Yellow, Astons and two very different Fords

 

When the Land Rover was updated in 1962 it was issued as 406S and came in this very bright yellow finish. For reasons I have not being able to establish it didn't last for more than a few months before being replaced by a deep green version with the 438 model number. Maybe it was because this was a completely new model as a Series II Land Rover whereas the S suffix tended to indicate merely the addition of suspension and an interior to an existing model.

Whatever the case, these are rare and almost all that I find have a lot of chips, broken windows or missing middle strut on the window. Seldom is the hook still there or the front bumper even approximately straight. So when this arrived I was delighted. Yes, there are some chips and they do show up in this colour, but it remains the best I've had so far.

Also in yellow, but no such a dramatic shade, is another rare item which you might not expect to be rare. The 218 Aston Martin with fixed shaped wheels was only produced for a very short time, most fixed wheel editions having either the original smooth wheels or the cast type with a sort of criss-cross design that was supposed to indicate wire wheels but never worked in my view.

Now I have both red and yellow editions but, like the Land Rover, I still need to find something in more reasonable condition. This one may appear quite decent but the roof is badly scraped.

Another fairly scarce model is this Aston Martin James Bond model. The 270 in silver was issued in 1968 and started with silver grille and bumpers. For some reason these were very quickly replaced by gold fittings. Later changes when Whizzwheels were introduced have resulted in a couple of the very last editions also being quite rear with different base features and you can read about these in my Catalogue. This first edition, though, is the one that is most sought after. Despite there being a large quantity being produced these are still hard to find in original condition and with everything still functioning (and you'll need to consult your bank manager if you want an original bubble-style box and all the contents!).

This one is pretty good with an almost flat roof when at rest but, like many I have seen, it came without a front bumper. As the only bits that appear missing are the left and right sections and there is a large open gap between the body and base where they could be slotted in, I had a go at repairing it. It seems to have worked pretty well. OK, so it's not now entirely original but clean examples of these still make over £100 even in modestly good condition.

I tend to give most Whizzwheels models quite a wide berth but by 1973 someone had done something about the terrible plastic wheels and models were sporting some quite attractive wheels and looking smart again. One fine example is the Ford Mustang Mach 1, usually seen in red as a James Bond edition. That was 391 and available for a short period in 1972. Clearly, there must have been a lot of models still to come to market and someone decided to paint them a pleasant shade of metallic green and call them a Rally Edition.

All would have been well but probably the same person decided to add some paper stickers not just to the doors but to the bonnet, roof and, for good measure, why not the upper rear wings too! I can only guess that they must have been a nightmare to attach as I have only ever seen two with them looking reasonably straight. Fortunately, a few models escaped without the stickers and they look so much better.

If you're thinking that it's just a model with the stickers removed then, having tried that in the past and failed miserably, I'd say that was less likely than it being issued this way. Exposed to the air the adhesive used seems to turn to some sort of rock-hard super glue compound. Try peeling a sticker off and the paper tears leaving the annoying substance affixed to the paint. Most attempts to remove that will remove a layer of paint finish too which rather defeats the whole purpose!

Lastly for this post, I have a spare Chrome edition of the 2006 50th Anniversary edition of the Ford Consul. With made in China on the base it is not something I would normally want to promote but I do like the few 50th Anniversary models and have quite a lot of respect for the production quality of this model (and the four other variations).

With a limited edition of just 650 they are quite scarce although they do regularly appear for sale. Unlike something like the AVRO BODE edition of the Bedford CA 421 van in 1961 which had a similar production quantity, most of the Ford Consuls have been kept safely on shelves in collectors' homes! As with mine, they'll also have their original boxes, packing and leaflets. That packing isn't, though, something to get excited about. This model was placed unceremoniously in a ghastly bit of thin phlegm-coloured plastic shaped for the car that early Vanguards model collectors will be familiar with. Horrible but at least the outer box was half-decent.

Another yellow 406S Land Rover

It's missing some paint and the hook is a little out of shape but this is a rare Land Rover. It is 406S, indistinguishable from 438 apart from the colour, and was issued when Corgi updated their Land Rover models in 1962.

The 1963 Corgi Catalogue has no less than six Land Rovers. Printed in 1962, it shows the Chipperfields model from Gift Set 23 and 19 but the green 438, blue 416S, navy 351S and fawn Gift Set 2S model with Pony Trailer are all shown as available later. So it would appear that 406S appeared in early 1962 but must have been withdrawn before the catalogue was printed, to be renumbered 438 and issued in a more rural green.

