Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2023 i Collectors Gazette

British Toy Auctions featured both traditional and more modern toys in its recent sales: a real medley of collectables, in fact. A collection of 16 Rock Lords, carded by Tonka, and dated 1986, included Solitare, Marbles and Narlizard. A few imperfections were noted, but nothing major. The lot sold for £600 plus premium. The Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles Footcruiser by Bandai was mint, with parts still attached to the sprues and in sealed clear bags. This odd lot was taken to £400. Corgi’s James Bond Aston Martin DB5 was more familiar fare, this example in the rarer slimline box. The car was in near mint condition with only a few minor marks that appeared to be original factory finish issues. With all the documents present, as well as the spare…

John Good win’s last sale encompassed a wealth of collectables, from the commonplace to the downright obscure. There was just one Bayko lot: a red boxed version, with white and red right angled bricks, showed that it dated from the late 1930s. Although the box was battered, it was interesting in that the set contained the brown bases, which were a pre-war feature. At £30 it was a bargain for someone. Bagatelles, those sloping board games with a wooden push stick and large ball bearings, have a certain following; after all, these were the precursors of automated pinball machines. A Chad Valley bagatelle in green fetched £15 whilst an older model, the Corinthian, also in wood, sold for just £10. As for bears, there were several lots of assorted bruins,…

Flying Scotsman, the world’s famous steam locomotive, turned 100 on the 24th February 2023. Synonymous with the golden age of rail travel, the locomotive is renowned as a feat of design and engineering. It was given the name 'Flying Scotsman' in 1924 after the daily 10am London to Edinburgh rail service. To celebrate, the National Railway Museum (part of the Science Museum Group) has revealed a centenary programme to honour the celebrity engine, including a Flying Scotsman tour around the UK, exhibitions, activities and so much more - the occasion is set to be amazing! The locomotion is a star attraction in the collection of the York museum, where it is a working museum exhibit. Hornby is proud to be lead sponsor of the centenary programme, building on a longstanding…

It was a year of huge contrasts and technological firsts, some of which were more notorious than famous. Take air-to-air combat, when a North Korean jet was shot down by a US aircraft, becoming the first recorded jet-to-jet dogfight in history. The US continued with its cutting edge, when the first concentrated milk was test-marketed by The Clover Dairy Company in Wilmington, Delaware. It also was a lucrative year for dishonest folk: the Brinks Armoured Car Depot in Boston, Massachusetts, was broken into by a group of 11 men in a well-planned robbery, masterminded by one Anthony Pino. Within half an hour some US$2.7m had been snatched. Down under, the Australian Prime Minister voted to use the Union Jack on a blue background for the Australian national flag, rather than…

Of all the diecast character models we’ve looked at over the years, this range has to be the most unique. It is the only series to be based on a fantasy film, the only models to be licensed from New Line Cinema, and the only all-new series made by Corgi during its short-lived ‘Corgi International’ phase. The movie The Golden Compass was based on the novel Northern Lights, the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy by British author Philip Pullman. These stories are set on a parallel world, which is ruled by an authoritarian religious government known as the Magisterium. However, even more bizarre is the fact that on this Earth, peoples’ souls are visible, and take the form of small animals known as ‘daemons’. These daemons are…

Traditions, by their very nature, tend to be passed down. My father would often wax lyrical with memories of the Eagle annuals he received as a boy at Christmas. This probably explains why I too received annuals at Christmas. It was also something to keep us kids quiet whilst the circus that is Christmas dinner was prepared and the house made ready for guests. My own memories of these annuals are a mixed affair. When I was very young, I was given lots of hand me down annuals, many from the 1950s. As a Seventies child it was like opening the pages to a strange and unfamiliar world. My favourite was a 1958 Lion annual depicting a scene from outer space… that the actual moon landing had rendered ridiculous only…

CORGI MODEL CLUB FORD ZEPHYR POLICE MOTORWAY PATROL CAR Price: £31.99 Scale: 1/48 Release: out now The latest vintage Corgi reproduction from the Corgi Model Club is another really excellent replica, packaged in the usual very evocative style box. ›› www.corgimodelclub.com WIKING CLAAS AXION 950 TRACTOR Price: £94.95 Scale: 1/32 Release: out now For the latest edition of its updated Axion model, Wiking has badged it as the 950 tractor. The well-built model features many changes. ›› www.wiking.de More new releases reviewed at ccofgb.co.uk LEGO SPEED CHAMPIONS PAGANI UTOPIA Price: £19.99 Release: out now A buildable model brilliantly captures the distinctive design of this spectacular Italian hypercar. Pagani and LEGO Group have teamed up for the first time so car fans can now collect, build and display this model. ››…

Just arrived at the Buckie Model Centre is its latest exclusive commission through Holland Oto. The latest livery on the VDL Futura 1/87 scale model is that of popular coach operator, Shearings (Watts Coaches). Priced at just £42.00, it is the 11th livery in the ‘The British Collection’ and is a certificated limited edition of only 105 pieces. The mirrors are supplied separately for safety during shipping and can be found fastened to the insert in the box. To find out more and to order, visit www.buckiemodelcentre.com, or call 01542 831733.…

