Shite in Miniature II

[andrew e]

The cord was attached to the friction motor through the back seat I think - its a Matchbox 👍 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/198097604719?_skw=matchbox+motorcycle&itmmeta=01KQAK4F5MYHZ09NKDV6017M7V&hash=item2e1f89906f:g:LcIAAeSwOIdpjJ2w&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA0GfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xAk8mPgigHIKYbZuUNDTNGtBJvf%2Bu5zHvpXFyL8MBUQY%2BF%2BVoqSsAfuOj3a9TD3GvBz44qUoyBOba0BLwJOn8WC9vkn5DPuqsoC95jWBUFBrX9BP%2FZVQmSSHz%2Fea8iTKACJ7K0iVQ35RiwJSv8p7LCzhZDWe4Gii5qvqtu5ud7fO8abm1%2FY0%2FdKZ%2BiO135BfcKPykA5aVHYpKPHAIzO8Uo1SJueFxHK%2FhOVYIutnMZZNpodZ40nmB2XXPiZzICLT0k%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR47zkdO6Zw

[sierraman]

Just now, andrew e said:

The cord was attached to the friction motor through the back seat I think - its a Matchbox 👍 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/198097604719?_skw=matchbox+motorcycle&itmmeta=01KQAK4F5MYHZ09NKDV6017M7V&hash=item2e1f89906f:g:LcIAAeSwOIdpjJ2w&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA0GfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xAk8mPgigHIKYbZuUNDTNGtBJvf%2Bu5zHvpXFyL8MBUQY%2BF%2BVoqSsAfuOj3a9TD3GvBz44qUoyBOba0BLwJOn8WC9vkn5DPuqsoC95jWBUFBrX9BP%2FZVQmSSHz%2Fea8iTKACJ7K0iVQ35RiwJSv8p7LCzhZDWe4Gii5qvqtu5ud7fO8abm1%2FY0%2FdKZ%2BiO135BfcKPykA5aVHYpKPHAIzO8Uo1SJueFxHK%2FhOVYIutnMZZNpodZ40nmB2XXPiZzICLT0k%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR47zkdO6Zw

I remember those, they weren’t the most stable of things. I recall they did some sort of jump for it to go through?

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, junkyarddog said:

Stripped,and with the base flipped we got lows

Hang on - are you telling me I messed about making a base out of plastic card when I could have turned the damn thing upside down?

[bunglebus]

47 minutes ago, 155V6 said:

Car boot on Sunday got me these

Good haul there, Road Blasters Supervan especially. The Darda KITT can also fetch a few quid online.

I've got that gold one but the name escapes me

47 minutes ago, 155V6 said:

I thought the Bedford CA was Matchbox,but it's an AA van & has no maker on the base

 

What does it have on the base?

[junkyarddog]

16 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Hang on - are you telling me I messed about making a base out of plastic card when I could have turned the damn thing upside down?

More or less,there was a bit of sanding and  trimming involved. 

Still rolls nicely too.😁

[bunglebus]

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

12.5 shite points if you can ID it! 

Answer was, a Zuru Metal Machine

Of course the only metal bit is the base, which got stripped of paint very quickly. Trying to get the chrome off the interior took nearly as long, it was tough stuff!

[ambassador84]

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Did you get me some of them? I've got a terrible memory as to who's got what for me at the moment.

Here's a fun little one I've messed with today, 12.5 shite points if you can ID it! 

Clues are, I bought it this morning and it used to have decals.

Removing those decals was tedious, tried various things and had most of them off with T-cut before trying acetone - which melted the plastic body (another clue), so there was lots of work polishing it back up, the black panel lines aren't something I'd normally do but that acetone left the gaps white which looked terrible. Hot Wheels rims and just lots of detailing really, I see all sorts of fast hatchback in the design, Integrale, Renault 5, Golf too. Actually really impressed with the interior and base detail that you now can't see...

Oh and just for fun I knocked that bloody Ammo Wet Effects over again! FFS

Zuru Metal Machines. I picked a couple up from Homo Bargains as its quite believable looking for a cheapo generic.

