Shite in Miniature II

[flat4alfa]

I didn't know we could get Matchbox Collectors in the country

[andrew e]

@bunglebus that toy shop is patently a photoshop 😂

[bunglebus]

I got there just as they were closing, but I'm in the same centre for the next few days. Apparently several pallets of stock from Mattel are due tomorrow 

[sierraman]

So Julys round up is local Sainsbury’s have stopped selling them, Morrisons have done the same, B&M and Poundland have the same crap in. Pretty crap to be honest. I’m getting I can’t be arsed repeatedly going to these outlets and it’s same crap on sale, so think I’m going to call it a day with bothering to look for the new stuff. 

[Richard_FM]

14 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

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 remember one of my Cousins had one of these in the 1980s, in a very 1980s Japanese shade of silvery blue.

[eddyramrod]

There has been work.

I've outlined this plan in PM to @danthecapriman and @FakeConcern, and now here are the fruits of my labours, so far.  In 2005 on one of my US road trips, I (well, we) dined with the Chief of Police in Southport, North Carolina.  I took a photo of a retired 1996 Crown Vic that happened to be in his back garden, and at some point (before our visit, I think) he sent me a pic of an earlier unit, a "box" Caprice, which gave me the colour scheme you're about to see.

So, L-R: 1959 Plymouth Sport Suburban by Corgi; 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle wagon by Gamda Koor; 1968 Mercury Commuter by Matchbox.  I started with the Chevelle, which was a Fire Chief livery.  It hasn't been apart, I painted it with Humbrol, and got a fairly good match, I think, for the Caprice pic.  Of these models, this is the only one that already had a dome light on the roof.  The other two cars have been drilled, stripped and sprayed (getting Matchbox paint of is a real pain), but the pale-blue I have among my aerosols is a little darker than I would have liked.

The Police stickers are from a pack I bought on ebay.  They've come in several sizes and colour combinations.  The crest on the doors, I've painted by hand.  Even I can't see what the graphic in the middle is supposed to be, and there's no way I was ever going to be able to paint in the wording that goes round the circle, but I do have a pair of genuine stickers (as seen on the Caprice, just about) so I know these are as close as I'll ever get at this size.

I've done station wagons as I think they would work as K9 units; I may yet do some sedans too.  Whether the Department ever actually used these types, I have no idea, but it's amused me creating a timeline of one small-town PD.  I still want the MB Dodge Monaco wagon, preferably in Fire Chief livery, to bring the timeline forward a bit, then maybe the odd sedan to keep them company: Dinky Pontiac Parisienne for example.

The Chevelle and Mercury are only two years apart, so perhaps the timeline is a bit compressed there; I would imagine a service life of 3-5 years for a K9 unit.  But you know, in police work, anything can happen!  Perhaps the Chevy was totalled, or suffered a terminal failure, and the Mercury had to be purchased ahead of schedule.

The PD exists; the livery is close enough (although if I find a lighter-blue aerosol it might improve); ALL the rest is from my imagination.

So, elsewhere on the bench...

Lovejoy's Datsun pickup, from a lovely little modern casting sent by a kind Shiter.  Like the SPD cars, the colour is maybe slightly darker than it should be, but again, it's close enough.

And now we're into the Personal section, where we meet one car I've owned and one that belonged to a mate, but I did get to drive it.  Let's begin with a MB Mercury Sable wagon.  Many of you will remember that I had a Sable a few years ago, that I passed on to @Bobthebeard but it was a sedan.  Well so is this one now!

The rear window is formed from the top half of the original tailgate, with the D pillars moved forward.  P38 is what you'll find now forming the trunk, and then several coats of Humbrol finished it off.

It's over 20 years ago (!) since I got to drive my mate Mick's car, when I was working for Dobson's Produce based in Preston.

1987 Range Rover Vogue 3.9 auto.  Mmmmmm nice.  This one used to be a police car, but had lost its lightbar and a fair bit of paint, so it was fair game.  Drilled, stripped and aerosolled, after filling in the mounting holes for the lightbar; broken suspension fixed with a strip of scrap plastic.  It's probably the biggest model I have of a car I've "known" but not owned.

[bunglebus]

Still at a secret location somewhere in the Midlands - and I found more.

