Shite in Miniature II

[Dick Cheeseburger]

14 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Ford Maverick I believe. A quick Google suggests Scramblers were launched in 1971.

I guess there must have been some sort of licensing issue with Tonka and manufacturer names/models. I found this online - looks like mine is no710 Quick Grip. I wonder when the beige coloured model appeared in the range? 

[barrett]

'Scat Master'

[bunglebus]

Trying to identify Tonkas is a PITA. There are some very similar looking ones under different names, different sizes of the same car, name changes etc. 

I've got this as the Scramblers 702 Hub Heater

[Dick Cheeseburger]

7 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Trying to identify Tonkas is a PITA. There are some very similar looking ones under different names, different sizes of the same car, name changes etc. 

I've got this as the Scramblers 702 Hub Heater

It certainly seems difficult to identify them accurately. Yours isn't a 702 - look at the rear side window shape. It's a 710 like mine. I guess Tonkas offered the yellow colour later on. The 1971 packaging shows mine only in the green shade.

@barrett  716 doesn't have rear side windows.

[bunglebus]

Is this a Scat Master?

Or is it this one?

[bunglebus]

I think @flat4alfa found some Tonka catalogue scans a while back which helped a bit

[warch]

2 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

 

As a child I often wondered who Pat Pending was.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

7 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Is this a Scat Master?

Or is it this one?

The top one. All the Scramblers had the large, dished back wheels from what I can see. That raises the question of what the lower red model is!

[bunglebus]

7 minutes ago, warch said:

As a child I often wondered who Pat Pending was.

This. This is Professor Pat Pending

 

[bunglebus]

5 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

The top one. All the Scramblers had the large, dished back wheels from what I can see. That raises the question of what the lower red model is!

The bodies are similar, might just be the plastic parts and wheels that differ

[Dick Cheeseburger]

26 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Trying to identify Tonkas is a PITA. There are some very similar looking ones under different names, different sizes of the same car, name changes etc. 

I've got this as the Scramblers 702 Hub Heater

The yellow one I showed below earlier on is a 702 Hub Heater.

2 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

The Pinto is similar but has a fair few small differences to this one. 

 

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Just now, bunglebus said:

The bodies are similar, might just be the plastic parts and wheels that differ

Agreed. The pressing looks the same otherwise. I wonder if the car with small wheels is earlier and Tonka spiced them up and turned them into hot rods to flog a load of old stock in the early 70s? 

[MiniMinorMk3]

It looks like the Tonka Powered Scramblers were first issued for Christmas 1971. Note offer expires dated March 1972 for the road signs.

 

Also link to some great ephemera that shows the range.

Tonka Scramblers – Rods and Ends (wordpress.com)

 

[andrew e]

1 hour ago, barrett said:

'Scat Master'

I’ve heard you called worse.

[flat4alfa]

[barrett]

37 minutes ago, andrew e said:

I’ve heard you called worse.

Ain't that the truth.

Something a bit different today. I've recently decided a Bristol 406 might just be my ideal car, or at least perfect for the insouciant yet sophisticated image I'm trying to build for myself as I rapidly approach middle age. I think they might actually be a bit rubbish by Bristol standards - much heavier than the 405 but less powerful than the 407 - but I love the styling and general road presence they have. I also have a big soft spot for Spot-On toys, which was a big obsession when I was a young kid thanks mostly to the 1989 Mint & Boxed catalogue which I somehow acquired

Not sure if anyone else remembers this outfit, but it was a quite cynical attempt to commercialise the budding collectable toy hobby in the late 80s. Everything they sold was insanely expensive, and I remember chatter at the time (a friend of the family runs the Brighton Toy & Model Museum) about some dodgy business practices and the faint whiff of scandal around its proprietor, but a quick google doesn't actually throw up any evidence of this, so apologies Jeffrey if I've been carrying a weird grudge for 30 years.

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I only ever found one Spot-On in the wild as a kid, when I used to pick up 60s/70s Matchbox, Corgi and Dinky bits for pocket money at car boot sales all the time, which just added to the mystique. These days I can see they're not actually that wonderful, really, but they still have a very particular appeal to me. I still can't justify paying the going rate for Spot-On toys, though, so I only have a tiny handful of bargains (in quite tatty condition).

I'm not sure of the history of these individual models, so no idea when this one was launched, but I'd guess it was relatively early, although it has suspension unlike the very early Spot-Ons. This doesn't seem like a common toy at all, and MIB ones still seem to be about £200-300, so this playworn but quite tidy example for £20 seemed like a good buy

Maybe I'll have changed my mind when I emerge from the other side of my 406 mania, but for right now I'm very happy that I literally spent the last few pounds in my bank account on a shitty old toy car from the 1960s

I mean, look at it!

