Shite in Miniature II

[flat4alfa]

Midday event though I thought

Maybe it should be a national, entire day ?

[Datsuncog]

It is Diecast Tat Friday...

And the stall was positively brimming this morning.

Though I'll qualify that by saying that it helps if you like buses, a lot.

First up, though: the good stuff:

Hmm. Largely the same as it was two weeks ago, then: some 60s/70s/80s Corgis, with a few scattered Lesney products and a lone Russki magazine taxi. Still priced at a fiver each.

The big Corgi Majors crane is a new one, though: very nice condition with even the hook still in place, although missing a stabilising leg, annoyingly.

1980s Corgi police Sierra lurking in an empty Vanguards box like a diecast cuckoo is fooling no-one (except possibly Market Blokey, who wants a tenner for it).

Panning slowly to the right...

Corgi's post-Mettoy efforts to get rid of unsold Classic Collection models in the mid-80s are quite appealing; £20 secures this slightly rumpled C51 set. Might be better if had three quite different models though, rather than two Merc tourers in different colours.

Oxford Thames vans/minibuses are quite appealing; tenner each on them, though. At a fiver, I would...

Oh yes, motorbikes too, If you like that sort of thing.

I wonder if one reason I never really got into bikes is because the models just always looked a bit too plasticky. Not much has changed there.

 

More assorted tat, down among rusty Homepride trays and Ladybird books... nothing to really set the heart a-flutter, sadly.

And more...

I'm led to believe these Corgi models are fairly common in GB: Northern Ireland never had any Mobil fuel stations to my knowledge, so these are seen a bit less over here. If it hadn't had a few paint dings, I might have been persuaded to cough up a fiver for this Volvo...

A multiplicity of buses: OOC and EFE models in OO scale, and Corgi 1/43-ish.

I used to like buses a lot more, but sadly find they don't really do much for me these days.

I believe these French Dinky road signs are Atlas reissues, rather than original NOS items. Pity.

Another item on the stall is strangely evocative of the kind of 50p-shop tat which was widespread in my youth:

'Jimmy Toys'? Well, ok then.

So then... that's today's range of "Diecast Models for Adult Collectors - Not Suitable For Under 14s".

Time to brave the 50p tat boxes, then? Come with me...

[rml2345]

Go on, show us your tat excavations... 

[sierraman]

Is it bad that this is the high point of my day on a Friday? 

[Datsuncog]

First off, the 'deep tub' system first seen a fortnight ago appears to have been sacked off already as a bad job: we're back to the fruit trays.

Maybe he loves the sound of falling diecast smacking off the concrete floor as they tumble through the many holes; in which case, who am I to spoil his simple pleasures?

Digging down then, it's pretty much the same as before, though you may be able to see them better now:

 

Many 80s Corgi and Matchbox, with a smattering of Majorette and older Lesney/Husky. Plus more Corgi Cameos, of which I have previously made clear my feelings, and some sort of batshit 1/24-ish Mini (broken) that's actually a knock-off Transformers type thing.

Husky Ford wrecker still has an intact boom, unusually.

Majorette Ford 9000 cabover truck and lowloader trailer still there, plus some abysmal repaints using my weapon of choice: a semi dried-out bottle of Tipp-Ex with the brush gone hard.

Finish is obviously excellent*.
 

Green Mercedes W210 estate hiding at the top right is an early 2000s Matchbox model which had gone under my radar; unfortunately it must have been damp-stored so the paint is bubbling badly with corrosion beneath.

Attention to detail, hey?

Also a pale blue W124 saloon, which tempted me but seemed just a touch too scruffy to display well. No doubt I'll regret that later on...

Still loads of 70s Superfasts in there: many MB08 De Tomaso Panteras, also at least two MB58 Woosh 'n' Pushes.

Irritatingly, quite a number of the toys have the windscreens deliberately broken - some maniac child owner must have systematically gone through their toybox, stabbing them with a compass or something. Annoying when the model is in otherwise good shape.

Kids can be weird.

Slightly blurry shot, sorry.

Bottom left is a Corgi Juniors 'The Joker' van in tolerable condition, with a Superkings Scammell tractor unit resting one it.

But no stunning new additions that I could see, I'm afraid - though it gives me a great deal of enjoyment to have a good hoke through these, just in case...

Anything grabs your eye, just holler!

 

I took a wander over to the charity tat stall to see if the fella there had remembered his 'big box of cars' this week, but there was nothing new that I could see.

 

'Alan's Emporium' had managed to sell one car since last week: unfortunately it happened to be the only car somebody on here wanted - the no-name ripoff Zakspeed Capri. FFS.

So, perhaps not a vintage week to go down in the annals of diecast tat collecting - but at least there were some things to gawp at.

Nor did I leave entirely empty-handed...

