Shite in Miniature II

[barrett]

2 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

I'd be interested to know where this fair is assuming it's not too far away from me?  I believe you are in Brighton so quite close to where I live.

It was in Ashington, where they seemingly have one a month - plus lots of others at other times in other places. It wasn't very big and was probably about 50% train stuff, but I got there quite late and have very narrow interests. I hope clicking this link will take you to the calendar of forthcoming events... https://www.modeltoyauctions.co.uk/news/2021/9/2022-toyfair-dates-june-2022-update/8BF7A4F9D59D89705A7A53C2886D325E/

[eddyramrod]

@quicksilver: Yes, that was mine!  Delighted to see it getting some love at long last!  It looks so much better now.

[bunglebus]

Same old same old in Tesco

[Datsuncog]

On 2/24/2023 at 8:37 PM, andy18s said:

Hmm,that's the price of them on the bay of E.

I wouldn't want to piss you about for the sake of a few pounds so unless it's something ridiculous like a fiver for the pair,it's not worth the hassle.

However,if anymore Opel Mantas turn up,boxed or otherwise then feel free to scoop them up...

Yeah, the Irish Gifts Stall only really buys and sells at retail price - unlike the Tat Stall where stuff comes from auctions and house clearances so the prices drop til they're gone, stuff here can remain for decades (he was still carting round his Days Gone stuff from the early 1990s right up until 2020). So I'd say it's unlikely there'll be much of a price drop on the Cosworths anytime soon.

I'm annoyed that I missed out on the mint/boxed Manta a few weeks back, for £5 -

 

Got distracted by some 1960s Corgi being set out on the stall, and the next thing I knew it had been yoinked from under me.

But I'll continue to keep an eye out!

[Datsuncog]

On 2/24/2023 at 9:23 AM, Datsuncog said:

Also quite surprised to find these on the Charity Stall:

1980s Matchbox monster trucks, in reasonable nick.

Ford F150 Flareside.

Ultra-long-running Ford F100 (with the original cab casting dating back to 1968)

Peterbilt, possibly missing a rear accessory like a cement drum? Will have to check the catalogues...

Some further research has confirmed that these oddities were from the Super Chargers series (also sold as Super Trucks, and as Mud Racers), available from 1986 to roughly 1994.

SC-1 was the Ford F100-derived 'Mini 4x4' casting, painted in Bigfoot colours and mated to a huge base, available as part of the original Super Chargers range from 1986 on.

SC-6 was the less venerable Ford Flareside Pickup casting, styled as 'Awesome Kong II' and fitted to a similar base as Bigfoot from 1986 on.

SC-15 was the Peterbilt Dump Truck, 'Big Pete', from a later 1988 release series and on a longer base - and it seems that the plated silver plastic rear tipper is the crucial component missing from my Friday find.

Fitted with accurate-looking chunky rubber tyres and in the midst of the mid-80s Monster Trucks fad, these were no doubt popular toys - but can be hard to find now, for some reason.

Were most of them played with to destruction?

[sierraman]

I think I have a few of those, the big foot and a few of the others. I went through a phase in about 1993 of liking monster trucks, went to see them at Don Valley etc, seem to remember a Transit Mk3 doing the rounds.

[Jon]

Quick question: does anyone know whether there's been an Atlas style re-release of Metosul diecasts?

I've seen one that takes my fancy at a price I reckon is fair for a mint/boxed one but it just looks a little too clean. And there seem to be tonnes of mint looking Metosuls, from a quick search online, when looking for the answer to the above!

[barrett]

2 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

 the mid-80s Monster Trucks fad

Glad you said that! I was born in '86 and remember them being EVERYWHERE when I was very young. I had a big book about monster trucks. I think I even went to SEE live monster trucks once - would those have been imported on a tour, or locally-built? - and then all of a sudden, it was over. I always assumed it was just me 'growing out' of it, in the same way I stopped liking dinosaurs but in hindsight the whole thing must have faded from European consciousness. Anyway, I just read that it was Bigfoot that started the whole thing in 1975, and it wasn't until the early 1980s that the first public 'car crushing' took place. Who knew? I should also point out that as a sensitive child I used to get quite upset about cars being crushed by monster trucks, as if it was some endemic sweeping the world and erasing all mid-size 1970s American sedans.

[barrett]

2 minutes ago, Jon said:

Quick question: does anyone know whether there's been an Atlas style re-release of Metosul diecasts?

I've seen one that takes my fancy at a price I reckon is fair for a mint/boxed one but it just looks a little too clean. And there seem to be tonnes of mint looking Metosuls, from a quick search online, when looking for the answer to the above!

