was ok, though - @quicksilverhad expressed some interest?

Articulated Oxford stuff is incomplete, box-wise, but is also only a fiver.

There were however some of the ratty buses still around - though the sole Alexander Y-type left was in Yorkshire Traction livery, rather than a Scottish operator - any interest for @Split_Pin?

Up top, there were a few Scalextric Mighty Metros, plus some older farming stuff and some mint boxed 1960s MoYs, all priced at a fiver each...

...and that was pretty much it, for this week's round!

I can't stick around for long today, so if there's anything there to tantalise, give me a holler!

[bunglebus]

Cor, Laser Wheels Corvette, pink Europa, and the Mustang with the engine sticking through the bonnet please!

[DoctorRetro]

7 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Well, a wet and windy Friday once more, with a very quiet market this morning...

But worth the battle today, I think...

THE TAT BOX IS BACK, PEOPLE

That's right, after a distressingly long pause, normality of a sort has been restored... the usual cast of distressed Lesneys and snagged Corgis, but oh! The feeling of running one's hand through a bucket of filthy diecast was a portal to The Old Times, even if I was sure to slather myself in hand sanitizer afterwards...

I'll throw a few pics up, though you can probably guess the sort of thing that was in there:

Now, I did grab a fair few of the less trashed ones, so pics to follow later on!

 

The rest of the stall was slightly less thrilling - it seems he did well with the Bond and Atlas Police stuff last week, as there was very little left - sorry @eddyramrod!

All there was left from the Bond collection was a slightly bulbous-looking FX4 taxi, while the lightless police cars were reduced to a Mk2 Zephyr, Jag Mk2 and the Marina, none of which are in brilliant nick.

Also, modernish racing stuff.

Some of the modern commercial stuff was ok, though - @quicksilverhad expressed some interest?

Articulated Oxford stuff is incomplete, box-wise, but is also only a fiver.

There were however some of the ratty buses still around - though the sole Alexander Y-type left was in Yorkshire Traction livery, rather than a Scottish operator - any interest for @Split_Pin?

Up top, there were a few Scalextric Mighty Metros at a fiver each, plus some older farming stuff...

...and that was pretty much it, for this week's round!

I can't stick around for long today, so if there's anything there to tantalise, give me a holler!

Yellow Mustang gt convertible, Black Corgi Sierra and a decent-ish forklift please? 

Also, how much is the BTCC Chevy? (if that's what it is?) 

[Datsuncog]

4 minutes ago, TheDoctor said:

Yellow Mustang gt convertible, Black Corgi Sierra and a decent-ish forklift please? 

Also, how much is the BTCC Chevy? (if that's what it is?) 

Three little 'uns bagged for you... Jason Plato's Chevy Cruze is a fiver, though missing the rear wing... up to you!

 

...and a whole lot more's just appeared too...