Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i Collectors Gazette

BTA continues to unearth some desirable collectables for its clientele, and in these politically correct times, this includes the female contingent. Collectors of the arcane shouldn’t overlook My Little Pony: a lot comprising six ponies, namely Shady, Tornado, Snowflake, Bubbles, Baby Cotton Candy and Baby Lucky the Stallion, went under the hammer. In very good condition overall, three retained their original backing cards. Also included in this lot was a collection of books and other items. They sold for £320. More female collectables in the shape of Girls Aloud from Barbie also passed through the auction house, comprising a rare, full collection of 2005 'Fashion Fever' Barbies. All the dolls were unopened and still attached to their cards. In mint condition thus, with just light storage wear evident on the…

At the last Sheffield Auction Services event there was a wide array of collectables, ranging from job lots of Lego through unmade kits, railway items, diecasts, US comics and model aeroplanes. In particular, the comics did well, with one lot of Marvel Comics, including issues of The X-Men, (numbers 166, 107, 220, 222, 223 and 194 being noted) in overall good to very good condition, realising £320. Meanwhile, £170 was bid on a quantity of Peter Parker-Spectacular Spider Man comics, comprising over 140 issues including numbers including numbers 1-8. Many complete runs were included, with the last issue being number 165. Railway buffs bid a Heljan O Gauge/7mm 2-6-2 "Large Prairie" Tank Steam Locomotive, in BR black and numbered BR black and numbered 6144, to £180; while those favouring radio…

SAS’s Toys for the Collector sale attracted plenty of interest. If the star lot, a Dinky Monks & Crane Bedford van in cream over pale blue, and one of two just promotional models made, failed to sell (estimate was £5-7,000), that wasn’t the case elsewhere. A winning bid of £120 secured a prewar Dinky No 16 Silver Jubilee train set with panoramic box; and £250 won the Dinky Triumph Herald in Lichfield Green with a white flash: these particular paint variants were not retailed in the High Street but sent to Standard Triumph dealerships straight from the factory. A host of Mini models appeared at the two-day auction and the highest achiever was the Stripey The Magic Mini model, which was as mint as they come: this Dinky creation sold…

This year was significant for the UK, for it was agreed that republics could be a part of the British Commonwealth. National Service was introduced, while education also got a look-in this year, when the first comprehensive school opened: this was in Holyhead, Anglesey. Technology was on the agenda, too. The Sutton Coldfield transmitting station began broadcasting BBC television to the Midlands region, a service hitherto not available outside the London area. Meanwhile, the Manchester Mk1 Computer was switched on at, unsurprisingly, Manchester University while EDSAC, the first practicable stored program computer, ran its first program at Cambridge University. On a more fundamental level, Valerie Gordon made the headlines when she was granted a patent… for the first disposable nappy. Automotive news: the very first Volkswagen was taken to the…

Although the world continues to go crazy for the adventures of Luke Skywalker in an endless list of new Star Wars films and television series; the UK’s love for science fiction dates much further back. In some ways you could trace it all the way to H. G. Wells’ fantastic War of the Worlds in 1897, when Earth fought against invaders from the planet Mars. However, Britain really turned its attentions to the stars in 1950 when Frank Hampson and Rev. Marcus Morris launched a brand new comic: the Eagle. Taking centre stage on the cover of the first Eagle comic way back in April 1950, was a character called Dan Dare, chief pilot of the Interplanet Space Fleet. While American boys had been reading about the exciting action-packed science fiction journeys…

The Ivanhoe Model Railway Society is an exclusive little band of enthusiasts. Around 15 members in all, and it’s been this way for most of its 30-year existence. Newcomers are more than welcome, but usually, they will be directed to their very near neighbours the Leicester Model Railway Club – one of the oldest model railway societies in the UK, having started in 1949. The Ivanhoe Society first came about when a couple of engineers at the Rolls-Royce factory at Mountsorrel decided one lunchtime to pop out to a model train shop. Their interest sparked a few other people to admit that they were model railway fans too and so this little group of model makers started to meet up regularly. At the time they met in the canteen, which…

The Dinky Toy Collectors' Association (DTCA) held its 2023 AGM on the 8 July at the Bull Hotel, Peterborough. In the room there were Dinky Toys on display tables providing much interest for the members. The proceedings started at 2.00pm with a welcome by the Chairman, Michael Driver who then followed with his report on the events since the last AGM in 2022. After this the Committee gave their reports. During the AGM there was much discussion by the members about the future of the DTCA. This included all aspects of publicity and as with many other clubs how to find new members. Also important was looking at what young people collect today and to provide an interest in Dinky Toys, especially the later models. For the 20th anniversary of…

CORGI MODEL CLUB FORD THAMES AIRBORNE CARAVAN Price: £35.99 Scale: 1/43 Release: out now The latest Corgi Model Club release is the wonderful Thames ‘Airborne’, complete with opening rear doors and a fully-fitted interior - just like the original Corgi! www.corgimodelclub.com SOLIDO 1969 CITROËN TYPE HY - LOS TACOS DE LA MUERTE Price: £55.99 Scale: 1/18 Release: out now The ever-popular H-type van looks stunning in this modern-day event food van, complete with opening serving hatch and fitted interior. Big value! www.solido.com NZG YANMAR B110W MOBILE EXCAVATOR Price: €98.00 Scale: 1/50 Release: out now Yanmar’s new colours have been authentically replicated, now in a red and dark grey decoration that replaces the earlier yellow and grey design. www.nzg-shop.eu CORGI PORSCHE CARRERA 6 - RED & WHITE #60 Price: £21.99 Scale:…

