Shite in Miniature II

[sierraman]

Just checked out the prices on eBay, they seem to go for £10 unboxed in similar condition so I’ll keep it as it is. It can go next to the FIAT Regatta and the Norev Renault 18 in the collection of unsaleable cars in the 90’s. The cars you were ostensibly warned away from in any contemporary buyers guides. 

Also picked this Corgi Manta as well for 30p. Spared from the death being chucked about on a concrete patio.

[bunglebus]

What's the story with the grey windows on the Manta?

[sierraman]

I don’t know but looks factory. Can’t usually stand Hot Wheels but had to have this Anglia at 25p

[junkyarddog]

Bargain,Those are bloody hard to find!!

[flat4alfa]

18 hours ago, sierraman said:

Picked up this Alfa 33 for 30p the rear wheel was missing so I rummaged through to find another Bburago to cannibalise. Unsure whether to paint this one or to leave it original? 

Silver, like the one I've got sitting out there on a neighbour's driveway

Might even kick me into touch and make me get it fixed

Probably not, as I keep playing with miniature shite like these two

Peer inside yours and you'll see a faithful MK1 weirdo dashboard

Those above are the Bburago 1:18 and 1:43

30p is brill

[bunglebus]

Right, up at sparrow's fart to head to the boot sale - large plastic Merc and dealer Fords in my gunsights as requested 

[bunglebus]

Well that was a slightly odd morning, didn't check the weather and it was pretty grey. This seemed to affect attendance of both buyers and sellers, usually there are stalls all along the sides as well as the rows, today just the dog burger van and a few sellers of plants etc taking up the spots. Did get a few sprinklings of rain which sent a few sellers home early if they couldn't cover their wares.

For a while the most interesting thing I'd seen was this, not that I have any use for it

I thought I was going to come back almost empty handed, having just picked up a few 50p oddments like this Majorette bus

I did find a guy with some interesting old cars in the £££ glass case, one of which was a clockwork Schuco Beetle similar to this in lovely condition - turning it over revealed a sticker saying £125 - even at the seller's offer price of £80 I politely declined. I did try and find him again later but he'd disappeared

Then right at the end I found a big box of toys, seller offered me the lot for £20, I just took what I wanted which was 18 cars and some oddments, should have taken all of it and sold the Action Men really but never mind. Some were a bit broken but here are some interesting ones

I have no idea if this is old or some modern knock-off but it was in the box

Corgi Porker in a colour scheme I hadn't found before

Matchbox 5 series is another casting I didn't have

This one is f*ck*d but - don't Corgi Range Rovers have sliding covers over the rear windows normally?

Lucky Toys...something

Matchbox Bedford skip lorry, found the skip in the box luckily

Two mildly mangled Matchbox Merryweathers

Yet another Hydraulic Excavator

Mostly complete Scammell

Fairly good Commutator

Fair Bertone Runabout

A trio of Bandoleros, none with scoops of course

Fire Chief Dodge Monaco, I have the standard version already so this was a pleasing find

AA version of the K-6/11 Pick-Up Truck

Best of the bunch is this K-7 Racing Car Trainspotter, with ramp and plastic canopy intact. One of the doors stays open too!

 

[Datsuncog]

22 hours ago, barrett said:

Yes, the 1967 Corgi MGB GT. Perhaps not a particularly shite subject, but one that struck me as particularly well-modelled and interesting because, whilst the real thing is one of, if not the most numerous old cars around, the toy version seemed like some rare exotic jewel. This is certainly the first time I've had one in my hot sticky hands in the 20-odd years since I first learned of its existence

That looks lovely - great that the Minishite Distibution Network managed to come through!

Quote

 I'm still not sure why this model seems to scarce - a quick search of ebay suggests about 30 examples are currently for sale, mostly MIB examples for loads of money. Searching for the approximately contemporaneous Lancia Fulva Zagato shows at least twice that number on offer in every possible condition. Why did a common, popular car like an MGB seemingly sell much worse than something 99% of kids would never have seen in real life?

Anyway, I'm really pleased to finally own this one. Thanks to @155V6 for making my dreams come true

 

22 hours ago, barrett said:

Well, a rare Corgi is still pretty common. It does seem to be much less easily available than most of the late 60s output though. Even in 1985 the authors of that book claimed 'It will not be particularly easy to find'...

If there was a choice of 30 Politoys Lancia Flavia Sport Zagatos on ebay at any one time I'd be more than happy, so I guess everything is relative

Interestingly, a quick check through the Great Book of Corgi indicates that the MGB - and MGC, in both regular and Whizzwheels formats - sold in roughly equal numbers to the Fulvia (approx 700,000 each), and both castings were in the range for pretty much the same length of time.

