Shite in Miniature II

[eddyramrod]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Slim pickin's this morning 

Yebbut... Corgi Fiat Jolly!  WOW!

[bunglebus]

A bit more success at the second one

[flat4alfa]

Is the red emergency telephone lead going into the white socket a secret perpetual electricity device

 

 

[bunglebus]

5 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Is the red emergency telephone lead going into the white socket a secret perpetual electricity device

 

 

Yeah you have to be really quick doing it though, or all the pixies escape 

[AndyW201]

Been pissing about a bit more with the Minichamps Fords, the Scorpio has a pair of mirrors now, cheap 3D printed jobs that were meant to be Mondeo items, but they do the job, and number plates with the reg number of my brother's old Aubergine one,

I drove a Mondeo Mk1 hatch some years ago when I worked on the taxis, one of the first Mondeo private hire cabs on the road in our town, when Mk3 Cavaliers and Sierras still ruled. It was Tourmaline Green, rather than Mallard, but this model now has the reg number from that car,

(Starting to have a nightmare cutting these plates out nowadays, think I need to get an eye test sorted soon 🤣)

[bunglebus]

A very mixed bag of bits this morning.

No name (LJN?) police cruiser is a nice heavy casting

20p Prisoner Moke is actually pretty good now I've carefully removed most of the grime

I owe the bloke a quid for this Dinky Dublo taxi, as neither of us had any change

I nearly left this Chinese no-name behind after being asked for a whole pound in exchange for it, but where else are you going to find a Nissan March convertible?

Marx (or copy of, more likely) Tractor unit in lairy colours

That Fiat, another pound. I intend to do a Steve Flowers order for this, but I don't think I'll bother with the roof as it's quite ugly. I quite like the look of the yellow versions but with a red interior it'll look like rhubarb and custard 

Today's 20p weirdo is this Japanese Transformer 

A Mebetoys Hot Wheels Firebird that's an improvement over the battered one I already have

Lovely Norev Renault 16 was my most expensive buy at £5.00

Golf is, I think, a knock-off Lego type kit

Big ol' Lucky Mercedes tanker

These last I bought off Vinted

65p!

Didn't know Juniors were numbered?

[flat4alfa]

Snap!

A bit.

[danthecapriman]

Does anyone fancy this 3D printed four post lift kit with oil drainer? 1/43 scale but it’ll work just as well with old Corgi/Dinky etc stuff.

I bought it ages ago but it won’t fit inside the little garage workshop ive built! Comes flat packed but it’s easy to assemble and doesn’t even need glue if you want to keep it able to be packed away. 
You can pose it with the lift down or up and it’ll hold a diecast car easily. There’s also a beam jack which can also hold a car up while it’s on the ramp.

Oil drainer is in white primer.

You can get them on eBay for £12, I’ll do this for a fiver posted.
 

[WillCarter]

Bit of a before and after today. 

Wasn't in much of a diecast buying mood again today, but did spot this absolutely filthy but seemingly straight and undamaged Bburago Metro sitting forlornly on the floor. £3 didn't seem bad and so home it came.

It was only when I got in did I realise just how deep the grime went. It was absolutely caked in dirt and tobacco stains, to the point where I thought it might not be saveable.

However, luckily this era of 1/24 Bburago are easy to get into, so two screws later it was in pieces and the clean up could begin. An old toothbrush and soapy water did most of the heavy lifting, but still left behind decades of staining. Some Bicarb and White Vinegar did manage to improve a lot of the staining, particularly on the windows, but some will remain forever. However, I'm pretty happy with the rescue and while it's not perfect, it's certainly far better than it was a few hours ago.

[Lord Sterling]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

I nearly left this Chinese no-name behind after being asked for a whole pound in exchange for it, but where else are you going to find a Nissan March convertible?

Not really my cup of tea. However, I've always been after models of K11 Micras, particularly the 1/43 ones as I don't have anytbkng K11 model-wise (apart from 1/1 S-reg in a garage).

The 1/43s are very difficult to find and usually very pricey. 

12 minutes ago, WillCarter said:

It was only when I got in did I realise just how deep the grime went. It was absolutely caked in dirt and tobacco stains, to the point where I thought it might not be saveable.

However, luckily this era of 1/24 Bburago are easy to get into, so two screws later it was in pieces and the clean up could begin. An old toothbrush and soapy water did most of the heavy lifting, but still left behind decades of staining.

Mate, thats absolutely brilliant, and welcome to the 1/24 Metro owners club.

The same happened with the 205 Turbo-16. It was utterly filthy and very dusty. A good bit of soap and water brought it back to how it should be. It's not had a dab of car polish to help brighten the paintwork.

[WillCarter]

21 minutes ago, Lord Sterling said:

Mate, thats absolutely brilliant, and welcome to the 1/24 Metro owners club.

