Shite in Miniature II

[Datsuncog]

3 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

It's part of 2021 Mix 3 that like 2021 Mix 5, Tesco never got hold of.  But Poundland seem to have done so.

'09 International eStar
1957 Dodge Sweptside Pickup
1965 Land Rover Gen II
1971 MGB GT Coupe
1976 Honda CVCC
2011 MINI Countryman
2019 Ford Mustang Coupe
Ford F-550 Super Duty
Nissan NV Van
Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet
Road Stripe King
Skidster
Speed Trapper

Ah, now that's interesting.

Back in March one branch of Poundland in Belfast had the long card Skidster and Speed Trapper (and only those two left by the time I noticed them - presumably they had the whole selection on the pegs at one stage), while a few weeks later another branch - the one which erroneously sold 2023 releases for 50p - had the green Land Rover, the green MGB, the white Civic, the cream and red Sweptside, the Speed Trapper and (probably) a few of the moderns and commercials.

Never saw a Chevy Nova in either store though. Or I'd have definitely had it.

Going by the sticker on the back, these were parallel imports via a Chinese distributor - not UK-designated stock.

I've still a spare Land Rover available, if anyone's keen.

[Datsuncog]

One of the few wet Fridays we've had this year, it seems.

Not, like, lashing - but a wee bit damper than expected.

Forward!

[flat4alfa]

THE TREE!
THE TREE!
ALL HAIL THE TREE OF TAT

[flat4alfa]

[TheOtherStu]

Why do I feel strangely excited?

[flat4alfa]

9 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Never saw a Chevy Nova in either store though. Or I'd have definitely had it.

I've still a spare Land Rover available, if anyone's keen.

Thanks.  I know I am good for those two

Did you say you had a spare Brazilian Hot One ?

(Best not Google that one either)

[Spottedlaurel]

It's a rare friday morning where I might be able to partake. Fingers crossed for a bumper selection of unboxed, playworn but honest Majorettes at 50p each....

[Datsuncog]

 

AND we're back.

The forum server crapped out just before 8am, as I was trying to upload some pics.

A pox on unstable hosting software.

Photos to follow... but before you all have your F5 keys mashed, I don't think it's quite as good a crop of tat as recent weeks have brought, sadly!

17 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Did you say you had a spare Brazilian Hot One ?

I do, as it happens... and an El Camino also. 

[TheOtherStu]

[Datsuncog]

So then, hiatus aside... bit of a drag getting in this morning, as there's gas mains being replaced along the Shore Road and the tailbacks are unreal, even at 7.15 in the morning.

Luckily*, it'll only take them 26 weeks to complete the works... yup, that's right: six months to install a bloody pipe, on a key transport corridor.

However, on finally getting in and getting parked, auspices were good:

The sight of a ropey P-reg Corolla E100 still plying its trade as a market load-lugger will lift the dampest of spirits, I'd say...

And yet, on stumbling in through the doors, it became evident that the Tat Stall was trying a different tack for diecast enticement today...

Oh great. Lledo.

I mean, they're not all that dear, but still...

So many that it required an overflow table to be set up alongside.

A lot of the Days Gone Vanguards were ones I'd owned in the past, bought back in the early '90s when they were very affordable and seemed quite decent.

But times move on, hey?

DC Thompson cartoons series were quite jolly, and foldout packaging was quite nicely done.

There were four or five of this range.

I'd never heard of 'The Bentley Collection' - but plainly this is another Lledo creation.

I suspect the dog-dick red isn't a genuine shade offered by Bentley, but all the same this one was not unappealing.

Up top, things were getting dearer...

NO OFFERS

Well, okay.

But we're looking at Corgi Classics, Matchbox MoYs and Atlas partworks, for the majority.

😕

[flat4alfa]

[Datsuncog]

A few more were set out as I snapped pics and (probably) grimaced...

Mostly Corgi, with a few Detail-Corgi to spice things up.

