Shite in Miniature II

[Split_Pin]

8 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

Great displays of cars! I love my Transporter, still waiting for the replacement horns and some tyres for the Cortina and mine will be as good as it ever can be. I saw this nice article the other day, I expect everyone on here already knows about this site, but I only just found it!

https://www.maronline.org.uk/corgi-carrimore-car-transporters-ford-h-series-and-scammell-cabs/

Thanks, that was a great read!

I only have a few cars that are correct for the set so I'd like to find at least ones that came with either the Scammell or the Ford. The search is on!

[bunglebus]

7 hours ago, Jon said:

I think this is supposed to be a Volga.

I believe it's one of these

Having done a bit of Google translate from the box text and got Bonra, which i think think means it's a Gaz 24 - made up to '92 so 1987 would make sense

Great find!

[bunglebus]

Sainsbury's have premium Hot Wheels 

And expensive Matchbox 

[Split_Pin]

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I believe it's one of these

Having done a bit of Google translate from the box text and got Bonra, which i think think means it's a Gaz 24 - made up to '92 so 1987 would make sense

Great find!

Yes Волга literally translated means Volga. Nice find.

[MiniMinorMk3]

12 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

Great displays of cars! I love my Transporter, still waiting for the replacement horns and some tyres for the Cortina and mine will be as good as it ever can be. I saw this nice article the other day, I expect everyone on here already knows about this site, but I only just found it!

https://www.maronline.org.uk/corgi-carrimore-car-transporters-ford-h-series-and-scammell-cabs/

I used to buy Model Auto Review magazine back in the 1990s. They also had a shop near Leeds that I visited a couple of times. The magazine was great for keeping up with all the latest obscure diecast, resin and white metal model issues.

11 hours ago, Jon said:

Here's a thing I bought a while back but just got round to mentioning.

 

 

Full translation

Souvenir Volgar GAZ-24
Article SGO-462d
Price 1 rub. 50 kop.
Date of issue
OTK stamp

I used to know of a good Russian Diecast website, but I can not find it just now. If I do find it I will post up a link.

[bunglebus]

On 28/02/2023 at 17:16, Christine said:

swap 4 hotwheels  civic EK9 type R ?  

This could be your lucky day

Entertainer had some amazing stock - if you like Batmobiles 

I shouldn't really complain - two stores in the shopping centre where I'm working, and they had both Ranchero variants

[Datsuncog]

^^ Those Fed Ex stickers again!

[flat4alfa]

Gah.... why do they do this to me

Can't decide which to keep

And by the time I've got over the drama, another colour will be out.  With different wheels as well

[Datsuncog]

24 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Can't decide which to keep

If it's any help while making a decision, you've another of the smooth-wheel versions on the way...

[junkyarddog]

Another recent find.

Polistil Fiat 131.

 

[Datsuncog]

Another lunchtime WFH grocery run yielded little in the way of diecast amusement today.

I swung past Poundstretcher just in case another box of £3 Working Rigs had appeared since Saturday, but - nope.

The local Poundland had one solitary Hot Wheels mainline on the pegs - one of the custom wheelchair releases.

While I can applaud their progressiveness, I can't say I really want one.

Tesco's toy aisle is currently a faded monument to happier times.

It's like a mausoleum in there; preserved in aspic. Nothing's changed for weeks.

The motorcycle trailer is plainly this season's speed camera trailer/ luggage cart/ driverless bus thing.

Seems like every recent MB case release has contained something fairly unappealing, to hang around like a bad smell long after the decent stuff's gone.

Dunno why someone hasn't snaffled that Buick, though.

Hot Wheels not doing all that much better...

Weird Crown Comfort-based taxi with the opening door had some appeal, but it was a bit of a stretch to imagine putting my hand in my pocket for it.

I could have gone four-for-four by checking out Sainsburys, but time constraints and a general feeling that they've got a bit too pricey in there lately warned me off, today anyway.

