Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2024 i Collectors Gazette

British Toy Auctions has been as busy as ever. Recently under the hammer went a Hornby Princess Elizabeth O gauge locomotive and tender in 4-6-2 configuration in LMS maroon livery. Electric powered, in its original red wooden case, it was classified as very good and sold for £650 plus premium. A Bassett-Lowke O gauge tinplate clockwork 4-4-0 L&WR locomotive in black was also in very good condition. Its buffers, couplings and other detailing were all intact and a key was included: this example fetched £360. The Hachette Partworks Eddie Stobart set comprised a fully built 1/12 scale Eddie Stobart DAF F2200 (named Twiggy), with tilt cab and working lights. In excellent condition, it was accompanied by three binders of 140 build magazines. Originally this model had cost over £1,300 (!)…

DRAKE COLLECTIBLES KENWORTH T909 ‘ROSS TRANSPORT’ Scale: 1/50 Price: €184 Ref: ZO1587 The rainbow graphic design on this tractor rig has been captured to perfection. The Aussie rig is packed with detail and realism. ›› www.thedrakeshop.com MAISTO TOYOTA YARIS 2021 RED - SPECIAL EDITION Scale: 1/24 Price: £17.99 Ref: 32909 Combining modern design with striking red color, this features fine details and realistic proportions. An excellent addition for collectors of contemporary diecast. ›› www.maisto.com OXFORD DIECAST RANGE ROVER L460 SWB 1ST EDITION BATUMI GOLD Scale: 1/76 Price: £10.95 Ref: 76RR5S001 A replica that definitely impresses, with its luxurious design, intricate detailing, and striking color. A standout model for serious collectors of the marque. ›› www.oxforddiecast.co.uk LEGO ICONS LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH LP5000 QUATTROVALVOLE Price: £159.99 Ref: 10337 The release of the LEGO ICONS…

The rumours that Corgi were looking to replicate their iconic 1960s-era Batmobile grew steadily after the success of the Corgi Model Club, a venture that was launched in February 2021 and was embraced into the Hornby family earlier this year. Social media posts from the Corgi Model Club have long indicated they were working with Hornby to get the necessary licence to produce the Batmobile – and we were rewarded with good news recently when the Club announced they were producing not one but two versions of this famous diecast Corgi Toy! Both are due this October. Corgi Model Club members – or at least, those who are up to date with their collection – will receive a replica of the rare ‘matt’ black Batmobile which is only available to…

When Stephenson demonstrated the Rocket, it was still a prototype. He only made one; even then it went through several modifications over its working life. The Victorians were still learning how to harness steam power on rails, so it was a process of continuous refinement. A hundred years later, we had a plethora of locos, wagons and carriages, but the differences between them were more subtle. There are only so many ways to design a passenger carriage, which is essentially a tube on wheels. Likewise with locomotives; we had individual classes, some built in small batches and others numbering in the hundreds. The model or toy train companies therefore had to choose their products carefully. We wanted realism, which meant reflecting trains we actually saw around us. It’s no surprise…

Paris’ 2024 Olympics and Paralympics showcased humanity’s stunning sporting prowess; a living, breathing embodiment of the best of our species’ dedication, bravery and sportsmanship. One of the most crucial elements of any athlete’s preparation is choosing the right equipment, and for many, there is nothing more vital than selecting footwear that will enable them to truly fulfil the Olympic motto by going “Faster, Higher, Stronger” than ever before. Specialist trainers (or sneakers, as our friends across the pond would say) are available for pretty much every activity you can imagine, from split sole dancing shoes to ‘barefoot’ running footwear that individually cushion each toe. At the time of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, though, trainers were in their infancy. In fact, the first sport to receive…

The real Lotus Elan was first manufactured as a roadster in 1962. It was the first road car to use a steel backbone chassis with a fibreglass body - a design that Corgi eventually tried to emulate as accurately as possible in the Lotus Racing Gift Set. Within the Corgi Toys range, there are essentially two different castings of the base for the Lotus Elan – the fixed wheel casting and the removable chassis casting. Corgi managed to retain most of the basic features for both models. I have, therefore, included all the fixed chassis cars and the removable chassis models together for this article. The first Lotus Elan was issued by Corgi in July 1965, and it proved to be a fantastic model – an ideal car for the…