Detail Cars XJS wasn't all that brilliant, shape-wise.

BMW floppytop and Testarossa both loose and banging about, but not yet suffering catastrophic damage.

Loose Corgi Land Rover SII with some effort at weathering wasn't too bad.

Atlas Police vehicles, and more late-era Corgi Classics. Boxless Landcrab was one of few Vanguards going.

Vitesse commercials sub-brand City Models had a VW T1, Morris LD150 and Renault Estafette - though the Vee-Dub was yoinked shortly after.

Worth a tenner? Maybe.

Corgi/ Sunbeam Metrobuses perhaps optimistic enough at £10 - or maybe not, I dunno?

The Sash My Farrr Worrrrrrre was rather more expensive at £40, but provoked much excitement amongst the various giffers milling around, who seemingly quite like this sort of thing.

But we're here for the diecast, kids - politics thread is over there...

The generic Matchbox Collectables boxes gave me some hope, however - could they be examples of the American Muscle Car series?

Nope.

But they did have their certificates of authenticity, reassuringly. Phew.

Because we all know that ne'er-do-well copyists with access to industrial die-casting machines, professional painting facilities and packaging machinery won't also have a photocopier or inkjet printer.

I mean, these are really nicely done but just not my thing.

Dammit. No purple Dodge Challenger, no yellow Plymouth Super Bee.

The 'Beers of the World ' range did at least have its own unique packaging to help assuage disappointment.

Actually, this Bedford O Series isn't bad. And Tooheys New is one of the better Australian beers out there, IMHO.

But still - not today.

Smaller-scale Atlas Foden showman's rig was quite nice, mind.

But - tragically, no 50p Tat Box, no old Corgis, no real oddities today.

Hey ho.

Although - could our collective blood pressure even stand another week like that one a fortnight ago?

So I wandered off to see what else could be seen...

[Datsuncog]

Mulligan's Irish Gifts had more Hot Wheels, though apparently the guy who brings them in - the mysterious Hundred Hot Wheels Harry - is now asking more for them.

Interestingly, he also brings them along in original Mattel boxes - "but he always wants the boxes back", leaving Colin on the stall to transfer them into carrier bags.

Sounds to me like someone buying cases wholesale to fillet out treasure hunts and other chase cars to resell online, before punting on the dross.

£2.50 a pop now.

That's inflation for you, kids.

This FC RX7 was quite nice, all the same.

Colin on the stall was also bemoaning how the Oxford Diecast 00 scale Renault 4 has gone up from £7.50 last month to £8.99 this month.

He'd bought a new case of the Matchbox Germany Collection models, though - and they've been selling well enough at £2.99.

Nothing new down the 'proper' model end of the stall this week, though - although he'd bought a few Corgi Model Club models off someone secondhand, and they were selling quite briskly at £20 a throw. However he'd only brought one in with him today, the Porsche Carrera 6, and that was because someone had already agreed to buy it and pick it up today from St George's.

Onwards, then...

[quicksilver]

19 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

 

Smaller-scale Atlas Foden showman's rig was quite nice, mind.

Joby Carter's nemesis! He hates this model as it looks nothing like any vehicle his family ever owned and Atlas never asked permission to use the name. There's loads of them about as they were the £2.99 introductory model. He did a video where he ran one over with the real gallopers truck but that wasn't as satisfyingly destroyed as the one he crushed with a hydraulic crane leg.

The 'mickey mouse' Foden cab casting (from Corgi's Trackside range) is nicely done but the rest is pretty poor so they're okay as conversion fodder but nothing more.

[Datsuncog]

One of the slightly more, ahem, singular punters had sidled up to me at the main Tat Stall and mentioned something garbled about soldiers, and diecast, and "all the wee models" while pointing over in the general direction of the Charity Stall.

So that seemed a promising place to wander next.

However, my dreams of overflowing buckets of three-for-a-pound Majorettes were cruelly dashed...

