Shite in Miniature II

[flat4alfa]

4 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I’ve got loads of them now!

Most of them seem to packing heat though!😆

Your next project: Diorama ‘Cosa Nostra’

Start buying in your FIAT vans and ALFA saloons ready.  Maybe the odd massive Lancia.  You may have to reposition some characters laying motionless on a pavement though.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Another piece of French dealership diecast. This one was made by Vitesse when they were supplying Renault with all their chod.

1997 RenaultSport Spider. 

This is the no screen type that was not sold in the UK officially.

Fairly good detail for the time of manufacture.

 

Interior has detail dash and yellow backed seats.

This must be one of the last to be made in Portugal

 

[junkyarddog]

Thought this was mildly interesting. 

Jada pink slips Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

Manufacturer Majorette 😁

[Remspoor]

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Spanish department store finds 

Do not tell me El Corte Inglés?

[sierraman]

I’ve got a few of these already but this ISO Grifo for 20p I couldn’t leave behind. Missing a door but another sourced in the Sierraman scrappy! 

[sierraman]

At first I thought I’d stumbled on a pre pro but it’s just faded! 

[flat4alfa]

55 minutes ago, sierraman said:

 

There’s an idea: Regular Wheels on the Shadow to be fitted to the Citroen SM

And the Lone Star Imperial wants saving from the pile

[bunglebus]

3 hours ago, Remspoor said:

Do not tell me El Corte Inglés?

Yes, nice paella for lunch on the top floor too 

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

There’s an idea: Regular Wheels on the Shadow to be fitted to the Citroen SM

And the Lone Star Imperial wants saving from the pile

I’d be surprised if the axles would fit the thicker tyres/rim combo. 

[flat4alfa]

12 minutes ago, sierraman said:

I’d be surprised if the axles would fit the thicker tyres/rim combo. 

Easily achieved after a good reaming

[sheffcortinacentre]

Oo matron!

[xkjagnz]

Does this count?

Been messing about in the shed and made this from scrap timber, allsorts in there,  rimu, kauri, kwila, Teak, Totara and some Bamboo mostly from roadside collections and inorganic waste dumps.

Banana for scale 

[eddyramrod]

Bloody right that counts!  That's really nice work, well done!

[flat4alfa]

That’s fantastic!

[FakeConcern]

I spotted this in Brighton a while ago,a boxed dealer issue (?) Scenic and somehow missing the tailgate!

 

[flat4alfa]

It’s because a customer car came in needing one and due to factory supply delays they had to remove from this donor. Probably.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Just pulled a box of older Vanguards out from the depths of the spare room. It is interesting to see the quick development of these early models and the transition from English built to Chinese built.

Very early, and possibly the first ever Vanguards VA1000 Navy Blue Ford Anglia

No jewelled lights on these older models. Also cast in wipers at the base of the screen.

No number plates.

The reason there are no plates on the is there is a small sheet of decals, along with the wing mirrors and a collector's card. 

The reverse of the card shows that the Anglia was No.1 in a series of 42.

This model was released in 1997.

Designed and built in England displayed on the box.

The first Anglia Van VA4000 Royal Mail.

This example has two collector's cards in it. One show a Post Office Engineers van which I do not think was ever released. 

The card for the Engineers van has the same numbering as the other.

Austin A35 Green VA23000. Note 5 digit ref and two sets of mirrors.

Rover P4 Beige and Brown.

Plates mirrors and card in box.

This was made in 1997

There was no printed sheet for the mirror attachment instruction, they were printed on the inner sleeve.

Ford Popular 100E Lichen Green.

Ford Consul Capri...

and Ford Consul Classic. Both had clear cast plastic head lamps.

Both issued in 1999 which was the last year for Made in England models. Also by then the X of Y series numbers had been dropped.

They still had cast wipers.

One of the very few Made in England models that came in a perspex box was the black Hillman Imp VA26006.

It also came with loose mirrors and a numbered certificate.

There were a couple of limited edition sets made at Enfield, this Panda Car set being one of them.

Mine has a slightly interesting number.

1998 release.

Lots of number plates and mirrors to play with.

One of the first of the Chinese built was VA54000 Morris Oxford Green. It has jewelled lamps and photo etch wipers.

