Corgi Toys @ 60: The Express Service Truck and another Land Rover

 

September 1965 brought us a model which has become something of a favourite amongst many collectors. This is the first appearance of the Ford 'H' series cab and it is a particularly attractive model with just enough features to make it interesting without getting too complicated.

The bits and pieces attached to the cab, though, are pretty vulnerable and few horns have survived without being bent down and you'll be lucky if the exhaust and mirrors are still well-attached. This is always finished in a rich metallic blue with silver plastic doors on a red chassis for the trailer. In the box there should be a mechanic who looks familiar from 1505, the Garage Mechanics set.

The original issue had the usual shaped wheels and large tyres, replaced at some point with the new standard Majors wheel, larger and more detailed in two styles for front and rear. The model has a long life, available through until 1971 when it was sold in a window box and can be seen with gold horns instead of bare metal.

The other model this month is a Chippefields Circus model, the Public Address Land Rover from September 1964 in Chipperfields colours - red Land Rover and blue fittings. In place of the politician is a clown (which always makes me smile!) and a monkey takes the place of the girl assistant.

You will find this model with or without a label on the bonnet and also with or without a hook at the back. Editions with a hook appear to be rarer.

The plastic elements may sometimes be seen in different shades of blue-green as several batches appear to have been issued with a quite different colour to either the blue or yellow. I thought that an example I have might have been due to fading in sunlight but the colour is consistent in areas here the sun wouldn't have reached and inside, visible where a corner had broken.

There's a new roundabout in Huelva, Spain

A scarce complete and virtually as new set close to their new home in sunny Spain. Strangely, the real Mary Chipperfield lives just a few miles away from there.

A Morris Cowley and cars heading South, East and West last week.

In the Ebay photograph all I could make out was a white shape for this model which was billed as a Morris Cowley and not a lot more. I took a chance and got it and have been relieved to find that it is actually a very decent 202M in the less common very pale green colour.

The motor works well and it is all nicely original with just a chip here and there but I don't mind that.

What I was looking for, though, was a 202 without the M. It's been a while now and I still haven't found one that I like at a reasonable price. Strangely, I've seen plenty of 202M examples (and now have two myself to sell!) but precious few of what I had expected to be the easier to find version. I have had a two-tone later edition but not the single colour one. That is the last 'normal' Corgi car that I need (other than the Pop Art Mini). The rest are colour or other variations. With the cars more or less complete, I am now moving on to the farm and commercial sections (and maybe Chipperfields as you'll see below).

Someone in deepest Gloucestershire bought my black repainted Austin Cambridge 201M this week. It was one of my better efforts so I was quite sad to see it go but I need the income to pay for the others that I am still looking for.

Also heading West to the same county is a very delapidated James Bond Aston Martin. It looks a lot happier there than in the box of jumble my postman brought me in the week. The box was his own, not a delivery! It contained half a dozen Corgis, a few Dinky Toys and lots of Matchbox as well as a couple of Budgie lorries. I said I would see what I could do to sell them for him and was quite surprised at how quickly some have gone, bearing in mind how poor a condition they were in. The Aston had no suspension and a cracked rear screen. The paintwork was rough, not just chipped but almost corroded in places. The gadgets did all work with a little persuasion, though, and I suppose it might not look too bad in a cabinet somewhere in the shade. Really, though, it needs to be taken apart and restored which, perhaps, is what the buyer will do. I think he's a blacksmith so he may have some of the tools!

Another one was the Chevrolet Impala Dog Grooming affair which I am delighted to have ticked off my list without having to spend a lot buying one. I knew I had to get one but I wasn't too keen and they are not cheap if they're in reasonable condition. This one had no dogs but it did have the nice sign on the front and most of the paintwork had survived well. The suspension was noticeably active! It was snatched up by a regular customer in Italy, though, within a day. He also bought a pristine Lotus XI Le Mans in silver. That's another model that does absolutely nothing for me and I am quite glad both have gone now.

Also in the box were a couple of Land Rovers that I knew a friendly collector in Germany would love to have so I packed them up and sent them East.

The Circus Parade vehicle clown is missing his glove and, of course, the monkey or chimp has escaped but apart from a bit of paint rubbed off here and there the model's sound. The Dinky Mersey Tunnel Police is an old but not uncommon item but, again, this was in decent condition and I know they have both gone to a good home. The postman will be more than pleased with whatever they have fetched as he wasn't expecting much anyway.

Something I would like to do is to roam around the country's sales, chat with house clearance people and even try to get people who want to sell things to come to me first. It's expensive to travel around but I do believe I would find some interesting items and be able to get them at a reasonable figure before they get onto Ebay where everyone is fighting over the better items and the prices inflate. I have done well through Ebay but I do believe I could do better if I could get items from other sources. I also feel people selling collections would get a better price if I could show all their items in a better light and promote them in a range of places. Some photos of models on Ebay are pretty poor or, if they're good, the model is looking rather tired and would really benefit from a simple clean or a tyre here and there.

I am thinking about seeking a little funding to enable me to give some travel a try. I really am sure there are plenty of toys sitting in boxes in people's lofts and as those people die off their relatives bundle them off to some sale or maybe just let a clearance person take them. I'd like to be the first to rummage through those old boxes!

At another extreme, one colleague is about to put all his stunning Chipperfields items on the market. Now these are examples of items I could not really improve upon - they are almost as new, boxed and many hardly ever removed from the boxes, with all the little extra pieces of packing and related pieces which usually get lost. I shall be helping him decide what to sell them for individually and I am pretty confident that they will all go quickly. I am hoping I will be able to feature them on my site and, of course, they'll get a post or two here. In return for helping him all I want is the chance to add some good photographs of actual items to my catalogue. It will save me a huge amount of money as some of the set contents are really expensive and I have never been a fan of the Circus stuff anyway. I have been putting off buying any and they're low on my wanted list. So that could be a stroke of luck. Unless a neighbour buys them all before I get a chance to advise him!

At least he won't be using the expensive auction services where he would lose best part of a quarter of what he sells them for. And if it were not the best of auction days, even the best houses can't magic a higher price than what the bidders are prepared that day to spend. More news about this collection soon, I hope.