Corgi Model Club: RAC Radio Rescue Land Rover

My RAC Radio Rescue Land Rover has finally arrived and it really does look good. I have many of these but they are all somewhat worn so it was quite a dramatic model to see when I opened the box. You get the model wrapped in some tissue paper with a square chunk of polystyrene protecting the aerial. I have never seen such a straight aerial! There's also another square protecting the box from the hook and a long piece of thicker card which I think protects the top of everything.

There is also the Certificate of Authenticity, although the text is so poor and, in places, simply wrong that it is best viewed from the one side only. It does strike me as remarkable that the people at the Club who are responsible for quality control are not particularly good at their jobs. Maybe they're descendants from the original Corgi Quality Controllers! As I will refer to later, little things do matter but the text on this certificate is no small mistake - more like a number of howlers someone should be sacked for missing.

The first Series I Land Rover was issued in August 1957, not 1959. That first sentence may be correct but it is misleading and it would have been far better rephrased. In any event the 416 is no more a re-liveried version of 351 than it is of a 406, which also had a tin canopy in Gift Set 2. They go on to say that 'a small number didn't have the roof-mounted sign' but we have no evidence as to the split. Some years ago, I spent many hours trying to figure out how the four editions of 416 might have shared the 209000 sold (sold, not produced, note) and gave up. These, incidentally, are the editions with a headboard and smooth wheels, a headboard and shaped wheels, no headboard and smooth wheels and no headboard with shaped wheels. Then they say that 'others included 'Radio Rescue' lettering on the tilt'. The fact is that all the 'no headboard' models had the extra text on the tilt, not some other edition. The big howler is comparing sales to '436, introduced at the same time'. They mean 438. But it is hardly surprising that there will have been rather fewer sales of an RAC model available for just a few years in comparison the the basic model which was available for ten years in one form or another.

So, to the model itself. That is very impressive at first glance, maybe second glance too.

All looks very good - until you look more closely at the grille.

The original has16 squares at the widest part, 8 at the top. The Chinese one has 13 and 7. The vertical divisions are different too. Now, unless I have missed a variation and the Chinese numbers do match an original, this is simply not good enough. You may say that it is just a tiny detail - but look at how many of the other tiny details they have got right on models galore to date. This is plain wrong and the more you look at it the plainer it becomes. I had assumed two things - one was that the production of these copies started with a mould being made from a good original. The other was that CMC staff would very carefully inspect samples when received. I appear to be wrong on both counts.

Someone might also have spotted that original 416 models only had silver paint applied to the vertical face of the front bumper, not the whole thing. That's more obvious than the grille, too.

So my initial excitement at seeing what I perceived as a wonderfully fresh example of a model hard to find in such condition has waned rather. 

I have just noticed that the 406 re-issue had the same grille and bumper paint error. I admit that I missed these things at the time and allowed CMC to get away with it. Not this time!

 

Renault 16 spare wheel

 

I had an interesting question in a comment to an article about the Renault 16. As that article was one of my earliest back in 2014 I thought I would repeat what I said here where it is more likely to be seen. The question was whether the spare wheels in the Renault models was removable.

I assume that, as the Whizzwheel was rather wider (deeper when horizontal), it would not have fitted under the bonnet of the #202 version without costly changes to the casting and so Corgi just left the old one in place and hoped no-one would mind too much. However, that's nothing to do with the question.

I hadn't thought about this before so got out the two models and took a closer look. From what I can tell they have been pushed down onto a small vertical post which is an element of the under-the-bonnet casting. I did try tugging and even a little gentle leverage at one side but nothing moved and I am always very worried about damaging the paintwork. Both the burgundy and blue are wonderful colours and a great finish but one that is all too easily separated from the mazak below.

There appears to be some space all around the tyre and the person asking the question thought that maybe only the tyre could be removed. I am not sure I see the point of that but I suspect that the tyres could be taken off in either instance but, again, I am not inclined to attempt this with either of these particular examples.

Perhaps someone out there has an old one that they might care to make a stronger effort with? Or one that has already been taken to bits. I imagine that they will come off and making the post a little narrower would enable the wheel to be taken off and replaced quite easily. Again, I am not entirely sure why we would want to do that but I guess it adds a little more play value!

Whilst on the subject of these Renaults, let me remind those who like to collect variants that there are different base texts for the #260 and these are different again to the #202 and also there are two different colour tow hook attachments.. All quite remarkable when one appreciates just how short the production period was for the #260 model. No sooner had #260 been issued in February 1969 when, just a few months later, Whizzwheels started to be fitted to many existing models. The Renault gets issued with these in May 1970, with a new catalogue number #202.

We don't know how many #260 models were sold or produced but over what was probably just a year it wouldn't have been many. 

US Military models

 

Here is a complete set of the US Army models from  1960, 1963 and 1965 that I now have available. All but the Tanker and one of the #357 Land Rovers have been carefully handled and show no marks or darkening of the vulnerable matt finish. Most also all have original boxes in good or excellent condition.