[Datsuncog]

8 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Answer was, a Zuru Metal Machine

Impressive! I thought it was a Hot Wheels Drift Box at first, but then realised it wasn't... wouldn't have guessed Zuru, but their fantasy vehicles are pretty tidily done. Looks much better with the detailing treatment! 

[bunglebus]

It's definitely along the same lines as the Drift Box, but I actually think this is better, plastic body aside. Certainly a lot more detail in it

[155V6]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Good haul there, Road Blasters Supervan especially. The Darda KITT can also fetch a few quid online.

I've got that gold one but the name escapes me

What does it have on the base?

Bedford base

[eddyramrod]

That layout and typeface suggests Morestone/Budgie to me.  A Bedford CA would be perfectly in-period.

[bunglebus]

[Lord Sterling]

A new to me Elcock Reisen Plaxton coach by Corgi.

Bought after seeing one on some Facebook 'Telford memories' page.

Its kind of special to me as I was partly brought up in Telford, Shropshire and distinctly remember these coaches around and about. I believe that Ma_Sterling and myself caught these coaches on a couple of days out etc...

The Elcock Reisen coach company were established in 1928. When I was growing up in the 1980s and 90s, the coach company where established here in Madeley:

Now a tyre company:

The coach company ceased trading in 2023 after battling with rising costs, failed contracts and apparently a failed takeover.

[Datsuncog]

I also had a look once or twice in the main city centre branch of The Entertainer during the past fortnight. 

More Sky Busters, plus a few other Matchbox oddities:

A full rack of this Candy Series Mix 2 from 2025, which I believe is usually a US only range, and also... 

This little 5-part series with quite nicely illustrated longcards, but otherwise consists of nothing more than standard early 2025 mainline releases. A bit of research indicates this was a Walmart exclusive range from 2025, known as European Series II. 

Going by the sticker in Chinese on the back, these are all surplus old stock being sold on through a distributor other than Mattel. 

They're all nice models, and indeed I already have them - but worth £4 each? I really don't think so. Though the card art for the Volvo is pretty cool. 

I also watched on as two serious-faced young men implored a staff member for any unopened boxes of Hot Wheels - a box was duly produced, which they then rifled through, surgically removing all the Ferraris. 

I dunno guys. 

Time was, if you were that desperate for scraps of change you'd borrow a guitar and annoy pedestrians with the first two bars of 'Wonderwall' on Saturday afternoons outside Boots, rather than whatever this whole side-hustle eBay bollocks is. 

Just can't believe it's worth anyone's while, y'know? Plus badgering staff into letting you hoover up entire stocks like that just seems... unsportsmanlike, somehow. It's like bringing an armalite to a grouse shoot; sure, you'll bag way more birds but that's kind of not the point of the activity. Your gain comes at the expense of your fellow hobbyists. And you won't get invited back. 

Meh. Bad form.

Entertainer also had some of the new Hot Ones profiled further upthread:

(If I see another Toyota Space Cruiser I'll bag it for you @Spottedlaurel!) 

And I also took a toddle over to the Toymaster store in Ards, as I hadn't been there in months and had a sneaking suspicion they might have some new stuff in. 

I was wrong, their Matchbox and Hot Wheels were all as hopelessly stale as the baguette I found wedged down the back of the bread cupboard recently - they've got Collectors Series and Moving Parts, but only the rubbishy ones nobody likes from four years ago. 

They did, however, have five Action Drivers Farm Adventure sets on the shelf:

Not wildly cheap at £25, but enough to make me pause for a minute... 

But nah, it's not quite my thing and I really don't have the space for any more of these sets. In a way I'm relieved that Matchbox seem to have stopped releasing new Action Drivers - the last one seems to have been another airport set last year, and nothing since. 

But the hunt goes on...

More shortly! 

[bunglebus]

I've been a bit more restrained with my online purchases this month for various reasons, but I just could not resist this wonderfully stupid Beetle

[eddyramrod]

29 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

I also watched on as two serious-faced young men implored a staff member for any unopened boxes of Hot Wheels - a box was duly produced, which they then rifled through, surgically removing all the Ferraris. 

