Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

Did a bit of detailing on the Trouble Decker, it's not easy as paint doesn't like sticking to the plastic body. Ideally it wants painting red first, and I really wish I could make my own decals for some spoof adverts to put on it

I'm pleased to see the parachute is in the shape of the Union flag, although I'm not skilled enough to add the white to it.

Also the body is made in two halves so two-tone is easy to achieve should you wish

[flat4alfa]

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

kanji lettering

ホットウィール  (Hottou~īru)

Translates to 'Wheels Hot'

[sierraman]

Sainsbury’s have reduced the mainline Matchbox to clear, down to £1.70. In fairness they were too expensive anyway so no great loss. 

[Reluctant Adult]

This week’s Vintage Shop finds - a Pilen Fiesta and Guisval R12:

 
 

Lady on the till only wanted £1 for both when I pointed out the R12 had a door missing, but in recognition of their rarity here in the UK I couldn’t let her, so £2 it was (last of the big spenders, me)

I thought the Fiesta was a development of the similar Mira, but turns out it’s a bit smaller (both are @ Matchbox size).

Lack of overriders means the R12 is perfect to metamorphose into a Dacia Denem… watch this space (but don’t hold your breath!)

[bunglebus]

Ooh that Fiesta! I have a Mira

And a Guisval

Didn't know there was a Pilen to find too 

[flat4alfa]

Snoopy likes his Solido Ford Fiesta Mk1

It has opening things!

But some oiks scratched up the bonnet when he was shopping in Braintree 

[flat4alfa]

I have these new 2023 case Matchbox spare

Would like to swap for Hot Wheels Alfa GTV6

Cash either way

[flat4alfa]

7 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Small slot cars - any good to you @flat4alfa?

Another plastic fantastic - Cursor?

Not sure on the makes of those slot cars.  The truck has Carrera logos, but not one familiar with and predates the 'Go!' series I think

Yes the Mercedes-Benz is the 1936-39 540K by Cursor

[AndyW201]

Finally got round to looking through the contents of my recent DanBox (TM), and giving them a quick pre pic valet. Small stuff first,

First off, one I never even knew existed, the Corgi Juniors Lotus Europa.

In nice, slightly patinated condition. Just how I like 'em. Nicely preserved, the Union Jack (only added on one side as I found out, I did think one was missing at first) is still there, as is the very fragile looking engine cover,

With engine detail beneath (as much as can be shown on a mid engine car)

The Matchbox Ford Probe. Not Matchbox's golden era IMO but it's not too bad a rendering of a car that hasn't exactly been modelled a lot. The tampo graphics are erm, of their time. But the rear detail, or lack of it is one of the best examples of cant-be-arsed I've ever seen,

I filled in a bit of tail light detail with some red and black markers, then had a go at removing the tampos but it wasn't massively successful. They were the most resilient ones I've ever tried to remove, so I gave up when it started to remove the red paint. Still think it looks better without.

Thought I'd join the Volvo estate fan club. Need to fashion some bumper corners, and some touch ins from the Corsa's touch up brush should do for this.

Matchbox racing Mini is one I remember from childhood. This bronze colour seems to be rarer than the plain red/orange. This one's in pretty clean condition so I might even treat it to some reproduction stickers as it still has an outline on the sides.

As a kid I loved the look of this Mini, with it's de-bumpered and de-seamed look, it's big centre exit exhaust and authentic looking reg number.

You wait ages for a Matchbox Cavalier then you end up with two! This will no doubt get a repaint, when I get time... I fancy a white super-touring inspired scheme.

Couldn't let this Siku Mercedes minibus get away. It brings back memories of a seriously shonky 307D minibus I drove occasionally back in the '90s when I started on the taxis. That old thing had been welded, filled and blown in so many times but it notched up about 14 (long, slow) years in service, so it did pretty well.

It's a nicely rendered old bus,  capturing the lines of the real thing very well.

Pleasingly, the easily-lost rear doors are still present. I love the colour and the period Tourist Bus graphics, but it looks a little bit playworn. I need to stop thinking about repainting as half of me wants to give it a shonky white/black tidemark paint job to replicate WDC 375Y from all those years ago!

[bunglebus]

Looks like mine. I've only ever found this single example

[AndyW201]

Bigger stuff next,

Something a bit different, a big Majorette Renault Master recovery truck,

In lovely condition overall, unlike a lot of the real life recovery vehicles I see around the North East...

However, it's a weird scale,1/45 which makes it a bit hard to find a load for it., 1/43 is obviously the nearest. Nothing in the cabinet seemed suitable, with this being an '80s toy, so I dug out the slightly naff  Solido Yesterday Pug 205 GTi and it doesn't look too bad on there.

The bed has a nice sprung action for tilting and the built in chocks at the front work well at holding the car on, as can be seen.

The Corgi 1/36 Porsche 924 is one I missed out on as a kid. This one's not in bad condition really, with just a few bits of paint loss.

