Shite in Miniature II

[tooSavvy]

@flat4alfa

FC-150 ^ ^ ^ Glad I'm *not a Collector 😮

Exhaustive, nonetheless 👍

🚙💨

[flat4alfa]

Bargain

[flat4alfa]

DYK?  The actual car stands just 84cm tall. It is so low that Nuccio Bertone famously drove it straight under the security barrier at the Lancia factory

[flat4alfa]

11 hours ago, tooSavvy said:

@flat4alfa

FC-150 ^ ^ ^ Glad I'm *not a Collector 😮

Exhaustive, nonetheless 👍

🚙💨

Well you don’t need to be a collector if you just want to get hold of the Matchbox and Hot Wheels releases and be done with it 

The Matchbox one is intended to be utilitarian but the 2023 70th re-colour does smarten it up I think.  Official model name is '61 Jeep FC-170 - which is wrong, as the 170 was the long-wheelbase variation, which the model clearly isn't.

Whereas the Hot Wheels is intended to be an off-roader sport truck thing with a mad Dodge Heliphant engine fitted amidships.  Just look at the differences - to think they are produced from the very same parent company but share nothing. It was intended to be named Jeep FC Custom - but in the end they didn't. '57 Jeep FC is the assigned model name.

[tooSavvy]

34 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Well you don’t need to be a collector if you just want to get hold of the Matchbox and Hot Wheels releases and be done with it 

The Matchbox one is intended to be utilitarian but the 2023 70th re-colour does smarten it up I think.  Official model name is '61 Jeep FC-170 - which is wrong, as the 170 was the long-wheelbase variation, which the model clearly isn't.

Whereas the Hot Wheels is intended to be an off-roader sport truck thing with a mad Dodge Heliphant engine fitted amidships.  Just look at the differences - to think they are produced from the very same parent company but share nothing. It was intended to be named Jeep FC Custom - but in the end they didn't. '57 Jeep FC is the assigned model name.

Oh no…. I can see there being angry arguments in the future by obsessive men living in attics in Connecticut.  That is of course IF the 5th state survives the current regime without being destroyed.

B##tdd!! 🤣

ABSOLUTELY THE BLOODY LAST!!

🚙💨

[bunglebus]

Very small, but not especially cheap haul from the boot sale this morning 

[bunglebus]

Majorette Escort is now naked

I especially like the door card detail, like Lesney of old

Unfortunately one of the Revolution wheels broke as I was removing the tyres, and a tyre split too. Not had any problem with Creative 164 before but I've had these "in stock" for some time 

[tooSavvy]

3 hours ago, tooSavvy said:

B##tdd!! 🤣

ABSOLUTELY THE BLOODY LAST!!

🚙💨

..... Never say Never 😶‍🌫️

🚙💨

[danthecapriman]

Finally got the paint onto that Spot-On Commer Walk-Thru van! This was one my earliest attempts at doing these code 3 jobbies so back when I took it to bits and primed it I didn’t bother with etch primer on it first. So the other day when I put the first coats of paint and masking on it the masking tape pulled the paint and old primer off back to bare metal! So I had to strip it to bare metal and start again. 
Etch primer, then white normal primer, then colour(s). Seems to work well for me that way. 
I’m doing this one as a photo of a real one I saw a while back as a BRS Southern engineering mechanics van. Rear doors were missing from the model when I got it but I’ve made a replacement roller style door for it instead. Just need the paint to harden off and I’ll get some custom transfers made for the branding.

This one’s nearing completion now. 
Another of my heavily bastardised Bedford TK’s. This one is a lighter weight version with refrigerator body. Livery is totally fictional and has custom made transfers along with some generic white lettering transfers. 
Box body, chassis & wheels are Altaya/IXO modified to suit, cab is a modified Dinky TK. Cast headlights have been drilled out and jewels to replace them. Rear section of the wheel arches is total fiction on the Dinky as it comes so I’ve cut it off and made up my own to closer resemble the real ones. 
Just need to paint the rear part of the cabs wheel arches and add door mirrors yet. 
I’ve said it before, but Dinky did a brilliant job of that TK.

