Shite in Miniature II

[Split_Pin]

10 hours ago, Jon said:

Went to a local supermarket yesterday to get some hot cross buns but I saw the last ones on the shelf (at 8:30am!) disappear into a bun hoarder's trolley.

So I conciled myself with a Hotwheels Audi 90, instead:

 

Feel free to insert antipodean spec photo quips here - I can't be chuffed to sort out the issue. I think it stems from taking some photos with my phone upside down, yet they display right way up in the gallery. Ah well, whatevz.

it's not a bad little thing and an interesting subject but the filled in front quarterlight and scratty transfers leave some room for improvement.

But what else can you get for £1.65 or whatever this basket filler costs, these days? This was a fraction of the price of a very standard Easter egg!

 

I'm consciously aware that this is a potential slippery slope, after shedding almost all my acquired Hotwheels and feeling good about it but I am drawn to a few of their castings, so may as well nab them if I don't have to go out my way to do so.

That's a shame about the tampos on your example. I actually forgot I had bought this one until yesterday, its very detailed. I'm a fan of this platform of car after owning a convertible version for some years.

[Jon]

3 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

That's a shame about the tampos on your example. I actually forgot I had bought this one until yesterday, its very detailed. I'm a fan of this platform of car after owning a convertible version for some years.

You could argue that it gives the notion of being race driven or something - racing cars don't seem to remain perfect for long!

I'm happy not to mind too much though, as an ever so slightly negative experience is enough to make me consider buying others in the future - thus avoiding said slippery slope.

[Datsuncog]

Yes yes yes... 

A cold and frosty morning today, as it happens - precious seconds were spent scrubbing at the frozen-up windscreen and trying to coax the absolute dregs out of a can of Unipart De-Icer.

Still - made it in okay. Quite early, as it happens, with limited traffic. Guess a lot of folks are off today.

The main Tat Stall had... well, kinda more of the same.

We're still on a £10 Vanguards/ Oxford 1/43 spree, it seems.

Blokey must have got dozens of the buggers off whichever house clearance firm tapped him up.

And they do seem to be shifting, hence no price reductions.

Oxford CA milk float was interesting, though the orange paint was weirdly bubbled and unhappy-looking.

Brabham Viva HB having a bumpy time of it.

Nope, these are still unsecured to their bases.

Thames van and minibus were quite nice - at a fiver I definitely would have, but my stinginess got the better of me...

As I perused, with Blokey still setting out the stall, a small tat box finally appeared.

Very small.

And mostly stuff we've seen before - so nothing of to cause very great excitement.

Hmmm... 

I decided to continue circulating and see if anything else popped up elsewhere.

[Cookiesouwest]

3 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Yes yes yes... 

A cold and frosty morning today, as it happens - precious seconds were spent scrubbing at the frozen-up windscreen and trying to coax the absolute dregs out of a can of Unipart De-Icer.

Still - made it in okay. Quite early, as it happens, with limited traffic. Guess a lot of folks are off today.

The main Tat Stall had... well, kinda more of the same.

We're still on a £10 Vanguards/ Oxford 1/43 spree, it seems.

Blokey must have got dozens of the buggers off whichever house clearance firm tapped him up.

And they do seem to be shifting, hence no price reductions.

Oxford CA milk float was interesting, though the orange paint was weirdly bubbled and unhappy-looking.

Brabham Viva HB having a bumpy time of it.

Nope, these are still unsecured to their bases.

Thames van and minibus were quite nice - at a fiver I definitely would have, but my stinginess got the better of me...

As I perused, with Blokey still setting out the stall, a small tat box finally appeared.

Very small.

And mostly stuff we've seen before - so nothing of to cause very great excitement.

Hmmm... 

I decided to continue circulating and see if anything else popped up elsewhere.

He is cheap. Vanguards are approaching a tenner each in trade auctions.

[AndyW201]

Can you get the aqua coloured Jaaaaag please Tim, if you're still there? Cheers

[Datsuncog]

7 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Can you get the aqua coloured Jaaaaag please Tim, if you're still there? Cheers

I'm not still there, but I may well be heading back over in an hour or two - will see if it's still there, and if so I'll nab it for you!

[Datsuncog]

Alan's stall was assembled bright and early for a change, and he'd restocked his 50p Tray with what I'll assume is the remnants of the attaché case from last week.

Annoyingly, the coveted Frontera and Mitsubishi off-roaders seem to have sold previously. Bah.

