Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

6 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

New one on me! Were they sold like that as part of the set? 

It was a mystery to me when I bought it - I believe you just fitted the pegs to a standard car so you could use it on the track

[flat4alfa]

27 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Just spotted this for sale. How does it work? 

Do you mean how the Switch-a-Track functions or the whole Matchbox Motorway concept?

[flat4alfa]

Matchbox Motorway was a licenced copy of Arnold Minimobil from Germany

 

Plenty here to explain

https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Matchbox_Motorway

@155V6 has a Matchbox Motorway boxed set tucked up on top of his wardrobe, he said.  We need a video of it in action! 😄

[155V6]

15 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Matchbox Motorway was a licenced copy of Arnold Minimobil from Germany

 

Plenty here to explain

https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Matchbox_Motorway

@155V6 has a Matchbox Motorway boxed set tucked up on top of his wardrobe, he said.  We need a video of it in action! 😄

It's still there 😀

[flat4alfa]

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

I think I recall that a Jensen FF was made in yellow specifically for one of the directors of JCB? 

Yes from the very founder with those initials: Joseph Cyril Bamford

The car wasn't the sole yellow FF, there were two.  FAB 416J and PBF 184k (Bamford car)

The Bamford FF probably wore one of the plates he bought for the company: JCB1 through JCB10.  Probably.  Never did find a period photo, but it was his car at the time and he wrote articles on his regard for the Ferguson Formula system

[junkyarddog]

1 hour ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Just spotted this for sale. How does it work? 

If it's cheap,get it bought.

They are noisy though.

This chaps clips are always worth a watch.

 

[155V6]

35 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

I am looking forward to the patio action this weekend.

Will there be diggers and other heavy plant scattered about for full diorama effect?

No,I live in a flat🙁

[Dick Cheeseburger]

12 minutes ago, junkyarddog said:

If it's cheap,get it bought.

£50, so far from it, unfortunately. Interesting unicorn shite, nonetheless. 

[sierraman]

3 hours ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Currently sat in a Wetherspoon’s in Grimsby. Took a bus here from Cleethorpes. Found 3 charity shops and nothing 😩

I did find a nice original watercolour painting though for £3.

Nowt wrong with Cleethorpes, there’s a charity shop on the sea front where the parade is. 

[sheffcortinacentre]

Last one I had couldn't give the thing away 

[Jon]

For a while now, I've been unable to find a prized diecast possession and it was starting to worry me a little.

A few months back, I sold a load of stuff on Trademe and one of the buyers was local, so popped round to collect. Turns out he was an estate agent who dealt in diecasts as a side hustle (not my favourite term but very descriptive in 2023). When he arrived, I rifled through some of the other wares sitting in the garage and moved some other bits on in a cash deal - some for a profit, likely some for a loss but less stuff and more cash was the aim. And listing all the items on Trademe turned out to be way more of a faff than I'd expected.

I had a very niggling feeling that somehow I'd let this one item go mistakenly - but it was also such a star of my collection, that I thought this pretty unlikely. Much more likely was that I'd put it in a 'safe place' - so safe in fact, it eluded me for a couple of years!

Yesterday, I breathed a sigh of relief, when I discovered that safe place:

 

Despite this looking like the subject in question, all is not what it seems....

 

Yes!!!

 

Look at this little beauty. Lightly careworn, so I can enjoy it. Top job.

The buying of this was a little bittersweet, as the original owner seemingly listed all his cared for Spot Ons at the same time, thus flooding the market; I've never seen any boxed examples offered on Trademe since.

This meant that I was incredibly fortunate to score this for less than £20(!!) but I felt duty bound not to bulk buy (happy wife, happy life), or bid against others. Therefore, some other fortunate soul(s) walked away with similarly priced bargains, including a Cresta and an Anglia. The Fiat Multipla, Beetle and A55 with skis still present thankfully made a bit more but I felt sorry that the original owner didn't cash in as well as he could have.

 

Anyway, I'm sure that the others sold are equally coveted by their new owners, so there's that. This one's such a cheeky chappy. And I reckon, the pick of the colours they came in.

 

I think the theme with this Prinz was a wintry one, with an opaque frosting effect on the front and rear 'screens. Note the paint damage to the roof, which I think is caused from long term storage in the bespoke tailored box. There's certainly no wiggle room when it's parked inside.

 

You might just be able to make out the frosting following the wiper travel up front. The wound down window is also a nice little touch, in lieu of any opening parts, as per many Spot Ons. The steering wheel is gigantic but if my real life Imp was anything to go by, this is likely quite accurate. The driver looks very forthright here.

