The good folks at the Corgi Model Club have done it again. Their latest issue is a superb version of the 256 Volkswagen 1200 in East African Safari trim. Box, tray, rhino, packing pieces, steering card - it's all there and looks fabulous.
The car's great but the box is a little disappointing as the colours, other than blue, seem rather dull. The original was quite a lot brighter and more red than orange-brown. I am a little surprised this passed the quality control at the Club and the scene on the tray background is similarly washed-out. Looking at others offered on Ebay, they all look the same so it seems not to be just my bad luck.
Putting the shade to one side, though, the model itself and the presentation is otherwise superb. The car is a very bright red, brighter than I remember my original being but that may just be my fading memory! I don't have one to hand to compare.
The '18' and bonnet decals are accurate. If anything the bonnet one sits better as it seems slightly thinner than the original sticker which tended to lift where it wasn't well stuck down. The 'NAIROBI' sticker in the rear window is a decent copy.
The car is the left-hand drive edition and has a bonnet and engine compartment cover which lift and stay up, unlike most originals I have had in the past! the engine and bits and pieces in the front are well reproduced too. I particularly like the use of silver for the base and extension to form the front and rear bumpers. This was a great idea and helped the model to stay looking fresh even after a few collisions.
The rhino is excellent and, like the tray, without any specific sign of its Chinese origin, I can see annoying dealers treating them as originals for unsuspecting collectors seeking replacements. (Tip: this tray does not have the semi-circular tabs of the original). Not sure about the rhino.
I would like the club to find a source of better jewels. All the models so far that have had jewels have had the quite dull plastic type when I am sure a glass or better quality plastic could be used at precious little extra cost.
Overall, though, this is a great model and the original was one of my favourites, appearing in December 1965. To be able to steer it round my layout was so good. Yes, we had had the Austin A60 18 months earlier but its small wheels and almost non-existent ground clearance made that difficult to steer on anything other than a very flat hard surface. This VW you could use much more widely and the wheels looked right. And, of course, it had a wheel on the roof, not some huge round red thing which I never liked.
Corgi went on to change the colour and decals, pop a lamp on top and call it a European Police Car after another 18 months in May 1966. Perhaps that will be another we can see in due course and, who knows, maybe even the ridiculous-looking 400/1 Driving School edition one day!
I should add that the packing pieces are not the same as the original (which had just one piece of folded corrugated cardboard as they used universally for this purpose). This also does not have the model-specific leaflet. Whilst it would be nice to have the leaflet, the original included the Corgi Membership Club Form and related information which, understandably, can't be reproduced or some office in Wales will be getting a whole pile of unwanted mail. What the Model Club might consider, however, is producing a sheet on the same size and type of paper and reproducing the model information, instructions and the like but substituting their own details for the form section. Now that's an idea.
