Shite in Miniature II

[Tenmil Socket]

This looks like it’s been painted with melted chocolate… anyone want it?

[Datsuncog]

Celebrated* the Corolla's genuinely unexpected clean MOT pass with a smol raid on B&M opposite the test centre, since they're pushing a 20% off promo on toys this week.

(B&M's pushing it, not the MOT testing centre.)

I'd missed out on the red Alfa GTV6 last year; I think I managed to nab a white one, but an Alfa's gotta be red, no?

The VW ID Buzz is a distinctive-looking beastie, and I've started seeing more and more on the roads locally so a miniature version seemed appropriate.

The low-slung purple Firebird with the engine exposed is another one I had a sneaking affection for, but I couldn't quite pull the trigger on -  until today.

At the low, low price of £1.35 I don't think you'll find Hot Wheels mainlines in a high street store for cheaper.

And despite knowing very little about The Fast And The Furious (other than, for a bunch of supposedly professional drivers, that bunch seem to crash an awful lot), a neat-looking semi-premium '71 Nissan Skyline with nicely detailed front and back ends was too good to pass up.

I already have this casting as part of a 5-pack, but the badging and chrome window surrounds just knock this up another level.

I also took a spin through The Entertainer, and my delight at finding a Hot Wheels H-case opened and spread out on a table turned to chagrin as an older fella yoinked the last remaining BMW M3 Touring from beneath my nose.

They'd no red Audi Quattros or Jaguar Mk1s either; and although there were a couple of red Audi Avants on the table and on pegs nearby, I've a few of these already in different colours so I couldn't really be arsed.

If there'd been something else I really wanted so as to avail of the 'Buy 1, Get 1 Half Price' offer then I might, but... eh. I tried to get excited about the Ramchargers Dodge Dart and the Hirohata Mercury, but just couldn't somehow. Ah well.

No new Matchbox in there, either.

I tore through two branches of Poundland and another B&M store, but although there were a surprising number of Matchbox Mk1 Golfs in olive green, there was nothing really there I wanted.

Cash Converters was similarly devoid of anything new, too. Just the dregs of the Corgi Classics and EFE commercials from the other week, and the still-not-selling recent Matchbox mainlines priced at a laughable £4 a throw.

One thing I have noticed recently is the number of other oul lads like me rifling through diecast dump bins and pegs in supermarkets and discount stores; as well as the fella who trumped me to the Beemer, there were also two student-types doing the 'Mattel Squat' in B&M's toy aisle.

You know what I mean.

I've also noticed a couple of shop assistants asking me if I'm a collector, in recent weeks - which is new. Before, they just tended to ask if these little vehicles were for the kids (and, to my shame, I usually agreed). And they've been asking about Treasure Hunt cars, and how can Treasure Hunts be identified?

Hmmm.

I'm also being served up a lot of YouTube videos about hunting for Hot Wheels recently; I mean, that's not really a surprise as I started watching some of those gravity racing videos, but is there something dawning in the general public's consciousness that some of these little cars can be flipped for £££ so it's a good idea to snap them all up on sight?

Something to ponder, anyway...

[eddyramrod]

28 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

This looks like it’s been painted with melted chocolate… anyone want it?

That needs a trip through my Cosmic Soda bath!

[Tenmil Socket]

3 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

That needs a trip through my Cosmic Soda bath!

Feel free to try it!

[Tenmil Socket]

This is an odd looking Mini

[Tenmil Socket]

Nice detail on this Solido Lybra

[eddyramrod]

I have a use for a Mini, but it needs to be the Corgi 1/36.  Meanwhile, if you could slip the chocolate Sierra in a box or drawer somewhere...

You might be surprised what mangled and broken rubbish I could rehome if the price is right!

[Tenmil Socket]

2 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

I have a use for a Mini, but it needs to be the Corgi 1/36.  Meanwhile, if you could slip the chocolate Sierra in a box or drawer somewhere...

You might be surprised what mangled and broken rubbish I could rehome if the price is right!

Sure thing... the price is £free. Most of the contents will be going for £cheap!

[eddyramrod]

1 minute ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Sure thing... the price is £free. Most of the contents will be going for £cheap!

My kind of dealer!

[MiniMinorMk3]

36 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

This is an odd looking Mini

 

 

33 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Nice detail on this Solido Lybra

 

Talking of MINIs and details, I had a bunch of Minichamps MINIs out today as my purge continues. These were sitting in a cabinet out of their boxes. In fact the boxes had gone missing. However in the box room were some old Minichamps boxes. After a quick bit of lighter fluid work the labels were removed from boxes making them generic boxes. SO now 6 old unboxed cars turn into 6 boxed cars.