The 438-based issues all had canopies too whereas I believe that, like the 406 before, the standard 406S model did not have a canopy. The first release of the Series 2 Land Rover was in April 1962 for Chipperfields. My guess is that the 406S would have been issued at around this time too. I have seen a 406S box but the chances of now finding one of them must be extremely slim!

With so few of these around it is extremely difficult to put a price on them. The numbers must be very small and I would think they must have been rather fewer than the 25,000 351S issued. The RAF version is hard enough to find as it is!

With two similar models now, I am happy to sell one so get in touch and make an offer if you would like one. The pictures each link to my catalogue site where you'll find more information and lots more photos.

The trouble with yellow

I shall have to start a tin canopy business. I now have two 416 models that require covers but I have little hope of finding the right one for either.

This is the Belgian equivalent to our RAC service Land Rover. I don't think there were many of these produced so it's a nice rare find, for which I have to thank my friend Andreas in Germany who seems to be able to spot an interesting Land Rover from several hundred miles away with distinct ease. I didn't expect to be able to afford it but, fortunately, it was not very prominently advertised and I expect most people in Belgium didn't really see what was particularly special about it.

Even if I can find the right colour cover, or get one made, the chances of finding the TS transfers are next to zero. Maybe someone over there in Belgium can have a look round for me? There'll be a toybox somewhere in a loft in Antwerp, Bruges or Châtelet with just what I need.

With it came, as part of the deal, this odd-looking car transporter.

On arrival I could see that the cab was actually a different shade of yellow to the rear car section but I wasn't too bothered as it was essentially a free addition with the TS Land Rover. The rear section in yellow was part of 1101, the first type of transporter, and would have had a light blue cab which is what I now have to find somewhere. Then I need to find the right thing for the yellow cab to be attached to. That could only be a 1100, the very first Low Loader. The chances of my finding one of those with a blue cab, however are slim as most, if not all had red. So that means I shall have to find something that has a blue cab that could also have had a red cab!

I am not at all sure I can solve this conundrum without acquiring a string of trucks and lorries and trailers! 

Another yellow item arriving this week was this delightful VW1200 in German ADAC colours. The stickers are pretty worn but the paintwork is excellent. another unusual item that I thought would be hard to find and just popped up unexpectedly.

Another yellow mini

I will have to stop writing about minis. Another yellow Austin Seven came along last week and it is in better condition, paint-wise, than the first. However, very unusually for a mini, the suspension is non-existent. I don't think I've ever encountered a mini without decent suspension before and, of all models, it has to be this potentially expensive one!

It sits pretty well on the road and, at least, it is even! I would guess that the wires have either come out of the holders at each end or become permanently bent up, leaving the axles loose. That may be something I can fix without taking it apart but it's for sale if anyone else wants to have a go! Once that's done, it would be on par with the £300+ examples I've seen at auction. This is one of those models that really needs a box so if I still have it when one appears at a reasonable price I'll pick up an original one.

An amusing postcript to this is that my children and I play a game as we travel around, scoring points for spotting minis on the road. There's a bonus for a yellow one but, as old ones are worth ten times more, an old yellow one would be around 20 points. So it looks like I'm winning, guys...

Shades Of Red Austin Seven

Another Mini arrived this morning - an Austin Seven with flat hubs and in really nice, clean condition. What immediately struck me, though, was its colour. It has a distinctively tomato flavoured shade compared to the one I have had since my childhood.

It is also made from a different casting, being similar to the yellow Mini that came a little while ago, having rectangular holes in the base showing the axles.

I dug out the other two red Austins that I have and, remarkably, they all have different castings! There is the tomato one with the holes, my original collection item with no holes but two rectangular flat areas near the front and another deeper red type with free spinning wheels, no holes or rectangular areas but which has a small circular extrusion midway between the front wheels. That one also has a different shape cut out for the four wheels and the text, set out differently reads Patent No. as opposed to Patent Application.

My guess is that the tatty old one with the Patent No. text is the later of the three, especially with the free spinning wheels that it has. (That one also has two steering wheels - one floating around inside! I have no idea how that could have got in other than at the factory as the base has not been removed and the plastic interior looks intact. The rear window is a bit odd but I don't think it could have been opened in any way. Bit of a mystery, that one! In more ways than one.

