Shite in Miniature II

[bunglebus]

8 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

 

 

LT with caravan is most excellent 

[sutty2006]

4 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

LT with caravan is most excellent 

One of Sikus finest. Very old, and very well played with. 
will pull more out the box next time I’m off work 

[bunglebus]

Matchbox Corvette is done. Video and pics don't do justice to the vibrant red/gold/green flip 

[sierraman]

Today’s finds on the market. A whole host of Corgi US Vans. Already have the Unimog but at 50p I had to have it. 

[Split_Pin]

There is something evocative about those low-spec Juniors of the period. They are no better than anything from further afield at the time; it could be to do with the fact that they were made in Great* Britain*.

US Vans, Leyland Terriers, those weird XJS with no interiors and so on. I never gelled with Super GTs, even the MK1 Capri, but somehow the Corgi equivalents were ok.

[flat4alfa]

It was always the other way around for me.  I had the Terrier and Chevrolet van but hated their lightness (plastic base) and naff wheels with the thin raised part in the centres.  The plastic/tinny sound they made when rolled along made me discard for a Superfast with the metal bases and Superfast wheels, any time.  I can hear the Terrier even today, and I also can see it tipping itself over again as well.  The Matchbox cars always felt heavier and nicer to hold, and roll.

Perhaps it was because I was a boy in the seventies when Matchbox said Made in England on their metal bases - and I had grown out of toys by the time any Macau (or wherever) overseas production started?

[sierraman]

The Corgis were definitely tinnier but at the same time probably cheaper. Funny as the 1/36 scale ones were pretty substantial beasts

[bunglebus]

I agree, I've got some Corgis but have always felt they're one step removed from the cheap Chinese stuff. The older metal base ones are better but Matchbox has always been higher quality, even the Super GT series with plastic bases feel nicer although the black windows are naff.

Were Corgi much different price wise? I only really bought Matchbox as a kid, and the occasional Hot Wheels if I could find them

[sierraman]

I did get Corgi but only if the Matchbox wasn’t there for whatever reason. Thinking back the corgis would maybe have been 20p or whatever cheaper. The Corgi tracks that came out in the early 90’s were fantastic though. 

Nothing at the time could touch Siku or Majorette for quality though. But then the Siku would have been twice the price of the Matchbox. Majorette if I remember right were sold for years in Morrisons so I’m assuming that’s where mine came from. 

[Datsuncog]

On ‎1‎/‎19‎/‎2020 at 8:01 AM, Split_Pin said:

Nice one again DC! I'd be interested in the Narcoral Fiat depending on price.

So, a reply came just before lunchtime from the vendor, plus a few more pics:

A quick online auction site search suggests that's not overly exorbitant, given the pretty good condition.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=Nacoral+Fiat+500&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Nacoral+Fiat+500&_sacat=220

What think you??

[flat4alfa]

GIB, etc

[Split_Pin]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

So, a reply came just before lunchtime from the vendor, plus a few more pics:

A quick online auction site search suggests that's not overly exorbitant, given the pretty good condition.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=Nacoral+Fiat+500&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Nacoral+Fiat+500&_sacat=220

What think you??

Thanks for enquiring on my half Tim, I really appreciate it.

It's no doubt well priced, but a wee bit out of my budget at the moment.

[Datsuncog]

No bother, I appreciate we're talking antique shop prices rather than tat stall prices here!

Hopefully he'll pull some more bits and bobs out from his shed before long, so I'll keep popping back as and when I can to see what's new.

I'm also wondering if he'd be interested in any of my dead stock from the 2018 clearout potentially for swapsies...

[bunglebus]

Bought these for 99p each off eBay but local to me. Guy says he has a lot of MB/HW to sell so will send me pics if I want to buy. If it comes together I'll put them up on here and send them on for cost + postage

 

20200121_161427 by RS, on Flickr

20200121_161302 by RS, on Flickr

20200121_161307 by RS, on Flickr

 

Also found a 2014 H/W in Tesco. Strange

 

20200121_161638 by RS, on Flickr

[MarvinsMom]

according to wikipedia this is a real thing, a homologation special that was banned for been too good, along with entrants from ford.

i did think it was a roadrunner superbird when i first saw the picture. but yanks are not something that i an super knowledgeable about.

