New arrivals this month

 Here are some more arrivals, all in really nice condition and most have original boxes too. The images are links to my web site where you can find more details.

The Avengers Gift Set 40 has two original brollies! I would quite like to keep them so have offered to replace them and reduce the price. I also have another original set with a Lotus with cast wheels. Something else with which I am not really wanting to part company.

One of the last 1:43 (or thereabouts) scale Gift Sets which was not around for long. The tractor looks and feels very basic compared to the fine detail on their previous issues but the expressions on the faces of the two characters on the hay never fail to make me laugh! Rare to find one of these sets complete and it gets quite rapidly replaced by Gift Set 5 without the hay.

In the US 'Esso' is the 'Exxon' brand and this is a scarce export model #1158. It is, though, another example of the economies and short-cuts made by Corgi in their declining years. This model has no suspension and the cab, whilst lifting to show the engine and gear shift, is so much less detailed.

Even with an original box these Whizzwheels Taxis are cheap.

Almost the last 1:43 scale model issued by Corgi from the 1956-70s era, this weird-looking VW1300 is quite fun to play with. No suspension but lovely rich metallic blue paint and this is a nice example with all four wheels in gold. I have the original box but I am waiting to get the bollards which were included with it. This is #400, not be confused with #401 which is the same car and bollards in a different box.

One of the last Ford mustang Competition models made, here with the fat eight-spoke cast wheels. Previously it had been fitted with shaped wheels, spoked wheels and cast spoke effect wheels. Scarce now with good suspension as the chrome element that runs from front to back provides this with small plastic tabs that have become very brittle over the years.

More often found in the Transporter Gift Set in this finish, this comes in an early Whizzwheels window box

I was a big fan of the Monkees, being just 14 when they began to appear in an early evening TV show. It's strange to recall now that there'd be parties in those days which started at around 5 o'clock and we'd get tea, watch the show and then the parents would disappear and leave us free to play games like 'Spin The Bottle' and share 7" discs. When this model appeared, however, in late 1968, the Monkees' release of D W Washburn had scarcely troubled the charts and most of the early excitement had faded in the UK and their album Head left most early teenage fans wondering what that was all about.

The Corgi Monkeemobile didn't sell particularly well and is now quite hard to find in a nice box. Even more difficult to find is a box with an original header card.

In something of a contrast to the Monkeemobile, the revision of Corgi's so successful #261 Aston Martin so that the #270 model did look more like a DB5 and was in the 'right' silver birch colour, would sell vast quantities. Normally that might make them cheap and easy to find at low prices but, due to changes being made during production, some of the five main versions are now particularly sought after as they were not around for long.

This is the very first issue, with silver bumpers and grille, and only produced for a short time in 1968 before being replaced by the gold trim edition.

June 2026 is the Rambler's 60th anniversary of issue, as reported earlier, and here is a later version of that model with quite clean cast wheels - and suspension!

I remember being quite disappointed by the 'surprise' in the boot of the Chrysler Imperial when I had spent a hard-earnt 9/3d. This seemed very over-priced as you could have a Breakdown Truck for 5/11d, a Ford Mustang with opening doors and jewelled lights for 6/9d. I always thought it was an ugly, chunkily square model which didn't inspire me to want a Chrysler one day. The best thing about mine and this one is the shaped wheels, only fitted to the first issues in 1965.

Having said that, I would really like to find a kingfisher metallic blue version which Corgi produced in very small numbers as a proposed new Bermuda Taxi. When that idea got shelved they sold the blue ones they had produced at that stage, with the gold caddy in the boot and characters planted in the front seats, in a 246 box. These versions have spaces behind the rear seats where the plastic roof supports would have been fitted and always had the alternative chalky blue interior. I had one a long time ago and now dearly wish I had kept it.

Corgi Model Club: the best copy of the best original

 I am beginning to think that we have had enough James Bond Aston Martins now and it would be nice to end on what is probably the best copy of the best original.

Just scrolling through these photos should be enough to demonstrate how lovely this model is (and, of course, was). I definitely prefer the silver grille and bumpers, probably because I like models that do look like a real car and the gold stuff was odd to say the least.

Of course, it is that bubble pack again and I need to provide a warning right at the start. If you don't intend to play with this, leave it in the box as you get it. That's because you will find it hard to avoid damaging the card at the back. It is not at all easy to pull back. After tearing the gold bumper issue last month, I was really very careful, gently inserting a flat part of a nail file to try and encourage the rear section to move. But, once again, I failed. Only by firmly pressing on those ends of the fold and prising very gently to prevent a tear at that vulnerable spot was I able to get it to move.