 

46 minutes ago, rml2345 said:

Go on, show us your tat excavations...

Pics to follow!

 

42 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Is it bad that this is the high point of my day on a Friday? 

Not at all - it sure is mine!

[Amishtat]

If the blue Corgi 740 in the first picture is as tidy as it looks then yes please! 

[bunglebus]

[Split_Pin]

I always forget it's Market Friday until I log in about 10 minutes before, so I get an unexpected rush of joy!

Not for me but I spied a Corgi Rancho with its upper tailgate inexplicably intact, a rare thing!

[Datsuncog]

18 minutes ago, Amishtat said:

If the blue Corgi 740 in the first picture is as tidy as it looks then yes please! 

It's certainly doesn't look too bad - I hadn't inspected it closely as I already have one! But I'll bop over shortly and make sure it's tidy.

I might also nab those Matchbox Mercs.

3 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

Not for me but I spied a Corgi Rancho with its upper tailgate inexplicably intact, a rare thing!

Indeed - had I not found an identical one intact earlier in the year, I would have lifted it and all... a more typically bust green example was languishing also.

 

Somewhat outrageously, I've been required to actually do a hand's turn this morning, so I'm slightly late in setting up, snapping and cropping this morning's stall finds.

But here's a little teaser...

[bunglebus]

Yay, Mod Rod!

[sierraman]

Wowsers in my trousers an orange Volvo 240 estate!

[sierraman]

If you can grab us the Matchbox VW transporter ambulance if it’s still I. Half decent nick and has the tailgate? Cheers 

[eddyramrod]

Those Oxford Thames vans, are they 1/43?  If so, a tenner is about normal ebay price for them.  I'd have had a couple at half that!

[warch]

Much as I love full size motorbikes, the main reason I've never really liked their miniature equivalent is that they tend not to come with a model rider, and are therefore condemned to spend eternity parked up looking good (like full size motorbikes do most of the time). Corgi did their SuperKings Barry Sheene RG 500 which was a pretty good model and which came with a Bazza with lid on or with his 70s locks flowing in the wind. However I have a Britains 1/32 Norton Commando and rider.

Yep. they had a choice of all the bikes in the 70s to make a model of, so they choose the one widely regarded as having had one of the worst looking fairings ever made.

 

Luckily the fairing is removable (there is even a headlight hiding behind it) which I think makes it much better. It does have that naff unremovable centrestand so you can't replicate Marc Marquez style elbow down cornering technique and crap looking tyres but I still love it.

[egg]

While DC sets up his stall, have a look at the details in a matchbox Mk10 Jag engine bay. i'm working on Great stuff.

[Datsuncog]

Okay then...

Back from Round 2 at the tat stall.

1 hour ago, Amishtat said:

If the blue Corgi 740 in the first picture is as tidy as it looks then yes please! 

Well, it isn't quite mint but is pretty straight, and will doubtless scrub up pretty well... secured it for £4, if that works for you?

 

41 minutes ago, sierraman said:

If you can grab us the Matchbox VW transporter ambulance if it’s still I. Half decent nick and has the tailgate?

The VW T3 was, of course, missing its rear tailgate (a common affliction for ambulances within that box. it seems) - so I left it for now.

Though now I'm looking at the pic again, I'm not sure if it was a different one I was looking at... the one in the pic seems to have more paint too. So I don't know if the better one sold, or whether it's become subsumed under all the other tat...

Either way, will look out for a decent example if I can dig one up!

 

8 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

Those Oxford Thames vans, are they 1/43?  If so, a tenner is about normal ebay price for them.  I'd have had a couple at half that!

Yup, and very nice they are too... he had them a fortnight ago, and they haven't sold today either, so I'm wondering how firm he is on the price...

 

[eddyramrod]

If he will come down to a fiver, I'd like one van and one bus please, not bothered which.  Don't tell MrsR!

[155V6]

1 hour ago, sierraman said:

If you can grab us the Matchbox VW transporter ambulance if it’s still I. Half decent nick and has the tailgate? Cheers 

Not trying to muscle in on DC's patch,but I've got 2 or 3 of those in decent nick if you're stuck.

[sierraman]

I was thinking of converting a scruffy but complete one into a camper or a van. I wouldn’t want to waste a half decent one! I’m a hopeless sentimentalist like that!

[Datsuncog]

So, what was in the bag from this morning?

Well, Corgis for one thing...

2 hours ago, sierraman said:

Wowsers in my trousers an orange Volvo 240 estate!

Indeed!

Little bit bashed but still intact, at any rate - I've encountered a few orange ones before in the tat boxes and in charity shops, and they're usually in a bad way. This one's quite reasonable - yours if you want it!

 

Slightly shonky-looking Merc 500 SEL.

Although the paint's still quite fresh (mostly just dirty), something tells me this late 1980s example is a different casting from the late 70s/early 80s example picked up a few weeks back - the doors here look really short.

