Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i Collectors Gazette

Over 1,100 lots were consigned to C and T Auctioneers in the house’s last sale, and its results proved yet again that the toy market, despite the cost of living crisis, is alive and well. Star (literally!) lot was the incredibly rare Fairylite Fireball XL5. With box and largely intact, this friction powered rocket was an amazing survivor from the early 1960s: it made £5,200. There were several lots devoted to O gauge trains and accessories: a Hornby clockwork No. 3 Royal Scot loco and tender in LMS colours raised £90 while a No. 3 clockwork Flying Scotsman in LNER livery settled on £120. A Bing for Bassett-Lowke O gauge 4-4-0 Duke of York clockwork locomotive and tender wasn’t mint but was working: at £75 this 1927 confection seemed a…

CORGI MODEL CLUB MARCOS 1800 G.T. WITH VOLVO ENGINE Price: £35.99 Scale: 1/43 Release: out now The latest retro Corgi release, available direct from the club as a standalone model. Stunning reproduction and features opening doors and bonnet. ›› www.corgimodelclub.com KAIDO HOUSE X MINI GT NISSAN FAIRLADY Z KAIDO GT OMORI WORKS Price: £24.99 Scale: 1/64 Release: out now A further release of this incredible-looking beast, this time featuring this very eye-catching Omori Works colour scheme. Superb replication for such a small model. ›› www.clevelandsdiecast.co.uk More new releases reviewed at ccofgb.co.uk NOREV 1970 PORSCHE 911 E - ORANGE Price: £77.99 Scale: 1/18 Release: out now A superbly-evocative replica, with that classic early 911 shape beautifully replicated. Excellent fine details aplenty and a lovely interior. ›› www.ayrey.co.uk DID YOU KNOW WE…

At the risk of being shot down in flames by any arch-feminists reading this article, girls play (and played) with dolls. It’s what they’ve always done. True, today’s dolls seemingly bear little resemblance to dolls past: an eight year old daughter of a friend of mine proudly showed me her collection the other day, and I’m not sure what your granny would have made of it. These dolls were kitted out in clothes which, were you to wear them in public, you’d be arrested; and as for the make-up, it would have put most of those appearing in Ru Paul’s Drag Race to shame. These creations are light years away from the traditional three Ds of dolls: demure, docile and delightful. And dolls didn’t get much more delightful than the…

Constructional toys have been at the heart of the British toy industry for well over a century. Much longer if you include simple wooden building blocks in this category of toy. Frank Hornby will, however, always be considered to be the grandfather of constructional toys here in Britain having developed and launched his bolt together Mechanics Made Easy before earning a fortune from his Liverpool based Meccano empire. Prior to the launch of Meccano British children had enjoyed another construction toy in the form of building sets made of small composition stone effect bricks. These were imported from Germany by a company called Richter from the 1880s through to the First World War. Richter Anchor stone blocks were mainly used to create miniature buildings so were of little threat to…

Corgi Toys No 72 Ford 5000 Super Major Tractor, blue/grey/silver with yellow/silver trenching bucket and driver figure, grey plastic wheel hubs. Near mint on excellent yellow vacuum inner in excellent blue/yellow window display box. Sold for £360, C&T Auctioneers, May. Corgi Toys No 207M Standard Vanguard III Saloon, primrose yellow body, flat spun wheels, with working mechanical mechanism. Near mint in very good original blue box, with original concertina leaflet. Sold for £150, C&T Auctioneers, May. Corgi Toys No 211 Studebaker “Golden Hawk”, blue body, gold rear wing flashes, flat spun wheels. Mint in very good original early blue box. Sold for £100, C&T Auctioneers, May. Corgi Toys No 213 Jaguar 2.4 Fire Service Car, red body, bell, aerial, flat spun wheels. Mint in good original blue/yellow illustrated 213S box, with Corgi club…

Hi folks! One of my most nostalgic recent finds was a rare record that sent my mind racing back to the early 1970s. It came out of a box cheap 45rpm singles that were all priced at one pound. Flicking through the box quickly, in the middle of all the usual rubbish, was a picture cover showing a ship that I instantly recognised as MEBO II, the floating home of Radio North Sea International. It was the radio station’s theme tune called ‘Man of Action’ which was written, arranged and performed by Les Reed and his orchestra. I couldn’t wait to get home and get it whizzing around on my old Dansette record player. The record had been pressed in Germany and is now a real collectors’ item. The ship…

There were some interesting lots at the recent British Toy Auction sales. A boxed Corgi Gift Set No.23 Chipper fields Circus was a first issue set, containing six vehicles and an assortment of animals. Exhibiting some playwear, with the box only in average condition, it raised £200. A lovely deep red Corgi Austin A40, with a black roof, was of the collectable mechanical version, and came with a good box and flyer. It sold for a respectable £180. A top bid of £360 was placed on the Dinky Toys No.121 Goodwood Sports Cars Gift Set. Not so common these days, this example wasn’t mint but gave the purchaser scope for improvement and it came with the bonus of a Service Station Personnel set. The serious cash, though, went on the…

War wick and War wick’s May auction saw some very competitive bidding, with the diecast section figuring prominently. This area included many mixed lots, which the house’s customers seem to like. A group of five Oxford diecast, 20 Lledo and 20 Corgi (including The Beatles theme, Classics and ten EFE models, in addition to a range of books), sold for £780, against an estimate of £430. Corgi continued its popularity at Warwick and Warwick, with a nine car lot, including a Monte-Carlo Citroen DS 19, a Thunderbird Sports and a Sheriff’s Oldsmobile selling for £660, doubling its estimate. Lot 265 included the pretty Corgi Buck Riviera, a Ford Consul Classic, and a Fiat 1800: this group sold for £552, again doubling its estimate. Yet another gold James Bond Aston Martin…

