Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

Maisto! I see them a bit in Germany but not much over here

[bunglebus]

Bargains* in the charity shop

Had a nose around the auction house at what's up for grabs tomorrow 

[bunglebus]

Then I spotted these in another charity shop, they appear to be dealer promotional cars, all plastic. 

This is the only one with anything on the base

Anyone recognise then?

[barrett]

3 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Then I spotted these in another charity shop, they appear to be dealer promotional cars, all plastic. 

Anyone recognise then?

I think Ford dealership promos of that era were made by AMT. I also think they're pretty collectable and those look extremely cheap to me (although I can't make out every price, they're all under a tenner right?). I am half-tempted by them, although not sure what I'd do with them. I'm not fussed about the Thunderbirds but the Continental and Taledega particularly look nice. Are you planning to go back? I'd definitely have those two if you are...

[bunglebus]

I bought the lot! Having looked on eBay I think that was the correct decision 

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Then I spotted these in another charity shop, they appear to be dealer promotional cars, all plastic. 

This is the only one with anything on the base

Anyone recognise then?

 

1 hour ago, barrett said:

I think Ford dealership promos of that era were made by AMT. I also think they're pretty collectable and those look extremely cheap to me (although I can't make out every price, they're all under a tenner right?). I am half-tempted by them, although not sure what I'd do with them. I'm not fussed about the Thunderbirds but the Continental and Taledega particularly look nice. Are you planning to go back? I'd definitely have those two if you are...

Yes they are AMT Promo models.

Here's a video I found on the YouTube

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

As promised here are some of the Norev Linge Noire 2CV models

1936 Prototype

1939 Prototype

1939 Prototype

1939 Cyclopes Prototype

1952 Dagonet

1953 Barbot Special

[andy18s]

My 2nd job after leaving school was working nights at a Shell petrol station just as the first lot of Collectables came out.

I have the full sets of all the cars to collect including the 1/12 Xj220,although my scumbag brother stole and sold it for beer money.

They aren't worth anything though as a peek on ebay will show ..

[flat4alfa]

4 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Then I spotted these in another charity shop, they appear to be dealer promotional cars, all plastic. 

This is the only one with anything on the base

Anyone recognise then?

[bunglebus]

Here are the promo models, fresh from a trip around the sink - they had a serious layer of dust inside! A few have defects, the worst being missing seats in the Falcon convertible. Conti has no tail lights, Thunderbird convertible missing a sunvisor, Torino has no engine, all have a bit of sun fading.Having said that, they are absolutely lovely things to behold 

Oh and the Thunderbird has a friction motor - on the front axle!

[bunglebus]

They did have a further item on the shelf, but had clearly checked eBay on that one as it was £HFM?

[bunglebus]

On 06/10/2021 at 16:13, bunglebus said:

It appears to be VW day today, this Auto-Pilen Buggi Playero is missing a few bits like the seat backs, windscreen and hood

So I found a better one

Looks like it has bent axles but that seems to be by design - they align with the angles on the base

[155V6]

My charity shop finds on the way home were less exciting than those promo models

I've already got a blue Corgi Prelude,but there's always room for another colour,it's quite tidy apart from a missing seat back

The plastic Toyota Hilux is not really my thing,or scale,but it's in such nice condition that I couldn't leave it behind

No idea how old it is,or who it's made by,it has this logo underneath

 

[bunglebus]

I'd have bought those too!

Love the HiLux, what's the reg on it?

[155V6]

5 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I'd have bought those too!

Love the HiLux, what's the reg on it?

[FakeConcern]

I caved and did the Mini Van in orange and rather like it

The paint's a bit thin in places and thick in others

but the (original) doors fit well!

I forgot to say when showing the Countryman that I didn't have any suitable grey for the base so I used grey primer and some gloss lacquer. It came out ok

I've now restored/ruined five Corgi Minis in as many weeks!

All different colours too...

[bunglebus]

I need to up my game! 😄

[FakeConcern]

3 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I need to up my game! 😄

Only in terms of Minis completed!

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

I caved and did the Mini Van in orange and rather like it

Yay!  I am pleased

Quote

All different colours too...

Which was really the way of thinking !

 

Now does it need some sign-writing on the panel...?  hmmmm...  

  

[Datsuncog]

Did a spot of gardening over the Easter week.

Repurposed an old sink into an alpine garden.

Then put a bit of grit down to stop the substrate washing away.

Which, conveniently enough...

Ah.

Yes.

I appear to have accidentally* created an ideal minishite 4x4 off-roading centre.

Whoops.

[eddyramrod]

Nice work on those Minis!  

The AMT promos will be 1/24 or 1/25, won't they?  I didn't know such things existed until about 40 years ago, well into my kit-building years during which I assembled quite a lovely collection of American cars in that scale.  I think Jo-Han had a good line in promos too IIRC.  None would have come with an engine, in fact I'm amazed you found one with an opening bonnet!

[bunglebus]

Yes I think they're 1:25 going by the ones I've found online. 

They do have some oddities I suppose, not sure if there should be an engine under the hood, and they all somehow make single-colour plastic look way more detailed than should be possible. 

