Another rare find abroad

 

A long time ago, in April 1960, the first Austin Taxi was issued. Model #418 would prove to have a very long life indeed, still going strong with Whizzwheels in the 1970s until eventually being abandoned for the 1:36 scale in February 1978. In all that time the casting seems never to have changed, only the base and wheels. And it is those wheels that have fascinated my friend Andi in Germany and myself for some considerable time.

At some point the taxi gets shaped wheels - probably quite late in its production as they seem a lot less common than the smooth type - but they remain fixed to the axles. However, with production not being ceased until 1965 it would seem pretty likely that there would be some models from the later period with free spinning shaped wheels. These were, indeed, fitted to the Gift Set 35 models, which had one of two drivers behind the wheel - either a serious looking small chap in uniform looking very much like the driver of the Green Hornet or the portly and cheerful remake of Simon Templar as Fred Housego in a nice jacket and bow-tie.

Despite this edition being produced, we have singularly failed to find a normal #418 issue with free-spinning wheels and no driver. Until a little while ago when my friend found this is France and it has finally arrived here on my desk.

Assuming that we simply haven't just not spotted the free-spinning wheel versions, this has to be either an extremely scarce model or a Gift Set 35 edition which managed to get away from the factory without having a driver installed. 

Whilst the 'factory error' is a possible explanation, I am inclined to the view that there simply must have been some free-spinning wheels editions made at the end of its production run and they would have been made for both the #418 box issue or sent down another channel at the factory to have a driver popped into place and then onward to join a bus and the policeman in Gift Set 35.

The Gift Set 35 first appeared in July 1964 and every model we've found with a driver has free-spinning wheels so it seems reasonable that sometime in 1964 all the last #418 taxis were being fitted with them prior to their getting Whizzwheels in June 1971. 

Another strange thing is that the #418 is supposed to have been discontinued as a boxed issue in 1965 and the Gift Set 35 edition ceases to be available in 1968. So there is a three year gap before the Whizzwheels editions appear in a box in June 1971 and the revised London Gift Set 11 in August 1971.

The 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1969 Corgi Catalogues show the Gift Set 35 edition only. There is no taxi in the 1970 catalogue and in the 1972 Catalogue it is the Whizzwheels #418 that is shown, as well as being available in the revised Gift Set.

I can't think of another model where production ceased and was then resumed several years later without any change to the casting. All the other switches to Whizzwheels occurred with the new edition replacing the old more or less immediately and usually with some changes to the colour schemes and some features. The taxi, however, stayed black (initially at least!) and, although the interior for most seems to have been changed to red, there are plenty around with the same lemon flavour inside.

So it seems perfectly reasonable for the Austin Taxi to have continued in production, getting free-spinning wheels fitted and placed in #418 boxes between 1965, when it was supposedly discontinued as a boxed model, and 1971 when the Whizzwheels took over. If that were so, however, why have we not seen any?

So putting a value on this model is not easy. As a factory error it would be worth around £250.  As a scarce late production model then, purely because I have not seen another in over 15 years of looking, I value it as highly as those I have seen several of, like the blue Mini Marcos GT850, Kingfisher blue Chrysler Imperial or PopArt Mini and several others which regularly fetch around £1000.

So, for now, until I know more about this mystery, that's what anyone will have to pay for this to leave my collection.

Mini vans and Mini-vans

[Updated 27 January 2023]

A nice Mini van arrived today and I also noticed someone asking questions about this model in a Facebook Group.

You may well think that there really was just one 450 model in (a very accurate) utilitarian green but it turns out that there are quite a few to collect!

First, there are three grille types: plain, in body colour finish, painted silver and an Austin Countryman style as used for the 485 Surfing model.

Although I do like the look of the Countryman grille and you might think that a silver-painted one makes sense, neither are right. The real vans had no decoration at all, just holes in the front bodywork to let the air through!

