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.

The Corgi Model Club: The Saint Returns

 

The second edition of 'The Saint's" Car has been issued. On the bonnet is a very neat emblem in just black outline, with no discernible background which makes me wonder whether it is a transfer after all. It does look good but, of course, the original did have that shading to the background which they have now removed as part of the deal with The Saint franchise.

No other differences are apparent on the new model which really does seem to be identical apart from that emblem. The box, however, is different, now featuring the Paramount logo and acknowledgement, as well as a different layout of that side. In the illustration below the new one is the bottom image.

As well as the details side being different, the packing is also different., with the first edition having a card insert to protect the model. This is missing for the second edition, which has just a piece of thin foam sheet.

There is also one more difference - the second issue has P1800 instead of P.1800 on the first edition.

As I have said, the model itself has not changed and is a very nice re-issue. The lights lack a little sparkle and the axles seems a little loose. Indeed, when I ordered three more of the first edition two had very poor suspension, leaning to one side and with no resistance from suspension wires on at least one wheel. Interestingly, this second issue model suffers from the same problem and I am wondering whether this is a more widespread fault. It would be unlikely that only I have met this problem - twice!

I should add that the Corgi Model Club have been exemplary in their customer service, replacing the first faulty ones without question and allowing me to retain the faulty models. I have written to them regarding this latest example and hope to receive the same response. Clearly, one cannot expect the Club staff to examine every model but clearly something has gone wrong in China.

The Saint Returns

 

The Corgi Model Club issued their version of the 258 Volvo P1800 in 2021 and, in an attempt to match the original as closely as possible, they made the background to the Saint motif a pale cream colour. That's a bit like it appears on our 1965 models as the transfer did not remain clear for very long.

It appears that the people who own the Saint franchise were not particularly happy about the latest use of their emblem, however, and seem to have insisted that the Club have another go as well as noting their interest with some additional text on the base and box.

So, in a few weeks, we will be seeing a second re-issue of the 258 model, now with a very clear emblem on the bonnet and a different base and box. Production of the first re-issue has ceased and the Club are selling their remaining stocks. They say that they will retain a 'finite' amount for future membership orders. By that I think they mean people who have signed up recently will get the old one but those who sign up after the new issue becomes available will get the later one.

Whilst this will not be as scarce as the 'matt finish' James Bond Aston Martin, it would appear that production ceased at 15000 and this will be harder to find in future years and could become somewhat more valuable than most other issues. They can still be purchased direct from the Club but perhaps for not much longer.

Red spot wheels - an update

 

Back in December 2019 I wrote about red spot wheels, the first 'Whizzwheels', and how vast sums were being paid by people for some Corgi models featuring them. I had doubts and, after several collectors and one auction site director had written or called me to talk about these, I wrote that I might be persuaded that a very few issues in April and May 1970, including The Saint's Volvo P1800, might have been genuine factory issues.

Since then I have had a lot more discussions and learned that the decision to change to the cheaper plastic wheel was made in February and implemented more or less immediately. Whilst there would have been some stocks to use up, these would have been depleted by the time of the Volvo's re-appearance.

So, particularly as the wheels are so easy to change, I can only urge that you do not pay any more for a red-spot edition of the Volvo (or, for that matter, Renault 16TS, Alfa Romeo P33, Porsche Carrera 6 which were produced at the same time) than you would for one with the ubiquitous black wheels. I have amended my article with the addition shown here and apologise to anyone who saw this as a green light to invest heavily. I was wrong.

Despite the logic here, in many discussions I have had with people who seem to know what they're talking about and have a good knowledge of many other issues, it does appear that Corgi did not proceed with fitting red spot wheels to models after announcing the switch to a cheaper variety. Maybe stock lasted a few weeks but that's all, and not long enough to impact these three or the following two. In the absence of any definitive evidence or anything by way of better provenance no-one can say categorically that none of these emerged with red-spot wheels but, if they did, they're not official and are more likely to have been the product of someone who just reckoned the cars looked better with them and had access to a few spares.

It makes valuing any models that do appear with these wheels something that has to be done with great caution, not only because of the doubts of their origin but also, and probably principally nowadays, because it is so easy to swap them.

