Shite in Miniature II

[andrew e]

Another one I bought in the early 90’s - a genuine USSR Volga!

Lovely box art and I’m making a wild guess that ‘86’ stamp inside the box is when it was made.

In Aeroport livery, everything opens - it would give a Dinky Galaxie a run for its money! Oddly no zinc pest, and it’s been missing that mirror all the time I’ve had it too. 

Separate steering wheel, good dash moulding and even authentic holes in the floor 😁

Very finely detailed running gear, and back suspension that’s factory knackered for good measure - it’s like a Ruskie Hearald 😂

 

To compliment the roof mounted “Follow me” the rear window I have had translated to “The Pubski - Vodka’s on me!” 

[flat4alfa]

23 minutes ago, andrew e said:

To compliment the roof mounted “Follow me” the rear window I have had translated to “The Pubski - Vodka’s on me!” 

If only!

САЕДЧЙТЕ ЗА МНОЙ    [pronounced SAYEDCHYTE ZA MNOY]   when translated is...

 

..wait for it

 

...'FOLLOW ME'

😁

[flat4alfa]

Very nice model for just 10 rubles and 50 kopeks !

In 1986, you got 100 RUB to 1.017 GBP.  So 10.5 RUB was not a lot.

 

[Sudsprint]

43 minutes ago, andrew e said:

Another one I bought in the early 90’s - a genuine USSR Volga!

Lovely box art and I’m making a wild guess that ‘86’ stamp inside the box is when it was made.

In Aeroport livery, everything opens - it would give a Dinky Galaxie a run for its money! Oddly no zinc pest, and it’s been missing that mirror all the time I’ve had it too. 

Separate steering wheel, good dash moulding and even authentic holes in the floor 😁

Very finely detailed running gear, and back suspension that’s factory knackered for good measure - it’s like a Ruskie Hearald 😂

 

To compliment the roof mounted “Follow me” the rear window I have had translated to “The Pubski - Vodka’s on me!” 

I love the weapons grade Norev panel gaps.

And that gear lever is more Viagra than Volga!

[andrew e]

That’s ace @flat4alfa much appreciated 👍 I think I gave a £10 for it - so a ten times what it cost and a tenth of my apprentice wages!

[Split_Pin]

Just stick it in Google Translate, first thing I do with my Russian Models.

I had a friend in the 1980s who had a couple of these and I recall being amazed at the detail.

They were making the saloon version of that casting up until quite recently, with the modified 3102 front and a few less details. I have a Taxi version.

[Datsuncog]

Love those Russian models - crude yet also brilliantly rendered. There's nothing like them, and that one's a zinger.

Amongst others, I have a KGB-grade black Volga sedan, purchased c.1993, and I found the opening-everything seriously impressive... but I don't think it's as detailed as this one on the underside, as far as I recall.

The box artwork is also so very appealing - while the recent Far Eastern magazine versions may have less panel gaps, they're missing out by not having boxes like the originals.

[Split_Pin]

Agree the box art work is ace, sadly lacking from more recent versions.

I wish I'd kept a lot more of my USSR models for this reason. Welly and Grell, together with the cheap partwork ones are easy to get a hold of but lack the character of these .

Of these earlier ones I have a ZIL limousine with faux Radio Rentals style wood veneer printed on the box, Moskvich Aleko and Moskvich 412 estate. The rest are post Soviet and not as interesting.

 

[bunglebus]

10 hours ago, andrew e said:

Another one I bought in the early 90’s - a genuine USSR Volga!

I think I got this out of Poundland many years ago

 

[RoadworkUK]

10 hours ago, andrew e said:

Another one I bought in the early 90’s - a genuine USSR Volga!

 

If  I was a single man, and had no specific ambition for that status to change, I'd probably have an enlarged version of the above as wall art. Amazing.

[eddyramrod]

49 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I think I got this out of Poundland many years ago

 

 

Yes you probably did, I have a couple from the same source.

