All's quiet on the Corgi front

 My initial purpose in writing this time was to let you know that there had been no new issues from Corgi in May 1965 and hence no 'Corgi Toys @ 60' article this month. It has, though, been pretty quiet generally, with few sales recently. I have just set up a 15% discount across most of my models and that seems to have encouraged some customers to buy something they'd been watching for a while, probably hoping I'd do something like that! 

I have noticed some very high prices being asked for quite normal issue models from one or two sellers that I don't know. Maybe someone has acquired a collection and is just putting them all up at pretty crazy prices in the hope that someone really needs a particular item and none others are around at the time. Generally, however, I would say that prices for all but those in pristine condition with bright and perfect boxes, membership leaflets et al have fallen this year. My feeling is that the advent of the Model Club issues has had quite an impact on prices for day-to-day issues in average condition. Collectors can now choose between a play-worn original without a box and a shiny new model with a shiny new box for a similar outlay. The Club models are mostly very accurate reproductions. Yes, they have a few things which may not be quite right but for many people I can understand they are a nice reminder of younger days and will look good on the shelf. As I have written before, my own choice has been to spend the £30 or so on old models but I am sure they have had some effect and reduced the number of people looking to buy the more worn originals.

So let's have a look at what I have been getting this month. 

Firstly I have managed to find a really nice example of the scarce second issue of the Milk Tanker. According to the records, there really were not many of these sold and it ought to rank highly in the list of scarce 'normal issue' Corgis but often gets over-looked. This may be because the tanker section is exactly the same as the later first issue models (with its shaped fixed wheels and no suspension). I have seen what appear to be variations in the coverage of blue paint on the tanker, some having the blue across the whole of the lower side.

This variation, however, I have only seen on the first issue. It is, I suppose, entirely possible that there could be both designs for each of the first and second issues - and because it is simple to swap them around, no-one can ever be completely sure.

Fortunately, the shade of blue used for the TK cab is different to that used for the same cab pulling the Machinery Carrier so, whilst some sellers may try to switch them around, you should be able to spot the difference. I didn't, unfortunately, and before the one above came along, I bought a 1131 cab with a tanker section and realised they didn't match! I have since split them and hope to find a spare 'milk' blue Big Bedford cab and a 1131 trailer to attach the respective parts to one day.

 

Next is the cute little Sunbeam Imp Panda Car. I couldn't resist this as they seldom have good suspension these days and this one is fine. It is one of the later editions with cast wheels and with no indication the other four holes where jewels were inserted for the Monte Carlo edition. The first Panda was pale blue and white and there are two versions of the later black and white, one having only the roof painted black.

A quite worn example of the first model in the Catalogue - #200 Ford Consul - here in a not particularly inspiring shade of mushroom-brown - comes next. This was sold with the green Morris below and a couple of other models on a Car Transporter at a very low price, just a few pounds. I can only imagine few people bothered to look closely at the very grubby pictures as the two old models were quite nice. The windows are intact and the base has only a small amount of rust and it is not at all bad for nearly a model nearly 70 years old!

Nice to have a Morris Cowley with a smooth working motor. I still have to work on the inside of the windows but they seem undamaged, just dirty. Like the Ford, it's been tossed in and out of storage boxes over the years and played with but is all original with no annoying attempts by children (or more recent adults, for that matter!) to touch in anything.

More expensive was this other #202M Morris, in a pleasant and more unusual shade of very pale green. This one even has an original 202M box and a motor that works.

My own very first Jaguar Mk X was pale green, not a very nice colour for the car in my view, but I had no idea at the time that there was any other colour issued. This pale blue would have been the other option had the man in the toy shop gone to the trouble of opening a few of the other boxes but I never thought of asking in those days. I do remember changing mine for the cerise model when I spotted that a year or two later on his shelf but I was still none the wiser as to all the many other delightful shades which might have been available.

A schoolfriend once appeared at my house in one of these and took me for what was probably the most frightening drive of my life. At the ripe old age of 16, I think too, as I believe these could be driven on a motorcycle licence. (Not sure about that - indeed, in those days, we didn't really think too much about it.) Corgi produced this little Heinkel Trojan 'Bubble' Car for many years and in a host of colours too, including shades of lilac or pink. Later models were orange with cast wheels. I have often wondered how it stayed in the dealers' order list for so many years when other models came and went after just a few years. The Model Club will be providing one of these too in a while.