The terrible MX5 hardtop had been joined by something doing a fairly unconvincing impression of a Honda NSX, presumably from the same range.

The Lesney Maxi Super-Custom has been here for months.

There was also this cheapo no-name:

Can anyone guess what this is? Some sort of Mazda mini-MPV thing? Daihatsu, maybe? It looks somehow familiar...

There was nothing much to temp me, and I began to wonder if today might be a bit of a busted flush.

I wandered over to the Irish Tat stall, but once again there was nowt I hadn't seen - same OO gauge Oxfords, random Greenlights and the same Matchbox and Hot Wheels too.

So it was going to be up to the Charity Stall to validate my choice to drag my lazy arse out of bed before dawn.

Well, hot damn.

Larry on the stall saw me looking furrowed, and nodded over to his other wares on adjacent table.

"There's cars and stuff over there...

Clearly, I'm a bit typecast at the market these days.

But indeed there was.

Two Bburago 1/18, a Maisto (?) racing Merc and a generic Buddy L pickup.

Alfa and Z3 were dusty, but not overly knackered.

Not quite my thing these days.

And definitely not at a tenner a go, which is what he was looking for the big stuff.

The Bloody Hell tinplate pickup was actually fairly good, with only some light chipping and the loss of its stickers, but I didn't even ask if it was the same price.

Had it even been worth coming in?

Actually, yes - because as I turned away from the pickup, I noticed The Nemesis was at my elbow. He seemed mildly surprised to see me here, already concluding my perambulations at 7.45am.

I bid him a cheery good morning.

That's right, mofo - I've got an alarm clock too.

Thus the who-can-get-here-earlier arms race continues apace...

So I was just starting to turn my thoughts away from diecast and towards breakfast, when something else caught my eye down at the far end of the Charity Stall, past the short-date dog food and bundles of secondhand ballpoint pens.

Hold the boat.

Hold that goddamn boat.

[Tenmil Socket]

Is that silver no-namer a Honda Jazz perhaps?

[flat4alfa]

Is that dead Siku Transit worth a resto?

[bunglebus]

My First Matchbox Astra is worth grabbing

[andrew e]

First thing I cocked 😂 Always a home for Siku here!

[flat4alfa]

Just now, flat4alfa said:

Is that dead Siku Transit worth a resto?

In that case yes I've talked myself into it

[NorfolkNWeigh]

What about the Corgi Juniors E-Type?

[Datsuncog]

Well well well - a Tat Box.

And what could possibly be better than a 50p Tat Box?

How about a Three-For-A-Pound Tat Box?

Because that's what we're dealing with, kids.

It was an odd blend of pretty old stuff (like, early 60s Lesney and Husky) and Mattel stuff that's only a few years old at best, plus 80s Majorettes and Corgis.

Some of it was alright, condition wise, while others were a bit banged up.

'My First Matchbox' Astra peelermobile and Quasar in the mix.

Didn't know Matchbox had modelled a Renault Master - though I'm not that keen on their plastic body and diecast base models, for some reason.

Bburago 1/43 Seicento just a bit on the scruffy side.

Now this distinctively handwritten Majorette Fiat Ritmo with no rear hatch is familiar - this was on the main Tat Stall a few years ago. Like, quite a few years ago.

So maybe all these originated from there?

Or maybe this is someone else's market-derived wardrobe stash, now all gathered up and unceremoniously dumped back from whence it came, at a spouse's insistence?

Well, who knows?

So, I rummaged. And I pulled out a few things; as much as the loose change in my pocket permitted, anyway.

Then it was time to grab a coffee and scoot off into the brightening morning.

Pics to come, once I've taken them!

[flat4alfa]

Ritmo Strada please 

[sierraman]

That Olive Oyl car is actually one of the Hong Kong Matchboxes. I have a few, they did a range of character cars, some harder to find than others.

[flat4alfa]

Husky Splittie and Seicento?

[andrew e]

Turns our Easter is about miracles 😂

[flat4alfa]

I remember those from the catalogue 

Don’t recall seeing them in the shops or anyone actually owning them though

More likely USA market ploy

Must have cost a fair few dollars to set up licensing from Disney AND King Features Syndicate

[Datsuncog]

48 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

My First Matchbox Astra is worth grabbing

 

43 minutes ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

What about the Corgi Juniors E-Type?

 

37 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Ritmo Strada please 

 

35 minutes ago, sierraman said:

That Olive Oyl car is actually one of the Hong Kong Matchboxes. I have a few, they did a range of character cars, some harder to find than others.

