2010 Queanbeyan Swap meet - Diecast Haul

Unlike last years Queanbeyan Swapmeet, this years had much better weather with no rain! There were many vendors selling diecast, not just in the dedicated diecast hall, but also scattered among the individual sites, with people just selling off parts and general car related (mostly) stuff. A full report on my two days at the swapmeet can be found on my other blog 'On Four Wheels'.

I came very close to buying this, but I have other 3 inch service stations that just sit in their boxes, and no room to display, so i left it behind for someone else to take home I did circle back several times while I ummed and aahed about it though. I think it was Australian made, from the late 60's.

I've never seen this many Micro models in one place before. When I arrived serious negotiations were under way over the tanker in the front. It ended up going home with a gentleman. I own one Micro, and thought about buying a few more but none fitted my collecting themes.

Here is my haul! Issues 1-100 of Restored Car magazine, in excellent condition, for an embarrassingly small amount. A few novelty number plates, a tyre ash tray, a 1982 Bathurst Book, a Sidchrome adjustable spanner - and 14 diecast cars.

 

Matchbox 'Midnight Magic' in black and silver - the only diecast I picked up from the dedicated diecast vendors hall. It cost 2 bucks. A bargain I thought, although it needs a cleanup. Three Australian themed matchbox cars, a Falcon, a Commodore and an FJ. I already had the FJ and Falcon, but not boxed. 5 bucks each.

Three Fun Ho diecast. new Zealand made toys roughly Lesney sized. A Ford truck, a Bedford and an articulated lorry. All very rough, but complete. My first Fun Ho and as anything that you have more than three of is a collection...

These two Ford GT's are kids toys. Made by Kinsmart. I picked them up and thought that apart from the odd 1:36 scale, not bad for 5 bucks each. The Anglia behind it was from the same vendor, and is also a kids toy, also in 1:36, by Saico.

A golden Trax FJ Holden in 1:43 - I have no idea what its worth, but I paid about what it cost new. The two Matchbox Kingsize were IIRC ten bucks each. In excellent condition. The K-7 Racing Transporter has no racing car, but is complete apart from that, clean glass and stickers. I love the K-7, and have a small fleet of them.

Overall I had a great day looking for Ford and Leyland parts, old motoring books and magazines, and of course tiny cars. When I was laying out my treasures to photograph I realised I only bought one car from the vendors in the dedicated diecast building. Why? Several reasons- firstly, I already had a lot of the cars that they had on sale that fitted my collecting themes, secondly, many of the vendors have unrealistic pricing on their wares. Especially on items where the box is atrociously worn, and has obviously been packed and unpacked from show to show. If I am paying a premium I want it mint and pristine. One person had a recent range of 1:32 Australian cars on sale at 60 dollars each - you can still buy them at Toys'R'Us for 15 dollars less!  Then again, some vendors had quite reasonable prices and some would haggle. It never hurts to make a lower offer than the stated price - and I always do.

There were a few exceptions to this diatribe, and I must single out Trevor from Trax. Trax have always had a stall at this swapmeet, and they do sell their cars at their retail price, with a big array of show specials priced at 30 dollars. Sadly I already had everything on the table that fitted my collecting themes so I didn't spend a cent with Trax - but I had a great chat and found out a few things coming up from Trax.

• The Legends series has a second item in the planning stage featuring Mick Doohan and his World Championship bike. Licensing with Honda is under way. This would be the first motorcycle model from Top Gear. 
• A Trax 1:43 HQ Statesman is coming out at the end of the year. 
• No more 1:24 cars are likely, only recolours and different liveries of existing cars.
• No recolour of the 1:43 Leyland P76 is on the horizon (as far as Trevor knows anyway). 

Trax had a Legends 1:43 Brabham car on the table, so I picked it up and inspected it closely. It doesn't fit any of my collecting themes, so I haven't bought one, but I was very impressed with the first resin from Top Gear. Crisp lines, excellent detail for the scale, good paint, it was a really nice little model.

I had a great two days at the Swapmeet and recommend it to every car and diecast enthusiast. I spent some money, found some treasures and looked at great cars - all in beautiful Canberra weather.

Related posts:
2010 Queanbeyan Swap Meet/All Ford Day Part 1 of 6

 

Canberra Model Vehicle Collectors Club

I never used to be a joiner of anything. I flew solo, the Lone Wolf. Then I joined the Leyland P76 collectors world and realised that in those groups lay many years of latent knowledge, just waiting for someone to ask the right questions. At my first P76 meeting I had 10 years of electrical gremlins diagnosed and resolved in the first hour. Recently, I began researching Dinkum and Leyland 1:43 Leyland P76's for an article to go in the P76 National Magazine. Steve Maher a P76 fan and member of the Sydney Model Auto Club provided some great advice and contacts. When I finished, I mused if there was a Canberra equivalent. I googled. Yes, but the contact details were out of date and my quest went cold. I emailed Steve who managed to find a contact in Canberra. Peter Clayden. I called Peter and it turns out we have met and chatted at several car shows, as he is a major morris minor collector. I was invited to the next meeting.

