Shite in Miniature II

[flat4alfa]

On 02/02/2025 at 18:08, FakeConcern said:

Also spotted these slot cars £3 for the two

I'm hoping @flat4alfa can tell us what they are

I rather like the Esprit

Esprit is Made In Hong Kong and Camaro in China, no other marks I can see

Here with Corgi Metro for an idea of the (small) size. Let me know if you want them @flat4alfa

Oh look

Midnight were sets distributed in Zodiac Toys stores

Going to have to say yes to these now too

[flat4alfa]

.....because the one back here has suffered

[flat4alfa]

SO WHO DID IT WORSE?  The Lotus Esprit.

On the left, in 1:28 scale, the Toy State, with sound effects and self-driving ability

Next along is the Corgi 1:36

On the end, the Corgi Junior

[bunglebus]

44 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Midnight were sets distributed in Zodiac Toys stores

 

I had several sets, featuring IIRC a Porsche 911 and a Firebird/Trans-Am, and another with a couple of Peterbilt type tractor units. I think in the end I had 5 sets so I could make pretty impressive tracks! Those thumb trigger controllers certainly look familiar, as do the plastic barriers that always came unclipped.

I've even got one of the Porsches tucked away, with a great number on its nose

 

[bunglebus]

36 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

The Lotus Esprit

Hot Wheels Royal Flash

And Esprit S1

They did a later version too

Big Corgi

Little Corgi with the submarine's windows

Corgi 007 Lotus

Tomica with moving headlights

 

[Kev]

While on Trip to Musselburgh Toy Fair Scotland, Raided the following shops on our Trip Poundland,B&M,Homebargins,Sainsbury’s

These two Toyota MR2 are same but different versions 

1) Lights down - Right Hand Drive                            2) Lights up-  Left Hand Drive 

 

 

Hotwheels some 2024 & 2025 

The above two Photos - These brought at the Toy fair in Musselburgh Toy Fair , Tho the first photo cost few quid the second made up for with these being treasure hunt and came in protected cases not bad for £2 each 

[Kev]

While on Trip to Musselburgh Toy Fair Scotland, Raided the following shops on our Trip Poundland,B&M,Homebargins,Sainsbury’s

These two Toyota MR2 are same but different versions 

1) Lights down - Right Hand Drive                            2) Lights up-  Left Hand Drive 

 

 

Hotwheels some 2024 & 2025 

The above two Photos - These brought at the Toy fair in Musselburgh Toy Fair , Tho the first photo cost few quid the second made up for with these being treasure hunt and came in protected cases not bad for £2 each 

[MiniMinorMk3]

More Esprit

AutoArt Type 79

AutoArt Turbo

AutoArt V8 in yellow and black

Minichamps Series 1

The best is Vanguards Series 1

Because of the pop up lamps.

 

[quicksilver]

16 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

I don’t see why not? 
Some of the scales on them aren’t exactly accurate though! I was looking at a Routemaster by Corgi a while back which said it was 1:43 but it blatantly isn’t. It’s significantly smaller.

That sounds like one of the 1:50 Corgi Classics RMs. Not a bad model but a victim of the common and frustrating practice of making cars in 1:43 and heavy commercials in 1:50 so they're not compatible.

17 hours ago, sierraman said:

Wonder if a Corgi 1/36 Classics RT would look good in the Matchbox livery?

What is this model of which you speak? I'm not aware of Corgi ever making any buses in 1:36 or indeed any model of an RT at all. It would be a huge and expensive lump at that scale.

[MiniMinorMk3]

First batch of small scale from the auction lot.

First a couple of no name Hong Kong trucks.

Kidco plastic bodied cop car.

I guess it is some sort of car but I have given up trying to identify it.

It does have a metal base.

Next up is a Stunt Squad Turbo Stinger.

When based into some thing the body comes off.

These were made by Ideal

Tidy Siku Mondeo

This one is a 1.8 16V Ghia

Hot Wheel 1940 Ford Woody.

from the short lived Hi-Rakers range

As this one has orange paint and wood grain effect side panels it is from 1981.

It has an block in the base to get that Carlos Fandango Jacked Up look so popular in the late 1970s.

Finally a couple of Lone Stars

Missing bonnet Mustang GT.

These were only made for two years in gold or metallic brown

This one is a Lone Stars Flyers

The Corsair Fire Chief fells like it has been in a damp garage

There's some slight surface corrosion, but all panels are present.