I did notice these 'Go! Play' branded vehicles in Tesco too - not really my thing these days, but I can see their appeal for car-lovin' kids.

And pretty good value for money. These were 1/43 or thereabouts, nicely proportioned and well detailed, in realistic colours - plus actual models of cars on the road rather than pure fantasy castings. Even the alloys appear to be model-specific, rather than just generics.

While this range looked broadly equivalent to the 1/24 Bburago of my youth, both in appearance and in acquirability with saved-up pocket money:

Lastly, these plastic trucks seemed to lack any real-life manufacturer branding on the model itself, but still offer a lot of playvalue at a reasonable price point:

A bit smaller than 1/36, I think, but fitted with realistic wheels and mirrors - plus I think they had some kinda light 'n' sound function, activated by pressing the red button at the back of the cab.

Again, nothing I much fancied owning for myself - but hopefully these are the toys that'll spark some enthusiasm and inspire the next generation of diecast tat collectors?

Hell, somebody needs to want to buy those Corgi Model Club releases off me in my old age...

[flat4alfa]

55 minutes ago, junkyarddog said:

Polistil Fiat 131.

Only got the little one

[flat4alfa]

Also got another in doom blue, on the shelf of cars-that-I-used-to-own-in-1:43

Here it is out to play with your old Panorama

[MiniMinorMk3]

I've got the Solido Abarth one and there's a Mercury Polizia one somewhere in the spare room.

Also a Mira Seat has passed through here

[Split_Pin]

4 hours ago, junkyarddog said:

Another recent find.

Polistil Fiat 131.

 

Wow, super find, I love these!

[junkyarddog]

3 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Panorama

I'd forgotten about that one.

[FakeConcern]

21 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

 

Im not old enough to have had these when I was a kid (unless I scored one as a hand-me-down!), I was born in the 80’s but even at my age I can really see the attraction to those old toys. They look brilliant and they work well. They must have been absolutely awesome to a child in the 60’s.

I don’t know which I prefer, Ford or Scammell, but both are definitely deserving of a place in my collection!

Actually I think I’ve got about 3 or 4 of the Ford versions now! A couple are going to receive different tractor units (the Mack will be one!) just to make a varied fleet to display my cars on!

Corgi should be pleased with themselves with those that’s for sure. Going on 60 years since the first Ford version was released and they’re still around and still so good!

I'm the same age as your dad and had the Transporter Gift Set with six cars from new and loved it, the tip up cab, mirrors, the tilting load deck and ramp, but always wondered why it wasn't a Britsh truck like I'd see around and as mentioned in the above article. I would now love one of the Scammell cabs with three load decks!

[sierraman]

I’m not normally a Hot Wheels fanboy but I like the Flying Customs, are these stocked in B&M?

[Datsuncog]

Yeah, only place I've seen them stocked is in one of the big retail park B&M stores - the smaller town centre one still only has mainlines.

That said, others have posted pics of entire displays of Flying Customs upthread, while the best my local could manage was a single peg.

So - kinda patchy, I guess.

[sheffcortinacentre]

7 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Gah.... why do they do this to me

Can't decide which to keep

And by the time I've got over the drama, another colour will be out.  With different wheels as well

I'd be interested in one you don't want.

[sheffcortinacentre]

21 hours ago, Jon said:

Here's a thing I bought a while back but just got round to mentioning.

Came in a pretty box.

 

And a nice logo on the side.

 

Wrapped up in brown paper!

 

Despite the spun wheels and general 60's build style, the slip of paper inside is dated 1987.

 

So, nicely original then.

Should've asked the seller the backstory on this one, as he had some other similarly aged Soviet offerings but this appealed the most.

 

back end looks pretty nifty.

 

Front end is very gawky! I think this is supposed to be a Volga.

Those ever so flush headlamps reveal its party trick - a knock-off Transolite system. So there was only really one option.

