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| 280 |
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| 273 |
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| 274 |
It took Corgi a while to produce a Rolls Royce. The #224
Bentley Continental had been so good and a staple part of the range for so long that they probably didn't think they could beat it. Finally they made one and the #273
Silver Shadow appeared in 1970. It started as a Golden Jacks version but by the time the 1970 catalogue was issued there was already a Whizzwheels version. So this pretty impressive first model had a very short life and most appear in cream over blue. The
Whizzwheels version was originally silver over metallic blue but there are a few around in that colour scheme with
Golden Jacks. I am fortunate to have one in stock but it isn't cheap.
Apart from missing a spare wheel in the boot and the wheels themselves of course, the Whizzwheels version is identical. Change the radiator grill and paint it a shade of ghastly 1970s pink and you have #274, the new
Bentley. This only came with Whizzwheels and appears in the 1970 catalogue as '
Available Later' so is more like a 1971 release. The catalogue shows a photo of a yellow Bentley, another ridiculous colour but not one I believe was issued thank Heavens.
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| The Bentley appears |
Not sure what Project X was all about. The Rolls can also be found in all silver, all darkish metallic blue and a solid mid-blue with what appear to be better-looking wheels in a second release around 1973. It is easily confused in pictures with the later 1:36 scale model which was often either red or black and silver and was actually a Corniche but people selling them do get mixed up.
