Corgi Toys @ 60: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and a Lotus Racing Set

 

August 1966 brought two new items on to your local Corgi store shelves. The Lotus Racing Team Gift Set was quite expensive at 36/- (that's 36 shillings, or the equivalent of £1.80) but there was a lot you could do with what it contained.

In the box there are two Lotus Elans, each quite different from the #318 model issued a year earlier in July 1965. The green open top model with a yellow stripe has a red interior and a removable chassis. The hard-top version is in yellow with a green stripe and a white interior, also having a removable chassis. This model would appear in June 1967 as a separate model #319 in a box, although most will be red or blue with a white top.

A separate chassis is also included, mounted on a slightly larger trailer to that used for the Ferrari Gift Set 17 and now in red rather than yellow. That, in turn, is towed by another new model, the VW Breakdown Truck. This is finished in white and has 'Racing Club' stickers on the doors, a winch operated by a wheel at the back and you can open the red plastic lid in the rear section to find a nice array of chrome tools. There should also be be a couple of spare tyres in the space provided, one small and one normal. I'm not sure how they would cope should one of the Lotus F1 Racing Car tyres burst as there's not space for the three sizes they would really need for the cars included. The Lotus Racing Car is the same #155 model as appeared first in December 1964, with the same driver and same RN1 decals.

The VW Breakdown Truck will also be issued as #490 in December 1966 but only in beige initially and with different stickers.

A pack of bollards was included too and I believe this was the first time you could get these. They will appear in later sets and many, many years later with the VW Driving School Car.

Early sets had chassis elements with small size shaped wheels. Later these were replaced by the normal size cast wheels, which quite significantly changed the appearance and stance of the Lotus Elans. As a result of the later change, you may now find 1967 #319 models with shaped wheels, where someone has swapped the chassis with one from an old Gift Set 37.

One oddity for me was the lack of suspension on the chassis pieces. Disregarding some utility items, these Lotus Elans would be the first issues without suspension since late 1960 when the Triumph TR3 was first issued and that appears to have been the last non-suspension car. (I am not counting the Bluebird or revised Lotus XI models).

August was not to be the only month when Corgi abandoned suspension in a new issue, however, as the other new arrival also suffered the same shortcoming!

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - United Network Command for Law Enforcement - was a popular TV series but you very seldom actually saw much of the car the stars drove. It was, in fact, a modified Piranha Coupé, based on a Chevrolet Corvair. Now Corgi did have a Chevrolet Corvair but, for some reason best know to them, they decided to use an Oldsmobile Super 88 instead! Even that would have originally have had suspension, though.

Early editions had shaped wheels but these were fairly quickly changed to cast wheels. There are two colours - a cream edition, which is quite hard to find these days, significantly scarcer than the metallic deep blue edition. The cream model is also a quite different casting, the most obvious difference being on the bonnet, with lines defining the area for the U.N.C.L.E. motif. You will find many people respraying blue models and trying sell them as scarce cream (or even white!) variations but, naturally, they always use the wrong casting.

In the box there is a ring which has an image of both Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin - it changes depending on the angle at which it is viewed. The original rings often get lost or filed away by mothers in a box of assorted animals, characters and bits and pieces when tidying up so are quite valuable now. Reproductions are, however, readily available and actually very good, although different sizes in most cases. So, without an original to compare, buyers need to be wary.

From what I read, early editions had cast metal search lights mounted on the wings, replaced at some point by chrome plated plastic. However, on the early editions that I have had with shaped wheels these lights have been plastic not cast metal. So I am uncertain about some of what is published in this respect and I wonder whether, in fact, the plastic ones came first, later replaced by the metal, possibly due to the delicate plastic breaking when being fitted.

The roof element that needs to be pushed down to move the pair in and out of the windows and make a gunshot noise is plastic.

Even without suspension, this model sold very well and stays on the order sheets through to 1969.

