Shite in Miniature II

[Datsuncog]

Last week's market didn't have a whole heap to it, though there was some new stuff. 

Colin had some more Matchbox Collectors Series... 

... And also these US releases in retro-style packaging, at a price premium to the usual mainlines:

He also had some appealing 1/43 US partwork shite:

This Buick Riviera wasn't bad for £9, nor was the 1970 Chevrolet El Camino that I thought I'd photographed but apparently not. 

These Sun Star 1/18 Escorts were a hefty price though - £110!

Damn, this phone really isn't great indoors. 

Paddy's stall had more knackered mismatched old toss at mega money:

While Alan's tray of wonders hadn't very much to tempt. 

Although the Superfast MB 500 SEL taxi looked almost presentable. 

Mmm... 

Nah, just a bit too shabby, even for 50p. 

I think I may already own a slightly better one, anyway. 

[Datsuncog]

But even if the market pickings were slim, good job I can have tat arriving at my very own door. 

Yup, Corgi Model Club to the rescue, with their April 2026 release - the #416 RAC Radio Rescue Land Rover. 

With tow hook! 

And aerial! 

The tinplate rear tilt is removable too. 

Annoyingly the box for this one arrived creased - looks like it happened at the manufacturing stage rather than in transit. 

It's a nice enough little thing overall, though I think this is the third time this early Land Rover casting's been issued now. 

It's nice and all, but I don't think I'm feeling the magic here anymore. Not for nearly £30, anyway. 

I'm probably more interested in their much-mentioned but not yet seen Whizzwheels collection, and in the event of it appearing I'm likely to switch over - I'll be skipping the majority of current planned CMC releases through to the end of the year, consisting as they do of different colour releases of previous castings. 

Nothing wrong with that, but I'm not really a fan of all these 'exclusive member editions - not available in the Corgi shop!'. I do think something's changed since Hornby took over, and not necessarily for the best. 

Ah well, it's been a good run - and with sixty-odd releases, they've done better than most efforts to sell collectable diecast partworks in the UK. 

[Datsuncog]

And finally, a swing past Smyths last weekend yielded an unexpected restock:

Yow. Decent premiums ahoy. 

Didn't have the funds to snap up everything, so... 

I'd seen the GR Yaris in the same store a few weeks ago, but opted to take the Subaru Impreza wagon at that point, assuming that a little white Yaris would surely be a peg warmer... 

More fool me, as when I went back a few days later they'd all been stripped out, leaving the Mustang and the Talladega from that Boulevard series as the unwanted castings. 

So that one came home with me, and also... 

No, seems I'm not immune from the Ferrari hype. 

This Testarossa is very nicely done, mind you. 

A visit to Home Bargains brought a box that piqued my interest... 

Ah, that Mattel 80th Dream Mobile that I've seen all over the internet. 

A whole solid box of just the one casting. 

Not bad value at only 99p, so HB must have bought them for next to nothing. 

Interesting, but not my thing.

I did, however, find a couple of older Hot Wheels in Lidl at an agreeable price, so - this is pretty much what the Week In Tat looked like for me:

And now I'm all caught up, finally! 

[FakeConcern]

Hi @Datsuncog if you happen to see the £9 not pictured El Camino again and it's like the one (as in the correct generation) driven by Bruce Willis in the Gorillaz Stylo video

Please could you pick it up for me?

Thanks

[matt79]

As a boy growing up in the 1980’s, I was obsessed with TV shows such as the Dukes of Hazard, A-Team & Knight Rider etc and spent many hours playing with my toy cars from these shows. Those toys are all long gone, lost in the mists of time (or, more accurately they were probably given away to charity or scout hall jumble sales, once I found the pursuit of adolescent ‘interests’ more appealing than playing with toy cars)  

It’s my birthday in a few weeks and I’m more aware than ever of my own mortality (with my parents now ageing fast and having a young daughter who is rapidly growing up), so I decided to treat myself (and my inner 6 year old) to this –  

Alas, not a 1981 release like my boyhood original, but a later mid 2000’s model I believe released to coincide with the Dukes of Hazard movie – the one staring Jessica Simpson, Johnny Knoxville & the dude who played Stiffler in American Pie. 

