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.

Corgi Toys @ 60: The Corporal Missile Set

Just one release in November 1959; the Corporal Missile, Launching Ramp, Erector Vehicle with an International Troop Carrier Truck packed together in Gift Set 9.

Sales were low, only 14,000. With so many complex mechanical components to go wrong, finding one that has these both in top condition and also working as they should is not easy at all.

The poor sales led to the missile, ramp and vehicle being withdrawn in 1962. The Launching Ramp was sold on its own in a box a year later as catalogue number 1124 and is possibly the item with the lowest sales of all at just 4000. 

Corgi Toys @ 60 : Missiles, Harvesters and Suspension

It's October 1959 and the shops get what I think is Corgi's biggest single item, a specially constructed vehicle to carry the massive Corporal missile issued in the summer. This vehicle doesn't just carry the thing, though, it also has nicely manufactured mechanisms by which you could transfer the missile to the launching ramp (if you had one handy) in a vertical position.

The photograph below, featured in The Great Book of Corgi, shows a number of Corgi personnel, including Marcel Van Cleemput (writing, with glasses,) and Percy Wilford (in a white coat to the right) the senior design and production engineers, making rapid sketches and notes when, we are told, the driver of an erector vehicle stopped near the factory in Northampton.

The result was an impressive  model, catalogued as a Corgi Major 1113 and sold with a missile.

The weight of the section carrying the missile produced some heavy forces acting on the gearing as it was manoeuvred into a vertical position - and probably often less than steadily so when in play - led to some of the cogs slipping over time and many examples have worn or broken teeth now.

The front wheels steered on the chassis and did so in a realistic way, although, without suspension one did have to encourage them to move one way or another. Nevertheless, here was the first Corgi model with steering!

It was expensive, though, and sales were not high of any of the military equipment. Good examples now, in the thick card boxes with packing pieces and instruction leaflets are now much sought-after by collectors, not just of Corgis but of military models generally, this being regarded as quite a 'classic' now.

The month also saw the previously issued Massey Ferguson tractor, trailer and Combine Harvester put together in Gift Set 8.

The third release in October 1959 is a notable event; the first Corgi with suspension. Termed Glidamatic and with 'Spring Suspension' on the box this made a big difference to your enjoyment when playing with the cars. The first was number 222, a Renault Floride. You could press down on the front to pretend you were braking hard, on the sides to whizz around corners (although the fixed wheels in the first models still made cornering tricky) and, of course, you could imitate zooming off with the rear being depressed as in the real thing.

Bumps on your layout could be driven over and the simple device of two pieces of wire providing resistance to the movement of the axles near the wheels was a great success. Even now, 60 years later, you'll find the Renault Floride suspension still sound and solid. 

The model itself was also a very attractive one, the real car being very pretty. First issues were in an olive green colour and would have had fixed smooth wheels and a red interior. Later models were produced in dark red and metallic blue. Bright yellow and cream interiors are found in the dark red models and the blue ones had either red or yellow.

As well as a few colour and interior variations to collect, early models had open vents in the rear wings, with the casting being punched through. Later models had the fin shapes still but no holes visible. This type seems to be quite hard to find and is not always very easy to spot in small illustrations unless the photograph has been taken at just the right angle. So far, I have bought three models which appeared to have 'closed' vents but which turned out to be 'open' on arrival!

Corgi Toys @ 60: A ruddy great missile and the little Austin A40

In June 1959 the last of the Mechanical models was issued. It's the delightful little Farina designed Austin A40. The 216M models had a very short production life as it was later this year that the decision to drop the M models from the range would have been made. So there are not many of these red and black 216M models around and they fetch high prices whenever good examples do appear.

The 216 non-mechanical edition was usually blue and dark blue but a few escaped from the factory in red and black. they're definitely not easy to find these days!

You should also look out for the 216 with shaped wheels. These would have been fitted later in the model's production and are somewhat less common.

You need either to peer in through the window or look at the base to distinguish the 216 from the 216M in red and black!

The other new arrival on the shelves of your local toy shop would be the remarkable Corporal Missile on a launch platform as catalogue no. 1112.

This must have been a dramatic new toy to see and even now it stands out in any collection, simply by being so big - nearly a foot long - and just plain impressive. It first appears here with another clever piece of Corgi engineering. I can only imagine that there was this one chap working there who was brilliant at this sort of thing and was responsible for the whole range of military equipment loading and transport gear.

The two wheels can be detached so that the unit can be placed on the ground to receive the missile standing vertically. Four adjustment devices can be set to make it level on almost any surface and four shaped pins hold the bottom part of the missile in place whilst the base itself fits on the shaped platform centre.

Later in the year, an erector vehicle will come along which, with a few knobs being turned, moves the missile from horizontal into a vertical position to fit on the platform. However marvellous all this stuff was, though, sales were modest - the high price and, perhaps, a shrinking interest in all things military, meant that only 26,000 are recorded as sold, the lowest figure so far at that time.

