Shite in Miniature II

[Amishtat]

Yes it is, apparently it's to cover the screws holding the front wheels on. VW side repeaters on the front wings too which I'd forgotten about but yesterday was the first time I'd seen it for about 25 years 

[155V6]

Just picked these two up from a charity shop,50p each.Both pretty much mint 

[flat4alfa]

Bargain!  Never see that age of vehicle around here.  It's all HW, Fisher Price and broken.

Assume the K-27 camping Cruiser was a fantasy model, or was there something it was based on?

[Datsuncog]

That's good findings, that is. Congrats, I'd be well stoked if I'd snaffled those!

[Amishtat]

More of Dad's childhood stash (he brought a fair bit over). Photos not great, I'd been imbibing. 

 

[Amishtat]

There was more. I'd not seen any of this since about 1994 or so and there was so much I'd forgotten about. He doesn't have any of this on display or anything so he seemed to enjoy the knowledge that some total strangers on the internet would appreciate these things. 

 

[Amishtat]

And finally a fairly well known (I think) Corgi booboo. Look closely at the lettering. 

[Amishtat]

Mutter grumble fat fingers something something.. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

ooops!

[RayMK]

That is some collection.  Beautiful, well proportioned models, instantly recognisable and in superb condition.  Seeing them has made me cheerful.

When I bought Matchbox toys in the 50s and 60s, the box was just packaging and went in the bin. Well done for your dad being so careful in preserving the whole lot. 

[sierraman]

The roadway and the garage are worth some serious coin. A lot of the roadways, being card, ended up being binned quite quickly so any survivors are worth a bomb.

[Datsuncog]

Magnificent collection your dad has there, Amishtat!

I tell you, I would have gone seriously wobbly at the sight of so much Lesney goodness... thanks so much for sharing!

 

I think I remember that 'Genetal Manager' typo on the Corgi Morris J van being reported in Collector's Gazette about 1992/3 - but have never actually seen it on the model.

Fnarr fnarr, etc.

 

(Tat Stall updates on their way!)

[Datsuncog]

A sunny morn... and lo, a shaft of sunlight did illuminate the Tat Stall most wonderfully...

BEHOLD!!!

Diecast as far as the eye could see!

[Datsuncog]

This rather makes up for the recent drought...

Some nice large-scale stuff here - priced at around £5 each, mebbe more for the big Majors stuff.

 

[Amishtat]

That's but a fraction of his collection. He had all his Corgis and Dinkys in similar condition until about four years ago when my evil cunt of an ex-stepmother decided she was going to rook him out of them. Despite multiple tries I've never been able to find out where they went but if I ever see her again I'm throwing her useless carcass on a railway line. Aaaand breathe... 

Anyway, have some more. 

 

[Datsuncog]

Then there was some smaller stuff too, as promised...

Much Lesney. £3 a pop seems to be the asking price here - some are probably well worth it, others maybe less so.

Corgi Rockets Jensen Interceptor on the far right tempted me a bit. Also an Impy Road Masters Jaguar Mk 10, which was sadly missing its bonnet.

Peculiar unmarked casting of an open tourer down at the bottom left, sadly missing a front axle and suffering badly from zinc pest.

[Amishtat]

The Lesney Ford station wagon (yellow), the A55 next to it and the lilac/white Cadillac please! And what's the transporter in the right of the last picture? 

[Datsuncog]

And the reserve selection...

Some interesting stuff in here, too...

A brace of Matchbox Major KW Dart tippers.

While mentioning oddities earlier in the week, like the Big M-X range, there's this:

'Qualitoys by Corgi' were an early effort to make simpler (cheaper) toys that would appeal to younger children, and this non-prototypical 'Turbine Truck' formed the bulk of the range, with a number of different backs available on them.

This one is the Giraffe Transporter (basically the same as the horse transporter without a roof)

I found a bit more info on the range here; unlike Matchbox though, these are still virtually worthless amongst collectors.

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/diecastrescue/the-unknown-corgi-s-qualitoys-turbine-series-t712.html

Lone Star 'Big Boy' truck is another futuristic commercial without much street cred, sadly.

 

'Nother box...

The Corgi Inter-City Mini-Bus and ambulance always strike me as being reminiscent of models that would pop up in Gerry Anderson shows like Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet - I kinda dig that that retro-futuristic vibe, these days.

These two are a bit FUBAR'd, mind.

Buses, then...

 

Repaints are perhaps in need of some TLC...

Still loads of this unboxed Bristol VR open-top by OOC, for some reason. Again, I suspect a broken-up railway diorama.

A used Atlantean can be yours for a fiver; while one that's mint and boxed is priced at £10. Okay then.

50p Tat Box: mostly dominated by mismatched 1980s Corgi trucks today, and low-end Hongwells.

Someone's gone to the bother of creating their own Code 3 Matchbox Convoy trailers, at some point...

And finally, there was this...

Did anyone here ever have a Grandstand Video Sports console?

It's endorsed by Kevin Keegan, so it must be good... at least as good as Brut 33 aftershave!

 

[Datsuncog]

12 minutes ago, Amishtat said:

The Lesney Ford station wagon (yellow), the A55 next to it and the lilac/white Cadillac please! And what's the transporter in the right of the last picture? 

Duly noted!