Other than some pleasingly retro motor oil cans, there wasn't really anything much vehicle related to be seen.

A Corgi B-17 was about the height of it.

Seemingly these little metal figures is what matey-boy was getting all hot under the collar about.

Well, alright.

I could also have had an infant gas mask, had the fancy taken me...

...and just how dangerous were old TVs?

The 50p end of the stall was mostly clothes this week, rather than CDs or indeed diecast:

Though there was a small box of unwanted household goods and assorted rammel, containing one of the more distressing candles I've ever encountered:

Can you even imagine what this would look like as it was melting?

Actually, don't imagine it - you won't like it...

[Datsuncog]

So, it all came down to Alan and his Eponymous Emporium to swing into action, and rescue Tat Friday from the doldrums!

Ah.

Oh.

Well, never mind.

Alan, in fairness, noticed me hovering over his wares and apologised for the lack of diecast lately - he's been looking for more, but his usual outlets (apparently, car boot sales in Manchester) have been letting him down lately with slim pickings.

So - that, as they say, was pretty much that.

Although, I imagine the denizens of DinoShite.com are having a magnificent Tat Friday.

Swings and roundabouts, hey?

[Jon]

Here's a question for those in the know (mostly @AndyW201, I'm imagining!) - is this a sought after version of a Vanguards Nova?

 

Rally stuff tends to do quite well, as the Richard Burns 205 GTI I had can attest to; Andy sold it on my behalf and it paid for an awful lot of the many diecasts I took back to NZ with me!

I've got a Richard Burns Sunbeam for similar shenanigans at some point, so would happily buy this to speculate and add to my future die cast slush fund. Or buy on someone else's behalf, if they've been hanging out for one for years.

Should it attract no bids, the start price is under £20 and ends this weekend.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/4184012493

 

[AndyW201]

10 minutes ago, Jon said:

Here's a question for those in the know (mostly @AndyW201, I'm imagining!) - is this a sought after version of a Vanguards Nova?

 

Rally stuff tends to do quite well, as the Richard Burns 205 GTI I had can attest to; Andy sold it on my behalf and it paid for an awful lot of the many diecasts I took back to NZ with me!

I've got a Richard Burns Sunbeam for similar shenanigans at some point, so would happily buy this to speculate and add to my future die cast slush fund. Or buy on someone else's behalf, if they've been hanging out for one for years.

Should it attract no bids, the start price is under £20 and ends this weekend.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/4184012493

 

The Colin McRae Nova is (obviously) the more sought after Nova rally variant, but this one is still desirable. I've been after one for a while, the guy I got the dirty MK1 Transit and Chrysler Works Sunbeam rally cheap from last year also had one of these Novas up for £11, but had just sold it when I asked. Gutted.

However if you can snag it for the starting bid, it could go for roughly double that (or not far off,) on eBay over here.

[Datsuncog]

I took a wander over to grab myself a coffee, and had intended to edit and post a bunch of pics on the fly but the forum seemed to have conked out again.

So I supped my wanky latte and wondered whether I could even be arsed to go over to the office today - as the scheduled meeting had been postponed, and frankly the thought of sitting in a big dark office by myself listening to the rain drumming against the filthy window was about as appealing as all those Lledo Days Gone...

Nah. Fuggit. 

Had there been a decent crop of tat, I'd have skipped over in the hope of securing some nice models for you fine folks over lunchtime, but I couldn't see anyone's pickle being tickled by MoY traction engines and DG Ford Model T vans.

So I scarpered off home, to work remotely.

I did stop off at the 'good' Poundland at Cityside Retail Park, just in case more cases of 2021 Matchbox had come through, but apparently not.

Just three examples of the universally unloved Speed Trapper remained from the elusive '21 case - all Chinese parallel imports.

A few stray early '23 Matchbox models remained, but it was mainly Hot Wheels dominating the pegs now.