 

[DoctorRetro]

I've got that model, and the HW Superbird. 

I'll try to take pics at some point to show the many differences. 

[RoadworkUK]

Yeah, the Charger Daytona's nose wasn't as well-integrated as the Roadrunner's, it really was a bit of an afterthought.

[BL Bloke]

I've recently restored this Matchbox Daimler bus that I've owned from new.

DSCF0919 by timothy jones, on Flickr

DSCF0920 by timothy jones, on Flickr

[egg]

Nice job, is that the one with the awkward rivet above the lower deck rear window?

[BL Bloke]

Yes, that's the one.

[Datsuncog]

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2020 at 9:11 PM, Split_Pin said:

There is something evocative about those low-spec Juniors of the period. They are no better than anything from further afield at the time; it could be to do with the fact that they were made in Great* Britain*.

US Vans, Leyland Terriers, those weird XJS with no interiors and so on. I never gelled with Super GTs, even the MK1 Capri, but somehow the Corgi equivalents were ok.

 

On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2020 at 12:24 AM, flat4alfa said:

It was always the other way around for me.  I had the Terrier and Chevrolet van but hated their lightness (plastic base) and naff wheels with the thin raised part in the centres.  The plastic/tinny sound they made when rolled along made me discard for a Superfast with the metal bases and Superfast wheels, any time.  I can hear the Terrier even today, and I also can see it tipping itself over again as well.  The Matchbox cars always felt heavier and nicer to hold, and roll.

Perhaps it was because I was a boy in the seventies when Matchbox said Made in England on their metal bases - and I had grown out of toys by the time any Macau (or wherever) overseas production started?

 

On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2020 at 2:52 AM, sierraman said:

The Corgis were definitely tinnier but at the same time probably cheaper. Funny as the 1/36 scale ones were pretty substantial beasts

 

On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2020 at 7:26 AM, bunglebus said:

I agree, I've got some Corgis but have always felt they're one step removed from the cheap Chinese stuff. The older metal base ones are better but Matchbox has always been higher quality, even the Super GT series with plastic bases feel nicer although the black windows are naff.

 

On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2020 at 8:01 AM, sierraman said:

Nothing at the time could touch Siku or Majorette for quality though. But then the Siku would have been twice the price of the Matchbox. Majorette if I remember right were sold for years in Morrisons so I’m assuming that’s where mine came from. 

 

Corgi Juniors always felt slightly downmarket to me too, compared to Matchbox and others; and I've already touched on my weird love/hate thing with the Jag XJS, Aston DB6 and 'US Van'.

They annoyed me a little because they felt flimsy and didn't perform as well on play tracks - yet Corgi also did models of cars I liked, such as Mk3 Escort, Rover SD1, Volvo 245 and Ford Transit Mk2 pickup.

I didn't tend to buy Corgi with my own money; Matchbox was my preference, with Hot Wheels when I could get them. I wasn't really a fan of the Super GT range as I just thought fantasy=rubbish, but I should have looked closer at the Capri, RS2000 and Lotus Europa... but Matchbox felt like my brand.

Models like the Rover 800 Sterling were just gorgeous; even thinking about the blister-packed Rover hanging on a peg in Woolworths gives me a Proustian rush.

I was a bit too young to understand the whole England/Macau thing and Lesney's demise, but there just seemed to be so many Matchbox, and always new ones to find both old and new (and why Charlie Mack's Encyclopaedia of Matchbox Toys continues to give me such a kick).

The standard Majorette range on a spinner rack seemed to be mainly stocked by independent chemist's shops, for some reason. Some toy shops sold bigger 1/35 scale Majorettes and gift packs, but when I think of Majorette I always think of chemists. NI never had branches of Morrisons (other than for a few months in the mid 2000s, when they bought out Safeway but then quickly sold the NI stores on to Asda).

Siku were virtually unobtainable - I picked up a bay window VW Crew Cab, a Passat estate and an Audi 100 from a rummage box at an autojumble in the late 80s, and was transfixed - I'd never seen models like them before. I still have them (top right).