[Datsuncog]

3 hours ago, Split_Pin said:

I have a ZIL limousine with faux Radio Rentals style wood veneer printed on the box

Mmm, that sounds familiar... I think I may have one of those with the woodgrain-effect box too, plus another great illustration on the back of a Party apparatchik's motorcade thundering through Red Square, or something of that nature...

I'm really going to have to go and find all these at lunchtime!

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

I think I got this out of Poundland many years ago

 

I've at least one of those Aeroflot Volgas (the first had its roof sign pre-broken for my convenience so I bought another, but dunno if I kept both) - plus the ambulance version, and a plain green example.

For the money, they absolutely can't be beaten - though there's a charm to the CCCP originals that can't be replicated in China.

[Datsuncog]

Definitely, definitely, absolutely the last Corgi of the year to be sourced via eBay has arrived.

A slightly down-at-heel Sierra Ghia in what looks like Ford Radiant Red, which was spotted at 99p with not long to go on the (bidless) auction.

Of course, in the last second someone tried to snipe it, pushing me up to my maximum bid - so not quite a megabargain - but still not a bad example.

The rear screen was oddly cloudy like it had been exposed to superglue, but it washed right off with some warm soapy water and hasn't reappeared.

Detail is tremendous on these - Corgi really pulled out all the stops to make this as accurate as they could manage.

I was a fool to let go of my near-mint silver example a couple of years back, but this red one appeals because I had an identical one new as a kid.

I didn't look after it particularly well, and like my surviving Pace Car version, it managed to lose its bootlid somewhere along the way...

Such a large hatch secured by two small pinch hinges was always asking for trouble.

My hatchless example was last seen in a box of tatty diecast heading to my mother's P4 classroom c.2006, at a point when I had limited interest in the toys I trashed as a youngster (and, in truth, quite a bit of shame at how poorly I'd treated them).

It's now presumed lost forever, so I can kinda pretend that this lightly playworn example is what I might have ended up with today, if I'd been a little less careless...

[Datsuncog]

Forgot to say, I took a wee turn over to Whitehead yesterday, for the first time in a long time.

The soshul meejah grapevine had informed me that my preferred bricks 'n' mortar diecast supplier was open again, in new, expanded retail premises.

Hey, I'm all for supporting local small businesses. Especially when they sell smol battered vehicles.

Having been mostly trading through eBay since everything came to a shuddering halt back in March, The Antiquarian was now back in business, having taken over the florist's shop next door as they'd given up their lease to carry on the flower business from home.

So there were additional display cases, and quite a bit of diecast old and new to be found: 

Some Bond partwork 1/43, plus 1/24 US stuff (not sure who makes these), plus Atlas repro French Dinkys.

Plenty of Beetles, and I think that's a Dinky Trojan van on the far right.

Bond AMC Hornet; Oxford Diecast BMC J4 police bus.

Yes, the tags, the tags. I know.

Some quite decent Lesney commercials, not unreasonably priced at £4-5 each.

Older Dinky and Corgi stuff, plus some of many fascinating transport books.

Corgi Classics Scammell tankers, plus a BRS Scarab and Dinky Morris J van.

Some more Atlas Dinkys, and Universal-era repro Matchbox. Around £10 to £15 asked on the Dinkys.

No-name trucking for a few quid; another nice Corgi Scammell tanker priced at £25.

Old and new commercials - Corgi Toys Karrier Bantam, Matchbox Dinky Austin van, Dinky Dinky forklift, and Corgi Classics Minor pickup with mild front-end damage.

Land Rover fun in many scales, plus Bond partwork Nu-Thunderbird, and Lledo Vanguards Thames box truck.

Now it gets interesting - boxed vintage Corgi.

The Mercedes L-series hauling a Gloster Saro tanker filled with The Black Stuff is identical to one Cog Sr brought me back from a business trip to the Isle of Man c.1985, and which I subsequently trashed (much the same as the Sierra upthread). If only the sticker wasn't so poorly applied... this appealed to me very much; £15 not an unreasonable price tag. Norn Iron buses to the right quite sought after, so local tax applies.

Oxford 1/72 and Lesney repros alongside, plus Matchbox Dinky Commer 14CWT, and Corgi Classics Minors on the lower shelf.

