That figures?

 I have recently acquired lots of figures, animals and assorted bits and pieces that often go missing from Corgi sets or the models which they may have accompanied in a box when first issued. Most of them I have been able to identify or were very familiar with and I shall be adding them to associated items that I have for sale where I didn't have them already.

There are a few, however, that I am not sure where they belong and maybe someone can help? 

The first one looks like a race official from the #1501 set of Racing Drivers and Pit Mechanics but the one I have in my set, and which has appeared in all the sets I've seen, is all white and the information on the board is different.

Next is another character, who looks like he belongs at Silverstone.

Again, he is quite differently painted to a couple of #1503 Race Officials that I have. Like the chap above, it looks like the same person but very differently finished and with a different flag.

There is one chap in #1503 with the chequered flag . . .

 . . . but he has a full length coat, not a jacket. Everyone has a tie blowing in the wind, I see. I had not noticed that before!

The next chap is someone I really feel I should know and no doubt readers are shouting at their screens and I shall soon be feeling embarrassed. 

It's the wrench I don't remember. I think we have the same individual in blue overalls carrying a bottle of oil in the #1501 Garage Attendants group or maybe the Thames Wrecker where someone very similar, if not the same, is included together with a chap squatting down to change a wheel. But they're both blue. The orange overalls and lack of shirt or vest colour I cannot place, although that wrench I am sure I have seen somewhere.

Next is what looks like a young farm worker. Just as in the Country Farm Gift Set 4, where Corgi managed to make even Gerald from Clarkson's Farm seem normal, this is an odd-looking young chap, carrying a bucket or maybe a milk churn. Perhaps he is from an Agricultural Gift Set? I have never been able to examine one of these - and have always wanted one of the early Gift Set 22s with the 'farm green' #406S Land Rover and a yellow 101 trailer.

Now identified - with many thanks to John Bowyer who advises that this is the stable lad accompanying four horses in #1104 Newmarket Racing Stables Horse Transporter, the green and yellow slightly dumbed down version of the earlier 1130 Chipperfields model.

Next is a pair of penguins. I have searched high and low but do not see any sign of a penguin in any of Corgi's sets or issues. They may be intruders.

Here we have what looks like Elvis on traffic duty. I have no idea about this.

He is mounted on a strange base which might have been some way of attaching him to a scene on a display tray. His legs honestly don't look strong enough to me so perhaps he needed that extra support! This is a larger character so from something in the larger 1:36 scale.

Now identified! Many thanks to Yann who writes to tell me that 'Elvis' is from the #416 Buick Police Car, which I actually have for sale and can now be paired with its companion.

Here we have a few sacks but in different sizes. Those shown above are significantly larger than those below. I think the smaller ones will be from one of the sets that included a conveyor. That could be Gift Set 64, the FC150 with Conveyor or Gift Set 47 Tractor and Conveyor. The larger ones may be from an Agricultural Set, although one would expect them to be the smaller size and I don't know a set that had bags in the later 1:36 scale.

I do know that this is from Gift Set 31, the Safari Land Rover set in 1:36 scale and not that easy to find now. It's often lost and no many sets were produced in the first place so this character could be quite scarce. I should have the set itself available in a while so do let me know if you would like this reserved.

Last of the mystery characters is this rather funny-looking sheep.

Once again, I am inclined to think this may have been included in an agricultural set. This sheep looks quite big but still not out of place with 1:43 scale models. I suppose, though, that if it was intended to be a lamb then it may belong in a 1:36 scale set. I can't think of one offhand, however.

It is possible that a couple of these items are from somewhere other than a Corgi model or set but my guess is that this is not the case and someone out there will recognise them all and explain the differences for the first few! No prizes - but handsome discounts may be negotiable if I have something in stock that you would like.

I have also added a few original boxes of tyres (and some loose ones) to the store and some other bits and pieces which you can see at this new section, called appropriately, Corgi bits and pieces.

The Gift Sets 6 and 25 we can afford

 

Gift Set 6

I often get asked questions about Corgi Toys and they also give me something to share with the other collectors who read these articles from time to time. Writing it all down also saves me from having to remember every detail as all I have to do to find it again is use the little search bar to the right (if you're using a computer screen or laptop) or goodness only knows where if you using a smartphone.

This latest query was a fairly simple one but which nevertheless surprised me when I looked into it a bit more closely. "What's the difference between Gift Set 6 and Gift set 25?" asked Mr Horrocks. Let me state quickly that he was talking about the Breakdown Truck and Racing Car sets, not the wonderful and wonderfully expensive Rocket Age Gift Set nor the even more wonderful and hugely more expensive Garage Set! No, these more recent two we can just about afford on a good day.

The first, Gift Set 6, was issued in October 1967. It was withdrawn from dealer's lists in 1969.

The Breakdown Truck was the same VW Truck as had been issued in December 1966 but now gets a fresh coat of white paint, a lemon interior and 'Racing Club' stickers on the doors. The boxed #490 did not, at this time, have any stickers on the doors and the green-beige models all had a red interior. (Later Trucks did get cast wheels and 'Breakdown' stickers.) As far as I can tell, however, all the Gift Set 6 trucks had shaped wheels and lemon interiors.

On the red trailer was a standard Cooper-Maserati model #156 which may or may not have more than one wheel in gold. Most examples had four bare metal 8-spoke cast wheels but quite a few had a few gold-coloured wheels. One or two sets might feature one where someone had managed to find four gold wheels but they're few and far between.

The little red trailer had tiny cast wheels. I have not seen any with the older style smooth wheels in this set.

Then in April 1970, presumably once stock of the old one had been used up, Corgi come out with Gift Set 25 which is basically the same set but with a Cooper-Maserati on the trailer.

Gift Set 25

The only other difference appears to be the #490 Truck now gets cast wheels. However, most of the trucks now seem to have red interiors, with lemon being the scarcer.

Unfortunately, because it is so simple to swap models around, it may well be the case that you find all sorts of combinations of models in each set but it is my view that the original sets would have been as described. Much as I would like to list a truck with a lemon interior as scarce for Gift Set 6 and one with a lemon interior as less common for Gift Set 25, you will appreciate why I don't.

The red trailer appears to be the same in each set, and I think it must be the same as that provided with Gift Set 12, the Grand Prix Racing set in December 1968. However, in the Lotus Racing Gift Set 37, issued in August 1966, early sets appear to have a trailer with smooth wheels. It would seem entirely possible, therefore for early Gift Set 6 examples to have trailers with smooth wheels. I also recall the early trailers as having smooth tracks whereas the later ones, and all I have seen other than in Gift Set 37, have a hatched pattern.