Shite in Miniature II

[MiniMinorMk3]

48 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Post Lady has been

Corgi Polizei Volkswagen with the turny steery roof light.  Was surprised how different it is compared to the Driving School one, nothing is common.  All these years I assumed one was a development of the other

The Polizei is based on the Safari Rally Bug.

The driving school car is based on the later WhizzWheels casting which has the more upright headlamps of a 12 volt 1968 onwards Beetle.

[bunglebus]

6 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

The Polizei is based on the Safari Rally Bug.

The driving school car is based on the later WhizzWheels casting

They are kinda all the same casting, just modified, a lot

[Split_Pin]

17 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

There are a few more MB from the time that I'm still hunting for, Saab 9000, BMW E34 5 series, Cavalier GSi, Merc 500 SL and Merc W140 S Class, (thankfully located in Datsuncog's sale thread), but people on eBay want all the money for them. (Tenner plus post for unboxed and playworn? In the fucking sea with you...)

I completely agree, definitely peak Matchbox. The Superkings releases of around that time were similarly decent.

[RoadworkUK]

Local tat / collectibles / "antique" haven The Manningtree Emporium is always worth a mooch around. It's split into a multitude of displays curated by several local "dealers".

Diecast-wise, there's much evidence of the time-proven paper-label and hilarious price routine, along with plenty Lledo to ignore.

For a quid, though, I brought this home today:

Regular-wheels Matchbox Studebaker Lark Wagonaire. A bit short on paint, but otherwise in fine condition. And the sliding roof is present and correct.

Should have a plastic huntsman figure and his dog, but I'm really not bothered. If I was brave (or even merely competent), this would be a prime candidate for a resto.

But I'm not.

[bunglebus]

27 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Trofeu 1/43 Escort is missing a rear axle and base has been hacked about a bit at the back

Yeah dunno what happened there 

[bunglebus]

New Matchbox Insta post

[flat4alfa]

5 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

New Matchbox Insta post

50p Honda please

/ oops sorry wrong thread

[barrett]

Well, I popped over to Arundel today. Was going to celebrate 40 years of the Peugeot 205 by driving mine, but the battery is helpfully dead, so I had to do it in the modern. Shame, as there's a really nice bit of road I was looking forward to blasting down.

Anyway, it happened

Yes, the plinth is covered in red flock material, which mimics the interior. I had no idea these had this feature

This features probably the most complex construction of any Politoys car I've seen. The base is slotted, not screwed, and underneath we have a detailed sump, prop, twin exhaust pipes... weirdly the rear leaf springs are individual, seperate parts and should give some genuine suspension (but it doesn't work too well in practice)

Sadly this odd method of construction has led to a bit of damage (perhaps from the factory as it looks like this has rarely, if ever, been out of the box before). The front axle is clamped between the two halves of the engine, but something is amiss and when you put the car on a surface, the axle slides upwards, pushing the top of the engine up too, which lifts the bonnet a fraction

Annoying! Otherwise it's totally mint and very handsome

The underbonnet detail is great, although I'd live without this for a bonnet that closed tbh. Ah well. There should be a small bonnet stay which props it open but unsurprisingly this has disappeared. Bonnet stays open fine on its own though.

And that's that. There were some other bits in the shop - a later Touring (Lamborghini) Flying Star for a tenner, which was probably worth it but I don't really like the model (it's one of the very late Export range with ugly generic plastic wheels and low detail) plus some proper MIB Dinkys etc including one of these, which was a new one on me

Also the worst-organised selection of records I've ever seen in any shop (stacked end-on, not facing you, but with the spines at the BACK of the shelf so you have to flick through every one individually sideways to see what they are. Infuriating!)

[MiniMinorMk3]

11 minutes ago, barrett said:

 

Annoying! Otherwise it's totally mint and very handsome

 plus some proper MIB Dinkys etc including one of these, which was a new one on me

Also the worst-organised selection of records I've ever seen in any shop (stacked end-on, not facing you, but with the spines at the BACK of the shelf so you have to flick through every one individually sideways to see what they are. Infuriating!)