The model is showing a pleasing amount of play worn patina which I’ll leave as is, it does have a busted bumper (which may repair with filler / milliput or square off the broken section & insert a piece of plasticard & shape to match the existing bumper) I plan to black wash the grille & wheels, paint the rear panel satin black, and replace the missing the rear light lenses with sections of thin red tinted acrylic trimmed to fit the holes (I was going to use a donor rear panel from a Fat & Curious Charger I have but annoyingly, despite being the same scale the panel’s slightly different in size & profile)  

My inner 6 year old is happy, my outer 47 year old is happy (but would possibly be even happier should Jessica Simpson or 1980's Catherine Bach show up). 

I’ve now started looking at listings for similar A Team vans & KITT models….  

…which reminded me – the A Team van I had as a child (pretty sure it was an ERTL model), had a sticker to represent the red band / ‘flash’ that ran round the sides of the van, which incorporated the wording ‘The A Team’ (or something similar) which was located on the rear ¾ side panel, up by the rear spoiler. This somewhat irked me as a child, the van in the TV show didn’t have this ‘A-Team’ wording on the sides, therefore (to me) the toy wasn’t a proper representation of the ‘real’ van. 

My partner often says of me that I’m ‘undiagnosed, but something aint right’.  

I'm beginning to think she may have a point…. 

[Lord Sterling]

5 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

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. 

If the van is up for sale, I'm interested. I have one in all-white and if remember correctly, I think it has a plastic base, but I'm not sure.

[Datsuncog]

2 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

Hi @Datsuncog if you happen to see the £9 not pictured El Camino again and it's like the one (as in the correct generation) driven by Bruce Willis in the Gorillaz Stylo video

Please could you pick it up for me?

Thanks

This looks close enough? 

Turns out it's £11, not £9 as I'd mistakenly thought (price sticker is nearly invisible). 

If you're still interested, I'll swing back at lunchtime! 

[Datsuncog]

57 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

If the van is up for sale, I'm interested. I have one in all-white and if remember correctly, I think it has a plastic base, but I'm not sure.

Sorry, it was already sold and away by the time I posted up here - I've been somewhat slack at updating the World of Tat lately. 

That said, a few of these have popped up in the Smithfield model shop so I'll keep an eye out for any more. 

It's a hefty little thing, metal shell and base too! 

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, matt79 said:

the A Team van I had as a child (pretty sure it was an ERTL model), had a sticker to represent the red band / ‘flash’ that ran round the sides of the van, which incorporated the wording ‘The A Team’ (or something similar) which was located on the rear ¾ side panel, up by the rear spoiler. This somewhat irked me as a child, the van in the TV show didn’t have this ‘A-Team’ wording on the sides, therefore (to me) the toy wasn’t a proper representation of the ‘real’ van. 

That's the kind of thing that used to bug the life out of me too. I had the white Chevrolet Corvette (driven by Templeton 'Face' Peck in the series) and I scratched off the A-Team logo on the bonnet because it annoyed me so much. These guys were soldiers of fortune surviving as fugitives in the Los Angeles underground! They were trying to evade Decker while helping attractive widows who were being run off their land by heartless oil barons! They absolutely wouldn't be going around advertising themselves in big red letters! 

I understand now what the toy manufacturers' thinking was, but at the time it absolutely maddened me - seems I valued realism above all else. 

Yes, also undiagnosed here too but increasingly aware how not-normal I was as a child... 

[Datsuncog]

Calling into St Georges Market on a Friday morning is really more to do with the coffee and a chat with some of the stallholders these days; any diecast photos are more for tradition's sake than because there's anything worthwhile. 

Until this morning. 

I was most surprised to find two Tat Boxes adjacent to the Charity Stall, with some quality stuff within. 

Crumbs, it's just like the old times... 

[Datsuncog]

Plenty of old Lesney from the 60s and 70s, a smattering of fairly knackered Corgi and Dinky, plus some fairly clean far-eastern cheapo tat too. 

