Shite in Miniature II

[flat4alfa]

Anyway, back on track

Perhaps the use of 'Magic Top' became too much of a licencing headache?  Some bright spark at Corgi visited the German motor show and came back all excited?

The Mercedes 500 C126 Magic Top by the Buchmann brothers (bb Auto), offered for 1982.  10 examples built at an eye-watering price of $150k

[Datsuncog]

2 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

too much of a licencing headache?

Actually, that's a possibility too - I hadn't realised that 'Magic Top' was a real-life thing, rather than just a mildly daft name.

[flat4alfa]

Neo did a resin 1:43 model for 1986

[flat4alfa]

[flat4alfa]

On 01/04/2024 at 18:39, FakeConcern said:

I'm sure many people have decided to convert a Corgi Mini Van missing its doors into a Pickup.

That looks great.

I've got one of those, a Dinky, but I didn't do the conversion myself, mainly because I wouldn't be able to drink enough booze first before starting, like this modeller did

[sierraman]

48 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Anyway, back on track

Perhaps the use of 'Magic Top' because too much of a licencing headache?  Some bright spark at Corgi visited the German motor show and came back excited

The Mercedes 500 C126 Magic Top by the Buchmann brothers (bb Auto), offered for 1982.  10 examples built at an eye-watering price of $150k

It’s the sort of thing you could imagine a Columbian cocaine baron driving in Miami Vice.

[flat4alfa]

There is this idea though

Quote

Corgi Prototype using Corgi 450 Mini Van. Part of the property of Marcel Van Cleemput. The accompanying framed photograph was acquired directly from Marcel Van Cleemput

Sold at auction for £3000. 

Save £2900 by doing it yourself.

[flat4alfa]

4 minutes ago, sierraman said:

It’s the sort of thing you could imagine a Columbian cocaine baron driving in Miami Vice.

This 1986 example one was imported to UK 2011.  Currently on a SORN, last V5C issue was February this year.  I hope it was someone on here.

All you need to worry about is sorting the matching outfit.  Then drive it about Sheffield, like a star

[flat4alfa]

5 hours ago, sierraman said:

In the 1985 Corgi catalogue there’s a 1/36 Mercedes Magic Top 500SEC, never seen one, was it actually made? 

Going back in time to stillborn Corgi Catalogue entries, that enticed at the time (and perhaps still do)

The 1969 Corgi Catalogue showed a Corgi 507 Chrysler Imperial Bermuda Taxi that never went into production

At least one pre-production survives

[MiniMinorMk3]

2 hours ago, quicksilver said:

That's a Matchbox 1/64. They were definitely made with the flip-over roof as I had one and was fascinated by the mechanism. I'm not aware Corgi ever did anything similar.

I doubt that would have had a flip top roof as the firt SL to have a folding metal top was the W230. The R129 just had a coventional metal hard top with a soft top hidden under the cover. However it was the first to have the flip up roll bar.

4 hours ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Not sure but I did find this pre-production model a couple of weeks ago of the standard version.

 

12 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Going back in time to stillborn Corgi Catalogue entries, that enticed at the time (and perhaps still do)

The 1969 Corgi Catalogue showed a Corgi 507 Chrysler Imperial Bermuda Taxi that never went into production

At least one pre-production survives

Follow up to the 430 Ford Thunderbird Bermuda Taxi.

22 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

This 1986 example one was imported to UK 2011.  Currently on a SORN, last V5C issue was February this year.  I hope it was someone on here.

All you need to worry about is sorting the matching outfit.  Then drive it about Sheffield, like a star

That looks more like the ort of thing you'd find new money driving who'd made a bit on the stock market and moved out of Basildon to Colchester.

[sierraman]

Brentwood. 

[Datsuncog]

52 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

There is this idea though

Sold at auction for £3000. 

Save £2900 by doing it yourself.

That's awesome; looks like it would have done well going up against the 'Wild Honey' Austin or 'Glo-Worm' Capri on the hall carpet quarter-mile strip.

A good way to wring another couple of years' sales out of an older casting, I guess; though I dunno if the pearl-clutching Mary Whitehouse brigade would have approved of Corgi selling toys with 'Stripteaser' written down the side...

[quicksilver]

31 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

I doubt that would have had a flip top roof as the firt SL to have a folding metal top was the W230. The R129 just had a coventional metal hard top with a soft top hidden under the cover. However it was the first to have the flip up roll bar.

Very little evidence online but I've finally found mention of it - it was part of the short-lived Flip Top series. It had a plastic roof with solid windows and an interior and windscreen moulded into the underside. The bootlid could be lifted up and the roof rotated to display it as either a hardtop or a convertible.

https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/catalog_items/mercedes-benz-500-sl-16e399ef-961d-4e27-8e52-56b55fff1a3e

 

 

[sierraman]

I had that one, the corvette and the Testarossa, sold them all like a fool years ago. I have since picked up another Corvette but the last ones including the mustang are very hard to find. 