A few years later, Leisure World in Belfast started stocking some of the bigger Siku sets (and, crucially, little A6 range booklets so I could gawp at them all), and now and again an independent shop like McCulloughs would get in a box of standard issue vehicles - but they were always twice the price of Matchbox. I did, however, pick up a Mk3 VW Golf and a T4 Transporter from McCulloughs in the early 90s, and later a Mk4 Fiesta, Audi A6 and VW Beetle a few years later.

Weird stuff would also turn up from time to time, such as Edocar and Welly models (occasionally found in newsagents) and Novacar and Guisval (which popped up briefly in Toymaster stores in the early 90s) - but they never really captured my imagination in the same way (though the Edocar Trabant was a joy to my Jalopy magazine-lovin' 12 year old self). I also found some oddities while away on holiday, which made me very happy.

Most of the Corgi I had came from freebies and giveaways with cereal, petrol or Easter eggs, with the odd 'Bumper Pack' received as a gift, or some ropey second-hand ones picked up at jumble sales.

I do dimly remember receiving a blister pack Corgi Vauxhall Nova in red, from Stewart Millar in Clandeboye Shopping Centre, not long after the real car was launched - so around 1983/84.

 

Now, it did have a plastic base but also had an opening boot - and I can remember that it felt a bit special, somehow. I really liked it (and still have it, though it's pretty worn).

But the Juniors always felt highly variable in quality, and the fact that so many of them stayed in the range for years and years meant that I ended up with a lot of duplicates - I must have had about a dozen Mercedes 240Ds and Buick Regals in various colours - and that sorta diminished it, somehow.

I also ended up with a lot of duplicates from the BP promo range, and that also maybe cheapened the 'specialness' to a five-year-old.

Another toy shop, Rainbow, had a whole rack of Corgi Juniors in the early 90s, which never really sold - they only had about four different models, all of them sports cars in drab and unappealing colours like navy blue and dark maroon, including the Ferrari 348, BMW 8-series and Porsche 911 Carrera. They were left hanging up at the end of a shelf for years, reduced to 49p and getting dustier and dustier... stuff like this didn't help perceptions, I guess.

 

But I've been mulling this over for a few days, and I think the main difference is that Matchbox started off making 1/75ish scale toys and then later started making bigger versions, whereas Corgi started off with 1/43ish scale toys and later decided to grab a slice of Matchbox's market share by making smaller toys.

IMHO, Matchbox Superkings were never as well-built and detailed as the Corgi 1/35 range - except for the short-lived late 60s range involving the Dodge Charger, Mercury Cougar, Mercury Commuter and Lamborghini Miura, which were exquisite.

Equally, Corgi Juniors were never quite as finely detailed and finished as their Matchbox equivalent, and this became even more pronounced into the 1980s as Mettoy struggled with deteriorated tooling and the need for cost-cutting on their smallest and least profitable toys.

I reckon this is because each company's original focus was slightly different; Lesney were tremendous at putting unbelievable levels of detail into tiny models, but their 70s and 80s larger-scale output often (not always, though) seemed a bit half-arsed.

For example, the 1-75 range version of the Mk1 VW Golf has accurate badging and number plates and everything...

...while the Superkings version is much more crude and far less detailed, despite being twice the size. It looks like it was made by a different company entirely.

Corgi, on the other hand, focused on innovation and features in the 50s and 60s, and then settled into film and TV tie-ins during the later 60s and 70s where fidelity to the real-life screen car was important to secure contracts.

For their Juniors range though, it seemed more like they were trying to sell cars to kids who liked superheroes, rather than trying to sell superhero toys to kids who liked cars.

With a few notable exceptions, Corgi's large 1/35 range was truly special, and around 1980 it was quite a bit ahead of Matchbox Superkings in terms of features and detail.

But here the small/large variation is reversed - on toys like the Fiat X1/9, Jaguar XJS, Mk 3 Escort, Ford Sierra, Range Rover and Rover SD1 , the smaller version was noticeably inferior in terms of proportions and detail.

I will say, however, that their Mk3 Transit appeared to be much better proportioned and detailed in its SWB Juniors format than in the LWB 1/35 format.

Even later on into the 80s, it was still noticeable:

The large Volvo 760 is an absolute cracker, inside and out; whereas the casting of the smaller version seems nowhere near as crisp, and the extension of the glazing unit to form the headlights seems to detract rather than enhance the front end. 