Vintage rail stuff, plus some old and new Corgis: more Minor vans, and Chevy Impala kennel truck, Plymouth Sports Suburban, and Monkeemobile.

I was most gratified to find a few trays of Matchbox commercials offered at a quid a throw. ELEVEN Ergomatics, at my count.

Mmm, some Tat Thread Kryptonite - a tray of Days Gone.

The Antiquarian professed his discomfort at stocking these; people keep calling past and telling him they have 'old Corgis and Dinkys in their boxes' to get rid of, but when they later call in, invariably they've brought a carrier bag brimming with DGs. Much sadness all round ensues.

But he says they sell well to kids and grannies at a pound a go, so trade is trade... I gave assurance that I wouldn't judge him.

There were also some others, in a 'select reserve' box:

Yow - early Lesneys, Lone Star Tuf Tots, Hornby Dublo and Husky delights...

Not sure who makes the Minor van; the baseplate was quite worn and I couldn't decipher it.

Ergomatic tipper was nice; I should have probably snaffled it.

A better Husky VW elevator truck than the white one I sold at a loss last month.

Ergomatic with 5/6 of its original pipe load probably not that common.

I think he's planning on listing these on eBay at some point, with the boxed Corgi Classics and a few others already listed on his treasuresoftransport_whitehead account.

I did, ahem, show my support in a financial way, but if there's anything there which particularly interests anyone, I can find out prices and act as a tat agent as needed...

Pics to follow!

[bunglebus]

18 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Mmm, some Tat Thread Kryptonite - a tray of Days Gone.

Not sure who makes the Minor van; the baseplate was quite worn and I couldn't decipher it.

That Moggy is lovely (Hornby Dublo)

as for the tray of Days gone...

[Datsuncog]

10 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Pics to follow!

As promised...

So, maybe not that much of a surprise as these were all visible in my pics - some decent regular wheels Lesneys, and a reasonable Husky MkX Jag Fire Chief.

I've made no secret of my admiration for the Foden cement truck; it's such a lovely crisp detailed casting.

As an earlier example, this has the revolving drum mechanism worked by the second axle which was deleted on the later Superfast version.

This one still has its locating points intact, so it works as intended (ie not very well).

But it's a lovely wee thing, and definitely a keeper.

Leyland Pipe Truck is in okay nick, but having most of the original pipes makes it a bit less common.

I've bought, kept and then sold various versions of this truck over the years, both in red with regular wheels and the later orange Superfast version (which is quite differently done with a plastic pipe cradle, possibly because this is one Lesney you really wouldn't want to put a bare foot on in the dark). I should probably stick with this one, and maybe I'll find another pipe to complete it in a tat box someday?

I really like the detail cast in to the Foamite Crash Tender - just fantastic.

I picked another one of these up from the 50p box a few weeks back, but this un's in slightly better nick - I might see if I can find some repro white mouldings for the lettering and ladders, and make it more displayable. And straighten the droopy foam nozzle.

It's a really nice little thing.

Husky Jaguar is in pretty good nick - previous early versions of the Mk.X that have passed through my hands usually have one or more bumper corners snapped off, and the searchlight punched into the interior. But not this time.

A few paint chips on this, but otherwise quite nice.

I'm not as enamoured with these early Huskys as I feel I ought to be, so while this one is certainly quite appealing, it's also available for what I paid for it (£2.00).

So yes - nice to have another outlet for diecast that's not too far away, or crazily priced!

[bunglebus]

Cor bagsy me the Husky Jag then!

How much was the Morris van?

[Lord Sterling]

2 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

...Bond Range Rover...

I am interested in a few things in this pic if you can grab them for me please?

Bond Range-Rover

2 x Ladybird book of Motor Cars

 

[Datsuncog]

26 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Cor bagsy me the Husky Jag then!

How much was the Morris van?

Sure thing - will pop the Jag into your box!

No price yet on the Minor van - he may just plan on listing them online to see what they might fetch. A quick squizz on eBay suggests £7 to £20 seems to be around the going rate for one in that condition - could offer him a fiver and see what he reckons?

