Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

3 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I might have that trailer in a box of leftover stuff in my shed… I’ll have a look tomorrow.

Annoying thing is there were a couple in the box with this but I didn't put two and two together at the time

[Bren]

Having clocked earlier posts for the golden jacks Corvette I remembered I have the green one but it is worse for wear. 

I then remembered I had this - 

It's a vitesse example. I bought this from a shop clearance in the late 90's on holiday in Torquay - not a vette fan but it is such a beautiful little model I bought it.

[FakeConcern]

My boot fair stuff from today, Mrs Concern's stuff top left is MB caravan, MB Beach Buggy, unknown Bedford ice cream van and unknown boat...

She also got this weird pond yacht...

Onto my stuff, Corgi (predictable I know) Dino missing some paint, but all the bits still attached. Had a front tyre missing, but I had a spare (handy) and lucky it wasn't the larger back one as apparently no one makes a repro in that size

 

Originally I thought the screen was cracked but on close inspection it's a moulded in wiper!

King Size dragster Mustang thing is nice, I discovered after I got home that it's missing the air intake scoop for the supercharger, but pretty sure I can make something to look acceptable when I get around to it

Corgi Cambridge in two tone paint. The windows were really dirty inside and I managed to get a small paint brush up inside the wheelarches to clean them to make a big improvement

A couple of little ones, I have examples of both, but I like them so why not?

A few Corgi Land Rovers for 50p each. These two are the best, an old one with the metal tow hook and a late Whizzwheels version missing spare wheel and tow hook

Two more, one has missing a pillars and the other no glazing and is the crane version. The plan is to restore the crane one as I have a crane and use the glazing from the other one. The two with a canopy are my original childhood toys.

Matchbox KS Merc ambulance, not one I wanted really, but 50p with all doors and tailgate still attached (I can't seem to open the tailgate) I took it

I thought to start with that this blue Alfasud was the same as the Polistil I got from @flat4alfabut it has wide arches and says "Cougar" on the plastic base and doors don't open

Google tells me it is a Solido. Quite nice, shame the screen is cracked, I think I could push it out and make it better if I could get the base off.

It looks like it must clip on, but I can't see how. Does anyone know how to get it off?

All the rest were 50p parts doners

The two Corgi Ghias are so I can restore my childhhood one, I did get one from Dan, but neither had the grill/bumper so these should supply all the missing bits

The Corgi Porsche has nice cast wheels that I'll use on something else and a metal steering wheel is useful

Late Corgi Whizzwheels VW with missing A pillar and broken suspension will be wheel donor unless anyone wants it

Late Corgi Whizzwheels Mungusta (I have the one with removeable chassis from new) will be wheel donor unless anyone wants it

I thought the two Corgi 007 Lotus Esprits would provide enough parts for one complete car, but it seems there's one of the rear fin things that pop out the back missing so not sure if I'll bother, let me know if you'd like them.

 

 

[155V6]

46 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

My boot fair stuff from today, Mrs Concern's stuff top left is MB caravan, MB Beach Buggy, unknown Bedford ice cream van and unknown boat...

She also got this weird pond yacht...

Onto my stuff, Corgi (predictable I know) Dino missing some paint, but all the bits still attached. Had a front tyre missing, but I had a spare (handy) and lucky it wasn't the larger back one as apparently no one makes a repro in that size

 

Originally I thought the screen was cracked but on close inspection it's a moulded in wiper!

King Size dragster Mustang thing is nice, I discovered after I got home that it's missing the air intake scoop for the supercharger, but pretty sure I can make something to look acceptable when I get around to it

Corgi Cambridge in two tone paint. The windows were really dirty inside and I managed to get a small paint brush up inside the wheelarches to clean them to make a big improvement

A couple of little ones, I have examples of both, but I like them so why not?

A few Corgi Land Rovers for 50p each. These two are the best, an old one with the metal tow hook and a late Whizzwheels version missing spare wheel and tow hook

Two more, one has missing a pillars and the other no glazing and is the crane version. The plan is to restore the crane one as I have a crane and use the glazing from the other one. The two with a canopy are my original childhood toys.