 

35 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Husky Splittie and Seicento?

Funnily enough, I didn't get any of those.

There was a bit of overwhelm, possibly, and also I didn't have a lot of change on me (the usual cashpoint was out of order).

But - I'll be heading back over in 45 mins or so.

In the meantime, here's what I did come away with...

[Split_Pin]

Looks like I'm too slow again. I need to find out flat4alfas IP address and sabotage it for an hour on a Friday morning 🤣

[Datsuncog]

Corgi Juniors VW Hot Rod with reasonable paint but quite a loose base; another Majorette Volvo 245, and a Lesney Pontiac convertible missing its windshield (aren't they all?)

The Ovlov does have its tailgate this time - although it seems to be a bit dinged, so may take some persuasion to open more than a crack.

All three available, at 33p a pop.

The Firebird was one I had when I was a kid, and which inexplicably went missing/ got stolen at some point. So it was more a tug of unfinished business which netted this one.

The Lesney No.8 De Tomaso Pantera just looked slightly too nice to be left rattling round a tat box for any length of time.

Both available!

[w00dy]

Chicks dig Porsches

[Datsuncog]

I'm a bit of a swine for recent Matchbox releases, it has to be said.

I don't have either of these, the Custom '95 Chevy Van or the '66 Dodge A100 pickup.

Both fairly unspoiled - and I could be wrong but are these from multipack sets rather than individual mainlines?

I'll check later...

I do like a Dodge Monaco. I also regretted disposing of my silver '75 Chevrolet Caprice last year - so this kinda gets me back on track.

The VW Trekker is one I have in plain yellow, so I'm not sure why I picked it up... the 'Mountain Rescue' tampo seemed incongruous, maybe.

It's available, at 33p.

The '70 Datsun Bluebird is one I've yet to own, so even if it does have a few scratches I kinda like it. It's very orange.

The Caprice Classic cop car is one I had, then discarded, and also regretted a little bit... though this one's liveried as a private security firm car, rather than a rozzermobile.

Or is it?!

Yes, the other side is decorated as some sort of shonky taxi, complete with taped-on signage, a sanded-down version of the stripe on the offside, a Police Auctions sticker and an odd 'Cabbies ❤️ Matchbox' decal. The auction number, and number on the front wing - 1198 - seems to reference the model's range code of MB1198.

I'm sure this is some sort of cryptic in-joke amongst Mattel's designers, so I'll do some digging on the story behind this one...

[junkyarddog]

That Cop car/Taxi is hilarious 🤣

[bunglebus]

42 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Don’t recall seeing them in the shops or anyone actually owning them though

No, never

[Datsuncog]

Back onto the older stuff again...

Heavily patinated Lesney No.74 Daimler Bus.

It's not in great nick, but I kinda liked it all the same...

Available.

**EDIT - TAKEN!!**

Also, a not-too-shonky DAF flatbed..

I said not TOO shonky.

Still a bit shonky.

Available.

This is one I've never owned before: the No.42 Mercedes Container Truck.

I saw the container in the box, then dug a little deeper and there was the truck too.

They're not actually attached to each other, so only gravity keeps them together.

Which is why I've only ever seen the trucks by themselves.

It's in alright condition, to be fair.

I might have some wildly inappropriately-scaled fun later on with this and the Sambron jacklift.

Cos I know how to par-tay.

A keeper, for now.

Light 'n' Sound Transit Supervan does neither anymore, but I know there's a fair bit of affection for these on here.

I'm assuming there's a long-dead battery riveted under here somewhere?

Couldn't get away with that nowadays.

Available!

[Datsuncog]

And to finish up the Tat Box wonderland, there's these...

Yup, a 1/43 Norev Jet Citroen BX, in thrilling black.

Bit rough, to be fair.

But prime mini-shite, and attractively cheap at 33p.

Available...

**EDIT - TAKEN!!**

And then, the unlikely star of the show today:

A mega-borked Siku Mk1 Transit minibus.

This was the first thing my eyes fell on in the box.

Hooo, mama.

I've never held one of these before.

It's hefty.

It's great and awful and I love it.

Even if it only has two wheels and one door.

I'll think very hard about what to do with this one... Might be a keeper, for a little while at least.

Which conveniently brings us to midday, and I'm headin' back over...

[junkyarddog]

Shame about the missing door!

[Split_Pin]

Hey Tim could I get the BX please? 

I already have a 1/36 Guisval version and a huge 1/10th scale one I bought from Vantman many years ago now, so this one would be great.