[quicksilver]

8 minutes ago, sierraman said:

I had that one, the corvette and the Testarossa, sold them all like a fool years ago. I have since picked up another Corvette but the last ones including the mustang are very hard to find. 

I didn't know there were more. The Merc is the only one listed on HobbyDB and the others must be very rare as I can't find any reference to them anywhere. I have no idea what happened to it but it probably found a new home in my Shitefest '16 toy giveaway.

[Tenmil Socket]

2 hours ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Chevy from the Cogbox dismantled awaiting inspiration. 

The camera on my iPhone is shite, apologies... the irony how the stickers said Flash! 😆

 

Before

 

After

 

 

 

 

[flat4alfa]

8 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

too much of a licencing headache?

It wasn't licencing problems that cancelled the Corgi Dan Dare releases.  It was the cancelling of the entire show...   A proposed television series to be shown on ITV with actor James Fox (or Gareth Hunt) set to take on the role of Dan Dare, while apparently Rodney Bewes would play Digby.  Canned due to lack of finance during the shake-up at ITV, that ended ATV.  Storyboards, artwork and models were produced and studio time was booked - during a strike that took months to resolve.  More info here https://downthetubes.net/british-comics-reference/british-comic-characters-and-strips-profiled/british-comic-characters-profiled-dan-dare/the-lost-dan-dare-tv-series/

Van Cleemput saved this one too, the Dan Dare flying car from the 1981 catalogue

Last sold in 2014 for £5000

This document was 'Discovered in the office of Marcel Van Cleemput' which gives an indication that licencing perhaps wasn't going to be a problem

There was also this contraption, auctioned in 2020 for £2100, which was a little over its top estimate of £60...

Which was later released by Corgi in 2000 as the Royal Mail MCII vehicle

Who's got one of those then?

[flat4alfa]

Remember Corgi 859 Mr. McHenry's Trike

As a boy I had one of these.  Zebedee would raise out of the rear box by turning the knob.

It also came with a leaflet and a pull cord

Ok, well...

There was a prototype made for a Tom & Jerry variation

Jerry would raise with an ice cream, stolen from an entrepreneurial Tom.

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, quicksilver said:

I didn't know there were more. The Merc is the only one listed on HobbyDB and the others must be very rare as I can't find any reference to them anywhere. I have no idea what happened to it but it probably found a new home in my Shitefest '16 toy giveaway.

The Mustang and I think the Porsche 968 came later on, I’ve never seen one in the flesh. I’m not even sure they were retailed in the U.K.

[Datsuncog]

40 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Remember Corgi 859 Mr. McHenry's Trike

Yup, there was one of them in with a load of lethally sharp broken Dinkys and Lesney King Size in my primary school classroom - it vaguely annoyed me, though I couldn't be sure why.

Never seen the Tom & Jerry prototype before - possibly it made sense as they already had the casting and there were already a couple of licenced character vehicles featuring the cat 'n' mouse in the Juniors range.

I had this earlier version of 'Jerry's Banger', for a short while anyway.

I also had this half-assed 'Wacky Races' effort when I was a kid - apparently it's not all that common, though probably not really valuable.

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

There was also this contraption, auctioned in 2020 for £2100, which was a little over its top estimate of £60...

Whoever designed Catatonia's singles sleeves in the late 1990s must have known about that one, somehow.

[eddyramrod]

3 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

This 1986 example one was imported to UK 2011.  Currently on a SORN, last V5C issue was February this year.  I hope it was someone on here.

All you need to worry about is sorting the matching outfit.  Then drive it about Sheffield, like a star

Oh how about that...

Mine 11 years ago.

[sutty2006]

3 hours ago, flat4alfa said:

This 1986 example one was imported to UK 2011.  Currently on a SORN, last V5C issue was February this year.  I hope it was someone on here.

All you need to worry about is sorting the matching outfit.  Then drive it about Sheffield, like a star

Probably moved from one billionaires private collection showroom to anothers. Stunning looking car though 👌

[ETCHY]

14 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

Oh how about that...

Mine 11 years ago.

I genuinely prefer the Nissan.

[RoadworkUK]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

Whoever designed Catatonia's singles sleeves in the late 1990s must have known about that one, somehow.

I knew it looked familiar! Mind blown.

[155V6]

A box arrived yesterday containing some bargainous Lone Star Flyers

Corsair & Jag are complete,just have some chips

Alfa Spider just missing the steering wheel

Lotus Europa had a wheel issue

I had this though,so easily fixed

Lastly,the Ford Taunus which is really nice,but it does have a slight issue

I have a plan for that though........

[Jon]

5 hours ago, quicksilver said:

Very little evidence online but I've finally found mention of it - it was part of the short-lived Flip Top series. It had a plastic roof with solid windows and an interior and windscreen moulded into the underside. The bootlid could be lifted up and the roof rotated to display it as either a hardtop or a convertible.

https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/catalog_items/mercedes-benz-500-sl-16e399ef-961d-4e27-8e52-56b55fff1a3e

 

 

 

  EDIT: working on quoting the post!

