Shite in Miniature II

[Lord Sterling]

On 10/07/2024 at 13:23, Split_Pin said:

Who did it best: BMW E32 7 series.

I received a CogBox today and inside was this no-name 7 series from the 1980s pictured twixt the Superkings and Gama offerings. I was sure it was a copy of one of them.

First the S-K

No, definitely not. Quality wise,  all things considered, the no-name is on par with the S-K.

But the Matchbox is my favourite, I just love the packaging:

Weirdly it says 1990 on the box but I clearly remember my friend Euan having his example (I had the Jaguar) before this. It says '1988' on the base of the car.

Extra V12 engine detail

This one has clearly never been shop-bought as it would have been sent back by the customer on opening:

Next the 1/43 Gama:

Last but not least is the rare 1/24 GAMA version.

No, not that either.

So it's not a copy after all and in its own right it's actually very nice with separate lenses and opening features.  Another that's never been opened, such was the stiffness of the cardboard flaps on the box when opening them.

Yeah, some time back I picked up some World Series (or something) Matchbox 80s cars including this 7 Series. This one is far more detailed than the standard Matchbox ones with Hokenheim style multi-spoke alloys and in a realistic colour that the 7 Series came in. 

I also got a Mercedes SL, a Porsche 911 and something else I can't remember. All nicely detailed. 

I also have the 1.24 Gama 7-series and a 1/18 7-series. Add to that I have a similar scale 1/36 E34 5-series but by Corgi rather than Matchbox, again in a silvery colour with correct alloys.

[Datsuncog]

Not a lot happening in diecast terms this week, kids.

The local Tesco Extra has now emptied their toy aisle, and we're awaiting The Entertainer to make all my diecast dreams come true (well, I'd settle for a Matchbox Moving Parts Range Rover, at least).

Hot Wheels signage is up, so I'm guessing this is where it'll all be happening soon.

Meanwhile, the last few reduced items were lurking in a bulkflow cage at the end of the aisle...

Nah, not my vibe.

Across town, things were getting exciting over at Poundland, where users of the Poundland Perks app can get 25% off Matchbox toys (as long as they've 'saved' the offer, and remember to show their member's card barcode, and don't use a self-serve till, and all that old bollox).

They seem to be mostly older 2023 stock anyway, so nothing very new or exciting was to be found there, but I got a couple of things worth having/ trading.

Home Bargains had restocked too, with a box of more recent Hot Wheels - so finally a chance arose to pick up a Jaguar Mk1 racer.

They actually had a couple of the mainline Jags, plus a few Hirohata Mercurys as well, but I just put one in my basket. No BMW M3 Touring yet, but I'm sure I'll find one soon - none of these items are genuinely rare, they just seem to take ages to come through consumer channels round here.

Also, some of the more sought-after Monster Trucks range put in an appearance:

I did snaffle a Dodge Dart and Chevrolet Chevelle too - at £1.49, these are the cheapest I've found.

I can't stop buying that orange Kadett, it's just so great.

And now, I have a sudden wonder if any of the independent toy shops over in Holywood or Ards have anything new in from Matchbox, like that annoyingly elusive Jaguar XJ6C...

[Zie]

A trip to the Trafford Centre the other day meant I got a look at the new ToysRus in WHSmiths.

Not cheap at £2.99  or £5 for two but I have not seen new cases anywhere else so grabbed these two. 

[Datsuncog]

On 17/07/2024 at 12:27, Datsuncog said:

And now, I have a sudden wonder if any of the independent toy shops in Holywood or Ards have anything new in from Matchbox, like that annoyingly elusive Jaguar XJ6C...

It'll probably not surprise you much to learn that shortly after that idle thought, my legendary* iron will once again broke - so off I scuttled down the M5 at lunchtime, looking to sate my diecast hunger.

Stewart Miller over in Holywood had a few of the more recent Hot Wheels on their store spinner...

But not many, and no newer Matchbox, more's the pity. Just a mere handful of early 2023 case mainlines were still hanging around - the black and white Dodge Sweptside pickup, the Sheriff Ford Explorer, that motorcycle trailer - and none I don't already have in one form or another.

They still had some of the older Matchbox Action Driver sets, though, plus some fairly pricey Skybusters:

Alongside the Bburago 1/43 City Sets:

Can't seem to shift those.

And yet more of those early-90s Superkings fire appliances:

Presumably they've a whole box of these up in the storeroom, and they're bringing them down one at a time...

But sadly there was nowt of interest that I don't already have from this fine establishment, so I was eager to press on...

Over the hills and (not very) far away, I decided not to bother with the Newtownards town centre branch of Stewart Miller, and instead made a beeline for the Toytown store over at Ards Shopping Centre.