I appreciate that some room might have been needed for the mechanism but Corgi managed to get suspension on the James Bond Aston Martin and other models with steering occupying much of the interior below the seat like the Austin A60, VW 1200 for example. The Oldsmobile would have had the reliable old wires and I am surprised they were not retained. Indeed, I may well have to get a cheap 497 - and there are lots around for a few pounds - and see if I can install some suspension and make the model much more pleasant. I have always liked the Oldsmobile and, whilst a bit dated by then, it deserved better treatment.

Sometimes you get a pleasant surprise

 Whilst I am only too fully aware of the number of models sold on Ebay which are far from what they seem and have descriptions which, even those written by AI, veer markedly from the truth, I do sometimes strike lucky. I bought those illustrated below plus a couple of other Corgis for £30. They did look a bit dirty and the photos provided weren't very well-focussed but I was happy to pay a lot more for just one of them - what looked like a lovely example of a #322 Rover 2000 Monte Carlo, one of my favourite models.

It has two or three small marks to the paintwork but none in obvious places and is totally original. No one has attempted to repaint the roof and it has the correct original decals with that slightly unusual font which most dealers supplying replacements get wrong. And the rear window isn't cracked where the Trans-o-lite system joins. Amazing! Prior to starting the catalogue and my Corgi business I had always kept my own Rover model on a shelf or on my desk at an office for many many years. It was one of the first models that I searched for in 2013 because my own model had disappeared. I did need one now for a Gift Set 38 I am building to take advantage of a reasonable reproduction box that has come my way but I tend to buy these when they're at reasonable prices anyway. It must be something about the colour and I do love jewelled headlamps and, of course, the super Trans-o-lite double headlamps.

In the group was this little #328 Monte Carlo Hillman Imp. Now I did expect this to arrive with something wrong, most probably broken suspension which these Imps so often suffer from. However, apart from some flat spots on the tyres, which were rock hard and have now been replaced, and some wear to the decals on the sides, this is a super little example. It is also the version with a yellow interior whereas most I've had have been white.

The #314 that was in the group is not a model I like very much and they all do seem to be very cheap and plentiful so the £5 I effectively paid for this one isn't quite so much of a bargain and I probably won't sell it for ages and even then at only £10 if I'm lucky. It's clean, though, and just missing the Ferrari transfer and a RN4 on one side. Unlike the other two I have at the moment, this one does have both exhausts! They seem to break very easily, being thin pieces of chrome-plated plastic and a little vulnerable at the rear. I know of only two variations for this model and that is in the lines on the base. Early models have two simple parallel lines. Later models have an angled section at the rear end of each line. This was around for such a long time that there may well be other differences that emerged with time but I have yet to know about any. I do notice different RN transfers - colour and style of numeral but wonder that these may just be poor reproductions.

Another model I have managed to avoid having for many years is this #151A, the second outing for the rather bland-looking Lotus Mark 11. The first edition from 1958 was a little interesting in that there are some scarce colours like red and silver to discover but for this one it's just smooth or shaped wheels and RN3 or 7. This one does have a driver although I am not sure it's the correct character as he appears to be much too high above the screen. Having said that, the Simon Templar father-figure in the #215S Thunderbird would suffer at any speed as he sits several inches above the top of the screen in that car too.

I am quite happy to have this, though, as it is very clean, all original and a colleague in Australia sent me a sample reproduction box in return for my assistance with design and dimensions for it. His work is excellent, rather better than some we may be more familiar with and I can now sell this model with his box, which has been lying around for a couple of years at least. 

I am also most relieved that the tyres are OK on this one. I have no idea how anyone can change them!

I shall not bother to bore you with photos of the other two models, for which £5 was probably about the right price to pay if I am going to get any profit at all from them. One was a #309 Aston Martin Competition, a late model with the small, closed vent. The paintwork was not good, though, showing a lot of playwear so it could be something someone might wish to restore. The only other fault is a small scratch on the front screen so I really don't want to break it apart as the decals, suspension, wheels are all sound and, despite being well worn, it is still all original. So someone might like it for a few pounds.

