Shite in Miniature II

[RoadworkUK]

Absolutely nailed-on 2003-spec. Lovely stuff

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 21/05/2023 at 18:11, bunglebus said:

These next were also purchased in case one of you wanted them - squid each Tomicas

Fork truck doesn't do tip but does up/down and the forks adjust for width 

yes please

[Noel Tidybeard]

Tim the postman* came today

*i asume it was Tim as I was at work!

[bunglebus]

10 hours ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

yes please

Claimed by PM, sorry!

Got some boxed but opened Matchbox in the post, still got the collector cards in the boxes too

[Dick Cheeseburger]

14 hours ago, Burnside said:

Haven't posted on this thread in a long time! Although I thought this recent purchase was worth a mention, a sad looking 1:43 Schabak Ford Sierra Sapphire.

It was missing the right door and dashboard plus one rear light, but as I'm such a good hoarder/ collector of miniature tat I had the parts in stock. 

Done. 

Love that. For added effect, it needs a pair of number plates printing and attaching. Ideally one of them needs to be on the wonk, too. 

[bunglebus]

This one has a back story. When I met my best mate in the late 80s, he had a silver remote controlled MK1 Golf with big wheel arches and blue windows. I thought it was a bit awesome and managed to get it off him somehow. It lived on my wardrobe for years but I've no idea what happened to it - my mum probably decided it was "old toot" and threw it away. 

Though this thread I worked out it was a Radio-Racer and I've been keeping my eye on them since. Funny enough that same mate spotted this one badly listed so I whacked a bid in. 

Turned up just wrapped in a Sainsbury's bag and the box was filthy - but it's all good thankfully and cleaned up well

[Tenmil Socket]

27 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

This one has a back story. When I met my best mate in the late 80s, he had a silver remote controlled MK1 Golf with big wheel arches and blue windows. I thought it was a bit awesome and managed to get it off him somehow. It lived on my wardrobe for years but I've no idea what happened to it - my mum probably decided it was "old toot" and threw it away. 

Though this thread I worked out it was a Radio-Racer and I've been keeping my eye on them since. Funny enough that same mate spotted this one badly listed so I whacked a bid in. 

Turned up just wrapped in a Sainsbury's bag and the box was filthy - but it's all good thankfully and cleaned up well

Nice find. I really need to finish my Corgi RC car this year!

[AndyW201]

Yesterday's delivery,

Non-Ford Vanguards shocker!

I've been watching these Sable brown Quattros for a while. So far the only other Quattro I have is the shot-up Gene Hunt version, as part of the Corgi 'Ashes to Ashes' twin pack with the police Granada. There have been a few colour ways released now, but the white one seems to be the only sought after one. I think this was one of the Vanguards castings that, like the Subaru Legacy, was created primarily for rally versions, with a few road versions released to get some mileage out of the casting. But by and large, your typical Vanguards customer doesn't like "foreign "cars and they generally struggle to sell.

By Vanguards standards, for a fairly recent release (2020), this brown version can be had fairly cheaply. This one is brand new and unopened and my offer of £16 plus post was instantly accepted.

It's a lovely model though, and they did really put some effort into it. This release may possibly  not have sold well because of the colour scheme but I love it! Me and brown/beige '80s style German cars have history together...

As usual, nice detail up front. The headlights are brilliant, nice number plate font and the tiny headlight washers are a nice touch.

Pretty nice at the rear, get up really close and the COUPÉ lettering on the reflector panel can be seen, which is cool.

Later type Wheels are done well, along with the typical Audi rings on the door, and the small Quattro graphics in the windows. Even the tiny chrome strips on the door handles, things like this make a sad bastard like me happy...

This is from just before Corgi started to up the detailing on their interiors, so it was a nice surprise to see a few different shades inside this one, instead of a sea of one shade of beige like I was expecting,

 

Can't have enough beige and brown...

[Datsuncog]

So, I didn't get round to getting into more detail on the weekend's arrivals from Dan... due to Other Pressing Matters on the agenda.

But here we are now.

So first up - it's this little beauty.

