Shite in Miniature II

[sierraman]

My youngest has that Explorer. Quite a nice model that is. 

[sierraman]

4 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

It is the fucking diecast thread.

Am I on my own in that shit like side exiting exhausts and incorrectly sized wheels would have fucked me off when I was a kid? I wanted street furniture type stuff, I’ve probably retold this a hundred times but I used to reenact a scrapyard with the broken stuff I had in the living room, just in front of the coffee table but before the television.
 

We had this sort of harsh hessian carpet stuff that was great for the diecast, then the ‘scrapyard’ was sited on the edge of one of those really naff rugs everyone had. I can still see in my minds eye how I used to lay it all out. I’d knock some buildings up out of Lego, playing out my dream of becoming a scrapyard proprietor. I’d allocate myself a car that would be ‘mine’, from recollection this ranged from a Matchbox Rover 3500 to a MB54 Green Cortina. Occasionally I’d deviate from this after watching Hollywoods Greatest Stunts or The A-Team using some of my old wrecks to recreate what I’d seen. 
 

It’s quite odd but most of my childhood memories involved diecast to some extent, Saturdays were a great day, mostly because my mum would meet my Nan down the shops and we’d go to McDonalds and go in the Post Office which still had a display of Matchbox, that’s to say they unboxed them then you could see and decide which you wanted to buy. Normally as now they’re on pegs. Another time that springs to mind was in the Newsagents near my Grandparents house, I always used to go up with my grandad when he’d go to the council offices to pay his rent and I recall seeing a Laser Wheels Rover Sterling in the Paper Shop which I still have to this day. 

I take small comfort in knowing I’ve not just become a sad bastard but I’ve always been one. 

[andrew e]

That middle paragraph is me early 80’s to a tee 👍

[Split_Pin]

There's nothing sad about it at all. I'd have loved days like that. I tended to get diecast at random rather than as part of a longer special day.

In terms of realism, I found my dad's and uncles Dinkys and Corgis had better proportioned wheels and tyres. 

Datsuncog also mentioned about wishing diecast manufacturers of our childhood would make more bread and butter cars. Things got better as the 80s wore on for Matchbox with cars like the RoverSterling, Volvo 760 GLE and MK2 Astra all making an appearance in the range.

[danthecapriman]

Another sad sad fucker winner here that was the same.

Id have my road mat thingy out and my garage/multistory car park my grandad made and just play what I saw in real life. All my favourite vehicles were the ones that looked like the ones I saw. I absolutely hated the fantasy stuff or things too ‘hotted up’. I’d spend hours and hours just playing with my toy cars. 
Even in summer I’d go out in the garden and take all my construction related stuff with me - diggers, bulldozers, low loaders, tippers etc etc and just find somewhere in the garden to start digging and building miniature roads! 
I was never really bothered with things like Hot Wheels race track or stuff like that. Just run of the mill normal stuff.

I think that’s part of the reason I like the partwork and 1:43 stuff so much now. It’s ‘normal’ vehicles I like and/or remember. Things I can customise to recreate normal stuff from years ago. 
All the big wheeled customised fantasy stuff from certain manufacturers just mean nothing to me tbh, same as it meant nothing to me back when I was little.

Theres clearly a market for all that though as it seems to sell. I’m just selective what I buy, same as I was as a kid!  
A great example of it now thinking about it, is that we’re spoiled for choice in a way with a Matchbox Volvo 240 and the Hot Wheels one - my money has gone on the lovely little Matchbox version. It’s the most relatable realistic one. If Hot Wheels would do their 240 estate as a standard car I’d happily buy one of those too but until then it’s a no from me. They can do some crackers though… look at the recent Proton! 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I don't think I'm alone in assuming that most of us on this thread are car obsessed, and have been since a very young age. I remember as a kid longing for the day when I'd be able to own and drive my own car. 

