Shite in Miniature II

[Roverageous]

7 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Just a plug for @Roverageous new diecast endeavour:

May be of some interest to the folks on this fair thread?

OneFortythree: Shop our selection of diecast model cars in the UK – OneFortyThree

Thank you - most kind!

If anyone on this thread (or AS as a whole!) wishes to purchase anything, message me first, and I'll make sure I do my very best for you

[Spottedlaurel]

9 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

The Charlie Mack big book o' Matchbox reckons the #45 Corsair appeared in 1965, and carried on through to the 1969 catalogue year.................

Just missed out on making it to the Superfast range. Wonder what it would look like on a set of the smallest Superfast wheels?

Would make for a nice set with the Cortina Mk2 and Zodiac Mk4, but without going and hunting mine down its seems a little smaller in scale?

[eddyramrod]

I think that would work quite well.  Get a Corsair next to a mk2 Cortina for comparison, I think they should be pretty close for scale.  Corsair should be the bigger car, by a small margin.  Note that the mk3 Zephyr and 400E minibus were significantly smaller, so must be to a smaller scale.  Capri and Anglia were both bigger, for some reason; meanwhile the 300E van should be close enough to the Corsair.  Cortina mk4 and Escort are bigger too.

Just thinking aloud here...

[bunglebus]

I have a feeling the Corsair is a bit smaller than the Cortina MK2, it's scaled the same as the Anglia and a few of the other early 60s releases. Think I have a spare Coarse Hair and Angular in the "I'll get round to restoring that eventually" box. Not sure I feel like cooking in the loft looking for my nicer examples

[bunglebus]

My town centre Tescos have just restocked Matchbox and Hot Wheels, so there are more Kadetts and Toyota Vans etc to be found

Although they're now £1.50 and £2.00 respectively 

[Datsuncog]

14 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Would make for a nice set with the Cortina Mk2 and Zodiac Mk4, but without going and hunting mine down its seems a little smaller in scale?

 

5 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I have a feeling the Corsair is a bit smaller than the Cortina MK2

Exhaustive* scientific results are in... and yup, seems the Corsair's scaled just a bit tinier.

Mind you, my Mk2 'Tina and Mk4 Zod' are both wearing Superfast wheels, which hoicks them up in the air a little - sadly I've no regular wheels versions for comparison here.

[eddyramrod]

Wheels don't make any difference: you're right, the Corsair model is smaller.  IRL it fell between Cortina and Zephyr/Zodiac, in fact it sat on a lightly stretched Cortina platform.

[sierraman]

Those Zodiacs seem quite scarce these days along with the No59 Cortina.

[Datsuncog]

I picked those two up at a car boot sale in Brighton c.2001, along with some other early-era Superfasts.

They cost me a pound each and I very nearly had second thoughts!

Some are better than others; they're not mint but I reckon they display well enough.

The Zodiac spent several years blu-tac'd to the dashboard of my Mk2 Fiesta, without any ill-effects to the paint.

Funny, I've had a vast amount of Matchbox go through my hands in the past three years - but I still have a lot of affection for this little collection.

[bunglebus]

You'd struggle to get ones like that for a quid now, that era Lesney look so good in the colours they used. Peak toy car time if you ask me

[Split_Pin]

48 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

I picked those two up at a car boot sale in Brighton c.2001, along with some other early-era Superfasts.

They cost me a pound each and I very nearly had second thoughts!

Some are better than others; they're not mint but I reckon they display well enough.

The Zodiac spent several years blu-tac'd to the dashboard of my Mk2 Fiesta, without any ill-effects to the paint.

Funny, I've had a vast amount of Matchbox go through my hands in the past three years - but I still have a lot of affection for this little collection.

Staple Superfast those, I agree they are the best of their era.  I've owned several of each at one time or another and still have 2 late 1600TLs, a Cortina, 2 Diplomats and 2 Zephyrs. I was delighted to finally pick up one each of the latter 2 with bonnets attached via here over the last couple of years.

I remember how much I liked spotting old VW Type 3s when I was very small and also how excited I was to find a model of one at a Swapmeet in 1990 for 50p! Couldn't believe it! ( I was unaware of the above model at the time)

[AnnoyingPentium]

14 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

You'd struggle to get ones like that for a quid now, that era Lesney look so good in the colours they used. Peak toy car time if you ask me

Oh I know! Still looking for the blue Cort (found out it may still be in the loft) that I bought for about 25p back in 2009/2010.