This is one of the models that you really do need to check that it has reasonably good tyres fitted at the back! They appear impossible to replace!

Another oldie from the days before suspension is this Austin A40. This is a slightly scarcer edition, though, being the #216 model without a friction motor but finished in the 216M colours. I bought this one for my friend Andi in Germany who actually spotted it before me but with a seller who didn't like posting anything abroad..

The last of my 'real Corgi' arrivals this month is this lovely Mercedes 220SE. When I first started building my old collection again and doing the catalogue I remember that the first model I wanted to acquire was a 'blue Mercedes 220SE'. I had seen one in the intervening years and, as I had only had the black and cerise models myself, this looked like something special that I thought I had missed, rather like all the colours of the Jaguar Mk Xs. I was aware of a cream edition but the blue was what I wanted first. It was only a little later that I realised that Corgi had created a new model #253 with no steering and a revised design for the boot lid as well as an extra pillar at the sides.

So then, of course, I had to find the metallic cerise version too. The blue, however, has always been a model I find hard to resist when I see one at a reasonable price. It really ought to have steering but it's not, unfortunately, just a simple matter of swapping bases. Whilst the other Mercedes 220SE all have the usual shades of lemon or red interior, the blue one can be found with cream or yellow. The yellow appears to be a lot scarcer but I have only my own experience in trying to find one to support that.

It would seem entirely feasible for there to be the same two variations of interior for the metallic cerise model too although I have only encountered lemon myself. I have seen what appear to be distinctly lighter or darker shades of the metallic finish in both cerise and blue but I cannot determine whether that is just how images have been reproduced. Until I can place two real models side by side I cannot say any more about that.

For these models you need to make sure the icon on top of the grille is in place. It can often break off. 

Finally the Corgi Model Club have supplied the #436 Citroën Safari. It looks good in a quite bright yellow which I thought was unlike the original but my old example looks pretty much the same shade. This is the second appearance of the Citroën in this form and is another of the many 're-working' of existing castings that members have been receiving. Prior to the Yellow Submarine (which itself may re-appear with white and yellow hatches and the alternative exterior decoration) we had the Bentley Continental and another Oldsmobile and another Impala. Whilst one appreciates the need to make the most use of costly initial production and design costs, the recent and expected re-issues could benefit from a few more fresh models.

One of my customers in the States was most concerned about the proposed 145% tariff on goods imported from China which I believe might have had quite an impact on the Club's business there. I hear that there may be some relief, however, and , indeed, at the time of writing there may be some reconsideration of the higher figure. I did offer to supply customers there from Britain and just declare them as previously owned items being transferred from my collection to someone else's with a rather lower liability for duty. That might have been an interesting business development to counter the relative quiet!

The odd Chipperfields Parade Vehicle

 

You may remember that a collector wrote to me some time ago about this Chipperfields Circus Parade Vehicle with its odd olive green rear section. I hadn't seen one before and, as this appeared to be an all original model, I wondered whether it might have been an early sample.

Then the one shown below appeared for sale on Ebay last week.

The seller did mention that it was different to the usual models but he was referring to it being a blue Land Rover and not red! The blue was some really bad painting that someone had done. As the base was still intact I decided to try and see if I could get the blue paint off and, with some scraping, I've managed to get most of it off, although some splodges remain on the rear section. I shall attempt to mask everything like the windows, wheels and that rear piece and restore what should be red and add a sticker to the bonnet. I can't do much about the missing speakers, of course, and it's never going to look that great but it's worth keeping. I may even install a clown if I find one that's complete and inexpensive in a wrecked normal model somewhere.

So it may be the case that a batch of these were made with that olive plastic rear section. I can only imagine that this would have been an initial issue (assuming it isn't a factory sample) and that there will be a few around, although, from my experience over the last 10 years or more, they're by no means common!