↑ French Dinky Toys 536 Peugeot 404 Saloon, red, ivory interior, silver trim and chrome concave hubs complete with correct plastic trailer. Excellent plus beautiful example in a good plus yellow and red carded box with detailed picture. Sold for £260, Vectis Auctions, August. ↑ French Dinky Toys 545 De Soto Diplomat, metallic green, off white roof, silver trim, chrome concave hubs with white tyres. Excellent plus beautiful example in a good plus yellow and red carded picture box (small pen mark on one side). Sold for £80, Vectis Auctions, August. ↑ French Dinky Toys 543 Renault Floride, metallic light green, silver trim, chrome concave hubs with white tyres. Excellent plus beautiful example in a good yellow and red carded picture box. Sold for £70, Vectis Auctions, August. ↑ French Dinky Toys 547 Panhard…

Some 88 lots of the last Wessex toy auction were given over to model railways and railway accessories, in the main focussing on HO/OO gauge. Virtually everything sold: Hornby was very much in evidence but the star lot dated from the 1920s. It comprised a collection of kit built (possibly handbuilt from scratch?) O gauge items that included an 0-8-4 locomotive in black with a further nine items of rolling stock, amongst which was an Exley Restaurant Car and three unmarked Post Vans. Of some historical significance because of the constructor, the lot raised £10,000. Half a dozen Mamod working steam models were sold, the best of the bunch being the boxed SA1 Steam Roadster Steam Engine in white with red spoked wheels: this made £140. Diecast enthusiasts, especially those…

In previous generations, when car ownership was by no means universal, children used to like ‘spotting’ different makes of car. There was no shortage of handy pocket-sized books to assist them in this task and many of these now have the kind of nostalgic charm that makes them appeal to collectors of motoring ephemera. An added bonus is that these car recognition books are still relatively easy to come buy and prices remain reasonable. A key figure in making this kind of book popular was a Southern Railway clerk called Ian Allan who worked at Waterloo Station during the World War Two. He compiled and published – at his own expense - the ABC of Southern Locomotives which was so successful that he has been credited with creating a new…

Remember those halcyon days long ago when you went to the match on Saturday afternoons wearing home knitted bobble hats and scarves in the colours of your favourite team? If you were lucky you got your mum (or a kind aunt) to sew the names of all your favourite players on the bars of the scarf as well. In those days you would also push through the turnstile clutching a wooden rattle, even better with your grandad’s old Air Raid Patrol rattle (like mine) as they really did make a din when the teams ran out of the tunnel. They certainly were great days before violence and bad language on the terraces changed the face of football for the worse. One of the best things about being a football fan…

Delve into your history books (or, perhaps, in this IT age, browse online), and you’ll find there’s little new about the concept of an armoured vehicle for use in warfare. Way, way back Leonardo da Vinci sketched ideas for such an invention; and through the succeeding centuries, the idea has been revisited many times. It’s true to say that every occurrence sought to improve on what had gone before and certainly, post the Industrial Revolution, things really started to move (literally). In 1903, the multi-talented writer HG Wells penned The Land Ironclads, a short story in which he envisioned armoured vehicles crossing inhospitable terrain with indifference. But it would take the stalemate occasioned by the Western Front of the Great War to actually bring scientists’ and manufacturers’ ideas to fruition.…

Hi folks! Matchbox Toys have been a part of my life since around the age of three or four years. Being born in the mid 1950s my memories of so many of those early models are indelibly etched in my mind. Lots of these memories were re-kindled recently when I bought an original 1968 Matchbox Toy catalogue from a toy fair for a tenner. It’s the best ten pounds I’ve spent for a long time, as flicking through the pages brought back so many fond memories of those great little models I grew up with. I was twelve years old when this catalogue was released and spent most of my pocket money on Matchbox 1-75 series diecast vehicles back then which were priced at 2/2d each. We had some fun…

