Shite in Miniature II

[Spottedlaurel]

Small haul from the big Tesco in Norwich yesterday:

Finding the Skyline was a complete bonus. One of the Toyotas is spare if anyone 'needs' it.

Still no Matchbox Kadetts though.....

[bunglebus]

10 hours ago, sierraman said:

These things never cease to delight me, especially when they’re £2.50 each on Poundtoy.com

I just wish they'd get some new stock! I bought all the ones I liked a while ago

[bunglebus]

Got to the Entertainer right as their delivery landed, and ahead of the case-buying nemesis. There's some good stuff in here

This was done in tribute to the late designer Ryo Asada

Regular Treasure Hunt with Day of the dead theme

Best version yet of the Quattro?

This is also excellent 

[bunglebus]

Corgi Club list updated. Really want the Safari and Police Beetles!

 

[sierraman]

The Buick should be a good one. I have one but it’s in terrible condition. 

[Split_Pin]

I opened the Kadett that  @Datsuncog  sent me. It's an absolutely smashing little model. The fact that they can make something this nice which is clearly aimed at collectors, for about £1.50 still amazes me. 

The reason I opened it was because the lack of painted headlights let it down. I'd usually rather have a plain finish and detailed front and rear lamps but I'll forgive this one due to its great colour scheme and badges.

I tried to emulate how Hotwheels and MB create a lens using paint. Due to the small scale I had to stick to pens and I only had black and silver. I also filled in the grille.

 

[155V6]

A few buys from the local toyfair last night

This Corgi Rover has been brush painted,but has good windows,wheels,grille,& suspension unit,so will be a donor for the other one I bought from the car boot a while back

I've got an orange roof insert from a wreck of a Whizzwheels version,so just need to get a spare wheel holder.

Corgi Racing Car Trailer 

Corgi Minissima is one I've not had before,came from a £1.00 box 😀

 

[AndyW201]

Damn, bunglebus has taken the wind out of my sails somewhat... 😆

Being dragged out shopping with the Mrs on my day off can sometimes pay dividends.

Went to local B&M for garden stuff, to my amazement, I found new case Hot Wheels stuff. Normally their stock is as old as the hills! I left a few but took these as I remembered that I'm giving up buying diecast... (They didn't have that lovely Miura though, unfortunately)

My favourite version of the GT3 so far. Gorgeous colour.

Still looking for the yellow Civic, but this is better than nothing. As bunglebus's pics showed, the track slag detailing is great on this 

This was the top find for me. I'm gutted I haven't found the Liberty Walk Kenmari Skyline yet, but this will definitely do!

[Nibbler]

Found this at my parents house. Had completely forgotten about it. A Nylint Corporation Chevy 4x4 Diesel. The part that gets me really going is the Diesel part. It’s missing some pieces but overall in quite good condition and it’s Massive!

[Split_Pin]

That's brilliant. Looks like figures can be put in it too 😀

[AndyW201]

Later, we headed into town. As usual, nothing doing at Entertainer. But in one of the malls is a shop called Toy Town. They usually have a stock of Hot Wheels and Matchbox in there, although there's been nothing I've been hunting for on the occasions I've gone in. 

Today though, some Majorette Premiums caught my eye...

I got some of these Premium editions a few years ago when Home Bargains were knocking them out, from memory I got the Mégane coupé, Audi A1, Opel Adam, Pug 308GT, and the Mercedes-AMG G-Wagen in hi viz yellow which is quite a thing, for a toy. I do like Majorette of recent years as the majority of their subjects are the sort of cars that you see every day. And the detailing is good, helped by things like glazed light units and the opening parts always give value. Toy Town had some of the latest Premiums down from £3 to £2 so I nabbed a few I fancied, 

The batshit-shape Civic is fab! I already have several Hot Wheels Type Rs and a couple of the Matchbox cooking versions but this wipes the floor with them!

I've already got the Majorette Cacti in C3 and C4 flavours. The C4 Cactus is a car I like both in real and miniature form, though I still prefer the Majorette one I got previously in that lime green they all seem to come in.

I do like a nice GTi too. I do have the previous Majorette GTi which was a black MkVI 5 door, so this will complement it well. Again, nicely detailed all round.

I also looked through the Matchbox, but it was all older stuff, so no Kadett alas. 

I did grab a Merc wagon though. I'm sure I already have a yellow one so I'm minded to carefully set this one free and use the card to package up the green one Ive  got (which is part of a 9 pack. I've never been able to get hold of a carded green one). So then I'd at least have the green, yellow and blue ones all on cards (colour difference on card notwithstanding...).