Anyway, back to the content . . . the next very careful work is when you open the flap on the tray to access the secret documents and spare baddie. I succeeded with this one but you do need to be so very careful. I have to ask why is it necessary for all these flaps to have those tiny slits? It's been the case since Day One. You would thought that someone at the Club would have considered simple folded flaps, even if they didn't always stay closed as neatly as these do. They would also have been more accurate copies but the boxes are always the least good examples of a 'copy' anyway, what with shiny surface, necessarily different text and incorrect font styles.

Inside, everything is as it was with the last issue.

I am impressed with how the Chinese have managed to make the roof lie nice and flat.

Whilst my model does sit evenly, the suspension on one side is distinctly more firm than the other. Indeed, it is as if the tyre is too wide but I have not had time to investigate. There have been reports that the car is very much squashed in to the bubble and that may have a detrimental effect on the suspension. It was certainly a bit of a struggle to extract the car from its clear home but I doubt either its insertion, life spent there nor my extraction caused any damage.

The baddie is inside the car but, of course, is free to move and, upon arrival appeared to be doing something I really cannot write about in this article without having to apply for a new Over-18 rating. As you need to open the roof in order to correct matters and have him sit up properly, it can be risky pressing that button. Should baddie decide to wedge himself sideways or in a way that prevents free movement of the seat then any vulnerable parts of the seat spring mechanism could be damaged. Luckily I got away with the push but do be careful and certainly I would recommend removing the baddie when moving the model around or posting it.

Incidentally, the previously best copy was the 96655 issue in the 1990s. That had rather unattractive wheels but otherwise was a nice example and packed in a nice window-style box. They were not trying to copy anything with that one but it all kinda worked. This one is very good but I think that's enough, now, thank you. 

Yes, I know there are the later edition without tyre slashers and the later sort of Whizzwheels but no-one wants copies of that. Indeed, I would have just issued this one and left it at that but I guess the shop sales of the gold bumpers, plus the bizarre silver 261 and even more bizarre Hornby R26101 help keep the business alive. Much as I moan about small differences and boxes, I do quite like to handle these brand new, shop-fresh models when they arrive and can persuade myself to forget for a while that they've come to Britain in a container aboard one of those ghastly container ships piled high with goods for consumers here.

Edit:

[I have just remembered the row about the rear wheel arches. So perhaps for some this may not be the best copy. I'll let you choose another!]

Aston Martin wheel arches

 

I hadn't noticed until now the difference between the original #270 rear wheel arch shape and that of the Corgi Model Club issue.

I think the Club have got this wrong.

The #261 looks right.

It's quite surprising as the Club are supposed to be recreating the originals, not approximation to the originals. With modern technology one would think that something as basic as the shape of a wheel arch would be a simple thing to get right. I know that I criticise the models for an assortment of minor differences but I didn't notice what is probably the biggest error they've made so far.

Corgi Model Club: two more Aston Martins, a teal sports car and a nice box.

 

You may have been confused by a recent note from the Corgi Model Club, encouraging us all to buy the #270 James Bond's Aston Martin with silver grille and bumpers, having had one encouraging us to buy the #270 James Bond's Aston Martin with gold grille and bumpers just a short while ago. I had ordered the one with a gold bits in November and, quite frankly, forgotten all about it so I rushed to order the one with silver bits just in case it sold out as these things tend to. Luckily I remembered that I had also had a list of items I should be getting as a member and, indeed, the one with silver bits should be arriving sometime in a few weeks. The one with gold bits is, I assume, on its way too.

I had thought that the masses were going to get the gold edition from the shop, with the silver edition being just for members but I see now this is not the case. There is no asterisk on the list and so lots of people will be getting this before I do as I seem to be a few weeks behind with my Club arrivals, the Ecurie Ecosse Transporter still to reach my village.

So, if you are a member, and only want one silver edition, you don't have to do anything. No need to panic. It will come in its own time when you reach that point on the list. If you want the gold one, though, you need to buy it from the shop and, despite the claim that members get a nice discount, they pay the same price as everyone else for anything other than their single monthly Club items.

Coming up soon you will see two issues that will be for members only and not available in the shop. These are an orange #233 Heinkel Bubble, sorry, Economy Car and a #302 MGA in teal. I expect there will be a red #233 in the shop which we'll need to buy at the normal price but maybe no further MGAs, the red one being available already. Perhaps the Club will hang on to some teal paint and use some for a #300 Austin Healey at some point. That's a model that's very hard to find as an original. I think teal would be about right. I have two originals but both had been frustratingly overpainted with a slightly different shade of blue for reasons I fail to understand.

This one has a new steering wheel and screen too.

This one has a complete covering of the new blue, with silver bits added here and there, as well as a silly screen from Mr Flowers.

Neither base seems to have been removed, though, and there's blue in places a paintbrush wouldn't reach.