The other was a #155 Lotus-Climax Racing Car. It looked great, with a driver and suspension is intact and the paintwork very good. Unfortunately, though, it has lost the twin chrome exhausts. It does look an easy repair and one that ought to be worth doing as the end product will be a lot better than some restoration repaint. There's no need to break it so perhaps that'll appeal for a few pounds too.

This article was just about some of the every day models we see come and go and to share how sometimes you can do well on Ebay. The site is much-criticised and some people seem to want to avoid Ebay like the plague but I don't have a lot of trouble there. The costs of selling are high but it is the only site which I feel reaches a large enough audience of people who are interested in what I have to sell. I would much rather everyone buys from my own store, where I do get to keep a lot more of the proceeds and, accordingly, list products at lower prices, but it's simply not anything like as well-publicised.

You do have to be careful - and I feel sorry for whoever bought a fawn-coloured 'Pre-production sample' of a #241 Ghia L6.4 this week for £166. I did write to the seller when I first saw it to say that he would be disappointing a buyer as there were several signs that this was most definitely not a pre-production sample but merely something someone had repainted and screwed back together. The seller maintained that the screw was the same type as another that had been illustrated, possibly in the Great Book of Corgi, of a factory sample of a Ghia Mangusta 5000 De Tomaso and even included that illustration in his listing. The two screws were quite obviously different and, whilst I doubt Corgi had any 'standard screws' for holding models together anyway, I am sure that a pre-production sample, which would be from 1962/3 would not be identical to a 1968/9 one for the later Ghia!

I have had many genuine colour trials and factory samples and they have rarely been screwed together. The base is either riveted as per a normal issue or where the model is very much something being worked on and a very early sample, the base is held on by elastic bands. Screws may have been used sometimes and I am sure some people will have genuine examples but that badly-painted brown Ghia was not good. Unfortunately, now that it has achieved that price once this will be used by someone to justify another high price next time it appears on the market and, much as we may criticise Ebay sellers, there are plenty of similarly inaccurate descriptions at all the major auction houses where I suspect this will finish up one day at £400.

But that is all another story. For now I just wished to share you some of the nice surprises that can be found on Ebay.

Corgi Toys @ 60: Lots of upgrades and two VWs

There was an absolutely huge number of new issues from Corgi this month 60 years ago.

The Racing Car Gift Set 5 gets updated to Gift Set 5S (identified by a small sticker added to one end of the box) with the revised models 150S, 151A and 152S. This is a particularly scarce item. The cars are common enough but in this box very hard to find and good examples sell for a fortune. However, great care needs to be taken as the only difference in the box is that little sticker which is quite simple to reproduce. There may also be an alternative rectangular black print on white sticker applied which is also simple to replicate. The earlier issue from March 1959 is, itself, uncommon with only 64000 said to have been sold. Numbers for 5S are not available.

With the 154 Ferrari model coming next month, these cars will have begun to look very dated and the set had a very short production period, withdrawn sometime in the next year; hence the very high prices demanded now.

Another 'new' model wasn't really new - the Oldsmobile had appeared as the Police Sherriff's car six months earlier. This is a lovely looking saloon, however, and was issued in two colour schemes, a solid pale sky blue and a metallic silver-blue, both with cream-white side stripes.

Another model that wasn't completely new was the Land Rover Breakdown Truck which now gets suspension and an interior - the now familiar 'S' upgrade.

Interestingly, the first 417S models retained the twin-bar jib device. These are quire hard to find and and scarce but not always expensive as sellers often don't appreciate the difference. By far the majority of these models will have the later solid jib device which continued with the next change to a plastic canopy and was renumbered 477.

Next come three more Land Rover revisions, the S versions of the RAC Radio Rescue Land Rover, the S version of the RAF Land Rover and the 406S now designated as 438 for the standard Land Rover.

