Not quite Corgis

 

At first glance this looks like the #264 Oldsmobile Toronado. Then you see the wheels - and they're not the #276 Golden Jacks variety either - and the shade of blue is unlike any that Corgi issued, despite there being quite a range from turquoise blue to rich, dark blue during its production. And what is that? Opening doors? Goodness me, where on Earth does this come from?

Alicante. Spain. These are extremely good copies of the Corgi casting by a company called Auto-Pilen and date from the early 1970s. Indeed, these are so similar that one has to assume that the company took a Corgi model apart and made a mould from that. For me these are like the Corgi 'variations' I so enjoy finding and Auto-Pilen have managed to add more features to many of them as well. The Oldsmobile above is their model reference #307.

You will find several editions of the same car. Here there is a lovely chrome-plated model (#308) and below a Policia version (#298).

In each case the control for the headlamps operates very smoothly - indeed, rather better than the Corgi models themselves! The jewels look exactly the same as the Corgi models too, as do the chrome fittings.

Here are some more Auto-Pilen Corgis that I have in stock at the time of writing, All the images will take you to the appropriate page in my store if anyone wants more images or to purchase one.

The #310 Chevrolet (Corvette) Stingray

models #300 (green and silver editions) and #299-1 for the chrome-plated model

The #347 Chevrolet Astro 1.6

(#315 and #316 for a chrome-plated version)

The #384 Adams Probe 1.6

(#505 and #506 for a chrome-plated version)

The #334 Mini Cooper

(#319 and #320 for a chrome-plated edition) 

There is also a #291 Mini-Cooper Rally listed which I would expect to be based on the same casting.

Auto-Pilen also made a beautiful version of the Corgi #284 Citroen SM. You will also find Dinky copies too but I am not sure if there are any more Corgis. There are a Porsche 917 and Carrera 6 in one list I have found as well as a Citroen DS 23 and GP Beach Buggy which I need to investigate if ever I find one. The list also features the BRM and Lotus F1 racing cars which may be further possibilities.

These models are now quite hard to find here in the UK, although may be common across whatever the Spanish equivalent to a boot sale is. The company produced models through to the 1990s but, to the best of my knowledge, these would be the sole models of interest to Corgi collectors.

They are very well-made, solid and the opening parts operate smoothly. The wheels look great but suspension is seldom very good, either firm or practically non-existent. One nice thing is that the bases are screwed on - so if a model does need repair, or a fresh coat of paint, then that is relatively simple to achieve without having to 'break' rivets. Now, this does, of course, men that one can never be absolutely certain that what you have is totally original but I can live with that.

Prices are similar to their Corgi equivalents from what I can gather so, being comparatively unusual, they seem to represent good value to me. Most that I have found and that you will come across will not have either the box or the plinth to which they seem to have been attached when issued, with a hole evident in the base where a screw would have fitted.

More Spanish Delight From 1970s Alicante

 

Corgi got the rear lights right on the Adams Probe 1.6, one of their more attractive Whizzwheels offerings, but the Spanish Auto Pilen version just has more presence. Look at the deail in the wheels with the spinners nicely detailed in the wheel casting. 

The models really are almost exact copies. Apart from those rear lights - and I have no idea why the Spaniards did that - this is a fabulous item and only made me want to find more.

Probably the Corgi model of a production car that I dislike most has been the Mercedes C111. The heavy, little-detailed casting and round rather than sharp edges just made this so unattractive and the heavy orange paint only served to hide more detail and round edges even more. And that's without mentioning the ubiquitous and so inappropriate Whizzwheels.

Corgi did get the colour almost right, though, the only examples I have ever seen being in a metallic orange and certainly not metallic olive green. Nevertheless Auto Pilen have transformed the model with their lighter touch to the edges, paint that doesn't fill every crack and far more pleasant overall stance and appearance.

They even add jewels to the front, a nice touch, and a far more subtle logo. The headlamps pop up too!

Jewels at the back too and lower reflectors or fog lamps are in place.

The rear compartment also opens to reveal a detailed engine and the 'gull-wing' doors operate smoothly. This is another excellent model, surpassing by a long way what Corgi had done with the casting.

Next, another model I tended not to pay too much attention to. It was odd and the way those two characters were raised by opening the rear compartment always rather confused me as I am not sure that made it much more easy to get out after all. However, it was still well-made and was originally issued with reasonably decent red spot Whizzwheels. Now see what Auto Pilen managed to do with the casting.

They left out the passengers which was probably a good idea and let the seats stay in situ. Maybe the experimental car did have them raising in some way but I'm happy with it as it is.

You'll see that the two models are virtually identical, even down to the polished gold coloured panel and mirrors.

