Not the four-legged ones, but the four-wheeled ones. Even cuter than the doggies, I’d say.
Upon further research, I don’t think these were really the Queen’s, so we will probably have to adjust some of the billboards that we bought. Maybe Prince Andrew’s? Definitely some royal lineage represented here. Very well-preserved.
We’re going to try and corral some more of these 1950s and 60s-vintage 1:43 Corgis onto the lot, as they have been known to fetch quite a few quid in this condition, even without the boxes. Here we have a No. 337 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Stock Car and a No. 245 Buick Riviera, both made in England during the 1960s, and pampered at some royale garage ever since.
We’re going to have to discuss those decals at some point.
When Mert drove this thing onto the lot we both started laughing our tiny asses off. Been a long time since we’d seen a Pacer! Both of us grew up in the midst of the Pacer/Gremlin era of American motoring. Japanese auto makers were looking to … what’s that word that means to completely suck out the innards and life blood from a living beast, leaving only a dessicated shell? Whatever that word is, that’s what Toyota and Honda were in the process of doing at the time. It was a time before American auto makers could be assured of one bailout after another, gas prices were going wild, and they were in a panic. Their panic was a generally good consequence of the oil shock of the early 70s. At least they had to reevaluate, which they’re not doing much of now. But Gremlins and Pacers and a whole list of ill-advised and frankly hilarious chaos came out of North American factories (US, Canada and Mexico) in response.
This little Hot Wheels Packin’ Pacer, like a time machine from the late 1970s with its excellently preserved decals and paint, forces observers to wonder just what is being packed here. But then you look in the back, and there’s like a drag racing motor back there. Isn’t that dangerous? Looks dangerous! But they probably know what they’re doing. Mert says no problem. Take it for a test drive today!
Since we last talked I built a few trucks. Small ones. Big small ones though.
I find this RC rock crawling action to be very fun and relaxing. Forces you to really look at some rocks. Building the trucks was a hoot too. But it makes me feel like a very silly man when I mess around with big small RC trucks and with the ultimate time clock ticking louder and faster in my ear, it doesn’t happen very often. Can everybody not hear that?!
Note the painted-on logos on the C10 body. I was inspired to give it a try by a famous RC painter called Hemistorm. All the paint and masking tape goes on the inside of the clear lexan body (allowing us to fall off cliffs without scratching up the paint) so it’s an interesting puzzle trying to figure out how to get the design drawn inside there on top of the tape, then to calculate the proper sequence of colors to paint and which pieces of masking tape to remove and when. All the cuts in the tape are made prior to any painting. The process is greatly complicated by the fact that a paint layer behind another layer will affect the way the first layer looks. And by the fact that doing all that intricate work inside the truck body is freakin’ hard, man. Also designed a sheet of custom decals but making those things turns out to be as funked up of a process as the logo-painting.
I think it turned out pretty nice for a first try and I’d like to do some more of this stuff with more intricate designs — if I can find the time.
As promised, some pics of the finished AVD truck model that I purchased from a seller in Russia. Can you see what’s missing here? And if you have it, would you please send it to me, thank you.
Strangely, the best 1/43 truck model kits readily available have been sold by a Russian company called AVD. Unfortunately for us international truck model lovers, the models are nearly all Russian trucks and buses, with some Tatras and Skodas thrown in. The kits are manufactured in China and are of relatively high quality. The kits aren’t vintage but many of the subject trucks are. Older kits in AVD’s extensive production line have metal bodies and frames; the trend in recent years is toward resin.
I purchased a semi tractor kit on eBay (they are expensive—$50–$100 with shipping) and waited months for its arrival. When it came it was a bit out of place among the other packages laying about.
It sat there in a pile of boxes for another several months before I finally opened it up. Gotta let the nerve agent wear off, that’s common knowledge.
One of the best things about these AVD kits in my opinion is the rogue graphic designer who inserted images of famous musicians, movie stars, dictators, etc. on the box covers. This kit that I bought had John Lennon, as seen on the cover of Abbey Road. Looks like he’s about to get unceremoniously maimed by the truck in question. Another kit features Charlie Chaplin, toddling next to an otherwise completely nondescript truck. I do believe Stalin graces one of the boxes, behind the wheel of a large vintage hauler, while gravelly-voiced lead vocalist Brian Jones of AC/DC seems to appear next to a dump truck on another. I think that’s who that is.
And what’s up with the random bulldog? Is its owner just out of frame?