I feel confident that both are the scarce blue issue but it is such a pity that they received this later treatment. A lesson for us all, of course, as more and more models are getting 'restored'. Maybe you good restoration artist people could just stick to restoring the common ones and leave something scarce alone. I am amazed at the skills some people do have but I would much prefer a bashed-up old original to a pristine-looking model with shiny rivets (or glue!)

By the same token, however lovely the Corgi Model Club models will be, whether with silver or gold bits, I'll be selling both of them and happier looking to spend the money on a fair to average original. For those who like to display their models, however, there is a lot to be said for the 'bubble-style' boxes that come with the Club models. Good reproductions of these are not cheap.

This one is very good but nearly £50! 

The bubble bit is not easy and all the usual suppliers offer just the later window box types.

So, if you 'don't look back' (or maybe under) the Corgi Model Club editions may be worthwhile after all! Flog the car and keep the box.

Update 22 January:

Corgi Toys @ 60: James Bond and an Ice Cream Van

 

Yes, this is the month when, 60 years ago, Corgi's most successful model and probably the one they were to become famous across the world for, was issued. #261 James Bond's Aston Martin. It's gold and not silver and a DB4 not a DB5 but no-one seemed too bothered at the time.

You will. I am sure already be familiar with all the variations for this model and this is neither to time nor the place to repeat them all. Have a look in my catalogue where you'll see as many as I have listed. In its massive production quantities it would be inevitable that castings get worn, adjusted and so on.

The other issue was the second Ford Thames Ice Cream Van. #447 had been issued just 7 months earlier but now someone at Corgi decided that it should play a tune so they stopped producing the first one and adapted the second by inserting a device which played notes when an enormous handle at the back was rotated. 

Gone are the old chap selling the ice cream, the young lad with one and the pretty display plinth that came with the first. The music device comprised fine tines that were 'plinked' as a shaft with cam extensions in different positions rotated and many have since got broken tines so the tune doesn't quite work as it should. 

This was, incidentally, the very first model that the Corgi Model Club people decided to make again from scratch. They made a super job of it, so accurate, in fact that the tines break on that model just as quickly! 

Good working models of both the October issues in original boxes with instructions and packing are both very expensive now. Considering how many of the Bond models were made and how many there must be in good working order still in circulation, I am always amazed at the prices they fetch. High prices for the Ice Cream Van are perfectly understandable. It sold only 146000, not a lot in those days for a Corgi issue and very few will have either a box or a working music device, even fewer with both.

The Aston Martin, however, sold nearly 4 million, nearly 27 times as many and, whilst it was a complicated bit of equipment, the features have been remarkably resilient to young people's play. Whilst there are plenty with seats that don't eject very well or at all, there are also many that do still work well. Suspension fails on these and as they get older the plastic becomes ever more brittle and liable to fail so numbers of top quality models will diminish but I still maintain that it's a lot easier to find than a nice Ice Cream Van with working tunes.

I guess there are simply so many fans of film and TV-related models that there is a far wider and better moneyed market for Bond than Wall's Ice Cream.

Update on Corgi Model Club issue plans

 Here are the next few months' models, as proposed by the Club:

492		VW 1200 European Police Car (Dutch edition)
107		Batboat + Trailer
334		BMC Mini Magnifique (green)
430		Bermuda Taxi
348		Ford Mustang Flower Power
1126		Ecurie Ecosse Racing Car Transporter
270		James Bond's Aston Martin (silver grille)
270		James Bond's Aston Martin (gold grille)
233		Heinkel Economy Car
248		Chevrolet Impala

and here are two further issues to be added to the list:

268 The Green Hornet's 'Black Beauty'

416 RAC Radio Rescue Land Rover

The earliest dates that anyone will have received the #406 Land Rover in yellow with a black roof will have been mid-June so add a month for each row and that'll give you an idea of the when you should see these first appear.

So there may be some lucky people getting an Ecurie Ecosse Racing Car Transporter for Christmas!

With the Batboat will be the device issued originally to connect to the first issue of the Batmobile, fitting over the flame-thrower at the back. These devices are very hard to find as originals as you can imagine how easily they can get lost so expect sales for this little boat to soar. It will, of course, also attach as normal to the second issue which is also available from the Corgi Store.

The two silver Aston Martins are expected to be issued at the same time in January, members getting the one with a silver grille and the other version being available for anyone to buy from the Club Store. As for the matt black Batmobile, expect to see several appear at high prices for the member editions as they will be in comparatively short supply, certainly at first. The matt black Batmobile still sells quite easily at £100.

The Mini will be a green edition of the blue one issued in November 2023. I rather suspect that it will be no more than a fresh coat of paint at the factory with the sliding roof remaining with narrow bars and not the wider variety, so you'll still have to search for an original of that one!

