Shite in Miniature II

[MiniMinorMk3]

Vanguards Zephyr Six Plymouth Police

[Tenmil Socket]

10 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Making an utter mockery of Lunchtime Laptop show'n' tell conventions, it's true - but here, have some Chinese Corgi repro loveliness, albeit very late in the day.

This month's Corgi Model Club release - the #419 Ford Zephyr Motorway Patrol Car.

Oh, it's nice. It's very nice.

(Less out of focus in real life, honestly)

With police decals and various bits of kit shown in the back too.

Having had the Oldsmobile Sheriff's Car last summer, it's great to finally get a British police car in the range.

Bumpers and lights are just painted on, but they're nicely done - as a replica of a 1960 release, this pre-dates the chrome plated plastic components that soon widespread in the Corgi range from the mid-60s on.

The box illustration is nicely rendered too, even though the aerial's now mounted on the other wing.

This particular model's one I've been anticipating, as I have a comparator...

Yup, and not just an original version - but one which belonged to Cog Sr, and is his only surviving childhood Corgi after his older brother rather callously flogged all his toy cars without permission to a second-hand shop, probably for beer money.

The Zephyr survived only because it had been lost under a sideboard, and came to light years later when my grandmother was moving house.

So it's kinda special to me.

As well as having the earlier flat spun hubs, I'm also surprised that the original lacks the 'Zephyr' lettering on the bonnet which the repro boasts.

I'm also not sure whether the original has become very discoloured over time or was always more of a cream-colour than pure white.

The roof beacon's also quite a bit bigger on the new version.

But other than that, it all looks like a faithful reproduction.

So yeah. Although I've skipped a fair few of the more recent Corgi Model Club releases due to disinterest/ skintness on my part, this was one I really wanted. It hasn't disappointed.

That’s not an aerial that’s a baton 😆

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

Corgi's own advertising drawing shows an old Winkworth on the other side too

 

[Datsuncog]

On 1/23/2023 at 2:27 PM, Datsuncog said:

Just wondering if you still have the blue Matchbox Leyland tractor unit circled on the far right side of this pic?

 

21 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I think I have one of those in my big box of cars to be sold once work quietens down - I'll have a look when I can but might need reminding, pretty much flat out working away until mid Feb at the moment 

Awesome, cheers!

(And just moving this away from Dan's sale thread to avoid cross-confusion)

I have a complete and not-too-bashed later example in solid mid-blue with a yellow trailer, but it's the first release of a darker metallic blue Leyland tractor unit to pair with the original silver trailer that I'm looking for... I've had half an eye out for one for a long long time now, but surprisingly haven't encountered one in any of the sundry tat boxes that have been hoked through over the years.

It's an odd but ingenious little toy, allowing an articulated truck to be packaged in a standard Matchbox pack... 

I'm sure the original cab has been missing for 35yrs+, so I don't think a few more weeks will make much difference!

[danthecapriman]

Some small ones arrived for me today.

Corgi Jr Buick in yellow - not a yellow cab!    
Matchbox Crapi. I’ve got the orange & black one so this fits with that.   
Matchbox RS2000. This is @eddyramrodfault! I had a Super GT version but it’s looking worse for wear so Eddy is going to put that to good use. When I found it I thought I’d get myself one that’s actually got a good percentage of original paint left as a keeper!

Just need (want!) a better condition black Buick now.

 

[danthecapriman]

4 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

 

Awesome, cheers!

(And just moving this away from Dan's sale thread to avoid cross-confusion)

I have a complete and not-too-bashed later example in solid mid-blue with a yellow trailer, but it's the first release of a darker metallic blue Leyland tractor unit to pair with the original silver trailer that I'm looking for... I've had half an eye out for one for a long long time now, but surprisingly haven't encountered one in any of the sundry tat boxes that have been hoked through over the years.

It's an odd but ingenious little toy, allowing an articulated truck to be packaged in a standard Matchbox pack... 

I'm sure the original cab has been missing for 35yrs+, so I don't think a few more weeks will make much difference!

I’ve never seen that blue & yellow one before. We’re there many of these little artic’s?

Ive got quite a few of the funny little futuristic looking ones in various forms, and one complete Leyland & trailer in the dark blue but never seen any other types?

[bunglebus]

27 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Ooh, Phantom. I think that's the hardest one to find

[Split_Pin]

I have 3 of those Leyland T45 trucks, the metallic tipper, a Burmah petrol tanker and another tipper mint with its box. Great little things and a nice, if foreshortened rendition of the T45 Roadtrain lorry of the time.

The first 2 are from my distant childhood. I recall seeing the tipper in the Matchbox display cabinet in a newsagents that I got a lot of my Superfast from. I particularly liked it as it looked quite like the tipper lorries I used to see on the road.

[bunglebus]

32 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Leyland tractor unit 

Do you (or does anyone) know what it's actually called?

[danthecapriman]

3 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Ooh, Phantom. I think that's the hardest one to find

What was the green one called??

[Bren]

2 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Ooh, Phantom. I think that's the hardest one to find

On holiday in Devon last year I thought I had struck lucky - clocked the superfast RS2000 box amongst a pile of others.

Sadly inside was a very battered phantom - I passed.

I have the shell version on a blister - the boxed example is on my wish list.