Oxford MO pickup also seems to command stronger coin than I'd have expected; if you've any interest in it as well, I could see if he'd maybe do them both for a tenner?

[bunglebus]

11 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

No price yet on the Minor van - he may just plan on listing them online to see what they might fetch. A quick squizz on eBay suggests £7 to £20 seems to be around the going rate for one in that condition - could offer him a fiver and see what he reckons?

Oxford MO pickup also seems to command stronger coin than I'd have expected; if you've any interest in it as well, I could see if he'd maybe do them both for a tenner?

Yeah why not, in for a penny - I'd go £2 on the VW pickup if it's still there  too, looks better than my current ones

Oh and if anyone ever spots one with the box on the back, please think of me!

Never seen this version with the box/different conveyor other than in this pic from Hobby DB

[RoadworkUK]

6 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

My hatchless example was last seen in a box of tatty diecast heading to my mother's P4 classroom c.2006

I feel you. Mine would be spirited away stealthily during my teenage years. Only on my occasional visits to Mum's classroom on those days when I'd pick her up to go somewhere (she doesn't drive) would I spot something that I had assumed safely squirrelled away, but which had actually become sandpit fodder because I "don't need them any more".

Grr.

[Datsuncog]

3 hours ago, Lord Sterling said:

I am interested in a few things in this pic if you can grab them for me please?

Bond Range-Rover

2 x Ladybird book of Motor Cars

 

I'll certainly ask about the Range Rover - I've seen boxed ones priced at between £7 and £10 in the Smithfield model shop, so I'd like to think this one wouldn't be priced any more than that (hopefully less).

The Ladybirds are both just postcards, I'm afraid - but that's not to say he hasn't got copies of the actual books somewhere else... Will see what he can turn up!

[Datsuncog]

On 12/14/2020 at 4:23 PM, bunglebus said:

Yeah why not, in for a penny - I'd go £2 on the VW pickup if it's still there  too, looks better than my current ones

Oh and if anyone ever spots one with the box on the back, please think of me!

Never seen this version with the box/different conveyor other than in this pic from Hobby DB

I'll certainly ask him!

Looking closely at that blister pack VW, I think it might be two plastic suitcases still attached to their moulding sprue and packed loose alongside the toy, rather than a box attached to the vehicle itself... sorry for any bubble-bursting, but if correct it might save you hours of fruitless searching?

[Datsuncog]

1 hour ago, RoadworkUK said:

I feel you. Mine would be spirited away stealthily during my teenage years. Only on my occasional visits to Mum's classroom on those days when I'd pick her up to go somewhere (she doesn't drive) would I spot something that I had assumed safely squirrelled away, but which had actually become sandpit fodder because I "don't need them any more".

Grr.

Yow, that sucks... I suppose I had given my consent, of sorts, to pass the rough stuff along to the classroom - but back in my mid-20s I was much more into Vanguards and the like, and the old Superkings and Corgis didn't get a look in.

It was only a couple of years back I asked where they'd gone, and was told they'd all stayed in the school after my mum retired.

I suppose I should have made it clearer that I wanted them back one day...

[flat4alfa]

When I was in my mid-20 I was much more into ladies

It was only a couple of years back I asked what happened to them too...

[Split_Pin]

I've never lost my interest in diecast and quickly realised that I was never going to be one of the cool guys when I was about 16. 

 

[flat4alfa]

Bit late to the Russian taxi party, but I have this.  No idea why Russian Taxis appeal to me, I GAZ it must be the subliminal influence of 007 films etc.

Sorry, couldn't step to one with 'СДЕЛАHO B CCCP' (MADE IN CCCP) as the brand on the base...

The D'Agostini partwork recast of the GAZ 3110 Volga :

[bunglebus]

That looks familiar

 

[bunglebus]

in among a load of God-awful tat, I spotted a couple of jems. First up, Superkings K-6 cement mixer with working mechanism 

with it was this odd Japanese plastic jeep, clockwork with a dash mounted release lever and FWD. Anyone recognise it?

[bunglebus]

Found one on eBay. Should have a gun that shoots sparks