Shite in Miniature II

[andy18s]

A few for the Rover fans.

[Lord Sterling]

7 minutes ago, andy18s said:

A few for the Rover fans.

Finally! Finally!

Well, I say that, I'm hoping they'll be doing a saloon version too. I'm certainly going to be buying a couple of those, possibly all 3 so I can have all the colours.

[RoadworkUK]

1 hour ago, andy18s said:

A few for the Rover fans.

Ooof!

Although... judging by the pics on the Cult Models website, I don't think the shape is quite right. 

Perhaps it's in that uncanny valley where it's almost right..  but the fact that it seems slightly off would niggle me no end. It somehow looks too upright and slabby. 

I'll probably still buy one, though... Because of course I will. I doubt there'll ever be a better one.

[sheffcortinacentre]

Someone selling 1/18 Mk5 cortinas by them on eBay £200+ with LHD wipers minor grump but at that price I want perfection.

[sierraman]

A mate of mine his dad had an 827 Vitesse same as offered there, superb vehicle, sounded unbelievable with a decent exhaust on it. Rotted before your very eyes mind but…

[Datsuncog]

Had a bit of a swing past the shops the other day - still not very much to report in terms of new Mattel stock.

Home Bargains has finally landed some Hot Wheels A-cases across a few branches; that's great and all, but a little late for my liking.

Plenty of turquoise Quattros and black Skyline R32s to be had now, anyway.

One branch had a B-case featuring that brown and cream Fish'd & Chip'd Treasure Hunt (Jaguar MkX custom), but I already found that one late last year in Smyths.

Poundland seem to be very slowly easing themselves into 2025 as well:

Plenty of Matchbox Mix B now available - I could have had three green Fiesta Mk2s!

The big Entertainer store in Belfast seems to be running out all its Matchbox, with nothing new since January and ever-shrinking peg space. Some Hot Wheels D-case releases were to be found (the yellow Chevette and pink-and-white Brazilian Charger), but I've yet to see anything from the C-case selection, which is annoying as I'd quite like to find that gold Camaro RS and green Mercedes 500E.

Tescotainer substores are still hawking the same early 2025 case mixes for both Hot Wheels and Matchbox, interspersed with much older 2023 stuff - the increasingly tatty packaging of the items in the dump bins indicate much rummaging, but precious little buying.

Asda and B&M not really managing much either - some A and B cases, but nothing else.

Interesting to learn upthread that the UK distributors for Matchbox have ended up with a glut of the Mix B cases - I imagine that'll put paid to seeing anything else for quite some time. Guess Mattel offered them a nice unit discount for taking a larger than usual consignment; good news for them, but bad news for collectors who won't see any newer mixes until their warehouse is cleared.

But! It's not all about the latest Mattel releases (or lack thereof).

Cash Converters had a load of c.2000s Skybusters in.

Not exactly cheap though, at £19 for a four-pack in a hilariously wide variety of scales.

Or £10 for individually carded examples.

Mmm... no. Considering that a lot of these castings are still available new, for less.

Other delights included this little lot:

£15 for a Corgi Classics Jaguar MK2 seems steep - true, the model's probably nearly 40 years old, but these still crop up at the market for £5.

£12 for a modern Bbbbburago 1/43 seems nuts though - they're £2.99 in B&M right now.

Vanguards Healey was unpriced.

HFM!?

Yeah, Autoart don't make cheap models, but this green Esprit can be found online for less than half that.

BARGAINS

'King Of Road'. Heh.

This has been sat here for years now with no takers.

[sierraman]

I don’t know who actually buys the Skybusters, they’re quite dear for what they are. 

[MiniMinorMk3]

Those Cash Convertor prices are just daft. I wonder what they actually pay for them as you can buy Corgi Classic for an average of £3 at auction and AutoArts can be had for around the £12 mark when buying in multiple lots. I used to get £20 to £25 for them on Ebay.

[bunglebus]

Did a bit more work on the Thames camper, had a look in Halfords for something like primrose yellow, but nothing really seemed right. A bright yellow would just overpower the off-white part, so I made something up using the VW Pastel White and a bit of Rover Inca Yellow to taste, and finally got to try my Xmas airbrush compressor.  Worked a treat, got the usual Matt finish so I'll be lacquering this later.