Lots of MoYs, Corgi Cameos and Days Gone Seniles in there too (plus a couple of destroyed white metal renderings of 1920s vans too - such as that blue 'Yeso' thing up at the top of the pic). 

Bedford OB tractor and trailer had no manufacturer on them that I could see. 

Summer (?) Celica Turbo is an oddity I haven't encountered before. Blackwall HW Good Humor Truck seems an early one, albeit with wonky axles. 

More Summer bits and bobs - BMW CSL, Toyota Crown, Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, and Merc 500SEC (possibly ripped off from the Matchbox version). 

Two versions of the Matchbox Ford Pickup - Lesney era Baja Bouncer, and Universal era My First Matchbox. 

Lucky Toys Mercedes W114 was the standout here, though. Bit mucky but largely undamaged, though the friction motor and back axle has been dislodged. 

[Datsuncog]

The second box had some unusual stuff too:

Some okay-ish MB Super GTs, some Lesney King Size commercials that weren't too wrecked, Corgi, Majorettes, larger plastic stuff and more weird no-names. 

Siku BMW 6 Series was annoyingly incomplete, as was the Matchbox Supra. 

Late issue Rolamatics Range Rover suffering from le shonk too. 

Weird aquamarine Datsun Z, oddly wheelgapped Corvette, rare black Corgi Juniors Range Rover cabrio (which I failed to clock) and a very heavy no-name red pickup with a metal base also worthy of interest. 

[Datsuncog]

Not so very much elsewhere, though:

Paddy had some rubbishy Ferraris for probably megabucks - Maisto? 

Colin had nothing new either - all the same Matchbox from last week (still has a blue longcard Jag XJ6C if anyone's keen). 

I did take a pic of the El Camino, though. 

Alan hadn't much new on the 50p tray, sadly:

The Superfast Merc taxi from last week had sold. 

He did have this Bburago Toyota RAV4 for £1.50, however. 

So I made a few purchases and grabbed a coffee, then trudged on in to work. 

Arriving with these:

Mercedes is by Lucky Toys of Hong Kong:

It's not really my thing but I suspected someone here would want it - and has duly been claimed. 

The Dinky Citroen Dyane is one I've had my eye out for since forever - it's a bit playworn, but complete. I'll be keeping it, for a while, anyway. 

The Corgi Juniors US Van with Wimpy decals just looked way too clean to deserve getting stirred around with the other stuff, so I nabbed it. Available, if anyone's keen. 

There were no prices on the boxes, and Larry who runs the stall can vary with his pricing - but he only charged me £3 for my mini-haul, which is a bit of a result.

I've been roped into going out with colleagues at lunchtime today but I'm going to try to steer them towards St G's in an effort to secure a few more of the items above... 

More later, with any luck. 

[RoadworkUK]

I was recently afflicted by a birthday, and the bonus of incrementally ticking deeper towards inevitable decline is that you get to make rash decisions, and nobody can overrule them.

So I got a tattoo.

More controversially, though, I bought some toy cars.

I'm astounded that it's taken me so long, actually. These Monogram Mini Exacts have been playing on my mind since I was about 10.

On a family holiday in Cornwall, we ventured into a newsagent / chemist / tourist tat shop in Polperro, where I acquired two Monogram Mini Exacts. One was the Ford Thunderbird (as top left), the other a yellow Chevrolet Camaro. I'm pretty sure the latter is somewhere in my big tub 'o cars in the attic, but I'm not confident that the Thunderbird is still with me.

Nevertheless, aside from the cars themselves, what stuck with me was the packaging. That peculiar triangular prism box format, with the car showcased in a mirror-finished nest. SO MUCH showroom appeal for junior me. 

And the with 'Exact' in the name, and the scale writ large on the box, they seemed proper, somehow. For Grown Ups. Graduating from Matchbox fun to something more studious. I was an appalling nerd even at 10, so there you go.

Aaanyway, 35 years later I have the liberty to hold such things in my claw once again.

I think they're lovely little things. The fact that they're moulded from plastic means they're incredibly crisp, with all the shut-lines and details picked out with, well, exactness. The proportions seem just right, too. And while all three of these models have the same wheels, they're a pleasingly American Racing AR61 drag wheel adjacent, so I like them. 