It also has tampo printed number plates and non-cast door handles.

Still with detached mirrors. Release date is 2000.

Another year 2000 release was VA06300 Morris Marina Teal Blue. Note it has a ref number that starts with a 0. Again jewelled lamps and thin wipers.

More tampo detailing all round.

This has the Tax Disc that was used as the numbered certificate on later issue. This models ref number ends in a 0, so it was the first of this casting and was not a limited production item.

One of the best castings from this era has to be the Vauxhall PA Cresta.

This was released in 2001.

Here is the first Allegro release VA45000 Harvest Gold

This has the Tax Disc and door mirrors.

The second issue was the Allegro Panda Car VA45001. This has a different grille to the first issue showing the lengths that Vanguard went to get thing correct.

On the reverse of the Tax Disc is the individual edition number.

 

I think these early Vanguards are under valued compared to the later ones. It is probably because most are of older cars which are now falling from favour with those interested in classic cars, and that they were produced in far larger numbers than the more recent issues. The quality though, especially of teh early Chinese made one, is just as good as the ones made now. By the way, a couple of these had price labels from JM Toys and Model Zone stuck on when I dug them out. The price was £9.95. Have we really had almost 300% inflation in the last 25 years?

[bunglebus]

Got my CMC Volksworld Breakdown Truck in the post

Very lovely it is too, although the lack of a spring in the winch mechanism is very annoying. Unfortunately I don't have an original to compare it to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah right

I'd never thought much of replicas and modern models until this series was launched

[bunglebus]

I was obviously bored after hours at work and eBay got the better of me. Had rather a large pile of boxes here when I got home, mostly of job lots I thought contained interesting stuff like this DeTomaso Mangusta

Years back I got most of the Hot Wheels 50th Anniversary series, bar these two that someone's obviously bought a bulk load of

Loose cars included a trio of Playart Mustangs

Buying the boxed Superfasts at the boot sale the other week got me looking at them online, they get bid up quickly but I got a couple for good prices. This one seems to be a factory error

Gruesome Twosome isn't often seen mint with both engines

Got a handful of Super GTs too, Capri is surprisingly tough to find in good shape

Revin' Rebel is one I have strong memories of playing with as a kid, definite Dukes of Hazzard vibes

I can't decide if this Dinky 914 is original or not. It's been done well if it is a resto

This was send in a plastic bag with a load of junk cars, no protection at all. Unfortunately it's gained various chips and a bit of pillar damage on its journey 

Datsuncub 

Rockets MK1 Escort, I'm sure someone said the body and base aren't interchangeable with the Whizzwheels version? Needs a repaint one way or another 

Spotted a bunch of Tomicas hiding with some more common cars

This was inside the ambulance 

A hat trick of Majorette Impalas was along for the ride

Found another 12 louvre Matchbox Baja Buggy, not quite as nice as the first

Polistil Bug is definitely better than the other one I already owned though

Lastly, a pretty decent Siku Trekker

[Remspoor]

20 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Yes, nice paella for lunch on the top floor too 

I need a "surprised" response icon to that......

[MiniMinorMk3]

58 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I can't decide if this Dinky 914 is original or not. It's been done well if it is a resto

 

Even though the paint looks a bit thin, that looks original to me.

 

 

PS You probably know already, but that Toronado has got Hillman Hunter wheels.

[bunglebus]

49 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Even though the paint looks a bit thin, that looks original to me.

PS You probably know already, but that Toronado has got Hillman Hunter wheels.

It was the damage to the plastic bumpers compared to the paint that made me think it had been redone.

I should look out for the correct wheels I suppose, anyone need a set of Minilites for a Hunter?

[eddyramrod]

29 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

It was the damage to the plastic bumpers compared to the paint that made me think it had been redone.

I should look out for the correct wheels I suppose, anyone need a set of Minilites for a Hunter?

I can help you there   I have a set of the correct wheels on tyres, all NOS, that we can swop.

[FakeConcern]

Don't do it! Those Minilites look way better haha

[flat4alfa]

Rockets MK1 Escort, I'm sure someone said the body and base aren't interchangeable with the Whizzwheels version?