Next there is that matter of spelling. It seems that Corgi were quite confused and you will find both AUSTIN MINI VAN and AUSTIN MINI-VAN on the base. Both seem pretty easy to find so I can't say which is the less or more common.

A factory error has also produced a 450 Mini van with a 485 Mini Countryman base but I haven't seen one myself yet.

As for the Austin Mini Countryman, Corgi did, at least settle on dropping the hyphen and every one that I have seen has had AUSTIN MINI COUNTRYMAN. Well, apart from one, that is, which has AUSTIN MINI VAN!!

I have to admit that I have only now noticed that one! I need to change the price for that one quickly before I publish this or someone will get a bargain as I imagine this is quite a scarce one!

Elsewhere with the Countryman you'll find most models have shaped wheels but some less common later issues had cast wheels.

Then there is the last oddity - the Countryman without a fuel filler cap! All but one of the 485 models I have heard about have the correct Austin countryman grille which is painted silver. The one oddity, just advised to me today, is one with shaped wheels, no fuel filler cap and a body-coloured grille! Table updated below.

The Police Mini Van, 448, also has both MINI VAN and MINI-VAN bases and, I believe, there are a few factory error MINI COUNTRYMAN bases out there too. However the grilles are all the same, painted variety and not even silver  painted grilles seem to have appeared - in my experience, at any rate.

You'll find shaped wheels and cast wheels, as for the Austin Mini Countryman.

So if you thought your collection was complete, here's what should be out there . . .

450

MINI VAN base normal grille

MINI VAN base silver grille

MINI VAN base Countryman grille

MINI-VAN base normal grille

MINI-VAN base silver grille

MINI-VAN base Countryman grille

COUNTRYMAN base?

448

MINI VAN base shaped wheels

MINI VAN base cast wheels

MINI-VAN base shaped wheels

MINI-VAN base cast wheels

COUNTRYMAN base shaped wheels

COUNTRYMAN base cast wheels

485

COUNTRYMAN base shaped wheels

COUNTRYMAN base shaped wheels no fuel filler

COUNTRYMAN base shaped wheels no fuel filler, unpainted grille

COUNTRYMAN base cast wheels

COUNTRYMAN base cast wheels no fuel filler?

MINI VAN base shaped wheels

MINI VAN base cast wheels?

The ? indicates that I am not aware of these so someone send me some photos if they have one.

I also think that there may well be 450 models with the Police 448 window unit. Plenty to look out for!

Corgi Toys @ 60: new models, revamped models and a launch ramp.

Here are the new items on the shelves at your local toy shop in October 1960. Quite a selection! I guess this might have been some sort of planning for Christmas too as no further models were apparently released that year.

The first is the launch module for the Corporal missile. It's a highly detailed and wonderfully well-engineered little thing, with stabilisers or feet which screw down individually to ensure correct positioning on uneven surfaces. The wheels can be removed and the support arms fit into grooves on the side of the missile. It has a tow bar and would usually be pulled along behind an International Army Truck with which it appears in Gift Sets. This item would in most instances have been obtained in one of the Gift Sets with the missile and maybe with the Missile Carrier vehicle too so it is unusual to find it in its own box these days. Very few were sold individually, one in a good box now being well worth getting hold of.

Another Corgi Major and the first Chipperfields Circus model arrives in the shape of the International Truck now with a re-worked rear section that carries a jib. Compared to the army models this is rather basic and crude engineering. The jib is bare metal and raised by hand in three steps on a simple ratchet device. There's a large and not very pretty handle to lift or drop the hook.

The six wheels are now painted Circus blue and the old truck gets an extension to its life. Indeed, it will even get suspension later, which the army version never does.

Amongst the commercials Corgi produced another Bedford CA Van with a single screen and revised front end, appropriately bearing Corgi Toys transfers. It gets a new catalogue number, 422, following on from 421 for the Evening Standard version. To the confusion of children then, but much to the delight of collectors now, Corgi seemed to be unable to make their mind up for some time as to where the blue should go and to what extent. So you will find this half-and-half model as well as one that is blue but with a yellow roof and another that is yellow with a blue roof.