I'm not entirely sure that the two in triangular boxes have ever been opened; both are secured closed with the same thin tape, which has several decades worth of yellowing to it. If so, I wonder if the Pontiac Grand Prix on the right of the top pic was sold as flood-damaged stock; the box has all the hallmarks of such trauma, but the actual car within seems fine through its yellowed greenhouse.

The Buick Grand National, though, is an oddity, in its relatively conventional rectangular box – the type that could be stacked into a dispenser of sorts far more densely. And that makes me salivate at the prospect of a Mini Exacts dispenser.

The Grand National definitely has been opened, but it's still secured to the mirrored surround with the proprietary clip that doesn't look to have been fiddled with. And it's very hard indeed to get anything approaching a decent photo of, it being finished in None More Black, contrasting with all that mirroryness. It's gorgeous, though. You'll just have to take my word for it.

These three came from two separate sellers; I bought the cheapest examples on eBay, so as to feel that it was at least a partly rational purchase. I definitely haven't added "Mini Exacts – max price £8" to my eBay notifications. Oh no.

 

[Datsuncog]

Well, I did manage to tug my colleagues in the direction of St George's over lunchtime, but sadly Larry and his twin boxes of tat had left the building by the time we rocked up around 1.30.

(Not actual colleagues depicted) 

At least the rest of the team were spared the frankly worrisome sight of me rifling through boxes of children's toys like a demented prairie dog, and as such my reputation as being merely 'a bit odd' remains intact for now. 

While they were queuing for hilariously overpriced burgers, I slipped off to Colin's stall and nabbed this:

Which, now I look at it closely, doesn't look quite the same as the one @FakeConcern was seeking. 

This is a 1970 model, the one from the Gorillaz vid looks more like a '68? 

Ah well, I nearly bought it for myself last week, so I'm happy to keep it if it's not the one you're after. 

Looks like that's a wrap on this week's diecast shenanigans - happy Friday, kids. 

[matt79]

44 minutes ago, RoadworkUK said:

I was recently afflicted by a birthday, and the bonus of incrementally ticking deeper towards inevitable decline is that you get to make rash decisions, and nobody can overrule them.

So I got a tattoo.

More controversially, though, I bought some toy cars.

I'm astounded that it's taken me so long, actually. These Monogram Mini Exacts have been playing on my mind since I was about 10.

On a family holiday in Cornwall, we ventured into a newsagent / chemist / tourist tat shop in Polperro, where I acquired two Monogram Mini Exacts. One was the Ford Thunderbird (as top left), the other a yellow Chevrolet Camaro. I'm pretty sure the latter is somewhere in my big tub 'o cars in the attic, but I'm not confident that the Thunderbird is still with me.

Nevertheless, aside from the cars themselves, what stuck with me was the packaging. That peculiar triangular prism box format, with the car showcased in a mirror-finished nest. SO MUCH showroom appeal for junior me. 

And the with 'Exact' in the name, and the scale writ large on the box, they seemed proper, somehow. For Grown Ups. Graduating from Matchbox fun to something more studious. I was an appalling nerd even at 10, so there you go.

Aaanyway, 35 years later I have the liberty to hold such things in my claw once again.

I think they're lovely little things. The fact that they're moulded from plastic means they're incredibly crisp, with all the shut-lines and details picked out with, well, exactness. The proportions seem just right, too. And while all three of these models have the same wheels, they're a pleasingly American Racing AR61 drag wheel adjacent, so I like them. 

I'm not entirely sure that the two in triangular boxes have ever been opened; both are secured closed with the same thin tape, which has several decades worth of yellowing to it. If so, I wonder if the Pontiac Grand Prix on the right of the top pic was sold as flood-damaged stock; the box has all the hallmarks of such trauma, but the actual car within seems fine through its yellowed greenhouse.

The Buick Grand National, though, is an oddity, in its relatively conventional rectangular box – the type that could be stacked into a dispenser of sorts far more densely. And that makes me salivate at the prospect of a Mini Exacts dispenser.

