Corgi Toys @ 60: A Ford, Monte Carlo and The Avengers

 January 1966 and Corgi bring three new models to your local toy shop, although only one is completely new.

The lovely Ford Consul Cortina Super Estate Car is all new and a delightful model in rich metallic blue with a bright, almost white interior. The rear door opens and it originally appears on a tray insert with a golfer and boy caddy with the golf trolley which you will recognise from the 'surprise in the boot' of the Chrysler Imperial issued a few months earlier in August 1965.

This model will be released later as #491 on its own in September 1966, when it will appear also in metallic red and metallic grey, with cast wheels being fitted towards the end of production but very seldom will you see these on a blue model.

It appears likely that only the blue model was used for the first issues of #440 but, of course, now it is impossible to know whether a red or grey has been substituted or if they really were in the box when bought.

Perhaps the 'star' attraction for this month will have been The Avengers Gift Set 40.

This set helped sell some more of the old Bentleys that had not been very popular as well as bringing new life to the sales of the Lotus Elan, previously in metallic blue as #318 in July 1965. Now with the "I've got a tiger in my tank" transfer removed and in white the Lotus is a good representation of the car driven by Emma Peel in the first series of the TV programme. The red Bentley, however, is not so accurate!

Early sets featured a green Bentley which would have been a preferable colour for Steed (albeit somewhat bright, I feel) but on no account would he have driven anything with red wheels! 

The set has plastic figures for Steed and Mrs Peel, neither looking very attractive when viewed closely but acceptable at a distance, and three brollies. Original brollies are very hard to find now and most sets you will find have replacements which can be identified with a magnifying glass (see a recent article on this subject).

Beware the many, many reproduction sets of poor quality or downright incorrect composition. Many dealers use a reproduction Steed that is actually from a mould of Jeeves from the #9004 World of Wooster set. The figure supplied by a major 'spare parts' company in Leicestershire was Jeeves in a grey suit and may still be, although I have not ordered any for some time. They may have mended their ways in this respect since. Original Emmas usually have two or more black stripes at the bottom of her trousers but I have also seen what may well be originals with just the single stripe so it is not so easy to tell with her. Some have very poor facial definition and painting, however, and these are likely to be reproductions.

Most reproduction boxes are poor copies too, with colours that are too bright, the wrong quality card and, of course, there are many produced with printers at home on white card as well. I sell many sets and use a particularly fine reproduction box but most I see are nothing like as good, even from those better-known repro box people.

Although you will encounter many variations of the composition, there really are just the two original sets as illustrated here. You will find gold wheels instead of steel colour on the red Bentley, but seldom will all five be the same shade. The Lotus may get cast wheels towards the end of its production run too. That is all, however, apart from the factory one-off samples. I know of a green Bentley with black mudguards and steel wheels, for instance, which is a much better match for those in the series but this would have been a sample for marketing consideration.

Although Mrs Peel drove a powder blue Elan in the second series, the issued sets only ever feature a white car. Some made-up sets show a green #9001 Bentley with the Union flag and RN3 transfers removed and a folded hood replacing the original type alongside a white or metallic blue Elan. These can be nice displays and maybe slightly more accurate but are not original. A green Bentley in the original set always had red wheels and was a slightly different shade to the #9002 model too so any attempt to switch wheels can be identified and needs to be looked out for.

The other not so new model is a 1966 edition of the Monte Carlo BMC Mini-Cooper. Corgi retained the #321 catalogue number for this but it is completely different to the 1965 #321 in several ways. Obviously this one has RN2 on the doors and a transfer of two drivers' signatures on the roof. You will also see that the Mini is a quite different casting, with no fog lights in the metal and this has just the two jewelled fog lights instead of the three before.

The first issues came in the #321 box with an illustration of the RN52 model and a sticker added to distinguish it. Later a box is produced with the RN2 model illustrated.

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: Nine new releases for March 1965!

 I don't think there will have been many children getting all the new issues which March 1965 brought to their local toy shop. There were no less than seven new models and two gift sets this month 60 years ago.

One was the almost iconic Corgi gift set - the Monte Carlo Gift Set of three 1965 rally models.

Record indicate that just 72000 of these were sold, not many for those times, and these sets are extremely expensive now, with prices reaching £1500 or more for a set in its original box. The box may be one of the most expensive pieces of folded cardboard around as the cars can be found individually for around £120 each in unmarked condition so the box adds a massive £1200!

