2019 arrivals

Very early GS2 with a box and inner tray which displays the pony separately. Later editions had no holes for the pony, which was wrapped in card in the trailer. As seems appropriate, I have used a similarly rare and early trailer without a handle at the top of the ramp. It's not going to be cheap.

58 The Beast carrier with calves and the green mesh on top (although that's not shown here)

151 Scarce edition of the Lotus XI Le Mans in red with original screen

200 Ford Consul in mushroom brown. I though it was a cream one when I saw it advertised! I now have two of these to sell.

202M I also have two of these mid green Morris Cowleys with working motors

203M Vauxhall Velox with working motor

208 Nice Jaguar 2.4 with super original early box

208M Jaguar 2.4 with working motor

209 Riley Pathfinder Police Car lovely but missing the bell.

213 Jaguar 2.4 Fire Chief's Car - excellent and complete but missing a transfer

214 Ford Thunderbird (I bought this hoping it might have had shaped wheels).

231 Triumph Herald - very clean examples in each colour

234 Bentley Continental - superb examples in each of the main colours and one with a lovely original box too.

238 Jaguar Mk X in a really stunning deep cerise shade. I have two of these, equally good, one with an original box.

246 Chrysler Imperial with original box. All very good. I bought this for the golf caddy - the one sold with it is a replacement.

252 Rover 2000 in maroon with an odd wheel!

252 Rover 2000 in maroon with an original box.

318 Lotus Elan S2 - very scarce with cast wheels

323 Citroen DS19 Monte Carlo Edition with an original aerial!

384 The last 1:43 Corgi car. From 1977 a VW 1200 Rally Edition - only available for a short period.

508 Commer Holiday Bus with original luggage cover (but no cases)

These are all quite recent additions, listed in catalogue order. Please enquire for availability and price as there has been quite a bit of interest in some of these.

Corgi Toys @ 60 : Mercedes, Jeep and another Bedford

April 1959 brought a second Mercedes model to the toy shop shelves, #304. It is the 303 chassis with the interior element and screen removed and a hardtop with windows fitted instead. 

Most of these models were a creamy-yellow colour with a bright red hard top. There are all yellow examples out there, however, and these command quite a significantly higher price.

I believe they all have smooth, fixed wheels.

It was a long-lasting model, getting a strange form of suspension a couple of years later in 1961 - but no interior throughout its life. It was never as popular as the open roadster 303 model, always seeming a bit basic but nonetheless, an attractive and well-made casting.

The second release in April 1959 was something quite different; an American Jeep FC-150 Pick-up truck issued as #409. All were in pale blue or a slightly darker shade with a tin hook and these were not supplied with a canopy. The grille is painted red. Still no interior on Corgi models.

It is an odd model. Firstly, I do not know how you are supposed to replace a tyre on the spare wheel if it ever gets worn. Secondly, it appears to have been manufactured quite differently from all the models issued to date. The door outlines are proud of the main surface whereas all other models have them engraved into the body. Underneath, too, the construction looks quite different to other models. Maybe another chap took over that part of the process for a while. 

The Jeep may not have been the most exciting model but it lasted a long time and the casting was to be used in a wide variety of ways right up until the last release in 1968. It certainly seems to cause a great deal of confusion with sellers often advertising one version as another but, as far as I am aware, there was only one colour #409 (allowing for shades). It can be found with shaped wheels and these are not uncommon. I would also imagine that there could be a free spinning wheel version as this remained until the mid-1960s. That would be a pretty nice find, though.

The third item for this month is another use for the Bedford S cab, now pulling a Mobilgas branded tanker unit, Corgi Majors catalogue number 1110. This can be found with either fixed smooth or fixed shaped wheels but that is the only variation I am aware of. It was quite a good seller and the rear section lasts for ages, getting attached to a very odd-looking later Bedford TK cab in 1965!

Corgi Toys @ 60 : Ford Thunderbird and Racing Cars

March 1959 brought the second American car into the range and also the second 'Thunderbird'. This Thunderbird has four wheels, however, and is the big Ford with classic styling. The model seems to be a really very good reproduction. I am not sure about 1959 being included on the rear panel but otherwise it is a fabulous model.