Ooft.

I've been after a K-22 Dodge Charger for years.

It's one of those semi-mythical models which I'd heard so much about, but had yet to see in the metal.

Indeed, one of my go-to idle daydreams as I putter up the motorway towards the market on a Friday morning is maybe there'll be a King Size Charger on the stall today... 

So far, there hasn't been - after 132 weeks of Friday morning tat-trawling (yes, I counted).

I mean, I did have the later drag-strip styled Speed Kings version, in orange with the bodyshell all hacked about, but I hadn't very much affection for it... This, though - this is different. It should go well with my other King Size cars - the Mercury Cougar, Lamborghini Miura, and Mercedes ambulance. Just the Mercury Commuter cop car to find, now...

Very very pleased with this one - thanks Dan!

Another long-sought-after item is the Corgi Mercedes Faun street sweeper.

This is so heavy. All-metal construction does not make for a lightweight toy.

Although missing a few of its stickers and hose attachments, it's actually not in bad nick.

All the rotating bits still work, and I'm tempted to just give this one a good clean and maybe a tickle with a black sharpie to spruce it up a little.

Perhaps some surprise that I took these...

Though they're not for me, honest guv.

Nope, 

This is part of a covert programme to influence my brother's kids into liking smol cars.

They're a bit young to be handling diecast just yet, but these wooden Hot Wheels might be just the ticket.

I'm also stockpiling other items which may be of interest to them in a few years' time. Like these Corgis.

The Routemaster bus is in decent enough nick, as is the fantasy breakdown truck - could do with a bit of a scrub, but they're fundamentally sound. 

The Corgi Cubs tanker is pretty clean too - there's a bit of play wear, but that's fine.

I've been aware of the Cubs range forever - I had a couple when I was a kid - but the generic nature meant I never really paid them very much attention. Even the big Van Cleemput book on Corgi pretty much ignores them. 

So I've been doing a bit of my own digging on the range, just to see what might be out there - as it was quite an interesting concept for Mettoy to produce. There's rather more models in the line-up than I ever expected - twelve castings in total - including helicopters and MG-style roadsters that I've never seen in real life.

These three appealed to me because they're not so tidy or rare that I feel guilty giving them to kids to play with, but nor are they so knackered that they're obviously rubbish.

The same logic applies here...

Ultimately, I'm trying to build a small box of interesting toys - I should probably take a look through my own toybox, as I know I have doubles...

I'm not a huge fan of Ferraris, but these three might appeal to youngsters. I'd consider getting some lengths of gravity racetrack too, and see if that amuses the young 'uns... probably not too hard to track down some Matchbox or Hot Wheels stuff.

But these three are for me...

A Renault R17 without damaged pillars, a Mazda RX500 with the rear engine hatch still in place, and a beach buggy with the engine still attached.

And these are also staying with me.

I'd thought the motorcycle trailer was a later 1980s one in orange from the Two-Packs, but instead it's a much earlier one with regular wheels. Intact and just needing a bike! Pleased with this.

And the Leyland finally completes a near-forty year loss - reuniting my original trailer with a replacement cab unit that's broadly in the same condition as mine was the last time I saw it - in 1985 or so.

I'm fairly sure it was lost in the rubble after a garden greenhouse was demolished, and I couldn't help playing in the broken-up cement footings with my construction toys... my ERTL Pontiac Bonneville police car also went missing that day.

My own fault.

Still, good to have it back, in a manner of speaking!

Cheers for these Dan - much obliged!

[bunglebus]

21 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Corgi Cubs

I've got a fair few, and I've put a lot of them in a rather large "eBay" box.

Got to check what I decided to part with but these are all the ones I've acquired 

I think flat4alfa got one of the unusual ones with windows from you?

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I finally managed to have a proper look through my latest DanBox. Whilst there were plenty of models which caught my eye, the one which I was particularly pleased with was this unassuming Matchbox Lesney No71 Ford heavy wreck truck.