It's an attractive set and features the 321 Mini Cooper which was released in February plus the new Citroën and Rover which were simultaneously released individually his month too.

The Citroën DS19 is catalogue number 323 and is the 210S model with four small jewels as fog lamps and the Monte Carlo decals. Individually it was issued in its own illustrated box. A classic problem with this model has been the aerial which can become brittle and is not easily replaced.

The Rover 2000 is the 252 model with Monte Carlo decals and two jewels added to the grille. The individual models were first issued in a 252 model box with a 'Special Release' label over one end. Later issues had their own illustrated boxes.

Another Mini appears this month in the shape of the Austin Mini Countryman.

I would have dated this rather later than 1965 but it did, indeed, come out this month 60 years ago. This is a substantially revised casting, previously seen as the Minivan and Police Van, now with woodwork and windows and a chrome-plated roof rack and two surf boards. In the box is a young chap in swimming trunks in a position where he neds to be holding the surfboard to avoid looking a bit strange.

It's a nice model and will eventually get cast wheels to replace the first issue's shaped wheels. There is also a little known and seemingly very scarce variation where there is no fuel filler on the rear left wing.

I believe this is a very early edition but have no further information about this.

A commercial vehicle gets revised this month in the shape of the quite ancient Jeep FC-150. First issued in April 1959, the Jeep now gets an interior and suspension as well as a plastic canopy.

There are three initial releases, two in blue and one in a sort of green-beige colour, often referred to as avocado. The blue can be found quite easily with either red or lemon interiors but the avocado version seems to be mostly red, with lemon being a scarce variation.

Later this model will get cast wheels and it stays in the catalogue for many years through to 1972.

The Saint's Volvo P1800 is issued this month too. This is a straightforward adaptation of the July 1962 228 model with the addition of a character at the wheel and a 'Saint' emblem on the bonnet.

Later editions get a red or blue label which covers the whole of the bonnet and has the Saint emblem in white. The red is usually found with cast wheels. The blue label edition is quite scarce. The same body and character will stay in the catalogue until 1972 too, the red label edition getting Whizzwheels and a different interior in 1970 as #201.

The 'Simon Templar' character appears to be the same as the driver inserted in the 215S Ford Thunderbird.

Next we have some models brining us some refreshments. First is a Karrier Van, looking rather old-fashioned now, but with an interior and suspension and a nice 'trans-o-lite' feature that lights up the 'Snack Bar' sign at the front.

You'll find two versions of this - the usual one is Joe's Diner but there's a nice Belgian variation advertising patates frites.

After your snack you might have fancied an ice cream and the next model is the Ford Thames Ice Cream Van in Wall's livery.

You get a model of the ice cream seller and a young lad on a pavement with a 'hopscotch' design. This was a short-lived issue, however, being replaced after just a few months in October by a 'musical' version. The characters and display scene go and instead you get an ugly handle at the back which plays a tune when turned.

Finally for this month, the second issue of the Fordson Tractor is paired with a Beast Carrier in Gift Set 33.

This is the first appearance of the Beast Carrier trailer, which will not be available individually in a box until later in 1965. It comes with four calves on a card straw design in the trailer and a green plastic mesh stretched across the top. There is also a driver on the tractor in this set.

This is quite a scarce set because it gets the new Ford 5000 tractor at the end of 1966 and is renamed Gift Set 1. The Beast Carrier itself is another very long-running model, staying in the catalogue until 1972.

Corgi Toys @ 60: A Ferrari, A Mini-Cooper and a Trailer with Raves

 

February 1965 is when the Ferrari 250 Berlinetta Le Mans arrived on the shelves at your local toy shop. Only the third model to get nice wire wheels from the start and always finished in red with RN4 decals.

This can be found in two editions, the difference being on the base, later models having angled ends to the raised lines. A pretty inexplicable change! This was a long-running model, staying on the production list until 1972.

I was lucky to acquire this gold-plated edition from Percy Wilford's grandson several years ago.

I have read that Ferrari were not particularly happy with the representation of their car by Corgi. The front end does look quite different but often Corgi worked from very early design releases by manufacturers so who knows what they were provided with.

Another appearance in February 1965 was the wonderful Mini-Cooper, this time the 1965 Monte Carlo winner.