Diecast was the ultimate pathway into owning a real car. From  a child's perspective, it's amazing - you can choose the exact model you fancy (assuming you've saved up enough or it's Christmas/birthday time) and then add it to an ever-growing collection. I'm fortunate that I still own the majority of my childhood diecast. I culled a few of my least interesting models in the early 90s but the majority survived. 

One model in particular springs to mind - a very battered Matchbox Renault 5. I clearly remember keeping it in my desk in 3rd year in primary and it was very much an experimental model. At one point I took all the paint off it and then repainted it with tippex. 

Life's a funny old thing because I kept hold of the model, even though it's basically ruined, right down to the missing tailgate, damaged chassis and bent axles. 

Things have come full circle as I now teach in the same school. I teach in the aforementioned classroom on a relatively regular basis so a while back I took the Renault into school and placed it on the teacher desk for the day. Daft really, but it made me smile that almost 40 years later the Renault made it back into the same place. 

I've considered restoring it, and even bought an immaculate blue Matchbox R5 as a donor for the tailgate, axles, rear corner of the chassis and for a paint match for mine. Since then, I've thought the better of it  - the wreck that I've held onto has a backstory attached to it and a restoration will wipe out the warts and childhood brutality, won't it? 

[bunglebus]

I was always into customs and hot rods as well as old cars from the 50s and 60s. Comes from reading Street Machine, Hot Rod, Rod and Custom, Custom Car etc in WH Smith's while my dad was browsing the electronics magazines. 

The Matchbox 57 Chevy in black with red flames, and the black,  flamed Model A hot rod were the coolest cars in my collection 

[Spottedlaurel]

Reportage from yesterday's trip to Sarlat-la-Canéda, nearest big town to where we're staying. First up was a visit to Joué Club, which I'd liken to The Entertainer in that it was on the edge of the town centre rather than in a retail park.

Highly recommended - they had a good range of stuff on shelves and pegs plus a big cardboard Majorette display (of which frustratingly I can't get photos off the phone at present, I'll try again later). Then we went to King Jouet, which is more like Smyths as it was on a retail park. Again pretty good with another example of the Majorette display, only reason I didn't get so much there was that I'd already got a load at the first shop.

This is a jumble of photos from both places as they were taken on both phone and camera. A variety of garages which should interest @Datsuncog and some boat/caravan sets which which will appeal to Mr and Mrs @FakeConcern:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some bigger stuff too:

 

Photos of my selection to follow in a moment....

[Spottedlaurel]

My purchases. Did also have a look in the big E. LeClerc hypermarket, but other than one or two Majorettes which I'd bought earlier in the day there was nothing of note.

From Joué Club:

Don't recall seeing the HW Vintage Racing editions, they also do a '63 Corvette, '69 Mustang and Maverick in the range. Possibly from Canada?

The Nismo set is nice, although slightly spoilt by the Mack being so out of scale. Majorette are doing loads of anniversary edition versions at present, some more appealing than others.

The C4 is for you @FakeConcern, sorry the card is a bit tatty but that was the only one.

These from Jouet Club:

Felt I had to have a DS of some sort, I went for the standard one rather than an odd special edition (or the 5-pack).

Would like to fid more of the J Imports range. They also do the KP61 Starlet, often-seen Skyline HT 2000 GT-X, '85 Honda CRX and Acura NSX.

[Split_Pin]

10 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

I've considered restoring it, and even bought an immaculate blue Matchbox R5 as a donor for the tailgate, axles, rear corner of the chassis and for a paint match for mine. Since then, I've thought the better of it  - the wreck that I've held onto has a backstory attached to it and a restoration will wipe out the warts and childhood brutality, won't it? 

Let's all take a moment to remember the Matchbox Cortina 'pebble' that @Datsuncog still has and shared with us a while back.

My dad had a few cars that he really didn't look after, his younger brothers ones were the opposite. Anyway, although intact, they were badly repainted with heavy paint, probably from the shipyard my grandpa worked in. I restored a couple in the mid 90s but never got around to the rest. As time wore on and as my dad got older, part of me felt it would erase these toys' stories by making them like new again. Thankfully life took over and I would never have got the time. Now that my dad is gone, I am so glad I didn't touch these cars and I now truly feel they have passed to me, even though I was given them for good in the early 1980s.

