Corgi Toys @ 60 : the Wickerwork Mini-Cooper and a Beast Carrier

 

November 1965 brought us the Beast Carrier in an individual box. Previously it had only been available in Gift set 33 with a Ford 5000 Tractor. It still has the four different calves inside on a card 'straw' base and a green plastic mesh above.

I am not aware of any variations to this model in its life from 1965 to a quite extraordinarily late 1972.

Also lasting quite a while in the catalogue will be the Mini-Cooper with deluxe wickerwork as it says on the box, with Morris Mini-Cooper on the base, this being essentially a way to give the #227 model a longer life.

It starts with the old type 1 casting and normal shaped wheels. Later the Type 2 mini casting is used and then cast wheels get added too. I seem to recall that I have had both transition models - type 1 with cast wheels and type 2 with shaped wheels - but I may need to check that before you go looking for a missing variation! It would seem unlikely that both exist but that did turn out to be the case with the #416 RAC Radio rescue Land Rover with the headboard and wheel types, so who knows what was possible?

The 'Wickerwork' comprises plastic panels which were quite easy to remove without damaging the black paintwork. So you may well encounter many black Mini-Coopers with red roofs! 

The later models are often used to make reproductions of the Pop Art Mini as they have the right casting, jewels, interior, wheels and base.

The film Shot In The Dark was released in the UK in 1965 and starred Peter Sellers and this gave much publicity to the stylish (for those times) Mini - something upon which Corgi were particularly good at cashing in.

Some interesting little Imps

 Many, many years ago I came across a #251 Hillman Imp in bronze with jewelled fog lights. This week another one arrived and, unlike the first one, this is in pretty reasonable condition.

It is a strange model. It has the same jewelled fog lights as were added to the first Monte Carlo Hillman Imp #328 but the windscreen is the later style with two horizontal lines as was fitted to the second Monte Carlo (Sunbeam) Imp #340.

It is the same bronze colour as was used for the Transporter Gift Set models, which were also available individually in boxes for some lucky buyers at the time. Although this one came with an original #251 box I have no idea whether that was added later and believe this would have been part of a late set and not issued individually. With its normal shaped wheels it is not the last of the #251 production as I also have the delightful and very scarce edition with cast wheels.

The timeline for Imps starts with the blue (and maybe individual bronze) issues in November 1963.

These were withdrawn from dealers' order lists in 1966 and were absent in the 1967 Corgi Catalogue.

The Car Transporter Gift Sets 41/48 were available from December 1966 to 1968 and these contained the bronze edition.

The first rally edition, #328, had a short life from January 1966 to February 1967 with the #340 edition appearing in March 1967 and staying around until quite late in 1969.

All #328 models had shaped wheels and no lines on the windscreen. They can be found with either yellow or white interiors.

The double lines on the screen were absent from the #328 model but do appear on all #340 models, even the early ones with normal shaped wheels. Later (and most) #340 models have cast wheels.

All the 506 Police Imps were the Sunbeam version, using the #340 style of base, and all these had the double lines on the screen and cast wheels.The Police models often display marks at the front where the holes for four jewels were filled in.

So it would seem that cast wheels were first fitted to Imps in late 1967 or early 1968 and the one I have in bronze would have come from one of the last Transporter sets in 1968.

The bronze edition with jewelled fog lights is likely to have arisen when the #328 was replaced by the #340 and bodies given a bronze coat of paint instead of the metallic blue and, as this would have been in early 1967, I can only imagine the small batch getting this treatment were sold in a few Transporter Gift sets in early-mid 1967. Although it is possible that they were sent out to dealers as a sort of one-off addition, maybe free to them, I suspect the box with this one has been added at some time between 1967 and 2025.

I shall, therefore, put this one with the cast wheel edition in my own collection cabinet and transfer the box to one or other of my #251 models that I have available for sale. I might sell the other two but they will not be cheap as I do think they're pretty scarce models and, at the moment, I have nothing to compare them with in terms of valuation.

I do seem to be accumulating rather a lot of models like this - genuinely very scarce ones for which I have little guidance as to what they may be worth. It is probably the case that values for items like these will very much depend upon the depth of the pockets of those who would like them. For my own part, my resources are quite limited and, even if something wonderful appeared on the market that I had always wanted but never owned, my limit would have to reside in the three figure numbers. For someone fortunate enough to have a far greater amount of funds available, and with other living expenses taken care of so that whatever he has he may spend freely on a hobby such as Corgi Toys, then should he wish to have a model, and that model is likely to appear just once in a blue moon, then he will pay a vast sum for the satisfaction with just a mere small dent in his bank balance.

