Saturday 4 November 2017

The Wilford Collection Pt 6: a gold Batmobile

For many, this will be the 'star' of the Wilford Collection. This is a 267 Batmobile, entirely as issued in 1972 or 1973, judging by the 8-spoke hubs which were fitted at that time, but produced in what I believe is solid brass or some gold-coloured alloy that is also non-magnetic.

The base features the text used prior to 1976 when it appears that they were informed that copyright information had to be included.


The various features are all believed to function, although I have not been able to test the missiles. Batman is also missing but an original character can be found and would certainly be an essential purchase for this.


There are no dents or scratches and this appears to have been stored, wrapped in a cloth in a drawer for many years. I have been unable, so far, to trace anything similar being referred to in other publications but from what limited information I can gather it would appear that this would have been one of very few, possibly 3 or 4 that were made for VIP guests associated with whatever deal Corgi had made by way of getting permission to sell the 267 model and later variations on the theme.

In my view, this is a seriously rare, and hence very valuable item. I hesitate to put a price on this at this stage and it will be interesting to see what offers are made. At the time of writing it can be seen at London Auctions premises in Chiswick. I have agreed that it will be included in their auction of a range of Corgi and other toys later this month, where several other items from the Wilford Collection will be available.


More details of their catalogue for the day can be seen at this link. Unsold items will be returned to me after that date but for a couple of weeks that is where you will find this wonderful model.











7 comments:

  1. Update 3 December 2017: The Batmobile sold for £3250 and is now on Ebay at £8750. Seems a bit greedy to me. I suggest you negotiate hard with the dealer or leave him with it for a year or two. Or buy the much nicer Ferrari Berlinetta Le Mans which will be available soon.

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  4. Hello i look pictures from ebay and your blog. On Ebay for the bottom inscription "BATMOBILE" look like diffèrent. On your blog top of the B and A look used but not on ebay pictutes.... why ?

    Regards

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    1. I presume that the Ebay picture is the one that a dealer is selling there. He bought the one on my article at an auction and has cleaned it and polished it. It is the same model but perhaps camera angles and different lighting have created the apparent changes.

      Apologies for the late reply. Several others have asked the same question but we all now agree that the dealer has the same model.

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  5. I carefully cleaned and polished the Batmobile for the dealer who purchased it at auction. It was worth taking the time and trouble to get it back to gleaming condition. Unfortunately I don't own the car, and am not sure who bought it afterwards. Over the years, I've cleaned three gold presentation Corgi Esprits (on the blue plastic platforms with rear drawer for rockets) and a number of other rare diecast models. Always very satisfying.

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    1. Thank you for the additional information about activity relating to this model! I decided that I knew too little about the material to risk attempting any cleaning! I understand what you mean, however, as I get much satisfaction from polishing models in the bare Mazak. Sometimes models come along which have terrible paintwork but are otherwise original and complete and far too good to break. To remove the rest of the paint and polish the bare alloy brings them to life whilst keeping them intact.

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