This has the best selection of Matchbox I know of locally - although The Entertainer  in Belfast's Castle Court keeps a small Matchbox display with sporadic refreshes, Toytown generally carries a decent range - mainlines, sure, and 5-packs, but also 10-packs, Convoys, Skybusters, Moving Parts, Collectors Editions, and some special edition releases like the National Flags collections.

They don't seem to carry any of the Hitch & Haul twin sets or Real Working Rigs, but still - there's more effort here than anywhere else to keep the dream alive.

Sometimes they're reduced a little - though not today.

I didn't see any of the items I was after - while there were plenty of releases from the mid-2024 case like the light blue version of the Subaru Forester and that lovely dark green '66 Dodge Charger, there were no Jaguar XJ6Cs or Lincoln Continentals to be found anywhere. Booo.  Even the Volvo 240s were all gone (they'd a few of those last time).

Still some items of interest, though:

I've had a bit of a yearning for the 2023 release TR6 since I saw it here back in March - but crikey, £9 tho. They'd a few of them still on the pegs, plus about 3x of the modern Camaros.

But uncovering an Audi 100 Coupé S was a bit of a surprise - and just one of those, hiding right at the very back. It's a new 2024 release, suggesting they had/have more from the latest Collector range somewhere...

I looked hard, but couldn't see a Celica Liftback anywhere. Ah well.

Still a fair few of the Action Drivers sets remaining on the shelves, too - I didn't see any of the £14 Helicopter Rescue hospital sets left, but there were four or five Park & Play Garages, three Bus Stations, and just one FedEx Package Center remaining.

And the giant Airport Adventure set, hiding right up at the ceiling. A snip at £35.

So... did I succumb?

Well.

Yes.

Yes, I did.

I haven't owned any of the Collectors Series before - with their 'True Grip' rubber tyres - so I'm looking forward to comparing them with the comparably-priced Hot Wheels premiums. The Audi was just too unusual to leave behind - and I can't even find any listed on eBay, so are they uncommon or something?

The Tesla truck is a bit of an oddity; but I also liked the pipe trailer and load, and would like to see how well it matches up with the Ford C-Series tractor unit in last year's mainline range. The generic load lifter with working prongs also looks kinda fun. I haven't had anything from the rebooted Convoy range before, and at £7 (rather than the usual £10) it seemed ok value. Like the Action Driver sets, these all seem to be grey imports from Indonesia, going by the distributor stickers on the back.

The longcard '48 Willys Jeep is because I picked up a few of these back in 2021, didn't open them, and then sold them on still sealed while clearing out before the house move in 2022. And it's played on my mind ever since.

So I've now remedied that.

The old Superfast Jeeps were one of my favourite castings when I was a kid - so this looks like a nice tribute.

More unboxing later, hopefully!

[Christine]

Have we had this Ford Supervan ?  Wasn't it fastest up the hill at Goodwood FoS  at the weekend ?  Got it in Tesco , sadly no Hondas to be had . 

 

[Datsuncog]

51 minutes ago, Christine said:

Have we had this Ford Supervan?

No, don't think so - and funnily enough, I clocked this one for the first time today in Home Bargains. Very nearly bought it, but then thought it maybe lacked a bit of detail around the nose, and put it back.

I'll probably be back down there in the morning...

😆

[Christine]

Never mind the detail , the original issue will be a  solid gold pension !  

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

That Aldi is lovely, certainly not one I've come across before

[sheffcortinacentre]

3 hours ago, Christine said:

Have we had this Ford Supervan ?  Wasn't it fastest up the hill at Goodwood FoS  at the weekend ?  Got it in Tesco , sadly no Hondas to be had . 

 

About the only thing transit on the real one is the badge.

Local Tesco is also empty & Asda still has the lone hot wheels in tub( must be a month now).

[Jon]

After dropping my new phone (that I absolutely hate) again, and it cracking the stupid glass screen yet further (and adding a couple of chips to boot), I messed about with my old phone to try and revive it.

There's some compromises, such as shorter battery life (though an easily replaceable battery) and the lock button doesn't work, so I have to double tap the screen twice instead - but it's about 50% lighter and a whole heap smaller, so it actually fits in my pocket now. Plus, despite 'only' one lens, which isn't that great, it still takes far superior shots to the soupy digital mess that was the 3-lensed effort of its inferior successor.

To celebrate this fact, I thought I'd pull a couple of diecast items out of storage and utilise my 1987 edition of The Workbook - a Californian graphic and advertising art design directory. Though I'm sure many of you have a copy.

 

 

 

Nothing says 80's California like a 1st gen red Mustang, I reckon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seems I favoured the Gama Jetta in my shoot, though in fairness, it's a love shade of Aquamarine.

Anyway, this 15 minutes of arduous graft deserves some booze and coke in a neon lit club, so I'm outta here. 

