Shite in Miniature II

[andrew e]

Though it doesn’t photograph well the Corgi GT70 is a fabulous colour. Many years ago I got a passenger lap round Dunton banking in Ford’s one, noisy but not that quick was my memory. Anyway I bought one on Sunday just gone myself!

[bunglebus]

I think you enquired about the last one I found, so I feel a bit less guilty now!

 

[barrett]

I don't think I knew there was a GT70 model. Anyone know what the scale is? Corgis of that era always seem fairly approximate to me, but if it's actually 1:43 or close enough I might need to get one...

Anyway, apparrently I know get packages of things I forgot I bought. It's dark, and I have more stuff due soon which should be revealed in one go, but here's a teaser of one of the most attractively detailed engine bays on any '60s toy I've yet seen. Lovely stuff.

[sheffcortinacentre]

1:43, there's a corgi juniors one in orange too.

[Burnside]

A few weeks ago I was feeling pretty fed up.  So I decided to treat myself with some 1:43 Diecast chod. 

First purchase was this workshop lift made by GMP.

Detail is really nice overall and the ramp height is also adjustable, as are the legs. Although the height adjusters feel a bit flimsy, so I'll try not to mess with them too much.

Came with the oil drainer and oil tray. Although I didn't even realize that the reel was adjustable, until I saw pics online. Which is a nice touch. 

Fitting the ramp to the base with the tiny screws though was a pita, so I'll be leaving it assembled permanently! 

Had my Schabak Golf to hand too, so here it is receiving a miniature service. 

Also while looking online, I'd spotted a minichamps MK3 Escort. Wanted one for ages, so was pleased to get this at a reasonable price.

The details are great and I especially love the wheels. As they were my favourite ford steel wheel of the day. Paint is slightly flawed but not enough to upset me. 

The other purchase is a Norev Fiat Panda. I couldn't resist it in the cocktail blue, as it's one of my favourite Panda colours.

Interestingly they have chosen to base it on the 1.3 multijet model, rather than the pez fire engine models. 

Casting is spot on I reckon and all the painted details are neatly applied too. So really happy with them overall. 

 

 

[bunglebus]

I mentioned on a FB group that someone needs to make replacement surfboards for the Matchbox MK1 Golf - turns out they do!

I may well order some if anyone else needs them, or I can put you in touch with the guy making them

[155V6]

27 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I mentioned on a FB group that someone needs to make replacement surfboards for the Matchbox MK1 Golf - turns out they do!

I may well order some if anyone else needs them, or I can put you in touch with the guy making them

That's interesting,I could do with a couple of the surfboards.

There was a guy in France on eBay  while back doing them,he also did the plastic bikes from the Holden Pickup & some Majorette bits,but they were quite expensive.These seem much more reasonable 😀

[flat4alfa]

10 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

1:43, there's a corgi juniors one in orange too.

Had one of those as a child.  Had lift-up engine lid in blue rinse plastic, IIRC

Never gelled-with it, it always seemed bloated and I had no real-world reference.  It was probably in the fantasy car pile...

[flat4alfa]

10 hours ago, barrett said:

here's a teaser of one of the most attractively detailed engine bays on any '60s toy I've yet seen. Lovely stuff.

Politoys 350 GT?  You must have broken the bank on that!

[barrett]

49 minutes ago, flat4alfa said:

Politoys 350 GT?  You must have broken the bank on that!

nerd! did you 'just know' or did you look it up?

It was relatively cheap. Not 50p tat box cheap, but not loads of money

[Tenmil Socket]

If anyone’s on Instagram check out 164_custom_cave. He’s making a mk4 Escort using a mk3 Corgi. 

[Amishtat]

On 7/19/2021 at 7:34 PM, bunglebus said:

I went off to eBay to have a look, but instead found this one the spit of @Datsuncog's one - but with a different grille

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Corgi-Toys-289-Volkswagen-Polo-Die-Cast-1-43-Vintage-Mettoy-Playcraft-VW-/334081410549?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

Watchlisted...

Took about ten days to find it and it isn't as nice as I'd remembered. Available if you didn't get a better one. 

[bunglebus]

7 hours ago, 155V6 said:

That's interesting,I could do with a couple of the surfboards.

There was a guy in France on eBay  while back doing them,he also did the plastic bikes from the Holden Pickup & some Majorette bits,but they were quite expensive.These seem much more reasonable 😀

I might ask what else he can make, doesn't seem to advertise as such but people know he can make parts and decals. The bikes off the Holden is a good shout, need to think what else always falls off.

Majorette VW bus tailgates spring to mind.