The model itself is pretty fantastic. Everything comes together very nicely, with good detail. Rubber tires, rolling axles, detailed engine and undercarriage, nice decals. Hard to believe no American company is offering something similar with USA-built trucks, using the same Chinese factory to produce the goods. I don’t know why they don’t when the molds are already made and they’ve got at least 1 certified sucker right here ready to go.
Had a few interesting issues with the build. My model glue did not work on this plastic, not sure why. Just did not work. Maybe not bonding with the nerve agent, that’s just a guess. No big deal as I just used epoxy which was better for most of the construction anyway. Also, one of the pieces was seemingly missing from the sealed box, also not a huge deal but annoying and possibly the reason this particular kit, the MAZ-6422, is among the cheapest AVD kits available.
Altogether I really enjoyed this trip behind the Iron Curtain that supposedly no longer exists, and the finished model is lovely. I would enjoy building more of these, but what would people say about a guy in possession of a fleet of tiny Russian trucks.
The latest chapter in my ongoing descent to the musty depths of old manness involved the interception of several vintage Solido metal 1/43 kits, and the unavoidable completion of one of em, a ’71 Ferrari Daytona, which I painted orange with black wheels in complete defiance of the 3 sets of included race decals just because I thought it would be cool. Update: It is!
The Solido kits, made in France, come together a lot more, mmm, solidly, than the FDS kits or Hubley kits I’ve built. The bodies are made with better metal, parts are machined with greater precision, and almost everything snaps into place with righteous finality, which no doubt makes them a lot better for kids or novices. Decals are superbe with an e on the end. When finished, they could even serve admirably as toys, with suspension and working doors. (A cool project would be to build one of these and give it to a kid like any other toy. Think about building it as tough as can be so the kid can really go to town on it, epoxy, clearcoat, etc.) Despite all the positives, the Solido kits are not as sought after as the older clunkier kits. Just not as sexy to collectors for some reason. But I’ve got 2 more for sale right now, a Citroen (!) rallye car and a Pugeot rallye car. Get at em before I do.
This saga is just going to get weirder too. Stay tuned.
We’re all coked up about this new Matchbox Lesney 37A Karrier Coke truck that we acquired by accident a while back. We just figured out that this unassuming little fella is a rare version of the 37A, with grey plastic wheels. 99.9% of 37A’s were installed with metal wheels, with a few grey plastic wheels sneaking in at the end of the production run. Can’t tell you how close we were to just putting this rare item up for sale on Ebay for like 15$ without figuring that out. I can’t stress this enough: Our ignorance is your opportunity!
Proves this passage from the previous post:
Quite a haul. Nice stuff. A small bit of paint damage – most in what we call Excellent Condition (see the explanation of terms over on your right). No super rare ones as far as I know, but I don’t know that far. Experienced collectors could do themselves some favors by sorting through my inventory and checking for whatever jewels might be laying on the ground over there, ready to be plucked. No doubt I’ve sold some highly sought-after pieces for the proverbial penny, simply because I am a stupid, stupid man. My ignorance is your opportunity. Maybe we will paint that on the water tower.
The 37A is not to be confused with the 37B. The 37A does not have a base plate, which means that if you try to drive this thing around delivering tiny Cokes the cold wind will blow right up your knickers.
How much should we ask for something like this? We know it’s very rare (much more scarce than the famed “uneven load” version), we know it’s in very good-to-excellent condition and hauls a lot of tiny Coke very smoothly on its plastic wheels. And we know crazed Matchbox collectors are known to pay a lot for such things. Can’t help themselves. The grey plastic wheels add, oh, up to $100 to the normal value. With that in mind I think the price we have on it now is quite a bargain, and if it doesn’t sell, we’ll happily find a permanent place for it in the barn.
Quite a haul. Nice stuff. A small bit of paint damage – most in what we call Excellent Condition (see the explanation of terms over on your right). No super rare ones as far as I know, but I don’t know that far. Experienced collectors could do themselves some favors by sorting through my inventory and checking for whatever jewels might be laying on the ground over there, ready to be plucked. No doubt I’ve sold some highly sought-after pieces for the proverbial penny, simply because I am a stupid, stupid man. My ignorance is your opportunity. Maybe we will paint that on the water tower.
Received more Wiking, and having to figure out some place to park it. The lot now completely surrounds Helga’s place, except for her frontage along West Bacon. Lot has also taken on a distinctly German flavor. Schnitzel!
Note to self: Is Helga German? Only speaks cryptically about “Old Country.” Must ask Mert if he knows.
The 2-tone Mercedes cabriolet is a 1959-61 vintage and pretty special. I put it up on the Bay and it sold in about 45 seconds to a US collector – a good sign for future sales.
BOB'S USED CAR LOT 