Will compare and come back to you...

 

I've seen these Corgi karts in catalogues (I think they were sold as a twin pack), but never encountered the real thing.

Rubber rear wheels and a pull-back motor, still in working condition.

Who wouldn't want to pretend they're mulletmeister Pat Sharp?

 

One which I forgot to include in the group pic is this:

I think we had one of these mentioned a few pages back, so not quite a new one on me - but quite charming despite its wear.

 

Then we come to this...

You can imagine the meeting room at Corgi HQ, yeah? It's the early 1970s, and first Hot Wheels and then Lesney are slaying the pocket-money toy car market with futuristic and custom hot rods... so what to do?

Well, jump on the bandwagon and launch your own range of concept car models, evidently.

While I've heard of the others, unfortunately I have never heard of 'The Futura'.

Looking like a cross between something Gerry Anderson might have knocked up for a Captain Scarlett chase sequence, and something David Carradine might be piloting in Death Race 2000, I'm not sure if this model is pure fantasy or based on a real prototype/ design concept.

In fact, I know nothing about it at all, other than it would have had stickers.

I reckon I need to get myself some catalogues featuring Corgi Juniors...

 

And finally for the Corgi Bunch, this oddball:

In terms of proportions, this really isn't too bad - a good bit more delicate than the chunky Matchbox Superfast '57 Chevy.

Released right in the teeth of Corgis' bankruptcy in 1982, this version of a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air floppytop was another TV tie-in.

Having enjoyed phenomenal success in the 1970s with their renderings of the Starsky & Hutch Ford Torino, Kojak's Buick Regal, and the wide range of James Bond vehicles, in the 1980s Corgi pinned their hopes on...

Huh?

Apparently this was a US detective series. Quoth IMDB:

A.J. Simon is a polished fellow with a taste for classic cars and tailored suits. Rick Simon is his less refined (but still pleasant) older brother who has a taste for cowboy boots and four-wheel drive pickups. The two of them live in San Diego, where they own a private detective agency. The series chronicles their exploits.

Ah. The classic chalk & cheese detective double act, then. Apparently, this Corgi Juniors version was a model of A.J.'s cherished '57 Chevy - just the kind of low-key car ideal for undercover surveillance work, right?

Apparently the series premiered in the UK on ITV in 1983, where it did rather poorly in the ratings and was quickly dropped. The same thing very nearly happened in the US, but the station persisted and the show ultimately ran until 1989.

Seems like Corgi backed the wrong horse.

This one should have a windscreen, but it's missing.

It should also have a hood - but Corgi couldn't be arsed moulding one, it appears.

Somehow, I'm suspicious that the real reason for licencing this show was so Corgi could churn out yet more models of the ubiquitous Buick Regal, here simply called 'American Police Car'.

(As an aside, having had dozens of these Regals, I was incandescent to learn that the real-life Regal was quite an upmarket car that was highly unlikely to ever be used as a patrol cruiser.)

And finally... look closely at the baseplate of the Chevrolet:

Huh. Made in Singapore, eh?

That's also a new one on me.

More digging required, I think.

 

All of the above available at cost price of 50p each!

 

And now, onto Matchbox...

[bunglebus]

If Sierraman doesn't want it, I'll call dibs on the Ovlov - still searching for the Majorette one.

[bunglebus]

6 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

 

In terms of proportions, this really isn't too bad - a good bit more delicate than the chunky Matchbox Superfast '57 Chevy.

 

MB never did quite get the 57 Chevy right, even on the second attempt

 

20190520_121559 by RS, on Flickr

[warch]

27 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

 

In terms of proportions, this really isn't too bad - a good bit more delicate than the chunky Matchbox Superfast '57 Chevy.

Released right in the teeth of Corgis' bankruptcy in 1982, this version of a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air floppytop was another TV tie-in.

Having enjoyed phenomenal success in the 1970s with their renderings of the Starsky & Hutch Ford Torino, Kojak's Buick Regal, and the wide range of James Bond vehicles, in the 1980s Corgi pinned their hopes on...

Huh?

Apparently this was a US detective series. Quoth IMDB:

A.J. Simon is a polished fellow with a taste for classic cars and tailored suits. Rick Simon is his less refined (but still pleasant) older brother who has a taste for cowboy boots and four-wheel drive pickups. The two of them live in San Diego, where they own a private detective agency. The series chronicles their exploits.

Ah. The classic chalk & cheese detective double act, then. Apparently, this Corgi Juniors version was a model of A.J.'s cherished '57 Chevy - just the kind of low-key car ideal for undercover surveillance work, right?

Apparently the series premiered in the UK on ITV in 1983, where it did rather poorly in the ratings and was quickly dropped. The same thing very nearly happened in the US, but the station persisted and the show ultimately ran until 1989.