327 MGB GT: launched March 1967, withdrawn 1969 - 555,000 sold in 1967/68 (1969 sales figures lost in a fire)

345 MGC GT, regular wheels: launched January 1969 in overprinted MGB box, withdrawn 1970 - sales unknown

378 MGC GT, Whizzwheels: launched September 1970, withdrawn 1972 - 118,000 sold

 

332 Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato, regular wheels: launched September 1967, withdrawn 1969 - 467,000 sold in '67/68 (again, '69 figures lost)

372 Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato, Whizzwheels: launched September 1970, withdrawn 1972 - 182,000 sold.

 

I'd guess that the main reason for relative scarcity of the MGB second-hand (and why the Fulvia's not all that hard to find) is the nostalgia factor - possibly a lot of people sorting through their childhood toys during a clear-out decided to hang on to their old Corgi MGB  'like the one Uncle Jim/ Auntie Liz/ the headmaster owned', but were happy enough to sell on their Fulvia Sport Zagato as they'd never seen one in real life, so there's no real personal link.

I think I came across this theory on Matchbox forums about why some castings of popular saloons and sports cars seem to be quite scarce on the market, even though they were made in huge quantities - while others (especially commercials and construction vehicles) seem to crop up all the time, even though they sold in smaller numbers.

The theory goes that thousands of them are still being kept by their original owners and their descendents, stored away in attics and cupboards and drawers, and so there are just fewer of them in circulation.

The ones up for sale are the ones people don't want to keep!

 

21 hours ago, Jon said:

Actually, I just remembered - I DO have a Zil - and I've photographed it!

Sadly, it's not the 'real deal', just a James Bond partwork I bought some time last year, during a miniature shite drought period. Still quite nice though and not too expensive. Plus points for brutalist architecture. I imagine the person in the backdrop had no doubt just finished scrabbling around for potatoes, or something.

And here it is, not at all looking imposing, or striking fear into passers-by, through its sheer existence. 

It'll do, until @datsuncog feels like he's had enough of his kosher one...

An original Radon Zil 117's here with your name on it - I already have a boxed one, so this was only ever surplus!

It's cleaned up nicely, though the suspension remaains saggy at the back. Chaika is now officially part of the DC collection, however.

Also, the Novexport Moskvitch Aleko's in the JonBox too...

 

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Right, up at sparrow's fart to head to the boot sale - large plastic Merc and dealer Fords in my gunsights as requested 

Chodspeed!

[Datsuncog]

7 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Two mildly mangled Matchbox Merryweathers

That's a 'Big Mx' automated one, I do believe.

Not common!

[bunglebus]

3 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

That's a 'Big Mx' automated one, I do believe.

Not common!

The lever seems like it should raise the ladder, neither does much though. Here's the opposite ends of both

 

[flat4alfa]

It's spitting here, so after last week's experience I gave both car boots a miss 

Racing Transporter you have there is the early one without screen pillars

What is the Lucky Toys number?  How large is it?

[bunglebus]

2 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

What is the Lucky Toys number?  How large is it?

It doesn't appear to have a number, and it's quite small as they go - about the same size as a Superking car

 

[C1am]

@Datsuncog - PM awaiting reply.

[bunglebus]

Variation alerts from this morning's finds - Bandolero Police has different colour lights on top

And Bodger has different colour radar dish

 

[Datsuncog]

A couple of weeks ago, the 'stay local' restrictions having been lifted, I took a toddle over to Whitehead to see if there was much of interest in The Antiquarian's shop, as I hadn't been over since things started to go tits-up in December.

Clearly he'd been busy during lockdown as the store had been revamped a fair bit, although sadly the door was still locked despite being within the opening hours shown.

A few other people were also milling around waiting in vain for the place to open; they drifted away after about 15 minutes and, after taking a few pics through the window, so did I.

The contents of the newly installed 50p box was of particular interest, but that day I ended up leaving with nowt, the shop still showing no signs of life

 

So yesterday I had  a small window in my schedule, and took another run over.

This time the door was open, although I only realised when I was already in there that I'd left my phone in the car a few streets away - so no pics, I'm afraid.

But I did come out again with these:

Oh, and this - which I inexplicably forgot to put in the group pic.

What originally brought me over to the shop was this promo Matchbox Dinky DY-8B Commer 8CWT, spotted on The Antiquarian's Instagram feed - produced as a Code 2 for the London Motor Show in 1991, with paper decals stuck on.

I was kinda interested to see if there was a special box or code given to these models, but apparently not - the box is the same as the second release of the Commer, in Sharp's Toffee livery.

The box is also a little chewed, but this was a casting I didn't have in the MB Dinky collection.

Coincidentally, I also picked up an unboxed and slightly chipped Sharp's Toffee Commer from his £1 Days Gone box - so now I have two.

I guess I'm just on a bit of a mission for these at the minute. I'm sure it'll wear off before long.

 

The No.2 Lesney Bedford Transporter is fairly well-worn, but still has a lot of appeal.

Cog Sr was telling me about his much-missed Corgi Bedford S Transporter just the other week, so I think I'll pass this one over to him - until I can find him a Corgi equivalent, anyway.

