Shite in Miniature II

[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

[bunglebus]

While not cheap cheap, this Gama BMW...

...and Budgie Belvedere were cheap enough to justify a purchase 

[sierraman]

Those moving parts are ace but £9… can see a lot of them staying on the shelves at that money. The Entertainer much more on the money at just under a fiver. 

[155V6]

2 hours ago, bramz7 said:

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.....

Of course,I had to have one of those ARS 155s,seen here with its Minichamps brothers

[bramz7]

I like them, although oddly the scale on the box is something weird like 1:35?! It's not, plainly it's 1:43. 

I see it as a sort of Italian equivalent to Schabak, just without the massive range. They did an awful Spider, a boring (sorry) Beetle, and apparently a 33 SW which I've only just discovered. 

[155V6]

That's one to look out for,my Dad had a real one for years.Sadly,it was a bit too far gone for me when we pulled it out of his lockup last year 🙁

[bunglebus]

Not too much came home with me this morning 

 

[Datsuncog]

Lastly from Wednesday's haul is this oddity...

Now, I'm not all that much of a fanboi of techbro Musk and his assorted vehicular products of questionable reliability/ durability, but I have found myself increasingly drawn to the Mattel models of Tesla products.

The fact that pretty much all Teslas have been modelled kinda presents a unique opportunity to collect a manufacturer's entire range, and I've picked up some old and new style Roadsters, a Model S, Model Y and Model X (I think) - and now this semi truck.

(Annoyingly, I didn't pick up a Cybertruck when the Hot Wheels version was current.)

It's a large model, and pleasingly weighty even though only part of the cab is diecast - the base, rear portion and roof extension are all plastic.

And the trailer - which also made up a fair bit of its interest to me - is also pretty much all plastic, with only a small piece of metal securing the twin axles at the back. It's actually pretty flimsy, to be honest, and the grey ribs that hold the pipes are barely secured to the body - they repeatedly fell off while I was trying to manoeuvre this for pics, so I can't see this one lasting very long in the hands of an enthusiastic six-year-old.

The generic Load Lifter which comes with the semi does have a working lift boom, though it's not quite high enough to lift the pipes clear from the trailer sides.

It's also just a single pivot, so it won't stay elevated like the excellent Superfast Sambron Jacklift with its multipoint links. But I've also seen pics online of this modern lifter handling 1970s-release Matchbox containers, so fair play for maintaining compatibility across the decades.

The pipes also fit together to create either a long run or a tee'd arrangement, so that's some nice additional play value. I could see this going well with some of the construction playsets.

So all in all, there's certainly some good points to this combo but it could try just a little harder... and I'd like to try the trailer out with some different tractor units, too.

[flat4alfa]

15 hours ago, 155V6 said:

That's one to look out for,my Dad had a real one for years.Sadly,it was a bit too far gone for me when we pulled it out of his lockup last year 🙁

Oh! Where is it now?

[flat4alfa]

Found the thread no idea how I missed that

I still have my 33 Gold Cloverleaf and will be back on the road shortly as it’s….  tax and MoT exempt this year

[bunglebus]

Not loads to write home about today, although these two Mattel Cadzillas are playing on my mind - just a missing tail light on the larger one, and neither were something I knew existed before...maybe next week 

Staying slightly more in line with my preferred budget were;

A Darda KITT with intact rear wing

This far Eastern oddity, purely because the brand is pronounced the same as my surname 

Majorette Impala

Corgi Juniors Merc ambulance with the odd opaque windows (why?)

And yet another MK3 Escort. These Juniors can get out of hand, I counted about two dozen different versions of the common castings such as this, the SD1, Sierra and Chevrolet Van in my stash recently

Early MC Merc, the Rainbow Toys casting

Kid Paint Hot Wheels Aries

Twin pack Dodge and trailer

Yet another Grafficked Traffic from the same guy I got the Ambulance and Plymouth police car from

Lovely Laser Wheels Porsche

Kenworth missing the Corvette and Ruff Trek, but I have those already

And yet another Space Cab to tug my Pepsi trailer around

[Datsuncog]

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

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.

