Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

12 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Underneath Speed Driver is a recessed hex bit holder to fit a 1/4" bit

That's the normal size though?

Disappointed that the other end isn't 10mm but I doubt it'd take much abuse anyway.

Do you have your pound notes in a Clip Rod?

[Datsuncog]

3 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

Flipping 'eck! I need to get to Poundland. I spy the 'Then and Now' green 2018 Camaro, I was beginning to think it didn't exist! Only ever found the '81 version, and I need the newer one to to go with it.

#notacompletist

I forgot to get dishwasher tablets today, so I'll be back down in the general vicinity of Poundland tomorrow... could see if the Camaro's still kicking around?

[flat4alfa]

15 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

That's the normal size though?

Disappointed that the other end isn't 10mm but I doubt it'd take much abuse anyway.

Do you have your pound notes in a Clip Rod?

Yes you are right, but I would be happier if it was 4mm type so I could carry more bits!  I have plenty of the slimmer 4mm.

Zamac vs tempered steel.  Who would win?

We don't use notes around here anymore.  We trade in calor cas cylinders

[eddyramrod]

The other day I showed you a teaser shot of some bodies in primer.  Things have moved on...

I did say I had a body for the Commer chassis-cab!  The cab was part of a job-lot; the body was an ambulance body I had lying about under several coats of old Humbrol, so I united them and made a police van.  Oh...

...and the black one is one I did earlier!  Looks like my Toytown PD has changed livery since their first riot van arrived...

[FakeConcern]

I don't know shit about these new Hot Wheels & Matchbox you lot like & usually I only go to the local Tesco Express which has almost none. Today I went to the Hastings Tesco Extra and had a look at the toys. I found I had no idea at all what to look at. There were Hot Wheels Mustang sets that I liked and all sorts of Hot Wheels & Matchbox, but I didn't buy anything as I have no idea what is what. So tomorrow I think I'm likely to go to the massive Tesco Extra at Ashford, what should I look out for and what does anyone want? Are prices all the same? I'm happy to pick up stuff if it's there and I know what's wanted.

[AndyW201]

10 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

I forgot to get dishwasher tablets today, so I'll be back down in the general vicinity of Poundland tomorrow... could see if the Camaro's still kicking around?

Aye, if you're already going there please Tim. Many thanks.

[flat4alfa]

41 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

I don't know shit about these new Hot Wheels & Matchbox you lot like

I found I had no idea at all what to look at..

You know what?  Best advice is to keep it that way and avoid the blighters!

They get in the way. On the shelves. In Crates of storage boxes. It’s like a perpetual quarterly swarm of recolour releases, playing on the mind. Space becomes a problem and the cat wonders where it has room to sit.

SAVE YOURSELF!

Stick with Corgi / Dinky 1:43 on a theme.  That’s best advice from a former addict.  I thought I was getting better, but no.  Doom still loomed

I’m better now. A bit.

[FakeConcern]

1 minute ago, flat4alfa said:

You know what?  Best advice is to keep it that way and avoid the blighters!

They get in the way. On the shelves. In Crates of storage boxes. It’s like a perpetual quarterly swarm of recolour releases, playing on the mind. Space becomes a problem and the cat wonders where it has room to sit.

SAVE YOURSELF!

Stick with Corgi / Dinky 1:43 on a theme.  That’s best advice from a former addict.  I thought I was getting better, but no.  Doom still loomed

I’m better now. A bit.

OK in that case when I go to a massive Tesco tomorrow if anyone would like any Hotwheels/Matchbox

 

FUCK OFFF

[barrett]

New(ish) Autocult release

Ouch. I love this brand - they make exactly the sort of weird old shit I'm interested, but I've never been tempted to actually buy one before (they're c.£100) but that's one for my sheld of 'cars wot I've owned' which I never thought would exist. Alright, it's a Monteverdi, but for all intents and purposes it's near-identical to the Heron. Better start saving.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

 Best advice is to keep it that way and avoid the blighters!

Well I hope you at least want the orange/blue anniversary one I have for you

How about some of these temptations coming later in the year?