I'm not certain, but I think they were probably built significantly later than the cars they depict - I was looking at some MIB examples on ebay recently and wondering the same thing, but I think it's just that they date from the 1980s rather than the 60s or 70s of the original castings - and probably stayed in Portuguese holiday tat shops for decades after they were made unbought.

[Datsuncog]

22 minutes ago, barrett said:

Glad you said that! I was born in '86 and remember them being EVERYWHERE when I was very young. I had a big book about monster trucks. I think I even went to SEE live monster trucks once - would those have been imported on a tour, or locally-built? - and then all of a sudden, it was over. I always assumed it was just me 'growing out' of it, in the same way I stopped liking dinosaurs but in hindsight the whole thing must have faded from European consciousness. Anyway, I just read that it was Bigfoot that started the whole thing in 1975, and it wasn't until the early 1980s that the first public 'car crushing' took place. Who knew? I should also point out that as a sensitive child I used to get quite upset about cars being crushed by monster trucks, as if it was some endemic sweeping the world and erasing all mid-size 1970s American sedans.

I loved monster trucks too (while sharing your fascination/ horror at what they did to the unfortunate cars they rolled over) - but yes, they seemed to just fade away on this side of the Atlantic for some reason.

Some previous nostalgia on the subject from a few years back...

Including reference to the fairly awful 'Bigfoot And The Muscle Machines' cartoon.

[Datsuncog]

35 minutes ago, Jon said:

Quick question: does anyone know whether there's been an Atlas style re-release of Metosul diecasts?

I've seen one that takes my fancy at a price I reckon is fair for a mint/boxed one but it just looks a little too clean. And there seem to be tonnes of mint looking Metosuls, from a quick search online, when looking for the answer to the above!

Funny you should find that too, there have indeed been a lot of tidy Metosuls showing up on the market stall in the past few months.

Never noticed these before until recently.

I'd thought they were personal repaints, going by the somewhat less than professional finish, but apparently this is broadly the type of quality control to be expected from the factory.

Haven't seen any boxed, but these ones were priced about the £3/ £5 mark - not sure if that's good or bad!

I wonder if maybe some cases of New Old Stock have been rediscovered, and those are what's hitting the 'Bay?

[bunglebus]

57 minutes ago, sierraman said:

I think I have a few of those, the big foot and a few of the others. I went through a phase in about 1993 of liking monster trucks, went to see them at Don Valley etc, seem to remember a Transit Mk3 doing the rounds.

Sky High. Was on the cover of the first Street Machine I ever bought 

[bunglebus]

I thought I had more than just these three.  I'll have to have a rummage 

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, Jon said:

Quick question: does anyone know whether there's been an Atlas style re-release of Metosul diecasts?

I've seen one that takes my fancy at a price I reckon is fair for a mint/boxed one but it just looks a little too clean. And there seem to be tonnes of mint looking Metosuls, from a quick search online, when looking for the answer to the above!

 

1 hour ago, barrett said:

I'm not certain, but I think they were probably built significantly later than the cars they depict - I was looking at some MIB examples on ebay recently and wondering the same thing, but I think it's just that they date from the 1980s rather than the 60s or 70s of the original castings - and probably stayed in Portuguese holiday tat shops for decades after they were made unbought.

 

54 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Funny you should find that too, there have indeed been a lot of tidy Metosuls showing up on the market stall in the past few months.

Never noticed these before until recently.

 

I'd thought they were personal repaints, going by the somewhat less than professional finish, but apparently this is broadly the type of quality control to be expected from the factory.

 

Haven't seen any boxed, but these ones were priced about the £3/ £5 mark - not sure if that's good or bad!

 

Metosuls were made up until about 1990, as can be seen from these Minis which include one to celebrate 30 years of teh Mini in 1989.

There is not much info on how to age the models because they used the early type wheels on some of the later cars. Obviously if the model has the tele-dials then it is quite a late one.

Most common are Minis, VW Beetle, Citroen DS, Mercedes Fintail and Volvo P1800. The Buses were also made until the end of production. They are quite crude, looking like 1950's Corgis or Dinkys. The paint quality is nowhere near the standard of contemporary models from other manufacturers. In the end the factory closed down as the likes of Vitesse came along and finished them off in their domestic market. Something to do with EU funding for new companies, which saw older ones fall by the wayside.

They appear at Vectis quite often, although they seem to be getting more scarce in recent years.

SEARCH RESULTS (vectis.co.uk)

Another brand that the same factory produced were Luso Toys.