Another yellow Austin is on its way from France where no-one seems to realise they're particularly scarce. It looks in fine condition and a lot better than the one I got a few weeks ago. I have also acquired a very pretty little Morris Minor in pale blue with a yellow interior. I had to look at the pictures for several minutes before realising that there was something different about this one!

I shall write separately about the yellow one when it arrives. I am assuming it will be the same casting as the one I have.

Morris Blue and Austin Yellow

204 Morris Mini Minor in blue with tinted windows

In discussion with another collector last week there was mention of the blue Whizzwheels Mini with a black roof. I've never seen one and he hadn't either and we were wondering whether this really has ever existed. It did make me take another look at one or two items, though, and I found an orange #204 with a black roof on Quality Diecast's site. It had a silly price tag so it must be pretty scarce. They didn't have a blue one, however, so that is still a bit of a mystery.

What they did display, however, was another orange #204, with no black roof but it did have a greenish tint on the windows. Now, some while ago I acquired a #204 in blue and wondered what the coloured windows were all about, putting it down to some enthusiastic use of a felt tip by some child. Now I see that it is a genuine variation (and I've adjusted the price accordingly!) That was close, someone could have snapped up a real bargain before.

To my knowledge this trick of replacing the windows with a tinted style has not occurred on any other model. Was there a box of the perspex moulds along the production line and workers just added them at random or did they switch from clear to tinted at a particular point in time? And this black roof business would have required a separate process along the way at a time when they were pretty much cutting costs wherever possible. Odd. If you see a blue one with a black roof do let me know.

Whilst on the subject of minis, this lovely pale yellow Austin Seven #225 arrived this week. It looks great with the flat wheels and red seats and is really quite unusual. Despite a few small chips, it looks very good - the photograph seems to magnify its faults rather unfairly. This may be destined to be one of my Not Selling This In A Hurry models that I get attached to!

225 Austin Seven in pale yellow

204 Morris Mini Minor in orange with tinted windows

204 Morris Mini Minor in orange and black

It really does seem quite strange to be discovering all these little differences so many years later. As it may turn out that I might have to rely on my Corgi Toys to keep me afloat over the next year or two it is just as well that this is a job that I can honestly say I really do enjoy.

With acknowledgements to QDT for the orange mini photographs.

£3.30 for a model so scarce I didn't know it existed

I didn't even know there was a #406S! Quite how I missed that I don't know but I am not the only one as it isn't featured in the main sources and books I have been using, including The Great Book of Corgi that many have taken as some sort of bible. Having said that, I have noticed errors in colour varieties so I know it isn't reliable.

I did find a reference to this Land Rover where an immaculate one with a 406S printed box had sold for £1800 and, weirdly, Toymart list it at a ridiculously low £105 but there's no illustration and my guess is that no-one has been there to update it.

Rather like the Pop Art Mini that is fetching crazy prices, I concluded that I wouldn't stand much chance of getting one of these. Then one popped up on Ebay and no-one seemed to be bidding. I can't believe my luck but I have got it for less than the postage will cost me!

I don't normally share purchase prices but I shall not be selling this for ages by which time I should imagine this post will either be well buried or it won't matter a great deal as someone will be keen to buy and not worry about my profit margin.

I can only guess that, despite the 'scarce yellow' headline, people have confused this with the common pale brown #438 or, perhaps, thought that the S was a mistake and it was a yellow 406 and not appreciating that that would have had a black roof,

There is another yellow type 2 Land Rover - 416S produced for the Belgian market with TS logos. That is not the same shade, though, being much more brown-orange shade of yellow.

This is really a most intriguing model as it appears to be the second type of Land Rover which would be #438 for all other issues. It had suspension and the red interior that are the same as would be used in others. It is a jolly colour and you might have thought it would have sold well had it remained in production but that was not to be and for reasons known only to a few people at Corgi 406S quietly ceased and 438 was on the market from December 1962. It was late 1962 when Corgi came out with the suspension versions of other Land Rovers - the 416S RAC and 351S RAF Weapons Carrier as well as 417S, itself an odd thing that is pretty much indistinguishable from 477 other than a different detachable cover. 406S would have made sense if it had been 406 with seats and suspension but, as with the others, the cast was upgraded too so this was a totally redundant model almost as soon as it appeared and hence its scarcity.

The one I've bought certainly doesn't look worth much more than a few quid with its battered paintwork but it isn't that bad and, until I strike lucky again one day, it'll take one of the star places in my collection.

I will add photos of the actual model when it arrives.