[sutty2006]

As I approached the Aldi checkout the other day, I swore I wouldn’t buy anymore hotwheels. Our lad has enough. But the box was empty apart from one lonely box…. 
 

 

it had to be done. 
 

I went to the in-laws last night as our lad is staying there over night. I found the Toyota runner I gave him last year. Looks like it’s been rolled 😢

 

[Tenmil Socket]

When I got home from work yesterday my nextdoor neighbour was cutting the grass at the front of our houses. She was explaining how she'd been helping the son of an 86 year old (that had recently passed way) to clear his dads house and that he has given her a number of things from the house as a thank you... including a 'load of toy cars'.

It may be a load of 'Days Gone By' crap but if it isn't, what would be a holy grail type find?

[sierraman]

Just now, Tenmil Socket said:

When I got home from work yesterday my nextdoor neighbour was cutting the grass at the front of our houses. She was explaining how she'd been helping the son of an 86 year old (that had recently passed way) to clear his dads house and that he has given her a number of things from the house as a thank you... including a 'load of toy cars'.

It may be a load of 'Days Gone By' crap but if it isn't, what would be a holy grail type find?

Could be several banana boxes full of Dinkies.

[Christine]

16 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

 Very nearly bought it, but then thought it maybe lacked a bit of detail around the nose, and put it back.

 

😆

Yeah i see what you mean ...

[Christine]

4 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Could be several banana boxes full of Dinkies.

Mostly red Triumph Heralds ... and Yesteryear drophead Lagondas, gold body, purple chassis ..

[Datsuncog]

22 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

It may be a load of 'Days Gone By' crap but if it isn't, what would be a holy grail type find?

Someone who worked for Lesney in the 1960s and 70s, and took home a load of pre-production samples in test colours...

Can but dream!

[Tenmil Socket]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

Someone who worked for Lesney in the 1960s and 70s, and took home a load of pre-production samples in test colours...

Can but dream!

He was a police officer 

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, Tenmil Socket said:

He was a police officer 

[bunglebus]

New 5 pack spotted

[danthecapriman]

Latest batch of repaints and cut n’ shuts!

Firstly, the Chevette estate. 
Not finished yet but getting there. Needs various bits putting back on, chassis is loose at the moment too. Colour is Tamiya metallic orange. Nice copper colour, similar to a colour Vauxhall used.

   
Lada Riva estate. 
Just needs new tail lights making as the original ones disintegrated trying to remove them. I’ll probably use a bit of clear plastic card and some of the Tamiya tint shade paints.

  
Renault 4 van and Fiat Tipo. 
Just the mirrors to refit on the Renault, sill trims need painting in on the Fiat. The Fiat was an absolute whore to put back together! Came apart well but for some reason nothing would fit back on properly without a load of messing. I’m not happy with the tail lights on this, the clear bit should be tinted/smoked really so I’ll come up with something for that. 
Forgot to do the fuel cap black on the Renner too!

[Noel Tidybeard]

tamiya do a smoke tint in the clear range

[bunglebus]

Quite a good day in diecast land, went to Smyths and saw Denise Van Outen doing some shopping. Also bought these

And the Aldi from a previous premium set

However that was not all. An unexpected set of Zamacs has appeared. I'm not a massive fan of the treatment normally but with the added colour these look pretty good - and a decent selection of castings

Mini pickup is not often seen

Love a LUV

Silverado is nicely detailed

Excellent Datsun

Several have junk in the trunk, but only the Caddy gets it detailed

Weakest casting of the bunch is the Nissan Hardbody, but it makes up for it by being slammed, this thing is subterranean!

[bunglebus]

Next stop, Entertainer. Moving Parts have appeared on the pegs, I know these have already been seen but they're good enough to get a second showing

 

[bunglebus]

But that's not all, oh no. Deliveries have been delivered. First up, absolutely box fresh Superkings ovloV

Talking of box fresh, boxed K-50 Street Rod also landed on the mat

Look how clear that window is! OK it's actually missing but not hard to fix

Car is of course mint

Tools in the back, odd choice or appropriate for a hot rod?

Some more catalogues to run through the scanner

A new set of premiums includes the VW Brasilia - Modelmatic had sets but I only wanted this one, so resorted to eBay 

[MiniMinorMk3]

17 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Latest batch of repaints and cut n’ shuts!

Firstly, the Chevette estate. 
Not finished yet but getting there. Needs various bits putting back on, chassis is loose at the moment too. Colour is Tamiya metallic orange. Nice copper colour, similar to a colour Vauxhall used.

 

I had a 2-Door saloon in that colour. Purchased for £300 and after a quick clean up it was sold a week later for £375.

Here's a Hatch in the same colour

[danthecapriman]

3 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

I had a 2-Door saloon in that colour. Purchased for £300 and after a quick clean up it was sold a week later for £375.