[bunglebus]

26 minutes ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

Still looking for the blue Cort

I located mine the other day, exactly where it should have been but for some reason missing the last couple of times I went looking

Thought I'd accidentally sold it or something

[bunglebus]

Some bits arrived. First of all, a bunch of High Speeds. I know they're a bit crap but I find them amusing, especially the pink Golf. Rolls Royce looks suspiciously like the Summer casting 

I also got this little Tonka with a hole in its posterior 

Also similarly afflicted is this A-Team van. Plastic and made by Galoob, better known for Micro Machines 

[bunglebus]

[bunglebus]

Interesting video from Lamley about to drop - are Matchbox giving us a Moggy?

 

Yep. Moving parts range so might turn up in Entertainer, otherwise it'll be Modelmatic or Poundtoy

[MiniMort]

6 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

I picked those two up at a car boot sale in Brighton c.2001, along with some other early-era Superfasts.

They cost me a pound each and I very nearly had second thoughts!

Some are better than others; they're not mint but I reckon they display well enough.

The Zodiac spent several years blu-tac'd to the dashboard of my Mk2 Fiesta, without any ill-effects to the paint.

Funny, I've had a vast amount of Matchbox go through my hands in the past three years - but I still have a lot of affection for this little collection.

I’m in love with that 1100!

I’ve been restoring one of the cars I picked up for 50p at the autojumble the other day.

Specifically this little Majorette of a Renault F4. As a little Renault service van it was pretty cool but, as you can see, not very tidy. So off went the yellow and on went a period correct beige:

A few little details later and here we are. It’s not perfect - it’s a bit rough around the edges but I’m just gonna say that’s wear and tear from the fictitious little plumber who’s owned it since the mid 80s or something.

[Lord Sterling]

Well, as I was in Ludlow today and popped in Tescos, they had a lot of Hot Wheels and although they didn't have everything I wanted, I did come away with these:

[bunglebus]

The hot weather has put me off doing my project cars for some reason, so thought something simple might get my mojo back a bit.

Had these two Hot Rockers for a while, one pretty clean but with a missing engine and one tatty but all complete. Found a spare engine but the tab that holds it under the interior was broken off

So a quick drill, tap and parts swap got me here

Oops forgot the wheels. Might go back later and give the base a polish too

[Datsuncog]

Following on from yesterday's Matchbox shenanigans, you may have noticed this big brute hovering in the background...

Yup, it's the King Size K-8 Guy Warrior Car Transporter, in the later all-yellow paint job for Farnborough Measham Auctions.

Red hub Regular Wheels look pretty good on this one - the earlier version with the blue-green cab and red trailer came with grey plastic tyres, which always looked a bit odd to me.

The cab's front detailing is very nicely done, in that crisp 1960s Lesney way.

The lowering mechanism on the upper deck can be a bit exuberant - crashing down when you least expect it and launching the vehicles parked thereon off the edge of the dresser and onto the floor in the middle of the night (to use a totally made-up example...)

Matchbox largely solved that for the subsequent K-11 DAF Transporter by using nylon friction 'rams' to help with raising and lowering the deck in a more controlled manner.

I must dig out my Superfast-era DAF and compare the two trailers - I'd always thought that the later version was a reworking of the same one fitted to the Guy, but now I'm not so sure. I know the upper deck extends further beyond the cab in later versions and there's chequerplate on the driving surface of both, but the supports look quite different too.

Of course, I'm still looking for a decent Regular Wheels version of the DAF in either blue and gold, which was only on sale for the 1969 catalogue year, or yellow and orange (1970 only) - just looks a bit better rolling on separate tyres than the all-in-one nylon Superking slick wheels, I reckon.

This Guy Transporter was sourced from the customary tat stall at the market just before Christmas last year, and was a fitting finale to an exhilarating - if sadly unsustainable - three-year odyssey into second-hand diecast trading.

[egg]

Hi gang - cost of postage for these things if anyone interested.