Here's a shot for @Datsuncog, showing that the number plates match its origins. I'm pretty sure Spot Ons were made in NZ but if so, I either don't (yet) have one, or they don't declare as such on the base. 

 

Anyway, here's a shot of the Toronado, should anyone be wondering about it. I'll cover that in another post, as this is enough personal excitement in one hit!

[Datsuncog]

And we're off again.

Into the wet unknown...

[bunglebus]

Don't think much of the continental kit on the Yaris

[Datsuncog]

Stop the first - a somewhat scanty-looking car boot sale.

Needs more cowbell.

I'd been heartened last week by the fella with the Matchbox Dinky saying he'd be bringing "much more" along this week - but ultimately, he's nowhere to be seen.

Nor is the house clearance fella who sold me the Corgi Pug T16 last week.

I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed.

The weather forecast might have something to do with it, I dunno.

Outdoor summer events aren't really getting the best of it lately.

I did find one fella with a few diecast oddments in amongst a load of toys in a suitcase, but nothing that made me reach in delight for my wallet.

He did have a reasonable example of that rip-off of the classic Hot Wheels Good Humor Truck, though.

Another self-styled antiques chappie had half a dozen or so knackered 70s MoYs and Chinese no-name vintage efforts in a wicker basket, with missing upholstery and hoods - yours for the princely sum of £5 the lot.

Thanks, but nah.

A slightly harassed-looking lady with a small child had a pasting table set up with assorted toys and books on it, including a plastic bag of cars. Mostly it was models from the Disney Pixar 'Cars' franchise, but then I clocked a Lesney-era Faun quarry dump truck peeking out... so felt a duty to investigate further. Just in case.

However, it was a fluke - other than a badly scratched recent-issue Dodge Charger police cruiser, there were no other Matchbox or Hot Wheels therein. Just the Disney stuff and a load of cheapo Chinesium generics.

Oh hang on.

This is trying very, very hard to be a Ford Sierra XR4i, isn't it?

This falls into that 'so bad it's good' category, where you can only assume the designer had no access to a reference pic and was relying on someone describing the car to them down the phone.

It was starting to drizzle a bit, and I felt a bit sorry for the lady with the stall, trailing herself out at sparrow's fart to have her beloved kids' toys rummaged through by sausage-fingered old goats like me, so I held it up and asked her how much.

"All the wee cars are a pound."

Fark me!

Inflation's gone wild.

I mean, the larger scale Cars models (which were in good nick, to be fair) are quite probably worth that, but these...

Ah, I'm a soft-hearted fool.

 

Anyone want a shit Sierra for a quid?

Thought not.

Onward!

[eddyramrod]

Some more work been going on...  MB mk4 Cortina arrived with the mk2 that I posted the other day, and now resembles a rather famous Shite Cortina off the telly.

I mean, Onslow was consummate, wasn't he?

Also, those with long enough memories will remember I put out requests for a couple of MB Rovers, an SD1 and an 800, in order to model the 800 fastback I had a few years ago.  Somebody sent me an 800 they had built in the same vein, and subsequently the two base models I needed showed up, IIRC from two different Shiters.

So some Not-a-Dremelling has happened, and some hand-filing.  This is where we are now.  The SD1 has turned out to be slightly wider than the 800, but I think a little more filing will alleviate that.  I've also had to cut the window sections, which has shown up that the tint on the 800 is much heavier than the SD1.

I'm not sure this is a project I would like to take on in the bigger scales (both are available at approx 1/36) but let's see when it's finished.

[Snake Charmer]

18 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

I think you were asking that to @MiniMinorMk3 ?

My answer is no.  Do you have one for sale though?

Yes, the question should have been to @MiniMinorMk3. You seem to have excellent knowledge of the Interceptor and FF. I have a Politoys FF, I was collecting Interceptor and FF related models as I had a MkIII J Series Interceptor. 

How to upset an FF owner, call it an Interceptor FF. 

[MiniMinorMk3]

Just now, Snake Charmer said:

Yes, the question should have been to @MiniMinorMk3. You seem to have excellent knowledge of the Interceptor and FF. I have a Politoys FF, I was collecting Interceptor and FF related models as I had a MkIII J Series Interceptor. 

 

No Politoys Jensen  have passed through my hands.

