Shite in Miniature II

[RoadworkUK]

My favourite obscure hi-fi brand is Optonica, the sobriquet afforded to Sharp's somewhat underrated high-end efforts. My grandad bought £600 worth of their slick-looking 5100 series back in 1980. Now, 42 years later, the amp powers my office system (cassette deck and CD player illustrated were left here by the previous owners of the house), the turntable and tape deck are in the system downstairs. Alas, the tuner was disposed of by my dad before the whole shebang came my way 20 years back or so.

And to get back on topic, here's a trans-o-lite Rover.

[Split_Pin]

I was given second hand by my Granny many years ago this plastic and tinplate vintage car with a radio inside. One spare wheel was the tuner and the other was the volume/off switch. It did work too!

[Datsuncog]

Long-awaited mail touchdown today:

It's the July Corgi Model Club release, the #358 Oldsmobile Super 88 H.Q. Staff Car.

Way back on 17 July, an email arrived from CMC to advise there was a delay on distributing these, as the cargo ship bringing them all over from China had to divert because  of bad weather in the Red Sea.

Nearly a month, and a few more apologetic emails, later - we finally have this!

Now, this may be another vaguely contentious release, as it's a variant of the #237 Oldsmobile Sheriff Car sent out to club members from June last year.

I seem to recall there was a bit of harrumphing online a few months ago when the Polizei Beetle appeared, not long after its casting-mate East African Safari Beetle had been issued - so this is now the second duplicate CMC casting, with a third to come in December (the Fire Chief Chevrolet Impala - a recolouring of the Taxi version from last year).

I guess it's a bit of a balancing act to keep costs down enough so CMC can afford to keep developing and issuing interesting new models every month, while not losing subscribers.

So - while I'll admit to a twinge of disappointment that this isn't a 'new' casting for me to slobber over, it is a bit unusual nonetheless.

Detailing here is minimal, to match the original:

Just the headlights picked out in silver, and printed decals on the roof, bonnet and doors - with everything else just a plain olive drab, as you might expect a military car to be.

The casting is very crisp, though.

As well as an aerial on the rear deck, this model features a full complement of passengers - and I don't think I've seen this on another model before.

Baseplate is identical to the earlier police version.

The Oldsmobile marque isn't mentioned on the box, oddly - but then, this military range was always a little bit makeshift.

The collector card elaborates:

As set out in The Great Book Of Corgi, their US importer had gone to Corgi's management and asked them to produce a range of military-themed vehicles, which it felt would sell well in the States.

Perhaps not fully convinced, Corgi's designers came up with a range of ten models which mostly consisted of recoloured older castings - including a Karrier ice cream van repurposed as a field kitchen. These were launched in January 1965, for the US market only.

It's hard to know whether it was simply a bad idea, without also developing actual military vehicles like tanks and field guns as part of the range, or whether Corgi's every-expense-spared attitude by using confusingly British vehicles like Commer PBs and Bedford TKs (which meant nothing to US kids) played a part.

But whichever way you cut it, these didn't sell.

Later in 1965, with stock presumably not shifting from the warehouse shelves, the range was made available for order by retailers in the UK and Europe, but the writing was plainly on the wall - and no new military vehicles were developed for the range until the Hong-Kong made tanks were introduced in the 1970s.

The Olds was an exception, as it was at least a model of a US vehicle, but sales remained slack and the military models range was axed from the catalogue the year after.

Of course, in a world where popular Corgi models tended to shift in their millions, those that only sold in the low tens of thousands are now super-collectable... I've never seen an original HQ Staff Car, and I don't suppose I ever will.

But despite being the second Olds 88 to appear in the subscriber collection in not much over 12 months, this one does have quite a different vibe from the Sheriff's Car version - it's weird, but all the little guys with hats inside do seem add a certain playvalue, even if you can't do anything with them.

I'm pleased it showed up, finally!

I daresay the August release will be hot on its heels...

