The Seven Golden Jacks

 

March 1968 brought a funny little car to our local Corgi stockist. It was a Mini-Marcos GT850 and something of a strange choice, the Marcos brand being a rare sight on our roads and this one being a particularly ugly car in reality. Corgi did, however, manage to make it look quite pretty in 1:43 scale.

Having said that, we did not see that many Buick Rivieras or Ghia 6.4 litres on the roads in Hertfordshire either. I believe one of the top guys at Corgi had a personal friendship with Messrs Marsh and Costin who ran Marcos which may explain why several of their range made it to the Corgi catalogues. Whatever the case, the Mini-Marcos, as model #341, was Corgi's first with a new feature they called Golden Jacks. These were levers which could be moved to provide a stand for an axle and also permit a wheel to be removed.

The levers were initially made in a golden colour metal but later models can be found with gold , silver or plain metal.

The Mini-Marcos had a host of other features too, an opening bonnet, doors and sliding seats. In a later guise,in blue with Whizzwheels this little car will become one of the scarcest Corgi issues, appearing just briefly in a Car Transporter Gift Set in 1972.

The #341 model was produced only in a lovely shade of metallic maroon with a white interior. This is the only Golden Jacks model to have small size wheels.

As can be seen from the 1969 Corgi Catalogue, this was the first of a series proposed by Corgi, with #275 Rover 2000TC following in April 1968.

This was very popular, being a very attractive and accurate casting. It essentially used the #252 casting, adding some welcome chrome to the front and rear, jewels in the holes where Trans-o-lite tubes had fitted before, a spare wheel in a carrier on the boot and a slightly unusual tinted perspex roof.

I had the single carburettor version as a real car myself but don't recall any options of such a roof. Unless it had particularly good heat absorbency or diminishing features, life would have been uncomfortable inside on hot sunny days!

The wheels I do recall reflecting very accurately the design of the large hubs fitted to these cars at that time. The 'TC' logos on the side and rear were a bit large, though! Nevertheless, this was a fine model.

The majority of these Rover 2000TC models issued were finished in metallic green with a beige interior. There are, however, variations with a red interior and a white interior. These are not common but not too difficult to find. Then there is also a white edition with a red interior. Again, considerably fewer white models were produced but they're easy enough to find.

Like the Mini-Marcos, the Rover would get Whizzwheels a couple of years later and a few revisions, to be released as #281 in August 1971 and just 48,000 sales establishing that version quite high in the 'rarest Corgi' list.

A couple of months later, in May 1968, the Oldsmobile Toronado gets the Golden Jacks treatment too. This time there is just a fresh coat of either metallic bronze-red or amber and a new base. At the same time Corgi took the opportunity to improve the device for operating the flip-up headlamps.

The amber version is a bit less common than the red but both sold well and red editions are inexpensive to buy now.

August 1968 sees the arrival of the fourth Golden Jacks issue in the shape of a new model to the range, #338 Chevrolet Camaro SS350.

This model shared wheels with the Oldsmobile. These are, though, the only two models issued with the same wheels. Having said that, you will now find all sorts of combinations as the normal size wheels are so simple to swap around.

The Chevrolet was always in metallic gold with a black detachable hood, red interior and black bonnet stripe. It also had sliding headlamp covers behind which were jewelled lights. The later Whizzwheels model has merely chrome lamps, not jewels.

As well as sharing wheels with the Oldsmobile, it shares much of its casting and all the interior with the #343 Pontiac Firebird, about which more later.

This model sold fairly well but is re-issued, almost as an afterthought, for a very brief period in 1972 with Whizzwheels and finished in plain blue with a white hood. At the same time the Mini-Marcos reappears too in a box with Whizzwheels, finished in white with racing decals and a red interior. Both of these later issues are now scarce, the Camaro particularly so.

It is almost a year before we see any more Golden Jacks models and, as Whizzwheels appear in September, it is safe to assume that the next issues may only have made it to the shops because lots had already been produced and needed to be sold. The first of what I call the 'reluctant Golden Jacks issues' is in July 1969 when #302 Hillan Hunter emerges in all its glory as a London to Sydney Rally marathon successful finisher, complete with roo bar, jewels front and back, opening tool box on the roof and, of course, Corgi supply a kangaroo in the box as well.

This must have been an expensive model to produce with its totally new casting and a whole lot of bits and pieces not used elsewhere before. I tend to find this model sits rather low, as if the suspension has failed (not that that was very good anyway). That does seem to be how it was produced, however.