This photo of the real car comes from Mini.com and I hope they don't mind my reproducing it here as it shows how well Corgi interpreted the model this time, even creating a revised casting to include two lamps above the grille and some other differences, quite different to the 1964 Monte Carlo issue and, indeed, all the subsequent rally issues. Replaced in 1966 by another Monte Carlo Mini-Cooper, this one is now quite sought after.

This would also be the first of three 1965 Monte Carlo entries which would be combined in Gift Set 38 as you'll read about here next month!

The last release for February 1965 is a new trailer for the farming collection. #62 is a Tipping Trailer with Raves (the pieces that can be added at the front and back to help retain a higher load). This will also be available in Gift Set 32 and later editions of the Agricultural Gift Sets 22 and GS5 (1967 issue).

Corgi Toys @ 60: More Classics, a Commer and the first Monte Carlo Mini

 

It's February 1964 and two more models in the Classics series are added. Two Bentley 3 litres, one red with red wheels, the other in green with steel wheels.

Both have a full length hood which can be detached with a rather strange-looking driver, seemingly covered in white bandages from head to toe. It is the same chap in both the racing edition - the green one with RN3 decals on the front radiator and rear box - and the more sedate-looking red one. The green edition has the Union flag on the passenger door.

These were both initially catalogued as #900 and packed in a flimsy card box, mounted on a card base with a plastic mechanism securing the model to the base. Later, but I do not know when, they were numbered #9001 and #9002 and supplied in much more practical stiff card boxes with separate lids and foam protection.

We shall meet the Bentley again in a few years' time!

Next we have the delightful Mini-Cooper, now in Monte Carlo mode as Corgi celebrates the Mini's success at the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally. It gets a search light on the roof and is the Morris-badged casting as for the 227 model, with two headlamp jewels and a RN37 decal on each door.

There are no variations of this model that I am aware of but I guess there could be some different base types, just as there were with the #227 models.

The final addition to the shelves at your local shop would have been the Commer Ambulance as a complete model #463 and distinguished from that which could have been made with the earlier Gift Set 24 by the base, lacking the device to remove the rear section.

In due course the Milk Float will be issued but the plain Van never gets an issue on its own outside the Gift Set other than as a branded model, 'Hammonds' being the #462 catalogue issue. 

An odd little Imp with jewels

This odd little model arrived last week. I have had a couple of bronze Imps before with jewelled fog lamps but this one is different. This has the later 'Sunbeam' type of window unit but the earlier 'Hillman' base.

Quite a strange one, this, and difficult to figure out how it came about.

It is a factory bronze 251 issue and no-one has messed around with the base or repainted a blue 328.

To all intents and purposes, it is a 328 but in bronze and with a cream interior. I wonder if, perhaps, at the end of the production of the 328, when plans would be made to switch to the 340 to mark the later year's rally success, there were some castings with the two holes still to be painted and, rather than make 328s which may have been unwanted, someone decided to send them off for the bronze treatment with normal 251s. Maybe they would have headed off to Transporter Gift Sets or some lucky collector might have found one in a box at his toy shop.

It would have to have been made in the few months in early 1967 when the Sunbeam window units would have started to be available and production of the 251 was ending.

This particular example had been 'modified' by its last owner, unfortunately, and my efforts to ring it back to how it once would have been haven't been successful. I had removed some water transfers very easily but under them I found three white panels - one on each door and a circular one on the bonnet. I'd thought they were transfers but they were painted and bore hand-painted numerals - the bonnet number being different to the sides! The paint nearly came off but I damaged the base bronze colour beneath in a couple of places so, for now, I have covered the damage with some unwanted Citroën Monte Carlo transfers. (They use the wrong font). In due course I may change these for some more accurate Hillman Monte Carlo numbers if I can find something appropriate. 

These oddities are fascinating to find. It's a pity this one has had to have the decals but I don't imagine I am going to find another in a hurry! This one actually came from France. The other two that I had without decals were in quite bad condition with broken windows and suspension so this is, at least, intact and, yes, the suspension has survived!

More new old Corgis

You may remember the issue of a reproduction 474 Ford Thames Ice Cream Van (the one with musical chimes) way back in January 2020. My article is here if you have forgotten.

The COVID-19 virus interrupted production in China and we had been hoping that what appeared to be a well-intentioned project would get going again. Earlier this year promotions started to appear once more in magazines and the original web site offered the Ice Cream Van once more. There would appear to have been very many more of these issued than first time round - tens of thousands rather than a mere 1000 or so, according to some estimates I have read. The firm managing the project do seem to have got things moving again. They have a strict 'one model per household' rule and so I was unable to get hold of another Ice Cream Van but other people are reporting that the model itself appears identical but with a different box and different paperwork coming with it. In particular, the Certificate now specifies a number and has a different design to the first issue.