First up is a trio of 2001 MINI Ones.

Right Hand Drive

has fuel cap on right.

Left Hand Drive

has fuel cap on left.

Another RHD in Silver. These were dealer models originally. All have opening bonnets.

MINI One with Aero Kit with front spots, cross spoke split rims...

all white rear lenses...

and red and black Chilli Pack seats.

2002 Cooper S

This has the Chrono Pack on the dash.

Intercooler under the bonnet.

Finally a facelift 2004 Cooper Cabrio. This has the later bumpers and projector headlamps with the washer upgrade.

This also has the chrono pack dash with the two clocks on the steering column. You can also make out the auto air-con controls and CD player.

 

 

[FakeConcern]

A question for those of you who are into model railways, as I have mentioned before Mrs Concern is working on a tram diorama of the film Meet Me In St Louis

and has been for months. She's a perfectionist unlike me and every bit has been made and remade several times and all the people have been cut into bits and put back differently several times.

This is it so far...

Anyway on to what she wants to know...

She's trying to make some railings and has got some suitable parts from trainset dealer at a toy fair, but she needs more and has no idea what this is. Made from stamped metal and size as per photo. Does anyone know what make this is or what set it's from or any info on how she can get some more the same?

Thanks for having a look and please let me know if you know what it is.

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

A question for those of you who are into model railways, as I have mentioned before Mrs Concern is working on a tram diorama of the film Meet Me In St Louis

and has been for months. She's a perfectionist unlike me and every bit has been made and remade several times and all the people have been cut into bits and put back differently several times.

This is it so far...

Anyway on to what she wants to know...

She's trying to make some railings and has got some suitable parts from trainset dealer at a toy fair, but she needs more and has no idea what this is. Made from stamped metal and size as per photo. Does anyone know what make this is or what set it's from or any info on how she can get some more the same?

Thanks for having a look and please let me know if you know what it is.

I know exactly what that’s from.

Hornby car transporter wagon side guard railings!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305524380771?itmmeta=01HWBDTPWK6MD5NKBYMQ80V2TG&hash=item4722ac1463:g:xFYAAOSwUeNmHDum&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8NP1gMStpKmhNDYU1pVjKFXZI2OMA7HhrDc0o8M8iLLeMvixiKu6yKC1bbvNM2okOQNBbBmqwfhqOI9j%2B5Mf8tBY8hPj96mBQQXd0%2BlQmJrD9fyw21WZqAwvmhqfH%2FmtOmUO7YqUI07U2ZZSrP6K1AitjoRKuTAmsIfT%2BTqqV7TYVvWa1v9GuVHj6SwJQvGvVhc4eAF2I5M0u%2BeeZHpPxcQfSWqG9eiIesy1Lpnwf%2B%2Bs1KK4Wr%2F%2BgTjSbpsTpNipTtDu52ldQSYZBp8b5%2BsMzGgIUpM9luq889qhDTyOXwX7OuEZdVMhKwST64w2gMFTfQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7Lu6u3iYw

[FakeConcern]

5 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I know exactly what that’s from.

Hornby car transporter wagon side guard railings!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305524380771?itmmeta=01HWBDTPWK6MD5NKBYMQ80V2TG&hash=item4722ac1463:g:xFYAAOSwUeNmHDum&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8NP1gMStpKmhNDYU1pVjKFXZI2OMA7HhrDc0o8M8iLLeMvixiKu6yKC1bbvNM2okOQNBbBmqwfhqOI9j%2B5Mf8tBY8hPj96mBQQXd0%2BlQmJrD9fyw21WZqAwvmhqfH%2FmtOmUO7YqUI07U2ZZSrP6K1AitjoRKuTAmsIfT%2BTqqV7TYVvWa1v9GuVHj6SwJQvGvVhc4eAF2I5M0u%2BeeZHpPxcQfSWqG9eiIesy1Lpnwf%2B%2Bs1KK4Wr%2F%2BgTjSbpsTpNipTtDu52ldQSYZBp8b5%2BsMzGgIUpM9luq889qhDTyOXwX7OuEZdVMhKwST64w2gMFTfQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7Lu6u3iYw

Wow what a thread this is  to get a result so quickly, thanks @danthecapriman. I cannot tell you how excited Mrs Concern is and she's bid on the one you linked already!

She can't stop saying thankyou so much haha!

[Split_Pin]

28 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

I know exactly what that’s from.