This one is a Road-Master Flyers Super Cars version.

 

 

[Spottedlaurel]

7 minutes ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Kidco plastic bodied cop car.

I guess it is some sort of car but I have given up trying to identify it.

Looks vaguely like this thing, which I think is some sort of Dodge (which itself was converted to 4-door and has since seen duty as all manner of police cars, Joker Goon Car etc).

[bunglebus]

2 hours ago, Kev said:

Those last two are quite expensive usually!

[MiniMinorMk3]

51 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Looks vaguely like this thing, which I think is some sort of Dodge (which itself was converted to 4-door and has since seen duty as all manner of police cars, Joker Goon Car etc).

1978 Dodge Monaco 

Looks like the back end matches.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

 

Definitely one on my hit list, but it'd need to be complete at least

[flat4alfa]

Yes gen-4 Dodge Monaco 2-Door Hardtop.  The stacked headlights and rear upright lamps could also represent the Plymouth Fury but the more prominent grille cross-hatching and centre separation points towards the Dodge 

One of the Kidco Burnin’ Key range.  Need to find the matching key…

So you can do this!

Kidco also did a die-cast version with opening doors, as part of their Lock-Ups series, which didn’t need to fly off into the skirting board.  They just let you lock the wheels so it wouldn’t move.  Not even half as much fun though, boy

 

Will take a look I think there is a Fire Chief one back here

[flat4alfa]

Page 1883

[MiniMinorMk3]

1961 Nissan Cedric 1900 had an 1883cc engine

[andy18s]

12 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Hot Wheels Royal Flash

And Esprit S1

They did a later version too

Big Corgi

Little Corgi with the submarine's windows

Corgi 007 Lotus

Tomica with moving headlights

 

1:1 scale ....

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

Kidco also did a die-cast version with opening doors, as part of their Lock-Ups series, which didn’t need to fly off into the skirting board

And the tyres always fall off

[bunglebus]

Kidco 280 ZX

Mustang 

Firebird 

Camaro

Fire Chief Monaco?

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

Next up in the small scale auction stuff is a dozen Majorettes. I never had any Majorettes when younger, but I did buy a load at auction once and found they were quite sort after on Ebay. Over the last 20 years I have seen the prices go up and up, especially for the bubble pack ones from the 1970s and 1980s.

The internet says these are Dodge/Mazda trucks. 

The middle one has the same casting as the right and the same base as the left.

Also the one with the spare wheels on the roof is missing a canopy from the rear.

Nothing on base to say what it is.

Fire tanker would fit nicely with the fire truck if the hook hadn't broke off.

Pelles Tractor has lost its steering wheel.

Benne dumper truck

Unimog snowplough...

has bent wheel.

Bernard the refuse truck is missing the pivot pin from the middle

Nice detail on the back

Magirus tipper must have been over loaded at some point to bend the front axle.

It's also lost the tail gate

Used Mercedes 350 SL

Amazing that the screen has survived.

Nothing in the boot

Very clean VW Golf

It's an LS.

Lots of sports equipment in the boot.

Finally we have the Capri II

Great the way Majorette did the roof in plastic to simulate a vinyl top.

Graphics on the bonnet are good.

It's a 2.3 Ghia.

Chassis is just as good as the body.

 

[AndyW201]

Weekend round up of purchases,

First, Morrisons had been having a restock with some early '25 releases. I'd got most of the ones I wanted from the previous case but found two I hadnt got yet,

This MX5 is a new for '25 release, and somewhat different to the Eunos casting. (Didnt notice the paint bleb on the door till I got it home. Annoying...)

A special 'Legends' edition, they seem to have put a bit of effort into the detailing of this one to make it like the real car its based on., which has been described as "Cyberpunk meets Kaido racer"...

Another new casting. Yet another Mustang, but the GTD is a bit special, being a $325,000 road going version of the GT3 race car with 800 bhp.

Well done too to the staff of the local Morrisons. Okay, with the amount of HW pilfering that goes on, it probably is a good idea to put security labels on them, but on the front of the bloody cards? Its almost as if they expect them to be bought by kids who open the packaging then throw it away and PLAY with the cars... rather than sad middle aged men who buy them then stash them away still in the packaging...

[AndyW201]

This arrived on Thursday when I was away on my Scotland work run, then didnt get round to looking at it until yesterday. 

Like a few of us on here, when these were offered up for a tenner, I couldnt resist. 