The same happened with the 205 Turbo-16. It was utterly filthy and very dusty. A good bit of soap and water brought it back to how it should be. It's not had a dab of car polish to help brighten the paintwork.

Thank you mate, I appreciate that. It's not perfect, unfortunately some of the grime got under the stickers, and without replacing them it'd be impossible to remove. But it's loads better than it was, and no longer a health hazard.

Do like this era of Bburago, so please share away.

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, WillCarter said:

dirt and tobacco stains

AKA Giffer Grime ®

[Remspoor]

On 28/09/2026 at 11:58, Remspoor said:

Started to go though some of the stuff I collected from Dad's More to follow.

First post detailing the die-casts in this post.

New York Checker cab. More than likely purchased by my mum when we went there in 98

Made in China, with a friction motor that is not working as it should.

Sill has the price sticker on it.

Next Bedford HA van. No makers name Bedford HA from Auf Wiedersehen. For some reason my mum added the family name over the Taylor name. This side ahs been patly removed.

The reg is of one of my cars EYL370 a HA saloon.

 

part 2 below

[Remspoor]

part 2....

 

Matchbox Merc 500SL with some damage

 

next Majorette Nissan 300ZX

And a Volvo 760 also made by Majorette

I have no idea why these 3 were in the house. Maybe my nephews cars.

[Remspoor]

Last post for now. A Mitsubishi Pajero (Shogun)

The plastic in the sunroof is a bit loose bu it is good condition.

My Parents had a Shogun back in the day.  There's was maroon of gray. It never went off road.

[FakeConcern]

I got few bits at a boot fair this morning, starting with this very clean SuperKings Gran Fury Taxi for £2

Not had one with a complete aerial before

Also very nice K2 transporter for 50p

Also 50p for this Corgi Wild Honey

These were 50p each or 4 for £1. I kind of had it in my head that people would want the Matchbox motorbike trailer, but of course it's really the motorbikes everyone's after!

The plastic Buddy L Camaro is quite nice

Dinky TR7 for 50p

Mrs Concern bought this Corgi Monkeemobile for £5 which was reasonable

I got her a much nicer one for her birthday a few years ago which was missing Mickey Dolenz and I got a Steve Flowers one for it. This has all four original Monkees and Mickey will get swapped over

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, FakeConcern said:

very nice K2 transporter for 50p

Now you just need a nice Capri to go on the back

 

[Lord Sterling]

9 hours ago, WillCarter said:

Do like this era of Bburago, so please share away.

Check the couple of Metros I bought here.

[Volksy]

Took my Mum out shopping yesterday, and because I'm only 50 years old she decided to buy me a toy car!



Goes with my other -bigger- Pig. 

 

Although the fact that its Murder Black, means it pretty much disappears on the shelf. I might get one of those chrome pens to highlight it a little. 

[flat4alfa]

14 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

The plastic Buddy L Camaro is quite nice

Now you just need the Kenworth Transporter and the red Camaro, to complete the set 😄

[Tenmil Socket]

19 hours ago, bunglebus said:

A very mixed bag of bits this morning.

No name (LJN?) police cruiser is a nice heavy casting

20p Prisoner Moke is actually pretty good now I've carefully removed most of the grime

I owe the bloke a quid for this Dinky Dublo taxi, as neither of us had any change

I nearly left this Chinese no-name behind after being asked for a whole pound in exchange for it, but where else are you going to find a Nissan March convertible?

Marx (or copy of, more likely) Tractor unit in lairy colours

That Fiat, another pound. I intend to do a Steve Flowers order for this, but I don't think I'll bother with the roof as it's quite ugly. I quite like the look of the yellow versions but with a red interior it'll look like rhubarb and custard 

Today's 20p weirdo is this Japanese Transformer 

A Mebetoys Hot Wheels Firebird that's an improvement over the battered one I already have

Lovely Norev Renault 16 was my most expensive buy at £5.00

Golf is, I think, a knock-off Lego type kit

Big ol' Lucky Mercedes tanker

These last I bought off Vinted

65p!

Didn't know Juniors were numbered?

That Micra is superb! 

[Datsuncog]

19 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Today's 20p weirdo is this Japanese Transformer 

Heh, I had that very toy when I was about five or six - can't remember where it came from!

I thought this was maybe a GoBots toy (Bandai toys made under licence by Tonka, and sales of which pre-dated Transformers in the US/ Europe by a year), but it seems not.

I guess a lot of toymakers jumped on the vehicle/robot bandwagon in the early '80s; I think I only had one actual branded Transformer toy (Smokescreen - Datsun 280ZX?) but quite a lot of rubbishy little no-name cars, trucks and planes that awkwardly folded up in various ways to reveal blocky heads and limbs, looking  equally like neither a robot nor a vehicle at any given time.