Hornby car transporter wagon side guard railings!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305524380771?itmmeta=01HWBDTPWK6MD5NKBYMQ80V2TG&hash=item4722ac1463:g:xFYAAOSwUeNmHDum&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA8NP1gMStpKmhNDYU1pVjKFXZI2OMA7HhrDc0o8M8iLLeMvixiKu6yKC1bbvNM2okOQNBbBmqwfhqOI9j%2B5Mf8tBY8hPj96mBQQXd0%2BlQmJrD9fyw21WZqAwvmhqfH%2FmtOmUO7YqUI07U2ZZSrP6K1AitjoRKuTAmsIfT%2BTqqV7TYVvWa1v9GuVHj6SwJQvGvVhc4eAF2I5M0u%2BeeZHpPxcQfSWqG9eiIesy1Lpnwf%2B%2Bs1KK4Wr%2F%2BgTjSbpsTpNipTtDu52ldQSYZBp8b5%2BsMzGgIUpM9luq889qhDTyOXwX7OuEZdVMhKwST64w2gMFTfQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7Lu6u3iYw

Beat me to it! I'll never forget that as it regularly used to pop out on my example!

[Spottedlaurel]

Managed to visit Kerrisons in Norwich today, an independent toyshop. Quite productive:

 

Decent price too at £1.99 each, and he let me go through an unopened case from out the back.

(Tesco and Asda had nothing recent of interest. The former had HWs priced to clear at £1.58 each.)

Also got this cheap, because the case was cracked:

And this one very cheap:

Because....

Anyone know where I can get a replacement tyre?

[danthecapriman]

41 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

Wow what a thread this is  to get a result so quickly, thanks @danthecapriman. I cannot tell you how excited Mrs Concern is and she's bid on the one you linked already!

She can't stop saying thankyou so much haha!

She’s most welcome!👍

As @Split_Pin said, its memorable because it used to keep falling out of my old one. 
That particular wagon with those railings is quite old now but it’s been released in various colours and forms with different cars over the decades, and does have a few different catalogue numbers so there’s bound to be no shortage of them. 
Worth keeping an eye out at toy fairs & boot sales now you know too.

[FakeConcern]

17 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

 

Because....

Anyone know where I can get a replacement tyre?

I've used old Scalextrix tyres on various Bburago models and also the hollow style Dinky tyres are easy to get hold of, would something like that fit maybe?

[bunglebus]

Getting bored of stuff arriving damaged. People just don't pack things well enough, surely they realise it doesn't get carried to the buyer by a butler on a velvet cushion?

[Datsuncog]

Not so much Tat Friday, kids, but have a tree pic anyway...

Buds are bustin' out and the Corolla has another year's ticket on it, so things ain't so bad.

In lieu of any Belfast market action, I don't think I got round to mentioning last Saturday's market action over at Ards.

I'd some errands to run, but after getting the needful I thought I'd stop off at Conway Square for a bit of a poke around.

Colin, who runs the Irish Tat Stall at St George's on a Friday, pitches up at Ards Market on a Saturday.

That's his pitch, just behind the meth van.

Only, funnily enough, it's renamed here to 'Mulligan's Models, Toys & Stationery', rather than 'Mulligan's Irish Gifts'

No saint statues, no Holy Water bottles. Considerably less leprechauns and shamrocks.

Hey, you gotta play to your audience in this strange wee land.

He did, however, have some diecast tat.

A few loose Days Gone, Majorette and unbranded rubbish were up top for a quid a pop.

Boxed Majorette trucks were new; I'd sooner see Matchbox Convoys though. Hot Wheels we've seen before; second-hand Corgi Classics buses and commercials gave me a nudge of nostalgia, from when I would have ogled them here the first time round, back in the early 90s.

Some Hong Kong Corgi buses were mixed in with new-release Oxford stuff.

There was also this 1/43 Transporter of uncertain manufacture:

Seems to be a partwork that had suffered a mishap. Ouch.

Other than that, most of the market was either stalls run by ancient old men selling sports socks and batteries, or else tastefully converted horse boxes vending artisanal sourdough bloomers for more than I've bought some of my cars for.

So I moseyed over to the shopping centre.

Toytown had rejigged their Mattel stuff, combining several shelves into one.

They must have found some more Matchbox out the back, as they deffo didn't have any Chevy Novas on the pegs a few weeks ago.

2024 J-case Hot Wheels were in the mix, but none I'm still looking for.

Still had plenty of MB Action Drivers sets, at prices less than online, but I have all these now.

9-packs reduced to £13 weren't bad value, though.

But, I didn't go for those.

Nor did I go for the Zamac special edition Hot Wheels.

No, I did something waaay stupider instead.

[Datsuncog]

You may recall I snapped last month, after about a year of desiring one, and finally bought myself a Matchbox Action Drivers Airport Adventure set online?