The last combination is the one that is by far the most common, the other two being really quite expensive to acquire now. Indeed, I have had to steal a photo of the 50-50 edition from QDT as I have always been beaten in bidding to date and it has not turned up in any collections I've handled.

The wheels are usually smooth on these models and, from my research, exclusively so for the two less common types. The yellow model with a blue roof has shaped wheels on its later issues.

418 is the Austin Taxi. It appears here for the first time in an extremely long run as it will stay in the catalogue right through to the 1970s when a 1:36 scale version eventually replaces it. I think that makes it the longest-running model without a change to the body. Land Rovers and Minis have a good life too but they get quite a few adjustments made along the line. The Austin Taxi stays just as it was in October 1960, getting only different wheels, interior colour, screen tint and a couple of drivers at various points.

Another commercial and another outing for the Karrier Bantam, now as 413, a Mobile Butcher's Shop. It's very similar to the 407 Mobile Shop, little changing over three years and this has the same style of metal with illustrations visible at the rear and paper stickers at the side and front. Early editions have smooth wheels, later ones have shaped wheels, all fixed.

Two cars are issued too this month - the TR2 gets a re-worked front end and becomes a TR3. It is always in a pale metallic olive-green with red seats. Early editions have smooth wheels and later ones shaped wheels but always fixed. Although production continued for some years I don't believe any got free spinning wheels.

The final items on the October agenda is the revised Jaguar 2.4 Litre, now as 208S and with an interior, suspension and a coat of pale yellow paint. Again, early editions have fixed smooth wheels and later ones fixed shaped wheels. This doesn't get free spinning wheels.

225 Austin Seven

The second Mini issued, a year after the Morris Mini Minor, was the Austin Seven in January 1961. It can be found in many shades of red as well as primrose.

[Table revised June 2018 to include 1c with fixed wheels]

For an explanation of the different types, please see my article titled Minis - the different types in September 2017.

Minis - the different types

It is time to make a comprehensive list of all the Minis. I have put it off for too long. Rather than write an extremely long-winded article, I decided to deal first with the main variations that apply pretty much across the whole range and then write about each model separately. With about 80 different Minis to list, this should make it a little easier for people looking for information about a specific model.

Colour

Now this may seem simple and hardly worth writing about but the difficulty I had with listing 226s has been one of the reasons for taking so long in doing this. For most models it really is quite simple, with just the one or more obviously different colours. However for the 225 Austin Seven and the 226 Morris Mini Minor it could have got complicated.

The Austin is now pretty straightforward. Whilst there are many shades of red, from an orangey shade, through tomato to whatever fruit you might identify with deep red, I've decided to call them all simply 'red'. There's also primrose, of course.

The Morris was not so simple. I've settled for pale blue and lilac blue but accept that there are umpteen shades in between, especially for the earlier editions.

Interior colour

That's easy. Barring factory mistakes, there should be few difficulties in this section.

Make

Believe it or not, for some models, you do have to look at the badge on the bonnet to determine whether it is an 'Austin' or a 'Morris', regardless of what the box or base may say it is, or, for that matter, what newspaper pictures may tell you that the real thing the model depicts actually was! 

Windows

All models will have editions with clear windows but some Whizzwheels models will also have editions where they are tinted.

Wheels

These should be pretty obvious, the choice being between:

• fixed smooth wheels
• fixed shaped wheels
• free shaped wheels
• cast wheels (with a spoke effect pattern)
• 4 spoke Whizzwheels
• 5 spoke Whizzwheels

5 spoke Whizzwheel

4 spoke Whizzwheel

Base

There are five main base types for the non-Whzzwheels models.