Sadly it's lost the outer spotlamps, but doesn't look too bad with the remaining ones.

The things I liked about this example are, the decals are more or less still there (apart from the rear lights, as expected really, they always come off), and intact, and the notoriously fragile glass hatch is still intact too.

It's now had a quick Sharpie touch up job, which has at least filled in the bad bits.

Some Blue Peter style pissing about with coloured pens and self adhesive labels has re-instated the tail lights.

I remember getting a Corgi Escort exactly the same as this one for my birthday, just after the real thing came out. I remember being slightly disappointed that the box showed an XR3 on the back, but the model inside was a 1.3 GL...

But I still loved the model, the boot badges were very well cast, the tail lights were just like on the real thing, along with the seats with the GL specific seat pattern and see-through head restraints.

As can be seen, it's a nice, clean, tidy example, it's just a real shame the headlights are missing, hopefully I can fashion something to replace them. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks again to @danthecaprimanfor another great sale and helping to fill my collection with more 'older' items.

[danthecapriman]

5 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Bigger stuff next,

Something a bit different, a big Majorette recovery truck

In lovely condition overall, unlike a lot of the real life recovery vehicles I see around the North East...

However, it's a weird scale,1/45 which makes it a bit hard to find a load for it., 1/43 is obviously the nearest. Nothing in the cabinet seemed suitable, with this being an '80s toy, so I dug out the splendidly bad Solido Yesterday Pug 205 GTi and it doesn't look too bad on there.

The bed has a nice sprung action for tilting and the built in chocks at the front work well at holding the car on, as can be seen.

The Corgi 1/36 Porsche 924 is one I missed out on as a kid. This ones not in bad condition really, with just a few bits of paint loss.

Sadly it's lost the outer spotlamps, but doesn't look too bad with the remaining ones.

The things I liked about this example are, the decals are more or less still there (apart from the rear lights, as expected really, they always come off), and intact, and the notoriously fragile glass hatch is still intact too.

It's now had a quick Sharpie touch up job, which has at least filled in the bad bits.

Some Blue Peter style pissing about with coloured pens and self adhesive labels has re-instated the tail lights.

I remember getting a Corgi Escort exactly the same as this one for my birthday, just after the real thing came out. I remember being slightly disappointed that the box showed an XR3 on the back, but the model inside was a 1.3 GL...

But I still loved the model, the boot badges were very well cast, the tail lights were just like on the real thing, along with the seats with the GL specific seat pattern and see-through head restraints.

As can be seen, it's a nice, clean, tidy example, it's just a real shame the heaights are missing, hopefully I can fashion something to replace them. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks again to @danthecaprimanfor another great sale and helping to fill my collection with more 'older' items.

Glad you like your haul!

Could you fix the Escort with a bit of clear plastic card, cut to shape and glued into the holes?

[bunglebus]

3 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Anyone have any ideas?

Plastic cut to shape and painted - plasticard/styrene comes in various thicknesses and is fairly easily worked

[Datsuncog]

The #32B Corgi Juniors Europa wasn't one I was aware of until comparatively recently either.

I had a pretty rough 50p Tat Box example a few years back, which I think I sold on to somebody here, but then managed to find quite a tidy one earlier this year.

A few tiny marks to the paintwork, but generally it's just lovely.

The Bill Manzke book reckons this one was available between 1970 and 1974, so I'd have thought it would be a little more common - but apparently not!

There's also a paint variation in non-metallic light green, but I've never seen that.

Lovely little model - and whisper it, but I think I prefer this one to the Lesney version...

[Spottedlaurel]

Yesterday's French autojumble purchases in a little more detail:

Don't know why it's taken me so long to get one of these, given that we had a 1:1 example (which appropriately did visit France a couple of times). This one is tidy, with steering function and towbar still intact.

I have only a small amount of 1:43 scale, and that's mostly random French stuff. Solido Fuego is quite basic but the Norev Solara is nice (albeit with oddly placed wipers). Both have 'meaning' as I saw 1:1 examples.

This didn't work out very well, but how often does an opportunity like this arise?

With other rattlers. Norev has lost its suspension, which was the case with one of their Renault 9s I bought a few years ago. Do have a Majorette version or two, but given that my first one was bought in France back in 1980 it's nice to continue the tradition. Maybe I'll get another one here in 2066?....

Sporty(ish) things. I think the Capri II and R17 have evaded me so far. The latter has a bit of bumper damage, it's also rather narrow (maybe that's from only being used to the chunky Superfast version?). The 924 is maybe more attractive than the blue version I've had since I was young? Also seems to sit slightly lower on its suspension. 260Z seems as much of an off-roader as those I already have.

4x4 selection. The green Jeep could do with being a bit higher and having chunkier tyres.

Cherokee does have le chien.

Quit

Quite a few vulnerable extra mouldings on the Dyane, but it still appears to be complete. SAAB is in an attractive colour, although like some of the others it suffers from over-enthusiastic springing.