...

I dunno guys. 

Time was, if you were that desperate for scraps of change you'd borrow a guitar and annoy pedestrians with the first two bars of 'Wonderwall' on Saturday afternoons outside Boots, rather than whatever this whole side-hustle eBay bollocks is. 

Just can't believe it's worth anyone's while, y'know? Plus badgering staff into letting you hoover up entire stocks like that just seems... unsportsmanlike, somehow. It's like bringing an armalite to a grouse shoot; sure, you'll bag way more birds but that's kind of not the point of the activity. Your gain comes at the expense of your fellow hobbyists. And you won't get invited back. 

Meh. Bad form.

Exactly.  All they're doing is making life harder for the genuine collectors like us.  They're certainly not making any friends, and are the tiny profits really that important?  Really?  I wonder what they would have done if the staff had told them where to go?

Fucking chancers.

[Split_Pin]

I honestly think they do it to make themselves feel better.

I just play the long game for any castings I really want, they crop up eventually at normal prices.

[Datsuncog]

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I've been a bit more restrained with my online purchases this month for various reasons, but I just could not resist this wonderfully stupid Beetle

That looks absolutely demented, well done!

[quicksilver]

On 28/04/2026 at 16:43, bunglebus said:

Did you get me some of them? I've got a terrible memory as to who's got what for me at the moment.

Here's a fun little one I've messed with today, 12.5 shite points if you can ID it! 

Clues are, I bought it this morning and it used to have decals.

Removing those decals was tedious, tried various things and had most of them off with T-cut before trying acetone - which melted the plastic body (another clue), so there was lots of work polishing it back up, the black panel lines aren't something I'd normally do but that acetone left the gaps white which looked terrible. Hot Wheels rims and just lots of detailing really, I see all sorts of fast hatchback in the design, Integrale, Renault 5, Golf too. Actually really impressed with the interior and base detail that you now can't see...

Oh and just for fun I knocked that bloody Ammo Wet Effects over again! FFS

That's cool for a generic and looks like a proper mental Group B rally car. I bet it would look great in a period rally livery, I'm thinking something like Martini stripes or the Computervision 6R4 colours.

[bunglebus]

Bought this

Arrived like this

I'm so angry at people who cannot understand their item is not carried delicately by angels from their house and placed in my hamds

[FakeConcern]

I spotted a decent display cabinet in a junk shop in Hastings today and bought it for £30.

When I got home I found there were some bonus inside it;

Dinky toys badge

A rather cute diorama background, shown here with a Corgi Consul

A price list for a Bluebell railway Vintage Sunday event that looks to have been produced on a typewriter so must be quite old

And the best thing here and possibly quite valuable, some Matchbox Yesteryear Certificates

Anyway I decided I'd put some of my Corgi 1/36 toys on display before I got accused of having a collection of them

I still have these ones left over (I was going to put the Torinos in the cabinet, but that got vetoed as apparently everyone likes them on the dinner table!)

I may change the display for Solidos in the future, but liking it for now

 

[danthecapriman]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

I spotted a decent display cabinet in a junk shop in Hastings today and bought it for £30.

When I got home I found there were some bonus inside it;

Dinky toys badge

A rather cute diorama background, shown here with a Corgi Consul

A price list for a Bluebell railway Vintage Sunday event that looks to have been produced on a typewriter so must be quite old

And the best thing here and possibly quite valuable, some Matchbox Yesteryear Certificates

Anyway I decided I'd put some of my Corgi 1/36 toys on display before I got accused of having a collection of them

I still have these ones left over (I was going to put the Torinos in the cabinet, but that got vetoed as apparently everyone likes them on the dinner table!)

I may change the display for Solidos in the future, but liking it for now

 

Nice score on that cabinet.

I have a sneaky suspicion though that you just might possibly actually be collecting those Corgi’s😄

[sierraman]

I went up in the loft yesterday to organise some of the Superkings I’ve got, I’m at the stage I’m not sure what I’ve got and what I haven’t.