Masking made it look a bit like it has a mohawk

Voila

Something still wasn't quite right though, so I decided to mask up the pop top and do that in bright white. Subtle but I think it shows the upper colour off better

Couldn't resist a quick mock-up

Gave the interior a bit of detail over the poo brown I painted it

All this hard work could be undone yet, as had to repaint the rear doors, so I have to hope the custom mix paint I have left doesn't dry out before I get a chance to paint the lower halves

*Edit* added a bit of inside-out orphaned Minions sock as carpet and seat material 

[Datsuncog]

Since I was passing the other day, I also called into the model shop at Smithfield.

Proprietor Blokey was behind the counter, rather than the lackadaisical assistant, so I had to be a bit surreptitious about taking photos.

Remember I mentioned the weird 'mint boxed' Corgi Juniors on offer - which we all know came in blister packs, not cardboard boxes?

Yeah, let's look a bit closer at those suspiciously crisp boxes ...

'Custom made display box - trade marks property of respective owners'

Which is nice and all, but I don't think these should be priced at £25. They're not original -  and if you look at the chipped edges of the fire ladder's cab, they're far from mint either. Nice enough to have in your collection, no doubt, but not at that sort of price...

I had a general hoke about the place but there wasn't very much of interest. The Matchbox Moving Parts which The Entertainer had in stock at the start of the year - but suddenly all disappeared - apparently moved 100 yards down the street to his shop, and in doing so the prices doubled.

£8 for a Moving Parts? Away and take your head for a shite.

Fortunately, I'd bought the few I was interested in back in January, and I imagine most other collectors have done the same from online sellers, so good luck in shifting those.

The pair of knock-off Lesneys, copied by Hungarian outfit Schenk and illicitly sold under the Metal Playmobil name, were still sat there, and so were nabbed for @bunglebus:

I think we've had a few posts before about these models and their - shall we say - cheerfully relaxed approach to intellectual property copyright laws.

Some fancy wheels on that tanker cab.

And they were a refreshingly reasonable price, too:

Pound each. 

I presented them to the Proprietor, who peered at them in a faintly owlish manner.

"Oh yes, the Matchbox copies... yes. They're made by a company in, um, where is it...? Errr...."

"Hungary," I offered. "Hungarian copies."

"No. No, not Hungary. They're made by, oh, who is it... Same company that made the aircraft in that case over there." He pointed behind me.

I craned over, to some small-scale Tonka Polistil passenger aircraft in flat rectangular boxes.

"Um... you mean Polistil?"

"Yes. They're made by Polistil. So, you know... They're more... from a Polish sort of direction."

"Oh. Right. I see."

I didn't even know where to start with this series of wildly inaccurate assertions, so merely proffered my two pound coins with a fixed rictus grin. Polistil? Poland?! What??

He took the coins and waved his hand indulgently at me, granting forgiveness of my ignorant ways.

"Don't worry, they're very obscure..."

 

This place melts my head.

😖

[eddyramrod]

On my recent trip to Chester there was some slight diecast-buying...

The Days Gone taxi is going to get painted black for the Screen collection; when I put it with some others for a group shot you'll see why.

The Sunbeam Talbot is an Oxford Diecast.  I just took pity on it because it obviously needs a gentle restoration.  White isn't really the colour for these.  I might even go two-tone on it.

[danthecapriman]

52 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

On my recent trip to Chester there was some slight diecast-buying...

The Days Gone taxi is going to get painted black for the Screen collection; when I put it with some others for a group shot you'll see why.

The Sunbeam Talbot is an Oxford Diecast.  I just took pity on it because it obviously needs a gentle restoration.  White isn't really the colour for these.  I might even go two-tone on it.

Nice finds Eddy. That Sunbeam Talbot has a rough life hasn’t it! They’re not all that old are they?

[junkyarddog]

Recent find is this Majorette Mk1 Ford Mondeo. 

Bit tatty and playworn,so decided to give it a makeover. 

Stripped. 

Primed. 

Finished. 

Took inspiration from the Citrine edition.

What do you reckon Smoll Eddy?

"Take it away,it's searin'me retinas M8"

[ambassador84]

6 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Had a bit of a swing past the shops the other day - still not very much to report in terms of new Mattel stock.

Home Bargains has finally landed some Hot Wheels A-cases across a few branches; that's great and all, but a little late for my liking.

Plenty of turquoise Quattros and black Skyline R32s to be had now, anyway.

One branch had a B-case featuring that brown and cream Fish'd & Chip'd Treasure Hunt (Jaguar MkX custom), but I already found that one late last year in Smyths.

Poundland seem to be very slowly easing themselves into 2025 as well:

Plenty of Matchbox Mix B now available - I could have had three green Fiesta Mk2s!