That Bertone Mustang is a Bobby Dazzler. Have you tried pushing the two engine halves together? Might help with the axle movement.

 

That Voting Mini has alluded me for years. Usually over £100 when they turn up at auction.

[Datsuncog]

On 2/24/2023 at 6:19 PM, FakeConcern said:

I really must rein myself in despite deciding not to do it again I've another model I don't really want and no idea what to do with.

While Mrs Concern was haggling over the Pride of Dover, I picked up the fire engine thing remembering seeing it in the catalogues when I was a kid, but never seen one irl.

The seller saw me and offered it for £10, so I put it down he gradually reduced the price in steps down to £5.50 and without having any idea what it was worth I bought it doh!

That's lush. I was always intrigued by the American LaFrance aerial ladder in my early 1980s Corgi catalogues - but never had one until I found one at the market a year or two back.

It's a tremendous model;  and £5.50 is an excellent price! Well bought!

[Split_Pin]

1 hour ago, barrett said:

Well, I popped over to Arundel today. Was going to celebrate 40 years of the Peugeot 205 by driving mine, but the battery is helpfully dead, so I had to do it in the modern. Shame, as there's a really nice bit of road I was looking forward to blasting down.

Anyway, it happened

Yes, the plinth is covered in red flock material, which mimics the interior. I had no idea these had this feature

This features probably the most complex construction of any Politoys car I've seen. The base is slotted, not screwed, and underneath we have a detailed sump, prop, twin exhaust pipes... weirdly the rear leaf springs are individual, seperate parts and should give some genuine suspension (but it doesn't work too well in practice)

Sadly this odd method of construction has led to a bit of damage (perhaps from the factory as it looks like this has rarely, if ever, been out of the box before). The front axle is clamped between the two halves of the engine, but something is amiss and when you put the car on a surface, the axle slides upwards, pushing the top of the engine up too, which lifts the bonnet a fraction

Annoying! Otherwise it's totally mint and very handsome

The underbonnet detail is great, although I'd live without this for a bonnet that closed tbh. Ah well. There should be a small bonnet stay which props it open but unsurprisingly this has disappeared. Bonnet stays open fine on its own though.

And that's that. There were some other bits in the shop - a later Touring (Lamborghini) Flying Star for a tenner, which was probably worth it but I don't really like the model (it's one of the very late Export range with ugly generic plastic wheels and low detail) plus some proper MIB Dinkys etc including one of these, which was a new one on me

Also the worst-organised selection of records I've ever seen in any shop (stacked end-on, not facing you, but with the spines at the BACK of the shelf so you have to flick through every one individually sideways to see what they are. Infuriating!)

That Mustang is a tremendous model! Well bought.

[flat4alfa]

20 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

That Mustang is a tremendous model! Well found in the first place, that was a brill team effort you lot

/EFA

Thank you 😄

[Remspoor]

6 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

 

 

 

 

The rally Mini on the right would make for a great Rallycross car. Some had no widows and a small clear shield located on the bonnet to deflect the mud. Add a roll cage and one seat and bobs your race winner. Front grills were usually removed too.

[AndyW201]

+1 on that Mustang, such a pretty thing both in real and model form. That type of model takes me right back to holidays in Spain when I was a kid. I got one of those Joal Alfa Canguros (as mentioned a couple of pages ago) in Benidorm when I was 8 and had lost it by the time we got home. Gutted!

In other news, I had another delivery today. Apologies for modern content, especially as Vanguards models seem to garner quite a lot of dislike on here. But I couldn't resist this one,

I know, another Escort. But the 1600 Sport is my favourite MK2 variant (it's all about the decals...) and with this one being in Autoshite colours, I thought, what the hell! I haven't treated myself to a 1/43 this year yet.

Quite an unusual colour scheme, but as with Vanguards, it's actually based on a real car. First ordered in Roman Bronze by Tricentrol of Essex, it was used as a demo and then bought by its one and only private owner, who still drives it to shows to this day. Apparently apart from accident repair work after it was written off by a taxi in the 1990s, and bought back and repaired by the owner, it's largely in good, unrestored condition. I think our very own @Spottedlaurel has papped this very car at a show in the past.