As if all the features added were not already enough to get people buying this one, Corgi provided a large sheet of stickers as well as an illustration showing where they were placed on the real car. Personally, I prefer the model with just the RN75 decals but many you will find have the rest scattered across the place with varying degrees of inaccuracy.

In September 1969 there should have been another Golden Jacks issue in the shape of a Ferrari Dino Sport but the order had come from above that Whizzwheels were the future, not Golden Jacks and a model such as the speedy Ferrari should be able to complete on the drawing room floor with other racing cars and not be defeated, as a Golden Jacks car would be, by even a 1956 issue Vanwall and probably even a Bedford CA Van, (although admittedly not the ones with a friction motor).

The Ferrari did appear in September 1969 but with Whizzwheels. Evidence of Corgi's earlier intentions are clear on the boxes for early issues, with stickers covering the text about removable wheels, Golden Jacks etc.and announcing Whizzwheels instead. The base also shows how there might once have been space for levers. There were also promotions in the Catalogue itself.

By March 1970, therefore, Whizzwheels were the order of the day and January 1970 brought us #343, the Pontiac Firebird, again with early boxes hurriedly edited.

February 1970 sees the Lamborghini also appear with Whizzwheels and edited boxes.

Then, in March 1970, we get something of a surprise. 

Rolls Royce was Britain's premier brand. People talked of a Rolls Royce being 'the best car in the world' and there was little dissent from GM or even Cadillac, mere grumbles from Mercedes-Benz and the French refused to comment. I had always wondered why Corgi didn't make a modern Rolls Royce. I had had to buy a Dinky Toy. Heavens! (OK, yes, Corgi did make a Rolls Royce in May 1966 - the 1912 Silver Ghosr but, quite frankly, no-one wanted to have that plastic-bodied affair trundling conspicuously oddly on their layout, a view borne out today by even models in original packaging failing to sell for £10.)

So to see a lovely modern Rolls Royce Silver Shadow issued was a delight.

Mercifully, someone on the Corgi Board had realised that the dreadful plastic Whizzwheels were most definitely not to be attached to this model when first introduced to the public. This was an iconic moment and the model had the potential to become Corgi's most internationally recognisable car image so what had been planned as a Golden Jacks release stayed that way.

Personally, I would have just fitted nice wheels and not bothered with the 'take-off' mechanism. I mean, has anyone ever seen a Rolls Royce changing a wheel at the roadside? A Rolls Royce appearing in any way to be deficient is not correct. For all that, the wheels, a larger size than normal, were excellent and a spare could be found in the boot.

It was a heavy model and it just had to have plenty of chrome at the front and back as well as double jewelled headlamps. The bonnet opened (although I am not sure it does so in the right way) as well as the boot and doors, with tilting seats and a detailed dashboard. The suspension was never great on this model and some, like the Hillman Hunter, do seem a bit too low slung. Production quality, however, did not match the brand, with the model never quite feeling as something you would prize as much as it ought.

The normal issue was finished in a metallic pale cream over a plain greyish-blue. There was also, however, a much more attractive edition in metallic silver over a rich metallic blue which suited the model far better. The model, available only for a short period in 1970, is fairly scarce but in that later finish it is very rare. As it happens, that finish was used in the first Whizzwheels edition which was issued in October, just seven months later.

I suppose the directors in charge of costs and profits at Corgi held precedence over those seeking to maintain quality and appearances and so in October 1970 not only did we see awful Whizzwheels fitted to this model but also in December a Bentley version with the same ghastly wheels and, to add insult to the brand, finished in pink!! 

Remarkably, the Rolls Royce was not the last to be issued with Golden Jacks. There was to be one more - an absolutely beautiful model in the delightful shape of #300 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.

What made everyone take a second and third look at this model was its finish - an extraordinary, mirror-like finish in metallic deep crimson or emerald green.

The bonnet was matt black and opened and the headlamps popped up to reveal double jewels à la Oldsmobile Toronado. There were two plastic targa roof panels which could be removed too. (Most models now have one or both of these missing or looking rather worn but I have yet to find anyone who makes replacements.)

The Chevrolet has a unique wheel with many radial 'spokes'. It also has lovely red jewels at the back.

Although availability to dealers ceased later in 1970, the Chevrolet was popular and sold a lot more than the Golden Jacks Rolls Royce and almost as many as the Whizzwheels Pontiac and Ferrari. If you held both the Chevrolet Corvette and the Rolls Royce, there was a noticeable difference in production and finish quality.