The big Entertainer store in Belfast seems to be running out all its Matchbox, with nothing new since January and ever-shrinking peg space. Some Hot Wheels D-case releases were to be found (the yellow Chevette and pink-and-white Brazilian Charger), but I've yet to see anything from the C-case selection, which is annoying as I'd quite like to find that gold Camaro RS and green Mercedes 500E.

Tescotainer substores are still hawking the same early 2025 case mixes for both Hot Wheels and Matchbox, interspersed with much older 2023 stuff - the increasingly tatty packaging of the items in the dump bins indicate much rummaging, but precious little buying.

Asda and B&M not really managing much either - some A and B cases, but nothing else.

Interesting to learn upthread that the UK distributors for Matchbox have ended up with a glut of the Mix B cases - I imagine that'll put paid to seeing anything else for quite some time. Guess Mattel offered them a nice unit discount for taking a larger than usual consignment; good news for them, but bad news for collectors who won't see any newer mixes until their warehouse is cleared.

But! It's not all about the latest Mattel releases (or lack thereof).

Cash Converters had a load of c.2000s Skybusters in.

Not exactly cheap though, at £19 for a four-pack.

Or £10 for individually carded examples.

Mmm... no. Considering that a lot of these castings are still available new for less.

Other delights included these:

£15 for a Corgi Classics Jaguar MK2 - true, the model's probably nearly 40 years old, but these still crop up at the market for £5.

£12 for a modern Bbbbburago 1/43 seems nuts though - they're £2.99 in B&M right now.

Vanguards Healey was unpriced.

HFM!?

Yeah, Autoart don't make cheap models, but this one can be found online for less than half that.

BARGAINS

'King Of Road'

This has been here for years now with no takers.

I'm still struggling to find that Mercedes 500E and the black Porsche from Case C and D too which is becoming annoying.

Case E are now appearing at Aldi too so might be a good potential source of the Datsun Sunny pick up STH.

[MAF260]

1 hour ago, ambassador84 said:

I'm still struggling to find that Mercedes 500E and the black Porsche from Case C and D too which is becoming annoying.

Case E are now appearing at Aldi too so might be a good potential source of the Datsun Sunny pick up STH.

I picked up the green 500E in my local Tesco on a 3 for 2 offer. Worth a trip to your local store?

[ambassador84]

10 minutes ago, MAF260 said:

I picked up the green 500E in my local Tesco on a 3 for 2 offer. Worth a trip to your local store?

Thanks. Mine gets raided regularly but I'll definitely keep trying.

[eddyramrod]

2 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Nice finds Eddy. That Sunbeam Talbot has a rough life hasn’t it! They’re not all that old are they?

Thanks Dan.  It did come as a surprise, certainly!  But in a way, it's nice to see a little car that's had a life, rather than being shut away in a sterile cabinet for years.  This one definitely escaped its packaging!  The wing mirrors are broken off but that's not important, I'm much more concerned with things like bumpers which might be hard to replace.  I've got an OD Jensen here that came from one of my AS friends a good while ago, that's missing some brightwork, and I think its only real hope is that I find another one I can scalp.

We bemoan often enough that these things are not appearing on the secondary market in a "playworn" state, so I'm pleased to have found this one.  But "playworn" has its price, in terms of having to replace parts.  Corgi and Dinky from, say, the 60s and 70s, are well supported, but even among them you can struggle to find certain bits.  For example, I need a left-hand door for the Corgi Chrysler Imperial Convertible.  Steve Flowers doesn't do it.  So I'm thrown back into the used-parts market.  For some cars you can buy certain parts but not others, and then the same applies.

Age?  I can't find definitive information (or maybe I'm just not looking hard enough) but my impression is that the casting isn't much over ten years old yet.

[Split_Pin]

Finished the Monster Beetle Chassis tonight and went for my first drive. Everything works as it should except sometimes reverse takes a couple of goes of the stick before it responds.

Mocked up the body just to see what it would look like:

 

[andrew e]

Looking good 😎

On the Radio the 1st reverse movement is for brake, the second is for reverse usually. If you have an ESC with THW (Tamiya Hobbywing 1060) on it move the tabs round 👍

if you haven’t already stick bearings in (I use RCBearings) and I use the tough Injora servos. Montana paints a cracker too 👍

https://www.montana-cans.com/Products/SPRAY-CANS/MONTANA-SPRAY-PAINT/GOLD-400ml-Artist-Paint/

[andrew e]

 

My one!