[Snake Charmer]

My Politoys Vignale Coupe with a Dinky kit FF. I had a plan to paint the Corgi transporter Jensen Motors Ltd colours and display with the four JOC owners Oxford Interceptors on board but the wheel track is not suitable for the transporter.

[Remspoor]

Matchbox Motorway. Here is how they work.

I had forgotten about the need to trim the pins. Set up is a PITA. I managed to stretch the springs by using for Corgi and Dinky toys.

The website mentioned in the video for spares is this one.

https://www.rockertron.com/matchbox-motorway-accessories

I only found a few videos on the switch system none of them really explains how that works.

 

 

[andrew e]

3 hours ago, Snake Charmer said:

My Politoys Vignale Coupe with a Dinky kit FF. I had a plan to paint the Corgi transporter Jensen Motors Ltd colours and display with the four JOC owners Oxford Interceptors on board but the wheel track is not suitable for the transporter.

I reckon the later Dinky transporter has the width required? I’m sure someone on here can measure one up.

[Christine]

Fark me again eh ? ! 

Honda Honda Honda custom

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334945960555?hash=item4dfc55c26b:g:FU0AAOSwD85krXw7&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0OMEDnsyuF4P%2B4rV3kDmr3eyCddwhQ9RixCeYiU3i31N872Vdn280x6%2BaiHgpfH5YYMllHTTalxLr5jZuVDcfDHImL03Yrv6VL8HHxa3J0s1lZ2mcAUKlfG7gj2tIpWDEftc3z3HIdX6i%2FgxTwdVCeQntvraTfWs%2F13ykcNFVA46eafgWZZUtl1Xqj6vm6bZ76HT0i3uhC0zdUgnpxIUaKLmeO5IHBRQ2KJ5zin1Xp6S1lQiMFfx3gya9Omij1hGiCVxkOYTSMFVXMMBffkYfeQ%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4TA7N6vYg

[bunglebus]

Very very nicely done - but no-one is going to pay a tenth of that for it.

I went to the late Saturday boot sale and picked up a couple of oddments

Probably just a wheel donor, but has DAGS

Very skinny Cadillac 

Popped into the charity shop and found a spendy bag containing a Corgi representation of a premium German marque with opening doors

But not that one. This one

[Tenmil Socket]

21 hours ago, sierraman said:

Nowt wrong with Cleethorpes, there’s a charity shop on the sea front where the parade is. 

Popped in there earlier… the few modern die cast they had were comically overpriced using the white tags. No pic as it was busy.

[FakeConcern]

4 hours ago, Christine said:

Fark me again eh ? ! 

Honda Honda Honda custom

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334945960555?hash=item4dfc55c26b:g:FU0AAOSwD85krXw7&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0OMEDnsyuF4P%2B4rV3kDmr3eyCddwhQ9RixCeYiU3i31N872Vdn280x6%2BaiHgpfH5YYMllHTTalxLr5jZuVDcfDHImL03Yrv6VL8HHxa3J0s1lZ2mcAUKlfG7gj2tIpWDEftc3z3HIdX6i%2FgxTwdVCeQntvraTfWs%2F13ykcNFVA46eafgWZZUtl1Xqj6vm6bZ76HT0i3uhC0zdUgnpxIUaKLmeO5IHBRQ2KJ5zin1Xp6S1lQiMFfx3gya9Omij1hGiCVxkOYTSMFVXMMBffkYfeQ%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4TA7N6vYg

You'd think if they really want to sell this, they'd put more than just two pictures of it on the advert wouldn't you?

However nice it looks

[MiniMinorMk3]

20 hours ago, bunglebus said:

But not that one. This one

 

Nice find

[Datsuncog]

Well, apologies if I got you all in a state of moist anticipation yesterday - sadly all that happened was getting a bit soggy from the rain.

Following the car boot washout, I thought I might try a few of the discount stores out along the ring road in the off-chance some of the new-case Matchbox or Hot Wheels had landed.

A few long card 2021 Hot Wheels were still hanging around Poundstretcher, but no Matchbox - and no Working Rigs any more, either half-price or otherwise.

B&M had absolutely no Matchbox at all - and though Hot Wheels featured strongly, both in terms of mainlines and semi-premium lines, it was all the exact same stuff that's been kicking around for months now.

So, another no.

Poundland was stuck in a similar timewarp, with the same Mattel products they were carrying back in April, and although Smyth's had quite a lot of the premium Hot Wheels stuff, including the lovely little Alfa Giulia Sprint, I just couldn't quite scoop my enthusiasm levels off the floor.