The Grand National definitely has been opened, but it's still secured to the mirrored surround with the proprietary clip that doesn't look to have been fiddled with. And it's very hard indeed to get anything approaching a decent photo of, it being finished in None More Black, contrasting with all that mirroryness. It's gorgeous, though. You'll just have to take my word for it.

These three came from two separate sellers; I bought the cheapest examples on eBay, so as to feel that it was at least a partly rational purchase. I definitely haven't added "Mini Exacts – max price £8" to my eBay notifications. Oh no.

 

Useless Friday information - I had 2 of those Monogram Exacts models, a Boss 302 Mustang in off white, and a silver Mercedes 300sl Gullwing, bought many years ago from the '50p' market stall in Basildon. 

[flat4alfa]

Quote

@155V6 are you keeping this Mego Speed Burner?

[flat4alfa]

On 28/04/2026 at 16:48, Datsuncog said:

I did indeed - two of each, for £agreeably smol price. 

(Can't remember how much exactly without pulling up The Spreadsheet , but don't think they were more than £3 a go)

Any of these are going spare?

[flat4alfa]

4 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Crumbs, it's just like the old times... 

Quote

Yay!

[RoadworkUK]

35 minutes ago, matt79 said:

.... from the '50p' market stall in Basildon. 

Possibly the last positive thing to have happened there.

[Datsuncog]

16 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Any of these are going spare?

Sorry, already posted on and those were the final couple on clearance in my nearest branch of Tesco - you might have some luck locally though?

[Lord Sterling]

So I've finally got the full set of Matchbox XJ40s:

Now, I hadn't realised the differences between the two 1/64s. The red one is 1986 XJ6 with two front opening doors and a metal base. The light blue one is a 1991 XJ6 with no opening parts and a plastic base. As a result, the red one is quite weighty compared to the blue one. I'd always thought they were simply different colours.

You might notice, the blue one appears to have a small rectangular bit on the roof which presumably was meant to be a sunroof but seemingly they decided against it at the last minute.

What is also interesting (in my miniature tat world) is that the red one had little in the way of detail. This is how it originally was when I bought it:

Still a good looker but misses the silver bumper tops and silver side pillars as per the real car.

The blue car already had silver bumper tops but missed everything else which I added. 

I am aware that there is a SuperKings XJ40 'world car' in BRG with nice but wide wheels. I'm sure I'll come across one of those one day.

[bunglebus]

Alrighty, some tat updates today. Had to go into Sarfend, so called into Raleigh Smyths on the way home. Front and centre on the 5 packs display was the new Ferrari set, purchased probably as much as a F-U to the scalpers as anything else, as the cars themselves appear to be the standard mainline releases

There were also some new mainlines in the pegs, unfortunately mostly snaffled by the guy who got there just before me

This is interesting, Carlos Fandango PT Cruiser

I'm betting there's a Easter egg hiding in that one. Talking of which, I'm surprised Mattel haven't done the Minis in Italian Job colours to match the gold bars hidden in the boot 

An actual purple Purple Passion 

They also had three boxes of Hot Ones, so I got the rest of the set for my friend, as there aren't two full ones per case

Found the gold Mustang in Tesco, plus about a bazillion green Cobras

Needs the black part chroming

A complex deal was made between @Datsuncog and I, where I sent him money and he sent me things. First of all, this Matchbox Mercedes from ages ago

And not to p*ss on anyone's chips, but I also got the lovely Efsi vans he'd been squirrelling away

Plus a Glow Racer

Glow test!

A misdescribed Vinted listing saw me score this lovely, very fragile feeling plastic Norev Renault 17

I've also been working on a couple of the bigger Graffic Traffics. Here they are naked

Porsche casting is kinda interesting, rear spoiler is a separate cast part, yet it's clearly painted once attached to the body

Kremer Porsche is all one piece

On this one I seem to have experienced some sort of die cast miracle. Can you believe this

Now looks like this

Yes folks, I seem to have found a method for getting 98.6% of the marker pen off the plastic, involving a dip in oven cleaner gel followed by a few days in 12% hydrogen peroxide solution in a bag, left in the current glorious sunshine. I am really happy with this result and will be doing it on other GTs!