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

@bunglebus@Split_Pin

You're going to love this 6-page in-depth thread on those :

https://www.planetdiecast.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=83&id=30097&Itemid=0

 

Thanks, I've been having trouble sleeping lately

[Burnside]

6 hours ago, bunglebus said:

On my travels again, Sutton Coldfield this week. Got excited to find a Toymaster

Unfortunately they didn't have anything exciting, and it wasn't the tidiest despite only just having opened this morning 

Entertainer over the road....

Three M cases fresh in if anyone is looking for Chevettes, silver AMGs, Alfas, ID Buzz etc

Charity shop excitement 

Oh no, I'm not a million miles away from Sutton Coldfield!

Might have to pop over there and see if they have any Alfa's left later in the week. I'll definitely check out the Siku on offer too. Providing my Stilo doesn't disappoint at the garage Thursday.

[Split_Pin]

32 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Thanks, I've been having trouble sleeping lately

Remember the dream that Alonzo Hawk had in Herbie Rides Again where his head was plagued by "all those little cars, hundreds of 'em!"? Well, that would be me if I read that article at bedtime. Even the cars that had been squashed by Bunglebus's hammer would grossly come back to life, lurching towards me on their wonky wheels.

Shudder.

[egg]

44 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

#358 Oldsmobile Super 88 H.Q. Staff Car.

Nice - did these actually exist in real life? Don't tell me they shipped them over to 'Nam.

[bunglebus]

51 minutes ago, Burnside said:

Oh no, I'm not a million miles away from Sutton Coldfield!

Might have to pop over there and see if they have any Alfa's left later in the week. I'll definitely check out the Siku on offer too. Providing my Stilo doesn't disappoint at the garage Thursday.

I'm here until Thurs so I can grab the 3 or 4 that were in the boxes if you want? I'm working in a nearby shop

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

I was given second hand by my Granny many years ago this plastic and tinplate vintage car with a radio inside. One spare wheel was the tuner and the other was the volume/off switch. It did work too!

One of these

The Camargues quite liked the company.

1931 Rolls Royce, AM RADIO.  Available in your nearest Tandy shop.

[flat4alfa]

39 minutes ago, egg said:

Nice - did these actually exist in real life? Don't tell me they shipped them over to 'Nam.

Ford Galaxies definitely were

 

[sierraman]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I was given second hand by my Granny many years ago this plastic and tinplate vintage car with a radio inside. One spare wheel was the tuner and the other was the volume/off switch. It did work too!

I think you know what I’m gonna say... mine had a digital clock where the windscreen was 😂

[Split_Pin]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

One of these

The Camargues quite liked the company.

1931 Rolls Royce, AM RADIO.  Available in your nearest Tandy shop.

That's it! Lovely Camarguments too. Mine doesn't have the aerial though. Must see if it works (if I still even have it!)

[FakeConcern]

7 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

 

Its beauty is beyond compare
No shining blocks of bullion
But ivory paint and grille of satin blue

Its smoke is like the death of spring
Its engine note a noisy din
But it cannot compete with you, Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolee-ah-eene
Please don't take my BRINKS MAT VAN

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolee-ah-eene
Please don't take it just because you ca-uh-aan

 

 

I met Kenny Noye at his house in the early 80s, fairly soon after he killed the police man there.

 

As regards shite Hi Fi, we use these Ruark speakers that must date from the 90s I think

 

and a Kenward amp all hooked up to an old laptop with a hard drive that has all our music on it.

 

I think we still have a couple of Pioneer record decks and a CD deck and a non working JVC amp in the loft

 

 

[egg]

13 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

I met Kenny Noye at his house in the early 80s, fairly soon after he killed the police man there.

 

one for the 'Lames to fame' thread? He lives in 7oaks now apparently.

[sierraman]

45 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

I met Kenny Noye at his house in the early 80s, fairly soon after he killed the police man there.

 

As regards shite Hi Fi, we use these Ruark speakers that must date from the 90s I think

 

and a Kenward amp all hooked up to an old laptop with a hard drive that has all our music on it.