 
A bit of playing around with parts between other things and I’ve made myself another new project!   
Austin FF artic! Cab is one of the Altaya/IXO Spanish part work ones, chassis was originally from an IXO Ford C series and trailer chassis was from a Deagostini/IXO Berliet set. All loose and still loads to do but you get the idea.

[andrew e]

Fantastic stuff Dan! Did Southern Electric have any 400’s on the fleet? I’m happy to wing this your way if they did 👍 Paint is not as bad in the flesh 😬😂

[andrew e]

Meanwhile I scooped some crackers in the tat bins at the big toyfair - why some of these didn't get promoted to the top tables is a mystery! Oh and they were all a pound 🎉

The transit I think is a Carrama one - but it has a MOJO livery for the Transit 40th. They will still sell you 300! Any info on it and I’d be very intrigued. Its also realistically accidentally filthy on the roof and bonnet like its been abandoned 😆 

https://www.mojopromotions.co.uk/diecast_transit_van

 

[Lord Sterling]

On 20/09/2026 at 02:58, Lord Sterling said:

Some more small detail added to the 205 Max Power style. Red bumper strips made out of red duct-tape I picked up at work:

It looks Ok for now. I just need the missing wheel cap.

[RoadworkUK]

2 hours ago, andrew e said:

The transit I think is a Carrama one - but it has a MOJO livery for the Transit 40th. They will still sell you 300! Any info on it and I’d be very intrigued. Its also realistically accidentally filthy on the roof and bonnet like its been abandoned

 

Transit is amazing!

Looks like I'm back to eBay again...

EDIT: Speaking of Transits, it's taking HUGE resolve not to buy this:

 

[bunglebus]

Here's this week's tat update, I'm away most nights in the week on a job so I'm having to open and inspect everything over the weekend, along with mooching around the boot sales of course.

First of all, a not so happy tale. @matt79 spotted this Matchbox Willys on Vinted, with what appeared to be Hot Wheels rolling stock and no parachute on the back, despite appearing unmolested underneath. I duly ordered it from Syracuse New York

This is what arrived

AI strikes again - seller used some sort of image clean up tool, and it made some changes it seems. Still, it's a relatively unusual version over here

So is this White Lightening (sic) from nearby Penfield NY, and an engine won't be hard to find

Tidy twin pack Field Car wash from good old England

This little oddity was from the boot sale today

Tidy Saab was spotted in a job lot

While this unusual colour Pug was in the same tub as that overpainted Nomura Toy 

Mira Mercedes was another job lot spot

Poo brown Hot Wheels used to be blue

Corgi Land Rover - but why is the bed a different colour?

Victoria Kubel I just found interesting - sadly lost one of the hinge mounted spotlights en route

This Dinky 356 wasn't especially cheap at the boot sale, but it is in good condition. It looked the proper colour outdoors but the LED lighting pretty much confirms my suspicions that this is a repaint

I also picked up this boxed Dinky 978 Refuse Wagon, really just because it was there. No idea what they actually sell for

Third from the same seller was this Corgi Transit milk float

Nothing to see here

I've gone down a slight rabbit hole with flippin' Avon aftershave bottles. I didn't even realise Avon was a thing in the USA, it just seemed such a quaintly English thing to have a Avon lady popping round to sell you some foundation, but it seems there are far more of these bottles in the states than we ever got here. I don't really want to start collecting them but I do like the VW and Porsche ones - and to get one of those, I had to buy a job lot...

Vantastic is first up

Thunderbird is quite cool

But it was the Golf Rabbit I wanted 

I have a black Beetle bottle. I had no idea other colours existed

Biggest item is this Matchbox Sentron Porsche 928. Unlikely to work, but I just had to get my mitts on one

Lastly, Hot Wheels in bags. Getty branded Custom Volkswagen 

Plus a bunch of McDonald's freebies. Some are very odd castings

 

This orange "Roadster" hot rod was the one I wanted, black with flames turns up regularly 

[Split_Pin]

I get jealous of all the good bootsales and Toy Fairs you lot south of the border have. Up here in Scotland its just arseholes trying to offload their unwanted crap at high prices a few times a year. People seem to buy it too! The few bootsales still on are just no-go areas now.