Then I got back home and an email pinged up asking me for the remainder of the money left owing on the Corgi Capri box set I've had on pre order. This giving-up-buying-diecast lark is going SO well...

[bunglebus]

11 hours ago, 155V6 said:

just need to get a spare wheel holder.

Good luck, that's the one part missing from my Golden Jacks Rover.

Not found anyone reproducing them yet

[155V6]

12 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Good luck, that's the one part missing from my Golden Jacks Rover.

Not found anyone reproducing them yet

Steve Flowers does them

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263243564755?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=NZ3ul3e5QQm&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=UdnbkHTuRz6&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[barrett]

I bought a Corgi toy, guys. My third one I think. I've always been interested in the Mini Marcos for various reasons - I really like the real thing, and it ticks my 'weird subject matter' box nicely. It's also proved highly elusive - although there are loads for sale at any one time, it is difficult to find one relatively intact at a good price. The headlamps seem to go missing pretty quickly, as do the Golden Jacks wheels, and this nice metallic paint appears to be pretty fragile, so most are covered in chips, or the paint has almost entirely come off.

Having never actually held one of these before, I'm really impressed by this. I love it, in fact. Photos don't do the shape justice, but it's incredibly accurate in all the Marcos's funny bulges and lumps and angles. The shape of the rear wheel arch in particular just looks so 'right' to me. I guess most people are familiar with this toy so I won't bang on about it too much but it's had pride of place on my desk since it arrived.

The other reason i like this is the strange way it came into being (although this is partially supposition on my part). Dennis Adams was employed by Mettoy as a toy designer, and I can only assume this is why we got models of the Marcos Mini and Mantula, both modelled so accurately, and the Adams Probe - all of which are such odd subjects I doubt they ever would have been chosen if not for the Adams connection. The same thing happened with Tom Karen a couple of years later - Ogle Design was pitching things to Mettoy, and then we ended up with the Ogle Scimitar, Reliant Ant and Bond Bug. I like the fact these two freelance designers managed to get their car designs into thousands of homes all over the world. Excellent product placement game.

No more room on the 'red shelf' sadly

[bunglebus]

£4 Bburago anyone?

[bunglebus]

Went on a quick Hot Wheels hunt today, found the J case treasure hunt. I like this casting just because it's a bit silly

Couple of long cards in Asda

And an unexpected find in Sainsbury's 

[RoadworkUK]

I must get one of those Majorette Cacti.

One of the most interesting recent (ish) car designs, and Majorette seems to have done a really nice job of it.

[bunglebus]

Bought a box of cars mainly as there was one I couldn't ID

Well that's certainly unusual 

Tiny Zylmex was also included 

Not bad Freeman Intercity Commuter 

Maybe a doorless Miura will turn up..?

[sierraman]

Bonus points if you can find a yellow Muira with superfast Wheels, bar the Japanese ones the rarest variety. 

[barrett]

48 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Bought a box of cars mainly as there was one I couldn't ID

Ha. Not sure what you paid for the box but that has been for sale for AGES for like £1.50 or something stupid. A pair of minters here if anyone can't live without one (or two)https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204033405415

[bunglebus]

Yeah £1.20 as someone else bid. 

Happy with that, if nothing else it was irritating me not knowing what it was

[bunglebus]

17 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Bonus points if you can find a yellow Muira with superfast Wheels, bar the Japanese ones the rarest variety. 

Sorry only gold with skinny or phat Superfast wheels at the mo

But: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255623922012?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=O4nO8yboTMK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=bFBT4QRWQOi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[Datsuncog]

On 7/13/2022 at 7:36 PM, Split_Pin said:

I opened the Kadett that  @Datsuncog  sent me. It's an absolutely smashing little model. The fact that they can make something this nice which is clearly aimed at collectors, for about £1.50 still amazes me. 

The reason I opened it was because the lack of painted headlights let it down. I'd usually rather have a plain finish and detailed front and rear lamps but I'll forgive this one due to its great colour scheme and badges.

I tried to emulate how Hotwheels and MB create a lens using paint. Due to the small scale I had to stick to pens and I only had black and silver. I also filled in the grille.

That looks fantastic - in truth, the oh-so-bland white front end was the reason I decided not to keep a Kadett for myself, as I didn't think it would display all that well on the shelf. But your lights and grille detailing really make it look so much better, nice one!