Bearing in mind that no payment was required for the first model (if one ordered the next issue) and, even if someone did pay for it the price was a mere £1.99, I think we were all surprised to see these selling for £100 or more back in early 2020 but put it down to life in an Ebay world. I have to say now that £100 may have been a bargain if the buyer also received the bits and pieces as well, as there will not be many of those around.

Finally, rather later than some of my colleagues, I have received the second model in the series, the 339 BMC Mini-Cooper S 1967 Monte Carlo Winner. There were two versions, the early one had shaped wheels but this is the later issue with cast wheels.

That's the original. Below is the Chinese reproduction.

It's very good, with a very well-matched paint. I understand that the people doing this consulted Corgi for things like the colour reference to ensure that was right. (I am intrigued that there were records to consult and do wonder what else might be in the archives that Hornby acquired, but that's another story!)

The first thing that strikes me and one or two colleagues is the 'soft', almost plastic look to the jewelled lights. Whilst getting the headlamps white and fog lamps yellow as in the issued model, the inserts used seem a little cheap.

The RN177 decal is pleasantly 'yellowed' and not bright white as all the reproduction transfers seem to be but, unlike most of them, it does have the right font. The spacing and size of the digits isn't quite right but that is a minor criticism.

The most annoying fault for me is the rear number plate which has an odd spacing for the characters and looks significantly less deep than the original. The Rally stickers are also small, as you can see from comparison with the original below.

The roof rack is a splendid copy, as are the spare wheels and pins attaching them.

It's nice to see the base reproduced nicely, with the original style of text and layout retained but, of course, featuring Made in China now.

The box is very similar on four of its six sides. The original had different illustrations on opposite sides but this has the same scene printed twice. Otherwise only minor text differences are made and the obvious difference is the side that displays all the production and legal stuff. Luckily, that can sit at the bottom when the box is displayed in a cabinet.

The card itself is the right weight but the printing process used and/or card coating create a very shiny finish which is not particularly pleasant. I also found the changed design of the flaps on the ends very annoying, making them extremely difficult to open without causing a tear. Perhaps this prevents accidental opening and damage en route but I do think they should have taken a chance and left the flaps as they were. This is a most frustrating design and I now leave one flap permanently open to avoid more trouble.

Overall, this is an excellent reproduction and I admire the effort that seems to have been put in to this project and the prinicpals involved do seem to care about getting things right. I believe they have experience from Atlas and their excellent Dinky reproductions and the whole thing has a very similar feel to it, with the planned future issues, lots of goodies issued at the start and options to stop any time. I shall be continuing with this and wish them well.

Next, I believe, is The Saint's Volvo P1800. I hope they use better jewels this time but cannot imagine there is much else to go wrong there.

The Wilford Collection Pt 4: Minis

As I have spent most of the last two weeks studying Minis and creating ever-lengthening lists of what collectors may wish to search for, it seems appropriate to take a break from the gold and probably very expensive items and look at some of the more 'normal' models that I have available from the office drawers of the two Mr Wilfords.

Included in this post are five Rally Mini Coopers from the 1964-66 period and a reproduction of the Wilford family Mini from 1972.

The Mini Coopers all have a little extra detailing in silver and all but the Sun Rally 333 models have what seem to be unique Monte Carlo decals, being noticeably smaller than those on the issued models. Apart from the extra detailing, the Sun Rally models do look like those that were issued.

It is a little sad, perhaps that a Whizzwheels edition of the Morris Mini Minor was used! The old shaped wheels were a far better likeness to the real thing. Below is a 1966 advert for the Morris. The model is otherwise really very good!

This is a charming little item, with all the little details presumably added by Mr Wilford who then mounted the car using a simple bolt through a varnished wood base. 

The unique Rally Minis should fetch a good premium over and above the price one would expect to pay for the normal models and the company connection should add some value to the two 333s too which are themselves identifiable with the extra detailing.

The Wilford family Mini is just a delightful item to have and if you must have a Whizzwheels Corgi Mini then I guess this will be as good as any! So Mini collectors, get in touch and reserve any that you might like. These are being made available only here and on my main site at the moment to give our regular visitors and colleagues the first chances of acquiring them.