I do appreciate the company for building cars nobody else was modelling, and for the accurate scaling. The Sunbeam Alpine is another good example, I reckon

Anyway, that's it, just some rambling to try to internally justify this stupid purchase. Don't expect a sudden slew of Spot-On updates here though, I'm not quite manic enoughy for that to happen just yet. And I'm saving up for a Bristol 406.

 

[flat4alfa]

On 30/03/2023 at 10:55, Dick Longbridge said:

Can anyone identify the model

1969-74 Ford Maverick

Tonka 'Quick Grip'

[flat4alfa]

On 30/03/2023 at 13:07, bunglebus said:

1970-74 Chevrolet Camaro 

Tonka 'Scat Master'

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

Got a couple of those

Also had a couple of more worn version of the yellow one pass through my hands 

[flat4alfa]

[Dick Cheeseburger]

31 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Got a couple of those

Also had a couple of more worn version of the yellow one pass through my hands 

The more I look at this, the more I reckon the scramblers with white wheels were the end of the run. All the advertising blurb which I assume is from 71ish shows the dark grey wheels like those on my newly acquired model. I do like the depth of knowledge on this thread - it's like piecing together an old jigsaw!

[flat4alfa]

I like to think Track Blaster is intended to be the McLaren M6, which dates about right, but not too sure

 

Likewise the Wind Burner as a Chaparral 2F, which is probably more likely

[AndyW201]

On 29/03/2023 at 14:10, Datsuncog said:

If you've no luck later, I'll see if I can pick you one up to add to the Tat Box?

If you're going there and dont mind Tim, but don't go out of your way. There are quite a few in that case that I'm after like the Porsche, Civic, Escort and Merc. My local Morrisons will probably get them in in about 6 months...

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, barrett said:

Not sure if anyone else remembers this outfit, but it was a quite cynical attempt to commercialise the budding collectable toy hobby in the late 80s. Everything they sold was insanely expensive, and I remember chatter at the time (a friend of the family runs the Brighton Toy & Model Museum) about some dodgy business practices and the faint whiff of scandal around its proprietor, but a quick google doesn't actually throw up any evidence of this, so apologies Jeffrey if I've been carrying a weird grudge for 30 years.

 

I remember Mint & Boxed. My late father used to get me their catalogues when he was up in the City for work. 

The company was involved with a pensions scandal in the early 1990's

Final fall of disgraced pension fund chief | London Evening Standard | Evening Standard

Quote

Spink, once a director at investment bank SG Warburg and a City high-flier, was sacked by USS in October 1991 for gross misconduct. He admitted taking unauthorised consultancy fees from the firm of Jeffrey S. Levitt, which traded in antique toys.

The company became the centre of a £12 million fraud case after its collapse in June 1991. Spink invested more than £4.5 million of USS money in the company after becoming friendly with its owner, Jeffrey Levitt. Levitt was later described as a Walter Mitty character who admitted using fake invoices to raise money from banks.

...

Royal refused to pay, claiming that USS's losses were due to the collapse of Jeffrey S. Levitt Ltd and its subsidiary, Mint & Boxed.

It looks like there has been a slight name change somewhere as Jeffery Levy is still active in the collectable toy world.

Mint & Boxed: Perfecting the Package - Jeffrey Levy toys - The Antique Toy Archive

 

And finally, he had a number plate on his Mercedes at the time.

This plate has also belonged to one of the management at Vectis auctions, I have seen it on a few cars over the years, but have not seen it lately.

[MiniMinorMk3]

17 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

I like to think Track Blaster is intended to be the McLaren M6, which dates about right, but not too sure

 

Lola T70

[bunglebus]

Smyths have restocked F+F 

And got some interesting premium sets

[flat4alfa]

3 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

 an old jigsaw!

Need to get these too then

[Isopon]

Just had this arrive- 99 pence eBay purchase. Typically, the seller also had an Xj-s going for the same amount, but I was sniped by 5 pence. Anyway, I'm happy with it.

Looks good in blue and pairs well with the beige version

[barrett]

10 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

The company was involved with a pensions scandal in the early 1990's

Final fall of disgraced pension fund chief | London Evening Standard | Evening Standard

It looks like there has been a slight name change somewhere as Jeffery Levy is still active in the collectable toy world.

Glad I wasn't completely making it up (and equally scared by the sort of information I've retained for so long). Seems Jeff is now based in Tel Aviv, which seems as good a place as any for somebody with questionable ethics to run their dodgy business. I'm going to see if I still have that catalogue somewhere, reckon it might make interesting reading these days

[flat4alfa]

12 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Lola T70

Yes, that rear fits better.  It was the raised air intakes that threw me.   Or blinded by orange.