Shite in Miniature II

[Datsuncog]

15 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

2023 Matchbox now in Tesco

I took a look in our local Tesco Extra last night, but the bins there were still devoid of Matchbox bar about five motorcycle trailers, two grey Mazda 3s and a lone Buick convertible.

Still, good news that more might be on the way soon.

B&M's still cheaper, mind...

[bunglebus]

18 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

I'd take the BMW if Mr. Alfa doesn't 

[Datsuncog]

On 3/11/2023 at 1:37 AM, Noel Tidybeard said:

i'll bet the mini magnifique is spendy

Oh, and I had a  closer look at this one while I was in yesterday - turns out it's priced at £60.

Not cheap, exactly - but I daresay you could spend more on (what appears to be) a MIB example.

The five final phase Matchbox Dinky models, made using the old Vitesse castings, were priced at £30 a throw.

Also could be worse - but there were not many bargains to be found...

[Noel Tidybeard]

1 minute ago, Datsuncog said:

Oh, and I had a  closer look at this one - priced at £60.

 

Not cheap, exactly - but I daresay you could spend more on (what appears to be) a MIB example.

 

The very late Matchbox Dinky models, using the old Vitesse castings, were priced at £30 a throw.

the magnifique is the December issue from corgi club apparently

[Datsuncog]

I suppose good originals will always hold their value - but yes, I think I'd be waiting for the Corgi Model Club issue if I wanted to get my hands on one!

[Noel Tidybeard]

red mgmgmgbgt is on its way at this very moment

[barrett]

post day live* unboxing not corgi dinky hot wheels L00K!!!11!!

[Noel Tidybeard]

i'll still have the bazuki if thats ok

[Split_Pin]

51 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Remember this little lot of 1980s Matchbox Superkings goodness, from Friday?

And that @Noel Tidybeard was keen on the Suzuki at the advertised price of £15, while @Split_Pin was interested in the Rolls at £10 - the same price as the E32 BMW and Jag XJ12, which also came from here?

Well, I went back in yesterday afternoon.

First thing that I noticed was that the shelves had been rearranged, and so these Matchbox had been moved from the very bottom to the middle tier.

Mmm, okay.

Second thing I noticed...

Sorry, what now?

Ah great.

Those... weren't the prices shown on Friday.

I wonder if he noticed me looking at these, then wandered over afterwards and thought "mmm, those are a bit cheap"?

Well, bollocks.

I mean, it's his shop and all, etc etc, but still - that's a bit of a hike.

I bet the lower prices are still written below the stickers, directly onto the box.

Cos that's what he does, and it bugs me inordinately.

Forty year old Mettoys - price scrawled on, in permanent marker. It's not like he doesn't have labels either.

Ah well. Right.

That threw me a bit. It's a cash-only store, and I'd made an ATM withdrawal on the way over based on the prices I believed they were.

I'm still happy to go back and get these two, folks - if you're alright with the 33% and 50% price hikes, respectively. But I didn't want to charge on ahead and scoop them up at a higher price than I'd led you to believe.

I mean, they may well still be cheaper than equivalent eBay pricing - but nonetheless, I felt quite miffed about this turn of events.

So let me know if it's a yea or a nay to proceed.

Just to wind myself up even more, I glared at the sealed freezer bags of tat heaped up, still with zero takers.

I don't know why this place irritates so much - but it does.

Actually, I do know. I'm also regretting deleting my whingey screed from Friday now.

Aaaaaaand breathe.

 

So, trying very hard to feel a little more zen, I wandered over to the loose tat section at the far end of the counter.

The Mercedes C111 was still there, as was the Paul Bracq designed BMW Turbo concept car, from 1972.

Both are Hong Kong made Lintoy clockwork models; both (still) priced at a fiver.

Not mint - but both pretty good. Didn't try the powered mechanisms, though.

So, I did buy this pair - any good to @flat4alfa?

Otherwise I'll offer them out more generally on my tat thread (which I really ought to update later on).

There were also a few other oddities which I hadn't noticed on Friday:

Kidco Corvette and no-name 300ZX key cars, at £1 a throw.

Majorette beach buggy with yellow wheels and a front light bar, at £2.

Texaco and Agip transfers look like they're Scalextric waterslides added on by a young owner, not Majorette originals.

Though I could be wrong...

This Siku model of a 1920s White lorry was one that's unfamiliar to me - but priced at £10.

And I hadn't really noticed before, but there are loads of these ceramic pigs stuffed into various cabinets - I think @bunglebus mentioned these earlier in the week. No gold ones, though.

I did manage to pick up the Corgi Rockets GP Beach Buggy for Mr. Bus, and in an effort to throw off my grump, treated myself to a not-quite-mint, but still very nice, Whizzwheels Lotus Europa.

The buggy's paint could be better, but the windscreen and rollbar are intact so I guess that's not too bad for the price.