It seems Vanguards have been undergoing a bit of a Rover style Project Drive of late, it doesn't help that the factory in China have almost turned over all their production to things like electrical components now, and diecast QA inspectors are apparently hard to get hold of over there. There have been reports of really thick paint on some releases, so bad that door shutlines can be barely seen, and bad casting marks and dodgy paint on the new Mk5 Cortina casting. Luckily this variant of Escort seems pretty well finished, the only bugbear at the front is that the front driving lights have lost the black housings and now appear to be just clear lenses glued onto the grille. But look at it, it's brown!

The stripes and logos are done well. Shame about the massive profile tyres, it's just a thing with the MK2 casting. But it's brown!

Nice badging, and a big bore exhaust so typical of a lot of Mk2s in period. The add on accessory fog light is a nice touch. Shame about the number plate being printed on the piss.. But it's brown!

Nice to see the Sport's stripy seats replicated, and also nice to see they've remembered to put the headrests in this time, unlike the Signal Orange release! Nice Sport style 3 spoke wheel too,

[Split_Pin]

I really appreciate these Vanguards reviews with close ups showing the detail. It usually results in a purchase of one of my own, damn you!

[Split_Pin]

Does anyone have a half decent Audi TT MK1 model that they'd be willing to sell?

I have a 'Corgi' Realtoy one which is actually an exact replica of mine but it would be good to get a few more. I used to have a Revell 1/18 example in grey but it was swept away in the Great Purge©️

[sheffcortinacentre]

57 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

+1 on that Mustang, such a pretty thing both in real and model form. That type of model takes me right back to holidays in Spain when I was a kid. I got one of those Joal Alfa Canguros (as mentioned a couple of pages ago) in Benidorm when I was 8 and had lost it by the time we got home. Gutted!

In other news, I had another delivery today. Apologies for modern content, especially as Vanguards models seem to garner quite a lot of dislike on here. But I couldn't resist this one,

I know, another Escort. But the 1600 Sport is my favourite MK2 variant (it's all about the decals...) and with this one being in Autoshite colours, I thought, what the hell! I haven't treated myself to a 1/43 this year yet.

Quite an unusual colour scheme, but as with Vanguards, it's actually based on a real car. First ordered in Roman Bronze by Tricentrol of Essex, it was used as a demo and then bought by its one and only private owner, who still drives it to shows to this day. Apparently apart from accident repair work after it was written off by a taxi in the 1990s, and bought back and repaired by the owner, it's largely in good, unrestored condition. I think our very own @Spottedlaurel has papped this very car at a show in the past.

It seems Vanguards have been undergoing a bit of a Rover style Project Drive of late, it doesn't help that the factory in China have almost turned over all their production to things like electrical components now, and diecast QA inspectors are apparently hard to get hold of over there. There have been reports of really thick paint on some releases, so bad that door shutlines can be barely seen, and bad casting marks and dodgy paint on the new Mk5 Cortina casting. Luckily this variant of Escort seems pretty well finished, the only bugbear at the front is that the front driving lights have lost the black housings and now appear to be just clear lenses glued onto the grille. But look at it, it's brown!

The stripes and logos are done well. Shame about the massive profile tyres, it's just a thing with the MK2 casting. But it's brown!

Nice badging, and a big bore exhaust so typical of a lot of Mk2s in period. The add on accessory fog light is a nice touch. Shame about the number plate being printed on the piss.. But it's brown!

Nice to see the Sport's stripy seats replicated, and also nice to see they've remembered to put the headrests in this time, unlike the Signal Orange release! Nice Sport style 3 spoke wheel too,

Badges should be black on a sport

[Spottedlaurel]

1 hour ago, AndyW201 said:

+1 on that Mustang, such a pretty thing both in real and model form. That type of model takes me right back to holidays in Spain when I was a kid. I got one of those Joal Alfa Canguros (as mentioned a couple of pages ago) in Benidorm when I was 8 and had lost it by the time we got home. Gutted!

