Shite in Miniature II

[egg]

He needs to watch out, all that stooping is bad for his back.

[Datsuncog]

24 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

89 Frances Street is now an modern apartment block

That telegraph pole looks to be of the period though, so maybe he bumped into it on occasion after a session in the Tudor Tavern on the roundabout.  That's what I would do.

Yeah, the original terraces were demolished in the late 90's, having been boarded up for a while. My school bus used to go past here. They looked similar to those left further down Frances Street:

I'm not sure when the apartments went up; I was away for a few years and when I got back at the tail end of 2006, it was all different.

As an additional AutoShite link, a fairly disreputable used-car dealer operated from this demolition site around the turn of the century; I once viewed an epically dented Peugeot 505 Familiale in Doom Blue here which I was all set to buy for £250 - only my mother vetoed the purchase by refusing to let me park it outside our house, as it looked so utterly hanging.

It was like this, but cosmetically much, much worse:

Yet apparently MOT'd.

Pity, as it would have made for a legendary band transporter.

Oh, and if you're ever in Ards, DO NOT go drinking in the Tudor Tavern.

Very bad, no good.

And I'm not talking about the beer.

The Ivy, just round the corner in Castle Street, is however much nicer and generally less fighty.

But! Back to the tat...

[flat4alfa]

Tacot in France did a 1:43 resin kit for you to relive your yearnings

[Datsuncog]

A quick whizz round to the Deedly-Dee Irish Tat/ Diecast stall revealed a few new arrivals, though nothing to turn my head too much.

A silver version of the 1/72 Oxford Diecast Land Rover Discovery had landed....

And various other modern rally partwork models, in both 1/43 and 1/24 scale, which are apparently French and are selling well.

Oxford TX5s in prototype Royal Mail livery, in two differing scales, had arrived too.

Colin remains increasingly dismayed by the price hikes on these - they used to be four or five quid for the little 'uns, but he's finding them harder to punt on at a tenner.

There's very little margin on them, he tells me.

Some newish Hot Wheels had shown up, though:

But, I don't think there was anything much that I wanted.

As in, I can't remember if I have this one already.

I know I have a green one. Maybe a red one? Maybe this one too?

This is the problem since my underbed collection has now become an attic collection, and I haven't seen any of it for two months.

As others have been hinting, it's possible a cull may be on the cards...

Heading over to Larry's Independent Traders, not a great deal was visible to tempt me here either...

Though this big, if incomplete, tinplate and plastic racer was quite unusual.

No maker's name to to be seen anywhere on it.

As I was about to leave though, I spied a massive bundle of crap which had been just tipped out at the far end of the stall.

It was a bit like my beloved jumble sales of yore.

Although, there were a lot of pairs of glasses to be found in amongst the chewed paperbacks, scuffed CDs and bum bags.

Get your tasteless Hallowe'en serial killer outfit accessories while they're hot.

Some very persistent rummaging eventually unearthed these treasures:

A lightly chipped Hot Wheels Mustang and a no-name Mitsubishi FTO with the screen smashed out.

Naaah. Not for 50p.

Although, suddenly Alan (of Emporium fame) swooped, and nabbed these along with some other wares - so I'll expect to see them again on the Tat Tray at some point in the near future.

Naturally, the Tat Tray was not yet populated, so I meandered over towards the coffee shop for some comforting refreshment - and to fret about those Corgi Classics commercials...

[Datsuncog]

37 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Oh, and if you're ever in Ards, DO NOT go drinking in the Tudor Tavern.

Very bad, no good.

And I'm not talking about the beer.

Hmm, looks like that may no longer be a concern...

It says 'temporarily closed', but I think bricking up the door suggests a degree of permanence to the arrangements...

Can't say I'm all that sorry.

[eddyramrod]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

 I once viewed an epically dented Peugeot 505 Familiale in Doom Blue here which I was all set to buy for £250 - only my mother vetoed the purchase by refusing to let me park it outside our house, as it looked so utterly hanging.

You are Arnie Cunningham AICMFP.