This is very cool

This was a strange co-incidence. I gave my mate the black tooned Fast and Furious Dodge Charger that came out recently, and he said it would be good of they did a whole series of them including his favourite, the orange Supra. The next day I saw a pic of this

Recolour but such a great casting

787B is back

Recolour

New, or just hasn't been out for years?

Recolour

Is the Poppa Wheelie the only Hot Wheels shown from the back on the card art? It's a dragster with the body mounted backwards...

This I didn't expect as a Hot Wheels and it looks great

Recoloured Ain't No Saint - we haven't seen the 240 Drift Wagon for a while, I think that will appear soon

I don't care if it's pink, I want one

Recolours

Very awesome Gasser is also the Super Treasure Hunt if you're lucky

This is brand new, and looks fab. The wheels are also a new release and will definitely be appearing on some customs 

I think a few of you will be wanting this one too

[Spottedlaurel]

5 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Well I hope you at least want the orange/blue anniversary one I have for you

How about some of these temptations coming later in the year?..........

The Alfa is very nice definitely one to watch for. I'm sure I could make room for the Civic and Land Cruiser as well.

Only just started seeing the BMW 507 in white quite recently, a recolour already?

I am starting to struggle finding much locally, all I got yesterday was the "Mud Studs" '70 Dodge Power Wagon (blue with brown tyres).

[flat4alfa]

Fell off chair when I saw ALFA GTV6

[flat4alfa]

Trouble Decker !

That must have come from a request this side of the pond…

It’s even got a lowered upper deck and we know where that idea came from

In fact I wouldn't be surprised if that tampo variation has been considered

[RoadworkUK]

12 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

I forgot to get dishwasher tablets today, so I'll be back down in the general vicinity of Poundland tomorrow... could see if the Camaro's still kicking around?

If you happen to chance upon a 560SEC....

[AndyW201]

Not forgetting the upcoming '82 Supra...

[Datsuncog]

Some good news for @AndyW201...

Lightly dog-eared in the packaging department, but the elusive Then And Now 2018 Camaro was still on the shelf at Poundland this morning. So I nabbed it.

Not much else of interest - a Range Rover Classic and the Volvo 240 drift wagon were about the only other items of potential desire, but I think most of us already have those...

I also called into Tesco, but there wasn't very much of note in the toy aisle:

No new selections from the last time I looked, and mostly only the more lurid stuff remaining.

I do kinda like the reworked Jeep Wagoneer with the darker paint and lighter base/grille, but it's very similar to the earlier version I picked up a few months back.

No new Matchbox to be seen either - just a handful of not-Mustangs and Sheriff's Impound motorbike trailers remaining, with Hot Wheels overspill crowding them out.

Some tea-leaf's been at the motorbikes too:

Tut tut. No wonder they're hard to find.

(Though I do have a spare Honda CB750, if anyone's desperate for one.)

Possibly this is what's led Sainsburys to adopt their novel 'one model only in the Hot Wheels bin' policy:

Makes it easier to spot when something's been shoplifted, I guess?

No further 560SECs yet - though if I happen across any more, I'll be sure to scoop them.

Poundland does seem to be the best place to find newish Mattel stock right now - and, helpfully, they're also the cheapest by quite a margin...

[flat4alfa]

On 5/10/2023 at 9:44 AM, flat4alfa said:

Trouble Decker !  That must have come from a request this side of the pond…  It’s even got a lowered upper deck and we know where that idea came from

In fact I wouldn't be surprised if that tampo variation has been considered

Ah yes of course I answered my own question

Designer Fraser Campell from Manchester UK, now lives at Pasadena

Who gave the Hot Wheels world these

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

12 hours ago, barrett said:

New(ish) Autocult release

Ouch. I love this brand - they make exactly the sort of weird old shit I'm interested, but I've never been tempted to actually buy one before (they're c.£100) but that's one for my sheld of 'cars wot I've owned' which I never thought would exist. Alright, it's a Monteverdi, but for all intents and purposes it's near-identical to the Heron. Better start saving.

I've not had many Autocults pass through here. Here's their TVR Tasmin.

They have captured the wedge shape very well.

Good detail with just a single door mirror, but the rear lights are a bit wonky on this example.