Today's stuff:

Anyway, after all the chat about Mercury Sables, I had to have another. Jiffy packaging means the roof is slightly squinty but I can give it a tickle with my rubber hammer. We've said it before but this one is a fun toy with the opening boot great for a game of Packing up for Holidays.

I also wanted another AC Delco Astra after the one I had as a kid seemed to disappear, probably sold in the big purge of 12-13 years ago. Such a great casting this, I love the B reg plate!

I also spotted the Bini on a HW Facebook page of recent releases so was glad to find this one in Tesco. It's a great rendition and I presume its the 'Now' to the 'Then' classic Mini Cooper I picked up in very similar colours a few months ago. Pretty cool!

 

[AndyW201]

Bit of a nerdy purchase this one. Bear with me...

I've already had the Minichamps W202 for a while, in pre facelift form, from both ends of the range. Imperial red in C180 almost-base Esprit trim, and a lairy yellow AMG  C36. But the three real W202s I've owned have all been post-facelifts (the main differences visually being the deeper front and rear bumpers, and plastic side skirts), and have been hunting for a miniature version for a while. Sadly the post-facelifts are a lot harder to find and the newer Maxichamps releases are expensive. So I was happy to find this one on an ebay auction hovering around the tenner mark, and I ended up getting it for not much more than that.

Sadly the outer card box is missing, but the star logo on the clear case shows that this is a dealer model. Cool.

So, the extra brightwork denotes this to be in Elegance trim, which two-thirds of my own cars have been. A C-Class Elegance being basically Mercedes' version of a Sierra Ghia...

Usual Minichamps detailing, including an actual metal (and extremely delicate) bonnet star.

Being an Elegance means plenty of old school walnut trim inside, which should be faithfully reproduced, being a Minichamps model,

What the blinking flip?

Blue wood! That, along with the unusual bluey-grey body colour means this is a model of a Designo version. Designo being Merc's equivalent of BMW's Individual or Rover's Monogram programme of special order interior trim and exterior paint finishes.

I do like Minichamps models, when I can afford them, but one thing about them, compared to Vanguards models, is that they look a bit bare when they have no number plates fitted. Some of their earlier Mercs have Stuttgart ones fitted, but as can be seen, this one has none. As a blue Elegance, it's as close as I can get to one of my real cars in model form.

.

My old £500 Winter beater from 2019. Yes, it's a way darker blue, but like I said, it's the nearest I can get! So, some plates were made,

And I went a bit plate-happy with the other W202s,

There was an Imperial red C220D in use as a private hire taxi in our town back in the '90s, so this wears the reg number from that,

The C36 gets an appropriate plate, that was attached to an actual C36 until a few years ago,

[sheffcortinacentre]

2 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I get jealous of all the good bootsales and Toy Fairs you lot south of the border have. Up here in Scotland its just arseholes trying to offload their unwanted crap at high prices a few times a year. People seem to buy it too! The few bootsales still on are just no-go areas now.

Today's stuff:

Anyway, after all the chat about Mercury Sables, I had to have another. Jiffy packaging means the roof is slightly squinty but I can give it a tickle with my rubber hammer. We've said it before but this one is a fun toy with the opening boot great for a game of Packing up for Holidays.

I also wanted another AC Delco Astra after the one I had as a kid seemed to disappear, probably sold in the big purge of 12-13 years ago. Such a great casting this, I love the B reg plate!

I also spotted the Bini on a HW Facebook page of recent releases so was glad to find this one in Tesco. It's a great rendition and I presume its the 'Now' to the 'Then' classic Mini Cooper I picked up in very similar colours a few months ago. Pretty cool!