No road vehicle will get very far without fuel to power it or facilities to maintain it. In the world of miniature cars, the importance of the infrastructure that keeps traffic moving is reflected in the vast number of replicas available of petrol pumps and other garage equipment. In fact, it would be difficult to think of any major range of diecast cars that did not include some such accessories, and there were even a few small manufacturers for whom this kind of item was more important than the vehicles themselves. This article surveys some of the most interesting obsolete items of this type offered by British diecast manufacturers. Soon after Dinky Toys were launched in the mid-1930s, a boxed set containing four petrol pumps and an oil bin was…

You may or may not be aware but the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem movie will showing in cinemas around the globe this summer. Considering that the Heroes in a Half Shell originally appeared in their own comic book series in 1984, they’ve had a legacy that dates back almost as far as Star Wars, which was first released in 1977… teenagers they are most definitely not. Despite their age, as a collectable they haven’t had any where near the impact of Luke Skywalker and pals, although could this be set to change? You see, although the mainly black and white comics first hit shelves in the early ‘80s, it wasn’t until 1987 when the Turtles came out the sewers following a deal between creators Kevin Eastman and…

ABOUT YOU… 1. Why do you collect? For pleasure For investment Both 2. How long have you been collecting? Less than 2 years 3-5 years 5-10 years Over 10 years 3. Would you consider your collecting knowledge to be: Beginner Intermediate Expert 4. Which genre do you collect: Classic cars Modern cars Classic haulage/commercial vehicles Modern haulage/commercial vehicles Construction Motorbikes Emergency vehicles Sports/racing cars Civil Aviation Military Aviation Farming TV & Film Toy figures/miniatures Railways LEGO Comics Tinplate 5. Which scale do you collect? 6. Which manufacturers do you collect? 7. Are you a member of any collecting clubs? Yes No If yes, which ones: 8. How often do you visit toy fairs/swapmeets? Weekly Monthly Occasionally Never 9. How far are you prepared to travel to visit toy fairs/swapmeets? 0-25…

With the decision taken to move more sales online, Vectis is acknowledging the shifting dynamic of the marketplace. Its online May sale featured military and civilian figures and accessories, and was truly eclectic in its breadth. Aluminium figures are very niche – and the Wend-Al "Solid Aluminium Models" Toytown Figure set 2TB was somewhat desirable, especially since it was all contained within its open-fronted box. Comprising a drummer, two fifers, the cantinière plus two other ranks at attention, it also included the mounted officer with drawn sabre on a dappled rocking horse and a pair of trees. The set was even complete with its original price tag (19/3 – or almost £1). Exhibiting some minor storage wear, it was otherwise excellent and realised £260. In contrast, the Bowman Models "Snipe"…

The last Wessex Auction Rooms two day event certainly drew the bidders, and there were some bargains to be had. Trains were a key feature, comprising over 140 lots, with a boxed Heljan O gauge 2-6-2 5184 GWR Prairie Tank locomotive taken to £320. However, the “do it yourself” genre also proved popular, with a trio of kit built cast metal O gauge GWR 0-6-0 locomotives, including a 1308 Lady Margaret, reaching £550. On the figure front, a boxed Meccano Dinky A898 set No 13 (Hall’s Distemper Advertisement) had both metal figures, albeit with some paint loss: they made £160, while something of a bargain was a boxed Britains Historical Series 9401 set, featuring Her Majesty’s State Coach and metal figures, which sold for just £32. Even better value had…

In the interest of relevance and realism, we regret to inform readers that this month’s train column has been replaced with one about buses. We appreciate it’s annoying that you've paid for a train article and you're only getting a bus one. This is due to, err, deferred maintenance, staff shortages and the fact that it’s already too late to complain about it. THE AXE MAN COMETH There was a time in Merrie Olde England when the only reason you got on a bus was to get to the train. As we know, trains preceded cars, which is why there was an incredible patchwork of rail services across the country, totalling some 23,000 miles and 4000 stations, many of which became economically unsustainable in later years. That’s when we got…

Covid changed a lot of things, many of which have since made their way under the radar and become the norm. For instance, I think I’ve only made it to one toy fair since Covid. Before this I was a regular since attending my first fair way back in 1981. I don’t think it’s only me, I would hazard a guess that there are many who have simply lost touch with things the way they were before the Pandemic. Being a confirmed online shopper I’m aware enough not to complain too much about the decline of shops on the high street. Likewise, the steady decline in toy fairs was well underway before Covid, with the internet being a major factor. Once the genie was out of the bottle it changed…

The Train Collectors’ Society (TCS) has one main message, they are all about toy trains, and you’re welcome to join regardless of what you collect. Any make, any age, any gauge is their mantra! Amongst the 500 or so members, their interests cover every kind of toy train imaginable from early tinplate toy trains to modern digital model railways, and they are encouraged to research details of their specific interests and share their findings. Similarly with manufacturers – it doesn’t matter if you’re into one particular train company or a dozen toy train manufacturers – Hornby, Bassett-Lowke, Tri-ang. Lone Star, Trix Twin or a whole mixture of trains, you’re more than welcome at the Train Collectors’ Society. There’s a good chance too, that when attending one of their meetings, that…