Like Silas models, they are made in low numbers, and each has a numbered certificate.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Another of my favourite modern resin cast producers is Matrix. They make the stuff that does not get made by the diecast producers.

Here's there Avon XJ6 Series 3 Estate

The slope at the front panel looks a bit off.

And the roof looks a little tall at the rear.

They do come on a leather lined numbered base

[bunglebus]

Mooching around Smyths, B&M and Poundland - not a lot to write home about despite rummaging to the bottom of this

[Zie]

Nothing for me today. 

Was tempted by this glorious mug though. 

[bunglebus]

I just got these two, motorbike is not for me but is a treasure hunt 

[Datsuncog]

Now here's a little Matchbox-adjacent head-scratcher from a few months back...

Remember those FedEx stickers on the packaging of some of the 2023 releases?

On 2/13/2023 at 7:26 PM, Spottedlaurel said:

BTW, what's with the FedEx stickers on the new Matchbox packs? Didn't realise until I got home they're just stickers on both the front and rear of the card. They were on everything, not related to a livery on the diecast itself.

 

On 2/13/2023 at 8:05 PM, flat4alfa said:

 

On 2/13/2023 at 9:51 PM, bunglebus said:

I'm a bit stumped on the FedEx label on the card - your Ranchero has it too and it seems to be a sticker rather than printed on

I had a bit of a peel earlier on the sticker on my actual FedEx branded MB56 Express Delivery:

And beneath is... another FedEx logo. But a different colour.

Huh.

I wonder if there was some ding-dong with FedEx's corporate Intellectual Property bods, over the exact appearance and composition of the logo?

It seems that the official FedEx colour logo is white for the 'Fed' element, and orange for the 'Ex' element, on a purple background.

An alternative seems to be a purple 'Fed' and orange 'Ex' whenever it appears on a white background - as it does on their white mailer boxes, their vehicles, and on the toy van here.

But of course the background colour of Matchbox packaging is also orange.

So early examples of the packaging for this release have the 'Fed' in purple and the 'Ex' in white - which seems a reasonable adjustment, right?

But I know that trademark holders can get very shirty about any deviations from an extremely rigid way of depicting their logos - including font, lettering aspect and the exact Pantone shade of colours.

So I wonder whether FedEx demands that its logo is only ever white and orange against a dark background, or purple and orange against a light background. But never purple and white, as the original packaging card shows it.

And to correct this error, Mattel had to add stickers to their stock of card backings to keep it consistent with FedEx's logo requirements.

And there's a sticker on the back of the card, too - reinforcing the protected nature of the logo:

Nothing beneath it, though.

Mind you, that still doesn't explain why the same sticker was applied to other models in the range with nothing to do with FedEx... factory error?

[MiniMinorMk3]

19 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Mind you, that still doesn't explain why the same sticker was applied to other models in the range with nothing to do with FedEx... factory error?

Or part of the licencing agreement included some extra advertising on other products.

[sierraman]

Another XR4i delivered. The rarer plum coloured one. 

[eddyramrod]

I got a Sierra yesterday too!

A job lot of Corgi Fords arrived from ebay.  Transit Milk Van, and Sierra...

Transit ambulance, and Escort van.

The Milk Van is the one I really wanted.  If I can replace the windscreen and clean off the datestamps it's good enough to go straight into my 1/36 collection.  I have a provisional sale on the Sierra, and a Plan B if that falls through.  Ambulance: well I have a sub-collection of them so I'll probably try and find a blue light to replace the one that's missing.  Escort is, as you probably noticed, short of a rear door, which is a shame because condition is otherwise good.  I think I'd rather like to find a decent Radio Rentals door for it, but if I can't, then I would probably sell.  It's not as if I have a gap in my collection for a Radio Rentals van.

[sierraman]

The Sierra looks like it would make a great minicab

[paulplom]

Anyone want these?

[bunglebus]

Got two days kicking my heels around Leeds, die cast hunting is not going well. Several One Belows just had a few unloved Matchbox 

Found some Majorettes in Home Sense but no VWs

[bunglebus]

Smyths 

The Range had fairly new cars but not much choice