I've never been a fan of the Circus models and I had to go back to 2014 for a photo of the normal #487 issue from my own collection. I did wonder whether the Chipperfields blue plastic might fade in the sun to that olive colour but this seems not to be the case. Where a piece has broken I can see the same shade of green inside and even areas which would get no light are the same colour. So I am now hoping to find a little more information about this one. Whether a factory sample or an early issue to dealers, this would seem to be quite a valuable model if you have one in reasonable condition. Mine will probably remain in a collection of oddments without any significant value but too mysterious and, maybe, rare to discard.

Corgi Toys @ 60: Two Old Renaults and a Mustang

 I know what I preferred when I saw the new arrivals in April 1965 at the local toy shop. Like many other children at the time, I didn't give the Corgi Classic Renaults a second glance. They may have been well-made but they had no play value and parts which could easily fall off and screens which would not survive mothers dropping the model into wooden toy boxes every evening.

This came in a sturdy box and illustrated lid, with the model protected by a piece of foam rubber which no-one now is quite sure how it should be placed. I think it goes on top of the model but then the box lid doesn't fit as well as it does when the wheels are pressing down into the foam when it's placed underneath.

There were two colours issued at the same time: a pale primrose and something approaching lavender, each with matching wheels. I have seen some variations in the colour of the primrose one and there are different finishes to the lamps but you can still pick up near-perfect models in boxes for just a few pounds, 60 years later.

This will be the penultimate Classics issue in this era, with the final one coming next year in the ghastly shape of the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. (I am not counting the Basil Brush or Hardy Boys editions!)

Now, moving on to what is one of my favourites and a 'proper Corgi' from this era, the Ford Mustang Fastback 2+2.

This delightful model comes in four colours and three wheel types. There is pea green, metallic blue, metallic silver and metallic lilac. The early issues will have plain shaped wheels. Most of the production has wire wheels with some later editions getting the cast 'louvre/spoke effect' wheels.

In my experience the most common wheel types are the wire wheels, with shaped wheels being quite scarce on the pea green and lilac models in particular and I haven't seen many in these colours with cast wheels either, now I think about it.

This is only the second issue by Corgi to have opening doors, the first being the Ghia L6.4 some 18 months earlier. They're quite chunky doors and many would not close nicely in line. They did have a half-open widow attached to the door, however, which was a new feature. With chrome-plated bumpers and jewels for headlamps this was just what we wanted at the time. The seats folded down inside too, although the pale cream interior would soon get discoloured. Interestingly, the silver edition had a deep red interior. All the models had a Corgi dog on the rear shelf. In the Ghias, the dog would come in two sizes and I have yet to research whether the small dog came first or the other way around. I am also not sure whether there are different sizes of dogs in this model but my guess is that they're all the same.

The suspension on these models is vulnerable and you'll now find many that have collapsed. It is provided by plastic elements in the chassis which have become brittle and crack very easily now. Do be careful with any models that you have where the suspension has survived.

This model will be around for a long time in one form or another, as you'll discover, although you'll need to wait until 2031 for the final one!

An attractive Toyota 2000GT

 

This Toyota 2000GT is the Whizzwheels edition of the model that had previously appeared as the 338 James Bond model (with missiles that fired from the boot). Corgi used some gorgeous paint on this one and you'll find it in a liquid metallic finish of either blue or purple. Apart from the wheels, this is a very attractive model. So when one arrived with some faults which I couldn't repair without removing the base, I decided to do something about those wheels!

The result is lovely as wire wheels really do suit the car.

And here's my purple original Toyota, missing an aerial, with Whizzwheels.

Be a little careful with these as the Whizzwheels are very easy to remove, so dealers can replace them with red spot wheels and claim that they're very scarce or something like that. They were not fitted with red spot wheels at the factory. You may also find some with a much later style of wheel which was not actually available until some time after production of this model ceased.

The blue model will invariably have the first type of Whizzwheels - the pepperpot style. There may be a few blue models with the later four crowns style, which also seems to be the normal wheel for the later purple issue as in my example above.

Corgi Model Club: The Bentley Continental in black over silver

 

From the Corgi Model Club, this month's issue is the lovely 224 Bentley Continental in the splendid black over silver finish that I have always thought looked the best.