[bunglebus]

That Routemaster looks roof chopped like the old Smoke City Wheelers bus

[bunglebus]

Capri has indeed reactivated my interest in making some project progress, new Dremel arriving recently has helped too. 

Thinking about polishing the base reminded me there was another car that needed shining up, this Hot Wheels Nitty Gritty Kitty I got off Barratt a while back

Removing the remains of the 48 year old paint revealed some heavy scratches and a fair old dent in the roof

A fair few hours straightening sanding and polishing have resulted in black hands but a very shiny Cougar

No excuse now not to paint it with a green stained glass aerosol, then the dreaded masking up of those stripes.

Had a 'mare finding new wheels as the only UK supplier I know of had closed his website, eventually tracked him down via WhatsApp using the phone number off a previous invoice, fortunately he still had some Brightvision parts left 

[Lord Sterling]

More purchase has taken place. 

Not long after I got the Golden Jacks Rover, I saw that there was another version (I think there are 3 in total; standard Corgi, Golden Jacks and Whizzwheels?) which looked like a standard P6 prior to Golden Jacks and Whizzwheels. 

I have attacked it slightly with the red and Molotow pens to fill in some faded parts but apart from that, it is as original as it ever has been. Complete with both front and rear number plates, GB sticker and an (illegible) tax disc in window. Plus it has a "running in" sticker on the back window.

What intrigues me is the underneath that is a section of window in the rear that looks like it goes far down into the vehicle itself,  not entirely sure what all that is about.

All 4 "tyres" have flat spots so wheels don't roll. Is it possible to change the "tyres" as they feel very plasticky and hard, maybe all that time since the 60s/70s has hardened the tyre rubber?

Anyway, it's nice to have another P6 in the collection. 

[Split_Pin]

The section in the back window operates the 'Trans-O-Lite' headlamps in the first issue P6. Hold it under a light source and then cover and uncover the square with your finger and watch the lights go on and off.

The Buick Riviera and Commer PB open back also have this. I loved playing with it as a kid.

Tyres are freely available on ebay. Its very common for the tyres to both go hard and flatten. This has happened to a lot of mine from extended periods of shelf display in the 80s and 90s.

[Lord Sterling]

16 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

The section in the back window operates the 'Trans-O-Lite' headlamps in the first issue P6. Hold it under a light source and then covet and uncover the square with your finger and watch the lights go on and off.

Ah yes! So it does;

[ETCHY]

17 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Following on from yesterday's Matchbox shenanigans, you may have noticed this big brute hovering in the background...

Yup, it's the King Size K-8 Guy Warrior Car Transporter, in the later all-yellow paint job for Farnborough Measham Auctions.

Red hub Regular Wheels look pretty good on this one - the earlier version with the blue-green cab and red trailer came with grey plastic tyres, which always looked a bit odd to me.

The cab's front detailing is very nicely done, in that crisp 1960s Lesney way.

The lowering mechanism on the upper deck can be a bit exuberant - crashing down when you least expect it and launching the vehicles parked thereon off the edge of the dresser and onto the floor in the middle of the night (to use a totally made-up example...)

Matchbox largely solved that for the subsequent K-11 DAF Transporter by using nylon friction 'rams' to help with raising and lowering the deck in a more controlled manner.

I must dig out my Superfast-era DAF and compare the two trailers - I'd always thought that the later version was a reworking of the same one fitted to the Guy, but now I'm not so sure. I know the upper deck extends further beyond the cab in later versions and there's chequerplate on the driving surface of both, but the supports look quite different too.

Of course, I'm still looking for a decent Regular Wheels version of the DAF in either blue and gold, which was only on sale for the 1969 catalogue year, or yellow and orange (1970 only) - just looks a bit better rolling on separate tyres than the all-in-one nylon Superking slick wheels, I reckon.

This Guy Transporter was sourced from the customary tat stall at the market just before Christmas last year, and was a fitting finale to an exhilarating - if sadly unsustainable - three-year odyssey into second-hand diecast trading.

I know as an old fart it's easy to look at stuff & go it was all so much better made etc etc years ago but just looking at those & the detailing on them, it is true. I mean they were just toys they weren't fancy expensive stuff for collectors they were just stuff that random kids with big grins on their faces launched into skirting boards across the world & played with in the garden etc etc.