355 Commer Military Police Vehicle

356 VW Personnel Van

357 Land Rover Weapons Carrier

357 Land Rover Weapons Carrier

358 Oldsmobile HQ Staff Car

359 Army Field Kitchen

414 Bedford CA Military Ambulance

500 US Army Land Rover

1133 Troop Transporter

1134 Fuel Tanker

1135 Heavy Equipment Transporter

The #1135 Heavy Equipment Transporter is particularly rare with only around 28,000 produced, of which most will have been exported to America. It appears that roughly one-third of the production had a red interior fitted so there may only have been less than 10,000 of these, a number which puts the model, already in the same league as the 351S RAF Land Rover in total numbers, on a similar scale of scarcity to the Rocket Age, Garage and Silverstone Gift Sets.

It is currently missing the tray insert which has been lost. I am going to sell this with a tray that has the 'Carrimore Detachable Axle Machinery Carrier' text on the side, taken from an earlier #1131 model. Although most #1135s I have seen have had 'Heavy Machinery Carrier', there have been a few with the earlier text. Whether they are as issued or have been changed at some point I cannot tell. When the #1135 was being prepared for issue there would certainly have been the #1131 trays around as that was also in production. With a 'Heavy Equipment' tray I would expect this model to sell for around £500 but I shall adjust the price to £400 and agree to swap the tray should another come to light. There is, as I write, another model someone has advertised at £450 with the 'Carrimore with detachable axle' text. Whether that is original or a later replacement, I don't know. 

New arrivals and fond memories

 

Here are some of the recent additions to my shelves, all from the best Corgi Toys era and each provides a fond memory of the layout that I was fortunate to have at home in the mid 1960s, which would have had all of these at one time or another. When my brother went to start his apprenticeship with Bamfords in Uttoxeter, a small spare room became available. My dad cut a piece of hardboard to fit over the iron bed frame occupying half the room. On this huge space I could mark out roads with Floral Garden fences and pathways and place Bayko houses and garages here and there. I remember how much better this was for driving models like the Mercedes-Benz 220SE, VW1200 and Austin A60 which struggled on carpet due to their very low ground clearance.

Whilst I managed to build up a monstrous pile of Bayko bits and pieces, the Floral Garden items were much too expensive. The few trees and flowers did look lovely, though, but I never did get enough for a good display. I still have the Bayko pieces, and sets do come along from time to time at quite reasonable prices. Floral Garden items are also available but, with one or two exceptions, can be very expensive as you need several items of the right sort to make a useful contribution to a display.

The scarcer blue and white edition of the beautiful #259 Citroen 'Le Dandy' Coupé, in excellent condition and with a lovely original box too.

The #477 Land Rover breakdown Truck, indistinguishable from #417S other than it now gets a big, plastic canopy. This example is in excellent condition.

I finally got round to removing the old transfers, which had been printed with an annoying white background and never looked right, and applying some much better ones to this maybe a little worn but otherwise original 'Pop Art' Mini.

A nice, clean Gift Set 40 with original models and characters in an excellent reproduction box and tray.

A very clean early #210 Citroen DS19

A lovely example of the scarcer cream edition of the #200 Ford Consul.

A rare #252 Rover 2000 with cast wheels from a late Transporter Gift set.

One of my favourites - the Mercedes 220SE in black, as first issued with steering as model #230

A nice late edition of the #222 Renault Floride in metallic blue with a red interior and free spinning wheels

A very good example of the first #303S Mercedes-Benz Roadster with free-spinning smooth wheels and a white interior, a scarce variant.

A working #1401 Service Ramp which is pretty much unmarked. This was issued in April 1958 and did not sell particularly well, being discontinued a couple of years later. It was brought into the Corgi range as it had previously been a Mettoy branded product in red back in the 1950s.

I also now have here in England some marvellous US Army models which I shall feature in the next post.

Corgi Toys @ 60: another VW1200 and Corgi's first Rolls Royce

 

It's May 1966 and there are two new models on the local toy shop shelves. The first is Corgi's second  issue of what will prove to be a very, very long list of Volkswagen 1200s. Indeed, I shall have to survive until 2037 in order to remind you about the very last, which appeared in October 1977! This one is the East Africa Safari Rally car in a new paint finish, a beacon on the roof and some stickers to convert it into what is described as a 'European Police Car'.

Just like the earlier model, this is fun to play with, with its excellent steering. The bonnet and rear engine cover open as before, not that we tended to bother with that a great deal as there was no room in the front to put anything. The clever use of a bright metal base to provide shiny bumpers remains, as do the two jewelled headlamps. Whereas I believe some late editions of the #256 had the jewels replaced with chrome inserts (although I have never seen one) all the #492 models seem to have jewels.