 

So do i, it's further south than here ,that the good stuff resides.

[Split_Pin]

10 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

Bit of a nerdy purchase this one. Bear with me...

I've already had the Minichamps W202 for a while, in pre facelift form, from both ends of the range. Imperial red in C180 almost-base Esprit trim, and a lairy yellow AMG  C36. But the three real W202s I've owned have all been post-facelifts (the main differences visually being the deeper front and rear bumpers, and plastic side skirts), and have been hunting for a miniature version for a while. Sadly the post-facelifts are a lot harder to find and the newer Maxichamps releases are expensive. So I was happy to find this one on an ebay auction hovering around the tenner mark, and I ended up getting it for not much more than that.

Sadly the outer card box is missing, but the star logo on the clear case shows that this is a dealer model. Cool.

So, the extra brightwork denotes this to be in Elegance trim, which two-thirds of my own cars have been. A C-Class Elegance being basically Mercedes' version of a Sierra Ghia...

Usual Minichamps detailing, including an actual metal (and extremely delicate) bonnet star.

Being an Elegance means plenty of old school walnut trim inside, which should be faithfully reproduced, being a Minichamps model,

What the blinking flip?

Blue wood! That, along with the unusual bluey-grey body colour means this is a model of a Designo version. Designo being Merc's equivalent of BMW's Individual or Rover's Monogram programme of special order interior trim and exterior paint finishes.

I do like Minichamps models, when I can afford them, but one thing about them, compared to Vanguards models, is that they look a bit bare when they have no number plates fitted. Some of their earlier Mercs have Stuttgart ones fitted, but as can be seen, this one has none. As a blue Elegance, it's as close as I can get to one of my real cars in model form.

.

My old £500 Winter beater from 2019. Yes, it's a way darker blue, but like I said, it's the nearest I can get! So, some plates were made,

And I went a bit plate-happy with the other W202s,

There was an Imperial red 220D in use as a private hire taxi in our town back in the '90s, so this wears the reg number from that,

The C36 gets an appropriate plate, that was attached to an actual C36 until a few years ago,

Brilliant models there!

My pal's parents owned a successful sawdust and woodchip company and in '95 they moved from Volvos to Mercs. His dad had a W124 300D M218SLS in silver  and his mum had a W202 C180 M215SLS in a kind of turquoise metallic blue. His dad's was an Avantgarde spec and I think the 202 was an Elegance. Both were also their first Automatic cars. His dad replaced his cars every 6 months and in the November he got a C250 with the 5 pot diesel. Very cool cars which I always wished we had been able to afford!

[Lord Sterling]

9 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

Bit of a nerdy purchase this one. Bear with me...

And I went a bit plate-happy with the other W202s,

Very nice. I had a Minichamps W202 given to me many, many years ago when Fatha_Sterling used to know a lot of the import/export car chaps around the Anderlecht area of Brussels. One of them had a fairly presentable showroom and when I expressed an interest in the blue W202 he had on the shelf, he kindly gave it to me.

I don't know whats happened to it since, I seem to have had a selection of car models going missing, including a 1/18 Audi A6 Avant and a 1/18 Senna 190E. They might be in the loft at my Mum's but last I checked, I couldn't find anything. 

[Datsuncog]

Some good finds, and project progress, on the thread this week! 

[danthecapriman]

10 hours ago, AndyW201 said:

Bit of a nerdy purchase this one. Bear with me...

I've already had the Minichamps W202 for a while, in pre facelift form, from both ends of the range. Imperial red in C180 almost-base Esprit trim, and a lairy yellow AMG  C36. But the three real W202s I've owned have all been post-facelifts (the main differences visually being the deeper front and rear bumpers, and plastic side skirts), and have been hunting for a miniature version for a while. Sadly the post-facelifts are a lot harder to find and the newer Maxichamps releases are expensive. So I was happy to find this one on an ebay auction hovering around the tenner mark, and I ended up getting it for not much more than that.

Sadly the outer card box is missing, but the star logo on the clear case shows that this is a dealer model. Cool.