Passable stab at an N30 series Toyota HiLux, though the weird additional pull-back drive wheel at the back was a bit strange. I think this basic moulding also came with a few different loads on the back; I seem to remember some different versions, although mine had these same opening doors revealing missiles.

Nice find!

[bunglebus]

So it does!

[ambassador84]

Im not usually a fan of diecast hunting in Asda as their toy aisles ALWAYS look like a bomb has gone off in them! I'd heard Hot Wheels Case Q is appearing there in big dump bins for just £1.35 each.

Well i found some Hot Wheels but also a new Majorette 5 pack with the eagerly awaited new Toyota Land Cruiser.

[ambassador84]

Asda are currently getting in big quantities of Case Q Hot Wheels for their £1.35 Rollback promotion. A rather good mix.

Its exceptionally rare these days im first to a new Case.

[MVX11V]

Could it be the missing link? 

Silver body, beige interior, black base...

All the images were at this angle but it really screams that the interior is not red...

Like an idiot, I embarked on collecting Renner 5 variations. There are plenty out there, but this is one that I have never seen. Why wouldn't it exist? Bought the lot on the chance for a score. 

[Datsuncog]

19 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

Mrs Concern bought this Corgi Monkeemobile for £5 which was reasonable

I got her a much nicer one for her birthday a few years ago which was missing Mickey Dolenz and I got a Steve Flowers one for it. This has all four original Monkees and Mickey will get swapped over

Seeing that Monkeemobile upthread reminded me that Corgi Model Club are apparently relaunching a replica version, from April next year.

Their forthcoming releases are looking a little like this:

The much-promised, but not yet delivered, BMC Mini police dog handler van is expected to make its much-delayed appearance the month before the Monkeemobile, in March 2027. Apparently they've been having trouble getting the plastic dog lead right, as it has to be strong enough to stay in shape yet flexible enough to slip round the dog's neck without breaking.

Overall I've found CMC's shift to become part of Corgi proper to be a bit of a retrograde step - the vast majority of their releases over the past two years have just been recolours of previously issued castings, or else reboxed versions of film and TV tie-ins already available from the Corgi shop.

I think the Heinkel economy car back in February and the Ecurie Ecosse Commer transporter from last December have been the only fully new castings we've seen. The Bond Astons, Green Hornet Black Beauty, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Yellow Submarine have all been reissued before, and while the CMC editions may have had a few changes to make them more like the original releases, it's hard to get very excited about them (and I've mostly skipped over them).

The next few months' releases are similarly restricted to different coloured versions of what we've had before, including various 'Member Exclusive' colour releases which won't be available in their online shop.

Again, I'm debating whether this is a collection worth continuing with as I've skipped the past six releases, and look set to skip the next three upcoming models as well, since they're just more recolours.

As the complaint amongst diecast collectors went in the '80s, I collect models, not paint - simply releasing the same few castings again and again with different colours and decals doesn't feel like a collection that's worth my time and space (and money). Some of these models are on their fourth variant now (Chevrolet Impala, Land Rover 109).

I can see why new parent Hornby Hobbies wants CMC to help fill the black hole in their coffers by re-using existing tooling rather than commissioning new models, but I can see this strategy backfiring somewhat as collectors turn away from the brand... or maybe they're focusing on marketing their already-available models in new overseas markets, and UK collectors can go whistle.

Still haven't heard anything about the Whizzwheels collector club that was promised last year, either - other than 'it's still happening'.

God, I'm a whinge these days.

[bunglebus]

I don't mind some recolours if it's a particular rare version, but yes I'm skipping a fair few now.

My other annoyance is they tend to send the email saying my next delivery is about to be sent out on a Friday afternoon, then they bugger off all weekend so don't respond to my "no thanks" reply

[bunglebus]

Riddle me this, tat fans - what's this Golf? Packaging says Edocar but the only Golf I know of from them is the MC Toys Maisto big wheel arch jobbie

https://www.vinted.co.uk/items/10254607348-collectible-coca-cola-car-cassette

Edit - think it's a Hartoy

[flat4alfa]

2 hours ago, MVX11V said:

Could it be the missing link? 

Silver body, beige interior, black base...

All the images were at this angle but it really screams that the interior is not red...

Like an idiot, I embarked on collecting Renner 5 variations. There are plenty out there, but this is one that I have never seen. Why wouldn't it exist? Bought the lot on the chance for a score. 

The best missing link variation would be to fit the radial engine from the Mini Ha Ha into the Renault 5,

Cut out the roof screen area to fit the cartoon pilot,

Flare the arches, transfer the wheels over,

Paint the body French Blue, paint les cocardes (french roundels) to the doors,

Tricolore the tailgate.

Hey Presto! A unique Renault 5 Aviation Militaire.

Or just call the whole thing off.