Corgi Model Club: Kingfisher Blue

If you had a Corgi Toy in 'kingfisher blue' in the 1960s you were very lucky. It was most likely to have been a Jaguar Mk X but it could also have been a Chrysler Imperial. The last time I had one of these on my desk was over 10 years ago, when I found this really nice example when I was slowly working through the American section of Corgi's issues to review and document for my then very new Catalogue. I wish I had not let it go all those years ago - I have not seen another since, not even one I cannot afford! So it is a delight to see the latest Corgi Model Club issue, even if they have simply repainted the red one from May/June 2024. It just looks and feels right, and there is something about that wonderful colour . . .

Now, let's take a closer look at this and what the Club say about it.

First of all, it comes wrapped in tissue-like paper with a couple of L-shaped pieces of foam to help protect the screen. The certificate specifies this as the kingfisher blue edition. They get that bit right.

They seem, however, to be unaware of the origins of this model, 

If thy had looked in the 1969 Corgi Catalogue they would have seen it on page 13.

This was planned as model #507, a new Bermuda Taxi to replace the ancient Ford Thunderbird. It would carry the same funny detachable roof as the Fiat Jolly and Thunderbird and a couple of suitcases in the boot, with a suitably well-tanned chap behind the wheel.

That model, however, was never actually 'available later' but a batch of Chryslers had been prepared and these have reached the market. Now, bearing in mind that the 1969 catalogue would not have been produced much earlier than mid-1968 and the #246 model ceased production in 1967, it must have been the case that this batch were put into whatever remaining #246 boxes were around and, as the box talks of a 'surprise in the boot' they popped a golf trolley in there too. It would have been too late for dealers to order but I guess they reached a few somehow.

There is a notable difference between the kingfisher blue and the red editions which tends to confirm this. That is the two holes just behind the passenger compartment where the roof canopy poles would have been placed. These are not present on the re-issue.

There is a further marked difference between the original and the re-issue and that is the colour of the base. The re-issue, understandably, keeps the deep grey of the 2024 re-issue whereas my original had a much lighter grey finish.

For all the mistakes in the description, I have to say that I do like this re-issue and I may get a second so that I can make the two holes, change the base, install a canopy, driver and cases and create my very own #507.

Kingfisher Blue

The red Chrysler Imperial was not the best-looking of Corgis models, not helped by a couple of large occupants squeezed in the front seats, but there is another version that looks a lot nicer.

This is the Kingfisher Blue edition. I am sure that every model that Corgi used this colour on has become eminently desirable. It just looks a hundred times nicer. It is also probably not far short of a undred times more valuable now as these are very, very scarce and hard to find in as good a condition as this one.

It was advertised in a group of blue Corgi models, with no specific mention of any model names and so escaped many dealers' searches for things like this that I am sure they must do every day, or have Ebay do for them automatically. I fully expected someone to outbid my fairly modest maximum while away at my son's wedding in Scotland but was delighted that I found several large packages waiting for me on my return. I had won all this particular chap's bundles of models that I had bid for! This was in one of them.

In the 1969 Corgi Catalogue there is a new model announced as 'Available Later' and this is the 246 Chrysler Imperial with a fancy canopy roof fitted and 'Taxi' stickers on the doors and bonnet and painted in the new shade.

This wasn't actually released as such, though, but it seems several did finish up in 246 boxes. What I don't know for sure, though, is whether they had the two occupants or not. although there is a taxi driver illustrated in the catalogue, my model doesn't seem to have much room for anyone's thighs to fit below the steering wheel. It realli is the taxi version to as there are two gaps behind the rear upholstery where some roof poles would have been inserted. 

I have popped a gold trolley in the boot as a nod towards the box illustration content and that's as far as I'm going until I know better. This is worth getting a box for if I can find one. Or a reproduction in the meantime would do fine. It really is a lovely example and I am delighted to have one at last.