 

I think we still have a couple of Pioneer record decks and a CD deck and a non working JVC amp in the loft

 

 

What was your impression of him? 

[FakeConcern]

7 minutes ago, sierraman said:

What was your impression of him? 

I went there with my mate who was good friends with him. At the time the only thing I knew was he'd killed a police man. My mate had told me on the drive over there that the police had been doing an undercover job on Kenny's house and when his dogs started barking at night he went out to be confronted by a man all in black with balaclava on and seeming threatening and he grabbed the nearest thing to hand which was a pitch fork he'd been using earlier and lunged at the man in black with it-he died. I don't think his involvement with Brinks Mat had been made public at the time.

I can't remember much except him and my mate chatting, joking & laughing, he seemed a nice enough bloke. I was in my early twenties and they were fifteen years or so older than me. They both had several Ferraris and big houses, I lived with my parents and drove a Mini so kind of an intimidating situation really. My mate was also quite a character as the first time I met him and went to his house it was winter with snow on the ground and he had a swimming pool that was so hot it was steaming! He told me he'd had the meter disconnected  for a while and needed to up it a bit as they were going to read it! I mention this as I knew my mate was dodgy and you wouldn't mess him around if you knew what was good for you and Kenny was very similar. My mate was parking one of his cars in Kenny's garage and various jokes were made that he (Kenny) wouldn't touch it because "dabs"!

Shame I can't remeber more about it.

[Burnside]

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I'm here until Thurs so I can grab the 3 or 4 that were in the boxes if you want? I'm working in a nearby shop

@bunglebus thanks for the offer, although I'll be over there myself tomorrow as it transpires!! 

[AndyW201]

13 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I'm here until Thurs so I can grab the 3 or 4 that were in the boxes if you want? I'm working in a nearby shop

If you're near there @bunglebus, could you grab me an Alfa and a silver Merc if possible please?

[andrew e]

16 hours ago, RoadworkUK said:

My favourite obscure hi-fi brand is Optonica, the sobriquet afforded to Sharp's somewhat underrated high-end efforts. My grandad bought £600 worth of their slick-looking 5100 series back in 1980. Now, 42 years later, the amp powers my office system (cassette deck and CD player illustrated were left here by the previous owners of the house), the turntable and tape deck are in the system downstairs. Alas, the tuner was disposed of by my dad before the whole shebang came my way 20 years back or so.

 

What is that!!!!How can nobody mention a huge Lugu Coloni style 1/8 scale model on Lamborghini wheels??? TELL US MORE!

(I’ve also got a NAD cassette deck to dispose of and a set of Manna acoustic stands to rehome too).

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, AndyW201 said:

If you're near there @bunglebus, could you grab me an Alfa and a silver Merc if possible please?

Done

[155V6]

More stuff hopefully added to my for sale thread around 7.00 this evening 😀

[TheOtherStu]

Things I'm currently after (in case anyone finds one). Preferably nice condition. I'm like Stevie Wonder when it comes to painting.

Toyota MR2 mk1 - preferably 1:43, but after any

Toyota MR2 mk2 - preferably 1:43, but again after any

Volvo P1800S

Nissan Skyline R33 and R34 GTR

Skyline "Hakosuka" GT-R

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Le Cogbox nouveau c’est arrive !

Now the ( fully valeted) Corgi DB4 and the Junior Pacer I was expecting, I’d forgotten about the most of the others, especially the tiny A60 and the Corgi Rockets Capri. 

And of course my wife just came out to ridicule me as I was comparing the suspension travel of thin wheel Superfast, vs wide wheel , Whizzwheels and Rockets.

[AndyW201]

On 14/08/2023 at 11:54, eddyramrod said:

I've just been looking at a Vanguards group on FB.  Somebody's offering a mk2 Escort Mexico, Signal Green with a black vinyl roof, in box.  £120 + postage!  FFS!  I can't think of any model car I'd pay that for, let alone a current, routine model of what was a cheaply-tarted-up learner car in its day.  And a mere 1/43 scale too.