Yes oh wasn’t I surprised

[flat4alfa]

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I should look out for the correct wheels I suppose, anyone need a set of Minilites for a Hunter?

“OVER HERE !”

[bunglebus]

I found out a thing. Matchbox Jeep Gladiator, one of the first Matchbox to have opening doors

Some just have the manufacturer and model info on the base 

Some have a patent number 

Well that patent is for the little spring that holds the doors open and also makes them snap shut and stay there. 

First car to feature opening doors was the Mercedes 220, and this also has bases with and without patent numbers after this improvement was introduced. I only have the pre-patent type hence showcasing the gladiator 

 

[morrisoxide]

I wonder if that's why the MB Pontiac no 22 has a patent number on some but not others?

[bunglebus]

I expect so yes. The one I took apart had no number and no spring

I do have a kid- paint one with patent number that needs something doing with it...

You can see the retaining spring here

But not on the earlier one

 

[Split_Pin]

16 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Just pulled a box of older Vanguards out from the depths of the spare room. It is interesting to see the quick development of these early models and the transition from English built to Chinese built.

Very early, and possibly the first ever Vanguards VA1000 Navy Blue Ford Anglia

No jewelled lights on these older models. Also cast in wipers at the base of the screen.

No number plates.

The reason there are no plates on the is there is a small sheet of decals, along with the wing mirrors and a collector's card. 

The reverse of the card shows that the Anglia was No.1 in a series of 42.

This model was released in 1997.

Designed and built in England displayed on the box.

The first Anglia Van VA4000 Royal Mail.

This example has two collector's cards in it. One show a Post Office Engineers van which I do not think was ever released. 

The card for the Engineers van has the same numbering as the other.

Austin A35 Green VA23000. Note 5 digit ref and two sets of mirrors.

Rover P4 Beige and Brown.

Plates mirrors and card in box.

This was made in 1997

There was no printed sheet for the mirror attachment instruction, they were printed on the inner sleeve.

Ford Popular 100E Lichen Green.

Ford Consul Capri...

and Ford Consul Classic. Both had clear cast plastic head lamps.

Both issued in 1999 which was the last year for Made in England models. Also by then the X of Y series numbers had been dropped.

They still had cast wipers.

One of the very few Made in England models that came in a perspex box was the black Hillman Imp VA26006.

It also came with loose mirrors and a numbered certificate.

There were a couple of limited edition sets made at Enfield, this Panda Car set being one of them.

Mine has a slightly interesting number.

1998 release.

Lots of number plates and mirrors to play with.

One of the first of the Chinese built was VA54000 Morris Oxford Green. It has jewelled lamps and photo etch wipers.

It also has tampo printed number plates and non-cast door handles.

Still with detached mirrors. Release date is 2000.

Another year 2000 release was VA06300 Morris Marina Teal Blue. Note it has a ref number that starts with a 0. Again jewelled lamps and thin wipers.

More tampo detailing all round.

This has the Tax Disc that was used as the numbered certificate on later issue. This models ref number ends in a 0, so it was the first of this casting and was not a limited production item.

One of the best castings from this era has to be the Vauxhall PA Cresta.

This was released in 2001.

Here is the first Allegro release VA45000 Harvest Gold

This has the Tax Disc and door mirrors.

The second issue was the Allegro Panda Car VA45001. This has a different grille to the first issue showing the lengths that Vanguard went to get thing correct.

On the reverse of the Tax Disc is the individual edition number.

 

I think these early Vanguards are under valued compared to the later ones. It is probably because most are of older cars which are now falling from favour with those interested in classic cars, and that they were produced in far larger numbers than the more recent issues. The quality though, especially of teh early Chinese made one, is just as good as the ones made now. By the way, a couple of these had price labels from JM Toys and Model Zone stuck on when I dug them out. The price was £9.95. Have we really had almost 300% inflation in the last 25 years?

Thanks for sharing, I had a fair few of these. I especially love the Anglia, although I got mine on Easter 1996? Vanguards was such an exciting idea back in the mid 1990s and certainly had added charm over the Corgis at the time. 

I think there was a big jump in quality over the millennium as the Allegro and Marina will testify. 

Sadly, out of all the early ones I had, only the Marina remains, although I do have a later green issue of the Allegro 1300 Deluxe.