[Datsuncog]

So, coffee and something disgustingly squidgy and yet wonderfully delicious was ordered up to fortify me against further tribulations... but before I could receive my order and settle into my customary write-up corner, a bunch of expensively dressed middle-aged women with minimal concept of an indoor voice rocked up and took the preferred table.

I've encountered this lot before; there's about five of them and they seem to use the little market coffee shop as some sort of boho hang-out, no doubt convincing themselves that they're starring in their very own episode of Friends. 

The first one to arrive threw her bag onto the table and began shrieking to anyone within earshot that she'd been splashed by a car going through a puddle just outside, and demanding towels from the long-suffering counter staff to pat herself dry.

Now, given that she was wearing a knee-length white bouclé coat which showed no signs of anything more than some light rain to the shoulders...

(something a bit like this, fashion spotters)

AND she was only dabbing lightly at her feet, I'd say this was not quite the eight-foot wall of water I used to have to contend with while walking to work at Halfords on wet mornings, before the Boucher Road was resurfaced. Getting the timing wrong near the Apollo Rd junction would result in a head-to-toe drenching by the bow wave of a passing HGV, and a very uncomfortable day in work. 

Then, as other members of the ladies-who-brunch group trickled in shortly after, each of them were regaled with the same tale, at earsplitting volume, about how she's SOAKED and these cars just don't care and oh my god the speed of them and why are there no police and do you think there are CCTV cameras, how would I get the CCTV to report them, because I didn't get the number plate, I was just in SHOCK...

Then one of them started braying about how her son had just been picked for the Carnalea Under-10s football team, and it clicked... of course, they're from fucking Carnalea.

It's the try-hard part of North Down, whose denizens can't quite afford the millionaire mansions a few miles down the road in Cultra, so have to make up for it in volume and one-upmanship and white Range Rovers on PCP with tortuous personalised numberplates that almost spell N11CKY and BB13CKY.

Because real Cultra residents tend to smoke around in filthy XJS convertibles with ancient local number plates like OIA 1 and over-restored TR6s - although I've noticed there's been a lamentable rise in Maserati SUVs of late, while passing through en route to the Cogparents.

The fact that they all ordered just a small tea each, but then one of them brought out their own packet of overpriced Heatherlea shortbread biscuits and began sharing them around the table - in a coffee shop that sells some very nice homemade shortbread biscuits - struck me as both extremely fucking rude, yet entirely what I'd expect from them.

By the time one of them began elaborating about her hubby's latest trip to Dubai, because his job's SO stressful but he just HAS to be out there managing the project otherwise NOTHING gets done, haw haw, you know what the locals are like - I knew I had to get out of there because my head was starting to melt.

 

Which is all to say that I really can't be held fully responsible for then going and buying a load of totally unnecessary Corgi Classics...

 

Come for the diecast, stay for the drama, hey?

[Datsuncog]

25 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

You are Arnie Cunningham AICMFP.

It DID look a bit demonic, to be fair! Those slanty-in headlights, like beetling brows...

Would have made for a hell of a reboot. 'Christine' with an XD motor.

"We can't kill it!"

[andrew e]

“Unless it has a Lucas pump!”

 

[Datsuncog]

Well then - what did I waste my money on this week?

This.

I mentioned a while ago that I'm a sucker for a Bedford TK.

This state of affairs has not changed much recently.

Corgi sure got their value from that little container moulding - it seems to be derived from the same one supplied with my childhood Ford Transcontinental, just with the sides flattened and the slots for lifting it filled in.

Because this is a PREMIUM Corgi Connoisseur release, you get a small plastic corgi thrown in with the mirrors and indicators.

Well, that'll come in handy.

And - I also got this...

Yes, I like this era of Mack too.

Even though it's utterly filthy with dust.

Yeurgh.

Oh well. Nothing a bit of toothbrush action can't fix.

I'm not going to offer these out yet - but I'm aware that their time with me may be short.

So, if you're super-keen on either of these for a tenner, I'll put a note against these on the spreadsheet for When The Time Comes...

 

Then, because clearly listening to the wittering of the lovely ladies had completely fried my nut, I bought this from the Charity Stall:

What is it, I hear you gasp in bemused astonishment.

Erm... not sure.