The world has gone mad; the above is conclusive proof.

Yep, that's the same group that I'm on. TBH I usually post my models on there (in a show and tell capacity, not to sell), but I've not bothered of late, as that group is now swamped with for sale posts, so genuine collector posts get lost. I'm not the only one to feel that way either way judging by recent comments. Having sold a few unwanted bits on eBay recently, I think people are shying away from selling on there lately as it's a shitshow on there lately and their fees are a piss-take, which is probably why there are so many for sale posts on that group lately.

A few folks have commented on there that the price of that Escort was on the high side, funnily enough the only ones leaping in to defend it were also ones who are known traders...

Unfortunately, I've had that car in question in my collection for quite a while. (Mine is the RHD, UK reg version too, not the LHD with German plates one on that's for sale on the group) The difference being, I bought it when it was first released so it cost me about 20 quid. (I'd always wanted a model Mk2 in Signal green, so when it was announced, I was straight on the pre order). The cardboard outer box though, got destroyed by some young sticky fingers (a then two year old 201-jnr), and from new it has been displayed in the cabinet, occasionally coming out for a bit of a fondle. I've lowered the suspension on it, and on a couple of occasions, I've bent the wipers a bit while cleaning it and had to tweak them back. So sadly it won't be making me any fortunes any time soon, but I don't give a shite.

Having a cursory glance at what I have in the cabinet, there are a few items in there that have probably increased a fair bit in value compared to what I paid for them, but that would be just a happy accident, that's not what I buy them for. I do like to think that if I chuck in the sponge (not any time soon I hope), at least there'll be something of value left for the wife and bairns.

Despite that, I just buy what I like the look of, for the love of the hobby, not for "investment",  no way will I pay way over the odds for something. There are some items I'd like, to fill some gaps in the collection, but I'll  do without until they come up at what I see as a fair price. I think I've only paid over the original RRP for the Fiesta Supersport I got from 

@Jon  of this parish, and even then not much over. Still way less than what they go for on eBay, for which all credit to Jon, who could have flipped it for a lot more. It was the only way I'd ever get to have one of those. Otherwise it's always below the RRP even for new stuff. You're always going to get folk buying up new releases in bulk then lobbing them on eBay for £40-£45+ but the days of people paying that for new releases are long gone.

TL:DR In it for the love of it, not a money grasping twat, honest.

[eddyramrod]

2 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

I just buy what I like the look of, for the love of the hobby, not for "investment",  no way will I pay way over the odds for something. There are some items I'd like, to fill some gaps in the collection, but I'll  do without until they come up at what I see as a fair price.

TL:DR In it for the love of it, not a money grasping twat, honest.

THIS!  Totally!

In other news, remember I placed a £70+ order with Steve Flowers?  It's come today, in a box the size of a coffee mug.  Pics later as I won't have time to unbox it for a few hours.

[andrew e]

£70 Eddie! What happened to the skint Eddie 😂

[eddyramrod]

14 minutes ago, andrew e said:

£70 Eddie! What happened to the skint Eddie 😂

This is why!

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

Le Cogbox nouveau c’est arrive !

Now the ( fully valeted) Corgi DB4 and the Junior Pacer I was expecting, I’d forgotten about the most of the others, especially the tiny A60 and the Corgi Rockets Capri. 

And of course my wife just came out to ridicule me as I was comparing the suspension travel of thin wheel Superfast, vs wide wheel , Whizzwheels and Rockets.

Blimey, that was quick! I only sent it on its way yesterday morning - second class, too!

Glad it all showed up safely, and yes - I couldn't let the Aston go with all that grot covering up the lovely cast engine detail...

[egg]

Cheers to @bunglebusI can haz Ami

[bunglebus]

Glad it finally arrived. Anyone need the spare one I found in case it really was lost in the post?