These Oxford Firenzas really are very nice. In the abscence of a HC Viva in 1/43 (extremely rare, extremely expensive Magnum by Thoroughbred Models excepted), they fill a gap. (Someone on the FB Vanguards page has managed to create a HC from one of these and the roof section from a Vanguards HB which worked quite well.)

Slightly dodgy headlights aside, front end detail is as good as you'd get anywhere, especially at the cheaper end of 1/43. The grille is finished nicely, including the tiny badge.

Rear badging is fine too. Only real quibble is with the painted light lenses, but at least they're seperately moulded.

ROstyles are superb, and I always liked the fact that thes came with the properly shaped HC mudflaps fitted.

Interior is well moulded with the lovely individualised SL spec rear seat.

So, the reason I went for this red one was because out of the three releases, this is the only lower spec 1800SL, for which Oxford went to the trouble of tooling up a different dash, so out came the blue 2300 Sport SL for a comparison,

SL, two-clock dash and standard Viva type two-spoke wheel,

Sport SL, seven-clock dash and three-spoke sports wheel.

That's attention to detail rarely seen, especially at this price point!

A shame really that Oxford have all but abandoned the 1/43 market, but it seems that only Land Rovers and commercial vehicles are the only products of theirs that seem to have done well at that scale, along with the ice-cream vans. Probably why their only 1/43 announcements for this year are a Land Rover and a new-tool Transit Mk5 (which I'm actually looking forward to seeing). It seems the Davieses have more faith in 1/76 and considering the reported decline in the 1/43 market (apparently the amount of new 1/43 announcements at the Nuremberg toy fair recently was about half compared to other years), perhaps they cant be blamed.

[Noel Tidybeard]

funny i didn't think my 2 had quite as blobby headlights

might have to have another lookski

[AndyW201]

For the first time in years, there was actually a toy fair in Middlesbrough, at the Town Hall, so I had a run down.

(No pics, soz, battery was low on my phone...)

It was a bit disappointing, about 20 stalls in all, but only two with diecast, the rest being sci-fi, action figures and the like. So a quick squizz at the first stall showed a load of 1/76 buses at about £15, the inevitable MOYs and Days Gone for about the same and a few unboxed playworn small cars , including a chipped Matchbox Escort cabrio at £10.

So I moved swiftly on...

Diecast guy no.2 was more reasonable. He used to have a stall at the classic car show I regularly attend. A nice selection of stuff from the 1960s onwards, some mint and boxed, some pre-loved. A nice, chatty friendly guy as well, which is unusual in the trade! Another buyer, who I was also chatting to, was busy hoovering up some unboxed '60s gear. A Corgi 'Man from U.N.C.L.E' Oldsmbile, slightly chipped  but still in good displayable order with decent  tyres, glazing, etc and with a working gun-toting Napoleon Solo, and two Ghia 6.4s again in played with but still nice condition with dogs still on rear shelf at a fiver a pop for a bulk deal didn't seem too outlandish. I enquired about his 1/36 Corgis, two Rover 3500s (one in blue road trim, one race), blue Triumph Acclaim, and blue Metro, mint cars but boxes about 7/10 were between £15-£20. Even though all his prices were negotiable and he was happy to do a deal, I didn't enquire about the mint & boxed set with the Honda Prelude, glider and trailer...

A few trays as well with nice clean Huskys, early Corgi Juniors and MB Superfasts were between £1 & £3 including a couple of Studebaker Wagonaires (one Husky with spun wheels, one Corgi Whizzwheels) with sliding roof and tailgates intact, and a Whizzwheels Transit camper in box-fresh condition apart from the obligitory missing door almost tempted me.

I did come away with something, with the bit of cash I had in my pocket.

After the Merc 190E discussions on here, I decided I needed more miniature 190s in my life, now I've been priced out of decent examples of the real thing, and that it was about time I sniffed out a Superkings version. This one was on the stall priced a bit cheaper then the 1/36 Corgis. As can be seen, the box has seen better days, but its all there at least.

I do love the Matchbox box designs from this era,

The car, though, is as clean as can be.

For the era, (40 years ago, unbelievably), its a really good representation of the 190.

Casting lines are a bit untidy around the rear quarter though. This version really appealed as unlike most of the 'Cosworth' 190s of this scale, this one is in a realistic colour scheme, being a very good approximation of MB Smoke Silver, one of the only two colours available on the 2.3-16. and with black interior.