It would re-appear, like all the other models except the Toronado and Hillman Hunter, with Whizzwheels and a less expensive finish as #387 . It would also, after a few rare transition issues, lose the rear jewels and, like the #281 Rover and #304 Camaro, the Whizzwheels version is very scarce and much more expensive due to very low sales and thus now being hard to find.

Most of the Golden Jacks series are easy to find and, as they were not suitable for high speed chases around the floor or racing, they tend to have remained in reasonably good condition. None have great suspension but also none seem to have failed suspension either, unlike so many Ghias and Mustangs, for instance.

The Corgi Model Club have, at the time of writing, issued copies of the Rover, Oldsmobile and Hillman Hunter.

It's an ugly little car . . .

It's an ugly little car, in a fairly boring solid blue with Whizzwheels. But this is worth several hundred pounds. It's the scarcest Corgi from the era I collect which one could have bought in a local toy store. 

This one is nearly complete and all original. I say 'nearly', because the passenger seat is missing. That, however, is a simple fix and the interior is identical to the white issue so I just need to find a cheap one of those and swap the seat to this one.

This blue edition of the 305 Mini Marco GT850 was only issued with the Gift Set 20 Transporter Set and that had a very limited production run in 1972 with several changes in the components. I have no clue as to the number produced but after seven or eight years of fairly constant observation of what has appeared on Ebay this is only the second that I have seen that is definitely the real thing. The other I also own and wrote about in June last year - a bit of a wreck but a real one at least!

I had a pristine-looking example some years ago which looked very good but the shade wasn't quite right, there was no transfer on the sill and the rivet, while very well-made indeed, was a slightly different style to those shown on the few illustrations I was able to use to compare. It was a superb copy and someone in Japan liked it enough to pay £515 for, aware of my full description too. So I shudder to think what I might have to pay for anything like one in excellent condition and original.

This model would have been sold with the 1146 Scammel Tri-deck Transporter in late 1972. I have seen just one set sold and that was this one in less than perfect condition, costing over £1500 in 2014. Now I think the set would make over £2000 and the car on its own £1000 if not more.

Over the period since, only the 351S RAF Land Rover has been anything like as rare to see. Yes, there are models with even lower production numbers, like the special editions made for a particular firm's promotion and there will always be the minute numbers of models with errors and, of course, production samples. I suspect that models like the two-tone re-issues of the original range with shaped wheels (and some later models where just a few were issued with cast wheels, like the Rover 2000 and Hillman Imp) may prove to be at the very top of the Scarce Tree but this one is definitely up there and not far from the top. The other special issues, variations and errors are great and may be super scarce and much sought-after but I am referring here to models that you or I could have bought for simple pocket money at the time.

I shall list these models in my store but I would very much prefer to keep them in my own collection so the cost of persuading me to part company with either will not be cheap!

And yes, these really were most unattractive in 1:1 scale too!

A real 305 Mini Marcos GT850 in blue.

I definitely have plenty to keep me occupied during quarantine after my return from Ukraine! This is the extremely rare Mini Marcos GT850 in blue. It was issued only in a few of the Gift Set 20 Transporter Sets and is just so hard to find.

Some years ago I did come across a seemingly immaculate model but it lacked the sill transfers and there was just something about the finish that made me suspicious. Now, for the first time, I am satisfied that I have an original 305 model in my hands. Indeed, it is the first I have encountered in any media, let along touching one! Someone contacted me about a very rough one some years ago but that was the closest I got until this week when this one arrived.

You'll see that this is not in great condition! But it could be worse and, posed at the right angle, it might not be immediately obvious that it has no windows, a missing door and one that doesn't close properly and a damaged bonnet! Oh, and missing headlamp covers.

It's real, though, and I am delighted to have this on my desk. Now I have to work out how to improve its appearance without taking it apart or causing more damage. The headlamp covers will be easy. I just need to buy any old wreck and swap them over. The windows I think I can repair, thanks to the missing door. Whilst I still cannot get the whole unit in as one piece, I can cut it and attach it to the roof inside so that the front is retained and also the rear and two side windows. That will make a big difference.

The existing door has a twisted hinge so it moves up as you close it. I shall try to straighten this but may leave that to last as it looks fine when left open as shown above. I have replacements for both doors and will see how I might be able to attach one on the other side. I doubt I will be able to make a permanent fix that still opens and closes but a door that fills the gap (and painted in the correct colour) will be a good thing to have.