Matchbox KS Merc ambulance, not one I wanted really, but 50p with all doors and tailgate still attached (I can't seem to open the tailgate) I took it

I thought to start with that this blue Alfasud was the same as the Polistil I got from @flat4alfabut it has wide arches and says "Cougar" on the plastic base and doors don't open

Google tells me it is a Solido. Quite nice, shame the screen is cracked, I think I could push it out and make it better if I could get the base off.

It looks like it must clip on, but I can't see how. Does anyone know how to get it off?

All the rest were 50p parts doners

The two Corgi Ghias are so I can restore my childhhood one, I did get one from Dan, but neither had the grill/bumper so these should supply all the missing bits

The Corgi Porsche has nice cast wheels that I'll use on something else and a metal steering wheel is useful

Late Corgi Whizzwheels VW with missing A pillar and broken suspension will be wheel donor unless anyone wants it

Late Corgi Whizzwheels Mungusta (I have the one with removeable chassis from new) will be wheel donor unless anyone wants it

I thought the two Corgi 007 Lotus Esprits would provide enough parts for one complete car, but it seems there's one of the rear fin things that pop out the back missing so not sure if I'll bother, let me know if you'd like them.

 

 

To get the Alfasud apart,you been to stick something thin but strong into the the hole in front of the front axle.Push it towards the front of the car,& the grille will pop out,the grille holds the car together.I've just done the same on the Dinky BMW 530 which I posted earlier,this is an ex Polistil casting & is held together the same way.

Edit:

I was feeling pleased with myself,so tried to take apart the Peugeot 504 which I got a few weeks back

This didn't go so well,I managed to break the tabs from the back of the grille,so the grille came out,but the car still wouldn't come apart

I managed to push the broken bits back inside the car,the problem was the Peugeot has seperate  bumpers which need to come out as welll,.It came apart in  the end though 😁

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by 155V6
More info

[bunglebus]

23 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

unknown Bedford ice cream van

Matchbox, shirley?

[FakeConcern]

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

 

 

That was very interesting, I didn't know any of those toys as I'm (much) older than you. I was never mad on making the cars go fast so Hotwheels/Whizzwheels etc din't really do it for me so my vote is for the car that explodes on impact! Also how can you mot have any elastic bands in the house FFS?

41 minutes ago, Bren said:

Having clocked earlier posts for the golden jacks Corvette I remembered I have the green one but it is worse for wear. 

I then remembered I had this - 

It's a vitesse example. I bought this from a shop clearance in the late 90's on holiday in Torquay - not a vette fan but it is such a beautiful little model I bought it.

That looks great! What scale is it? It's giving me ideas for a custom Corgi Vette now!

13 minutes ago, 155V6 said:

To get the Alfasud apart,you been to stick something thin but strong into the the hole in front of the front axle.Push it towards the front of the car,& the grille will pop out,the grille holds the car together.I've just done the same on the Dinky BMW 530 which I posted earlier,this is an ex Polistil casting & is held together the same way.

Thanks for that, I thought it must be something to do with that hole, but couldn't work it out. I'll give it a go when I haven't just had a load of beers!

12 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Matchbox, shirley?

When I looked at it while giving it a wash I could only see "Thailand" on the strange looking base so I just ran down to the summer house and with the aid of spectacles a magnifying glass and a bright light I can confirm it is indeed a Matchbox! I is stoopid!

[junkyarddog]

Picked this up yesterday. 

No 1 Dodge challenger.

Anyone notice anything different about it?

[sierraman]

White interior? 

Im considering hitting up the car boot near us next weekend but it’s usually wall to wall shite, not often any diecast at all apart from smashed to bits Chinese tat from last 10 years. 

[bunglebus]

Yeah white interior and so white bonnet vents too

[sierraman]

Noice! I think that’s quite rare that one. 

[MiniMinorMk3]

14 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

I thought to start with that this blue Alfasud was the same as the Polistil I got from @flat4alfabut it has wide arches and says "Cougar" on the plastic base and doors don't open

 

It looks like it must clip on, but I can't see how. Does anyone know how to get it off?

 

That's an old Solido casting. 

14 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

 

That looks great! What scale is it? It's giving me ideas for a custom Corgi Vette now!

 

Vitesse did nearly all the Le Mans Corvettes from that era. They are good looking models in 1/43rd scale.

