Few Ferrari differences; 314 revisited

While I was waiting for someone to reply from Ferrari regarding one of the other known copies of the gold-plated 314, and to answer a question a collector had asked, I took a closer look at the good old Ferrari Berlinetta 250 Le Mans.

This appeared in the local toy shop in early 1965 and you'll still see it in the 1972 catalogue where it shares the honour or being one of only two models with wire wheels, the other being the James Bond Aston Martin. It is also the only model from the 1965 release to survive that long other than some farm equipment. During all those years not a great deal changed. I had thought at first that nothing had changed but when I looked a little closer I noticed a couple of things.

First the decals appear to come in two flavours. One is the familiar aged, cream background type with a well-defined and fairly thin numeral. The other has a very white background of the sort that makes you think it is a reproduction but it isn't, and the numeral is slightly thicker. The yellow stripe is also a touch wider, I think. I haven't measured them so it may just be an illusion, one of my models not being that well blessed in that respect. 

The second difference is on the base where there are extensions at an angle at the rear of the two raised lines running front to back. One might think they were a sort of suggestion of exhaust pipes but the model had chrome pipes already sticking out the back and, of course, it is a rear engine anyway. The chrome pipes have mostly disappeared on my red models, by the way, and that's a common fault to look out for as they are quite vulnerable to snapping.

The gold-plated edition would appear to be the first type with no extensions to the lines on the base.

I cannot say for certain which edition came first but I would guess that the straight lines were on the first type and the extensions added at some point to make a second type. Whether the decal change occurred at the same time, I can't tell, but it is pretty unlikely.

What does surprise me is why this car didn't get cast, spoke effect wheels like just about everything else did, including buses and Land Rovers! These would have been regularly fitted to models from about 1967 and the Mustang, for example, gets them in place of the wire wheels. By 1972 I really would have expected a change. At least it didn't get Whizzwheels so I suppose we should be thankful for small mercies.

Illustrations from extravaganzi.com and allcarcentral.com

The model itself was not a brilliant miniature version of the real thing and rumour has it that Ferrari were not that impressed. Whether that is really the case or not I still can't be sure. Perhaps the gold edition I have is the one that Ferrari's boss got at the time but he sent it back (as suggested by another collector)!

The obvious difference would be the headlamps. Corgi's attempt to give the impression of the glass cover area simply didn't work and seems to lack a third dimension. (It would, incidentally, be three years before they got anywhere near getting that type of headlamp right with the Mini Marcos.)

Many real models also had a different exhaust arrangement at the back. The one I could find that was very similar to the model also had a quite different (and very smooth) treatment to the rear window area which would have been nice to see on the Corgi 314.

I am not sure where the blue windows and chrome interior come from but I suppose it did add a touch of the exotic to the toy for us children at the time. I just remember thinking how hot it must have been in there.

Anyway, check your 314s and you should find plenty of whichever edition you need easy to find. None are expensive, so many having been produced. Just watch out for those broken exhausts.

The Wilford Collection Pt 2: Gold Jaguars

The second and third items from the Wilford Collection are Jaguars. At first glance you might think that this is just another 312 but it isn't. This is a brass 307 E Type Jaguar. It has all the same features as the standard red or grey model, brown plastic interior and clear plastic headlamp elements and seems to have been made with the same cast.

This one is heavy, and very bright, gleaming like gold.

The Jaguar Mk X is similar, based on an original cast with opening bonnet and boot, twin jewelled headlamps too. It has a lemon yellow interior.

I believe that a small number of these would have been manufactured as gifts for special visitors. Someone like the boss of Jaguar, I would imagine. The would not have been cheap to produce and, being in such small numbers, the costs of individual polishing and final, careful finishing would have been substantial. This originated from Mr Percy Wilford's model-making office and I would imagine he would have been the person responsible for overseeing the production of these.

I can find no reference to Jaguar models like either of these anywhere so would appreciate any knowledge that you may have. These are available to buy. Offers invited - but they will not be cheap!

In many ways these must be the ultimate E Type or Mk X model to have for fans of the cars and Corgi Toy specialists. 

More photos are available at these links:

Jaguar E Type gold | Jaguar Mk X gold

Samples from the Corgi Factory!