[Jon]

On 22/05/2023 at 22:08, Jon said:

Rather like @AndyW201, I also did a trifecta line-up of 1/64-ish W129 castings, when on my UK trip last year:

 

Couple of Matchboxes and one of those cheaper line Majorettes with greater plastic content (can't remember the name, bit far to head back and check the base).

 

Proof that they all have rear ends, too. French iteration has side glass also, for that middle aged convertible driver aesthetic.

 

The two MBs aren't quite the same, though. Foreground one has a much more subdued interior, for starters.

 

The garish blue interior one gains grille detail but loses plastic headlights.

 

Back end looks a bit fussier on old bright bluey seats and the folded soft top sits proud, like the Majorette knock-off.

 

But it hides a party trick:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it's a hard top!

 

Sits very nicely with the standard model in this mode but even compared to the much lighter casting of the standard W129, which was a mark of many a 90's Matchbox, this one feels even more fragile - almost prototype spec, rather than a toy.

 

 

 

The coding on the box helped me recall that these were called Flip Top(s) but there's not a lot of information from a cursory phone web search.

The link below gives a smidgeon of extra information:

https://www.hobbydb.com/marketplaces/hobbydb/subjects/matchbox-flip-top-series

From memory, there were 4-6 variants, including a yellow Fox body Mustang, which was the only one with no equivalent standard casting. Therfore, I was convinced it didn't exist as I remember eyeballing all the others in the shop when I chose this one but I'm sure I've seen a post online somewhere ages ago, where someone had the full collection.

Anyway, one to keep an eye out for, @AndyW201?

This is about the best I can do, re: Flip Tops chat!

[AndyW201]

Got home to a parcel from Ana's Hot Wheels site, who I use occasionally to get the stuff I can't find in the shit shops round here. 

First off, a couple of Matchbox mainlines,

I must be about the only person in the country who couldn't find this one in the shops when it came out, but now I've got one. Already got the yellow and metallic blue ones, but I'm still on the hunt for the Target-exclusive Onyx green version, after narrowly missing out on it a couple of times ...

The MR2 looks good in metallic blue,

A very sparkly metallic blue!

Bunglebus beat me to it with showing one of these, but I'm loving the Moving Parts Beemer CSL, like I did the original Superfast one I had as a kid.

I like the new Moving Parts packaging, but FFS Mattel, would it kill you to have tuck-in flaps on the ends of the boxes rather than gluing the bastards down? I wanted to have this one out but it was impossible to get the glued down flap open without damaging it,

Still, it's out now, and it's a lovely thing.

Nice detailing for the size,

Bonnet opens like on the real thing, lift the front first, and slide forward slightly, then open,

To reveal some lovely under bonnet detail.

In all, a little belter!

And a few HW Premiums which, again, I didn't stand a cat in hells chance of getting anywhere else,

Sierra Cossie looks great, apart from that bloody locating pillar,

Finally got the flat-front Escort MK2, again, a nice wee thing.

Very close to the livery of Björn Waldegård's 1977 British Airways-liveried car, one of my fave liveries.

But getting this one was the highlight though, I really wanted it at the time, then kind of forgotten about it until it came up on the sales site,

Yep, it's a bit '90s Max Power with the body mods, etc, but it's a bloody Purple Corrado, so that's good enough for me.

Another little stunner!

[danthecapriman]

3 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Got home to a parcel from Ana's Hot Wheels site, who I use occasionally to get the stuff I can't find in the shit shops round here. 

First off, a couple of Matchbox mainlines,

I must be about the only person in the country who couldn't find this one in the shops when it came out, but now I've got one. Already got the yellow and metallic blue ones, but I'm still on the hunt for the Target-exclusive Onyx green version, after narrowly missing out on it a couple of times ...

The MR2 looks good in metallic blue,

A very sparkly metallic blue!

Bunglebus beat me to it with showing one of these, but I'm loving the Moving Parts Beemer CSL, like I did the original Superfast one I had as a kid.

I like the new Moving Parts packaging, but FFS Mattel, would it kill you to have tuck-in flaps on the ends of the boxes rather than gluing the bastards down? I wanted to have this one out but it was impossible to get the glued down flap open without damaging it,

Still, it's out now, and it's a lovely thing.

Nice detailing for the size,

Bonnet opens like on the real thing, lift the front first, and slide forward slightly, then open,

To reveal some lovely under bonnet detail. In all, a little belter!

And a few HW Premiums which, again, I didn't stand a cat in hells chance of getting anywhere else,

Sierra Cossie looks great, apart from that bloody locating pillar,

Finally got the flat-front Escort MK2, again, a nice wee thing.

Very close to the livery of Björn Waldegård'1977 British Airways-liveried car, one of my fave liveries.

But getting this one was the highlight though, I really wanted it at the time, then kind of forgotten about it until it came up on the sales site,

Yep, it's a bit '90s Max Power with the body mods, etc, but it's a bloody Purple Corrado, so that's good enough for me.

Another little stunner!

That BMW is lovely!

Ive never seen the Corrado before though. I had no idea they made it!