[Split_Pin]

6 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Do you (or does anyone) know what it's actually called?

It's a Leyland T45 Roadtrain. The quad headlamp versions had the wide cab and were never built as short as that. The day cab had a short side window behind the cab doors. Only the narrower Cruiser version with single headlamps was available in the shoeter form. It's still well detailed and the Leyland script below the windscreen is spot on.

[bunglebus]

5 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

What was the green one called??

Seagull

[Datsuncog]

8 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

I’ve never seen that blue & yellow one before. We’re there many of these little artic’s?

Not many - there was the metallic blue and silver version of the MB-30 Artic Truck (1981/82);

a metallic red and yellow version (1983 only);

EDIT: Nope, scratch that: this doesn't exist. It's a red cab from the MB-14 tanker paired with a later trailer.

So the Matchbox Wiki seems to be incorrect - now I've gone and checked through my catalogues, there's only two versions produced. I know, something wrong on the internet - who'd have thunk it?

and the mid-blue and yellow version (1983-85).

It was a pretty short-lived casting, which was a pity as it was quite nice.

I can only assume that it was dropped not long after Lesney was bought out by Universal Toys in late 1984, since it was a slightly more complex model involving two separate castings - and probably realised a lower profit margin than the rest of the MB-75 range.

 

8 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Do you (or does anyone) know what it's actually called?

Weirdly it had 'LEYLAND' across the front, but that wasn't mentioned on the box or baseplate - just the generic 'Artic Truck'.

It seems to have been a more realistic reworking of the earlier 1973-81 Artic Truck

Which, although a fantasy casting, has pointy cab bits that put me in mind of the weird and very rare Hendrickson Paymaster (only 14 ever built):

Except, the Paymaster didn't appear until two years after the Matchbox toy...

[Split_Pin]

I've got that earlier casting as well but I wasn't much of a fan of it as its quite unrealistic , especially the way the tractor unit wheels are laid out. The trailer does have a number plate though which I did like. 

[bunglebus]

Two pics in my Flickr - thought I had a fairly good spare one so I'll double check

[bunglebus]

41 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I've got quite a few of the funny little futuristic looking ones in various forms

These funny little fellas. 

Was never a fan as a kid as they didn't fit scale wise with the rest of the cars. Nor did any of the commercials but it was these that used to irk me!

[Datsuncog]

Of course, checking to see whether I still had the silver trailer (as there was a chance I'd got shot of it a year ago) entailed emptying out my own nostalgia toybox...

There's mostly Matchbox in there, these days.

Having been whittled down again and again, these now form my core collection of old toys - mostly my own childhood items, with some better examples pairing alongside the trashed originals, plus a smattering of more recent acquisitions.

They're not for sale - and are presented here for your viewing pleasure only!

Lotsa memories in here...

[Datsuncog]

Surprised to see how few Corgi etc I've left myself with these days:

Some Siku and Majorette too...

Hongwell and ERTL and Hot Wheels (very few now).

[Split_Pin]

Amazing! Survivors  from my 'original' childhood collection, which I'd classify as those bought 1981 to 1985 are few and far between. Many were swapped for junk or simply lost. I need to consolidate them!

[danthecapriman]

20 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

These funny little fellas. 

Was never a fan as a kid as they didn't fit scale wise with the rest of the cars. Nor did any of the commercials but it was these that used to irk me!

Yeah them! I’ve never been a big fan myself, I just tend to have acquired quite a few over the years.

To be honest though, my all time most hated ones are the speedboats and hovercraft’s! Never liked them but they’re another one that I just seem to have acquired shit loads of. Every time I buy a job lot or little batch, there’s always at least one in there!  
I’ve kept a couple of the nicest ones I’ve found just so they’re in the collection but the rest you just can’t get rid of.

[Datsuncog]

I was also pleased to rediscover a few trucks in the bottom of the toybox - I really thought I'd sent some of these on, so this was a nice bonus.

Of course, Cat had to take full advantage of an empty box...

This is maybe about the remaining 15-20% of the small diecast I once owned - I used to have A LOT...

There's also a few Matchbox from around 2007/08 when I started to rekindle an interest in diecast, but they're a bit more common these days.

[junkyarddog]

22 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

 

 

Oooh the cats done a whoopsie in my toy box!!🤣

[bunglebus]

Jay Leno range in Tesco

Along with 5 packs I'm not sure if we've seen

[sierraman]

There’s a right minefield it variations if you are a fan enough of them.

[sierraman]

The Long Haul was originally going to be branded Leyland but for whatever reason ended up a generic.

[Split_Pin]

2 minutes ago, sierraman said:

There’s a right minefield it variations if you are a fan enough of them.

I'm pretty sure the red headed Leyland belongs to a tanker version. 

[Split_Pin]

My memory is failing, it's an Elf. Mine is up in the loft somewhere but I remember it had the hazardous liquid codes on the back just like the real thing.

[sierraman]

18 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

My memory is failing, it's an Elf. Mine is up in the loft somewhere but I remember it had the hazardous liquid codes on the back just like the real thing.

It does indeed! Found the military green articulated truck as well presumably from a twin pack. 

[bunglebus]

Just looking through my pics, I have a few of those funny tractor units and their trailers

 

I thought I had a green tractor but maybe not