Here's a Hatch in the same colour

That’s lovely! It is a really nice colour.

The paint I used isn’t even car paint, it’s just Tamiya metallic orange aerosol but it’s a really close match.

[Datsuncog]

Well, I had myself a little opening party last night and liberated the rest of Wednesday's Toytown haul.

The Matchbox Collectors Audi 100 Coupé S is kinda my favourite at the minute, and for good reason.

It's very nicely detailed, and the metallic grey paint suits it.

I've always thought the original 100 Coupé was a handsome bit of design, and this model captures the lines well.

I will say that the ride height seems a smidge tall, though. The wheels are quite large, and the rims seem to be a simplified version of the sports wheels fitted to early cars, with eight 'slots' reduced down to five.

The tyres are separate rubber components, but look more like hard nylon wheels.

The tinted glazing is also very dark, perhaps a little too much so.

Inkjet printing on Mattel stuff can sometimes be a bit hit-and-miss, but the grille and lights here look pretty good.

Tiny badges and window trim picked out in silver add to the neat but understated look.

It also has a metal base, in a similar manner to the Hot Wheels premium ranges - and in fact, given that HW Premiums are also made in Thailand, I suspect that they might be produced at the same factory:

Despite the differences in ride height, I think there's a general family resemblance between the Audi and the Hot Wheels Volvo 142 I picked up last month, somehow - and in an intangible way, although I really do like this model, somehow it's just not quite a 'Matchbox' to me.

It's hard to explain why not, but it just isn't!

[Datsuncog]

Whereas the other model from the Collectors range I picked up does give me those warm 'n' fuzzy Matchbox vibes:

The Triumph TR6 just looks right from every angle - and the wheels and ride height look proportional to the body.

Paint detailing is really good here, as you'd hope at this sort of price point, but it also just has a Matchbox sorta feels to it. British Racing Green is a fine choice of colour for a cla$$ic of this nature; it would have been nice if they'd seen their way to painting the windscreen frame as well, though - but that's just a minor quibble.

With this one, you also get a front-hinged opening bonnet, showing a pretty detailed separate engine moulding below.

Unlike some of the Moving Parts vehicles I've recently picked up, the bonnet hinge is neither too tight nor too loose - it's just right, opening smoothly and easily and holding itself open until you close it again with a satisfying click.

This is offset by only having a plastic baseplate, with minimal detail, and although the tyres are rubber with separate hubs, they look nearly identical to the one-piece nylons fitted to standard mainlines.

But it's a lovely little thing, and since this was the model I had in my mind when I set off on my tat-hunting escapade,I couldn't leave it behind when my head was turned by the Audi.

For £9 it's not cheap - and certainly more toy-like than model-like, when compared to Greenlight models at a similar price level - but for me it does have the Matchbox charm, and that makes all the difference...

As a couple of the Moving Parts line have later appeared in the Collectors range, I wonder if this one might crop up as a Moving Parts at some point?

[bramz7]

Avoiding the sunlight today has made me dig out some models with a common theme. 

A few years ago I bought a few Mebetoys, and one of the best ones is this Serie Europa 127. Obviously not quite golden era but it still looks good and has nice details picked out, the numberplate is a neat touch and period correct.

I also have this later version post 'cheapening'.

It's just nowhere near as satisfying. The steering wheel looks terrible even from an Italian driving position perspective, and the wheels are awful. But hey ho. 

But this Polistil one seems even worse. The proportions are quite bad, the rear window in particular. And the driver door fouls on the steering wheel. Good!

And lastly for 127s, a Mercury one. Now this feels like it would hurt if you launched it at someone but also has a surprising air of fragility. The door frames on the opening doors are very neat, as are the painted door cards. The front bumper being part of the baseplate is just a bit off though. 

This is also a Mercury. A 132, apparently, but it looks like a 132 which has been on a high fat diet. Stodgy feeling. 

In contrast, they nailed the 131 Panorama.

Very well done and even the budget wheels look pretty ok, and there does seem to be come commonality with Burago wheels?

Some more:

The Matra is a beauty, which I bought from a collectors shop in Sicily, alas the seller didn't speak any English so when she told me it was €30 I felt obliged to say yes....not too bad though. 

The Pilen and Joal 850s are good. Some quality control issues aside on the Pilen....

The Mini (Innocenti ofc) is a slightly diluted version of an earlier model which was a bit posher, but it retains the daintiness. 

Finally:

Sort of a 90s equivalent were these ARS 155s. They also did a 33. It's a nicely done thing, on the borderline between model and toy. But it still retains some of the anachronisms, the bonnet fouls the front doors when it's open.....

[bunglebus]

I wasn't even going to look in the antiques shop, it looked like an overpriced boutique type establishment. But there were goodies inside