Pale blue and white

Two items in blue and white arrived this week. The first is quite a remarkable find that I couldn't resist - the 271 Ghia Mangusta De Tomaso with an original aerial. I say original but I haven't actually seen any replacements that look the correct size anyway. And I am not sure they would be that easy to fit. if they were then surely there would be far more for sale with an aerial. As it is, I'd be surprised if there were any - even the nice, new-looking boxed models have more often than not lost it.

It doesn't have a box but it looks very clean and only has tiny marks along its front edge. Otherwise it's great. I would get a reproduction box but the window type required, with its inner display bit, isn't cheap.

The second is a common little car but one that has eluded me for a couple of years.

I've had a few bronze and white Triumph Heralds, one as a boy. I liked the heavy feel and the opening bonnet was fun. I didn't really see the point of the black plastic bit. Was it an oil filler cap or the air filter? Someone actually decided to do that - it makes me smile to imagine what some of those planning meetings must have been like! Finding a blue and white one in decent condition and at a reasonable price has taken a while. There have been plenty to buy but they've all been really quite expensive. Neither colour seems to have been particularly scarce and the cars don't get broken suspension or tired like several others do so many more ought to have survived.

The only problem seems to be the tendency for paint to chip off the many sharp areas - like the headlamp surrounds and rear fins. That does often spoil the appearance of the car.

This one seems to have a bent front bumper. The whole of the lower front area provides the hinge for the bonnet and I remember one breaking when I was trying to put pieces together some time ago. So I am not going to risk trying to straighten that on this one. There are two quite different types of the Triumph Herald, obvious in how the base is fixed and how the bonnet hinges and interacts with the radiator section.

This is, though, a nice condition and original model. Quite a few I've seen have been touched up, especially in the white areas. 

Both are now for sale again and hopefully they'll find someone to give them good homes and I'll be able to afford some of the outstanding variants I still need.

I can't think of many other pale blue and white models. The 273 Rolls Royce is the closest that comes to mind but that is really not white but cream. The Morris Cowley has a much brighter blue. The Citroen DS19 'Le Dandy' Coupe is a metallic blue, as is the Oldsmobile. In fact there is only one other - and that is the Citroen Monte Carlo DS19.

Now that's interesting - another car that suffers from aerial loss!!