The Dutch edition of the VW Police Car is all white and a good-looking model that is hard to find and usually expensive if you do. It's a model I have never had myself so I won't be able to do a side by side comparison. It will, no doubt, be just the May 2023 issue with different paint and decals.

The Bermuda Taxi will be the November 2021 issue with some fresh paint, a change of driver and a funny roof. That could be a useful addition as many collectors will have lost the driver and roof from the original or may even need the roof for a Ghia Jolly. There appear to be two different drivers for the Thunderbird in its Bermuda Taxi guise so it will be interesting to see which survives through to 2025.

The little 'Bubble' car was issued in a few colours: red, shades of mostly pale lilac, metallic blue and orange with either fixed smooth wheels or free spinning cast wheels. I have only seen the orange edition with both types, the other colours having only the fixed smooth type. I wonder what the model club will provide us with? 

I am a big fan of the coffee and cream Impala so look forward to that one. The Club are certainly making the most out of the split casting but one can hardly blame them. I just hope the price reflects the fact that they have had a lot less work to pay for in its production (although I would be delighted if they changed the wheels for some cast ones). In contrast, however, the Ecurie Ecosse Transporter, their first Corgi Major, will have cost a veritable fortune, even in Chinese yuan. So that's not going to be cheap but perhaps by charging the 'normal' £30 or so for the Impala and some other relatively cheap variations the price of the Transporter will be reasonable. Needless to say, I see it being extremely popular and is typical of a model which many of my generation will have had on their Christmas lists for a few years but not received.

There are many variations of that model too but these are early days. There will be some previews in a while but my money is on the darker shade of metallic blue with yellow lettering and a lemon interior. As for the extent of silver paint around the front, I have no idea and can hardly recall the different editions as I write! My guess is that the precise silver paintwork will be like none of the originals at all.

Update 5 July:

I have just noticed two more proposed issues that I have now added to the text above.

Black Beauty is probably one I shall not be too concerned with although I can see it will be poplar amongst the Film and TV-related model collectors, especially if the grille stays closed!

The Land Rover casting gets another outing with what appears to be the early edition of the RAC Radio Rescue Truck. Now, will it have a headboard? Smooth wheels or will we finally get to see some fixed shaped wheels? A clean and well-shaped tin canopy will be useful to replace a worn one, or more often missing) on an original!

At last, a silver 261 James Bond Aston Martin!

 Now here is something that appears quite familiar but is actually quite unique. Corgi (as in Hornby Corgi) have decided to recoup some of their outlay in funding the Corgi Model Club's re-tooling costs for the #261 re-issue by making their own edition - but this time in silver.

Strangely, they have numbered this #261 and used a box that is almost identical to the Club re-issue. This is really going to confuse people in future.

Corgi-Hornby did produce a '261' model a couple of years ago but, whilst it was gold, it had tyre slashers and revolving number plates as they'd used a #270-type casting. That, however, was numbered #26101 on the box label side and the box itself was actually larger than this one which is identical in dimensions to the Club re-issue. (See image further down).

Inside, there is the same tray design, with the same leaflets and baddie (but no spare) tucked in the bottom of the tray.

It is a lovely model, although, I would like to have seen some distinction of the chrome elements which have simply been sprayed with the same paint as the body.

It's nice to have a roof that sits exactly in line as it should and never has done with the early issues!

Note the catalogue number #26101S. But this is a totally different casting and box to #26101!

Here I compare #26101 and #26101S.

The 2021 issue is bigger in all dimensions.

So now there is quite a range of these James Bond Aston Martins to consider.

• 1995 96655 270 re-issue in silver
• 1995 96656 270 in gold-plated finish, red tyre slashers
• 1997 4201 270 in gold painted finish, red tyre slashers
• 2000 4202 270 in gold-plated finish, black tyre slashers
• 2014 4203/4S/G 270  in silver / gold 
• 2011? 4205S/G 270 in silver/gold-painted no tyre slashers
• 2012? 4206S/G 270 in silver/gold-painted, no tyre slashers
• 2021 26101 '261' but 270 re-issue in gold-painted with tyre slashers
• 2022 261 Club re-issue (as original) in matt gold-painted finish
• 2022 261 Club re-issue (as original) in shinier gold-painted finish
• 2024 26101S 261 (as original) re-issue in silver

I have not included the larger scale 1:36 issues which generally I have found to be of poor quality and just not at all appealing.

I would appreciate some advice about the dates when the 4203-6 models were first available. They all had similar packaging of the left and right sliding box type with the model encased with an open roof in a firm plastic container. I believe some had text to celebrate Thunderbirds Anniversary and one or two had a 14+ rating on the box too. I am also fairly sure but need confirmation that each of 4203 -6 had S and G variants so appeared in silver and gold. From what I can tell the models inside were all identical to 4201.