Corgi Toys @ 60: Rambler Marlin Fastback

 

June 1965 saw just one new release - the quite dramatic-looking Rambler Marlin Fastback.

Not something you would see on British roads but an impressive addition to my collection as I recall admiring the shiny black descending from the roof down to the back and flashes around the windows.

The first issues had normal shaped wheels but these were replaced by the cast wheel with spoke effect and the majority of models now available have the later style.

I think I am correct in saying that this was only the second car to have a tow-bar. The first was the Buick Riviera some two years earlier, for which we eventually got a boat on a trailer to pull along. Otherwise apart from some old trailers and a horse box there wasn't much in the Corgi range to pull. 

It would be two years before the Rambler gets a fresh coat of paint and a revised Pennyburn Trailer to pull with Kayaks aloft in Gift Set 10. In the meantime you'd have to use the boat if you had one or, perhaps, the Racing Trailer from Gift Set 13, although I am not sure that would fit over the button-style hook. 

With chunky opening doors and a beautifully clean-looking white-cream interior, with folding front seats, this was a pretty car and one where keeping the chrome front and rear nice and complete and shiny was important.

The suspension on these can fail, many models now looking much lower-slung than they were when they were new.

The cast wheels may have been bright when first issued but they quickly lose that shine and become quite grey. So despite the more realistic design, I actually prefer the less common model with the good old shaped wheels.

Corgi Toys @ 60: A Ford, Monte Carlo and The Avengers

 January 1966 and Corgi bring three new models to your local toy shop, although only one is completely new.

The lovely Ford Consul Cortina Super Estate Car is all new and a delightful model in rich metallic blue with a bright, almost white interior. The rear door opens and it originally appears on a tray insert with a golfer and boy caddy with the golf trolley which you will recognise from the 'surprise in the boot' of the Chrysler Imperial issued a few months earlier in August 1965.

This model will be released later as #491 on its own in September 1966, when it will appear also in metallic red and metallic grey, with cast wheels being fitted towards the end of production but very seldom will you see these on a blue model.

It appears likely that only the blue model was used for the first issues of #440 but, of course, now it is impossible to know whether a red or grey has been substituted or if they really were in the box when bought.

Perhaps the 'star' attraction for this month will have been The Avengers Gift Set 40.

This set helped sell some more of the old Bentleys that had not been very popular as well as bringing new life to the sales of the Lotus Elan, previously in metallic blue as #318 in July 1965. Now with the "I've got a tiger in my tank" transfer removed and in white the Lotus is a good representation of the car driven by Emma Peel in the first series of the TV programme. The red Bentley, however, is not so accurate!

Early sets featured a green Bentley which would have been a preferable colour for Steed (albeit somewhat bright, I feel) but on no account would he have driven anything with red wheels! 

The set has plastic figures for Steed and Mrs Peel, neither looking very attractive when viewed closely but acceptable at a distance, and three brollies. Original brollies are very hard to find now and most sets you will find have replacements which can be identified with a magnifying glass (see a recent article on this subject).

Beware the many, many reproduction sets of poor quality or downright incorrect composition. Many dealers use a reproduction Steed that is actually from a mould of Jeeves from the #9004 World of Wooster set. The figure supplied by a major 'spare parts' company in Leicestershire was Jeeves in a grey suit and may still be, although I have not ordered any for some time. They may have mended their ways in this respect since. Original Emmas usually have two or more black stripes at the bottom of her trousers but I have also seen what may well be originals with just the single stripe so it is not so easy to tell with her. Some have very poor facial definition and painting, however, and these are likely to be reproductions.

Most reproduction boxes are poor copies too, with colours that are too bright, the wrong quality card and, of course, there are many produced with printers at home on white card as well. I sell many sets and use a particularly fine reproduction box but most I see are nothing like as good, even from those better-known repro box people.

Although you will encounter many variations of the composition, there really are just the two original sets as illustrated here. You will find gold wheels instead of steel colour on the red Bentley, but seldom will all five be the same shade. The Lotus may get cast wheels towards the end of its production run too. That is all, however, apart from the factory one-off samples. I know of a green Bentley with black mudguards and steel wheels, for instance, which is a much better match for those in the series but this would have been a sample for marketing consideration.

Although Mrs Peel drove a powder blue Elan in the second series, the issued sets only ever feature a white car. Some made-up sets show a green #9001 Bentley with the Union flag and RN3 transfers removed and a folded hood replacing the original type alongside a white or metallic blue Elan. These can be nice displays and maybe slightly more accurate but are not original. A green Bentley in the original set always had red wheels and was a slightly different shade to the #9002 model too so any attempt to switch wheels can be identified and needs to be looked out for.

The other not so new model is a 1966 edition of the Monte Carlo BMC Mini-Cooper. Corgi retained the #321 catalogue number for this but it is completely different to the 1965 #321 in several ways. Obviously this one has RN2 on the doors and a transfer of two drivers' signatures on the roof. You will also see that the Mini is a quite different casting, with no fog lights in the metal and this has just the two jewelled fog lights instead of the three before.