This was the first time I'd seen their Track Day and Nissan premium packs at first hand - and they're very nice, but as an inveterate cheapass, £25 seems like a lot.

Although for three cars and a truck, maybe better value than the single truck/ single car race packs at £18.

And no new mainlines either.

I'd entertained the idea of going back down to McCulloughs once they opened at 10 and seeing if David the boss was about today, but time was ticking on - and a bank notification pinging up for a failed payment on my AutoAid renewal (oops) was a reminder that perhaps I shouldn't be considering diecast extravaganzas so close to the end of the month... even though that Diapet Mitsubishi TV bus was calling to me so plaintively.

In the end, I just decided to head on home, stopping only to grab a watery coffee - using the loose coins in the car console - from a cheap place at the edge of town which used to be a fairly large scrapyard, but whose owners eventually decided there was more money to be made from the burger stall in the customer car park, than in selling used Cavalier driveshafts to the general public.

Strong 1970s transport caff vibes here, to be sure.

Interestingly, Google still has it pinned as Bangor Car Dismantlers - though the yard's been cleared for decades now.

Ah, I can remember when all this was just rotten Escorts...

Actually, that reminds me that I do have a load of photos that were taken in here between 1995 and 2000 - which I really ought to scan and post up in the Scrapyard Thread.

The large building in the satellite image is, in fact, divided into two rather incongruous businesses - a steakhouse and a frozen yoghurt parlour.

Quite an odd location for such eateries, you might think - with no signage visible from the road either.

Both appeared to be rather closed, with windows obscured.

Yet there were quite a lot of people coming and going for that hour of the morning.

Curious.

There was, however, some vaguely interesting shite as I went to turn around in the old yard area...

A Neoplan Skyliner coach, now serving as a seagull perch.

The number of lads standing around looking like Kilcooley's answer to Vin Diesel while giving me the stink-eye precluded further detailed investigation.

Dunno exactly what's going on in here, and I don't much care to find out.

So, homewards to the far side of the Lough - but there was some scant recompense:

Some cheapo Poundland micro-hex bits to free the Atlas Jensen from its base stand (which worked - and yes it is indeed branded as Norev) plus a longcard 'Mighty K' kei-van, badged as Ryu's Rides.

I'd not fully appreciated the implications of Hot Wheels design supremo Ryu Asada's untimely passing a few years back, but I do now appreciate the role he played in bringing quirky, yet thoughtfully designed toys to the masses.

So this bubblegum-pink Japanese tribute vehicle seems appropriate.

Only the kanji lettering to the rear bed seems to have slipped downwards on the tampo machine - making it into an error car.

Ah well - maybe even more appropriate?

Hey, there's ups and there's downs - but there's always diecast. Maybe next week will be better!

Don't stop believin' kids.

[bunglebus]

I couldn't be arsed to go to the early boot sale as it pissed down yesterday and I've got a busy few weeks coming up. The Mrs went and regaled me with tales of a large Tonka camper for a pound and several large boxes of what sound like Hot Wheels. I dragged myself out of bed for the late start, car park located one and bought all of two Matchbox 

As mentioned in the miniature tat thread, I won several lots of not especially well listed vehicles as no-one else bid. They're a really odd mix, here's some I'm not especially enamoured with

Plastic Norev

Small slot cars - any good to you @flat4alfa?

Another plastic fantastic - Cursor?

Most of a Tonka

Main target, despite not really being into the commercial stuff, was this Tekno

What a nice bit of kit. Does the plastic lever behind the bumper do anything, and should there be anything on the peg hanging down in the middle of the chassis on the left?

Solido 5 is not tea bag

Siku Sierra is pretty good bar a cracked screen

Hot Wheels is one I need to find the correct name for

Got a bit excited about this thinking it was a rarity - it's someone's badly painted custom unfortunately 

[MiniMinorMk3]

There should be a spare wheel attached, and is the lever there to lock the tilt cab?

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

I've must have had around twenty of those Solido R5 Turbos in various state of decal attachment.

Here's on as it came from the shops.

With a bit of super detailing and removal of the rally decals, it can be made into a nice road version.

[Spottedlaurel]

Overview of French autojumble purchases, details to come......

Certainly not tat box prices, but it was at a fantastic 1:1 car show that didn't charge an entry fee so let's just say I paid for the experience and memories.

Haven't yet had the chance to see what new HWs, Majorette etc they have in the supermarkets but will have plenty of opportunities over the next fortnight.