Type 1a holes and two flat rectangular panels

Type 1b (note: the front is to the right in this image)
 panels but no holes, full width front lower bumper

Type 1c panels and narrower lower bumper

Type 2a no panels, text in centre sections

Type 2b no panels, text in centre sections
and a round post near the front

• type 1a bases all seem to have fixed wheels
• type 1b bases can be found with fixed (early) or free (late) wheels
• type 1c bases most seem to have free wheels
• type 2a and 2b models all have free wheels.

For Whizzwheels models there are another three bases across the range, distinguished by colour:

• matt black
• gloss black
• silver

Some models can be found with each type!

Body

There are three distinct castings used:

• type 1
• type 2 look for a horizontal line along the front wing, a different grille, higher front cast line and general shape
• type 2a like type 2 but with extended wheel arches
• type 3 is obviously different, with opening doors, bonnet and boot

Type 1 left, type 2 right: grille and casting line differences

Type 1 left, type 2 right.

Type 2a wheel arches
(also illustrates the horizontal wing line of type 2)

In type 1 the main body is common to Austin and Morris versions, with a front die change for the differing grilles and their related bonnet badges. Type 2s always have a Morris grille and badge.

Other differences

There are sometimes different colour steering wheels but I have not listed these yet. In the main, they are consistent with another change.

The 334 Mini also has two types of sliding roof blind, one with narrow stripes and a very scarce wider stripe variety (now listed).

The 339 Mini Cooper can have paper labels on in place of the earlier transfers for the door numbers. These I have shown separately.

I am grateful to a number of collectors for their help in understanding some of the history of these changes.The illustrations in these and the individual model posts are from my own collection except for the two Whizzwheels 5 spoke model photos on this page provided by Minifanatics.

Nice logos, shame about the typeface.

The 339 Austin with cast wheels, now with a full set of transfers. All credit to Noel Wilson and Four Little Wheels for producing these and doing so in the correct font for the RN177. The others that come up when you first look, such as those Mr Flowers sells, are quite wrong and, whilst I have no objection to anyone trying to make old cars look good again with them, it is so much more satisfying when they make an effort to use the right elements.

So, yes, it is very white and new looking but a very nice copy of the original as you can see below on a 339 Morris.

Mr Wilson is also responsible for the excellent transfers I used on the Rover 2000 Sun International Rally edition you'll see in a recent post. In fact, I am not sure I know anyone else who does these. Plenty of 333 Mini ones around but no others for the Rover. He doesn't necessarily appear in search results but I do thoroughly recommend you get in touch if you need anything like this. Check out the Facebook page.

Now, where am I going to find a 339 Morris with normal wheels?

Mixed Grill For The Mini Van

Corgi made a superb job of reproducing the Mini Van and I am surprised that it was only produced for a little more than a year, appearing in December 1964 and discontinued in 1966.

In that short time, however, even this otherwise quite bland model had some variations! 

Normally, the grill is all painted and has straight bars and horizontal elements. The ones to look out for are the comparatively scarce grills that have been painted silver and the less easy to find wavy style as made for the Austin Countryman.

I have been able to get a couple with silver grills, and the paint does look original rather than having been added later by someone. They were quite inexpensive but both have a bent rear door. I have also found a good model with the Countryman style grill but this was probably only affordable by reason of the missing rear door! I think it should be fairly straightforward to fit a door sometime once I have found a very cheap wreck that still has one.

As far as I know, all the Mini Vans have Austin badges. I am still checking almost every one I see, though, just in case there is a Morris somewhere. I believe that there is a Morris version of the #485 'Austin' Countryman so it is not totally impossible.

There is great fun to be had checking the badges on all the Minis, in fact. A little while ago this little blue #226 came up at an auction. A collector friend had spotted the Austin badge on what was supposed to be a Morris Mini-Minor (and which was painted in Morris Mini-Minor pale blue and had Morris Mini-Minor on the base)! We were very hopeful at the time that we might get it for a modest, typical #226 price. 

Unfortunately, that was not to be and I have since discovered that many people were watching the bids as they soared past the £120 I had considered paying!