It was available as 214 in pale green with a cream roof and 214M, the penultimate Mechanical model issued, in a delightful pink with a black roof. I am not aware of any colour variations, despite the 214 selling very well. The 214M, in contrast, was not popular and good examples now are very hard to find and expensive.

Even harder to find, although not necessarily more expensive, are the shaped wheel edition of 214, which would have been produced just as the model was reaching the end of production to make way for 214S in June 1962. The 214M will always have smooth wheels.

The other issue this month was Gift Set 5, containing the three racing cars now available 150 Vanwall in red, 151 Lotus in pale blue and 152 BRM in green. 

This set is even more difficult to find than the mechanical Ford Thunderbird.

Mercedes-Benz 300SL in gold with wire wheels

In a photo of big, blue plastic container full of old toys at an auction house somewhere in Brighton I spotted a Mercedes 300SL. On its side. It was the only one on its side and had it not been there and in that position I would not have realised that here was an example of the very rare 303S with wire wheels. The next problem was bidding enough to win it. There were ten or so decent-looking Corgis in the box and maybe twenty other models that I didn't recognise and a bag of catalogues or leaflets.

I was lucky. No-one else seems to have noticed it or considered it of much value. It was, fortunately too, one of those quite general auctions and these were the only vintage model cars appearing so it doesn't appear to have attracted the interest of dealers or wealthy Corgi collectors.

This is, indeed, quite a find. You may remember that some years ago I had wondered aloud whether these actually existed. The entry in the Corgi Catalogue of 1965 I had thought, at one point, referred to the model they brought out with cast spoke-effect wheels. Then I spotted a 304S at a dealer and began to search in earnest. I failed to find anything and finished up making my own!

This particular model is not just a rare one with those wheels, though, but also produced in the gold mirror finish which is quite different to the silver edition. This makes it even scarcer and I really do not expect to see another any time soon. The silver 304S sold for around £400. This one, I feel, should be worth a lot more. It is not in perfect condition but the windscreen is sound and there are only tiny marks to the bodywork. The slightly messy stripe tends to spoil its appearance but I am not going to attempt to clean that. Reflections and shadows really do not do justice to the appearance of this model. The driver is original and the old suspension system works.

I still have my doubts about the 309 Aston Martin Competition ever being issued with wire wheels. There was a nice normal edition in the box and I am tempted to change its wheels but, as an early type with an open vent on the bonnet, it wouldn't be right. I'll just have to keep looking.

I shall also get a box for the Mercedes if I can find one at a modest price. 

Corgi Toys @ 60: Two tone and Bloodhound missiles

It would be the case that early 1959 issues were destined to have short lives. All those issued in January and these, issued in February, were withdrawn in less than two years. 

Firstly, the Powers That Be decided that interest in their original launch models could be revived and sales extended a little further if they were given a new 'two-tone' look. Whereas the original issues can be found in a range of colours, these six appeared in just these colours. 

You'll see that some of the paint schemes are more accurate than others!

February 1959 also saw changes to the Bedford CA model, the later single screen casting being used now with its revised front end and minor changes elsewhere, as well as a ribbed roof. The first issued model to get this mark II treatment was the 404 Dormobile. It can be found with a 50-50 scheme as well as a blue body and yellow roof. Each of those variations is scarce and good examples usually cost a fortune.

The Riley is conspicuous by its absence and would have been a lovely model in two-tone. I guess that the red 205, which lasted longer than most of these original issues, was selling well enough. The Standard Vanguard III had, of course, already got the two-tone treatment.

The other issue this month is a reappearance of the splendidly detailed and quite impressive Bloodhound missile, mounted on a khaki trolley. Some nice engineering clasps the missile nose and can be used to raise it whilst maintaining its horizontal aspect. Both items were included in Gift Set 4 and will be in Gift Set 6 later in the year, as well as being issued individually some time later.

It is an odd combination when towed by the RAF Land Rover, with which it is coupled in each Gift Set. The missile seems always to be white and the detachable side elements yellow. I have seen the rocket ends in red or just silver and the vanes or wings can be white but seems usually to be yellow.