Bloomfield’s last auction was given over to a miscellaneous array of subject matter, including military and historical artefacts. Toys also surfaced and it was interesting to note that auction prices are not always in the triple or quadruple figures. A vintage dolls’ house, make unknown but fashioned in wood and painted in white, with a blue roof and red shutters, was an attractive item and it sold for just £18. A set of 11 Commando figures by Crescent was in good condition: this raised a modest £22. A companion set of six Britains Deetail Afrika Korps also went under the hammer, making £18. For Star Wars lovers, a crate containing figures and some boxed mini-sets (including a Mobile Laser Cannon, a Captivator and an Interceptor) stood out: the winning bid…

This particular 12 months started off badly, with a cold snap in the UK, which saw temperatures drop below zero in January. The bad weather would persist, leading to blocked roads and some parts of the country becoming almost cut off. The good news in the UK, though, was that unemployment figures were beginning to dip. In ecclesiastical circles, it was a landmark year for the Church of England’s General Synod, which voted to allow the ordination of women. Emancipation was definitely in the headlines. The Chancellor, this year, announced that the UK would soon have an income tax rate of 25p in the pound levied; predictably, reception of the news was mixed. In the air, meanwhile, British Airways and British Caledonian agreed on a £237m merger, effectively cementing BA’s…

It is not just the concept that could be, perhaps, before it’s time, but the magazine itself. Thisissueof Practical Mechanics is from February 1936, so it bends my rules by not being contemporary to the model’s toyshop shelf life. Not only is it three years ahead of our Mayo Composite Aircraft’s first appearance in the January 1939 Meccano Magazine, but two years ahead of the Composites first flight in June 1938. It gets worse, the feature is even six months ahead of the first flight of any of the Empire flying boats, and in effect in a D.I.Y. magazine. More than three dozen Empires were built (plus this one named Maia) to carry Mercury on its back. The concept must have been well in-hand even in later 1934, but the…

If there is one area of diecast collecting that is absolutely made for dramatic display surely it’s aviation. But while many models come with basic display stands to give that ‘in flight’ look at a jaunty angle, there are plenty more ways to dramatise your winged wonders. Here are just a few ideas to get you started. A simple diorama can be quickly put together for an effective display with a few bits of wood and some railway modelling scenery. In the image over the page, we have three Avros by Corgi – a RAF Lancaster (No.47301), a BOAC Lancastrian (No.47302) and a BOAC York (No.47202) – in 1/144 scale sitting on airfield hardstandings. The base is a sheet of hardboard supported by a timber frame and the background is…

↑ Item: Dinky Toys 28b Pickfords Type 1 Delivery Van (1934-35) Condition: exceptional with no signs of metal fatigue, extremely rare Sold for: £1125 (22 bids) ↑ Item: Britains 9630 Fordson Tractor with cab and Shawnee Poole rear dump Condition: generally good, with only a few chips and signs of play, body pivots are broken Sold for: £855 (24 bids) ↑ Item: Matchbox Superfast Bulgarian MB33 Lamborghini Miura Condition: original and mint, with no tarnishing or discolouration Sold for: £575 (43 bids) ↑ Item: Hairy Wiggly Tongue Dwork Boglin Condition: superb for its age and a great addition to any collection! Sold for: £820 (24 bids) ↑ Item: Ceppi Ratti (Italy) Gundam Jumbo Machinder Condition: many parts are still sealed in original bags, and retains the unused stickers Sold for:…

Some of our readers may think the title is directed at the follicly challenged and if you are of a certain vintage, like myself, you may be feeling self-conscious. Don’t worry, I’m addressing that time honoured exercise of the seasoned collector called ‘thinning out’. Thinning out one’s collection is a serious pastime; Sherlock Holmes would have called it “3 pipe problem” but as I gave up smoking decades ago, maybe now it’s “a two digestives and a full pot of English breakfast” problem. Collectors are like magpies in that on occasion they lose rational thought and even short-term memory. They end up buying doubles of models they already own, either in the belief that they have bought a slightly better specimen, or they can’t remember buying one in the first…