Some interesting Corgis

 

A couple of interesting Corgis arrived this week. Firstly this delightful VW1300 Corgi Driving School car in really lovely condition. The blue paint on these is very prone to chips and even a strong draught can take it off if you're not careful!

The interesting bit is that this has the base with 1200 on it whereas the vast majority of models you'll find have a raised plate with replacement text including 1300 as the second illustration below shows.

The '1200' version is quite scarce so I shall hang on to it as part of my own collection unless someone persuades me to part with it for a vast sum. The early issue in April 1974, when it was #400, may have used the base that would have been around from the #373 and #383 production (although a silver base was not a common feature amongst those issues and this is substantially different). I am not convinced about that, though, and just reckon that this was the first base produced for the model and, for some reason best known to Corgi, it got changed to 1300 pretty soon afterwards. Maybe someone noticed that the box read 1300 and they had to make a quick adjustment!!

I would love to get the German version (or any other if there are any?) some time if anyone over the Channel can help. Incidentally, I am pretty sure the German edition is still Right Hand Drive!! That's a little surprising as they took the trouble to produce two versions of #256 despite there actually only being one version of the East African Rally Car! And I am sure #492 must have been Left Hand Drive?

The next one is an old favourite, although this one does look a little worse for (play)wear.

I find these #248 Impalas difficult to resist. they just look tremendous when they're in top condition, the colours so Corgi and 70s (although it was issued in the 60s, I know.) The thing about this one is, of course, the cast wheels. The model was not available for very long anyway, not much more than a year, and the cast wheel version seems to be particularly scarcer than the shaped wheel version.

Even with chips here and there, this is still quite a valuable model.

Lastly, I don't know what to make of this Triumph Herald. You can see straightaway that the bonnet has a different shade of gold to the body. I hadn't seen that in the photos published by the seller which were not very clear and it was not mentioned in the description. So when it arrived I queried this but I'm still waiting for a reply. The chap said he'd think about it.

There is absolutely no sign of the model being tampered with underneath. These are phenomenally difficult to put together anyway and this one is original in that the two rivets are untouched. The base is the same colour as the main part of the model. I can understand that the bonnet could have been painted at a different time to the body and so it is possible, I suppose, that there was a change in paint supply and this model got an unfortunate combination of one and the other. That being the case I would have expected to have seen a few of these over the years but I haven't.

Neither this being all original nor someone somehow being able to paint just the bonnet without some paint going somewhere it shouldn't around the engine or hinge areas in particular seem likely, yet one, presumably has to be the case.

It only cost me a few pounds so I am not worried too much. If it is some after-sales work by someone then the chap can have it back as I wouldn't want to sell it or keep it. If it is original, though, then I'll keep it as one of those oddities that I have so many of!

On the subject of Triumph Heralds, what I am trying to locate is one of these in white and gold (ideally the same shade throughout!) but with shaped wheels rather than smooth. They appear from time to time but they're definitely not very common. Similarly, I'd like the blue and white one with smooth wheels if that exists. Maybe it doesn't.

These re the sort of things that make Corgis forever interesting.

Batmobile - members' edition

Members of the Corgi Model Club, that is, who get (or will get when they eventually reach this release) this very nice matt black edition.

This was the first model issued in October 1966. The story goes that Corgi management saw the real car on display about 6 months later and when they saw it was gloss black they hurriedly changed production. Although a good few would have been sold in matt black, originals command a very high price. They'll now be joined by this model which, like the 'less shiny' James Bond Aston Martin the Club issued before switching to a new paint finish, will doubtless be advertised for substantial prices.

As you'll probably have had enough of Batmobiles for this year and maybe next year as well, I'll let the pictures do the talking.

The box will be unique to this edition, as will the Certificate of Authenticity and I don't recall getting this reproduction of an advertisement with the first gloss Club issue.

As you may have gathered from a previous article, I am selling the whole of my personal Club collection, including the original Ice Cream Vans (different codes and design on the boxes) but not including this matt edition or the less shiny Aston Martin. I'll hang on to those as I believe they will be a couple of models that will be good investments. The original Ice Cream Van should be too but I'll let that go.

If anyone is interested get in touch. I am looking only to cover the cost of acquisition of the 45 (or maybe 46, I lost count) models. At the moment my series ends with the Oldsmobile Toronado. I also have several duplicate early models for sale individually at moreorless what they cost me.

Corgi Toys @ 60: By Repeated Requests . . , really?

 

It's November 1964 and, yes, it's probably raining in England and almost certainly raining at the Corgi factory in Wales. But is that enough reason to add By Repeated Requests beneath 'Operating Windscreen Wipers' on this month's new issue 60 years ago? No, I don't believe a word of it! Not once amongst my pals did I hear anyone think out loud that it would be really cool to have windscreen wipers on their Corgi Toys.

We liked things that opened, especially doors and boots where we could put things. Working windscreen wipers, however, were what we got. Well, an approximation to working windscreen wipers, in the form of two hemispheres of clear plastic with a black line representing the blade on each, which rotated back and forth inside the from screen. Great for clearing the condensation and I could do with something like that on a cold morning on my car now!

Joking aside, the mechanism was a typical piece of super Corgi engineering, with a nice cog on the rear axle turning a shaft that ran the length of the model to produce a 'to and fro' movement for the 'wipers'. It could be switched off on the base so it was not necessary to have them working all the time and very fast driving with them on did have the potential to jam the mechanism. Having said that, I don't recall ever encountering a model where they didn't work. Not bad after all this time.

The Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman was a pretty impressive model on its own. Corgi really could have sold it well without the wipers. The car was big, for a start and had the most gorgeous deep maroon finish (when first issued) and chrome galore. Really nice shiny chrome which not only provided shiny grille and bumpers but also went the length of the sills and wheel arches too.

It also had nice opening windows at the back - they slid up and down. I think this was the first time I had seen this type.

As you can see from the illustrations here, there were two very distinct shades to this model #247. The dark maroon was, I believe, the earliest and this gave way to more of a metallic crimson later in production.

Despite its lovely appearance, though, this was not a model that we played with a great deal. Once we'd finished showing mum and dad the working windscreen wipers, this was not a car to drive around our layouts. It was pretty good in a straight line but almost impossible to turn round corners with its fixed rear wheels.

The suspension was always lovely and it did look wonderful parked outside a Bayko house or in the Service Station.

The other November 1964 issue was the third Model T Ford to be issued in the Corgi Classics series. This time the model gets a hood as well as a coat of bright blue paint and it comes with an old chap to start the car, bent in a position to turn the starting handle.

I have always felt slightly sorry for the old chap who looks pretty tired and, unlike so many other Corgi characters, never gets a chance to sit in the drivers seat or do anything else.

The model itself appears identical to the yellow and black models from earlier in the year, other than the hood and not having any driver or passenger.

These Classics were very well-made and detailed but not that popular in comparison to the more familiar range of Corgis. These were models to put on a shelf, not play with, and would have had appealed to a very different market which didn't really exist in great numbers at that time. The whole range can be purchased now, in boxes and as new, for a few pounds apiece. Nevertheless, there are some varieties to look out for. Different wheel colours and a different finish to the side lights.