Corgi Model Club Mini Magnifique again

 

The Corgi Model Club issued another Mini 'Magnifique' recently, this time in metallic green and with wide bands on the sliding roof.

It always struck me as a remarkably sold model, bearing in mind how many things opened or moved, and the Club edition has that same feeling of strength, with a high quality finish, inside and out.

The axle ends, as for the blue one, of course, look a bit large but not big enough to be hub caps and just look slightly odd. This is the case with several Club models.

Both the box and the certificate indicate that this is a different model to the blue edition issued in late 2023.

The blurb on the reverse of the Certificate reminds us that the first Mini had been issued in 1960 and remarks that this model had disappointing sales. The 237,000 that I have seen as recorded sales does not seem too bad, pretty much on par with many other models released in 1969 and 1970, if one ignores the favourites like police cars and racing cars. It was actually not issued until December 1968 so a withdrawal in 1970 would imply this model being available for dealers over a rather shorter period than two years, in which case the sales were not that bad. Indeed, they were four times the figures for the Monkeemobile. Read into that what you will!

It is a nice addition to the Model Club collection and might spice up interest in collectors now looking for the original in the many forms I discussed in a previous article.

Corgi Toys @ 60: James Bond and an Ice Cream Van

 

Yes, this is the month when, 60 years ago, Corgi's most successful model and probably the one they were to become famous across the world for, was issued. #261 James Bond's Aston Martin. It's gold and not silver and a DB4 not a DB5 but no-one seemed too bothered at the time.

You will. I am sure already be familiar with all the variations for this model and this is neither to time nor the place to repeat them all. Have a look in my catalogue where you'll see as many as I have listed. In its massive production quantities it would be inevitable that castings get worn, adjusted and so on.

The other issue was the second Ford Thames Ice Cream Van. #447 had been issued just 7 months earlier but now someone at Corgi decided that it should play a tune so they stopped producing the first one and adapted the second by inserting a device which played notes when an enormous handle at the back was rotated. 

Gone are the old chap selling the ice cream, the young lad with one and the pretty display plinth that came with the first. The music device comprised fine tines that were 'plinked' as a shaft with cam extensions in different positions rotated and many have since got broken tines so the tune doesn't quite work as it should. 

This was, incidentally, the very first model that the Corgi Model Club people decided to make again from scratch. They made a super job of it, so accurate, in fact that the tines break on that model just as quickly! 

Good working models of both the October issues in original boxes with instructions and packing are both very expensive now. Considering how many of the Bond models were made and how many there must be in good working order still in circulation, I am always amazed at the prices they fetch. High prices for the Ice Cream Van are perfectly understandable. It sold only 146000, not a lot in those days for a Corgi issue and very few will have either a box or a working music device, even fewer with both.

The Aston Martin, however, sold nearly 4 million, nearly 27 times as many and, whilst it was a complicated bit of equipment, the features have been remarkably resilient to young people's play. Whilst there are plenty with seats that don't eject very well or at all, there are also many that do still work well. Suspension fails on these and as they get older the plastic becomes ever more brittle and liable to fail so numbers of top quality models will diminish but I still maintain that it's a lot easier to find than a nice Ice Cream Van with working tunes.

I guess there are simply so many fans of film and TV-related models that there is a far wider and better moneyed market for Bond than Wall's Ice Cream.

2³ Magnifque variations

 

An update on future Corgi Model Club issues:

It looks like the green #334 Mini will have the wider stripes. For many collectors, I suspect this will be the first they knew about there being two versions of the sliding roof. However, I have to admit to learning for the first time that their blue issue with a silver steering wheel and green one with a gold steering wheel reflect the different components in the original.

Despite my passion for 'variations' in the original models, I have tended not to be too concerned to date with the colour of a steering wheel. This one is a little interesting, though, so now I need to establish whether each colour can have each colour of steering wheel. I have already established that there are both green and blue models with each type of sliding roof. If there is no correlation between colour, roof and steering wheel (and I have no reason to think there should be) then we'll have 2³ different models, that's 8 in plain English, to find! Oh dear!

Back in Model Club land, the models I will be adding to my collection will be the silver grille #270 which, although not marked as a 'member's only' edition was announced as such originally, with the plebs only getting the gold-coloured grille on an order from the shop. I am wondering now whether both might, in fact, be sold via the shop? I shall also get the MGA, suitably clad in Reform Party colours, as I quite like these 'different' models. (OK, I know that all the Club issues are different in one way or another - I am referring here to a totally new colour).

The Aston Martin could be worth getting for the packaging alone, especially if the printer switches to a matt ink (I assume it is the ink that has to change or is it the card's coating?)