Lastly in this Spanish instalment, here are a couple of Chevrolet Sting Rays. It seems that Auto Pilen released a chrome edition of most (maybe all) of the models that I am hoping to acquire and here is their chrome Sting Ray, looking quite indistinguishable to a Corgi 310 model.

It has the same swivelling headlamp units and you'll also see that the chrome suffers from the same problem that many of the 310s did too, peeling off quite easily and leaving, in this case, a white plastic bumper which would often be bright yellow on the Corgi.

the nice thing about the Spanish version, though, is that it can be replaced easily without damaging the base which is simply attached by a couple of screws. I suppose you can, therefore, never be sure of a model's originality but that's a price I don't mind paying as this aspect also tends to maintain a lower price level across the range than for comparable Corgis.

Incidentally, not everyone will have noticed that the silver Sting Ray was also an Auto-Pilen! The opening doors give that away, and the red interior. The wheels, however, whilst slightly different to the Corgi are a pretty similar wire wheel type as on most 310 models.

I don't have a silver 310 in stock to compare with this but will add some photos just as soon as one comes along.

In the meantime, I am looking for the others that I listed as being likely candidates for using Corgi castings (or copies of them) and hope they prove to be as similar;y impressive as all that I have discovered so far.

The weird and the wonderful

384 Adams Probe 16

384 Adams Probe 16

380 Alfa Romeo P33

283 DAF City Car

381 GP Beach Buggy

347 Chevrolet Astro 1

The Whizzwheels era certainly brought out some weird and wonderful cars which we would be pretty unlikely to see on our roads. I guess the Beach Buggy was not so weird - probably far more common a sight than the Fiat Ghia Jolly issued in the normal years. In fact that was issued twice but that's another story I shall about separately. The others, though, are a strange bunch but each in their own way has something that makes you forgive the Corgi design team. Well, you might not shout at them quite as much - save that for the dragsters and some other diabolical dumb-downs.

Working through those illustrated here, start with the Adams Probe 16. I haven't heard of Adams as a motor manufacturer anyway so this was not off to a good start but look at the lines, the lovely colour and attractive perspex cover. That cover slides back, presumably to let what much have been pretty intense heat out of the compartment. The interior is crisp and clean, albeit not very private if you had an itch and were parked next to almost any vehicle taller than this. A strange steering column looks very prone to refusal to turn corners but I don't think many of these were ever available on the straight, never mind corners. Jewelled lights at the back look really nice too and this has many 'normal' features that make it a nice model to display.

The Alfa may have been a bit more generally available but certainly wasn't a sight on British roads other than the Corgi Kit layout ones. Corgi didn't make many white models. This suits the colour well. Obviously, being the 70s, orange has to appear somewhere and the interior seats, dash etc. are suitably bright satsuma. It's a nicely finished model. Nothing opens or closes but, apart from the wheels, it sits well and has a certain charm.

No doubt the DAF City car existed in some cities but, again, it wasn't seen on British roads unless you happened to live in an apartment overlooking the London Design Centre or a street of that ilk. In complete contrast to the Alfa, everything opens on this crazy car. It might have almost been 'normal' had it not had such an incredible array of features. One side had a sliding door that I don't recall seeing on a model before. That looked difficult to engineer. The other side had two opening doors - like an old Rover 100 had, both hinged at outer edges so they fold in on each other. You get this vast opening in the side as a result which would be useful in the country just as much as the city now I think about it. Indeed, I can think of more uses - the occasional hay bale, errant animals, piles of shopping, firewood come to mind - for a DAF Rural Car rather than a DAF City Car.

As if that wasn't enough, the boot and rear also open. There's no excuse for one of these to have a messy interior. And being pale fawn, it will show. Quite a car. I am not sure about the scale though - it seems much too big. Naturally, it will have been one hell of a job to construct this in a way that doesn't collapse on first play and that may have had an influence on its size. Or maybe it was that big.

The fun starts when you open up the box and out rolls a Chevrolet Astro 1. I mistyped that as Astro ! but actually that may be a better name! It looks just like the space-age vehicles we saw illustrated in comics or in TV series in the 1960s. Not so sure about the 1970s but then this did come out in 1969, being one of the very first Whizzwheels. It would have rolled out of the box nicely too as the 'red spot' wheels that quite a few of this model will have had originally had rubber tyres and ran much more pleasantly than the horrid plastic ones. If the shape makes you smile then you'll split your sides laughing when you see what happens when you slide back the roof. The passengers get lifted into the air and if this is supposed to be some device for assisting their exit then it hasn't quite worked unless they take a jump. But it all works very smoothly and there are two plastic people looking strange to match the model.

There is another I am looking for - the Bertone Barchetta Runabout.