So, the extra brightwork denotes this to be in Elegance trim, which two-thirds of my own cars have been. A C-Class Elegance being basically Mercedes' version of a Sierra Ghia...

Usual Minichamps detailing, including an actual metal (and extremely delicate) bonnet star.

Being an Elegance means plenty of old school walnut trim inside, which should be faithfully reproduced, being a Minichamps model,

What the blinking flip?

Blue wood! That, along with the unusual bluey-grey body colour means this is a model of a Designo version. Designo being Merc's equivalent of BMW's Individual or Rover's Monogram programme of special order interior trim and exterior paint finishes.

I do like Minichamps models, when I can afford them, but one thing about them, compared to Vanguards models, is that they look a bit bare when they have no number plates fitted. Some of their earlier Mercs have Stuttgart ones fitted, but as can be seen, this one has none. As a blue Elegance, it's as close as I can get to one of my real cars in model form.

.

My old £500 Winter beater from 2019. Yes, it's a way darker blue, but like I said, it's the nearest I can get! So, some plates were made,

And I went a bit plate-happy with the other W202s,

There was an Imperial red C220D in use as a private hire taxi in our town back in the '90s, so this wears the reg number from that,

The C36 gets an appropriate plate, that was attached to an actual C36 until a few years ago,

They are superb! I’m with you about Minichamps/Maxichamps, they’re really nice models, it’s just the price sometimes that stops me having more.

How are people doing their number plates on these? 
It’s one thing I’ve never actually done. I just paint the plates the base colour but never go further.

[Datsuncog]

I was also the lucky recipient of a Mystery Tat Parcel this week - I didn't think I'd been ordering any shoes online... 

Well, blow me down. 

What a selection! 

My pop-eyes went straight to the Spot-On Land Rover 109 SII Station Wagon:

Yes, it's weathered and has survived some Humbrol adventures, but it's honest and largely complete, bar the spare wheels. 

And weighty! 

I've never even seen one of these outside of the hardback book I've been poring over since I was ten, so to finally have one in my hot little hands was a real treat. 

I'll have to dig out my (equally patinated) pick-up version for a side by side comparison. 

I already love this Landie, and it'll be staying just as it is. 

A boxed #345 Corgi Honda Prelude from Mettoy's twilight days was another delight:

I had a loose one of these which I sold on some years ago, and later regretted it a bit as I'm such a fiend for these early '80s releases. So this made a welcome entrance. 

The #276 Triumph Acclaim with working steering makes a lovely companion piece, what with the shared Honda styling and even the same shade of metallic blue. 

And yes, it's very much an Acclaim - I checked the front and back, and it doesn't have a Honda grille badge or Ballade script on the bootlid. But we know they're out there! 

As is so typical, the clear cellophane box window has degraded and fallen to bits over the past forty-odd years, but I reckon I can smarten the boxes up a little with some clear plastic packaging offcuts and a dab or two of Copydex. 

Reproduction continental Dinkys are two I've never owned before:

Ford Taunus P3 in Polizei colours is magnificent:

Steerable wheels with fingertip action is a nice bonus. 

I have a Simca 1500 estate from this range, but not the saloon. It'll make a smashing complementary pair. 

What's this? 

Coffre ouvrant et bagages? 

Formidable! Quelle surprise! 

Such a delightful touch; even though in its heyday I doubt these tiny little plastic cases would have lasted cinq minutes before petit Jean-Claude got them stuck up his nez, or vanished up le Hoover de Maman. 

Just lovely. The Simca break came with a folding picnic table in the boot space, taking equally scant consideration towards child safety, but they're such wonderful little additions to the playscape that I'm glad they went to the trouble. 

And not only diecast, but ephemera! 

I believe that, at one time, Walkers Crisps partnered with Lledo Promotionals to offer out a range of their beloved Days Gone models, redeemable with ten tokens cut out from crisp packets plus only* £1.50.

Has anyone seen, or better yet, owns any of these promo models? 