Corgi Kit 601 re-issue: the Batley "Leofric" Garage

 

The Corgi Model Club garages arrived a few days ago. This is the first Corgi Kit from the Club and, whereas I am not too bothered about their cars nowadays, I do like the idea of being able to complete my Garage Set, the Batley Leofric garages being the only items missing from that wonderful Gift Set. It would be particularly wonderful if the kits required for the Silverstone set also become available one day. These are so difficult to find these days, and always so expensive. The good Silverstone kits that I have had I have not wanted to open to make up the model and you will definitely not find a single nice made-up one that has survived intact in a hurry either! So, whereas we can buy most of the re-issued cars as originals in pretty decent condition for not much more than the Club price (notable exceptions understood), these kits are another matter altogether. So well done, Model Club folk!

So let's see what we've got.

It's all really nice and just like the original in almost all respects. The box is the only disappointment, being as shiny as anything and this is all the more noticeable due to its dimensions. I am quite sure a word with the printer would lead to a more matt finish and all would be well with the world in that respect, at least.

The individual pieces are all nicely finished, no sanding or removal from sprues here. I even appeared to have three of the very tiny 'bolts', two being required in the mechanism for the door which could easily get lost. I use the past tense because now I look for it, it is nowhere to be seen! I suspect I have knocked it down the back of the immovable unit upon which I made and photographed the construction illustrated.

The Assembly Instructions are a very close copy to the original, with just references to the Club in place of Corgi Toys. Nicely done. I was concerned that, in this present age of control by one or another government department, who appear to assume that few have any common sense and even those few may have some allergy or tendency to get injured, over-anxious or just generally upset from involvement the product, we might have had DO NOT EAT THE PARTS or BEWARE GLUE IS ADHESIVE or DO NOT PUT HEAD IN BAG included in the text to comply with some EU regulation that, despite not being in the EU any more, we still need to be told. 

I smile at the instruction to 'Recycle' the box. I am so glad that we were not so encouraged with the originals, the packaging often now being worth as much as the content, notably significantly more in some cases. The 1965 Monte Carlo Set springs to mind, with the cardboard regularly making a cool £1500 or more at auctions than the models inside. I shudder to think, in fact, how much the outer cardboard for the Garage and Silverstone Gift Sets would be worth, as they make several thousand pounds as complete sets and the contents, whilst not as easy to find as the three rally cars, would still total only hundreds not thousands. But that's another story . . . maybe an nice idea for one or two Christmas Club re-issues? (Just not shiny, please!)

As you will have seen at the start of all this, I have successfully completed one of the three I need to make. It is quite fun, but the door mechanism is tricky and you may need the assistance of a child with small fingers or some tweezers. My glue does not set quickly and I should really have followed the instruction to take my time. Trying to attach the very last two pieces, gable covers or whatever they're called, the whole affair objected to being squeezed in a particular direction and I was very nearly back to square 1½. I can see a small gap  which I need to address but otherwise I was quite pleased at my progress and doubt you'll struggle unduly.

At just a few pounds too, you can always get another if things do go badly wrong! That simply is not the case if you were trying to make an original!

Corgi Toys @ 60: The Express Service Truck and another Land Rover

 

September 1965 brought us a model which has become something of a favourite amongst many collectors. This is the first appearance of the Ford 'H' series cab and it is a particularly attractive model with just enough features to make it interesting without getting too complicated.

The bits and pieces attached to the cab, though, are pretty vulnerable and few horns have survived without being bent down and you'll be lucky if the exhaust and mirrors are still well-attached. This is always finished in a rich metallic blue with silver plastic doors on a red chassis for the trailer. In the box there should be a mechanic who looks familiar from 1505, the Garage Mechanics set.

The original issue had the usual shaped wheels and large tyres, replaced at some point with the new standard Majors wheel, larger and more detailed in two styles for front and rear. The model has a long life, available through until 1971 when it was sold in a window box and can be seen with gold horns instead of bare metal.

The other model this month is a Chippefields Circus model, the Public Address Land Rover from September 1964 in Chipperfields colours - red Land Rover and blue fittings. In place of the politician is a clown (which always makes me smile!) and a monkey takes the place of the girl assistant.

You will find this model with or without a label on the bonnet and also with or without a hook at the back. Editions with a hook appear to be rarer.

The plastic elements may sometimes be seen in different shades of blue-green as several batches appear to have been issued with a quite different colour to either the blue or yellow. I thought that an example I have might have been due to fading in sunlight but the colour is consistent in areas here the sun wouldn't have reached and inside, visible where a corner had broken.