Fiat 1500 and VW 1600 roof racks/luggage?

Gus's Gulper engine scoops...

[sierraman]

23 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

I might ask what else he can make, doesn't seem to advertise as such but people know he can make parts and decals. The bikes off the Holden is a good shout, need to think what else always falls off.

Majorette VW bus tailgates spring to mind.

Fiat 1500 and VW 1600 roof racks/luggage?

Gus's Gulper engine scoops...

If you could make the surfboards in some system where you could quickly make a batch then it’d be worth doing but if you watch the YouTube videos on how to do it, it’s a lot of farting about to make £1.25 through eBay. If you had some sort of plastics factory where you could make a batch of a hundred one afternoon you’d be laughing though. 

[barrett]

Right, let's have a look at what the postman has brought me then

Yum! First up is Politoys M series number 539, the Lamborghini 350GT. This does generally seem to be one of the more sought-after models in the range, and it's pretty clear why. The detail is just absolutely wonderful, and the proportions are spot-on too.

As well as the excellent engine, note the tiny cast Touring badge and rear script, plus the subtly painted front indicators and rear reflectors.

The best bit might actually be the base, though. There are detailed sump, gearbox, propshaft (which moves with the rear suspension) and quad exhausts. I reckon there are 24 separate components to this model, not including the wheels and axles. Is it starting to make sense why I get all gooey over stuff like this but don't really care for the equivalent British toys of the period?

So up next, after one of the most detailed Politoys, to one of the simplest. It's number 534, the Elva-Ford GT, the car that directly led to the creation of the GT40 and quite simply one of the most beautiful shapes ever on four wheels.

All this one boasts is opening doors, but despite its relative simplicity it doesn't skimp on accuracy. Note the correct wheels, even in the correct shade of gunmetal, and check out the brilliant little Cortina-sourced CND tail lamps

Through the large 'glass' engine cover we can glimpse the engine and transaxle

Unscrewing the base gives a better view - look at the way the chassis is modelled accurately

Compare it to the real thing and see how much of that barely-visible detail is in line with the prototype

 

[barrett]

Next up it's number 504, the Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta. Even the crude USSR-built version of this seems to make decent coin these days, so I was happy to snap this up for a reasonable sum

It's certainly not a patch on the Lamborghini in terms of detail, but it's still a lovely thing

There is a passable Colombo V12 under the bonnet, and a decent stab at the distinctive twin-central dial dash

Last but not least, Mebetoys A-22, the Chevrolet Corvette Rondine by Pininfarina. The Tom Tjaarda-styled concept which prefigured the Fiat 124 Spider. This model depicts its second iteration, with wraparound rear screen (when first shown it had a reverse-rake flat window) and, happily, is modelled in a colour very similar to the real thing

It's not a hugely rare model, but I've never seen one in this colour before. This is a slightly more scarce early issue, which includes a mechanism that pops the bonnet open when you open the driver's door. Under the hood is.. well, certainly not a thumping Chevy V8, which is odd considering the thought that usually went in to this sort of thing. It does have the totally unneccessary but most welcome separate plug leads, though - albeit only four of them

Otherwise the details is fantastic. Mebetoys is generally one step down from Politoys, but this is still a delicate, well-styled model. I love the script on the rear deck

And... well, there is more, but I don't want to come accross like a glutton, so those can wait. Let's leave it here, safe in the knowledge that I absolutely DO NOT collect 1960s European models of unusual sports, GT, prototype and coachbuilt cars. Not one bit.

[andrew e]

That really is  beautiful collection of 60’s grand tourers - I’m incredibly envious!  

[barrett]

20 minutes ago, andrew e said:

That really is  beautiful collection of 60’s grand tourers - I’m incredibly envious!  

Thank you. Apart from the Mebetoys Fulvia and Solido Flaminia, both fo which I've had for ages, I only started actively buying last year. They all seem pretty unobtainable at first but I literally seach ebay two or three times a day looking for new bargains and occasionally it pays off... still lots, lots more I'd like to add to the collection, but if I could find Politoys numbers 509 and 530 it would satisfy me for the time being... oh and Mercury Number 32, but I'm gonna be waiting a long time for that

[bunglebus]

Mebetoys you say? How about this Hot Wheels branded Miura P400?

 

[bunglebus]

This lovely Corgi SD1 also arrived today 

 

[flat4alfa]

44 minutes ago, barrett said:

I literally seach ebay two or three times a day looking for new bargains

Cured !