Seems like Corgi backed the wrong horse.

This one should have a windscreen, but it's missing.

It should also have a hood - but Corgi couldn't be arsed moulding one, it appears.

Somehow, I'm suspicious that the real reason for licencing this show was so Corgi could churn out yet more models of the ubiquitous Buick Regal, here simply called 'American Police Car'.

(As an aside, having had dozens of these Regals, I was incandescent to learn that the real-life Regal was quite an upmarket car that was highly unlikely to ever be used as a patrol cruiser.)

And finally... look closely at the baseplate of the Chevrolet:

 

Thanks for making me aware of Simon and Simon, it looks like one part Starsky and Hutch to two parts The A Team. In retrospect such a weird IP to have a toyline tie in.

I wouldn't worry about Buick Regal police cars overmuch, I spent much of the 80s happily accepting the existence of Police and Fire Service Lamborghini Countach's so a Regal wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary.

 

[sierraman]

Kojak had one? 

[egg]

I'd give that Futura a home DC, but only because it's there and I fancy painting it purple. However, If anyone else wants to snatch it from me in the playground, I won't grass to the Dinner Ladies. 

 

[Datsuncog]

So, Matchbox Superfast time... a nice seventies haul here.

I'm not really a Porsche fan, but the MB03 Porsche Turbo was a really nicely done casting that did justice to the 911 Turbo's sculpted flanks, doing a much neater job than the bloated Corgi Juniors Porsche Carrera.

Mmm. All the neater for not being covered in stickers and big graphics, which Universal Toys tended to add once they took over.

Also these:

A MB03 Monteverdi Hai - quite the exclusive 70s supercar, with only two real-life prototypes ever built - and the MB08 Wildcat Dragster, the Superfast era update the earlier Ford Mustang. The Ford is missing its engine and its stickers...

...but still has its towbar, which is quite an important thing for a dragster.

 

The MB41 Siva Spyder, then...

For years, I erroneously believed this to be just another fantasy vehicle. But it's actually an accurate model of a Beetle-based kit car, built in Bournemouth.

This one's just in quite good condition, all thigs considered, with straight axles and minimal chipping.

 

As requested by Mr. Bunglebus last week...

A concours* repaint of MB01 Mod Rod.

I know that some of these came with red wheels for the 1973 catalogue year, but then went back to black again for the following years.

Still don't know why, or if Matchbox did any other models with brightly coloured wheels until the 'My First Matchbox' range in the 1980s?

 

It's also interesting to note how Matchbox had a brief stab at detailing the bases of some of their toys in 1970 and 1971, with both the Mod Rod and Wildcat Dragster featuring stylised representations of front suspension, propshaft and diff, but then seemingly abandoned it for a generic checkerplate pattern from 1972 on.

 

Two for the DC box of wonders then...

The Model A Ford van is an upgrade to my original Cornflakes freebie van, in shocking condition.

The MB60 Holden Pickup is another that delighted me as a kid, as it looked so normal - I already have a very ropey one of these, and hopefully will manage to find a really good example one day.

I'll do another comparative photoshoot of both of these very soon.

 

Into the '80s, then:

I had the Escort Cabrio in both white and this very nice metallic blue. Although the XR3i graphics are non-correct, it's a lovely rendering.

The Corvette is one I owned as a Laser wheels example, and as such I never really played with it as it looked wrong. This is the cooking version.

It's also suffered windscreen damage from whatever junior psychopath stabbed the others.

 

All available to minishiters bar the Mod Rod, the Model A Van and the Holden Pickup!

 

Onto the last lap now...

The weirdies.

[bunglebus]

3 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

 

As requested by Mr. Bunglebus last week...

A concours* repaint of MB01 Mod Rod.

I know that some of these came with red wheels for the 1973 catalogue year, but then went back to black again for the following years.

Still don't know why, or if Matchbox did any other models with brightly coloured wheels until the 'My First Matchbox' range in the 1980s?

 

 

Mod Rod is the only Superfast ever to have coloured wheels, according to the 50 years of Superfast bookazine thing that came out the other week

 

20190824_105642 by RS, on Flickr

 

I have the red wheel one already

[Amishtat]

I had that Escort cabrio in that blue! It came from Langleys in Norwich some time around 1988 and I'd completely forgotten its very existence until two minutes ago 

[sierraman]

Go on I’ll have the green Porsche and the pink mustang to add to my list. 

[sierraman]

Could be wrong but I think I have a spare engine for the Mustang in my ‘scrapyard’ of terminally broken Matchbox cars. I’ve a bit of a sanctuary where they live in the loft, stacked in the fashion of a scrapyard waiting for the day that I need a Lotus Europa door. Every now and then you get a really good example that mysteriously is missing something like a bonnet, to have a few spares then is handy.