And then, days later, found out that Toytown had one at pretty much half the price I'd paid?

Well, what's a boy to do?

Apparently, this...

Sigh.

I know. I know.

I'd love to blame 'being impulsive', but this involved a month of thinking and fretting first. Which suggests more deep-seated issues.

The idea was to give one to my niece for her birthday, and then keep one for myself.

The sticking point being that once assembled, these airport buildings are permanently locked together and can't be dismantled again.

Not a problem for kids, but a big problem for weird manchild collector types like me.

Even though I know it's completely insane to keep something like this permanently sealed in its packaging, because what then - sell it? After storing it for who knows how long?

I should point out that I've never made a profit on anything I've bought as an investment.

How long would I have to keep this? Thirty years? Blimey, I've had no luck selling that 31 yr old unopened Superkings fire ladder for half what I paid. The thought of keeping this set until I'm in my mid-seventies just so I can exchange it for 20 Googlebucks (or whatever barter system may be in operation) sometime in 2054 is utter, utter madness.

I should just open it, put it together, enjoy messing about with it.

But then I realised - the super-discount one from Toytown is broken. 

Ah. That may explain the cheap price.

The button that activates the light and sound function doesn't; plus it's all loose.

That, combined with a large dinge on a back corner of the packaging, plus the fact it was stored right up at ceiling height...

Yeah. It's taken a tumble and something's got busted inside. That's why it was discounted.

Now, that's not necessarily a problem. I really don't like the light and sound functionality, and so it'd make sense to gift the Amazon one that actually works, and then open the broken one for my own amusement.

Because hey, I'm not devaluing a future investment piece if it's sub-par, hey?

But I can't quite bring myself to open it. Yet.

I also bought a few Skybusters planes and a couple of cars too.

Because gift.

Probably.

Why do I just love to make things difficult for myself?

Anyhow, I also bought these loose Majorettes off Colin and at least they're a bit less complicated:

More pics of them later; they're actually very nice.

[sierraman]

Open it and have an evening of sheer indulgence playing with it over a few beers. No point storing it on the off chance it might* be worth £100 in 30 years, I’ve got my old Motorcity Construction site in the loft, box battered and probably missing no end of bits but it’s got great memories. If I’d saved it what would it be worth? £60-70, not a lot in the scheme of things. 

[danthecapriman]

As above. Open the damn thing! 
As funny as it is seeing your inner torment and indecision over all these @Datsuncog🤣

You could justify them as a sort of diorama, used for displaying and photographing your diecast collection.

[RoadworkUK]

I'm glad that wasn't a live report from Ards Market, otherwise...

...the foreclosure of my CogBox account might have been despicably short lived.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Latest Corgi releases. Yet again mostly Fords, but there is a new colour for teh SD1 Rover and a new colour for the Series 1 XJ6.

If you are into the Aviation Archive then you will need to restart the video.

[bunglebus]

On 21/04/2024 at 17:55, MiniMinorMk3 said:

I've had a Prowler out of its box today, a Universal Hobbies Eagle's Race 1/43rd.

The colour is a bit pale compared to the real thing, but then Universal Hobbies are a budget collectible.

The detail isn't too bad

but roof fit is poor.

The thing is, if you are a Chrysler MOPAR collector then you are going to need this as I can not remember any other 1/43rd versions of the Prowler.

 

Is this one (not that I want it)?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276434739359?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=PfMsRGh0T1u&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=X5RtjeAxSP-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[eddyramrod]

Surprise arrival today...

Yeah OK, it's a Yesteryear.  But it's a Duesenberg, which is a top American auto from the Gatsby era, and I already have a Packard and a Bentley, so I don't mind.  I'm sure someone's holding a Crossley RAF truck too for me.  If I can get the tyres (haven't looked at Mr Flowers yet) then it's certainly restorable.  And the price was right  

[Datsuncog]

5 hours ago, RoadworkUK said:

I'm glad that wasn't a live report from Ards Market, otherwise...

...the foreclosure of my CogBox account might have been despicably short lived.

Aha... I hadn't looked too closely at that one, but I can see why it may be desirable... A lucky/ unlucky miss (delete as applicable!)

[Datsuncog]

2 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

I'm sure someone's holding a Crossley RAF truck too for me.

👋👋👋

[sierraman]

4 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Latest Corgi releases. Yet again mostly Fords, but there is a new colour for teh SD1 Rover and a new colour for the Series 1 XJ6.

If you are into the Aviation Archive then you will need to restart the video.

The reg on that Rover really should be 437BMR after Rita Sue and Bob too. 

[Split_Pin]

+1 for opening it, life is short, enjoy!