Transporter is a Matchbox Major M8 Guy Warrior.

Interested?

[Amishtat]

Yes please 

[Datsuncog]

On ‎6‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 10:32 PM, sheffcortinacentre said:

Sorry don't get online till late def take the 100e. Interested in the twin boom Holmes wrecker on the table if around a fiver pm your PayPal & will sort payment.

Still looking for a 1-75 flip body funny car (no rush though).

Luck was in...

£5 took this Holmes Wrecker.

It really is a fantastic model - the overall detailing is so impressive, and the mechanism for raising and lowering the hooks is ingenious. This must have been a complex model to manufacture, and there's quite a weight to it.

FORD DIESEL

(Actually, I think it's meant to represent a Cummins N-series unit)

The chassis detailing is spot-on. Corgi were absolutely at the top of their game in the late 1960s - this is only a toy, yet the detailed shackle mounts on the cart-springs, the drivetrain and even the exhaust system is quite exceptional.

Yep, the diecast exhaust casting 'meets' with the vertical exhaust pipe behind the tip-up cab.  Probably no-one would have noticed if it were missing, but Corgi went to the trouble of producing a separate plastic moulding and making sure it aligned with the base casting.

I can now articulate why I kinda felt short-changed by so many 1980s toys, where detail like this just didn't happen. Had I received one of these new, I would have considered myself very fortunate indeed.

Anyway! Sheffcortinacentre - it's yours if you want it, along with the Lesney 100E.

Still no sign of a funny car, sadly!

[Datsuncog]

Staying with Corgi, naturally my own willpower buckled when I saw this vision of slightly-chipped loveliness there on the stall...

A Ford Thames 'Airborne' campervan. It's rather nice, hey?

Again, the detail in the blinds and the interior is way better than you might expect. I'm not sure whether the piece of foam on the seating area is original or an addition by a previous owner?

My only gripe is that the rear doors and hinges themselves are quite crude - but hey, they've managed to stay on for 50+ years, so at least the hinge mounts have proved effective - maybe I should stop being such a whiney bitch.

[Amishtat]

That's a nice one, there's one in a junk shop near me that isn't a lot tidier than that and the chap wants £15. Which is why it's there every time I go past 

[Datsuncog]

Next up, when is an ambulance not an ambulance?

When it's a Commer 3/4 Ton Chassis...

Which would have been originally supplied as the innovative and versatile Corgi Constructor Set GS/24 (which I don't have, before anyone gets excited - library pics below!)

Two chassis cabs, four rear bodies and, erm, a plastic milkman.

Since using the same basic commercial cab and chassis to provide half a dozen different toys was the norm for many manufacturers, this little set offered a helluva lot of play value (that word again). Multiple rear loads enabled the lucky owner to convert one toy into another, using nothing more than a coin edge to turn the little retaining screw on the base, to suit whichever imaginative scenario was being played out. Genius.

It really does have a lot of charm, and I'll admit that at least half my motivation for picking this one up was already having the pick-up back, found in the tat box a few weeks back.

Is it a bit tragic that I can't wait to get home and swap the back over?

[Amishtat]

No more tragic than the sudden realisation that I'm the only one playing DC's BargainTwunt today.. 

[Datsuncog]

You may have noticed that the red Commer chassis cab shown in the Constructor Set comes with Corgi's equally innovative 'Trans-o-lite' headlights, which basically used an optical pipe to concentrate ambient light and direct it to give the illusion of illumination - kind of a proto-fibre optic system, with no need for batteries.

Well, the white chassis didn't benefit from that system, but it's always intrigued me...

So I also bought this, completing the 100% Corgi sweep for this morning.

Buick Riviera, in chipped but honest condition. Also fitted with Trans-o-lites. So I coughed up.

Does it work, though?

Y'know, it kinda does! Potatocam pics don't really do it justice, but it's a very pleasing effect.

 

So yeah... not a bad haul for this morning.

I'll head over in half an hour and see if I can grab the Lesneys for Amishtat (hey, there's no shame in hammering the F5 key on a Friday morning - they'll all be kicking themselves later on!) - and, while I'm very much enjoying looking at these old Corgis, they're not really where my passion really lies these days.

So if anyone wants the Riviera, Commer and/or Thames Camper, I paid Market Blokey £5 each for them - and I'm offering them out here for the same money.

[EDIT: Thames and Commer have both been snaffled!]

[Amishtat]

Happy to rehome the Thames if you're offering, cheers! 

[Datsuncog]

2 hours ago, Amishtat said:

That's but a fraction of his collection. He had all his Corgis and Dinkys in similar condition until about four years ago when my evil cunt of an ex-stepmother decided she was going to rook him out of them. Despite multiple tries I've never been able to find out where they went but if I ever see her again I'm throwing her useless carcass on a railway line. Aaaand breathe... 

Yow, that's horrific! Yeesh... ?

1 minute ago, Amishtat said:

Happy to rehome the Thames if you're offering, cheers! 

But on a more positive note... sure thing!

[stuboy]

Saw u lot talking about maestros, i thought oh i got one, what goes in the flap?

[Amishtat]

And you've inspired me to go and dig out my Riviera, one of few American cars I'd like to own a real example of. Rover 2000 has that feature too, but only the headlights. Never knew the Commer had it as well until today though.