[andrew e]

Finally a premium HW I can get on board with, just fabulous REX!

https://www.instagram.com/aoracingusa/p/C1sO2I3PHmN/?img_index=aoracingusa

[bunglebus]

Had to zoom out to photograph this morning's boot sale finds

[Tenmil Socket]

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

Let's all take a moment to remember the Matchbox Cortina 'pebble' that @Datsuncog still has and shared with us a while back.

My dad had a few cars that he really didn't look after, his younger brothers ones were the opposite. Anyway, although intact, they were badly repainted with heavy paint, probably from the shipyard my grandpa worked in. I restored a couple in the mid 90s but never got around to the rest. As time wore on and as my dad got older, part of me felt it would erase these toys' stories by making them like new again. Thankfully life took over and I would never have got the time. Now that my dad is gone, I am so glad I didn't touch these cars and I now truly feel they have passed to me, even though I was given them for good in the early 1980s.

Which pebble? I’ve probably already seen it but can’t remember.

[RoadworkUK]

2 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Some bigger stuff too:

 

Solido is absolutely bossing it a the mo, 1:18-wise. And, comparatively speaking, fairly affordably. After inflation, £49 is probably not far off the equivalent of what Beatties would have charged me for a 1:18 Bburago when I was 10ish. And back then, I'd have LOVED a 1:18 Renault 21 Turbo, Honda Civic or Alfa GTV.

REAL CARS.

And Solido's execution is just as good as its sheer variety. The fidelity is at least as good as with fully enclosed resin models of much higher price points, and you get the joy of opening doors. I have to use ALL my self control to avoid buying them.

It's only the Sierra Cossie that has broken my willpower thus far.

[Datsuncog]

26 minutes ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Which pebble? I’ve probably already seen it but can’t remember.

I'll look out a pic later!

The MkIV Cortina was my favourite Matchbox car; it basically lived in my pocket and I'd give it a squeeze if I felt a bit worried.

Over time the A-pillars broke off, the roof bent down and the baseplate and body bent up to fit with the contours of my clenched hand...

Yes, it seems I was quite a worried child.

I thought about restoring it a while ago, but it seemed kinda pointless when I could just go and buy a new, factory fresh one (for a price, admittedly)...

I guess for a while it seemed important to me to 'fix' the old stuff from my past and pretend like I'd always looked after it, but now I'm going with the idea that the original stuff tells a story, and I don't want to take that away.

I've a few recently acquired MIB early-80s Matchbox now which I plan to display alongside my childhood originals - that way I can have the best of both!

[Tenmil Socket]

18 minutes ago, RoadworkUK said:

Solido is absolutely bossing it a the mo, 1:18-wise. And, comparatively speaking, fairly affordably. After inflation, £49 is probably not far off the equivalent of what Beatties would have charged me for a 1:18 Bburago when I was 10ish. And back then, I'd have LOVED a 1:18 Renault 21 Turbo, Honda Civic or Alfa GTV.

REAL CARS.

And Solido's execution is just as good as its sheer variety. The fidelity is at least as good as with fully enclosed resin models of much higher price points, and you get the joy of opening doors. I have to use ALL my self control to avoid buying them.

It's only the Sierra Cossie that has broken my willpower thus far.

Any more pics? 
Why did they include the tow hook?

[Datsuncog]

Willpower test this morning - don't buy any more discounted Matchbox from Poundstretcher:

I have all the castings I want from this selection - but now I'm finding myself thinking about colour variations.

Aaargh.

Also noticed these Hot Wheels Silverlines on a low peg:

Not ones I've seen before.

Not all that cheap either, so I didn't buy any - but could be a worthwhile endeavour for anyone with a Porsche fancy to check out their nearest store?

The 914 was the only one from the collection of six that didn't seem to be there.

[bunglebus]

Wow those Porsches are nice!