What I want to know is how they ended up in a charity shop in Chelmsford, but that will probably remain a mystery

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

Only in terms of Minis completed!

Just the three I think

 

[flat4alfa]

33 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

I appear to have accidentally* created an ideal minishite 4x4 off-roading centre

 

[Datsuncog]

Fantastic finds, those AMTs - well bought!

Let's just pause for a minute to remember that all seven of those came in at less than what a local charity shop wanted for this load of wank in a wooden display cabinet:

£75.

For that.

I'm living in the wrong town...

[bunglebus]

I do wonder about charity shop pricing - are they just whimsical or do they do some research? I appreciate they can't check everything but to ask £75 they must believe those cars were actually from the 1920's-30's rather than the 80's-90's

I did chuckle at the £5 Sports Car Collection models earlier after seeing several boxes full literally in the next road

[Datsuncog]

Did some further puttering round the shops over the weekend, just to see what's what...

Tesco's selection of Matchbox looking a bit depleted:

Interesting that all the Cycle Runner trailers that pair with the Nissan Hardbody have gone, while the ones from the previous case selection (the sheriff impound ones) are still there.

Hot Wheels also still selling well; with any luck a new case will be getting tipped in soonish.

Lots of those cartoonish Batmobiles left, though.

Hot Wheels five-packs still on their 2-for-£14 Clubcard Price offer; sadly the same courtesy isn't extended to Matchbox.

I really do like that metallic brown W123.

Sainsburys had nothing new, just the dregs of the late 2022 Hot Wheels case still kicking around, their packaging now looking a bit bent and torn.

Lidl had nothing left at all from their unexpected 2023 Hot Wheels case extravaganza from the other week.

The smallish local Poundland had a single peg of recent-ish Hot Wheels mainlines, though mostly comedy/ fantasy castings so not really my bag.

Poundstretcher, once upon a time a happy hunting ground for Hongwell Cararama and Maisto, had nothing of interest either - no Matchbox, no Hot Wheels, no nuthin'.

Going a bit further afield did take me into the Asda Home store in North Belfast - where they had loads of Majorette, to my surprise.

But not cheap. £16 for a premium five-pack.

I'm not honestly all that enamoured with newer Majorette, by and large - although decent enough models, well detailed and all, I just can't quite warm to them. Likewise modern Siku offerings - I can appreciate them, but I don't really want to own them all that much. And their relatively high prices also help to cool my cheap-ass ardour.

Pricier than Mattel's standard five-packs, anyway.

They also stocked articulated trucks in the vein of Matchbox Convoys, buses and twin-packs with a trailer. Nice enough, but not massively appealing.

Confusing pricing seems to indicate the Hot Wheels mainlines are £1.90, while the 'character range' (seemingly tie-ins from that Disney Pixar 'Lightyear' film) are £3, but thrown into the same dump bin, for maximum chaos. Nothing exciting in there, anyway.

Toys are dear enough these days.

A quick turn over to a different branch of B&M elicited nothing; no more Hot Wheels Flying Customs anyway. They seem to have pretty much sold through, in this neck of the woods anyway.

Another big Home Bargains store in the Cityside mall failed to come up with much, other than more of those Matchbox Action City garage sets still on the shelves.

TK Maxx had finally got some Majorette in, though a little pricier than mainland stores - didn't someone say the individual models were £2 in their local store?

£2.99 here for individual models.

I was a bit tempted by some of the vans and stuff, it's true.

Likewise the trailer sets - better value than Asda too.

Not sure I'd class a tractor and logging truck as 'Street Cars ', but ok.

Premiums with their separate box were kinda nice, it has to be said. A lot of detail on these.

Lastly, I scuttled over to a fairly large Poundland store, and was surprised to find not only a fair amount of Hot Wheels but multiple pegs full of long card Matchbox stuff, at only £1.50 a throw.

There were lots of those annoying little skid dumper things and the speed detector trailers, but also some better stuff.

Now I did take some photos of their selection but curiously none of them came out properly - are Poundland employing some sort of anti-tat surveillance technology?

Best I could retrieve from my phone. Very odd.

I restrained myself, and only came away with these two beauties.

I know, I already have the Civic in yellow and in red - but I do so like this casting.

The SII Land Rover was one I had in red as part of the 'Best of the UK' range from 2021, but I got rid of both (!!) my examples without ever even opening them.

Silver linings and all that - I much prefer the colour and wheels on this version.

And I've opened it, too.

Life's too short for sealed packs, kids.

[bunglebus]

Interesting, those Matchbox are from a case Tesco neglected to get.

I'm on the hunt for Majorettes as I want the VW ones, nothing in Asda but I'll try TK Maxx later

[Datsuncog]

Yeah, the 2022 Matchbox longcards in Poundland seem to have been sourced from China, going by the sticker on the back of the blister pack - presumably some sort of parallel import?

Haven't seen any Majorette VWs, other than two versions of the Crafter van in TK Maxx, but will keep a weather eye out...

[Bren]

My most recent purchase. I had this in junior school - I swapped it - but I had never seen one offered with the old style box.