I think we have at least one other boot sale planned plus numerous visits to supermarkets so hopefully there will be more to come.

[MiniMinorMk3]

17 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Did a bit of detailing on the Trouble Decker, it's not easy as paint doesn't like sticking to the plastic body. Ideally it wants painting red first, and I really wish I could make my own decals for some spoof adverts to put on it

I'm pleased to see the parachute is in the shape of the Union flag, although I'm not skilled enough to add the white to it.

Also the body is made in two halves so two-tone is easy to achieve should you wish

Bezos sells this stuff for ink-jet printers. Either in matte or gloss. Just need scissors to cut to shape after printing.

11 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

 

Matchbox racing Mini is one I remember from childhood. This bronze colour seems to be rarer than the plain red/orange. This one's in pretty clean condition so I might even treat it to some reproduction stickers as it still has an outline on the sides.

As a kid I loved the look of this Mini, with it's de-bumpered and de-seamed look, it's big centre exit exhaust and authentic looking reg number.

 

 

If you get repro stickers you need the orange border versions for the bronze car. There are green ones but they were stuck on later orange ones.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Early Solido Ford Festa in red. I have also seen these in silver and dark blue.

 

[bunglebus]

On 06/02/2023 at 21:13, egg said:

Hi all - not been in this thread in months, what's the status on finding the Matchbox Citroen Ami please? Ta.

Finally found you an Ami - two actually if you or anyone wants the other?

Also have two spare Supras, one with a slight crease in the card at the hook if anyone's looking for one/both

[egg]

42 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Finally found you an Ami - two actually if you or anyone wants the other?

Thanks very much, hit me up on costs, I'll take both please unless someone else needs one.

[egg]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Finally found you an Ami - two actually if you or anyone wants the other?

Just a thought, I think @Kiltoxwas after one  - but doesn't frequent this fred?

[Kiltox]

Yes please!!! I found some other Matchbox EVs but Ami still alludes me. 

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, Kiltox said:

Yes please!!! I found some other Matchbox EVs but Ami still alludes me. 

They do an electric car five pack. 

[Kiltox]

9 minutes ago, sierraman said:

They do an electric car five pack. 

Yep, doesn’t include Ami though unless there’s more than one? 

[sierraman]

2 hours ago, Kiltox said:

Yep, doesn’t include Ami though unless there’s more than one? 

I’ve no idea tbh, just saw one In Sainsbury’s the other day. As far as I know there’s just the grey one out? 

[AndyW201]

A couple of eBay arrivals,

A familiar one, this. My original Vanguards Graphite Granada had a bit of a fall recently when I was giving the display cabinet a spring clean, smashing off the mirrors and rear spoiler. I managed to get the mirrors back on (badly) but the spoiler went AWOL, never to be found again. I put it back in the cabinet, but the missing spoiler was nagging away at me. Enquiries to Corgi's so-called spares department drew a blank also.

The Graphite series 2 2.8i is one of my top Vanguards of all time, and it sadly happens to be one of the priciest, so I abandoned all hope of getting a replacement when all the ones on eBay are around the £60-£70 mark. Then last week, this one appeared, which got watchlisted, then straight away came a seller's offer at a price I actually could stomach.

It's pretty much mint, and of course the important bits are all intact, including that spoiler,

So the damaged original went straight back on the 'bay, hopefully I'll claw some of my money back. I've already had one bid with 6 days to go, so fingers crossed...

The seller also had a few unboxed models on sale, I also got a seller's offer on this, so I thought I may as well take advantage, it wasn't going to cost me in postage...

An Ixo Manta GT/E, part of the Opel Collection partwork series, and like hen's teeth to get hold of in this country.

It's a nice looking thing, Ixo have done a pretty good job of capturing the shape. It does show it's cheap partwork origins a bit with the cast in bumpers, rather than separate items, but with the Manta's bumpers, it doesn't look bad at all. The heated rear screen elements are a nice touch.

The spoiler is cast in as well, but it's neatly masked and painted so again, it doesn't really show.

The wheels are particularly pleasing...

...As is the interior detailing, particularly the dash, especially for a cheap partwork.

A nice addition to the Vauxhall/Opel branch of the collection, a nice companion to my yellow 1/18 Revell Manta too!

[Spottedlaurel]

@bunglebus any interest?

We may well see them cheaper elsewhere, if it's a yes-but-no due to the price. Individual HWs were something bonkers like 5.49 euros each here....

[barrett]

Probably about a million more important things I should be doing than this, but...

[sierraman]

Look at all this stuff we will never see!

https://wheelcollectors.com/blogs/matchbox-mondays/matchbox-monday-runs-through-the-2024-line-preview

[bunglebus]

10 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Look at all this stuff we will never see!

There's hope yet - look what I just found

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Spottedlaurel said:

@bunglebus any interest?

We may well see them cheaper elsewhere, if it's a yes-but-no due to the price. Individual HWs were something bonkers like 5.49 euros each here....

Thank you but my boss found me that set when he was in France!