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.

A bus, a box and a bug

 

Some odd things have come in this week which I thought might be of interest to a few readers.

First is what initially looks like any old 468 London Transport bus. It's a later edition, with cast wheels. Indeed, it is a very late edition as, when you see the front, there are no jewels. It's like the Whizzwheels version and must be some sort of transition model with the non-jewelled body being produced but fitted still with cast wheels.

Yes, my example of an old 468 is correct without the additional advertising stickers on the front as that is an old 'Corgi Toys' banner model. The different stickers came with the 'Outspan' banner and subsequent models. What I don't know is whether there were further changes (other than the many banners) to these stickers. The interior changed at some point too, from yellow plastic to clear plastic stairs. I have also noticed that the conductor's hair is brown in early models but blonde in later models.

The second item is a marvellous original old box that came with a two-tone Ford Consul. This has to be one of the best old boxes I have had, with all the flaps in place and the colours are very fresh and clean. The box design switched to blue and yellow at about the same time as this edition was issued in early 1959. For instance, the Jaguar Fire Chief's car, issued January 1959 always seems to be in a yellow and blue box. I suppose there must have been a lot of spare 200 boxes and they may have been used for the first batch of the two-tone Ford Consuls. Most I see for sale now have the yellow and blue box so this is a little unusual. However, one cannot rule out the possibility that someone has switched boxes over the years!

And lastly, for a bit of fun, the 806 Lunar Bug! This is from November 1970 but it didn't stay in the catalogue for long, ceasing production in 1972 after just a bit more than a year, when a more interesting James Bond Moon Buggy came along.

When I started creating the Corgi Catalogue web site I began at #50 and gradually worked my way through in pretty much numerical order, buying models, documenting them and then selling them until I reached the 500s. By the time I reached #513 I moved on to the Majors, leaving the kits and what looked like odd stuff I thought I may well just ignore at the time for another day, or, more likely, year. However, in amongst some collections and job lots, some of the #800s came in and I never bothered actively to chase after the two which, until a few days ago, remained unseen. One was #805, the Hardy Boys Rolls Royce. I have to say that that looked awful in the pictures I saw of it. The #9041 was bad enough but to create a multicoloured version to celebrate a band I had never heard of seemed mad as well as bad. Every one I saw was expensive too, or had something missing. The other was #806, this Lunar Bug. This week I came across this one for a very low price of a pound or two and it looked quite cute and in decent condition. Not that I knew what might be missing, though, being quite unfamiliar with this!

Anyway, the Lunar Bug turned out to be a cheerful sort of oddity and this example is in great condition. After a little research it does appear to be complete, with its fold-out plastic wings and what might be engines on the roof and a drop down panel at the back which I can imagine coming off quite easily. Inside there's room for a small car and I did try out an Alfa P33 and a couple of others without success before realising how crazy it would be to have something like that on the Moon. So I guess that whatever Corgi people might have thought about issuing in due course that we could have put inside never made it to the production line. There is some plentiful yellow-tinted glass along the sides and a roundish clear section at the front. The wheels are on funny axles which never seem to be quite certain where they should rest so you'll see pictures of this model in all sorts of funny poses! The wheels look unique but wouldn't be out of place on Noddy's Car.

The one thing that does strike me about this model is how big it is! I had expected something about the size of a bus but this is a substantial piece of Corgi. Being something that has come totally from the imagination of some Corgi designer, there is, of course, no scale but if you consider people might be standing inside and peering out of the windows then it is probably more suited to a 1:36 environment than the 1:43 I am supposed to be sticking to.

On the sides are flying cigarettes which remind me of when I used to smoke and not feel I was doing any harm to the planet or anyone other than myself. They're not cigarettes, of course, but some sort of rather sad illustration of  the jet engines. I really would have expected better from a late Sixties designer but never mind.

This will sit on the top of my cabinet for a while as I cannot see anyone rushing to buy it. There do seem to be plenty for sale. It is a model that does make me smile, though, and now I would have liked to have had the box as I see the polystyrene base was shaped as an imaginary Moon surface with craters. I might even not be able to resist one if it comes along cheaply enough. As for the Hardy Boys . . . well, they can wait another year or two.