 

[155V6]

1 hour ago, flat4alfa said:

@155V6 are you keeping this Mego Speed Burner?

Not necessarily 😉

[FakeConcern]

4 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Well, I did manage to tug my colleagues in the direction of St George's over lunchtime, but sadly Larry and his twin boxes of tat had left the building by the time we rocked up around 1.30.

(Not actual colleagues depicted) 

At least the rest of the team were spared the frankly worrisome sight of me rifling through boxes of children's toys like a demented prairie dog, and as such my reputation as being merely 'a bit odd' remains intact for now. 

While they were queuing for hilariously overpriced burgers, I slipped off to Colin's stall and nabbed this:

Which, now I look at it closely, doesn't look quite the same as the one @FakeConcern was seeking. 

This is a 1970 model, the one from the Gorillaz vid looks more like a '68? 

Ah well, I nearly bought it for myself last week, so I'm happy to keep it if it's not the one you're after. 

Looks like that's a wrap on this week's diecast shenanigans - happy Friday, kids. 

That El Camino looks very nice even if it isn't the exact one Bruce is driving so I'd like it when you've finished with it please.

On 30/04/2026 at 11:57, andy18s said:

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

You're welcome to the Astra, but I'm undecided on the Pug 205, I do have a yellow one and a white one already, but the green is nice. It isn't in great condition although it looked much better for a clean. I'll let you know if I decide not to keep it.

[bunglebus]

Not too much of excitement this morning, didn't come away empty handed though

[bunglebus]

Some boot sale buys. Hadn't seen this particular Majorette before

I'm sure you're as excited as I was to find out what was inside

That's gone back inside as part of it's history.

One of the not-a-Matchbox Model As

And an overwheeled TR7

Hot Wheels blackwall

And what I thought was another at first

But this is too detailed for an old Hot Wheels 

Tis a Road Champs

Unlikely colour Mokes version of Tuff Tots

And a slightly more subdued original 

Maisto Granny

Corgi Regal - will it be a new variation?

Matchbox Wrecker - also found yet another metal base one, in a bit of a state though

Cattle Truck

Couldn't leave a Mercury behind

This was a couple of quid, not brilliant but thought someone might want it

Cossie was thrown in FOC. Looks better than it actually is so might be a donor

Another freebie, and a weirdo to boot

One boxed buy was this Corgi, obviously aimed at the "collector", but I had the cream colour one as a youngster, I was fascinated with details such as the bonnet strap

[bunglebus]

Vinted buys now, I have been reigning it in, honestly!

Couldn't resist this really nice Dinky MK1, F reg indicating it was a '67-68 release

Mmm, tilty seats 

Another boxed Corgi too, I rather like these ambulances and thought the Barts Hospital livery was unusual?

Lastly some carded Matchbox from the seller who seems to have all the goodies, at a price - thankfully he's receptive to bundle offers - the Mrs has bought me some too but apparently I won't see them until the end of December...

This one is much excite, quite hard to find the Mustang in this colour. A lot of these seem to be American market models

Never seen the 4x4 Chevy van in this colour

[RoadworkUK]

Mountain Man was probably my most played-with ever Matchbox as a kid. Particularly on the dusty mud furrows that were part of The Mound in my primary school's playing field.

[Lord Sterling]

Newly received 1/18 Mk2 Jag courtesy of @garbaldy (cheers!)

Mustard mitt, since getting this new Jag mojo, at first, I never really looked at Mk2 Jags, but slowly, they've been making themselves look better in my eyes. 

I sometimes floated the idea of buying a 1/18 Mk2 Jag as at some point, they were exchanging hands for £15 / £20 on second-hand market places. I suppose that I was more of a modern classic guy rather than a classic 50s lines with wire wheels. But as I get older, I do appreciate them more.

When @garbaldy offered his up, although financially tight, I decided to chuck my hat in the ring and today, my first 1/18 Mk2 Jag is now in my possession. 

The details on it really shine as a model. I know that Maisto produced some pretty questionable stuff but they also did some greatly amazing cars too. This is definitely one of them.

The only thing that makes me slightly cringe is the rear numberplate. But as it'll mostly be living in its box, I won't be changing it.