The 416S RAC Radio Rescue model gets suspension and a yellow interior but also has a change of decals, now featuring the logo on the doors and RADIO RESCUE across the bonnet. The canopy is in matching blue and has no transfers or stickers.

The 351S RAF Land Rover gets suspension and a yellow interior too. This is an extremely rare item with very few produced and they command very high prices as and when they appear. As I have mentioned in a previous article, they are actually quite difficult to spot too as many photos show a colour that is hardly distinguishable from the 438 deep blue-green. I have seen maybe just four of these in the many years I have been involved with Corgis. None were at all obvious and I do have to wonder whether there are more out there but I simply haven't noticed them.

They should have an RAF blue plastic canopy but that is even scarcer and I have yet to obtain even one of those!

The new standard Land Rover that was available in a box was numbered 438. In all respects it is the 406S in a classy dark green or deep green finish, with cream plastic canopy. There are two quite distinct shades but I have yet to determine which came first. The 438 models will usually have a yellow interior but a red interior is also to be found.

This will be an extremely long-running model for Corgi and will undergo several small changes in casting as well as different finishes for the standard box issue - although always a green of some sort.

More revisions now for the two trailers, the 100 Dropside Trailer and 101 Platform Trailer now getting the fixed cast type of drawbar in place of the piece of bent wire.

Both trailers remained in the same colour schemes as before and similar changes will be introduced for the other colours featuring in Gift Sets.

The last of the Land Rover revisions for December 1962 sees the Gift Set 2 updated to include a Land Rover with suspension and an interior. The set retained its Gift Set 2 number and had the new deep or dark green model pulling the 112 red and black horsebox which, at around this time, also gets the fixed drawbar like the trailers above. Another colour scheme was also introduced in December for the whole set and the Land Rover and Pony Trailer had a fawn and cream finish.

All the fawn pony trailers had the new cast type of drawbar. The first trailers had fixed shaped wheels which are not easy to find as the majority were fitted with free spinning wheels. Whilst the red and black trailers did get the fixed drawbar and fixed shaped wheels, they don't appear to have been in production long enough to get the free spinning wheels. Similarly, you won't find the fawn editions with a wire drawbar.

Sets did not mix colours - they were either deep/dark green and red or all fawn. The ponies were the same as in the earlier sets, most seeming to have the blue coat but, as they can simply be switched around it is not easy to be sure whether there were red or brown coats as well in the new editions.

The fawn Land Rover is known with a yellow interior but this seems to be significantly scarcer than the deep/dark green one with a red interior.

The only really 'new' issues in December were the Volkswagen Van and Camper Van, 433 and 434 respectively.

The van is the first commercial model with suspension (other than one or two Major model revisions) and, indeed, is a welcome addition to replace the very ancient-looking Bedford CA Vans and Karriers. The van is always white over red but is known with both a red and a yellow interior. Some small numbers were produced in special finishes and with decals designed for some firms but none of these would have been available at this time.

The 434 Camper Van is also only issued in the one colour scheme of olive-green and a very pale green and it always has a red interior.

This is a great little model which still looks good today!

Corgi Toys @ 60 : Racing Car upgrades

 

September 1961 sees the issue of the three upgraded racing cars. Suspension is added to 150 and 152, the Vanwall and the BRM but the very shallow Lotus lost out on that. They all get new numbers and a driver, though, a flag, decal or stripe and fresh paint.

The BRM gets a nice shade of pale turquoise-blue and you'll find RNs 1, 3 and 7. The wheels are always smooth and fixed but Corgi packed a sheet of 6 'wire wheel' stickers in the box, together with a typewritten note explaining how to apply them. They used some fierce glue for these and it really was important to get them centralised neatly as, once affixed, they wouldn't come off at all easily.

On the base, there are two rivets and the text goes along the length of the model, similar to the later 152 models.

The Lotus is now in a bright shade of blue and can be seen with either RN3 or 7. It gets the number 151A rather than 151S as I guess S meant 'suspension' at the time. Although they're not always easy to spot in pictures, this model did get shaped fixed wheels later in production but started off with smooth wheels.