The irony is not lost on me that, today, the empty crisp packet would be worth much more to collectors than the diecast model. 

I forgot to take a separate pic of the fabric Lucas patch, but rest assured that if I decide to go down the sartorial route of Spudgun from Bottom, I'll be covered. 

And lastly, a fascinating little Michelin flickbook showing how their Michelin X tyres function in braking and cornering when fitted to an early Landcrab, through multiple quick-burst photographs printed sequentially from back to front, which give a 'moving image' effect when you flick through the pages:

One side shows cornering, then you flip the book upside down and it shows braking. 

It's a little bit fragile, which isn't a surprise as it's probably 60 years old, but I'll try to video it for upload as it really is quite interesting (to us lot, anyway!) 

Massive thanks to @Jon for this marvellous surprise! 

[bunglebus]

Two boot sales, both of which netted me some absolute awesome finds. At the first, a regular seller had three Matchbox carry cases full of cars, for £15 each, and was kind enough to let me select the 24 I wanted - just as I shut the case, one of the regular buyers swooped in to rummage through the other two, not knowing I'd scooped all the goodies already. That rather pleased me as he's usually round at lightning speed gathering the best bits

However this was trumped by spotting a big plastic tub of cars at the second boot sale, and being charged £12 for 33  cars, including a rather special one you might be able to spot. Opposite him were the two ladies who used to do toy fairs, but are now selling everything at a fraction of its marked price, so I scooped up yet more from 50p upwards. These were the two who had all the Scalextric buildings and Corgi Rockets accessories recently.

Just going to leave these here while I go and inspect my mum's Astra for its MoT

[flat4alfa]

BUDGET RENTACAR LONE STAR FIRENZA SHOCKER YOU ARE NOW MILLIONAIRE CRIKEY

[Datsuncog]

Rich, tomorrow:

Seriously though, congratulations! You're out there damn near every weekend, rain or shine, diggin' those tat boxes. Great to see a reward like that pop up in a 50p box, and it just goes to show - they're out there! 

[neil72]

Its not been a cheap weekend, but compared to some of the prices i've seen for these i think i did ok, the Distler was the one from the local hospice shop, the DS was all i bought at the local toy fair which was crap, it was about 90% trains today, and even these seemed to be 'bits' of trains rather than actual working trains.

[flat4alfa]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

50p box

Even better than that

Quote

£12 for 33  cars, including a rather special one

works out to be 36p

So not only has the Moon been purchased, there is another 14p saving to go with it

[Split_Pin]

Whoa that Firenza is up there with @Datsuncogs £5 Mercury Fiat 850!

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Thanks to the gentleman and the scholar that is @Datsuncog, I recently took delivery of this lovely MB Celica GT4. It's a cracking little casting - really chuffed with it! 

And here's my own Carlos Sainz RC GT4 which I owned back in the early 2000s. Along with several other Jap performance cars, I regret selling!

[flat4alfa]

So in honour of the glory of today’s announcement, and just in case are questions 

This was a page from the Vauxhall dealer range brochure at the time 

Lone Star Flyers No.7 Vauxhall Firenza (1971-1975)

Originally produced as a promotional item for Vauxhall, the Lone Star model was launched on the same day as the full-size car, 26 May 1971.

The collaboration between Vauxhall and Lone Star resulted in an agreement granting exclusive rights to produce the Firenza, and it remained the only available model until Oxford Diecast launched its 1:43 scale version in 2017.

These factors may help explain why the Lone Star Firenza has become such a sought-after collectible, with examples today typically changing hands for three-figure sums, rather than 36 pence.

Models were initially sold in blister packs with a large backing card featuring an illustration of the car, along with a miniature version of the fold-out sales leaflet. The Firenza was produced in a wide range of colours, many of which mirrored those used by Vauxhall.

A separate run was produced for a Budget Rent a Car promotion. It was finished in white and featured a “Budget Rent a Car” sticker on the roof. One of these scarcer examples now lives in Essex alongside a Boobie Radio.