[Split_Pin]

8 hours ago, andrew e said:

 

My one!

Brilliant! Thanks for the tip on reverse too.

[Datsuncog]

22 hours ago, sierraman said:

I don’t know who actually buys the Skybusters, they’re quite dear for what they are. 

I've found Skybusters prices to vary wildly depending on the store - Toytown branches stock them at a fairly reasonable £2.99, while Toymaster outlets see fit to triple that to £8.99. Meanwhile, The Entertainer had them on the pegs for £6 a pop a few years back, but I wouldn't expect to see them in there again.

Their increasing use of generic/ fantasy aircraft and made-up carrier liveries, and removing details like rotating wheels and axles, would suggest they're intended for kiddies rather than the, ahem, adult collector - but they're very far from pocket money prices, mostly.

Neither the manufacturer nor the retailers seem to be doing much to guarantee the future of the range, that's for sure.

 

21 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Those Cash Convertor prices are just daft. I wonder what they actually pay for them as you can buy Corgi Classic for an average of £3 at auction and AutoArts can be had for around the £12 mark when buying in multiple lots. I used to get £20 to £25 for them on Ebay.

I seem to recall someone posting about how to decode the string of letters at the bottom of those Cash Converters price labels - it contains information about the price paid for the item, which allows managers to decide whether or not to offer discount, and if so how much.

I can't now exactly recall how this worked, and the internet isn't helping much - but I think the general rule of thumb is that Cash Converters shelf prices are generally 3x what they paid; so maybe £5 paid on the Corgi Classics Jaguar Mk2, £4 on the Bburago, and £23 on the Autoart Lotus?

 

15 hours ago, ambassador84 said:

I'm still struggling to find that Mercedes 500E and the black Porsche from Case C and D too which is becoming annoying.

Case E are now appearing at Aldi too so might be a good potential source of the Datsun Sunny pick up STH.

Very annoying!

Wish Aldi operated stores in Northern Ireland; seems to be some success in finding Mattel items with them. Ditto Morrisons.

 

14 hours ago, MAF260 said:

I picked up the green 500E in my local Tesco on a 3 for 2 offer. Worth a trip to your local store?

Nicely found! I'm planning a quick turn down to Tesco at lunchtime, but so far I've yet to see any 2025 Hot Wheels stocked out in the five or six Tesco branches near me - it's still all just unwanted 2023/24 releases clogging up the dump bins.

The toy aisles in Tesco seem to be exclusively looked after by mobile stockists wearing blue Entertainer polo shirts these days; I guess they just come in, check the stockfile on their PDAs, and only stock out where there are gaps. The Hot Wheels and Matchbox tubs are full locally; but there's nothing in there that's any good! Just rubbishy fantasy castings and stale stuff I already have.

What's in there isn't selling - I'm guessing at £2.40 each they're no longer cheap toys for a pound that parents might add to their trolley. 3 for 2 isn't a bad deal, if you're buying in bulk - and if there's three you want - but it doesn't fill that gap for a casual buyer only wanting to spend a small amount to placate a fractious toddler.

Poundland, Home Bargains, B&M and Poundstretcher all sell their Hot Wheels at between £1.49 and £1.69, so I reckon Tesco's collaboration with The Entertainer is an odd one - it's demanding premium toyshop prices (well, not quite Hamleys level) but in a bargain retail environment.

Sainsburys seem to have given up on stocking any mainlines locally, while I haven't seen any Hot Wheels in M&S for quite some time now either - think The Entertainer was responsible for maintaining their toy stock too.

 

I'm sure the C-case will show up somewhere eventually, but it's a frustration in the meantime.

[AndyW201]

Recent delivery from Ana's FB site,

Mint carded Amigo (or Vauxhall Fronterror as we know it) is one from an era of Matchbox before I really got back into collecting MB and Hot Wheels again.

Mk1 Golf in blue is one I've not seen in any shops, I assume it's from a mix that we weren't destined to have on these shores,

Nice colour, but odd to see a tan interior on a GTi,

Neat little Rabbit coachline too.

Another one I thought I'd better get online, as the chances of finding one in a shop round here are slim to f'all!

This style of Matchbox wheel looks perfect on here.

This was the one I was most happy to get. Again, this was the only way I was going to get one.

What a little belter!

[Tenmil Socket]

40 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

Recent delivery from Ana's FB site,

Mint carded Amigo (or Vauxhall Fronterror as we know it) is one from an era of Matchbox before I really got back into collecting MB and Hot Wheels again.