It says 'Ramones' on it, but I'm fairly sure it's got nowt to do with those sadly-extinct 1970s punk pioneers from Queens, New York.

I checked round the back, but there were no scowling, ragged-kneed urchins to be seen standing round looking cool anywhere.

It opens up, too.

And then it hit me...

Okay, so it's something to do with the Disney™ Pixar® franchise Cars™®©%, those disturbingly anthropomorphic cartoon vehicles that the youngsters seem to like so much.

And seemingly batteries are involved somewhere in the proceedings.

But beyond that - I'm not really sure what's missing from it.

If anybody's super-keen, you're more than welcome to it for the £1 paid - otherwise I'll clean it up and pop it in with the other toys for my nieces.

And lastly, in anticipation of an evening that may be spent with beer, soapy water and a toothbrush while MrsDC is away out with her yarn harpies, I got this DVD boxed set for a mere 50p.

Ten films! That's a mere fivepence each. And the discs are like new.

I haven't watched the Naked Gun™ films for years, or indeed Beverly Hills Cop - this is the kind of trash I'd rent from Xtravision time and time again on a Friday night when I was a kid, so... I might just roll with it tonight.

[Tenmil Socket]

14 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Well then - what did I waste my money on this week?

This.

I mentioned a while ago that I'm a sucker for a Bedford TK.

This state of affairs has not changed recently.

Corgi sure got their value from that little container moulding. Seems to be derived from the one on my childhood Ford Transcontinental.

Because this is a PREMIUM Corgi Connoisseur release, you get a small plastic corgi in with the mirrors and indicators.

Well, that'll come in handy.

And I also got this...

Yes, I like this era of Mack too.

Even though it's utterly filthy with dust.

Yeurgh.

Oh well. Nothing a bit of toothbrush action can't fix.

I'm not going to offer these out yet - but I'm aware that their time with me may be short.

So, if you're super-keen on either of these for a tenner, I'll put a note against these on the spreadsheet for When The Time Comes...

Then, because clearly listening to the wittering of the lovely ladies had completely fried my nut, I bought this from the Charity Stall:

What is it, I hear you gasp in bemused astonishment.

Erm... not sure.

It says 'Ramones' on it, but I'm fairly sure it's got nowt to do with those sadly-extinct 1970s punk pioneers from Queens, New York.

I looked round the back, but there were no scowling, ragged-kneed urchins to be seen anywhere.

It opens up, too.

And then it hit me...

Okay, so it's something to do with the Disney™ Pixar® franchise Cars™®©%, those disturbingly anthropomorphic cartoon vehicles that the youngsters seem to like so much.

And seemingly batteries are involved somewhere in the proceedings.

But beyond that - I'm not really sure what's missing from it.

If anybody's super-keen, you're more than welcome to it for the £1 paid - otherwise I'll clean it up and pop it in with the other toys for my nieces.

And lastly, in anticipation of an evening that may be spent with beer, soapy water and a toothbrush while MrsDC is away out with her yarn harpies, I got this boxed set for a mere 50p.

I haven't watched the Naked Gun™ films for years, or indeed Beverly Hills Cop - this is the kind of trash I'd rent from Xtravision time and time again on a Friday night, so... might just roll with it.

That box set looks tremendous!

[RoadworkUK]

Good purchases.

Beverley Hills Cop remains a staple of my "just arrived home, Nicola's out this evening, I'll stick a DVD on that she wouldn't like" antics.

[flat4alfa]

They built a real one for Disneyland

From the film.  Cheech Marin played Ramone voice

It was inspired by this one in Texas

I think I have a spare Ramone somewhere so you could play on the patio with it

[TheOtherStu]

10 minutes ago, RoadworkUK said:

Good purchases.

Beverley Hills Cop remains a staple of my "just arrived home, Nicola's out this evening, I'll stick a DVD on that she wouldn't like" antics.

I'll take your Beverley Hills Cop and I'll raise you the Terminator and Total Recall.

For a modern twist, I'd recommend John Wick movies.

[flat4alfa]

15 minutes ago, RoadworkUK said:

Beverley Hills Cop remains a staple of my "just arrived home, Nicola's out this evening, I'll stick a DVD on that she wouldn't like" antics.