The bonnet I have a replacement for as well. Again, I may not be able to fit a new one that still opens and closes easily. The existing one has a tear in the metal near one of the hinges at the front but it is, of course, painted the right colour and original and I am tempted just to keep it as it is as it does close almost in line satisfactorily.

First I shall attend to the windows and headlamps and then see how it looks with a silver door lodged in position. I may decide to leave it at that.

As for its value, that's a tough question and it really has to be very much down to what someone might pay once I have made it a little more presentable. As with several of the particularly scarce models that I have in my collection, I am in no hurry to sell this, nor will any price I do decide to quote be particularly attractive! This is something special, even in this state!

 

New arrivals in 2020 Pt 1

The 305 Whizzwheels version of the Mini Marcos is lacking a passenger seat but has more paint than any others I have seen for a long time! I have no idea when I'll find another seat, though. So I expect it will be around for a long time.

This Land Rover has been in a drawer for several years but I finally found a girl handing out leaflets at a reasonable price.

Another collection is completed with the arrival of this 214 Ford Thunderbird. It looks pretty normal but is the scarce version with smooth wheels but no 1959 on the rear plate. There are three versions of each of the 214 and 215 models: smooth 1959, smooth blank and fixed shaped blank.

Having sold the lovely dark grey E Type I had to get another one. These are one of my favourites. Although they were only issued with the plum red top, I do like the black version of the canopy that Mr Flowers sells.

This pretty well-weathered Austin Cambridge is the 201M edition and was advertised as 'white'. I had assumed it was cream or grey, colours I know about. It turns up, though, in a sort of green-grey-brown shade which is entirely different. I have no idea where this comes from and it may be a sample which found its way into the playground. All quite original so I'll see what others have to say about it.

As well as the dark grey E Type, I also sold the later Whizzwheels 374 version of the bigger 335 2+2 model in red. This is a replacement of the 4.2 version which was not around for long and of which most versions are yellow. It was superseded by the V12 5.3 model, also apparently entirely in yellow. 

On the subject of red and yellow I bought my umpteenth Renault Floride in the belief that it had closed vents only to discover that it hadn't when it arrived. Someone will have to put me out of my misery soon and find me one with closed vents as I am failing miserably to identify them from people's photos. This one is a bit messy but it does have a lemon plastic interior instead of the cream colour of all my other models in red.

A small dark blue-grey elephant has finally, after a long search, completed my Daktari Gift Set 14. A box would be nice but they're simply not to be found. This is an impressive set which is almost all original - just the lion's glasses are replacements. I have made this by extending the Gift Set 7 that I had in an original box and now realise that I need to replace the Land Rover with one with cast wheels which is what would have been fitted when this Gift Set 14 was issued. The Giraffe Transporter, Kew Fargo Truck are also unique to this set, along with the elephant. The elephant is by far the hardest to find, though!

The Jeep FC-150 was around for a long time in the Corgi catalogues, starting without suspension or interior and finishing up with both and cast wheels as well as a plastic canopy. This version with shaped wheels can be found with either lemon or red interior. I am not sure whether both can be found in cast wheel editions.

Another rare Land Rover here - a Pony Club Gift Set 15 model with Whizzwheels and a red interior. Similar to the deep green 438 edition, most were fitted with lemon interiors so these red versions are quite sought after. 

Another little model which looks pretty common but is actually quite scarce, this Austin Seven has what I term a Type 1c base - with a narrow front section to the base and the earlier text layout. With the fixed shaped wheels, this edition will have been likely only to have been produced for a short period in 1962.

  

I didn't notice at first and it was only when I was preparing to advertise this 203 Vauxhall Velox that I noticed the lack of silver paint. Anywhere. I am familiar with some models which did not get the two streaks on the bonnet but this is the first I have encountered with none at all!

With the Vauxhall came a nice little Hillman Husky 206M with a decent motor.

From the same collection as the Vauxhall and Hillman came these two fine 208M Jaguar 2.4s. Very minimal wear to either model and they are quite special with good motors too. Although not obvious from this view, the two cars are slightly different shades, one being noticeably richer and brighter than the other. 

I love this Buick Riviera in the pale blue finish. The colour does tend to show every little flaw to the paintwork so it is a true delight to find one like this which is near immaculate. I am very unlikely to part with this in a hurry. I can see that it is going to have its photo taken rather a lot.