Well, slap my thigh and call me Gertrude.

Someone in Home Bargains has thoughtfully been cramming the pegs with the rest of that mid-2024 case (I can never remember the various case designations), and I just so happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Boom. Nice.

And... what's this?!

Poundstretcher have finally decided to reduce their overpriced non-moving Matchbox stock after a year?

About bloody time, too.

Only the long cards from the 2021 and 2022 mixes seemed to have money off, though - all the early 2023 Power Grab boxes were still priced at £2.49, while they also had a load of late 2023 short cards which weren't here last week, but which were unpriced - something that's caught me out before in this branch. Hot Wheels were all still out at £2.49, too.

It's a pity the more recent stuff was likely more expensive, as they had simply loads of green VW Golfs, silver Morris Minors and blue Volvo 240s. But, honestly, I've no personal need for any more...

(Note that the car in the middle is missing part of the casting on its rear doorframe - QC error.)

So, I just went a bit mad with the older stuff instead.

I keep telling myself that I'm not going to keep buying Matchbox at this rate, and then I do anyway... aaaargh. But I do like the illustrations on the longcards.

I really need to at least sort out what I've got already, rather than coming back home with yet more.

And all the while I'm wondering when The Entertainer aisle is going to open in Tesco...

It's tough going, kids. 😬

[MiniMinorMk3]

20 hours ago, bramz7 said:

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.....

I've had a trio of ARS models, including the 33, which was a 1990 Facelift version.

The others were 155 cop cars.

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

19 hours ago, bunglebus said:

While not cheap cheap, this Gama BMW...

 

Here's a standard version in a nice shade of metallic green

 

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

 QC error.

Ooh, if you happen to see it again...

[Tenmil Socket]

Drove to Wigan earlier to collect this job lot I spotted on eBay. Anything desirable amongst it?

Will likely add some more to it all at some point and roffle it.

 

[Zie]

[bunglebus]

48 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Drove to Wigan earlier to collect this job lot I spotted on eBay. Anything desirable amongst it?

I'd be interested in the MK1 Golf monster truck.

Majorette van thing is unusual 

 

[Split_Pin]

1 hour ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Drove to Wigan earlier to collect this job lot I spotted on eBay. Anything desirable amongst it?

Will likely add some more to it all at some point and roffle it.

 

Alfa 33 1/24 scale is lovely. I already have it though.

I'd take a couple of roffle tickets though!

[Tenmil Socket]

21 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I'd be interested in the MK1 Golf monster truck.

Majorette van thing is unusual 

 

 

[bunglebus]

I did see the Hi-Raker and Crack-Up, got pretty good ones I think.

I'd definitely take the monster trucks though

https://www.101soundboards.com/sounds/161827-monster-trucks

[bunglebus]

AliExpress arrival (along with a green Minor for customising)

[Spottedlaurel]

9 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

And all the while I'm wondering when The Entertainer aisle is going to open in Tesco...

They seem to be better at getting recent HWs in stock (see below), but every one I've seen so far has no Matchbox. At all.

My recent purchases, first of all current stuff from shops:

 

For the second time I managed to be in a Tesco when they had a box sitting in the cage waiting to go onto the shelf. The lady was busy with other stuff and she let me rummage through it, so I ended up filling the box on the shelf for her. Land Cruiser was from Smyths.

 

 

Purchases from today's visit to an autojumble. 50p Ritmo was my favourite find, with tatty/peeling paint but pretty solid with intact suspension and straight axles.

Should be in the land of Majorette in a week or so, and as well as looking out for new stuff in the supermarkets we also plan to visit a few local boot/tabletop sales where hopefully I'll find more like that Ritmo....

[IronStar]

I picked up a DeAgostini Lada Niva the other day. I’m wondering what’s next they have in store for this edition, they’re running out of cars that were staples here, and the collection is called “Legendary Cars”