It's funny what can happen when you're in a hotel car park in Towcester. I had arranged to meet a young Mr Wilford, recently flown in from New Zealand to help his mother with some things, whose father had been a Designer at Corgi and whose grandfather had been Percy Wilford, one of Corgi's Chief Designers. He said he had a few odd items lying around at his mother's house and wondered if I could advise him. 

First of all he gets out a box of pretty tedious-looking Corgi Classics and they're all familiar apart from one that catches my eye. Yes, it's the 9022 Daimler 1910 38 'Available Later' in the Corgi Catalogue. It's missing a steering wheel and dashboard but looked otherwise finished and ready to put on the market.

I took another look also at a Bentley 1927 3½ litre. Initially the silver horn had caught my eye but then I noticed the very detailed dashboard and steering wheel! Marvellous work by someone there.

There are also some motorcycles that I do not recognise but which seem to be Corgi proptotypes. Perhaps there might have been a series of bikes in someone's plans at the time?

In another box were some Whizzwheel models and amongst them some strangely coloured Alfa Romeo P33s. 

I knew this car in white rather than metallic light pink, blue or rhododendron!

The Porsche 911 Targa also looked different. The wheels. Now they suited the car so much better than the ubiquitous Whizzwheels it came out with. I also know the car with a black interior for this shade, not the bright orange.

Turning the cars over, revealed an explanation.

These were all samples, with bases screwed on rather than riveted. How much easier our lives would be now had Corgi used screws throughout!

Now, imagine the scene. You'll see that we were using a table outside the hotel and had Corgi Toys spread here and there. An older chap walks by with his wife and remarks something to the effect of 'That's a nice display. I recognise some of those.'

We tell him who we are and what we're doing and he tells us that he also worked at Corgi Toys in Northampton. Mr Hancock was another Designer there. Quite an extraordinary coincidence. he proceeds to tell the young Mr Wilford that he is very much like his father, who Mr Hancock had known well and worked with in the later 1960s and he tells us that his picture is in The Great Book Of Corgi. and the young Mr. Wilford just happens to have that in the boot of his car! After some shuffling through the pages, Mr Hancock finds himself in one of the pictures again.

Mr Hancock did say that his specialist area was 'wheels'. Apparently he had the best set of compasses there at the time. I did briefly wonder whether we had met the man responsible for Whizzwheels but I decided not to pursue that subject. Another day, perhaps.

We move on to look at another box. This one contains gold-plated models. The Batmobile and Jaguar show signs of tarnishing that I presume would imply that it's not real gold plating but some other compound that looks nice and shiny and gold but reacts more to the air.

Looking much brighter are a Ferrari Berlinetta, a Rover 2000 (252 type) and Jaguar Mk X.

These show no signs of tarnishing and are all pretty much immaculate, just in need of a careful clean. there is also a lovely Land Rover (438 type) with some nice black paint detailing on top of the plating.

I believe that these gold-plated items would have been examples of maybe a dozen or so made as gifts for important visitors or people Corgi executives visited. These are just some that were not used or, perhaps, were samples as many of the items gave me the impression that they came from a Samples Department which was referred to in some paperwork.

The young Mr Wilford also had piles of books and catalogues. The two Great Books Of Corgi had been signed by Marcel Van Cleemput.

A nice collection of original catalogues were there too, most pretty much as new, with Canada or New Zealand and dates written on them. again, I am assuming these were samples from a print run.

Although featured here at the end, the first thing I actually had spotted was this metallic lime green Chevrolet Camaro, the 304 edition with Whizzwheels. 

The solid blue edition is scarce as it is, so to find another colour was a great surprise and, for me, one of the most exciting items there.

For others it may be the gold-plated Batmobile or the never- issued Daimler but I think my personal favourite out of all is the gold-plated Rover 2000. It's just the standard 252 car, plated. Wonderful.

All in all, a pleasant and fascinating afternoon with the remarkable coincidence of a chap wandering in to a hotel in Towcester meeting someone from New Zealand who had his photo in a book in his boot! But I find my life is full of surprises anyway. 

Now, I need help from you people out there as to what that plating may or may not be. I need to suggest to the young Mr Wilford how we should go about disposing or these items, or not, as the case may be. Whilst I cannot say that all or any of these will be available to purchase in the near future or, indeed, that I will get the task of arranging identification and sale, if you do wish to express an interest in any of them or are aware of similar items that had been sold in the past, then do please get in touch.

I am confident that, with a bit of help, I will be able to make as good a job of finding good new homes at worthwhile prices as the big auction houses.