Warwick and Warwick’s latest auction on the 19 July saw some very competitive bidding, with a wide range of diecast collectables leading the charge. Lot 208A containing later dated Matchbox models was estimated at £725 and sold for an impressive £1950. Lot 209, comprising over 100 Matchbox themed items such as fire engines and replicas, also as sold well and went for £1300, over an estimate of £525. Lot 219 was a racing themed collection with Minichamps and Onyx, which sold for £850 and had an estimate of £450. If construction vehicles are your thing, then Lot 244 would have appealed. Consisting of Conrad, Corgi and NZG models it sold for £900, with an estimate of £380. All the Corgi Aviation Archive lots sold well, as expected, as the condition…

My mate who tears around the UK in an old van buying trains and collectables is getting increasingly irate. As well as worrying about a faulty warning light which could wreck his next MOT, he’s paying around £325 a year road tax, while the newer vehicles getting in his way are usually rated from £30 down to £0, that is to say, free road tax. On top of that, even though he’s paid his extortionate Vehicle Excise Duty, he’s not allowed to drive into an increasing number of towns and cities without being fined a surcharge. I’m talking about you, Les. Oops, turn off dictation; I’m talking about ULEZ. (In case you don’t know what a ULEZ is, it’s a LEZ on steroids.) It doesn’t help that he drives a…

Whether it’s wood, tinplate, pressed steel, plastics or diecast metal, Triang produced them all. From the 1920s right through to the 1970s, Tri-ang Toys produced a huge variety of toys. Buses and coaches were only a tiny part of this, but the materials used reflected the changing manufacturing processes over the decades. Wooden toys reigned supreme in the 1920s and into the 1930s, with Tri-ang producing a range of wonderful large-scale double and single deckers. The famous Tri-ang Minic range introduced tinplate in the mid 1930s and included some classic bus models. More robust pressed steel followed and from the 1950s versatile new plastics provided even further options for buses and coaches. Finally, Tri-ang turned to diecast metal for the prestigious Spot-On range. And Tri-ang buses were not made to…

DIECAST RESULTS COMIC RESULTS AVIATION RESULTS…

You can’t keep a good Matchbox model down, can you? Vectis recently had the pleasure of dealing with Andrew Woodall’s collection, on, amongst which were some interesting diecasts. The Yesteryear Y7 Leyland "W&R. Jacob & Co Ltd" Delivery Van with brown body, cream roof and silver grille was a rare issue, with knobbly black plastic wheels and rounded axles. This made £1,103. In turn, his Matchbox Superfast 14b Mini Ha-Ha was finished in red but had windows fitted and contained a flesh coloured figure with a brown helmet. In a type J New box, it whizzed realise £980. Other Lesney included a South African 62c Mercury Cougar (Stannard Code 1) in pale yellow, with clear windows but without a rear view mirror and without cast windscreen wipers. This was a…

I guess that, given the huge array of collectable toys that have been manufactured over the last century or so, there would inevitably be some that defy convention. By that, I mean there are toys out there about which little, or indeed nothing, is known. They never graced the pages of catalogues; they never appeared in chain stores in any quantity; and, in certain cases, they bear no maker’s name. Whilst diecast sleuths have been engrossed in tracking down some of the more elusive British manufacturers, like Empro and Arbur, there are many other toys which remain shrouded in mystery. I’ve picked three for this article; if you know anything about them, then please do get in touch! ALUMINIUM AUTOMOBILES We begin with one of my long term favourites: Bilbax.…

Maurice Shackleton started making toys during the late 1930s under the trading name of James Shackleton & Son. He had previously worked for Foden at its Sandbach based works. Having left Foden Maurice developed his toy making company working from buildings formerly used as stables behind the Wheatsheaf Hotel in Sandbach. He made wooden toys, some with metal parts, including wheeled vehicles and dolls houses. These toys included a six-wheeled articulated timber tractor and trailer and a four wheeled truck with chains, both made around 1939. Though lacking in fine detail it was apparent that they were based on the Foden DG with typical prewar Foden pressed tin radiators. Little is known of what happened to the Shackleton business during World War Two but after hostilities ended Maurice Shackleton soon…

It’s not for sale, I’m going to do it up some day”. This refrain usually follows a polite enquiry as the whether the rusting old banger on the owner’s driveway is for sale or not. The owner, who just wants to be left alone, shuts the door. The caller, frustrated, walks away thinking that it may be worth another try later, possibly with a firm offer in mind. Sometimes these vehicles do get saved and then a heart-warming tale can be spun. More often however, a candidate once ripe for restoration will end up going to the scrap man. Classic car enthusiasts will then wail, “what a waste!”. Good intentions usually cost time, money or both. This is the way of the world. On a much smaller level, for example…

Hi folks! It’s been a rather painful month for me having spent some more time in hospital having another knee replacement operation. It seems like I’m paying the price for all the miles I have walked in search of collectables over the past half century. It’ll be a good couple of months before I’m fully mobile again and what would have been a summer visiting showgrounds, steam rallies, car boot sales and flea markets won’t happen! Instead it’ll be a summer of painful physiotherapy sessions and restful weeks sitting in the garden bored stiff and depressed by all the goodies I’m missing. It makes it worse when I get calls from pals telling me what they’ve found at various events I would usually be at… its so frustrating! However, it…