[flat4alfa]

[Datsuncog]

Yes for a whistle stop Tat Friday, though proper pics may have to wait - no new stuff is probably the main takeaway, but some previous stuff of declared shiter interest has been procured at target price, although with a caveat...

More to come maybe about midday; gotta dash. 

[flat4alfa]

5 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

gotta dash. 

[sierraman]

20 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

Yes for a whistle stop Tat Friday, though proper pics may have to wait - no new stuff is probably the main takeaway, but some previous stuff of declared shiter interest has been procured at target price, although with a caveat...

More to come maybe about midday; gotta dash. 

Whatever happened to the 50p box? 🤣

[flat4alfa]

I did a bad thing.  I broke the beyond £5 barrier and got this.

Dinky Ford Mercury Cougar

Well they seem to be sought-after and are bid-away, usually.  Some scuffs and small crack in rear glazing, but very pleased as it has the NUMBER PLATES still.

Tiny Tom likes it

It has OPENING THINGS and also a SLIDEY THING -  the rear deck aerial can retract into the body

Tom also found that it has also had the STEERING WHEEL DELETE anti-theft option

[bunglebus]

I haz steering wheel - and less paint

 

[Amishtat]

That's rather a nice thing, would certainly consider breaking the fiver barrier for that. 

[flat4alfa]

POST LADY braved the rain and delivered a box of old plastic toy cars, all of them Hong Kong's finest, no less. 

One of them was this no-name GT for a penny under £2, as part of a bulk lot from same seller.  It seems to want to be a Ferrari P3/P4, so it's from 1968-70 I suspect

Nice to see a toy of this age still with its stickers and painted stripes.  Sadly missing a wheel, it does however take a pair of HP7 cells (showing my age) to drive a motor and contrate gear - which was the point of the exercise as that part is all-intact.  So, easy to wire it up for a new slot track life.  Or just all it needs is a guide pin for the track, pop two cells in and it could be a jam car to dodge around.

Either way, the squirty can 3-in-1 helped free-up the seized motor and after a tickle from the soldering stick, it lives on.  It's approx 1:28 scale.

No, I don't know what this attraction to old gawky plastic HK chod is about either.  But there does seems to be some value in them once fixed-up and got back up and running...   (I keep telling myself the wife this)

[Datsuncog]

On 7/30/2021 at 8:42 AM, Datsuncog said:

Yes for a whistle stop Tat Friday, though proper pics may have to wait - no new stuff is probably the main takeaway, but some previous stuff of declared shiter interest has been procured at target price, although with a caveat...

More to come maybe about midday; gotta dash. 

So yes - tat was present this morning, though only a very small amount of new stuff.

The Lesneys and such are only going one way - diminishing.

Although there had been an influx of assorted plastic rubbish too:

Mostly Western-type figures and horses, it turned out: I had a brief rummage in case any diecast-related figures might have been hiding, but nothing of any great interest lurked therein - unless you're mad into Disney ephemera, as there seemed to be some old-looking plastic 101 Dalmatians figurines.

£10 Corgis etc remaining mostly static today.

I say mostly, as the £10 tray was at the back of the stall, while a separate, unpriced tray was at the front:

No price shown on these, but it contained some of the new-arrival taxis and stuff from last week, which he wanted a fiver for.

Hmm.

Also another tray containing assorted bits and bobs:

As I was taking pics, Blokey started moving stuff from this tray into the unpriced tray at the front.

I'm fairly sure this is the lion shelter from the Corgi Longleat gift set.

Small diecast garages were quite nice: this one had no maker, just 'Made in England' stamped on the base.

The yellow garage with the red roof is a Lesney, but both swing doors were missing from it.

This Corgi 'Commuter' dragster was quite clean, though the stickers were a little bit mildewed.

However, before I could take any further action, The Nemesis swiped this one.

He already had quite a few models stashed behind the stall; I could make out what appeared to be quite a clean but unfamiliar Corgi Mk 10 Jaguar amidst some of the early 60s Lesneys, so there does seem to be some newer stuff trickling down from somewhere.

It seems that The Nemesis  trades more generally in collectables; while I was browsing the tat, he was deep in some heated and protracted negotiations with a lad who runs a vinyl stall behind, as The Nemesis was apparently trying to sell him some sort of framed signed photograph of a rock star (I didn't see who), which wasn't going his way.

While he was otherwise engaged, I asked Market Blokey if all the unpriced stuff in the front tray was a fiver.

"Errr... yeah, I could do them for that - but for Gawd's sake, don't tell him that..."

With a covert nod to Nemesis behind, busy trying to negotiate the £30 offer from Andy Vinyl up towards the £120 he believed his photo merited, despite having no certificate of authenticity which, it seemed, was the sticking point.