So - all a bit meh, I'm afraid.

Old toys, eh? Minefield.

Thanks for going back over Tim, I appreciate that.

Good shout on holding back on the Superkings. I don't grudge a fiver but it's a bit of a dick move by the proprietor to hike the prices up by a fiver. I'll pass on the Rolls as a result.

 

[barrett]

Well it's Alfa day down here in Sussex. First up is Mercury No. 304 Alfa Romeo Montreal. There's not loads of info online about these later Mercury models so I'm not sure when this one was launched but I'd guess very early 1970s, as it retains some of the detail and weight of the earlier cars in the range.

It captures the shape of the real thing very well I reckon, and it has just enough detail to mark it out as a quality product - the metal base helps, too

Only the doors open, but Mercury wasn't great at shut lines so that's probably for the best

Overall a nice little thing, and one I've been after for a while. This is only the second time I've seen one for a reasonable price so had to jump on it.

Next up is Politoys No. 530, Alfa Romeo 2600 Zagato

This, along with the Flavia Zagato, is one of the main reasons I've been buying this stuff. When I first saw a picture of one of these I was fascinated by the choice to model such an obscure subject, and in such fine detail, and... well, you know what happened next. So I'm really glad to finally have one of my own, and even better it's in great shape and one of my favourite Politoys colours

All the typical detail, build quality and high level of finish you'd expect

Lots of opening bits

and a detailed engine, of course

Now, if I was a perverse die cast collector I could pair it with the Bertone 2600 coupe...

Or arrange it with other 1:43 toys of Zagato-bodied Italian cars (I think this might be the full set now, or were there other period Zagato models?)...

... but luckily I'm not, so I can't.

[Noel Tidybeard]

if the suzuki wasn't so rocking horse poo i would probably think the same- in almost 10 years looking i think i've seen 1 red & 1 police one that i bought

[Datsuncog]

59 minutes ago, barrett said:

First up is Mercury No. 304 Alfa Romeo Montreal. There's not loads of info online about these later Mercury models so I'm not sure when this one was launched but I'd guess very early 1970s, as it retains some of the detail and weight of the earlier cars in the range.

 

Oof, that Montreal is delightful!

One of my all-time favourites, I have to say.

A fantastic addition to your collection (which you don't have, so it's not). 😉

[Datsuncog]

Also - more Thursday Tat Unboxing, and this time we're Live From Lidl.

The first challenge was to surreptitiously retrieve the box from the parcel cabinet on my way out, all while MrsDC was standing in front of it.

But, mission accomplished.

And inside...

A(nother) Ford Crown Victoria in California Highway Patrol colours, and a Wartburg Tourist!

Hey, I'm a sucker for a longroof.

Thanks so much, @eddyramrod!

[barrett]

18 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

A fantastic addition to your collection (which you don't have, so it's not). 😉

It's always worth pointing out just in case anyone gets the wrong idea.

Been a while since I did this, so here's the Mercuries (minus one which I forgot about)

The Mebetoys

And the Politoys

And if that counts as a 'collection' I don't know what more to say. Just a couple of interesting bits, nothing weird or obsessive about it at all. Just a couple. Just don't ask to see my Pilens, alright mate?

[Datsuncog]

2 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

i'll still have the bazuki if thats ok

Sure thing!

Don't know if I'll get a chance to tack across town tomorrow, but I should be in on Monday - let's just hope it's not £25 by then!

I mean, inflation's an issue right now but that's nuts...

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

Good shout on holding back on the Superkings. I don't grudge a fiver but it's a bit of a dick move by the proprietor to hike the prices up by a fiver. I'll pass on the Rolls as a result.

Yeah - sometimes it's the money, and sometimes it's the goddam principle of the thing.

I checked all the Rolls models in case there'd been some mistake and another one had come to the front during the shelf move, but two of the three were priced with a (suspiciously fresh) £15 sticker, while one had no price but looked like a sticker had been removed.

Hmm.

Just annoying. Every time I'm in there I just come away feeling slightly annoyed, which is why I've given it a swerve for nearly three years now despite having some quite desirable stock.

From what I can tell, much of the store's turnover comes from the plastic kits side of the business, which makes up quite a bit of the floorspace. Military stuff, for the most part. There used to be a fair few places that did model kits in the city centre - The Model Shop, Leisureworld, The Modeller's Nook, even Hawkins' Bazaar - but they're all gone now, leaving this as the last place standing.

I can remember from my own model shop days that there was huge markup on the kits - if they were priced at £10 on the shelf, then they wouldn't have cost us more than £1 to buy in wholesale.

So, if that's what's keeping him afloat then fair enough - though I also noticed he'd been through all the Oxford Diecast 1/72 stuff with his marker pen, crossing out '£6.50' and writing '£7.50' directly onto the packaging...

[Split_Pin]

Who even does that?