In other news, I had another delivery today. Apologies for modern content, especially as Vanguards models seem to garner quite a lot of dislike on here. But I couldn't resist this one,

.................I think our very own @Spottedlaurel has papped this very car at a show in the past.

Yup, back in 2010:

 

 

[Noel Tidybeard]

the number plate is correct- ford dealers couldn't put them on straight for years!

[AndyW201]

25 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

Badges should be black on a sport

I thought it depended on the colour? Black badges on the brighter, lighter colours, bright badges on darker colours.

19 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

 

 

Well, the model has the same colour badges as the real thing at least!  Whether it got the wrong ones fitted after it got rear ended , I don't know.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, AndyW201 said:

I know, another Escort. But the 1600 Sport is my favourite MK2 variant (it's all about the decals...) and with this one being in Autoshite colours, I thought, what the hell! I haven't treated myself to a 1/43 this year yet.

Quite an unusual colour scheme, but as with Vanguards, it's actually based on a real car. First ordered in Roman Bronze by Tricentrol of Essex, it was used as a demo and then bought by its one and only private owner, who still drives it to shows to this day. Apparently apart from accident repair work after it was written off by a taxi in the 1990s, and bought back and repaired by the owner, it's largely in good, unrestored condition. I think our very own @Spottedlaurel has papped this very car at a show in the past.

It seems Vanguards have been undergoing a bit of a Rover style Project Drive of late, it doesn't help that the factory in China have almost turned over all their production to things like electrical components now, and diecast QA inspectors are apparently hard to get hold of over there. There have been reports of really thick paint on some releases, so bad that door shutlines can be barely seen, and bad casting marks and dodgy paint on the new Mk5 Cortina casting. Luckily this variant of Escort seems pretty well finished, the only bugbear at the front is that the front driving lights have lost the black housings and now appear to be just clear lenses glued onto the grille. But look at it, it's brown!

The stripes and logos are done well. Shame about the massive profile tyres, it's just a thing with the MK2 casting. But it's brown!

Nice badging, and a big bore exhaust so typical of a lot of Mk2s in period. The add on accessory fog light is a nice touch. Shame about the number plate being printed on the piss.. But it's brown!

Nice to see the Sport's stripy seats replicated, and also nice to see they've remembered to put the headrests in this time, unlike the Signal Orange release! Nice Sport style 3 spoke wheel too,

That Escort certainly used to live just around the corner to me, looks very odd but is in lovely condition. Got a pic somewhere...

 

[Spottedlaurel]

So, although no toy fair this weekend I picked up a decent amount of stuff at the local charity shop:

 

Front row were from the 20p each box. Mercedes might be a wheel donor and I think the white one is meant to be a Mazda RX7. Did the green fork lift come as part of a set? I'm only familiar with yellow version from the late '70s.

The remainder were £1-2 each, with some of them being three for £2. Corgi Mini and Beetle customs were new ones to me, the latter crying out for attention from someone who likes Beetles and modifying diescasts. Greenlight Impala is the Supernatural version.

Pleasing to get the Corgi Capri and Rover in different liveries to those I already have, which always seemed to be part of a pair (I must have got them about the same time, and they were always next to each other in the carrycase). SD1 has a metal base.

If anyone is desperate for any of these please let me know. A few I'd want to keep, but not all of them - I already have a MIB Superfast 17.

They also had the Corgi Hunter 302 at £7.50, unboxed and in need a clean-up but pretty much intact. I think one of the rear bumper/step things was bent. Worth it at that price?

[bunglebus]

25 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

So, although no toy fair this weekend I picked up a decent amount of stuff at the local charity shop:

 

Front row were from the 20p each box. Mercedes might be a wheel donor and I think the white one is meant to be a Mazda RX7. Did the green fork lift come as part of a set? I'm only familiar with yellow version from the late '70s.

The remainder were £1-2 each, with some of them being three for £2. Corgi Mini and Beetle customs were new ones to me, the latter crying out for attention from someone who likes Beetles and modifying diescasts. Greenlight Impala is the Supernatural version.

