The Corgi Model Club garages arrived a few days ago. This is the first Corgi Kit from the Club and, whereas I am not too bothered about their cars nowadays, I do like the idea of being able to complete my Garage Set, the Batley Leofric garages being the only items missing from that wonderful Gift Set. It would be particularly wonderful if the kits required for the Silverstone set also become available one day. These are so difficult to find these days, and always so expensive. The good Silverstone kits that I have had I have not wanted to open to make up the model and you will definitely not find a single nice made-up one that has survived intact in a hurry either! So, whereas we can buy most of the re-issued cars as originals in pretty decent condition for not much more than the Club price (notable exceptions understood), these kits are another matter altogether. So well done, Model Club folk!
So let's see what we've got.
It's all really nice and just like the original in almost all respects. The box is the only disappointment, being as shiny as anything and this is all the more noticeable due to its dimensions. I am quite sure a word with the printer would lead to a more matt finish and all would be well with the world in that respect, at least.
The individual pieces are all nicely finished, no sanding or removal from sprues here. I even appeared to have three of the very tiny 'bolts', two being required in the mechanism for the door which could easily get lost. I use the past tense because now I look for it, it is nowhere to be seen! I suspect I have knocked it down the back of the immovable unit upon which I made and photographed the construction illustrated.
The Assembly Instructions are a very close copy to the original, with just references to the Club in place of Corgi Toys. Nicely done. I was concerned that, in this present age of control by one or another government department, who appear to assume that few have any common sense and even those few may have some allergy or tendency to get injured, over-anxious or just generally upset from involvement the product, we might have had DO NOT EAT THE PARTS or BEWARE GLUE IS ADHESIVE or DO NOT PUT HEAD IN BAG included in the text to comply with some EU regulation that, despite not being in the EU any more, we still need to be told.
I smile at the instruction to 'Recycle' the box. I am so glad that we were not so encouraged with the originals, the packaging often now being worth as much as the content, notably significantly more in some cases. The 1965 Monte Carlo Set springs to mind, with the cardboard regularly making a cool £1500 or more at auctions than the models inside. I shudder to think, in fact, how much the outer cardboard for the Garage and Silverstone Gift Sets would be worth, as they make several thousand pounds as complete sets and the contents, whilst not as easy to find as the three rally cars, would still total only hundreds not thousands. But that's another story . . . maybe an nice idea for one or two Christmas Club re-issues? (Just not shiny, please!)
As you will have seen at the start of all this, I have successfully completed one of the three I need to make. It is quite fun, but the door mechanism is tricky and you may need the assistance of a child with small fingers or some tweezers. My glue does not set quickly and I should really have followed the instruction to take my time. Trying to attach the very last two pieces, gable covers or whatever they're called, the whole affair objected to being squeezed in a particular direction and I was very nearly back to square 1½. I can see a small gap which I need to address but otherwise I was quite pleased at my progress and doubt you'll struggle unduly.
At just a few pounds too, you can always get another if things do go badly wrong! That simply is not the case if you were trying to make an original!