Comparing Matchbox and Corgi Volvos of the same approximate scale also indicates that although Corgi managed to get the proportions and the detail mostly right (mebbe a bit wide), it looks like the paint's too thick or something - the lines just aren't quite as clean as the Matchbox, despite slightly shonky shut lines on the latter's doors.

The contrasting bumpers on the Matchbox - rather cleverly using a slot in the base to give the correctly coloured air dam while securing the body - provide some realism. Neither model has any tampo printing, just the paint.

The Matchbox wheels are undoubtedly better, as well - even on this well worn tat box example. Cloverleafs are my least favourite Corgi Jrs wheel variant.

Matchbox opts for badging on the bootlid too - though I think here, Corgi's rear is more distinctively Volvo, somehow.

Also, in unscientific toybox testing, I reckon that large-scale Corgis wore much more robust paint. That big green Volvo spent twenty years in my toy box, yet is virtually mint - any Superkings bought around the same time were treated no differently, but soon suffered enormous paint loss.

So yeah... it's an odd one.

But I reckon Matchbox's heart never really lay in the bigger stuff, while Corgi never saw their true calling in making the smaller stuff.

And, even to us young enthusiasts, it showed.

[Tenmil Socket]

That Superkings Golf is poor... I would like the white Superkings Sierra Cosworth in my collection at some point...

[Split_Pin]

I didnt know that there was a numberplate variation on the smaller Golf, my yellow example wears a Lancashire mark 'JBV 149R'.

The latter application of UK numberplates in the correct font together with realistic badges was something which really attracted me to Superfasts of the late 1970s.

Corgi also did this to a greater or lesser effect on the 1/36 range Thumbs up for the badges on the 760, MK3 Escort, Sierra and Austin 'mini'Metro, boo to the MK3 Transit. Its a shame that they only showed anonymous looking 6 character number plates such as 'RMM100' on the Volvo and 'GMS625' on the MK3 Transit. At least the font was fairly accurate.

The most evocative for me though has to be the Corgi BP promo stuff as they were omnipresent in the late 1980s. All my friends and acquaintances had several, whether they were into cars or not. The same is partly true for late 1980s/early 1990s Matchboxes. Familiar then but now a solid part of my history.

The only place in Scotland that I ever found Sikus in the 1980s was Christie's in St Andrews. I got a MK3 Escort and a B3 Pass at, excitingly new at the time. They had a real Germanic quality feel to them I still have the Escort. Leisuretime in Falkirk started selling the brand in the early 1990s and I got a few of their fantastic trucks for Christmas over a number of years.

[Datsuncog]

10 minutes ago, Split_Pin said:

I didnt know that there was a numberplate variation on the smaller Golf, my yellow example wears a Lancashire mark 'JBV 149R'.

Weirdly, it's different on the back than the front (!)

Mine has JBV 149R on the front (base casting)...

and FLT 878 on the back (body casting).

 

I really should check my earlier green release (with the roofrack) and see what it says on the back...

[155V6]

Today's arrivals

The Corgi Volvo in beige with beige interior is a colour variant I didn't have.

The Majorette pickup is fairly uncommon,as it has lights on the roof instead of spare wheels.

The Corgi Rockets buggy was just because I buy cheap Rockets when I see them.

The Mira Seat Ritmo has a bent axle,but should be easy enough to straighten.

[Tenmil Socket]

That Golf's a cut and shut...

[AndyW201]

4 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Weirdly, it's different on the back than the front (!)

Mine has JBV 149R on the front (base casting)...

and FLT 878 on the back (body casting).

 

I really should check my earlier green release (with the roofrack) and see what it says on the back...

I've got the green one with roof rack (something something pineapple...), it's JBV 149R on the rear of that too. 

[flat4alfa]

6 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

[ Lots of stuff that should be in his Cog book at book shops near you ]

 

[sierraman]

It’s Tat Friday isn’t it? 

[Datsuncog]

Yes yes yes, another Tat Friday dawns... sure where else would you rather be?

Vague and unfounded concerns that the usual tat stall would be AWOL this week turned out to be unfounded; however, although there's still plenty o'tat on offer, there's still nothing new since the start of the year. Seemingly, we're down to a single box of general old toys, and then the good old 50p box.