The first issues came in the #321 box with an illustration of the RN52 model and a sticker added to distinguish it. Later a box is produced with the RN2 model illustrated.

Corgi Catalogues 1958 to 1972

You may have noticed that I have changed the site's home page. That has been necessary because I would like to be easier for collectors to find when they search for Corgi Toys. Google now say that web sites should adjust automatically to match the type of device they are being viewed on. So there need to be different versions for big desktop monitors, large tablets, small tablets and phones held one way or the other. They punish those sites that don't comply with low rankings. It's annoying bvut that's life these days. You can imagine that the coding for all that can be something of a nightmare!

Luckily, there are some nice people out there who not only make templates we can use but they also include code that detects the type of device and makes all the adjustments automatically. It's all quite impressive. I can just about manage to figure out most of it but it isn't that straightforward to transfer data from one place to another. So I found it considerably simpler to make a few new pages with the new style and leave all the rest as it was.

I am really hoping that Google will now start giving me some credit for this, although there are still 1000+ pages that do not comply with their requirements. The chances of me ever changing all of them are extremely thin unless someone out there has a particularly bright idea and some spare free time!

The new home page does enable me to show some nice images in king-size view and each one relates to a different section of the site: British cars, American cars etc.

The new 'latest additions' page works in a similar way, with links on the big picture page to the main site description etc.

While I was at it I decided to make the catalogues more accessible to collectors. These are great sources of information and just lovely to scroll through for hours on end. I still feature them under Lists in the main site but they can now be seen directly from the Corgi Catalogues link on the new home page. I have published nice quality pages from complete catalogues from 1958 all the way through to 1972, which I acquired recently.

I used to offer to supply digital copies of catalogues at a small fee but now you can download images as you wish without charge. A customer did ask me if I could make printed versions of these and I can imagine that they would be very popular. However, with many having 40 or more pages I would have to pay for at least 10 double sided pages. In small quantities they would come out at about £8 and setting up the pages in the right order so that they make a booklet at the end of the day isn't as simple as it sounds at all! So they would have to cost at least £10 and, guess what, that's about the price you can buy originals for if you look around! So, until I can find a cheaper print solution I will leave it to people to print their own if they wish.

Some of the catalogues are American or European versions. Sorry if the prices are confusing but these are the best I have at the moment.

A tale of two Emmas.

This is the first totally original The Avengers Gift Set 40 that I have had, I probably won't see another for a long time so I shall make the most of this while it's here. It is also a good opportunity to revisit the bits and pieces to watch out for.

The outer box is not particularly bright but it is complete and has no significant signs of wear. the flaps and edges are sound. As a reminder to anyone thinking about posting this set to anyone, the box does have two sharp dents on one side where the Bentley seems to have taken a run at the inside of the box somewhere between an auctioneers in Bury St Edmunds and Astcote. Such careless packing may also account for the small tear in the front offside wheel cut-out on the inner tray, which looks quite fresh.

Otherwise, the inner plinth is nice an clean and the colours are fresh and bright. The inner card to support the base from bowing towards the centre is missing. It nearly always is but it is a good idea to put something in there to prevent any further wear. Ideally, make some indents for the wheels too. You can do that by simply inserting the card and drawing round the inside of the holes and using a sharp knife for the cut-outs. They don't need to be too tidy as no-one will see them.

This set has the green Bentley with red wheels. That seems to be the one that gets the highest prices in the main and I think it is quite a lot less common than the red one. Whilst Steed did always have the green Bentley, his didn't have red wheels but it is as close to being accurate as you'll get in the originals.

Some commentators refer to this as the 'first edition' of the set but I am not sure about this. Yes, the box has a green Bentley illustrated but all the publicity material I have seen featured the red one in 1966. So I tend to think there were probably several variations used from the start - certainly in the first year or two. From what I can tell, the variations that were issued in sets would be the green with red wheels, red with red or silver wheels and an unusual red with gold wheels. Interestingly, the green Bentley only seems to appear with red wheels in original sets.

Mrs Peel's Lotus, of course, is always white which makes life a bit simpler. You will find late sets with cast wheels on the Lotus but I think that is the only variation.

I believe the umbrellas are original. It is not so easy to tell now, though, as some reproductions are excellent. In my view, if they're that good then it doesn't matter - we can never know without carbon dating or something! The things to look for are the lines where the brolly has been rolled up (furled) which should be clear all the way round, the handle should be evenly blobby without any furry bits and the point sharp and not with surplus plastic attached. Another simple check is to lay them next to each other and they need to look identical in size and design. Obviously that last check doesn't distinguish the reproductions but you'll get the idea.