Sadly, unlike the real 190, the opening bonnet doesn't have a 'workshop' position, so underbonnet detail is hard to capture, but there is a decent stab at the Cosworth-headed 2.3 four-pot in there.

Along with the header tank, washer reservoir and even the EZL timing adjuster on the inner wing,

I also spotted this tidy, unboxed 1/43  Kaden Skoda Octavia, which probably would have been in a dealer box when new. I've already got the facelift Mk1 VRS by IXO, so this represents a lower spec pre-facelift version. Mk1 hatches aren't common in miniature so for a couple of quid, I grabbed it.

It's very much of it's time, so while not as finely detailed as the modern IXO, I've got a real love for European 1/43 everyday cars from the 80s & 90s from makers like Gama, Schuco, Conrad and Schabak. This is very much like those.

The Flying Duck badge on the grille is nicely done.

Interior detail is again of its time, but the opening doors at least give access to it. The pre-facelift dash is done pretty well though.

So, I came away with these two for £11, probably not the bargain of the year, but not highway robbery either. Main thing was that it was nice to be at an actual toyfair for the first time in ages and walk away with a purchase, rather that tap away on the phone and wait for the man in the red van or our nice Evri lady to drop a parcel off. I used to go to the Gateshead and Harrogate ones fairly regularly but nowadays with working 50-55 hour weeks and driving over 1200 miles a week, its getting to a point that I can't physically be arsed actually going anywhere on a weekend. Hopefully yesterday's fair will have been enough of a success that we'll see a few more fairs happen locally.

[AndyW201]

7 minutes ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

funny i didn't think my 2 had quite as blobby headlights

might have to have another lookski

Probably my shite photography skills 🤣

[Split_Pin]

On 08/02/2025 at 13:31, Lord Sterling said:

Here is the Sterling;

Only 100 ever made and probably the most I've ever spent on a model. I think I've shown this car before and told the story, bit for those new amongst us;

I'm a Rover 800 apologist. I love everything about them and still have 3 in my collection which I hope I'll never have to sell.

As well as that, I'm a model car collector, I never knew of this models' existance until about 2006 or 2008 when I spotted it in a scan of a brochure I found online (one of those ones that sells Rover-branded ties, briefcases, calculators, keyring etc...

It looked so good but I couldn't find any pictures of one, so it remained a dream. That was until I randomly spotted one for sale on eBay, finally I could see clear pictures of what it looked like. Bids were strong and I bid something like £250 (a weeks' pay for me then) and low and behold, near to the hour of finishing, Ma_Sterling decided she needed a packet of bread sauce or something and it was my task to go out and find said packet.

At the time, my mobile technology wasn't great. Whilst at Asda, I tried on my phone to access the net with extremely limited results, I couldn't tell one way or the other if I'd won or not.

So with bread sauce procured, I hailed it back to the computer only find I'd been pipped to the post at £260! 🤬 to say I was a tad unhappy would be a massive understatement. 

So, for the next 12-ish years, it was still a dream. Until one day just after the lifting of the lockdown (I remember I was driving the 407 at the time) I spotted this 1/25 Western models Sterling on Facebook. I immediately made an offer and was prepared to up it if needs be. I offered something like £120/£130 and it was accepted. I sent the guy a deposit to ensure it was kept for me and went to go and get it the next day. I couldn't believe it, I finally got the rarest or rare car models that meant something to me. I handed over the cash and went straight home.

It's a heavy model given 90% of the parts are metal including the interior and dashboard. I did once take it apart to place a "wood effect" piece on the front of the dash as it was missing despite having it on the door cards. Getting it back together was a little fiddly but I got there in the end.

It now takes pride of place above my stereo.

That is utterly glorious.

[Spottedlaurel]

No HWs/Matchbox/Majorette purchases during the last week. Still looking out for the dark green Supra!

Made good progress on the Isuzu 117 kit:

 

 

 

Detailing the period Dunlop alloys required a bit of patience, but was worthwhile. They were robbed from a Tamiya Lotus Europa. Just bits and bobs like lights, wipers, mirrors, and decals/badges to go, and fitting the suspension....

[bunglebus]

6 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

 

Golf and Capri are both very nice. 

Those pickups aren't a real vehicle, still a great casting though. Now I've seen there are camper and snowplough versions as discussed a few days ago, I need an example of each in my collection!

[flat4alfa]

In Berkhamsted Oxfam