There’s a leafy street in south London suburbia which boasts identical semi detached mock Tudor houses for its entire length, except for one interloper. This house has the temerity to be made of concrete, rather than brick. Where the rest have timber highlights, this one has no ornamentation. Worst of all, instead of a tiled gable roof, this one effectively has no roof, because it is flat. That was our house. People would say; “Oh, you live in that house with the flat roof” with a mixture of horror and sympathy. It was actually quite comfortable living in a minimalist Bauhaus pillbox. But when we moved, it took ages for it to sell because it just didn't fit in. Now of course, it’s become collectable, and the house features in…

This fabulous racing car celebrates its 70th anniversary next year. The car’s first outing took place at Silverstone in May 1954 – known then as the ‘Vanwall Special’. It became known simply as the ‘Vanwall’ in 1955. After a period of constant development and a re-design it went on to win the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July, 1957. Though Tony Brooks had started the race, it was Stirling Moss at the wheel of the Vanwall with its flowing lines and robust tail-fin, as it thundered past the chequered flag at the end of the race. It was Britain’s first major Grand Prix victory since 1923. The Corgi Vanwall Racing Car was released in 1957 as model No 150. It was manufactured in a 1/46 scale, in green with…

The Hornby Railway Collectors’ Association (HRCA) started 54 years ago in 1969, founded by a group of model railway enthusiasts who all collected old Hornby ‘O’ Gauge trains. These trains ranged from around 1920 when Meccano first produced their tin printed clockwork trains and the Hornby Clockwork Trains right up to the mid-1960s when Hornby was taken over by Lines Bros, the owners of Tri-ang. Overseas the range lasted up to 1973. For the founder members of the HRCA, many of them would have been given those early Hornby train sets as birthday and Christmas presents or were treasured possessions handed down from one generation to the next. As the superb quality of Meccano models remained true, so these splendid train sets were something to be taken care of and…

When an auction rakes in over US$3m, you know that the collectables market is alive and well. This was the result posted by Morphy Auctions’ last event, which attracted some head-spinning prices. The big bucks on the day went on bubble gum cards: US$873,300 to be exact. That money won someone a 1952 brick of baseball cards from the famous Topps company. In all, there were eight factory-sealed 5 cent wax packs, with each of the packs containing five baseball cards. You can do the maths, but those 40 cards pulled in a king’s ransom. An unopened 1970/1971 Topps Basketball first series wax box containing 24 packs, with each pack containing ten cards, made a more modest US$116,850. The other big draw at the event was that of Star Wars,…

Over 1,200 lots went through the Wessex Auction Rooms toy sale in February. Retro gaming consoles did well (a Sega Mega Drive console with a good selection of games made £850) but it was the traditional stuff that still attracted the punters. Exhibiting some light scratches, a boxed SH Horikawa tinplate friction powered Space Capsule in red was delightful at £140, while five large boxed Marx figures (Odin The Viking Chieftain, General Custer, Sir Cedric the Black Knight, Sir Percival the Gold Knight and Sir Roland the Silver Knight) raised £300. Just over 260 lots were devoted to railway items: a boxed Wrenn OO gauge W2260 4-6-0 Royal Scot LMS in maroon plus a Wrenn 2-6-4 GWR 8230 locomotive made £220; while a boxed Heljan O gauge 4301 43XX 2-6-0…

Dolls are nothing new, and if you delve into your history books, then you’ll find that they crop up regularly. Dolls, though, didn’t seem to evolve much, over time: sold fully clothed, once one was bought, that was it. Accessories were unheard of and the idea of building a collectables empire around them had not occurred to anyone. But little girls didn’t seem to mind (although Barbie and Sindy would change all that). Back in 1950, the American Character Doll Company had the bright idea of producing a baby doll who could mimic a real child. By mimic, I’m referring to bodily functions (well, at least some), rather than a doll which simply shut her eyes when you laid her down. Enter Tiny Tears. Once again, what appeared to be…

Taylor and Barrett is one of the unsung heroes of the British toy industry. It quickly grew from a small acorn into a company capable of making some of our finest metal toys and survived against the odds to recover from near extinction during World War Two. It made some absolutely splendid toys, yet never became a household name like some of its more illustrious big brothers. The company was formed in 1920 by Fred G. Taylor and his brother-in-law Alfred Barrett. They set up in business at premises on Schofield Road, London making lead figures and soldiers. Taylor had previously worked as a lift installer while Barrett had gained experience in toy making when employed as a lead caster at William Britains’ London factory. A short time later they…

TV & FILM GRAPHIC NOVELS ON SALE NOW… Ramsay’s British Diecast Catalogue 18th Edition! To order your copy call 01778 392006 or visit www.ccofgb.uk/ramsays18…

Hi folks! Every single time I set foot on a seaside pier my mind immediately races back to good old Sooty, that iconic TV character I loved as a child. His rise to fame as one of Britain’s best loved glove puppets began on a seaside pier the day Harry Corbett purchased a little bear glove puppet for his son Matthew from a shop on Blackpool pier whilst performing in a nearby theatre. Before appearing on a TV talent show (screened only in black and white in those days of course) Harry sharpened up the bear’s features by blackening his ears and paws with soot from the fire. ‘Sooty’ was duly named and soon became so popular that Harry Corbett insured his hand for a million pounds. It was a…