This Lotus is very good. I have spotted small chips at the back and two very small nicks on the driver's side; one on the door and another on the rear wing. I wonder whether these, and the rear chips, had in fact been caused by the movement inside the box when in transit. Those auctioneer packers have a lot to answer for - especially as I had made it very clear to the owner and them how important it was to wrap the cars carefully (and ideally separately to the box as there was no packing card with this set).

The suspension is sound. Phew! The screen and windows are good too and the interior cleaned up well as it had been a bit dusty. The paintwork had also been quite grubby. It has cleaned up very nicely and it is possible that another go will bring it up a little more white as it has a definite creamy shade. I am assuming this is mere age and not tobacco! I am also suspicious of the very pure white examples as I am pretty sure the car should be slightly cream.

Keeping this set original, I haven't added the HNK 999C number plates but I have offered to do so if a new owner would like them.

There was a problem with the Lotus, however. The steering wheel had become detached. Again, that may have been as a result of crashing around in transit but I can't be sure. I have re-affixed it and it would be extremely hard for anyone to spot this but, nevertheless, I have to own up to this. There are too many false 'originals' being advertised and that annoys me a bit. I am looking for another Lotus Elan to provide in this set but they are not easy to find in as good condition. So until something better comes along that's how it has to be.

The Bentley is super. There are usually some chips on the side of the rails but this one has none. The hood is original, as is the screen and the vulnerable horn on the driver's side. Although it is possible to replace wheels, there are no signs that these are not as originally fitted.

Steed always needs to be looked at carefully. He is less likely to go missing than Mrs Peel and is not that easy to take out so the chances are that he will be genuine if everything else is good. His suit and hat should be grey and not a brown shade of grey and definitely not glossy as some reproduction figures can be. This has some wear on top of the hat, leaving a pink patch beneath, which I have seen before on several sets. Some people have been known to drop Jeeves in the seat and say it's John Steed but they're just stupid and you'll spot that easily!

Mrs Peel, however, can be a problem. This set arrived with the character on the right. I have my suspicions that she was a reproduction. The base is quite a bright green and the trousers have a single black decoration. All the replacements I have used have had similar features to that one. The one or two characters that I have had that I have had good reason to believe were originals, and by far the majority of sets auctioned by professionals like QDT, have a darker, more drab, green base and three fine black lines on Mrs Peel's trousers.

The one I prefer as original is also slightly taller. They each have very similar finish, though, with identical buttons, jacket folds, hands, hats etc. So I don't know. I would be surprised if they are both original but I suppose it is possible. I am going to settle for the one with one band being a very good reproduction, though, and have donated my original to this set in its place.

I also removed the CRI 479 number plate!

So this set has been quite a challenge to document and prepare in many aspects. I will continue to seek a good Lotus Elan but do feel that I can sell this as one of the very genuinely original sets out there. It isn't cheap though.

I should soon be able to put together some non-original sets which will be rather more affordable! One thing I have realised is just how good the reproduction boxes can be! If this one had been any cleaner it really would have been difficult to tell the difference.

Corgi Toys 1966 Catalogue

The 1966 catalogue. Another cover to make us smile. The wonderful James Bond Aston Martin had been released and naturally deserved front page treatment but quite what was in the artist's mind when he put this illustration together I am not at all sure!

With the wheels angled that way disaster is imminent and I suspect the guy doing a backward somersault may be safer than anyone providing he misses the Mercedes following.

Not so many changes this year after quite a big number of changes in 1965's issue. This year sees the introduction of the VW1200 with steering in East African guise and a second ice cream van. I must have missed the first one. Neither of these ever managed to attract my attention and, to this day, I have never seen one and don't really feel like paying a great deal for one either so it'll have to turn up at a boot sale or be part of a job lot if either ever get into stock and on to the site.

The Chrysler Imperial appears with the mystery surrounding what it might have in the boot. You do have to wonder just how many really interesting things could be lurking in a Chrysler boot and I was a bit disappointed to discover it was a set of golf clubs. It's one slab of a car and never struck me as one of their best engineered models. Luckily it only ever appeared in a boring red colour so I only need the one item in stock.

There's also a pencil sketch of the Ford Cortina Estate, also offering us a surprise feature. I'll leave you dangling in anticipation as to what that could possibly be.

A good-looking truck gets pride of place on page 3 this year. At 25 shillings, though, that would have been something for a birthday or Christmas. My favourite new release would be the Ford Mustang, a great-looking model, albeit with clunky doors. There's a corgi on the back shelf too like the Ghia. These were the days before safety belts and baby seats so a small dog hurtling through the car when it suddenly brakes was not really a big thing.

The Monte Carlo trio set is there for the first time, although the Mini appeared last year. Little did we know how valuable that set would turn out to be!

The illustrations are mostly very similar to the previous year, with drawings of models throughout except for the kit photographs as last year. The new additions, though, are quite markedly different and very photo-realistic. Look at the wheels on the truck or ice cream van, for example. They could have done with that chap's work on the front cover!