It really was a golden period for toy vehicle ( & toys in general IMO).

[NorfolkNWeigh]

On 7/20/2022 at 12:28 PM, Datsuncog said:

 

Exhaustive* scientific results are in... and yup, seems the Corsair's scaled just a bit tinier.

Mind you, my Mk2 'Tina and Mk4 Zod' are both wearing Superfast wheels, which hoicks them up in the air a little - sadly I've no regular wheels versions for comparison here.

To me it’s the Cortina that’s the ‘wrong’ size, it’s massive compared to the Zodiac . I know today it’s probably only Qashqai size but in the 60’s the Mk4 was seen as almost too big  and admired / ridiculed by people depending on their opinion, much like Range Rovers etc today.

I’ve owned full size examples of all 3 ( Corsairs, just to rip the gearboxes and diffs out😕) and although I know the Corsair is a Cortina underneath , they felt bigger. Could be the ones I drove being 2000Es, of course.

[Metal Guru]

9 minutes ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

To me it’s the Cortina that’s the ‘wrong’ size, it’s massive compared to the Zodiac . I know today it’s probably only Qashqai size but in the 60’s the Mk4 was seen as almost too big  and admired / ridiculed by people depending on their opinion, much like Range Rovers etc today.

I’ve owned full size examples of all 3 ( Corsairs, just to rip the gearboxes and diffs out😕) and although I know the Corsair is a Cortina underneath , they felt bigger. Could be the ones I drove being 2000Es, of course.

IRL the Corsair was 8in longer than the Cortina Mk II but virtually the same width and height.

The Zodiac was altogether much bigger , 9 in longer than the Corsair , 6 in wider and 3in higher.

 

[Datsuncog]

Heh, 'box scale' was always an issue - and continues to be - with toy vehicles; it was a bit of a bugbear of mine while I was a kid. How can you create believable play scenarios when your Corgi Juniors Reliant Scimitar GTE is the same size as your Corgi Juniors Bedford TK skip truck? Why does the Matchbox Bedford TM Transporter have even smaller cars on the back?

But in the interests of production line uniformity and standardised shipping cases, manufacturers presumably just shrugged and assumed most kids wouldn't really notice, or care. The key thing was catching the young buyer's eye in the shop, and they were good at doing that.

Originally starting out as roughly OO railway scale - and, in the case of Dinky's unsuccessful Dublo range, overtly marketed for such purposes - Matchbox and Corgi's smaller Husky range both made matters more awkward by gradually increasing the scale of their models throughout 1960s. Older castings in the range could look ludicrously tiny against newer offerings on the same shelf. The Corsair, Mk2 Cortina and MkIV Zodiac mentioned were all sold alongside each other for a few years in the late 1960s. The nascent field of consumer research showed that bigger toys tended to be perceived as better value, while costing the manufacturer very little more to produce - and so sizing crept inexorably upwards.

Although not constrained by standardised packaging like Matchbox and Husky, larger models by Corgi, Dinky, Budgie and the like continued to be scaled quite erratically. Although generally around the 1/43 mark, commercials and buses tended to be scaled smaller while small vehicles like Minis were often scaled up. Comparing two of the Corgi Model Club's recent releases shows the #485 Mini Countryman with a higher roofline than the land yacht #237 Oldsmobile Super 88...

Tri-ang was one of the very few toymakers to address the vexing issue of scale with their Spot-On range - as hinted in the name, these were modelled at a constant 1/42 scale across the board for cars and commercials, so even the tiny Meadows Friskysport would appear 'spot-on' when placed beside the AEC Mammoth Major. Despite being a cut above the Corgi and Dinky offerings in terms of features and detailing at their point of introduction in the late 1950s, they were quite expensive and soon their unique selling points of detailed interiors, authentic paint colours, number plates and sprung suspension had been eroded by similar innovations from rival manufacturers.

But size standardisation never quite caught on - and even when Corgi took the plunge to upscale their range to around 1/36 in 1974, they were still producing a handful of their older 1/43-ish castings as late as 1980.

Modern Matchbox and Hot Wheels are really not much better, but I guess that's all part of the charm, somehow - even if that means it's difficult to play with the Subaru Sambar and 1941 Cadillac alongside each other...