There are no variations at the outset for this item but a replacement nose cone does come along later. That includes a metal section into which caps could be places so that we could make exploding bangs if the missile were thrown so that it landed on its top end. As a consequence, you may not find too many in great condition!

Rocket Age

1108 Bloodhound missile and launch ramp

1117 Bloodhound missile loading trolley

353 Decca Airfield Control Radar 424 Scanner

Gift Set 3

352 Standard Vanguard III RAF Staff Car

1109 Karrier Gamecock Decca Mobile Airfield Radar Truck

Rocket Age Gift Set No.6

Some very nice models arrived recently from Corgi's 'Rocket Age'. Let's start with the ultra rare Gift Set No. 6. This comprises the models shown above and in the box illustrated below.

This came out in September 1959 but had a short life, being withdrawn in 1960 sometime. In the box were most of the military models out at the time. The Land Rover and Thunderbird missile had been the first released in May 1958, with the Bloodhound missile and associated pieces coming out later that year.

It also included the two radar equipment models - a Karrier adapted with a scanner and aerial and in remarkable orange stripes on a cream body. There are variations of the number of stripes - some have four, some have five. The second was a box scanner device that just sat there. You could turn a knob on both items to twirl the scanner very quickly. I am surprised the box unit, which really did just sit there and do little other than twirl, sold even as many as the modest 57000! 

The Rocket Age Set itself only sold 10000 we're told. That is really not very many at all and accounts for this being one of the most sought-after sets of all. At 57/6d (nearly £3) it was the third most expensive model in the Corgi range, being exceeded only by the Silverstone and Garage Layout Sets (and inflation driving later model prices up, of course).

This is the first that I've seen and whilst the models are not particularly hard to find, even in good condition, it is the box that no-one will have these days. You could find the models in top condition, after a bit of searching, for under £500 without boxes. Here in the original box, however, they become worth well over three times that. £1000+ for a box must seem a bit strange but it is the same across the range; add a box and the price will at least double.

What this particular set will sell for I really have no idea. I think that collectors who can afford the sort of sums this will involve simply decide that they need to fill that blank space, or investors see the potential for something to earn more than ½% interest by this time next year.

I will include a Rocket Age leaflet and some instructions too which will have to be reproductions as the owner was unable to find the originals.

Looking at the individual components again, three have slight faults. The scanner has a replacement aerial. The original is in the box too and a new owner may prefer to re-affix that. The Bloodhound Missile Loading Trolley needs a little assistance to move when the handles are turned. The Bloodhound Missile Launch Ramp is missing a support piece at the bottom but it does stay in an upright position. It may be that I have to swap these three for totally original and properly working items as part of a deal.

As well as The Rocket Age Set there are more lovely items. A Gift Set 3, fine models in a slightly tatty box but still an original box.

These were more popular and sold fairly well and are relatively easy to find these days.

The UK edition of 1118 has a better box with little signs of wear. It is, however, another quite popular model and not difficult to find. The next ones, though, are more interesting. These are the Corporal Missile items.

1112 is the Corporal Missile on a launch platform. The little platform just manages to hold erect the massive white missile. It is really well-engineered; the wheels come off so that the four stabilisers can be folded out and then turned to ensure the missile stands perpendicular. This comes with a pretty good original box. The box has signs of wear but the Missile and Launcher are as new. 

Only 26000 of these were reported as sold. That is a very low number and this is an item that should make a good sum. Whilst the box will add considerably to the price again, in this case the missile itself is quite rare in this condition. It has its original metal nose which would have taken exploding caps. That nose was available as an accessory and later sold fitted to these Corporal Missiles. The red rubber had deteriorated, however, so I have replaced that but Model Supplies only do the all-over nose cone. I have cut this one to fit better but it is not quite right.

The other item is the truly enormous Corporal Missile Erector Vehicle. This is 1113 and, at 36000, another low seller. This may have been expensive and beyond most parents' means at the time but it is a wonderful model and a great example of Corgi engineering.

I have included Emma Peel here just to demonstrate the size of the vehicle. It must have the biggest wheels of any Corgi model.

There are knobs to turn that will open and close the two grips around the missile. There is another knob that will raise part of the vehicle plus missile to a perpendicular angle. Then there is a third knob that can be turned to lower the missile on to the Launching Ramp if you have one.

The box for 1113 is another scarce item and this one is complete apart from one end of the lid which has been repaired and there are some signs of wear too.

All in all, though, these four boxed items are fascinating, an opportunity to see the models in almost 'as new' condition and, hopefully, someone will take them and keep them safe for another 60 years.

These were all by way of British militaria for a long time. It would be 1973 before we get the British Tank Transporter! The US Army, however, are well represented with several items appearing from 1963. But that's another story.

The items illustrated are for sale. Offers invited for the Rocket Age set.