[Datsuncog]

All I'll say is it must have taken him a right while - he's got a veritable wall of Oxford stuff, about double what's shown there in the photo:

[sierraman]

9 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Who even does that?

Perhaps off the back of the Credit Suisse crisis he is hedging his bets. 🤣

[bunglebus]

Entertainer had an F case in - unfortunately fully raided of good stuff, except this

Taking of Porsches, I had two arrive

Typically having asked for one on a sales thread, my bid wins on eBay! 

This one might be familiar, think it was @Datsuncogwho I was taking to about the fairly awful copies of the Shunsei Mini Power 911 - Well this is a real one

There were also some bits from @Fennec

That last one a custom from the workshop of @eddyramrod unless I'm mistaken

[bunglebus]

Talking of yellow customs, this is done for now, unless I decide to paint it

I don't normally show the bases of my customs, although they're always made nice. Bearing in mind this is the front of a Nomad base with the rear of a gasser, I think it came out well.

Engine is from a Roger Dodger, and took a fair bit of massaging to make it fit - but it does line up perfectly with the base, strange how these things happen.

Glass came out of a donor from Fennec that I was waiting for to finish it off!

[Split_Pin]

Oh, now that HW 911 is of interest to me as I have a 935TT in the same livery. It's very similar to the Martini livery of the 1.12 scale Tamiya 935 that @Datsuncog gave me some years ago and it keeps it company on the shelf.

[bunglebus]

It's following a pattern, these are from previous years

[Datsuncog]

On the flipside, there are certain Tat Traders who seek to help rather than hinder...

I have it on good authority that these will be on the market stall tomorrow morning.

Mostly Vanguards, though some Oxford, Atlas and Corgi Classics in there too.

Some OOC & EFE bus action too, having been absent for a few weeks now.

I'm told they'll be priced at £10 each - so not cheap-cheap, but probably a fair enough price.

If there's anything you see that you like, or anything you're particularly searching for, then do sing up in the next few hours...

[eddyramrod]

Notwithstanding my love of police cars, and the fact that Vanguards do some nice quality models of cars that aren't always easy to find, there doesn't seem to be anything in those boxes I would or could pay a tenner for.  Not even the Cumbria police Transit.  I think I see an MG ZT too, which is one I do very much want, but not that much.

So, thank you, but I'll pass.

[MiniMinorMk3]

3 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Oh, and I had a  closer look at this one while I was in yesterday - turns out it's priced at £60.

Not cheap, exactly - but I daresay you could spend more on (what appears to be) a MIB example.

The five final phase Matchbox Dinky models, made using the old Vitesse castings, were priced at £30 a throw.

Also could be worse - but there were not many bargains to be found...

£60 is not bad for a boxed Magnifique. I put an unboxed near minter on Flebay about 6 months ago and it surprised me by making £55.

Those Matchbox Vitesse are about double what they should be. I usually pay about £10-12 for those when they come in lots. 

3 hours ago, barrett said:

 

 

A nice pair.

[barrett]

31 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

If there's anything you see that you like, or anything you're particularly searching for, then do sing up in the next few hours...

I don't have a P6 on my 'cars wot I own' shelf. If you see one of these :

Then I would love it, but only in that colour scheme

[Datsuncog]

48 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

This one might be familiar, think it was @Datsuncogwho I was taking to about the fairly awful copies of the Shunsei Mini Power 911 - Well this is a real one

Not sure if it was me or someone else - but I definitely had one of those when I was very young, or at least one of the copies - mine was red, and the huge rear spoiler had fallen off at some point, along with one of the headlamps. No idea where mine came from - either new from a 50p shop or secondhand from a jumble sale, possibly.

It lived in a twilight netherworld at the bottom of my toybox, like a little diecast Gollum - too small to mix it with my 1/36 Corgi and Matchbox Superkings stuff, but too big to fit on the Playtrack with my smaller Matchbox, Corgi Juniors and Majorettes.

In the end, I think it went into a box of my old toys which ended up in my mother's classroom for her P4 kids to play with - I hope it found its purpose there.

I'd expected her to bring them back home when she retired, but they got given to another teacher!

Still, it was playing with some utterly trashed 1950s Dinkys and Matchbox on wet lunchtimes c.1985 which sparked my interest in really old toys, along with finding this book in the library...

So maybe my work here is done.

[Datsuncog]

12 minutes ago, barrett said:

I don't have a P6 on my 'cars wot I own' shelf. If you see one of these :

Then I would love it, but only in that colour scheme

There looks to be a blue P6 in one of the crates, but going by the box it'll be an earlier version without the vinyl roof, rather than the eggbox-grille '70s version.

Still, will keep my eyes peeled just in case - is that Scarab Blue?

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

There were also some bits from @Fennec

Think that Unimog forklift passed through my hands, many moons ago.

50p Box refugee from December 2019.

[Split_Pin]

Small world!