Same here!  Wife hates the swearing

It is a classic though, to me anyhow

 

Does @eddyramrod have a "Same crappy blue Chevy Nova" in the Eddy Movie Museum?

[Split_Pin]

@DatsuncogThat Ramones's bodyshop is from Disney Cars as said above. Only made for a short period of time to tie in with the first film. My son was given practically the entire town by my sister in law after her son grew out of it. We stopped speaking to her for certain Reasons long after my own son had grown out of them and rather than return them  my wife sold the whole lot for a reasonable sum on Marketplace which went towards some computer games for my son.

They're beautifully made and I absolutely urge you to put a battery in it and see what happens. Best tried in dim light

[Split_Pin]

Also, nothings missing from it other than Ramone himself! I wish I'd kept him in his various colours when my son sold his collection, I'd have sent him straight onto you.

[flat4alfa]

21 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Also, nothings missing from it other than Ramone himself! I wish I'd kept him in his various colours when my son sold his collection, I'd have sent him straight onto you.

Yes let's send all our Pixar cars over to @Datsuncog he'll have hours of fun and might be worthy of its own thread.  Tuck a few Days Gone in there too, on the quiet

[flat4alfa]

Ramone has been spotted!

[eddyramrod]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

Same here!  Wife hates the swearing

It is a classic though, to me anyhow

 

Does @eddyramrod have a "Same crappy blue Chevy Nova" in the Eddy Movie Museum?

That is, in fact, one I don't have.  There's a Nova in the Bond partwork series, as a Caribbean-island police car, but it has four doors, and while I am converting a Vanguards Cortina from two doors to four, and still need a 100E and a Corsair for the same treatment, I'm not convinced about doing the reverse on a Nova when a two-door may well surface eventually..  It's also possible to get a Nova in 1/18 scale - and Greenlight may even be doing an Axel Foley edition - but they are steadfastly running above my budget.  Greenlight seem to have quite a selection of film and TV cars on the home market; perhaps I need a trip to the US with an empty suitcase!

[Datsuncog]

43 minutes ago, RoadworkUK said:

Beverley Hills Cop remains a staple of my "just arrived home, Nicola's out this evening, I'll stick a DVD on that she wouldn't like" antics.

Heh, usually my go-to films of that nature include Convoy, Vanishing Point, Smokey & The Bandit, Gone In 60 Seconds (original H.B. Halicki version) and Mallrats - so I guess I fancied expanding my horizons just a little, tonight.

Crocodile Dundee II was on the other evening, and MrsDC made me turn over after about 5 minutes - but even though she had a point, it reminded me that even though it's a bit naff I still kinda enjoy it...

 

33 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

They built a real one for Disneyland

From the film.  Cheech Marin played Ramone voice

It was inspired by this one in Texas

I think I have a spare Ramone somewhere so you could play on the patio with it

Man, that garage in Texas is unreal. I didn't realise so much of the film was based on real architecture from along Route 66; I like the level of detail applied.

 

32 minutes ago, TheOtherStu said:

I'll take your Beverley Hills Cop and I'll raise you the Terminator and Total Recall.

For a modern twist, I'd recommend John Wick movies.

Ooh, good call. I'd have quite liked to have either/ both of those in the set,  as it's been years since I watched them, but I guess they couldn't have put a 15 rating on the box.

Never seen the John Wick movies, but will keep an eye out... seems you can barely give away DVDs these days, every charity shop seems to have boxes and boxes of them for 10p.

Typically, I ditched loads of DVDs before the house move because 'they're all on streaming services now' - only for a few beloved films and series to disappear without trace from said streaming services...

 

20 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

@DatsuncogThat Ramones's bodyshop is from Disney Cars as said above. Only made for a short period of time to tie in with the first film. My son was given practically the entire town by my sister in law after her son grew out of it. We stopped speaking to her for certain Reasons long after my own son had grown out of them and rather than return them  my wife sold the whole lot for a reasonable sum on Marketplace which went towards some computer games for my son.