It was only when I took it out and had a proper look over it, that I realised it's identical to one I played with a lot as a child. Mine was infinitely more battered and I don't remember it ever having a tow hook either - my parents bought a good mix of old and new models for us during childhood. I think the most battered ones were from very early on in childhood and were bought very much pre-used as they'd likely end up bashed up anyway. I had a clearout of my tattiest diecast in the early 90s and I guess this one was one of them. 

Thanks Dan - it's made me smile that a model I'd completely forgotten I owned is now back in my possession, and looking better than it ever did! 

[Datsuncog]

8 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I've got a fair few, and I've put a lot of them in a rather large "eBay" box.

Got to check what I decided to part with but these are all the ones I've acquired 

Wow, nice!

The milk delivery van seems to be one of the very last, with glazing fitted.

I didn't even know the racer or roadster versions existed before now - it was only a bit of an internet trawl on Sunday morning that led me to find out what the range involved.

If you think you might be wanting rid of any of yours, let me know... there's no rush though! It'll be Christmas before they'll all be back over here again, so I've a while to find some stuff.

[sierraman]

The Corgi Cubs don’t seem to have much of a following. I’ve got all of the castings but only for the sake of completeness. 

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, AndyW201 said:

Yesterday's delivery,

Non-Ford Vanguards shocker!

I've been watching these Sable brown Quattros for a while. So far the only other Quattro I have is the shot-up Gene Hunt version, as part of the Corgi 'Ashes to Ashes' twin pack with the police Granada. There have been a few colour ways released now, but the white one seems to be the only sought after one. I think this was one of the Vanguards castings that, like the Subaru Legacy, was created primarily for rally versions, with a few road versions released to get some mileage out of the casting. But by and large, your typical Vanguards customer doesn't like "foreign "cars and they generally struggle to sell.

 

The value of the Vanguards Quattros is surprisingly low, but then with the likes of Minichamps and other making good versions, they have a lot to compete with.

Here's the Vanguards dark blue version 

And the very limited Alpine White German version.

Minichamps 1981 pre-facelift

and finally Minichamps Sport Quattro

[Datsuncog]

47 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I think flat4alfa got one of the unusual ones with windows from you?

You're right - I picked this one up in June 2021.

And I previously had this version, which I sold on for buttons back in 2018.

I must have done a bit of digging on these in the past, as I seem to have arrived at the conclusion that the glazed examples were sold through branches of Mothercare...

13 minutes ago, sierraman said:

The Corgi Cubs don’t seem to have much of a following. I’ve got all of the castings but only for the sake of completeness. 

Nope, they don't seem all that desirable unless mint/boxed (and even then, not really) - the HobbyDB listing for the Cubs range is incomplete and pretty half-arsed.

They don't really do it for me either, but I'd be happy to put a few back to the purpose for which they were made...

[Datsuncog]

My own cataloguing of the range (based mainly on old eBay listings) is as follows:

R500 - Police Car
White body, blue base, red 'POLICE stickers
White body, red base, blue 'POLICE' stickers
White body, red base, red 'POLICE' stickers
White body, red base, red lowercase 'police' stickers

R501 - Off-Road Car
Metallic green body, yellow base

R502 - Panel Van
Orange body, white base, 'Express' side stickers
Red body, white or orange base, 'Butcher' stickers
Yellow body, yellow base, 'Telephone' stickers
Green body, white base, 'Grocer' side stickers

R503 Roadster/ Vintage Tourer
Metallic blue body, white base
Metallic blue body, silver base
Green body, white base
Green body, yellow base
Green body, silver base, white wheels

R504 - Pick-Up Truck
Yellow body, red base
Green body, white base, 'Farm' stickers

R505 - Fire Chief Estate Car
Red body, white base, 'Fire Chief' stickers

R506 - Helicopter
Yellow body and tail, red base and skids

R507 - Tanker Truck
Yellow body, black base, 'Shell Tanker' stickers 
Silver body, red base, 'Shell' stickers

R508 - Racing Car
Orange body, silver plated base, 'Racer' sticker
Metallic purple body, white base, 'Racer' sticker

R509 - Open Truck
Blue body, yellow base
Blue body, orange base (discoloration?)