And I think we've all had our fill of these, no?

Well - you gotta check, don't you?

A quick look into the nearby B&M indicated that Ultra Hots are no longer available.

So, home again to crank up the laptop... but I didn't arrive back with nothing to show for my endeavours...

[w00dy]

With nothing new on the Hot Wheels and Matchbox scene I was pleased to get this Majorette DS. At £3 in Asda they now seem pretty good value.

There were a couple of premium Hot Wheels Fast and Furious models with a nice Land Cruiser, but not £9 nice.

[flat4alfa]

Last time I went big Asda they had nothing!

Will have to look into this.  Didn't know about that DS.  Are there other classics in the current range?    *goes off to have a look*

[MiniMinorMk3]

16 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Dinky Mercedes-Benz W116 resin prototype

Sold at the Vectis 'Dinky Archive Collection Sale' December 2007 for £380

Sold again at the Vectis 'Specialist Diecast' November 2015 for £180

GR9 investment.

A case of the first bidder and under bidder having a long bidding battle. Then the original winner comes to sell and finds that there were only two people willing to go that high. 

Also all the big money is going into Star Wars stuff these days.

15 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Never knew about these either.  Matchbox Kingsize prototypes!

Not put my finger on what that was supposed to be.  I see elements of a few cars 

Oh I think that's supposed to be a Ferrari 365 GTC/4.  That's a bit of a lost opportunity.

Well I never.  So to make that work, the interconnected crankshafts must run to a differential at the front of the car?  I bet the torque steer is wonderful.

I was thinking ISO Lele

or Lamborghini Jarama

or Bitter CD

 

And that Threesome obviously has a diff mounted ahead of the front engine and all the wheels a chain driven!

[w00dy]

4 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Last time I went big Asda they had nothing!

Will have to look into this.  Didn't know about that DS.  Are there other classics in the current range?    *goes off to have a look*

They only had about 7 cars, can't remember what else,  but nothing that interested me. There were a few tlorries and also some 4x4s and trailers. 

[Split_Pin]

@Datsuncog I like how you always set up the perfect Segway into the afternoon with 'ah well, home time....but I didn't leave empty handed'. 

The only thing that will be missing to end the day (started by the Japanese acer) is the day's haul laid out in a the carrel at your office!

[flat4alfa]

44 minutes ago, Jon said:

Here's a question for those in the know (mostly @AndyW201, I'm imagining!) - is this a sought after version of a Vanguards Nova?

Should it attract no bids, the start price is under £20 and ends this weekend.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/4184012493

I know its been answered, but this was the sole UK sale on eBay this year so it could be classed as a scarce find I think

However, it is the very same #44, back up for sale with no bids at £44.74 start (inc carr.), ending the following morning UK time.  So no takers so far.

As you know your $43.50 NZ inc carriage is £21 GBP

[Datsuncog]

17 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

@Datsuncog I like how you always set up the perfect Segway into the afternoon with 'ah well, home time....but I didn't leave empty handed'. 

The only thing that will be missing to end the day (started by the Japanese acer) is the day's haul laid out in a the carrel at your office!

Cheers dude!

And fear not - there's still more to come...

😉

[Datsuncog]

Surprisingly, it was indeed worth my while dragging my lazy arse out of bed this morning.

Because I found this beauty nestled amid the MoYs and Atlas stuff.

I've really wanted a civilian SD1 for quite a while - I was fortunate to receive a police spec version a few Christmases ago, but I also kinda hankered after one more representative of the sort I'd have seen on the road when I was younger.

This X-reg 3500SE in Cashmere Gold fitted the bill nicely.

I'm really pleased with this for £10.

Definite keeper.

CERTIFIED YO

Colin from the other stall had asked conversationally if I'd bought anything off Market Blokey this morning - and he laughed when I showed him the Rover, as the price stickers indicated that he'd originally sold this one when it was new, all the way back in 2006 or so.

