The Fiat 1800 in production in 1960 - a short video

 

My thanks to Mike Sacco in New York for reminding me of this great video of a Fiat 1800 being produced at the Corgi factory near Swansea in Wales in 1960 from a cauldron of mazak through to dealer packs on their way, oddly enough, to Italy! I thought you might like to see this so have shared it here for your enjoyment.

The query that gave rise to this was whether the factory used spraying apparatus or paintbrushes for the silver paint on bumpers and radiator grilles and elsewhere. The answer, of course, is 'both' as can be seen here, with the little dabs of red, silver or whatever couldn't be easily catered for by a mask, being applied with a brush. Both changes in positioning of the masks and the varying skills of the workers with a paintbrush led to no two Corgis ever being exactly the same, something which cannot be said for the somewhat less charming (but still excellent in other ways) re-issues.

I am also not a great fan of restored models as I find that nine times out of ten people seem unable to resist the temptation to add something, be it a silver door handle or boot catch, orange indicator or, as is often the case, red tail lights when there were none on the original. It is nice, though, to see models not being discarded and given a new life. My own preference is to see them re-appear in a completely new colour or style as very few attempts to re-create the original are that successful, many colours being so hard to match now and that silver paint is seldom quite right! No-one can match the random Corgi factory ladies' skills!

I wonder whether the Corgi Model Club people could get hold of a video of how the latest re-issues get made in China!

The Corgi Model Club: MGA re-issue (in a very bright red.)

 

Blue DTC Brands have kept things simple this month with their Corgi Model Club release of the 302 MGA. The first thing that will strike you as you open the box is how red it is! Very red. Quite definitely red. The second thing may be that red again but the second or third will be how nice it is to have good protection for the vulnerable screen in the shape of two now familiar chunks of polystyrene or foamy plastic. You also get a piece of tissue paper this time, not the thin plastic stuff.

It is a lovely-looking model and they've chosen the early edition with shaped wheels, not seen on a Club re-issue since the Land Rover Breakdown Truck. There's not a lot that can go wrong with making this one, although I do wonder about the slope of the radiator grille at the front. It appears rather more upright than my copy shown below.

As usual, the detailing is precise and really just like the original except better determined.

Whilst I am aware that colours can change with age, I do feel that the choice of such a bright red was a mistake.

How many times do we get to see such a pristine and shiny, rust-free tin base? Lovely. If my memory serves me right the only other re-issue of a tin base model has been for the Mercedes-Benz 303S. However, with suspension required, the used a different style for that one.

The description card or certificate tells us that there were three colour schemes for the MGA. We all know about the red and the metallic green but I feat they have simply copied data from The Great Book for that cream one. As is the case with many of dear old Marcel's memories of colours used for models, he is confusing colour trials with what actually made it into a box you could buy. You would not have found then, and certainly will not find now, a cream MGA with red seats other than a factory sample.

Corgi Toys @ 60: More Classics, a Commer and the first Monte Carlo Mini

 

It's February 1964 and two more models in the Classics series are added. Two Bentley 3 litres, one red with red wheels, the other in green with steel wheels.

Both have a full length hood which can be detached with a rather strange-looking driver, seemingly covered in white bandages from head to toe. It is the same chap in both the racing edition - the green one with RN3 decals on the front radiator and rear box - and the more sedate-looking red one. The green edition has the Union flag on the passenger door.

These were both initially catalogued as #900 and packed in a flimsy card box, mounted on a card base with a plastic mechanism securing the model to the base. Later, but I do not know when, they were numbered #9001 and #9002 and supplied in much more practical stiff card boxes with separate lids and foam protection.

We shall meet the Bentley again in a few years' time!

Next we have the delightful Mini-Cooper, now in Monte Carlo mode as Corgi celebrates the Mini's success at the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally. It gets a search light on the roof and is the Morris-badged casting as for the 227 model, with two headlamp jewels and a RN37 decal on each door.

There are no variations of this model that I am aware of but I guess there could be some different base types, just as there were with the #227 models.

The final addition to the shelves at your local shop would have been the Commer Ambulance as a complete model #463 and distinguished from that which could have been made with the earlier Gift Set 24 by the base, lacking the device to remove the rear section.

In due course the Milk Float will be issued but the plain Van never gets an issue on its own outside the Gift Set other than as a branded model, 'Hammonds' being the #462 catalogue issue.