R510 - Fire Truck
Red body, white base, 'Fire Dept' stickers

R511 - Ambulance
White body, red base, white and red 'Ambulance' sticker
White body, red base, yellow and red 'Ambulance' sticker, glazing fitted

R512 Milk Delivery Van
Blue body, white base, 'Milk' side stickers
[Same casting as R502]

R600 Emergency Services Gift set: R500 Police Car; R505 Fire Chief Car; R510 Fire Truck; R511 Ambulance 

R601 Six-vehicle set: R500 Police Car; R504 Pick-Up Truck: R505 Fire Chief Car; R509 Open Truck; R510 Fire Truck; R511 Ambulance

[flat4alfa]

^ I'm so pleased there is going to be a chapter on these in the CogBook™ 😁

 

Yes Corgi Cubs were designed to be cheap to produce so that Corgi could cover the nursery toy market.  The models and the packaging were all made in Britain.

The range was launched October 1977 at price point 55p each RRP.  They were produced through 1978 but proved to be a low seller.

There was an advertising campaign to encourage Mums to spend 55p and do the patriotic thing.  Note bottom paragraph!

They came in blister packed singles:

Then boxed singles.  Notice the price had doubled to £1.10, inflation rate in 1977 hit 15.85%, but still, maybe the first few months they were sold at 55p as a loss-leader ploy  (also check out the regular Corgi line wheel type on that ambulance) :

The R600 4-pack set looks like a nice historical artifact to collect

But true TAT Connoisseurs should surely go for the R601 6-pack set

Mothercare was a stockist, using their own-branding.  Later, they were also distributed by Avon Cosmetics, but with the Corgi brand removed.  I'm not sure if that applied to the Mothercare line as well.

 

Funny the glazed one should get remembered

Quote

It's a bit cleaner now and the only Cub here.

No idea why Tiny Tom finds it endearing

Perhaps it's the swoopy late-seventies yankiness

Any others were job-lotted out of this house some time ago.

[danthecapriman]

Most of the Cubs range are news to me! The only ones I knew of were the police car, red tow truck, yellow tanker and red/yellow pickup. I didn’t have any of them as a kid but just found them occasionally in job lots or boot sales. 
 

@Datsuncog @Dick Longbridge glad you like your stuff though gents!👍

[flat4alfa]

48 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

Most of the Cubs range are news to me!

Hands off!

You've already swept the market of Sabra Detroits! 😄

[sierraman]

I remember having the Milk one as a kid, even as far back as I can remember they were a bit shit compared to fifty pence spent at the table top sale. That would have probably got you two battered Superkings. 🤔

[FakeConcern]

The trouble with this thread...

I'd never seen the MB KS Charger before (thanks @Datsuncog) and as a kid I didn't have many American cars. I think I only had Corgi Camaro, Toronado, Mustang, MB KS Mercury Cougar and a bit later the Hotwheels Sputafouco Boss Mustang. I also had some Lesneys hard to remember as I have none of them now, but I think a Station Wagon with the back of the roof that slid in and out and one with dogs in the back. However now I've seen that I'm tempted by this even at £17...

What scale are Matchbox King Size, the Cougar looks a bit small next to my Corgi Mustang Fastback.

As regards Corgi Cubs, I never ever liked generic style cars even when I was small. I could draw a realistic looking Mini by the time I started school and toys that didn't look like the real thing didn't appeal so Cubs would have been out...

On another topic, who was it looking for a 1/43 or thereabouts 2CV?

I've just found these...

Made in China, no maker

Pull back go

I think the small one is about 1/43 and the big one 1/36 or so. Here they are next to a Solido Citroen C4 VTS for a scale reference

and here next to more familiar Corgi Rover and Mini

So who wanted one are you reading this now, did you get one? Anyone remeber who it was?

[danthecapriman]

Pretty sure it was @andy18s for 2CV??

[Spottedlaurel]

7 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Just the Mercury Commuter cop car to find, now...

Like this one?

 

I'll PM you.