Pleasing to get the Corgi Capri and Rover in different liveries to those I already have, which always seemed to be part of a pair (I must have got them about the same time, and they were always next to each other in the carrycase). SD1 has a metal base.

If anyone is desperate for any of these please let me know. A few I'd want to keep, but not all of them - I already have a MIB Superfast 17.

They also had the Corgi Hunter 302 at £7.50, unboxed and in need a clean-up but pretty much intact. I think one of the rear bumper/step things was bent. Worth it at that price?

Sorry mate, the Corgi V.W. Hot Rod has already been molested

I did for a moment think it might be a real rarity, as I let a green colour trial version slip through my eBaying fingers years ago as I couldn't tell 100% from the pics if it was original - it was, ended up with another VW collector.

White #4 Turbo is a High Speed

Italia Capri is a good find, there's often one at the toy fair for £8 or some laughable amount. Green MB Sabron JackLift is one I don't remember seeing before - 1991/2 according to Wiki. Renault 17 is a lovely thing, great casting and I love the real thing - got 2 or 3 tucked away already though

Think the Audi is a Realtoy, yours has different wheels for added excitement!

 

[sheffcortinacentre]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

That Escort certainly used to live just around the corner to me, looks very odd but is in lovely condition. Got a pic somewhere...

 

No RS/sport always got black "chrome" irrespective of body colour  (popular & popular plus too) L/GL/Ghia escorts got chrome, same for MK1 fiesta,MK4/5 cortina. MK3 Capri's where always black only the 2.8 injection MK2 Granada ( all the others had chrome).

[flat4alfa]

11 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Greenlight Impala is the Supernatural version.

They also had the Corgi Hunter 302 at £7.50, unboxed and in need a clean-up but pretty much intact. I think one of the rear bumper/step things was bent. Worth it at that price?

I like the Impala if it’s available

When you say intact do you mean complete and not shabby?  If so yes! 

[flat4alfa]

11 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

 

Did the green fork lift come as part of a set? I'm only familiar with yellow version from the late '70s.

Sambron Jacklift was available 1991-92 in that green as part of the mainline 1-75 singles range. For the 1992 Construction set it reverted to a darker yellow!

[MiniMinorMk3]

15 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

 

In other news, I had another delivery today. Apologies for modern content, especially as Vanguards models seem to garner quite a lot of dislike on here. But I couldn't resist this one,

 

 

 

What's missing in the picture? It's the boot lock.

 

I've no problem with Vanguards being posted up, I could post a different one every day. Here's a nice Bermuda Blue Mk4 'tina. A stunning looking model in a great, but unusual, colour for a Ghia. They even remembered the boot lock on this one.

 

 

[Richard_FM]

2 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Sambron Jacklift was available 1991-92 in that green as part of the mainline 1-75 singles range. For the 1992 Construction set it reverted to a darker yellow!

My brother & I used to have one, which lost it's forks, & the remaining bits looked a bit like a mouth so it got named Talker Buggy, usually proclaiming "That's Not Fair!" when under-performing on my Loop The Loop set due to it's weight & slightly bent axle.  Eventually it ended up being thrown on a bonfire!

[AndyW201]

58 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

 

What's missing in the picture? It's the boot lock.

Never noticed that. It's also missing from the orange Sport,

Even the green Mexico,

Only a tiny detail, but bloody hell, would it have killed them to add a tiny splodge of silver paint? Interestingly the newer RS2000 casting does have the boot lock!

It is a lovely colour that Cortina, I'd have liked to have seen a 2.0S in that colour. Incidentally my Oyster gold Cortina Ghia doesn't have a boot lock either...

[MiniMinorMk3]

Ford boot locks on Vanguards, does yours have one?

Consul Capri, yes

Consul Classic, yes

Mk1 Fiesta, yes

105E Anglia, yes

Mk3 Capri, yes

Mk1 Escort, yes

XR3, yes

Mk1 Granada, no. On the actual car it is on the upper rear panel trim line, so is probably  a bit difficult to detail.

E93A Popular, yes

Mk2 Zephyr, yes

Mk3 Zephyr, yes

Sierra Sapphire, yes

Mk2 Granada, yes