[sierraman]

Sky High... that’s the one. I do remember it crushing a Dacia Denem at the local shopping centre. 

[Datsuncog]

Crikey, I hope the occupants had time to get out first.

[bunglebus]

My friend recalls his parents selling their Austin A40, then seeing it  shortly afterwards awaiting its fate at a local stunt show under the wheels of a monster truck 

[barrett]

The one Metosul I'd like, if anyone ever spots a cheap example, is the 304 Break

I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty certain this is a unique casting. I'd say it's the old plastic Norev 204 Break with a 304-ised nose grafted on (hence why proportionally it looks more like a 204). It's a pretty crappy toy really, but I just like the idea of these (UK-centric colonialist attitude warning:) oddball foreign makers in out-of-the-way places coming up with cars none of the mainstream manufacturers bothered with. Now, clearly this isn't quite in the same league as a jewel-like Pilen Seat or whatever but it's an intereting (to me) curio

[Zie]

Well Asda was a wash-out again but B&M saved the day with a Hotwheels drop bin and they also have Strips of Matchbox too! 

[flat4alfa]

Bid on both these, but things got out of hand and they flew.

Clearly, I'm doing it wrong...

 

Quote

Corgi. Commer Van. Code 3. Monster Truck.
Winning bid: £16.00 [4 bids]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Corgi-Commer-Van-Code-3-Monster-Truck-/234905754607

 

Quote

Dinky, Code 3, Austin Mini Countryman, Monster Truck

Winning bid: £31.05 [11 bids]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234905756171

 

[flat4alfa]

On 2/26/2023 at 2:09 PM, barrett said:

I HATE Gulf livery anything

So, down with this sort of thing then?

Leslie Smith & Rodney Smith were probably not expecting this being done, I'm sure

[bunglebus]

Love the Gulf colours. Suits some cars better than others though 

[MiniMinorMk3]

On 2/26/2023 at 2:09 PM, barrett said:

 

and I HATE Gulf livery anything

Even stuff like this. Just a few of the Gulf cars that I've had.

[RoadworkUK]

6 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Were most of them played with to destruction?

In my experience, they were rather too fragile. When my Bigfoot fell from a high-ish shelf, the force was enough to shatter the plastichrome turret that held the rear axle. 

[barrett]

Yeah sorry, I just can't see Gulf colours without thinking about awful Germans* wearing ill-fitting, cheap ugly garments like this...

...and thinking they look like 'King of Cool' Steve McQueen - most famous for being an illiterate serial abuser of women and generally toxic person. It all just smacks of a certain type of masculine desperation and total lack of self-reflexivity that makes my skin crawl. Big ugly watches, Dubai, Porsche 911s, it's all the same thing to me.

 

*other Eurotrash available. None of the Germans I know actually do this.

[Jon]

Thanks for the Metosul comments everyone, it's much appreciated. It does stack up that the castings were produced way beyond their prime, hence so many survivors in good condition.

There's also the clarity of mind of having slept on the idea, so I reckon I'll leave it for now. Here's the one in question:

I'm neither desperately into DSs or even fire themed stuff but as @barrett says, there's certainly an element of curio to them. But I've bought a prime outdated curio recently which I've not yet posted about, so it's likely best to give the wallet a rest for now.

And on the Gulf livery, my feelings are that it peaked at the 'McQueen' Porsche 917 (through design, not association to him) and then it's best left at that. But there's also plenty of other interesting racing car liveries.

For similar hot takes, especially relating to fashion, see also: any Ferrari apparel.

[andrew e]

Not a great picture but my brother in laws Gulf coloured Tamiya Scania 1/14 - it works I reckon 👍

[bunglebus]

I thought I had another Super Chargers monster truck - possibly the last appearance of the Holden/Ruff Trek?

 

[sheffcortinacentre]

12 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Sky High. Was on the cover of the first Street Machine I ever bought 

Was about to mention that.

[Jon]

I saw Sky High at a static outdoor display at a mid-90's Birmingham Motorshow. There was also a Mk3 Fiesta panel van there too, in silver with two different shades of thick green striping on the sides - actually looked quite cool, as I recall. Sure there's a photo somewhere, at my folks house.

Inevitably though, the Sky High front grille had been replaced with a smiley version and I'm sure it had a very different (i.e. not as good) paint job, so was looking rather tarted up by that stage.

Not as bad as when Ford morphed the excellent Supervan 2 into the uggers Supervan 3 but that's another old pub bore opinion which I'll just leave there...