Regarding Corgi Cubs, the only one I had back in the day was the yellow and green buggy thing, still got it. Might have acquired one more from the range since then.

Update on recent acquisitions, in addition to the excellent Union VW Beetle kit from @bunglebus :

I went to a 1:1 show, not many traders but there was one chap selling a few diecasts. He had a load of Lledo and MoY stuff at £2 a go, or 3 for £5. I couldn't find three of interest but thought I'd give this LD at least a home.

Despite visiting a variety of big stores in different towns I've found very few HWs of interest, and no Matchbox. The CR-X was placed on a different shelf, well up out of the way of kids. Maybe someone was going to come back for it? Sorry if so....

[Jon]

Let's have a compare and contrast with a couple of German big guns in pocket sized format:

 

And a bit of needless artwank, to start things off.

 

Chanced upon a Matchbox version of the AMG SEC at a retro fair on the weekend and thought it worthy of bringing home on the basis that at 50p, the price wasn't 'retro' inflated.

Here we can clearly see that an 80's interpretation vs a 20's effort differ quite wildly in ride height. Likely a mix of built in suspension travel on the Matchbox and stance over playability priority for the Hotwheels.

 

The more playful colour scheme of the earlier version also adds to this notion but it's easy to imagine an SEC specced in this manner, back in the day - though perhaps minus the giant AMG door graphics. The Hotwheels evokes $500k+ Hammer editions, to excite dull men over 30 much more than children under 11.

As can often be the case though, Hotwheels have packed a lot of detail in to a pocket money product. Both castings have fancy wheels, with the Matchbox sporting a later, lesser seen set. Better than the 8 spot dished standards? Probably not.

 

I think both have their place in this die cast collecting world but I'm happy to seek the older, less perfect example, even if I wish they'd released it without the body kit and with the gunmetal flanks, as per the standard model.

[155V6]

A couple of bits from the car boot on the way to work this morning 

Corgi Bedford TK tractor unit,quite tatty & needs a good clean,but had a trailer waiting for it at home

Just need to get a couple of tyres from the local toyfair next month

And I couldn't leave this 1/64 Norev Citroen C4 for a pound 😀

 

[RoadworkUK]

4 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Mothercare was a stockist, using their own-branding.  Later, they were also distributed by Avon Cosmetics, but with the Corgi brand removed.  I'm not sure if that applied to the Mothercare line as well.

Well there's another mystery solved by the Tat thread.

I had what I now know to have been the Corgi Cubs Racing Car, but mine was bright red with a blue plastic base, I'm pretty sure of it. I also don't remember it having any maker's name, but I remember thinking it strange that a racing car should have the same wheels as a double-decker London bus.

Edit: like this one, found via Google:

I now assume that mine was one of the Avon-marketed examples. Alas, a trip to the attic leads me to believe it to be lost.

[flat4alfa]

3 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

MB KS Charger

What scale are Matchbox King Size, the Cougar looks a bit small next to my Corgi Mustang Fastback.

I measured the King Size Mercury Cougar to be 1:48 length, 1:45 width, so a bit lardy, but doesn’t look that way on the shelf 

Corgi’s Mustang Fastback isn’t really a good benchmark of perfect modelling though.  To me, it went wrong from a few angles!  Did you mean the Mach 1 model?

[FakeConcern]

15 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

I measured the King Size Mercury Cougar to be 1:48 length, 1:45 width, so a bit lardy, but doesn’t look that way on the shelf 

Corgi’s Mustang Fastback isn’t really a good benchmark of perfect modelling though.  To me, it went wrong from a few angles!  Did you mean the Mach 1 model?

Hmm, I had to have a proper look at them and The Cougar is as long as the Corgi Mustang, but something about the proportions of the windows makes it look smaller to me.

I also compared the Corgi Camaro (all three similar age models) and again it is actually similar size but to me looks smaller because somehow the roof looks too squat.

The two later models Corgi Mach1 & HW Boss 302 are both bigger & I imagine the real cars were too.

They look similar in size from the top

It's from the side it looks small.