I'm not especially into models, kits and RC stuff but @andrew e and @Spottedlaurel might enjoy seeing these

[Spottedlaurel]

Great to see a well-stocked physical model shop.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Went into my local Aldi on Sunday to grab a present for 2 year old niece, at the till there were some loose Hot Wheels , so grabbed this 

£1.69 which seems good, looking across at the other tills there were more on all of them, but I couldn’t get to them to see what’s there. I’m going to go back and will have to buy something to go to each till! 
Any rarities that I should grab for anyone if there?

[Datsuncog]

The red Supras, also from the '80s series, would probably go down well on here if you could find some.

I've yet to see any!

[Datsuncog]

Tesco still not really delivering the goods...

The Hot Wheels tub has been refilled lately, but diligent sifting revealed not very much of interest beyond fantasies, toons and Batman stuff:

Haven't seen the Honda with a box on the back before - wasn't sure if anyone here would be keen or not, so I carefully shoved it down the back of the shelf just in case I need to go back later...

Matchbox selection is still frustratingly stuck on the last few early '23 releases:

The food truck, push-me-pull-you car and motorbike trailer seem to be the slow sellers here , with at least three of each remaining - with a fire truck, Dodge Sweptside, road roller and modern Toyota Landcruiser also languishing.

I also clocked a standalone display near the tills offering two Hot Wheels five packs at the special Clubcard Price of £14, but didn't really look too closely.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

The red Supras, also from the '80s series, would probably go down well on here if you could find some.

I've yet to see any!

Got two spares...

[w00dy]

17 hours ago, bunglebus said:

There's hope yet - look what I just found

I'd hate to find somewhere like that. Those Matchbox Collectors look fantastic, but at £10 a throw it's very hard to justify.

[bunglebus]

Boxed for an Ayrton each?

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, w00dy said:

I'd hate to find somewhere like that. Those Matchbox Collectors look fantastic, but at £10 a throw it's very hard to justify.

You only live once. If you factor in the cost of postage from eBay or Modelmatic it's not the end of the world. Smyths are selling premiums for £9 now I think

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

You only live once. If you factor in the cost of postage from eBay or Modelmatic it's not the end of the world. Smyths are selling premiums for £9 now I think

I’m my head £10 gets me a really nice example of a decent Superkings which floats my boat a bit more. You never know they may appear on Poundtoy or suchlike. 

[Bren]

This came today -

One I have never had before. Still has it's sticker sheet though I doubt they will be sticky fifty two years later.

 

[bunglebus]

Another one that hardly ever seems to surface - I've found two

[Bren]

And this -

I have a loose example. It's not a great casting but I prefer it to the matchbox police patrol.

I bought it because it is the only one I have seen in the first edition blister and I have been collecting over twenty years.

[sierraman]

13 minutes ago, Bren said:

And this -

I have a loose example. It's not a great casting but I prefer it to the matchbox police patrol.

I bought it because it is the only one I have seen in the first edition blister and I have been collecting over twenty years.

I always figured the Police Patrol was some last minute licensing cock up or that Rover suddenly changed their minds and that enough was invested in the model, cancelling it wasn’t an option. 

[flat4alfa]

On 3/17/2021 at 10:33 PM, flat4alfa said:

Also the Corgi Austin Healey Le Mans Sprite

I just don't have the eyes for this sort of detailing bother any more though

I did one up a while ago

There is a spare here somewhere 

[Datsuncog]

I've acquired just one in all the years of my Market Odyssey, but it wasn't exactly in great shape.

Actually, come to think of it this one went to @flat4alfa - so this one and the revivified one above could well be the same model.

I might have turned down an even worse Tat Box example a few years back, but a good one would be a nice thing to have.

Well bought!

[MiniMinorMk3]

No.50 was the 1968 entry the Austin-Healey Sprite prototypes at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

It was driven by to 15th place by Roger Enever and Alec Poole.

[FakeConcern]

19 hours ago, eddyramrod said:

There has been work.

I've outlined this plan in PM to @danthecapriman and @FakeConcern, and now here are the fruits of my labours, so far.  In 2005 on one of my US road trips, I (well, we) dined with the Chief of Police in Southport, North Carolina.  I took a photo of a retired 1996 Crown Vic that happened to be in his back garden, and at some point (before our visit, I think) he sent me a pic of an earlier unit, a "box" Caprice, which gave me the colour scheme you're about to see.

So, L-R: 1959 Plymouth Sport Suburban by Corgi; 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle wagon by Gamda Koor; 1968 Mercury Commuter by Matchbox.  I started with the Chevelle, which was a Fire Chief livery.  It hasn't been apart, I painted it with Humbrol, and got a fairly good match, I think, for the Caprice pic.  Of these models, this is the only one that already had a dome light on the roof.  The other two cars have been drilled, stripped and sprayed (getting Matchbox paint of is a real pain), but the pale-blue I have among my aerosols is a little darker than I would have liked.