The member displays

I arrived a little earlier than the 7.30PM time, and ran into 'Louis' who was setting up his display. I introduced myself and we chatted while other members arrived. Each monthly meeting has a theme, and this month it was 'articulated vehicles'. Members set their display up, and then vote on the displays, with a winner emerging. I did not know this, and bought some Lledo land speed record cars and Matchbox Superking K7 Race car transporters.

Peters wife writing model details down for judging purposes. 

Louis writing down model details as well.

Articulated vehicles!

My display having its details recorded. The $20 note is annual dues. 

I guess technically that centre steer vehicles are articulated.

Corgi car transporters, with a Matchbox Superking hiding up the back.

My display. Next month I will do better (and use my camera instead of my phone for photos). 

As well as looking at diecast models, the club lets you peruse recent diecast magazines and there is often a talk. This month a well respected Canberra academic, and diecast collector,  gave a talk on 'Vehicles in Afghanistan' as he had been there recently on a visit. Let me say that you know Canberra is a small town when you get a briefing on Afghanistan from a respected public figure, and meet him at a model car club! It was a fascinating talk, illustrated using Powerpoint on a drop down screen with over a hundred photos, and I could have asked dozens of non-vehicle related question but kept quiet (time and place thing).

The Canberra Model Vehicle Collectors Club meets at Eastlake Football Club at 7.30 PM on the first Monday of the month.

I am the Stig. I drive Dune Buggies

I am the Stig. I drive Dune Buggies.

Into the garage - VY SS Ute, Moffat XB GT, Superkings Transporter

After selling a few diecast cars on Ebay, I decided to restock the garage. Two purchases occurred at Fisher Discounts, and one from Ebay.

The first purchase is a Classic Carlectables, 1/43 Holden VY SS Utility - with Canopy (factory). Effectively, a VY SS Panelvan.  I have only seen a handful of these on the road, and was quite taken with the 1/43 version.

The casting is very good, and the fine detail is captured accurately. None of the doors open, but this is rare in 1/43. The interior is very good, with multicoloured and patterned seats, and a nice dash. The body colour is called 'Phantom'.

The wheels are nicely cast, not too 'chromey' and capture the sheen of the real cars rims accurately. You can also see tiny brake calipers on the disc brakes if you squint. Best of all, this car was on special - and cost $25. As one of only 1250 produced, this is quite a scarce model. I am not a big Commodore fan, but this is a nice example of design, and is a little different to your normal Commodore.

The second car was a very attractive Biante/AutoArt 1/43 Ford XB Falcon GT, as raced by Allan Moffat in the 1976 Bathurst 1000.

This is a beautifully rendered version of the XB Coupe. The body shape is accurate, the colour scheme is accurate, and the racing wheels and interior are accurately represented. This was also on special at Fisher Discounts, at $45.

The limits of my photographic skill dont truly capture how well presented the interior of this car is. You can see a racing seat and various racing modifications which are different from the road version. In this scale, its impressive.

The underside is also different. The front wheels actually turn! The suspension and underbody look accurate, and notice the racing pipes. Apart from the fact its clean, and there is a dirty big hole that a screw goes into to hold it on a baseplate, it could be a real car flipped on its side.

This shot nicely shows the beauty of the racing paint scheme. I wish more people would paint  their road cars in more interesting paint schemes than the factory monocolour offerings. After driving a car painted in flames for 20 years, its definitely easier to find your car in a parking garage, among other advantages.

My final photo. Those are tiny clip on plastic covers over the headlights. On the real car, there were little angled curves on the inner edges, directing air into the radiator. Its the only inaccuracy I can find. Dont XB Coupes look good from the front ? Rhetorical question.

Final purchase, from Ebay, was this Matchbox Superkings K7 Racing Car Transporter. I already own one of these, but it was in 'much played with' condition, and I lost the racing car when I was a child. Box ? Also gone. I have no idea what the scale of this vehicle is. It could be 1/87.

A total fantasy design, not based on any real car, this was a childhood favourite. I saw this on ebay and even though it was without its box, i decided to bid anyway. It is in excellent condition with only a few very small chips, and the plastic car cover is unmarked. There was also a white version of this model produced. I've never seen it though.

This model came with the No 24 'Team Matchbox' 1:75 F1 Racing Car. Also in excellent condition. The stickers are in excellent condition. As a toy and not a model, like the other cars reviewed in this post, the paint quality is different, and it has thick stickers, not tampo printed or decals for detail. The paint colour screams 'Shell' to me. but it has 'Firestone', 'STP' and 'Team Matchbox'.

I like the gullwing doors. The rear door lowers, and the tray that the racing car rides in also pulls out to form a ramp. The design itself dates from 1972. Im not sure when this actual model was produced. By entering the garage it replaces the much played with version. I plan to update my Superking collection piece by piece. Id prefer boxed versions, but an unboxed version in this condition is fine by me.

Ratings

Classic Carlectables 1/43 VY SS Ute with Canopy

Quality   8

Design    8

Colours   8

X-factor  6

Rating: 30/40

Biante/AutoArt 1/43 Ford Falcon XB GT Moffatt-Schuppan 1976 Bathurst

Quality   9

Design    8

Colours   9

X-factor  9

Rating: 35/40

Matchbox Superkings K7 Racing Car Transporter

Quality   7

Design    9

Colours   6

X-factor  9

Rating: 31/40