It's July 1965 and the sun is shing. Let's fold back the roof and take a drive in a lovely Lotus Elan S2. And to remind us how scarce diesels were in those days, there's a 'I've got a tiger in my tank' sticker across the boot lid, promoting Esso petrol. I still have my tiger's tail, something you could get from Esso but I can't for the life of me remember how. I don't think I had to pay for it. The stickers were free but were somewhat smaller than the Corgi design! They were meant for bumpers when bumpers were chrome and just a few inches high.
Corgi's model was an attractive addition to the range and had side windows which slid up and down and seats that tilted forward. I never quite understood why because there was absolutely no room for anything, never mind anyone behind them! The bonnet also opened to reveal a nice silver engine (and everything else under there). It came with a blue helmeted racing driver and some numbers on black circular stickers which could be attached.
I preferred the car without the driver and without the stickers but at least we all had a choice.
The predominant colour for this model was metallic blue but there are also examples in white. The Elan in white, without the sticker or driver, would be included in The Avengers Gift Set 40 later.
There are also scarce variations of both the metallic blue and white models with cast wheels from very late in the production period of the blue model in 1967. Although the Gift Set was available through to 1969, white editions with cast wheels are just as scarce.
A common problem with these models is failure of the suspension. That is provided by a thin piece of plastic in an X shape with each end covering an axle. This plastic gets brittle and simply breaks.
There are two types of casting, one with a small hole at the front end, barely visible in the photo below.
There also seem to be shades of 'white' from very pure, almost blue-white through to a thick, creamy finish. Many of the cream may turn out to be from homes of smokers, of course!
If the weather were fine then you could take the other July issue out on the river, lake or sea. This was one of precious few things that you could tow with a Corgi, not that there were many cars with tow hooks either.
This is #104 Dolphin 20 Cruiser on a Wincheon trailer with tiny wheels. The Skipper comes with the box. There is a stripe on the roof. The boat is all plastic and I guess it actually does float although I've never tried. At the back is a quite detailed outboard motor that can be pulled up out of the 'water'. The little propeller turns too. There's no suspension on the trailer but you will find later models have a tiny cast wheel in place of the original free-spinning smooth type.
This is, of course, the same model as first appeared in December 1964 in the Riviera Gift Set 31.
At this time there was a very limited choice as to what you could attach it to. In fact the only motor car at this time would have been the Buick again. For variety you'd need to use a Land Rover or Jeep FC-150 or one of the old lorries. Even after a few years the only additions would be a Renault 16TS, Rambler Marlin or the later issue of the Oldsmobile Toronado with Golden Jack wheels. (The first issue was only fitted with a tow hook in Gift Set 36 with the Glastron speedboat.)
As I said, there wasn't much to tow anyway, apart from some farm equipment, a Workmen's trailer, a couple of other trailers and a horsebox or two.