The Police stickers are from a pack I bought on ebay.  They've come in several sizes and colour combinations.  The crest on the doors, I've painted by hand.  Even I can't see what the graphic in the middle is supposed to be, and there's no way I was ever going to be able to paint in the wording that goes round the circle, but I do have a pair of genuine stickers (as seen on the Caprice, just about) so I know these are as close as I'll ever get at this size.

I've done station wagons as I think they would work as K9 units; I may yet do some sedans too.  Whether the Department ever actually used these types, I have no idea, but it's amused me creating a timeline of one small-town PD.  I still want the MB Dodge Monaco wagon, preferably in Fire Chief livery, to bring the timeline forward a bit, then maybe the odd sedan to keep them company: Dinky Pontiac Parisienne for example.

The Chevelle and Mercury are only two years apart, so perhaps the timeline is a bit compressed there; I would imagine a service life of 3-5 years for a K9 unit.  But you know, in police work, anything can happen!  Perhaps the Chevy was totalled, or suffered a terminal failure, and the Mercury had to be purchased ahead of schedule.

The PD exists; the livery is close enough (although if I find a lighter-blue aerosol it might improve); ALL the rest is from my imagination.

So, elsewhere on the bench...

Lovejoy's Datsun pickup, from a lovely little modern casting sent by a kind Shiter.  Like the SPD cars, the colour is maybe slightly darker than it should be, but again, it's close enough.

And now we're into the Personal section, where we meet one car I've owned and one that belonged to a mate, but I did get to drive it.  Let's begin with a MB Mercury Sable wagon.  Many of you will remember that I had a Sable a few years ago, that I passed on to @Bobthebeard but it was a sedan.  Well so is this one now!

The rear window is formed from the top half of the original tailgate, with the D pillars moved forward.  P38 is what you'll find now forming the trunk, and then several coats of Humbrol finished it off.

It's over 20 years ago (!) since I got to drive my mate Mick's car, when I was working for Dobson's Produce based in Preston.

1987 Range Rover Vogue 3.9 auto.  Mmmmmm nice.  This one used to be a police car, but had lost its lightbar and a fair bit of paint, so it was fair game.  Drilled, stripped and aerosolled, after filling in the mounting holes for the lightbar; broken suspension fixed with a strip of scrap plastic.  It's probably the biggest model I have of a car I've "known" but not owned.

Some great work there as always!

[Snake Charmer]

8 hours ago, Bren said:

This came today -

One I have never had before. Still has it's sticker sheet though I doubt they will be sticky fifty two years later.

 

Where has that been stored all these years? Outstanding!

[flat4alfa]

6 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

No.50 was the 1968 entry the Austin-Healey Sprite prototypes at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

It was driven by to 15th place by Roger Enever and Alec Poole.

Didn't know this.  So fell down a rabbit hole or two of information gathering

- It won the 'Motor' Trophy for the first British car home.

- At one spot it had been timed at 154 mph!

- It was displayed at the 1968 Motor Show

- A new cross-flow, semi down-draught Weslake head with Lucas fuel injection explains the multiple curvature bonnet line for '68

- Unique in being the only 'streamliner' fitted with a spoiler around the tail

-  HAN9-R-237 now lives in Australia 

 

[bunglebus]

I was pestering the toy shop I found about a big Mattel delivery they were expecting - not coming in until tonight now and I'm off to another job later.

I'll be back next week but if anyone's near Derby it's located inside the Derbion shopping centre 

[flat4alfa]

7 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I'll be back next week but if anyone's near Derby it's located inside the Derbion shopping centre 

There is also one in Burton-Upon-Trent.  Well it says so on website

Much excite there is a new shop like good old Beatties

Just don't see that sort of of thing anymore

But both 100+ miles away from my manor

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

I was pestering the toy shop I found about a big Mattel delivery they were expecting - not coming in until tonight now and I'm off to another job later.

I'll be back next week but if anyone's near Derby it's located inside the Derbion shopping centre 

Wait while the truck is on the bypass and hijack it or drag the trailer at the services while the drivers asleep. 😂

[bunglebus]

52 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

There is also one in Burton-Upon-Trent.

That's annoying, I was there last week. I will be back at some point though