 

I have a fair few examples of this Superfast Holden Ute now - but none with the motorbikes still attached.

Very pleased with this one - it's a keeper, until I can turn up a less chipped example anyway.

 

Staying with Matchbox, here's a slightly mucky BMW M1 and a SuperGT-era Iso Grifo, with glow-in-the-dark windows.

The windows do still glow, as it happens.

Both are available at 50p a throw, if anyone's keen. ** BOTH SOLD!!**

 

Then, one I'd spotted through the window - a Majorette BMW E30.

Little bit chipped, but also available for the 50p paid, if there's anyone interested. **SOLD!!**

 

Because these were all stored in Carry Case trays, I initially thought I'd pegged this one as the Matchbox Ford F150 when looking down on it - but on lifting it, I was wrong.

When put next to my Matchbox 'Mini Pick Up', it's clear that there's been some very strange cross-pollenation going on here.

Hmmm.

Matchbox original is made in Thailand; while the no-name is from China.

It's not quite a copy, obviously, but I'm scratching my head trying to think of another example where a tampo decoration has been ripped off for a different casting altogether.

If anyone fancies this curio, wobbly axles and all, 50p takes it. **SOLD!!*"

 

Next up, one that was well worth the price of admission:

A fairly comprehensively shagged, but restorable, Hot Wheels Redlines Custom Mustang - missing its bonnet and with some less-than-concours restoration having taken place at some point in the past 50 years.

I'm guessing someone here would take this, at 50p? **SOLD!!*"

 

Lastly, another oddity:

A strange little racer with a strangely malformed driver, made by Aviva - not a name that's familiar to me for diecast.

A bit of internet sleuthing reveals that this was part of a range of 'Peanuts Mini-Racers' - based on the Charles M. Schultz characters - made in the early 1970s.

The figure in the cockpit was Snoopy's chum Woodstock, who seems to be missing his head. Ooops.

Again, if there's any interest, then 50p on this one too. **ALSO SOLD!!**

 

So! A different kind of Tat Sunday, but not unwelcome... I'll be back to Whitehead with my camera at some point, as he had quite a bit of other stuff at fairly reasonable price points, so keep watchin'...

[junkyarddog]

Looks like the redline Mustang was originally Purple.

Not sure if it's s rare colour or not.

Shame the hood is missing.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

If anyone fancies this curio, wobbly axles and all, 50p take it

Yes please to the fake Matchbox, custom Mustang and Aviva too...

[flat4alfa]

I need glazing for my HW Mustang so yes please I'll chance it

[junkyarddog]

Not much diecast today,

I did find this rather splendid book though.

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

I need glazing for my HW Mustang so yes please I'll chance it

I'm afraid you've been beaten to it...

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Yes please to the fake Matchbox, custom Mustang and Aviva too...

 

[andrew e]

I bought a Motorfair Dinky off the stand at the show 😎I think they were under a £10 but I could be completely wrong! Lovely logo, lovely blue van completely wrong combination! Shamefully I don’t think it’s been out the box more than a few times…

[bunglebus]

Sorry been in and out today with kids party, shopping etc. A quick look in my favourite charity shop saw a near-empty toy tub, just a single car in fact. A premium Hot Wheels ECTO 1. Nice

[bunglebus]

Just checked against my "spare" Corgi Vigilant Range Rover - casting is different on the roof and the blinds have been deleted.

[egg]

43 minutes ago, andrew e said:

I bought a Motorfair Dinky off the stand at the show 😎I think they were under a £10 but I could be completely wrong! Lovely logo, lovely blue van completely wrong combination! Shamefully I don’t think it’s been out the box more than a few times…

I was at the '91 Earls Court show too I think. Or maybe the one before or after. Memory fails...

[bunglebus]

4 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

made by Aviva - not a name that's familiar to me for diecast.

Firstly - could I also add the Majorette E30 and glowing windows Iso to my pile please?

Secondly, your (Datsun)cogs must be getting rusty, as I posted a few Aviva models a few short years ago! I'd like to find more of these to make customs out of

Maybe not this one

[egg]

I had the pink snoopy car as a nipper. Not sure why or how!

[junkyarddog]

Snoopy looks like he is sitting in a pile of his own excrement!!

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

your (Datsun)cogs must be getting rusty, as I posted a few Aviva models a few short years ago!

They must be getting rusty, indeed... although these days if I can make it out if the house with my keys and face mask, and my trousers zipped up, that counts as a win.

Some of the Avivas remind me very strongly of Tomica models of the same era - I wonder if there was a link?

[sheffcortinacentre]

The corgi rangero er might be the ambulance version.

[flat4alfa]

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Some of the Avivas remind me very strongly of Tomica models of the same era - I wonder if there was a link?

Wondered that too.  The castings of the Honda Vamos do look similar and the bumper plastic insert does give the game away - until you see the Aviva has the side 'grille' as part of the base casting