Mk1 Golf in blue is one I've not seen in any shops, I assume it's from a mix that we weren't destined to have on these shores,

Nice colour, but odd to see a tan interior on a GTi,

Neat little Rabbit coachline too.

Another one I thought I'd better get online, as the chances of finding one in a shop round here are slim to f'all!

This style of Matchbox wheel looks perfect on here.

This was the one I was most happy to get. Again, this was the only way I was going to get one.

What a little belter!

I like the Golf/Rabbit.

[eddyramrod]

That Aston Martin is SEXY!

[FakeConcern]

1 hour ago, eddyramrod said:

That Aston Martin is SEXY!

I scroll through new Matchbox/Hot Wheels pics quickly as I'm trying to make sure I don't get into them and I thought it was a Capri!

[bunglebus]

I was pleasantly surprised to find a new case of Matchbox in Entertainer this afternoon, and there are some corkers in the mix.

Tin snail is awesome, definitely need to rip this out of the pack and line it up with the Corgi/MC Toys versions

Porsche in a great shade of peppermint 

Radical is just that

New colour for the Autozam

Golf with a colour scheme that tips its hat to the old Ruff Rabbit

Floppytop Camaro

And El Camino

I've also found a few new bits in Smyths, seems I've missed a delivery but picked up a few stragglers. Does the Williams count as being in Gulf livery?

This is the nuts, and it's a UK hot rod to boot

Racing helmet and goggles on the seat

More of the Japanese art theme we've seen recently on this Z

Is this the F&F Silverline just with different wheels? Looks great either way

There were also some new 1:43 cars on the pegs

I grabbed the Nova, probably best there was no price on this as it was somewhat eye watering! I really liked the Mercedes in this series too but the price out me off at the time.

Anyway, it's pretty cool

Packaging is excellent, it looks like a giant version of a normal Hot Wheels in a protective case, but opens so you can actually get at the thing without damaging anything 

All black interior is not easy to photograph 

[MAF260]

6 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Nicely found! I'm planning a quick turn down to Tesco at lunchtime, but so far I've yet to see any 2025 Hot Wheels stocked out in the five or six Tesco branches near me - it's still all just unwanted 2023/24 releases clogging up the dump bins.

The toy aisles in Tesco seem to be exclusively looked after by mobile stockists wearing blue Entertainer polo shirts these days; I guess they just come in, check the stockfile on their PDAs, and only stock out where there are gaps. The Hot Wheels and Matchbox tubs are full locally; but there's nothing in there that's any good! Just rubbishy fantasy castings and stale stuff I already have.

What's in there isn't selling - I'm guessing at £2.40 each they're no longer cheap toys for a pound that parents might add to their trolley. 3 for 2 isn't a bad deal, if you're buying in bulk - and if there's three you want - but it doesn't fill that gap for a casual buyer only wanting to spend a small amount to placate a fractious toddler.

Poundland, Home Bargains, B&M and Poundstretcher all sell their Hot Wheels at between £1.49 and £1.69, so I reckon Tesco's collaboration with The Entertainer is an odd one - it's demanding premium toyshop prices (well, not quite Hamleys level) but in a bargain retail environment.

I’m not sure I would have bought at £2.40, but managed to find 6 by pure luck/chance that I was happy to buy on the 3 for 2 offer - that makes them competitive at £1.60 each.

As well as the 500E I also got this lovely 2025 Maserati Shamal 

 

[FakeConcern]

10 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

 

There were also some new 1:43 cars on the pegs

I grabbed the Nova, probably best there was no price on this as it was somewhat eye watering! I really liked the Mercedes in this series too but the price out me off at the time.

Anyway, it's pretty cool

Packaging is excellent, it looks like a giant version of a normal Hot Wheels in a protective case, but opens so you can actually get at the thing without damaging anything 

All black interior is not easy to photograph 

You bastard! Just after I say I'm trying hard not to get into Hot Wheels and you post that gorgeous Nova which is bad enough, then I see it's actually 1/43 as well!

[bunglebus]

41 minutes ago, FakeConcern said:

You bastard! Just after I say I'm trying hard not to get into Hot Wheels and you post that gorgeous Nova which is bad enough, then I see it's actually 1/43 as well!

There are some really nice things lined up in the 1:43 range for 2025. The Porsche 917 should have been with the Nova etc but was gone

Still think the Mercedes is great

About 15 minutes onwards