So I came away with these.

The Corgi Ford H-Type wrecker was in the glass cabinet off to the side, where the (now gone) Spot On AEC flatbed was last week.

I had £30 in notes on my hip, plus some loose change - ultimately, he accepted £33 for the above, which I'd say works out at £5 each for the Corgi cars and Dinky fire appliances, and £8 for the wrecker.

@andrew e had previously asked for the Corgi Plymouth Sport Suburban if it could be achieved for £5, so that's yours if you fancy it, dude.

It's a bit chipped, paint-wise, but is still orders of magnitude better than the one I paid the same price for in 1993 or so.

I haven't yet posted your box from earlier in the week, as I had a funny feeling something like this might happen...

The others are available to anyone who wants them:

Holmes Wrecker is reasonably intact - not as good as the one I paid £15 for last year, but way better than the one I bought and passed on for a fiver. Yours for the £8 paid.

**EDIT: NOW TAKEN!!!***

Confusingly, there were now two Golden Jacks Chevrolet Camaro SSs on the stall - both in approximately the same condition and both missing a wheel, but one was in the £10 tray while this one was procured for £5.

As discussed last week, a repro windscreen and a hood, and this could display nicely.

Little slidey headlight covers still present, too.

Yours for £5.

**EDIT: SOLD!!!***

Corgi Chrysler Imperial floppytop also needs a windscreen, and probably could do with its non-original racing numbers removed and all.

Don't think I'd much fancy driving one of these competitively...

The 'everything opens' features are nice, though.

Bonnet pops open when you press down on the front axle, and originally these came with a plastic golf bag and clubs in the boot. Nice.

Also available at £5.

**EDIT: NOW TAKEN!!!***

The two '70s Dinky fire appliances were probably the best condition items on the stall; I'm surprised no-one previously snapped these up, even at £10. They're really very lovely.

UV discolouration to the Range Rover's blue interior suggests these have been on display on a shelf somewhere for many years.

There are a couple of chips to the paint on each, annoyingly, which appear to have been inflicted distressingly recently.

Also, there's the faint outline of ladder rungs in the dust on the roof of the Land Rover, suggesting it was complete until a few weeks ago... daaaah.

Available at £5 each.

**EDIT: ALSO NOW TAKEN!!!***

But that's not all.

After stashing the Corgi and Dinky in my bag and toddling off before The Nemesis could take notice, I took a speedy spin past the other stalls.

And it turned out that the Charity Stall still had the Tonka stuff from last week, two of which @bunglebus had expressed an interest in:

Now, the Hot Wheels Honda F1 car was gone this week, as was the Tonka fire engine. But everything else was there.

However, the catch was that Charity Blokey only wanted to sell them all as a job lot, to clear them off his stall.

So I broke out my emergency fiver and came away with a bagful of rusty rubbish.

I'm not sure if this represents a bargain or a liability...

The pink buggy and Porsche-esque racer probably represent the best of the bunch, and @bunglebus has first dibs here:

Say £1 each on these, fella?

**EDIT: SALE AGREED!!!***

The rest are available for £3 the lot, or 50p each:

I'd thought this was a Tonka release, but it's marked Tootsietoy, and also '1968'.

Tonka custom van has a bit of surface rust, but is otherwise ok - including the opening diecast tailgate.

**EDIT: NOW SPOKEN FOR!!!***

Corgi Sixties Collection Minor is in a bad way, paint-wise...

Mmm, lumpy. But should repaint well, if anyone fancies it.

Big Tonka low-loader with bulldozer also up for grabs at 50p a throw.

Looks like it's put in a lengthy stint down the quarry, anyway. Patina FTW.

Larger scale Tonka horse box appears to be missing some bits - any interest at 50p?

Other modernish Tonka might be good for kiddies, if not your good selves?

I've no particular interest in any of this, so take it away!

Corgi Rice horse box in police colours has a busted towhitch, but the rear loading door's still there.

Unexpectedly detailed manufacturer logo, anyway.

I don't have a police Land Rover, so... available at 50p too, or as part of the bigger job lot for £3.

So there we go... another week, another load of tat...

On 7/30/2021 at 9:04 AM, sierraman said:

Whatever happened to the 50p box? 🤣

Presumably still in his lock-up somewhere - I expect we'll see it again sometime soon. I'm guessing there's better margins on the recent Lesney and Corgi stuff he's picked up, so once they sell though there may be a return to the tat box of yore.

On 7/30/2021 at 8:48 AM, flat4alfa said:

.

Brought my own this week.