They're beautifully made and I absolutely urge you to put a battery in it and see what happens. Best tried in dim light

Ah, excellent! I'd no idea there was a whole bunch of town playsets - I mean, I saw the first film round about the time it was first out (which must have been nearly 17 years ago, I realise with some alarm) but hadn't really had much reason to notice the toys. But it does look very solidly constructed, for definite.

Yes, planning on trying a battery replacement later to see what happens - I'll be sure to let everyone know!

[flat4alfa]

19 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

the rare motorised version (#211M) was white with gold fins. However, Mettoy soon realised their mechanised versions were too expensive and fragile to make sales sense, and discontinued the entire range. 

1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk #211M found!

The mechanism was oiled and freed and works well, scooting across the table in a pulse-jet type of way.  Must find some more of those motorised Corgi, I wonder what others were released

And for the event, the Dinky Atlas 1955 Studebaker Commander and Franklin Munt 1953 Studebaker Commander popped by to celebrate.  Enya sang a song or two.

Actually to be fair the Franklin is a very nice model and I might do a few more photos, if anyone is interested.

[Datsuncog]

Well, as you can probably guess, given the limited selection and fairly steep prices this morning I didn't think it was a good use of time for me to head back over to the market again at lunchtime. 

Maybe not much of a Tat Friday, though hey - after last Saturday's car boot extravaganza, maybe that's for the best.

So, I left it for today - and y'know, I think I might call it a day, despite how appealing* and enthusiasm-inspiring* my vista is.

So, take a bow:

And I think I'll stump off to the station, and get myself home to dry off before making a massive bowl of nachos and firing up the DVD player...

A very Happy Friday to you all, kids.

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, eddyramrod said:

It's also possible to get a Nova in 1/18 scale - and Greenlight may even be doing an Axel Foley edition - but they are steadfastly running above my budget.

The Greenlight 1:18 is way too shiny and why does it have a V8 and wear Rallye wheels?

AMT did a kit in 1:25 but it is a rehash of their '72 Nova SS kit, which the Foley car was not.

The Foley car was a 1970 base 153ci 4-cylinder or 230ci straight-6, can't remember the sound of it though to confirm.  Maybe @Datsuncog can tell us later tonight!  Anyhow, the Revell kit would be the better bet with correct grille and wheels (that need slimmer tyres) 

Greenlight have released their 1:64 model.  Available in UK for under a £12 inc postage

Probably in anticipation of the forth-coming BHC 4 film release, where the Nova is set to make a reappearance

Quote

Jenny Summers:  I remember you used to drive that crappy blue Chevy Nova
Jenny Summers:  What are you driving now?
Axel Foley:  Same crappy blue Chevy Nova

 

FRIDAY FUN FACT: The Nova was a replica of a real car the crew saw before filming

[Jon]

I visited the U Drop Inn (aka Cars garage real life forebear) in Shamrock, Texas back in 2017.

I even documented it on my now largely defunct spotting thread:

 

Not one to blow my own trumpet, but it's fair to say that page 13 of that thread is packed with some heavy hitting shite offerings.

Seems I made only passing remarks about it at the time but my abiding memory was of a lovingly restored building, with a pleasingly austere interior (muted bedford cord on the booth seating, instead of the expected red and white modern vinyl, for instance), not being used for very much. I think there was some tourist info inside and a pleasant lady offered us a not so pleasant pod coffee, which led us to stay a while and then inevitably buy a fridge magnet, to commemorate our visit.

Very glad it was saved though!

[Zie]

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Those trucks are incredible. I love the old commercial stuff. 

[Datsuncog]

Evening perfection: unlocked.

And there was special surprise arrival when i got home, courtesy of @andrew e:

Ooh.

Oh.

Oh yes!

The perfect companion to the @155V6 compressor!

Now, for some trash telly and excellent nachos - and I'll respond to PMs later this evening!

👌

[richardmorris]

I think that is similar to my Land Rover as the safari.

[flat4alfa]

5 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

Must find some more of those motorised Corgi, I wonder what others were released

Found another one!  Will update shortly!

Also found a page about them https://www.maronline.org.uk/corgi-m-series/

[flat4alfa]

33 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Goes well with your orange Corgi 241 Land Rover!

Quote

...unless you now want to sell the orange one?