I should add that it is so often the TV and Film-related models which seem to get this treatment - these are the models which far more people seek to collect and so often want to believe that they have something special, a more generally gullible audience, I suspect. And that brings us neatly to the worst offender of all - the 270 James Bond Aston Martin that you'll find fitted with red-spot wheels.

For this one, I can state, without any doubt whatsoever, that they're fakes. You'll see that, by virtue of earlier editions having tyre slashers on the rear wheels, only the later editions with wider wheel arches are marketed with the red spots. That edition did not appear until 1976, some 6 years after red spot wheels had disappeared from production lines at the Corgi factory! The only place those wheels would have been in 1976 was on some earlier models and, over the years, people have simply taken them off a legitimate bearer, such as a Capri, Ferrari Dino, Chevrolet Astro, Lamborghini or Pontiac, and pushed them on to the Aston axles. The chrome wheels fitted would be easy to pull off. And yet, and yet, people still pay vast sums for the Aston when they see them . . .

Diecast Investor laughably describe their model as a 'transition' edition! Some transition, lasting 6 years or more!

OK, I'll stop now. Caveat emptor as the Romans might have said.

A chance for someone to catch up with the Corgi Model Club 2021 Reissues!

 

A colleague has decided to sell his complete collection of the 2021 Corgi Model Club issues. The four models are:

474 Thames Wall's Ice Cream Van with Musical Chimes

339 BMC Mini-Cooper S 1967 Monte Carlo rally

258 The Saint's Volvo P1800

330 Porsche Carrera 6

Each has a reproduction box and original packing and ancillary items where applicable.

The following reproduction items are also available:

1505 Garage Attendants

Corgi badge

1966 Corgi catalogue

Certificates of Authenticity

Collector's Tin for the Certificates

All the models are mint. Some boxes have very minor marks where the awkward flap has been opened.

The Ice Cream Van is the 2nd issue from earlier this year, not the January 2020 issue (although it does appear to be identical). Only the certificate and box differ.

Although the more recent items may still be available to order from the Club, restrictions mean that only one of each model per address will be supplied and the Club do not accept orders from outside the UK. The Ice Cream Van has now been discontinued and the Mini-Cooper may not now be available either so this may be an opportunity for someone who is either a little late to the party or who is based abroad to catch up with these lovely new 'old' Corgis.

Contact me for more information. Ideally we would like the set to be sold in its entirety but the individual items are also being advertised so don't delay.

The Corgi Model Club: The Saint's Volvo P1800

 

Here is the third in the Corgi Model Club's programme of releasing models from the 1956-70s era. It is a really very impressive reproduction, especially as I believe the had to start from scratch with no old casting moulds to help them.

Everything seems to be exactly as it should be. My only criticisms are that the jewelled lights don't look quite right. they may be glass but the lack of matching facet cutting makes them appear more plastic and, although it hardly a fault, the silver and red paintwork is just too perfect!

It is a simple model and comes with just a box, including a valuable piece of stiffening card - and that would have been a good idea across the board for the originals - and a certificate. With mine numbered 012190 I suspect there will be plenty of these being produced! The question now is how much will we see people selling them for on Ebay!?

I have to say that I think this is £20 very well spent.

The Saint takes a Volvo back to Sweden

Off to Västra Frölunda in Sweden is this version of The Saint's Volvo P1800.

Boxes, a roof rack and other things...

Same car, new box

I missed the latest edition of the James Bond Aston Martin in the article I posted earlier this month. Not that anyone would really notice much difference, to be honest. In fact, this looks like Hornby really wringing the dosh out of all their Corgi customers.

The cars are, unless I have missed something, exactly the same as the two issued as 04203 (and again as 04204) over the last year or so. All that has changed is the box, now in blue and grey and with a '50th Anniversary' sticker commemorating Thunderball. Does that mean that this car is going to be reissued every time a Bond film anniversary comes along? Good grief, that will cost collectors who like to be really 'complete' a fortune.

Prices are all over the place at the moment. The crazy thing is that you can still buy the silver one at Corgi for £19.99 (or even less if you are a club member). The gold ones have sold out - it was a limited edition of 5000 - but they were only £19.99 as well. I have a feeling they will soon be appearing on the market for rather less than some of the silly prices we're seeing now. Heavens, it really is only a box that has changed.