[andy18s]

I'd be happy to offer the Benetton 205 and mk2 Astra a home if the kitchen table is unsuitable....

[WillCarter]

Some more that found their way into my suitcase courtesy of my Step Mother who has been keeping an eye out for me. These ones come from a partwork called Masini de Neuitat, unfortunately not all Eastern Bloc stuff, but definitely happy with this four.

[Split_Pin]

Those are ace! 

[bunglebus]

Popped into a charity shop earlier and happened upon a bag of cars, mostly China and Hong Kong cheapies but there were some amusing ones among them 

These are MC/Maisto

Another of the HW Matchbox copies that seem to be everywhere. Not seen an almost Hertz rentals livery before though

Looks like a Matchbox Merc SEC if you squint. A lot

Dodgy Volvo

190Eish

One of the Kees/Polistil copies, of a Celica

This was what caught my eye, the VW sticker off the Kees/Polistil/no name Golf, on a 5 series BMW

[AndyW201]

Snakes alive! Tescotainer has finally got some Matchbox mainlines in, after several months. I think they're fairly recent ones too.

Excuse the photos, I'm currently in the truck in sunny Inverness-shire and the sun has been doing it's best to knacker any photo opportunities...

The RX-7 is a belter, nicer than the Hot Wheels version IMO,

The Baja Beetle in Autoshite tribute colours,

Chevy pick-up looking like a background vehicle from Weekend at Bernies or somesuch,

The newish Mustang fastback casting gets a new colour,

Tampos only for the side on this one though. But those Halibrand-type wheels look ace on there.

Yet another colourway for the Merc Pagoda. But I dont mind, I'll hoover up as many of these as they can make!

The tan interior looks lovely with the blue paintwork.

Tampo detailing front and rear too.

I was pleased too to find the green version of the Cobra. This particular version reminds me a lot of my mate's old Pilgrim Sumo Fauxbra  which acted as my transport on my wedding day.

(Yes, pouring all 6 foot 6 and 18 stones of me in and out of something with so small a cockpit wasnt the most graceful sight while wearing the customary penguin suit... But it was a lovely car, really well built for a kit.  And it has to beat a Dulux white Silver Shadow... 🤣)

[bunglebus]

48 minutes ago, AndyW201 said:

I've seen a few pics of that online, yet despite opening multiple sealed cases, I've never seen it! Looks good

[Datsuncog]

Regulars to the thread will doubtless remember that I've something of a love/hate relationship with the model shop in Smithfield. 

The last few weeks, I've spent many a frustrating lunch hour trekking across town to find some variant of this note stuck to the door:

Closed for lunch, closed early, sometimes just plain closed. Most vexing. 

Yet, sometimes persistence in the face of abject pays off. 

Yup, a Dino 208 GT - finally. 

What I will say is that, despite all the annoyance accrued while trying to be a customer of this place, there isn't a lot of price gouging going on and desirable releases like this are still priced the same as any other mainlines at £2.

While I'm not a huge Ferrari buff, this one really is very lovely. I've been on the lookout for one of these for a good month or two now, and it's delightful to finally have one. 

That's not all I bought, though... 

I loved the Matchbox Opel Kadett coupe in orange, and this green Walmart version should go well with it - I know this was also released as a standard mainline, but I don't think I ever saw one on the pegs. 

The little Efsi Citroen C25 panel van is one I must have overlooked when I bought all those other Efsi vans last month. 

Sliding door is very well engineered. It's a nice weighty toy with a metal base, though after a bit of thought I realised I don't really want to start another collection - so they're all now off to pastures new. 

The two loose Matchbox date from around 2009, a dark time in which I slightly lost touch with my diecast roots. 

This little Mazda 2 is really well done, capturing a rather ordinary hatchback in a way that makes it seem special 

Proportions and glazing look pretty much bob-on; it is quite large, though. 

The 2008 Dodge Challenger was another I couldn't pass up:

Like the Mazda, it's also been modelled by the much-missed Ryu Asada, and just captures the lines of the real thing so well. 

Decent detailing to the lights front and rear really set this one off. 

More soon!