powerrabbit

Everyone seems to be rather fast in dissing Britains for their 'failings' but I think that Corgi have sunk to an even lower level. They have in the last couple of years re-released old stuff like all the TV and film related vehicles and a raft of busses and commercial veichles to mention a few which to me is not that interesting as the scale is too small and for what they are prices too high. I don't collect much Corgi but they do occasionally come up with some good items, meaning the Anglia Fordson and JCB service vans, the JCB 3CX MK1 digger, long wheelbase Land Rover and Transit van but all the scales are different which is a little off-putting, perhaps we have been spoilt with the more 'standard' 1:32 scale for our collecting purposes but there is no consistancy between the scales from Corgi across the model range in order to mix and match models, most seem to be 'stand alone' models unless you collect them on a 'theme' such as the road transport models. This has always puzzled me.

It was announced in various collector and model magazines last year that Corgi were to release new tractor models of initially the Fordson Major 5000 and the MF135. Anyone heard anything or have they decided to give up? Perhaps they think that the competition is too great.

Regarding the shepherd and lamb, if he was by calculation 17 years old when he first 'started work' then he was an old man before his time but over the ensuing years did not age at all. There was, besides a few changes to his colour sceme, one difference over the years and I think worth mentioning to anyone who may not have noticed, that the early version, the lamb had very tiny ears and the later one had bigger ears. Like the little girl riding the pony, early girl had short pigtails, later she had long pigtails.

Without looking it all up, I think the Chafer sprayer had a very long life and in its various incarnations and model variants the Land Rover must be one of if not the longest produced. Quite a lot of the farm figures and animals have been around for an eternity from their original lead forms through the polythene and plastic eras although there have been several mould changes over the years. I did read somewhere that the longest running production of the figures to date has been that of the scarecrow.

Finding suitable donor parts at a reasonable price to make the end product viable, especially if keeping it. Room on the table to do it, using the kitchen table is a little unpractical as some things in the construction process have to be left to 'set'. I say this from the point of veiw of someone who prefers to when possible build something of an earlier era.

The wooden shed with perspex roof-lights and Ford 5610 set was a good one, I picked up a boxed set of this one in a toy fair for a tenner a couple of years back.

In my opinion repro boxes are perfectly ok if you want to protect a model for your own collection and are not that difficult to create with a decent photo copier and correct type and thickness of card. The only difficulty in doing them is the size. Most copiers will only take A4 so you have to create some in sections unless you take it to a printers that have larger commercial copiers. As regards to people producing and selling them commercially then I agree that they should be stated as copies or reproductions as there are copright laws that apply if they are copied as exact to the original. The value of these boxes are only in the cost of the materials, card, ink and cellophane and add no value whatever to the model but it's up to the individual to buy or not to buy.

Britains ought to bring back the garden stuff, especially now that allotments and 'grow your own' is getting more popular, they would probably make a killing.

Agree about the 'accessories'. I have to find a copper beech and a weeping willow and that would complete the set as I have the rest, in early box and later hanging card and polly bag. Have not really got into the 'garden' stuff quite yet but gradually picking up bits and bobs as and when I come across it at the right price. A lot of this smaller stuff came in nice small packaging and boxes which are easy to replicate, not original I know but at least you can sort out the bits and store in 'sets' keeping it safe and identifiable. You can never have too many accessories!

My copy came in the post yesterday, just had a look through it today. There is a good article on rare models, mostly Dinky. I know that the blue bodied 'Weeks tipping trailer' is rare 'cause I've got one but mine has yellow metal wheels not red plastic as shown, infact I have two but the other has a broken chassis and missing tailboard. The green wheeled and rubber tyred Field Marshall is not that rare, they were the last to be produced in 1960, you still find them quite regularly. Also didn'y realize that a few of the Leyland 384 had a black plastic steering wheel on a wire shaft as opposed to the more common silver metal one with a thicker boss, I've got one of these as well. Might pay you all to look at your Dinkies. Second part of this article in the next issue.

The Britains one is ok but don't forget the Corgi one. Corgi has this last year produced some pretty good JCB stuff, the artic box one and the low loader with digger, both of which I have not bothered with but I do have the Transit van, long wheelbase Land Rover and the latest release, the JCB 3C MK1 which are limited in production numbers. The 3C is a cracking little model and very accurate, a very worthwile model to have in your collwction even at 1:50 scale.

Nice to see these still working, old soldiers never die! Are the roots sugarbeet or mangolds?

Nice complete plastic Britaind greenhouse with a dozen plants in pots and 3 seed trays. Ebay purchase.

The highway and gun metal 5000's came today. Thanks Andy, good looking models in the 'flesh'.

They mostly came in sets and were around a tenner a set and contained quite a selection for the money, some of the implements were a bit non-descript and tacky but the tractors were quite good and substantial with metal bonnets and cabs and they were glazed as well apart from the doors. There are a couple of sets on eBay at present.

Was the cheaper or 'budget' side of Siku, same as what the 'Little Farmer' side of Britains was. Now discontinued.

Just received via eBay a mint unboxed early Britains front loader with just the fork and a complete early boxed young Beech tree.

Tractors, and other vehicles alike, are I believe manufactured to different specifications for different countries of the world mainly for that particular countries laws and regulations.

These dual wheel studs and nuts will fit all tractors that have the standard Sankey (or is it Sanky) 28" 8-stud wheels, Dexta, 2000, TE20, MF35 (and their derivitives) D.B. 770, 780 880 and 885 and others. All you do is replace the standard nuts with the long ones and then screw in the extention studs into them, put on the spacers, put on the second set of wheels, inside-out (or reveresed I should say) and put back on your normal wheel nuts. Whallah. When you see odd wheels at farm sales with the tyres on rear rims 'the wrong way round' it's usually because they have been used as duals. These sets are also used on older 'cage' types that use a standard wheel centre.

That is what I was hinting at.

Apart from on your 'profile' side of your post Markus, none of the others that have replied have their location shown either! And I see that my location isn't showing either.

Just a white thin shiny card box with a picture of the tractor on it, same really as the others.

Don't really know how relevant this comment is to this topic but you do find on these image searches pictures that you yourself have uploaded to sites and if they are particularly good images or pictures of sentiment to you, not sure how, but you should try to find a way to copyright them or encode some text on them if you wish to protect them as very often they can be just 'lifted' by others and pasted into their own picture files and used elsewhere. Just a thought in passing.

Interesting. Mate of mine has listed a quite expensive to purchase item with a reserve, after the first bid of the starting price the reserve dissapeared on his 'sellers page' and reverted to an open auction format. Now this is confusing, what are eBay up to. This is going to make sellers get their 'mates' to bid items up to protect their items from selling for a pittance and I wouldn't blame them. Another thing that I have noticed is that on certain items you wish to sell free p&p has to be offered, this doesn't make sense either as the p&p could be more than the end price of the item. If they're not careful people are going to leave the site in droves. I would say that if you wish to put a reserve price on an item, start it at that price and if it doesn't sell at least you've protected it and just bear the listing fee. As they say, there's more than one way to skin a cat!

Sounds like it's time for the dealership to get out a Massey rep and take up the problem with the factory. inferior materials or poor design.