 

Acquire a Corgi P6 for comparison. I'm pretty sure I'd placed a low-ball bid on this, then bought another from @danthecapriman, thinking I'd be outbid. Which I clearly wasn't. So I've now a northern hemisphere and a southern hemisphere P6. Kicking the life goals of adulthood, right there.

 

The system works just the same on both castings but obviously, the Rover wins hands-down on overall quality. 

However, there's something just indearingly likeable about such an outdatedly constructed, simplistic design being made somewhere in the world to satisfy the needs of a restricted market. In 1987.

And to give it its dues, the Volga's paint quality is good and the lustre and shade are fantastic.

Proper happy with this one.

Decodant capitalist pig with your rover!

[Jon]

On 3/21/2023 at 3:52 AM, Tenmil Socket said:

When I was visiting my mum yesterday I was going through so old photos. I took a photo of some of the photos using my phone. 

Here’s one from the mid 80’s with my favourite car at the time beside me on the step. IIRC it was a plastic Mercedes (possibly a 190?).

That’s my dads Chevette work van behind me.

I forgot to reply at the time that you posted this but I wonder if This may have been diecast instead of plastic, since it bears a resemblance to the Superkings Mercedes 190E 2.3?

Looks like your version sports the prominent spoiler, which this Mercedes has:

 

And I know that deciphering wheel covers from about 8 pixels of a photo of a sunny day 30+ years ago captured on a phone camera will never draw conclusive - but nevertheless, they look pretty similar to me.

 

For comparison, Corgi also sold their own version:

 

But this is the only example I can think of that's closest to the shade in the photo and they obviously don't match.

Anyway, this was an entirely pointless post but it killed some time before I get motivated to doing some actually Useful Things today..

 

[Jon]

7 minutes ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

Decodant capitalist pig with your rover!

I rather think the shade they painted the Volga pandered overtly to the bourgeoisie.

[bunglebus]

I went back into the two Entertainer stores as I had a nagging feeling I'd missed something - like two more boxes under the table!

Other than yet more Batmobiles to go with the 50 odd they had on the pegs, there wasn't a lot else to write home about, although I did pull a spare K.A.R.R. version of the K.I.T.T Concept out so I could do the torch test

Passed a Tesco on my way home - nice up to date selection with red RS2000 etc

[sierraman]

8 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

I'd be interested in one you don't want.

Update they’ve got them in the Entertainer on the Moor in town. 

[Tenmil Socket]

10 hours ago, Jon said:

I forgot to reply at the time that you posted this but I wonder if This may have been diecast instead of plastic, since it bears a resemblance to the Superkings Mercedes 190E 2.3?

Looks like your version sports the prominent spoiler, which this Mercedes has:

 

And I know that deciphering wheel covers from about 8 pixels of a photo of a sunny day 30+ years ago captured on a phone camera will never draw conclusive - but nevertheless, they look pretty similar to me.

 

For comparison, Corgi also sold their own version:

 

But this is the only example I can think of that's closest to the shade in the photo and they obviously don't match.

Anyway, this was an entirely pointless post but it killed some time before I get motivated to doing some actually Useful Things today..

 

@Jon you know what, you could be right. That MB model is bringing back some memories although I always thought it was plastic. I could be mistaken though as it was over 35 years ago after all.

[sutty2006]

1 minute ago, Tenmil Socket said:

@Jon you know what, you could be right. That MB model is bringing back memories although I always thought it was plastic. I could be mistaken though as it was over 35 years ago after all.

Same as this one. One of my all time favourites. 

[sierraman]

2 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

Same as this one. One of my all time favourites. 

I have the blue one, white one and the taxi. 

[sutty2006]

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

I have the blue one, white one and the taxi. 

Alright, no need to rub it in, 

 

🤣

[bunglebus]

Entertainer delivery day, 4 fresh cases with the red RS2000 etc, and an extremely attractive woman putting these out - no price yet