[flat4alfa]

On 6/4/2023 at 2:33 PM, danthecapriman said:

The Matchbox blue Leyland cab has two versions too, one like yours with the white grill, and another that hasn’t got the white bit. No idea why they did that!?

Odd, the first one is clearly based on Leyland T45 C40 cab

Both were new for 1981, the shorter one for the 1-75 range and boxed as Artic Truck (but with no name on chassis casting), in a few colour variations until 1984.  https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/Articulated_Truck_(1981)

Presumably to fill the gap left by Articulated Truck, the one with the fantasy fantasy cab that made me itch when a lad

Similarly Petrol Tanker 1982-89, to replace Freeway Gas Tanker

 

The longer cab was 1981 only.  It's a different design though, not a Leyland T45 but of something else I can't put my finger on

Only released as Two Packs (they were pre-Convoy era) and either dragging the Exxon Tanker or the Australian boat as shown previous pages

The Two-Packs didn't have names, just catalogue numbers, however the casting had Articulated Truck underneath https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/Leyland_Cabover_Cab

I think I bored myself there, too

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

Odd, the first one is clearly based on Leyland T45 C40 cab

Both were new for 1981, the shorter one for the 1-75 range and boxed as Artic Truck (but with no name on chassis casting), in a few colour variations until 1984.  https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/Articulated_Truck_(1981)

Presumably to fill the gap left by Articulated Truck, the one with the fantasy fantasy cab that made me itch when a lad

Similarly Petrol Tanker 1982-89, to replace Freeway Gas Tanker

 

The longer cab was 1981 only.  It's a different design though, not a Leyland T45 but of something else I can't put my finger on

Only released as Two Packs (they were pre-Convoy era) and either dragging the Exxon Tanker or the Australian boat as shown previous pages

The Two-Packs didn't have names, just catalogue numbers, however the casting had Articulated Truck underneath https://matchbox.fandom.com/wiki/Leyland_Cabover_Cab

 

The coupling for the trailers is completely different too looking at the pics. 
It obviously wasn’t a very long lived casting then by the sound of it.

It sort of reminds me of a Mercedes cab. A bit?

[junkyarddog]

7 hours ago, sierraman said:

White interior? 

Well spotted,never seen one before. 

Today's bank holiday car boot sale find is this Husky Sunbeam Alpine.

I've never found one with an intact windscreen before,let along the roof!!

Also found Dinky Ford Zephyr with a carefully painted Go Faster stripe and racing number.

Its great 😊

[Split_Pin]

16 minutes ago, junkyarddog said:

Well spotted,never seen one before. 

Today's bank holiday car boot sale find is this Husky Sunbeam Alpine.

I've never found one with an intact windscreen before,let along the roof!!

Also found Dinky Ford Zephyr with a carefully painted Go Faster stripe and racing number.

Its great 😊

I've got that Zephyr,  it was one of my dad's oldest cars and one of the few that survived not being daubed with ship hull paint from the nearby yard my grandpa worked at.

[danthecapriman]

Postman brought me some treasures today. One of them from far off lands!

Dinky Holden EJ     
One I’ve been after for a while. Unusual prototype for a British toy company to make but looks fantastic non the less. Really nice looking car this.

 

And the exotica!   
Cragstan Detroit Senior (Gamda Koor) Plymouth Barracuda. I got this all the way from the US! Expensive postage but you don’t see them too often here. 
This one’s been really well played with in its half century or so of life! It’s well worn just about everywhere, even the doors are very loose where they’ve been opened & closed so many times! But, it’s complete and generally good and I really like it! I don’t know if I should strip & paint it or mask up the roof and just paint that? Or leave it as is? Not sure.

 

Interesting they bothered to change the writing on the base from the Gamda Koor models.

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

The coupling for the trailers is completely different too looking at the pics. 

The one I just bought takes the trailers that were part of the convoy range, the male/female parts of the coupling are reversed on those weird little lorries - a ball on the tractor unit and a socket in the trailer 

[danthecapriman]

Just now, bunglebus said:

The one I just bought takes the trailers that were part of the convoy range, the male/female parts of the coupling are reversed on those weird little lorries - a ball on the tractor unit and a socket in the trailer 

I didn’t get chance to look for the trailer today, but I’ll have a look first thing tomorrow. I’m positive I’ve seen one here somewhere. No cab though definitely.