I bought quite a few Vanguards off Colin around this same time - and yes, £12 was about the going rate back then for new releases (equivalent to £19.35 at today's prices).

I can appreciate that Vanguards detail levels have undeniably gone up a bit in recent years, especially the interiors - but are they really twice as good now, to justify twice the price?

Answers on a postcard to the usual address...

Around 2006/2007 he was also selling quite a few older range and decertified models from the Vanguards range for a bargainous £6.50 - I still have the price stickers on my examples from this era.

I asked if he knew any more about how these decertifications came about, but he didn't - just that every now and then Corgi would offer retail customers limited quantities of certain models really cheaply on a first-come, first-served basis, and he'd generally order a few of them up because they tended to shift alright at Ards Market on a Saturday (which is where I went to buy them, back then).

And so, I also bought this off Colin:

I quite like the colour, graphics and wheels combo on this one - moreso than the mainline orange 'Rabbit' release from a few years back, or the Polizei version.

The rear deck's maybe a bit plain and unfinished for a semi-premium release, but overall I dig it.

And since I couldn't resist a final spin around the stalls before leaving, just in case a big box o'Lesney had suddenly appeared... 

Oopsies. I've gone done bought mahself a Days Gone.

I owned a pale blue version of this from new - and I'd been VERY excited pick it up on the week of release, maybe around 1993 or '94? Then I sold it on a few years ago during the Great Liquidation Sale.

But it's not actually all that bad a rendering of the Mk1 Mini; a bit lumpy round the back end maybe (aren't we all?), but certainly a damn sight better than the (rather more pricey) Corgi Classics effort at the Cooper around the same time, which from memory was so poorly received by collectors that it caused a minor riot in the local model shop.

I think the Vanguards Days Gone comes in at rather less than 1/43 scale, annoyingly - but still, for only £3...

Yeah, good enough.

It reminds me a bit of Jean Hopkirk's Mini out of Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased).

What else can I say? My willpower was low.

So there we have it!

Maybe not a vintage week to resound through the ages of mini-tat, BUT it just goes to show there's sometimes diamonds in the rough, if you look closely enough...

A very happy Friday to you all, kids.

[Split_Pin]

I don't understand how the Mini is so difficult for model producers to get right, it's not like they didn't make millions of the real car to get measurements from. 

Even a so-called high end producer like Kyosho ballsed it up with cheap looking plastic door frames. Weirdly, it's my Bburago 1/18 scale and Welly 1/30-ish Innocenti version that look the most accurate. I recall having a 1/43 Vitesse example which wasn't bad either. The Lledo effort looks very nice indeed, it's suitably wide and short like the real car. Unlike the Corgi Classics version which is too long and narrow with an absurdly large windscreen and basic interior. I can't think of any late 80s or early 90s Corgi Classic that missed the mark so how did they balls up one of their most eagerly anticipated models?

I still think that as far as Minis go, the oldies are the goodies. The original 1959 Corgi releases capture the proportions of the real car very well, and the intricate Manifique is the most fun.

Thanks again for bringing us Tat Friday Tim, even in the face of a very flaky Autoshite server which looked to have scuppered everything at 8am, right on the button!

[NorfolkNWeigh]

23 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Parcel today bringing a little trip down memory lane for me!

These are both toys I had as a kid, ones I really liked and they got played with to death. I think both finished their days out in the garden before disappearing for good somewhere or other.

These are both really nice condition though and definitely not going to be getting ruined!

Majorette Renault Master tipper. Hours of fun was had with my old one filling the back with rocks and dirt in my garden building site!😆

Majorette Range Rover. My old one was a different colour to this but this one’s is nicer. My old one was last seen off reading in the mud out in the garden. Pretty sure the axles ended up rusting through and snapping off in the end.

At first I thought someone had modelled a Monteverdi Safari, maybe it’s the wheels.

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Wouldn't mind those if you see them again...