Just to make things more confusing I put them next to a Corgi Mini and to me the Cougar looks too small

So then I looked in the Ginormous Book of Corgi and Van Cleemput states the scales as

Mini 1/42

Mustang Fastback 1/46

Camaro 1/47

Mach1 1/43

So not sure where that leaves us

He also says somewhere in the book that Corgi made the cars a bit too wide as otherwise when veiwed from above as they usually are, they look too long and thin (I think he compares them to a Dinky) I can't find it in the book ATM.

 

[FakeConcern]

Found it

 

[Datsuncog]

Seems that it takes a day or two longer for CMC models to make their way across the Irish Sea.

This showed up in the mailbox this morning.

I'd had to have a bit of a think before agreeing to this one - because, much as I enjoy getting a facsimile slice of diecast history through the post each month, this #492 'Volkswagen European Police Car' in Polizei colours is but a mild reworking of the #256 East African Safari Beetle 1200 - which was only sent out to subscribers from last August.

Now I'm a big fan of the Safari Beetle and was keenly anticipating it (and the plastic rhino that came with it); this one however I was feeling slightly more ambivalent about.

I guess that because I'd owned an original Safari Rally for many years, maybe there was more of an emotional link. Not that I don't like the peelermobile version - I just don't have much in the way of strong feelings around it.

Up to now, CMC have been pretty good at ensuring that their models are well packed, often using foam cutouts to protect the model inside from damaging the box - especially those with fragile or pointy bits.

So it was a smidge disappointing to realise that this one just had some thin bubble wrap round it, which had done nothing to prevent the roof-mounted police light from punching through the box while in transit.

I pushed it down as best I could, but that's always gonna be quite noticeable.

Hmm, annoying.

The model itself is quite lovely, though.

As always, it's the shininess of these factory-fresh toys which grabs me.

I know, I know - they're not the same as the originals. Nothing is. But it's nice to imagine what it must have felt like to receive one of these back in the day, with the glazing all clear and the decals unblemished. Even the tidiest original has a degree of patina picked up over nearly 60 years.

The casting is identical to the Safari Beetle, so the decent detail under the bonnet (and the frunk) remains the same. The mask-sprayed white wings are pretty neatly done, as is the rear light detail.

All that's really different is the steering boss on the roof, now switched from a rubber spare wheel to a sort-of light, sort-of weird false nipple arrangement. It doesn't look a lot like a light - but I guess the ribbed flange is to make it easier to grip whilst turning.

It's fair to say that the rally version's spare wheel is slightly more practical to steer with (or maybe I just need to practice more).

Plus, as a bonus, we get a pair of Landespolizei officers inside. Polizist Manfred and Wachtmeister Humbert reporting for duty, ever-ready to patrol the mean streets of Potsdam in Wolfsburg's finest.

Base is similarly unchanged from the previous version - Corgi were smart to keep it broad from the start, and not be overly specific about whether it was a rally version or whatever.

Authentisch, ja?

Blurb does a blurb.

Running from May 1966 until 1970, this was a fairly long-lived model, with the casting going on to be reworked for the Whizzwheels era as both a generic black and white Beetle police car and as a 'Flower Power' Beetle - though as basic solid castings, without any opening bits.

Later, in 1974, a dark blue Beetle driving school car would be released using the same roof-mounted steering mechanism as the Police and Rally versions, now with a gold steering wheel on top.

The casting would almost see out the '70s as a Whizzwheels rally car version in blue and white, again with the steering deleted. But it was canned for the 1979 catalogue year, as Corgi decided the last of the smaller, older 1/43-ish cars were starting to look ludicrous next to their more recent 1/36 scale releases.

But even so, this very same casting zombie'd its way back in the 1990s, as a promotional giveaway model for Simoniz polish. Who knows, maybe we still haven't seen the last of it?

Despite being 'foreign', this police version was still a pretty good seller for Corgi- over half a million were shifted over four years, both in the UK and across Europe.  No doubt a combination of appealing subject matter and the added playvalue of steerable wheels kept it flying off the shelves and into eager young hands.

Yeah, it's growing on me.