They all seem to be left hand drive too, unlike the #256 which can be found with either left or right hand drive interiors.

There are two quite hard to find export editions of the #492 model. One is the Dutch edition in all white and with POLITE on the bonnet and an emblem on each door. The other is a Swiss version with POLIZEI stickers on the doors and on the bonnet.

The other release in May was the last individual Corgi Classics model, the #9041 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost (apologies for the error in the first edition).

I found these models totally at odds with Corgi's range at the time. They couldn't really be played with, lacked suspension which made them awkward to move around a layout and this one, with its nasty plastic main body section, felt cheap - and that is despite the massive jewels in the headlamps, lots of chrome and pretty wheels.

This was actually Corgi's first Rolls Royce too. As a teenager in the 1960s, a Rolls Royce was simply something that you have to have in your collection, to park outside the big Bayko House. It was 'the best car in the world' and we all wanted one, having to put up with the Dinky model at the time. This was not what we wanted, though, and whoever bought them probably just put them on a shelf or in a cabinet, older people, not children. The Classics series was not pursued after this and now you can buy a mint example in a bubble pack for £20 or less. I have several and can't even give them away.

I have spotted a few oddities on these models - few seem to have wheels all the same colour, with combinations of gold and steel colour. The rear wheels have a different deign to the front and sometimes they're mixed up at the factory. There are different colour exhausts too. None seem to have any significant value.

You will see the model get reused for the Hardy Boys issue in June 1970 in a ghastly multicoloured finish and accompanied by the characters in a TV group that no-one in the UK had a clue about at the time, and is probably not a great deal wiser now. Because that one had very paltry sales it does have a high price tag now but this silver original release will cost you a lot less than the equivalent of its price then. 14/11d, (or nearly 15 shillings, three quarters of £1). Remarkably, you could have bought a Monte Carlo Gift Set 38 for less!!

Corgi Model Club: a matt Impala?

 There is something about the #248 Chevrolet Impala that takes me back to the 1960s and how I admired it in my own Corgi collection. I remember my dad telling me that the man in the shop in French Row, St. Albans had told him this one was worth looking after as there weren't many issued. Now, I guess that he wouldn't have known in August 1965 that, along with the #480 Chevrolet Taxi, production would only be for a year at most. So it may have been later that year or early 1966 when I got this one and then the chap in the shop would have seen it deleted from his order form. The colour scheme is just right - I called it coffee and cream - and, despite nothing opening and no jewels, it really did stand out in my layout and has always been one of my favourite issues.

In particular, I now cherish the cast wheel editions which seem particularly scarce on the saloon and taxi models. So it was with some delight that I heard that the Corgi Model Club would be releasing this, with mine arriving (a little late) yesterday.

As the Hollies sang, just one look was all it took to see a quite different model to what I had expected. Yes, it is beautiful and the chrome and details are stunning but that matt or satin finish . . . no, that's not how the original was produced.

The Club people tell me and anyone who asks that the satin finish is a deliberate choice they made to reflect the finish that they declare many originals had. I have to challenge that and wonder just what model they had been supplied when they set out to reproduce this. I know from looking at several photos they have released in the past that they either dig out old models or ask people to send in theirs and I can only guess that they have been rather misled by someone sending in a decidedly less than shiny model. I am quite certain that all the original issues of this model had the usual quite glossy paint finish. None were issued in a satin or matt finish like this, however lovely it might be. It simply didn't happen and it really would have been best for the Club people to say so and just say that when the models arrived from China they decided to stick with them or, indeed, that they chose the satin finish but accept it was not as the original.

We can live with that. But not with an assertion that there are a few extremely rare #248 models out there that we all now need to go searching for as there is now a gap in everyone's collections - maybe two gaps if we also have to have a satin edition with cast wheels!

So, now for the model itself - it is, as I have indicated, a thoroughly excellent reproduction in most other ways and is a delight to own. The interior is the wrong colour, a much darker colour than the original and, as always, the shape of the wheels isn't right. One day maybe they will tell China, or Bangladesh to have another go with the wheels but, for now we have to put up with them always being not quite as the originals on all the issues with shaped wheels.

Once again there is a howler in the text on the Certificate card accompanying the model. When talking about the split casting for these second generation Impalas, they refer to the #221 Taxi. That, of course, was all beige and didn't have a split casting, nor any chrome for that matter. They meant #480 and this is another example of both poor editing and a little less than the sort of knowledge one might have expected from the Club staff claiming to be such enthusiasts. One wonders whether the success of the series has brought many inexperienced people onto the team to assist with the volume of work and not enough with the knowledge or research skills in quality control.

I am pretty sure that, if we could listen to some conversations behind the scenes when the first satin models appeared, we would here a suggestion that staff counter objections with an assertion that this reflects a scarce early original finish and that this was the Club's choice, not in any way an error. Standard responses to queries prepared, on with the show. People can return them if the wish but no replacements.