Hopefully, the New Year will bring us something different to James Bond cars being recycled.

Roof rack blues

Other things to end the year with would include the story of my Austin Mini Countryman. I bought one without a roof rack that was otherwise in jolly decent condition. My idea was to get a new rack and sell it as the first one I had went very quickly indeed. Surfboards are easy to obtain and reproduction ones look fine. I really wouldn't get the strange-looking guy, though, unless I had the box to hide him in.

Anyway, getting back to the car, I have had excellent bits and pieces from a lady who makes parts out of metal rather than plastic and she had advertised the Countryman roof rack for a modest £3.75. It arrived and I thought it would be a simple case of plugging it in the four holes and maybe adding a little adhesive and away it would go. No luck. The posts on the casting were quite a lot out of line with the holes in the roof. I dropped the lady a line about this and she replied first to say the rack didn't need to fit into any holes but later realised that it did and suggested I filed the posts down! That wasn't quite what I was expecting but I had a go.

Eventually I managed to get the posts filed in such a way that they sort of fitted but by then the soft metal had got a bit bent in places. It does bend so easily. I was a bit worried about straightening bits too in case metal fatigue would lead to an arm just flying off. So I wrote again and basically said I'd had to give up. The lady, let's call her Cynthia, was very obliging and said she'd have a look at her casting design and also organise a full refund. I felt a bit of a nuisance over such a small thing but I am pretty sure this roof rack was actually designed for the Mini Cooper. The Countryman should have two gaps at the rear to take the surf board fins whereas this one is fully enclosed. The boards might slide through but I am not sure how far they would go.

The lady's other castings have been fine and I will use her again but now need to source a more accurately produced rack. I expect it'll have to be Mr Flowers but, with his high postage charge, I'll need to wait until I can build up a decent order to make that worthwhile.

The other problem with the metal casting was that it comes in a watery grey colour. If you scrub the metal with a rough brush it does get nice and shiny but I am not sure it looks right.

So the Countryman stays rackless for a while longer. I actually quite like it that way!

Same car, different box 2

A nice chap in Holland has been in touch with a query about a box he has for The Saint's Volvo P1800. Here it is:

He has spotted some green marks, mostly around the side of the Volvo but also near the bonnet and boot. At first I thought they were just smears that someone carelessly added later in the box's life but the chap insists that under magnification and very close inspection the green colour seems to have been printed at the same time as the rest. It also appears in the same places on the other side which rather throws my 'smear' idea into the dustbin.

I have enlarged the image using a good viewer but cannot really determine how 'original' it is but the assertion that it is the same on both sides does make me believe that it must have happened during the production of the box. I suggested a smear on the master for that image or similar accidental addition was more likely than this being some rare version of the box itself. My colleague is of the opinion that it could be a deliberate attempt at something like stripes to indicate speed that were later dropped. All copies of a #258 box I have seen - and #228 boxes too - have a clear yellow background around the car with no green marks to be seen.

So, over to anyone out there who might be able to suggest any better possible answer! If this image is not large enough then I can send you the original.

Where do all the models go?

A recent customer had an interesting address in Italy. I thought I would see where he lived and Google Maps do a marvellous job in this respect. It was nice to see where (in that instance, a good #300 Austin Healey) was going to. Since then I have been creating images of my cars parked outside the addresses they're being sent to and now have half a dozen which I shared on Facebook. People seem to really rather like them so I shall end 2015 by adding them as separate posts to this blog and I'll continue to add them as and when items get sold. Now, I know that not every one will be going to an attractive location but it will be a nice record and, hopefully, an interesting set of pictures will develop which will also see featured many models that might otherwise never have made these columns!

Here's a preview of a #204 Mini in Shropshire, England:

Corgi Toy 1967-68 Catalogue

The word mazak appears in The Corgi Story on the first page. I missed that at the time and I had to look it up when I discovered it on the base on some models a few weeks ago. The main focus now is on some big models - in size as well as fame. The cover has the ridiculously big Lincoln Continental which I never actually wanted at the time and only now keep in stock with some reluctance. It is simply too big and looks crazy with the other models as I illustrated in a previous article.