I had a delivery of Porsches myself, mainly for this Guisval 911

Although there was a very tidy Matchbox 910

and a 911 included too

Anyone care to guess the manufacturer of this one, and what they were trying to model?

 

[Jon]

Tootsie Toys Rabbit. But I’ll admit that the VW badge on the bonnet was about 70% of the reason I could identify* it!

[sierraman]

Looks more early 80’s Toyota Starlet to me? 

[Split_Pin]

38 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Wow those Porsches are nice!

I had a delivery of Porsches myself, mainly for this Guisval 911

Although there was a very tidy Matchbox 910

and a 911 included too

Anyone care to guess the manufacturer of this one, and what they were trying to model?

 

Looks like a Tootsie Toys Rabbit van?

[Split_Pin]

Jon beath me to it! I only know as I have about 6 or 7 Tootsie Toys in the loft. 

[sierraman]

11 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Jon beath me to it! I only know as I have about 6 or 7 Tootsie Toys in the loft. 

I had a Tootsie camper, a big brown RV type thing. 

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, Jon said:

Tootsie Toys Rabbit. But I’ll admit that the VW badge on the bonnet was about 70% of the reason I could identify* it!

 

1 hour ago, Split_Pin said:

Looks like a Tootsie Toys Rabbit van?

 

[Split_Pin]

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

I had a Tootsie camper, a big brown RV type thing. 

That is spectacular,  I'd have loved that as a kid.

[sierraman]

14 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

That is spectacular,  I'd have loved that as a kid.

Another one I remember distinctly getting, came from The Aquarius Car Boot in Chesterfield. Sold it about 15 years back to someone in America through eBay. 

[MiniMinorMk3]

On 30/07/2024 at 14:39, AndyW201 said:

Thers a much better partwork series out called Famous Czech Cars, which as the name suggests, is all Skoda. I agree with you about the need for an early 2000s Octavia, this is the one from the Czech Cars series that Im currently trying to hunt down,

So far, the only model that has been made of a road-going RS. There are a few kicking about for sale but prices are at a premium. If they were to bring that series out over here, I'd subscribe to it, as there are some right crackers in it, but we've never been well catered for partworks in the UK.

If anyone collects Skoda models then you should search for Kaden models. They are a Czech based company that made models for Skoda dealers.

They also sold them under their own branding

Some more kaden models.

Kaden were replaced by Abrex as the supplier to dealers at the beginning of the 21st century. 

Abrex have modelled almost all the Skoda cars ever built over the last 20 years.

[Datsuncog]

Willpower test this afternoon - don't buy a load of 2022 Matchbox Action Drivers Playsets from TK Maxx.

No, I said DON'T buy a load of 2022 Matchbox Action Drivers Playsets from TK Maxx.

Ah... 

Gaaah.

Fuggit. Do whatever you like.

[andy18s]

6 hours ago, RoadworkUK said:

Solido is absolutely bossing it a the mo, 1:18-wise. And, comparatively speaking, fairly affordably. After inflation, £49 is probably not far off the equivalent of what Beatties would have charged me for a 1:18 Bburago when I was 10ish. And back then, I'd have LOVED a 1:18 Renault 21 Turbo, Honda Civic or Alfa GTV.

REAL CARS.

And Solido's execution is just as good as its sheer variety. The fidelity is at least as good as with fully enclosed resin models of much higher price points, and you get the joy of opening doors. I have to use ALL my self control to avoid buying them.

It's only the Sierra Cossie that has broken my willpower thus far.

The Solido's are excellent value and have a decent level of detail to them. I bought another 22b but in white this week, 80lev/40 Euros and it looks great. 

Ottomobile have really gone off the boil quality wise,there are complaints about this months 1/18's offerings having flimsy plastics for the windows. 

Oh,and I picked up the vw set today for not much and the Mrs has taken a shine to them.

[RoadworkUK]

6 hours ago, Tenmil Socket said:

Any more pics? 
Why did they include the tow hook?

Here y'are.