[bunglebus]

8 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I don’t know if I should strip & paint it or mask up the roof and just paint that?

Just painting the roof will look really jarring unless you go for a contrasting colour. If it was mine I'd leave it alone but if you drill it be very careful getting that plastic base off.

I'm probably over cautious but I rarely attack anything uncommon in case I mess it up!

[danthecapriman]

Just now, bunglebus said:

Just painting the roof will look really jarring unless you go for a contrasting colour. If it was mine I'd leave it alone but if you drill it be very careful getting that plastic base off.

I'm probably over cautious but I rarely attack anything uncommon in case I mess it up!

If I’m honest, that’s my worry too! I think leaving it alone is probably the best solution.

 

Does anyone know what the full Gamda Koor range of these was?

[bunglebus]

On a mission this week. Entertainer Dover had a good spread but nothing new

On the ferry, some expensive Matchbox 

[FakeConcern]

2 hours ago, junkyarddog said:

Well spotted,never seen one before. 

Today's bank holiday car boot sale find is this Husky Sunbeam Alpine.

I've never found one with an intact windscreen before,let along the roof!!

Also found Dinky Ford Zephyr with a carefully painted Go Faster stripe and racing number.

Its great 😊

I had the Alpine as a kid and I honestly don't remember it ever having a roof, very well bought!

That Zephyr is something else, I really love that it is indeed great!

1 hour ago, danthecapriman said:

Postman brought me some treasures today. One of them from far off lands!

Dinky Holden EJ     
One I’ve been after for a while. Unusual prototype for a British toy company to make but looks fantastic non the less. Really nice looking car this.

 

And the exotica!   
Cragstan Detroit Senior (Gamda Koor) Plymouth Barracuda. I got this all the way from the US! Expensive postage but you don’t see them too often here. 
This one’s been really well played with in its half century or so of life! It’s well worn just about everywhere, even the doors are very loose where they’ve been opened & closed so many times! But, it’s complete and generally good and I really like it! I don’t know if I should strip & paint it or mask up the roof and just paint that? Or leave it as is? Not sure.

 

Interesting they bothered to change the writing on the base from the Gamda Koor models.

I thought the Holden was a Vauxhall to start with haha.

The Cuda is lovely, I think I'd give it a black roof or else a complete repaint by carfully masking it up rather than opening it up especially as it has four rivets to be drilled out.

Now here isn't my Hot Wheels collection but actually part of my C4 and Mini collections...

I didn't really want a MIB or Card or whatever, but this was the cheapest I've seen this colour scheme Morris Mini so I bought it

So now my question is, how do I get the packet open without ruining it? I don't really see the point having the think sealed up in a bubble particularly when it's one that has a detachable chassis...

 

[junkyarddog]

Another weekend find.

This rather natty tin plate MGA.

Clockwork mechanism still works(after a fashion)It's missing a wheel and the roof is caved in,Perfect!

It says Made in Japan,but after that there are no other markings at all.

Any ideas on the manufacturer,and approximate age?

 

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

if you drill it be very careful getting that plastic base off.

Yes those Cragstan/Sabra plastic bases split easily.  I messed-up the Dodge Charger one, rushing the job.    

Ensure you get a good, deep drill spot with the centre punch and take it slow.  I wish I had

[HMC]

I walked past my local bric-a-brac shop last weekend and found a shoebox of diexast to rummage through on the street. I did a few buys which although battered i was happy with for 50p each, which make an instant scrap diorama with little effort….

 

 

[Dick Longbridge]

I love the Lesney casting of the Lincoln Continental. I'm only just really starting to see the appeal of the small wheeled Lesneys, so it's like a door has been opened really. The turquoise one is a tidy example I bought from Fennec a while back and the Warhol version on the left is a previously battered example which my son updated* after Dan threw it into a Danbox as a source of spares for another example with a missing bootlid. The problem is I now like it as it is and don't really want to hack it up!

[flat4alfa]

On 6/5/2023 at 6:44 PM, danthecapriman said:

Does anyone know what the full Gamda Koor range of these was?

I did some research assistance* for the upcoming CogBook™ chapter!