Joining the TV and Film fame set are a couple of new Bond cars, the silver #270 Aston, now with a slightly reshaped rear end to look a little more like the DB5 it should have been and a Toyota 2000GT. Both these are still 'available later' and it is the gold one that remains on sale when the catalogue is issued. Batman's Batmobile has a boat attachment and then there's some Green Hornet affair. I do not remember either the car or the TV series or film it was associated with and still don't have much of a clue, I'm afraid, nor examples of either in stock. They seem to command extremely high prices for such a common model.

Completing the 'fame' models on the first few pages of this catalogue are The Man From U.N.C.L.E's Thrush Buster, The Avengers Gift Set 40 and, looking quite sad now in comparison, The Saint's Volvo P1800. (The Volvo, though, will continue to be available long after some of the others disappear!)

The new 'normal' model is the Jaguar E Type 2+2, oddly illustrated in dark pink in the catalogue but mercifully released initially in the red as in a drawing or in a very nice metallic blue. This was another 'big' model, though, in comparison to most. Not as bad as the Lincoln but you still had to keep the #307 and #335 E types away from each other.

In the 'Available Later' category in 1967 were the Austin Mini Countryman (interestingly, without surfer or roofrack!), the Lancia Fulvia Zagato (illustrated in gold) and the Citroen Le Dandy Coupé and MGC GT in blue and white. I have never seen the MGC GT in those colours and the Citroen is very rare in two-tone.

The Kits have disappeared but there are several Racing Sets and combinations now. 

The Daktari Land Rover is illustrated in white, not the green it actually appears in - the white being issued later as the Lions of Longleat set.

Whilst #9022 Daimler was 'Available Later' in the 1966 catalogue, #9021 Daimler is now 'Available Later' in this one. Odd.

Cast wheels appear on #339 Mini Cooper and #264 Oldsmobile Toronado. Many of the newer illustrations are now very realistic and I am sure most of photographs with some post-processing effects - like the speed lines on the axles of the competition cars.Some old stagers are still clearly drawn, however, and re-used for yet another year!

The Saint, black and blue.

Just £1200, well, £1440 including the massive premiums charged by auction firms, would have enabled you to put this Saint's Volvo 1800 on your shelf, as reported last week.

Fork out £8 for this model on Ebay as I write and, if you can find a blue decal or transfer, you can have two on your shelf. The neighbours would never be able to tell the difference.

What I find amusing is the description that the seller has added (not included in the illustration above). It says that this is a rare white version of the Volvo! Maybe without the plastic Roger Moore in the driving seat he could have got away with that. I am intrigued, though, that the original transfer does seem to have been removed without leaving obvious marks on the bonnet, assuming there was one there and it wasn't missed in production. 

So I shall pick up this one (unless there are silly bids offered!) and have a closer look. If it is possible to remove the normal transfer then we all need to be very careful when those rare blue ones appear.

I don't like giving money to idiots who try to fool people so won't be bidding very much.

Auction price updates for The Saint and others

Model Collector magazine reports some extraordinary prices being paid recently at auctions. Each is a model I have been recommending for a while but I hadn't expected that amount of interest in them. I just hope this doesn't make getting hold of a few even more difficult!

Funnily enough, I was thinking this week that I should have a green one in good condition. I have three back and grey, two with boxes, which are immaculate and, I believe, a better colour than the green. Now I am not sure my bids are likely to be successful for the two I am after! I'll know in a few days. Watch this space.

At first glance you might think this is Emma Peel's Lotus Elan. Basically it is - with a transfer on the back and someone else planted in the driving seat. Or should that be hers is #318 without the transfer and figure? I don't know which came first. £816 is an amazing price, though, and just shows how rare the white open top model is in this guise.

I have been buying quite a few of the white S2 without the transfer for the Avengers Gift sets I'm making up. However, it must be tempting for some less scrupulous people to stick transfers on. They're pretty easy to buy. The driver too. He looks like the usual suspect from several other cars.

The Saint's Volvo P1800 at £1200??!! Good grief. That's another that I would like a decent version of as my own one has suffered a bit. The box is still a round but is missing a flap or two. I actually prefer the original black on transparent backing transfer to this blue and white affair.

My last post talked about teh various Mini Coopers. I knew this had a fairly short life but had no idea it was £1200's worth of short life!