Christmas Memories - Corgi C270 - James Bond Aston Martin DB5

When I was a kid I loved die cast cars. I enjoyed cars of all brands but both Dinky and Corgi were my favorites by far. The Christmas holiday is here and to continue the tradition of previous years I am sharing with you another favorite one that has survived to this day. Corgi's C270, James Bond's Aston Martin DB5. Mine is not in the best condition. The front bumpers are missing, the tire slashers and grill are not the original color and the front tires are from a different toy but the memories are priceless. Surprisingly, all the gadgets still work... more or less. Not too bad for a 40 year old car. ;-)

Hope you enjoy my crude attempt at a short stop motion action sequence.

Happy Holidays!

Bburago Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR - Part 3

The Bburago 300 SLR is now complete. I think it came out alright. Check out Part 1 for the packaging and the part trees and Part 2 for the assembly of the engine and interior. So what is so significant about this model? This past August I got to see Stirling Moss and the Mille Miglia 300 SLR in person. This kit is a good reminder of the great day we enjoyed at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

Click on the images to enlarge

Bburago Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR - Part 2

The chassis and interior on the Bburago kit I purchased the other day is now ready to go! So far it has been pretty easy to put it together and that is a good thing as the instructions included with this kit leave a lot to be desired. Getting the engine bay to come together took some work. I enlarged many of the holes to get things to snap in properly. Enlarging the hole that allows the steering column to connect to the front axle also helped at assembly time. Getting the ignition wires in place was probably the most painful part of engine assembly.

UPDATE 12/8/11 - The model is now finished. Photos on a separate post...

The blue plastic that makes up the chassis may look great on the car's interior and may be OK in the trunk but I think the bits showing around the engine bay look more authentic in Black.

Bburago Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR - Part 1

I found this kit by pure chance the other day while exploring a model shop that I stumbled upon while cruising around University Place. So what is so significant about this kit? This past August I got to see Stirling Moss and the Mille Miglia 300 SLR in person. This kit will be a good reminder of the great day we enjoyed at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. I will post photos of the completed model on a future post as I am working on it as time allows... :-P

P.S. Visiting this store ended being like going on a treasure hunt as there is a huge variety of rare and interesting models, diecast, and action figures. Looking forward to going back for more.

UPDATE 12/9/11: Part 2 showing the assembled engine and chassis and Part 3 displaying the complete model are now available elsewhere on the blog.

Model Power Minis 1:87 Scale Volkswagen Samba

I was browsing the model train section of the local hobby shop when I stumbled upon this awesome Volkswagen T1 Microbus. These are meant to complement HO scale railroad layouts but I am sure it will look just as cool in my desk. At 1:87 scale, these models are so tiny that it is hard to comprehend the dexterity needed to paint them. The amount of detail is great for such a small scale. I could not pass it up! It turns out that although the one I found is marketed under the Model Power Minis brand, these are primarily sold under the Schuco brand the world over under the Edition 1:87 collection. I got another one that is even more bizarre so stay tuned to see what it is...

Citroen Coupé Le Dandy by Norev

Around 1958 the French coachbuilder Henri Chapron started building coupes based on the iconic Citroën DS. In 1960 Chapron came out with a two door hard-top coupé named Le Dandy. The French diecast maker Norev made a nice 1:43 scale model of this car. I came across one during my visit the Citroen C_42 store a few years ago. Mine is the Bordeaux version (réf: 158053). I think it has lovely lines. There is more information about the Chapron cars at the Citroenet site...

From My Attic - Aero Mini DC 8-61

There is one keepsake in this series that holds a special place in my collection and that is my Aero Mini DC 8-61. One in a series of cool miniature planes sold during 60 - 70's (some history here). Made out of die cast Zinc, it includes all the necessary sharp edges to makes it an attractive toy for any kid of the era. Mine displays Eastern Airlines "jockey stick" livery. Eastern was the primary commercial carrier for many years where I grew up. It evokes those early days of the jet age and for me, my first trip on a plane. It is a great reminder of where my lifelong passion for travel got started.

Number 1 engine seems to be smoking a little - The product of using a match to simulate smoke

Crazy kids...

From My Attic - Team Matchbox K-7 Racing Car Transporter

Today's subject in this series is the Team Matchbox K-7 Race Car Transporter dating from around 1973. I am sorry to say that the transporter is not in as good a shape as my K-27 Camping Cruiser. This truck lived a hard life back in those days and it shows. Most of the Team Matchbox race cars, however, are in "almost new" condition and would look great as part of any decent Matchbox collection. The set included four cars, two No. 24 & two No. 34. Their condition however comes with a sad footnote. I loved the truck, however, I did not like the race cars that much. Only the red one is a bit worn having lost its engine years after I stop playing with them. It is ironic that the pristine toys some collectors seek today are the ones that never got much "love" from the children that they were meant for in the first place.

K-7 missing it's transparent canopy (see below) as it was called to haul large items most of the time. A bit worn but "loaded" with so many good memories. Love those gullwing doors. "Number 5" on the loading platform ready for transport.

From My Attic - Corgi Juniors Ferrari Modulo

The Corgi Junior Ferrari 512S Modulo. No decals, more scratches than paint and a cracked windshield. Now this one definitively takes the trophy as my favorite toy of the early 70's and it shows... This one really saw some action. The real-life inspiration for this one is a beautiful rolling sculpture by Pininfarina that captured people's imagination back in 1970. A polarizing design. More spaceship than car, it remains one of the most interesting shapes ever to roll on four wheels. I also have a Polytoys M17 version in 1/43 scale that is in really bad shape. I am hoping that I will be able to restore that one later this year. You can learn more about this beautiful automobile at the Pininfarina web site (italian). There is also a short article in Wikipidia and plenty of images on the Web. There is also a good short article on it's design on the Car Body Design Web site.

Modeling clay (plasticine) still embedded in the wheels. This thing got morphed into a variety of "vehicles". if memory serves me well.

From My Attic - Matchbox Speedkings K-27 Camping Cruiser

This week we are sharing with you another Matchbox that has survived from the garage of my childhood. This time it is the K-27 Camping Cruiser from the Speedkings series. Hard to believe that it is still in relatively good shape after all those imaginary camping trips out in the yard almost 40 years ago. Other postings in this series are found elsewhere on my blog. There are also a number other good images on the Web.

From The Attic - Matchbox No. 68 - Porsche 910

Haven't had much free time lately but I finally got a chance to photograph some of the old die cast toys that have followed me around for years. Here is one of the oldest "survivors", the Matchbox No. 68 - Porsche 910 circa 1970 - 71. The Carrera 10 was a short-lived line (15 cars) built by Porsche as an extension of the 906 line of race cars (source). There are much better examples out there but this one is special enough to enjoy a well-deserve retirement on prominent display in my "museum", I mean, garage ;-)

Update 07/09/11: Got to see a real 910 in action the other day. Photos here.

A bit scuffed and missing it's number decal.

From My Attic - Dinky Thunderbird 2 and 4

The trip down memory lane continues. This time with the Thunderbird 2. With it's huge cargo pod used to deliver the Thunderbird 4 and other rescue tools for the International Rescue organization, the Thunderbird 2 was my favorite ship of the 1966 Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation TV show - Thunderbirds.

My Thunderbird 2 is the fourth version produced by Dinky and so it is not exactly the right color (the TV version is green). It was purchased at Heathrow airport on my way back from London sometime in the mid-1970's. It is incredible that it is still following me around after all these years. It still even has the Thunderbird 4 inside the cargo pod! This thing has been catching dust in my curio for as long as I can remember. It was time to put it to work ;-)