Gamda Koor produced 25 Sabra Super Cars range releases, manufactured between 1968-72 by the Habonim factory within the Kfar HaNassi commune at upper Galilee, northern Israel.

Of those, 18 were reproduced for the Cragstan Detroit Senior range.

8100 Chevelle Station wagon was named Chevelle Station on the base plate and box.  It was released in a few liveries including Israeli Military Personnel, Israeli Post Service and United Nations.

8112 was named Road Service Wrecker Truck on the box.  There were a few colour variations and company name, also an Israeli military livery.  It was modelled on the 1972 Chevrolet Longhorn (133 inch wheelbase), an odd choice, perhaps there was the idea to do a RV attachment variation as there are cut-outs in the plastic deck moulding that are unused by the wrecker jib.

8117 was the sole non-US model.  It was of the VW Beetle, in various colours and liveries.

All of them came in a clear plastic, stackable 'Pocket Garage' box, having a red door one end.

Inside was also a note in a number of languages and a legal-tender collectors coin incentive

So, apart from having to collect the models, you will also need to collect the plastic 'pocket garages' and source 25 of the pre-1980 One Agora coins!  That will prove your dedication.

[danthecapriman]

58 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

I did some research assistance* for the upcoming CogBook™ chapter!

Gamda Koor produced 25 Sabra Super Cars range releases, manufactured between 1968-72 by the Habonim factory within the Kfar HaNassi commune at upper Galilee, northern Israel.

Of those, 18 were reproduced for the Cragstan Detroit Senior range.

8100 Chevelle Station wagon was named Chevelle Station on the base plate and box.  It was released in a few liveries including Israeli Military Personnel, Israeli Post Service and United Nations.

8112 was named Road Service Wrecker Truck on the box.  There were a few colour variations and company name, also an Israeli military livery.  It was modelled on the 1972 Chevrolet Longhorn (133 inch wheelbase), an odd choice, perhaps there was the idea to do a RV attachment variation as there are cut-outs in the plastic deck moulding that are unused by the wrecker jib.

8117 was the sole non-US model.  It was of the VW Beetle, in various colours and liveries.

All of them came in a clear plastic 'stackable garage' box, with a red door one end.

Inside was also a note in a number of languages and a legal-tender collectors coin incentive

So, apart from having to collect the models, you will also need to collect the plastic 'pocket garages' and source 25 of the pre-1980 One Agora coins!  That will prove your dedication.

That’s brilliant! Didn’t know about the coins either!

Theres a pickup wrecker on eBay at the moment with an eye watering BIN price sadly.   
Never seen the Ford Torino on that list…

So far I’ve only got:   
8100 Chevelle wagon (blue).   
8107 Pontiac GTO (white).   
8114 Plymouth Barracuda (white).   
8116 Chevrolet Impala Taxi.    
8118 Ford Thunderbird (blue).   
 

None have the garage boxes either sadly. I do really like these though. I’m not sure they’re quite up to the standard of contemporary Corgi or Dinky but they’re still good, and have something about them. A bit more unusual than the other brands too.
 

[bunglebus]

10 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

do I get the packet open without ruining it?

Lots of people swear by acetone (nail varnish remover) but I've not had great results with it. 

Best method I've found is using Wilko Clean Up thinner, brush it on the back of the card where the blister is glued on. Be generous with it and give the area behind the car a bit of a wetting too - it'll look better once it's dry, trust me.

After about a minute the blister will pretty much fall off. Don't be afraid to really soak the card, it'll dry pretty quickly - I use my faithful hairdryer to help.

If you ever want to put the blister back on, use PVA glue and clamp it with clothes pegs or similar while it dries

[FakeConcern]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Lots of people swear by acetone (nail varnish remover) but I've not had great results with it. 

Best method I've found is using Wilko Clean Up thinner, brush it on the back of the card where the blister is glued on. Be generous with it and give the area behind the car a bit of a wetting too - it'll look better once it's dry, trust me.

After about a minute the blister will pretty much fall off. Don't be afraid to really soak the card, it'll dry pretty quickly - I use my faithful hairdryer to help.

If you ever want to put the blister back on, use PVA glue and clamp it with clothes pegs or similar while it dries

Oh no so now I've got to wait until I can get to a Wilko!

 

Or shall I just rip the fuckin' thing off?