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.

Corgi Toys @ 60 : Gift set 35 and an old Daimler

 It's July 1964 and our local toy shop gets a Daimler to add to the shelves. I had hoped at the time that it might be a Daimler Dart or something I could play with but, no, it was the third 'Classic' old timer model in the shape of a 1910 Daimler 38HP, no 9021.

With a chauffeur at the wheel and three passengers it is a busy model. There are three horns along the bottom of the windscreen and two gigantic headlamps either side of the radiator with a nice emblem on top. I had always thought that colours in the early 20th Century were drab but here we have a bright red car with bright yellow wheels!

It is well-made and very detailed and a credit to Corgi's production at the time but not for their marketing sense as, like the other 'Classics', sales were not great. You just couldn't play with these models. Without suspension, they were awkward to steer round corners and lots of bits were vulnerable to breaking. As a consequence, many seldom left their boxes and can now be found easily - with excellent examples for very small prices.

Something that can't now be found so easily is the Gift Set 35 - the 'London Passenger Set' which was also issued at this time.

This featured the 418 Austin Taxi but with two differences - it now had a driver and it now had free-spinning wheels. Although one has recently come to light*, every other example of the 418 prior to Whizzwheels had fixed wheels, smooth or shaped but always fixed.

The driver would be the old chap in a uniform at first, actually the Cato character re-employed from the 269 Green Hornet. Later he will be replaced by a Fred Housego character looking much more relaxed and very much like the Thunderbird driver of old.

The bus was the usual 469 model with a Corgi Toys banner in early editions, later changing to Outspan Oranges.

There is also a policeman on point duty, rotating on a white plastic podium. This part is very difficult to find now so making up a set is not an easy task, even if you do manage to find a good reproduction box.

With the rather different scales of the bus and taxi, this set does look a bit strange on display. Not very many were sold and now complete sets in original boxes are valuable items.

*Discovered by my collector friend, Andi, in France. We think that it may have been a model intended for a Gift Set but the driver was accidentally missed at the factory. It is feasible that free-spinning wheels could have been fitted to the normal 418 but one would have expected many to be available if that were the case.