The Vanwall is now a rich red colour and has the RN25. I have not seen any other numbers. The base has the later style 2 rivets but the text runs across the width of the base. This also had the 'wire wheel' stickers in the box with instructions.

The Corgi Model Club: Lotus-Climax F1 Racing Car

 

The fifth new 'old' Corgi is now being sent out to those who have ordered it in the UK. It is another remarkably good reproduction and I cannot see anything to distinguish this from the original (apart from the very shiny axles and Made in China on the base!)

As I have remarked for previous issues, this is almost too perfect. One almost needs to find a blemish in the casting or crack in the Racing Number transfers! 

Above is my original. This has exhausts that point up slightly whereas the new one has them parallel. I suspect that that is a result of time and play on mine. The only other difference I can detect is the slightly better defined eye protection / goggles on the driver.

The packing is a rather too shiny, but otherwise accurate, box with the usual 'CE' data on one panel. There is a stiff piece of card that wraps around the front and a piece of polystyrene-like material to protect the rear end.

The flaps are annoying and I really would prefer that the production people revert to the original box style. These flaps incorporate two slits which provide a locking effect but this, in turn, makes them extremely difficult to open without damage in the area of the slits. I can understand that they like cars to stay in the boxes whilst being moved around and the simpler style of folding flaps are more likely to come undone but just how much a problem is this in reality?

The only other item in the large box in which this is delivered is the square Certificate of 'Authenticity'.

I am inclined to take issue with this text but somewhat reluctant as one would assume that the people involved with this project know a lot more than I do. However, it states that this model was 'deleted in 1975' whereas I have always considered that the 158 model replaced it in 1969. I wonder whether the producers have simply noted that a 'Lotus-Climax' was produced through to the 1970s and it would be the last of the model with this name that ended in 1975. I have 1973 as the end date for the 158 model but larger scale models followed.

My certificate is numbered 004254 which would seem to imply that a significant quantity of these has been produced and there is no clear maximum being produced. Even 4000+ collectors, if they really have started at 000001, must be encouraging for this venture.

2019 arrivals

Very early GS2 with a box and inner tray which displays the pony separately. Later editions had no holes for the pony, which was wrapped in card in the trailer. As seems appropriate, I have used a similarly rare and early trailer without a handle at the top of the ramp. It's not going to be cheap.

58 The Beast carrier with calves and the green mesh on top (although that's not shown here)

151 Scarce edition of the Lotus XI Le Mans in red with original screen

200 Ford Consul in mushroom brown. I though it was a cream one when I saw it advertised! I now have two of these to sell.

202M I also have two of these mid green Morris Cowleys with working motors

203M Vauxhall Velox with working motor

208 Nice Jaguar 2.4 with super original early box

208M Jaguar 2.4 with working motor

209 Riley Pathfinder Police Car lovely but missing the bell.

213 Jaguar 2.4 Fire Chief's Car - excellent and complete but missing a transfer

214 Ford Thunderbird (I bought this hoping it might have had shaped wheels).

231 Triumph Herald - very clean examples in each colour

234 Bentley Continental - superb examples in each of the main colours and one with a lovely original box too.

238 Jaguar Mk X in a really stunning deep cerise shade. I have two of these, equally good, one with an original box.

246 Chrysler Imperial with original box. All very good. I bought this for the golf caddy - the one sold with it is a replacement.

252 Rover 2000 in maroon with an odd wheel!

252 Rover 2000 in maroon with an original box.

318 Lotus Elan S2 - very scarce with cast wheels

323 Citroen DS19 Monte Carlo Edition with an original aerial!

384 The last 1:43 Corgi car. From 1977 a VW 1200 Rally Edition - only available for a short period.

508 Commer Holiday Bus with original luggage cover (but no cases)

These are all quite recent additions, listed in catalogue order. Please enquire for availability and price as there has been quite a bit of interest in some of these.