And the stall at the moment seems to mainly consist of a random selection turfed out of the box, so here's this week's delights:

In fairness, the Matchbox Superkings Ford A Series box van and Jaguar XJ12 police car aren't bad, while the Dodge Horse Trailer is missing some glazing and tyres but still has plenty of life in it.

The badly repainted Corgi futuristic ambulance, Range Rover motorway patrol and Starsky & Hutch Ford Torino are a little less presentable, however.

'60s Corgis are all pretty far gone, while the MoY Goblin van, Muppets 'Fozzie Bear Car' and Portugal sportsing bus don't really set my heart a-flutter.

Late 80s Matchbox Lamborghini Countach was very tidy, though.

Further up the stall, then...

Another bad repaint in the form of the Corgi Citroen DS, while the Chevrolet Astro and Team Corgi Mini both need some TLC.

Dinky Range Rover ambulance wasn't bad, though I also suspect it may be the priciest vehicle on the table today.

Massive robot thing is massive.

 

So, time to dive into the tat box...

Again, it seems that the tat fairies have not been doing their job lately, failing to deliver delightful new diecast before our wondering eyes.

Still loads of 70s Corgi F1 stuff, and quite a bit of 70s Lesney stuff alongside 80s/90s Matchbox of varying quality.

The green VW Golf has matching plates of JBV 149R both front and back, so I'm scratching my head a bit about what's going on with my silver version upthread!

At least two battered Matchbox Mk3 Transits in there, plus two pink Cadillac Allantes - one of which has a manufacturing defect, with the plastic strip moulding between the body and base castings weirdly coggled on one side.

Red Audi Quattro sadly damaged at the front; Refrigerated Truck missing its door and much of its glazing too. Jaguar SS100 has the windscreen fairly chewed.

Plenty of 80s racers in middling condition; clearly these are all someone's well-used playthings. Still quite a few AMC Javelins in there too (at last 3), but none in great nick and the dark  green one seems to have gone.

I guess we've seen these all before, hey?

Maybe next week will bring more joy.

 

A quick scurry round the back of the stall, then, to the other box of wonders...

Not much movement here either; and to be honest a lot of this looks like 50p box stuff - the roofless Chevy Impala taxi and adjacent bandy-axled Refuse Truck, to name but a few.

Corgi Marcos Mantis is missing most of its paint but is otherwise complete and in pretty good shape, all things considered.

Superkings Sand Cat missing a spare wheel on the front?

Siku Merc tractor unit in a sorry state too, with its windscreen busted out.

@andy18s had called dibs on this Corgi Turbos Opel Manta last week - but, on examination, it seems that the roof's taken quite a hit. I hadn't noticed that before.

Now I'm not mad keen on diecast with structural damage, so I don't want to saddle you with something unusable, dude! But happy to go back, if you think you can do something with this.

So I made a few small purchases, based on some of last week's requests (pics to follow, as ever) and then went for a mooch around the rest of the market...

 

Giffer Alley had nothing of real interest this week, though one of the stalls at the back had this (unpriced):

Alan's Emporium seems to have eschewed wheeled tat in favour of bags of cheapo soldiers and dinosaurs, so that's no bloody use to us.

The Charity Stall had fewer of the cars from last week, and nothing else new. The plastic Mk1 Focus didn't seem to be there.

Just as I was heading out, though, one of the generalised tat stalls caught my eye...

Hmmm...

Aside from the M.A.S.K. Thunderhawk Camaro (with split tyres but otherwise not bad), there was also this - a Lucky Toys Ford F100, of the type I had when I was a kid and was waxing lyrical about only a few months back.

Sadly, the missing bonnet put me off rather. Front wheel probably fixable, though.

Method of attaching the canopy is identical to the Matchbox version - I'd suspect Lucky Toys drew some inspiration from it. Side stickers are outrageously cockamamie.

Definitely a Lucky - No. 3125.

Tempting as it was, I think I'd prefer to collect stuff that's new to me, rather than broken stuff representative of my past... so, gently, I put it back...

As an aside, my brother definitely had that blue Police tinplate Jeep and helicopter set, though where it came from I couldn't say.

More to come, re. what I emerged with!