It is pretty incredible that these wee things can still be obtained for only £1.50.

[andy18s]

Picked my latest delivery from Portugal.

£12 all in.

Not bad for a un-named magazine model

 

[Datsuncog]

A very belated diecast arrival touched down yesterday...

A month late, and apparently the second one sent out to me by Corgi Model Club after the initial June release didn't show up - it's the #237 Oldsmobile Super 88, in County Sheriff's colours.

A black laptop screen surround's not a brilliant background to photograph against, on reflection...

It's a nicely proportioned big thing, and they've done a good job in replicating the details of the original, including the fiddly grille lettering.

The interiors are way better on these replicas than the originals, which were usually just a very thin, shallow piece of vac-formed shiny plastic to give the vague impression of seats and a dashboard. These reworkings are much crisper, deeper and nicely matte.

I also love the way the emergency light's been made - the dome seems to be part of the overall glazing unit, with a red insert pushed inside. This gives a very pleasing translucency around the dome, making it look much more like glass than just a red plastic peg shoved through the roof, which is what I think Lone Star used on their emergency vehicles.

It seems that the body castings are first sprayed black, then the sides are mask-sprayed in white to give the traditional US patrol car look, before a second masking for the silver paint to the front and rear.

It's a mild annoyance, but it looks like there's been a paint bubble just behind the rear wheel arch, which has then popped and left the black paint beneath visible, with a bit of a white paint run around it.

Ah well.

Base detailing is... basic. But as a 1962 release, this really wasn't so much of a priority back then.

Although this model probably counts as one of the simpler Model Club releases - no opening features, no fancy box - I still really like it.

The customary Collector Card gives a bit of backstory to the model, but it's not quite accurate...

As well as the civilian sedan and Man From U.N.C.L.E. versions mentioned, the Olds Super 88 also appeared painted in all-drab as the #358 HQ Staff Car, with an aerial on the rear wing and four figures inside, as part of a range of nine military-themed models produced by Corgi at the request of their US importer.

Although chiefly geared towards American youngsters, with their 'US Army' decals, the range also became available for UK retailers to order from late 1965 and into 1966.

It was a bit of a rum range, consisting of assorted rehashed castings pulled from elsewhere in the Corgi lineup - with the Olds plus an International tow truck being the only actual US vehicles modelled.

The others consisted of a Land Rover, two articulated Bedfords (TK and S), two Commer minibuses (militarised versions of the police van and ambulance), a VW microbus - and a Karrier ice cream van, repurposed as a field kitchen. Not quite the sort of vehicles you'd expect to find at an army base in Louisiana, say.

And perhaps unsurprisingly, these military versions are fairly uncommon finds over here...

I did snap up quite a nice Man From U.N.C.L.E. Olds at the market a few years ago, at an exceptionally good price, but that's long since been passed along to a fellow-shiter. It's the only original 88 I've ever seen up close.

[EDIT: it was three years ago, in July 2019 -  and cost me £1, along with a Corgi Iso Grifo and a Majorette Honda Prelude]

Of course, my inner pedant can't pass up the opportunity to mention that an Oldsmobile was never featured as a character vehicle in The Man From U.N.C.L.E... and it was odd that Corgi chose to model the distinctive AMT Piranha from the series for their smaller Husky range, but never produced a larger version.

But that's surely a whole n'uther story...

[eddyramrod]

If you really want an UNCLE Olds, I can spare one, it won't be dear. 

It did seem a bit of an odd choice to me, as the studio mostly used Mopar products.  Corgi was making an Imperial convertible (much more accurate choice) and Black Beauty which was also Imperial-based; surely something could have been cobbled up?

[sierraman]

Couldn’t resist this old shed for 50p, the axles are a bit bent and the cab has the inevitable failing rivet but I like them like this, you can see it’s been enjoyed. 

[sierraman]

Also, don’t know if it’s intended but it fits two superfast boxes almost perfectly. 

[bunglebus]

Mysteries of the universe #74

Why did Matchbox change the base of the Datsun 126X?

[Spottedlaurel]

11 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Mysteries of the universe #74

Why did Matchbox change the base of the Datsun 126X?

Odd. Will have to see which one I have. (Wanders upstairs to the display cabinet.) Aha, it's the ribbed version.

Pretty sure I've posted these images before, but this is what it should look like:

 

I think I have something about it in a Nissan publication and also some period Motor/Autocar pieces.

Would be interesting to try and paint/detail one as per the original colour scheme, although the orange glazing would rather clash....