You'll see that they have chosen to fit normal black tyres to this one rather than the grey type used for the green and cream issue. The original Corgi issue, of course, would have had the grey type but I think I prefer the black on this one. It's simple to change them anyway.

As always, the production is first class and it really is a stunning model. Looking at this image now as I write, it seems to me that the fog lamps are slightly larger than the original.  The jewelled lights are still plastic which I find always to be a bit of a pity. These things are very cheap to buy in glass and look so much better. If it were easy to extract the plastic ones I would swap them over but I suspect it won't be.

I had to check with my own original. You'll see now that the fog lamps are pretty accurate but it is the grille that is significantly wider on the Club issue. I remember now noticing this on the green and cream one way back in November 2021.

On my model the boot lid doesn't stay open at its widest setting but it does close in line.

In the box you'll find the model arrives extremely well-protected with not only that thin foam wrapped around both ends but there's tape wrapped around that as well which makes a tight fit around the front and back chrome elements. You have to be very careful when removing this because it is so tight and there is a risk of damage either from whatever tool use use to cut the tape or just from the foam catching the emblem at the front or overriders or a light fitting at the rear when extracted.

With the model you get an updated certificate and what I believe must be the first catalogue of CMC models. That will be worth keeping carefully for the future, I think, as it will be changed quite quickly.

The 224 box looks the same as for the first issue but is actually different on the information panel with reference to 'black and silver' and different layout of the panels and a new bar code reference too.

Yellow, red and orange

 

It was really nice to return home from a week or so abroad and find three new arrivals waiting for me. Each comes from the very early days of fixed smooth wheels and no suspension or interior but they all have a certain charm and I am more than pleased to add them to my store, with one maybe staying in my collection.

First is a well-played-with 203 Vauxhall Velox. It came with the Standard Vanguard (below) so is a sort of bonus. It's the second edition of the Vauxhall, Corgi deciding that a fresh coat of paint might help them sell a few more in 1959. Most of the early range get a two-tone finish in 1959 and for Vauxhall the previous dull yellow or cream turns to quite a bright and cheery yellow with a red roof (and window frames). I think all these second editions had chrome fluting on the bonnet. This was seemingly randomly missing on the first editions, both in normal and Mechanical form.

The second is another Vauxhall Velox but this time it's the 203M model with not only a nice, smoothly working motor but also a pretty nice coat of orange paint (and no fluting). This is a notably scarcer finish as most I have encountered have been red. Having said that, all the red ones I have had to date have only had, at best, 50% of the paint left! I don't know why but these mechanical Vauxhalls in red seemed to lose their darker paint in large chunks. It's not as if they could have hit skirting boards or other models at great speed. Perhaps they simply couldn't be moved out of the way of a speeding non-mechanical model quickly enough. Anyway, it's nice to have the orange version which still has most of its paint. You'll see that this one also has tinted windows. These appear to be about as common as clear windows on all the older models.

Now for the star of the three, not that it really looks very special at first glance. This is a model that only a few months ago I wrote about, querying whether it actually existed or was just a production sample being offered by some dealer at a massive four figure sum at an auction I had spotted. Well, as several readers assured me, it was an issued model. They'd had one or seen one and I had to admit to being wrong that time. It was just so unusual for me to find a completely new variation after all these years! And now here it is in the flesh, on my desk and I can say it is, indeed, real.

Yes, this one is pretty worn but all original and no-one has been taking it apart. It is the Standard Vanguard III in a pale yellow with a red roof and window frames.

This one has the first type of red finish but the later type of base. I have examples of the normal pale green and red edition having the type 1 red paint with a grey base.

The yellow colour could be one of the many shades I have found for the 207M and the view is generally taken that when the 207was discontinued there may have been a batch of models in the 207M colour that needed to be sold as 207s. So a coat of red paint was added across the pale yellow to produce what I suspect must be quite a small number of these models.

Earlier thoughts that these had been accidentally painted in the second edition 203 colours are not correct.

So that's a new addition to the catalogue and my collection! It's not the prettiest of cars but, judging by how many I have seen in all the years I have been looking, it ranks up there with the blue Mini Marcos in the list of rare issued Corgi models.

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.