CORGI THE BEATLES YELLOW SUBMARINE

This is a completely casting of the Yellow Submarine. The new sub measures 67mm high and 114mm long. This compares to the original model's 69mm and 132mm respectively. The dimensions aren't that different and and yet the model seems much smaller and more squat. Gone are the opening haches, revolving periscope feature and white upper deck. Although a much simplified model, at least the painted figures are included and seem not to have been reduced in size. The box is most nostalgic with its lovely artwork from the film. See more

CORGI THE BEATLES YELLOW SUBMARINE SPECIAL EDITION

In 1999 Corgi revamped The Beatles Collection. Off went the AEC billboard truck, and the Dormobile; in came new packaging and figures for the Yellow Submarine.

The new window box with header card was a rather austere black and the pictures of The Beatles (more Hard Day's Night than Yellow Submarine) were given greater emphasis. But the new, separate figurines were excellent. The 54mm metal figures were very accurate renditions of the cartoon characters and dressed correctly for their journey as The Beatles and not Sergeant Pepper's band.

This was a limited edition and according to the certificate in my example, only 5,250 were made. This version appears in the 2000 fold out leaflet for Corgi's TV themed models, but it was replaced by brand new model. See more

THUNDERBIRDS 40th ANNIVERSARY 2 AND 4 DIECAST

Two of the price of one model with this release. They come in specially designed 40th Anniversary packaging. Thunderbird 4 fits neatly into the belly of 2. A lever releases this portion, a ramp lowers and 4 is away. The legs of 2 are retractable. Good fun. Shop here

007 on the Case

Packaging design for Corgi's new Definitive Bond Collection was recently commissioned from the leading design consultancy Stocks Taylor Benson.

The series features eleven models and each will be encased in its own individually created pack featuring images from the relevant blockbuster Bond film. To capture the real essence of 007, stills and artwork from the original promotional posters held by the EON Films archive were made available to the Stocks Taylor Benson Design team.

Glenn Taylor, Managing Director at STB Design, enthused 'This was a great commission for us, with no shortage of requests from our designers to be on Corgi's Bond team. With so many dramatic scenes and top stars to choose from, there was also a wealth of images available to create a memorable series of pack designs'--Model Collector

 

James Bond Aston Martin DB5 'Gold Finger'

James Bond - Citroen 2CV 'For Your Eyes Only'

 

James Bond - Double Decker Bus 'Live and Let Die'

James Bond Merceds Saloon 'Octopussy' 

 

 James Bond Renault Taxi 'A View to Kill'

James Bond - Toyota 2000GT 'You Only Live Twice' 

James Bond - BMW 750i 'Tomorrow Never Dies'

James Bond - BMW Z3 Roadster 'Golden Eye'

 James Bond - BMW Z8 'The World is not Enough'

Looney Tunes Vintage Bugs Bunny Die Cast Car

I really don't know why Matchbox didn't go with a sixth Looney tune character instead of two Bugs Bunnies. Sylvester would have been perfect, he could have been holding Tweetie in his outstretched hand while coming through the windshield of either vehicle Bugs uses. Plenty of other characters they could have gone with too if they didn't want to use him. Without the flag, this just looks like there was supposed to be another character but the deadline for design was coming up so they just used the same rabbit but without the flag. James N Sympson  Shop here

Looney Tunes Pro Racers Taz With Sprint Car

 

This car, Taz, is a nice yellow with blue stripe sprint car. It has TAZ OIL in big red black bordered letters on the side of the vehicles silver roof wings. Also written in black on there is Pure Tasmanian Oil. These words also appear on the front wing. The wings are very shiny and reflective so if using a camera to photograph and brag to your friends on Facebook or something you'll need to turn the flash off. There is a small Acme Safe and Co logo inside a red circle on the side, as well as the words TAZ TRANS, and Merry Melodies inside a red rectangle. On the rear sides of the vehicle is the red number 99. The prototype shown on the back of the blister card (see my images for this product) shows Taz wearing a yellow with red stripe swimming cap. He is not wearing that in the real versions. You'd think Matchbox would have at least retaken the photo with the produced cars but I guess someone got lazy in production. James N Sympson  Shop here

Looney Tunes - Pro Racers - Wile E. Coyote #99 Miniature Car

 

 

This car Wile - E Coyote is a nice car but I would have much preferred the black Nascar shown on the back where it shows all six to collect (see my images for this product). Obviously the prototype was a black car, who knows why they didn't run with that but it would have been nice when you consider how similar this looks to the white Bugs Bunny Nascar. I also like how on the prototype car Wile-E is wearing goggles, as are the other characters which don't in the real versions. You'd think Matchbox would have at least retaken the photo with the produced cars but I guess someone got lazy in production. Speaking of the card, you can also get all six vehicles on a black rather than blue blister card, the blue is a lot cheaper though. You can get the blue carded ones for well under $10 each if your patient enough on E-bay and elsewhere. This and the other Nascar one tend to go for the cheapest auction price, Road Runner and Daffy seem to be the most sought after and highest priced.--James N Sympson   Shop here

Looney Tunes - Pro Racers - Bugs Bunny - Looney Tunes Racing #1 Miniature Race Car

 

You can choose from two Bugs Bunny themed vehicles in the series of six Looney Tune Pro Racer vehicles. This is by far the better of the two both as a stand alone vehicle as well as in how it displays with the other five characters. Because Wile E. Coyote also comes on a white Nascar and is also coming through the windshield after failing to wear a seatbelt, the Bugs Bunny Nascar one looks very similar. Whereas this old 70s/80s Group C Racing Car looks very different to Wile E.'s one plus the figure also is holding a flag. It also looks way better with it's carrot themed paint (the white car's bonnet, roof and engine compartment are painted orange with the rear wing on the back painted green roughly resembling a carrot when viewed from above. Reinforcing this subliminal image are two actual images of carrots, one on each side with the words Bugs Bunny on them. Just in case somehow the figure was broken out of the car you've also got an image of Bugs Bunny on the bonnet (hood) with his catchphrase What's Up Doc? beside it. On the side panels are the words Looney Tunes Racing in a font you'd be familiar with if you ever watched the cartoons back in the 80s. I have uploaded some images for you but the car itself if you were a child back then is very similar to many that were around then so if you're an adult collector it will bring back some memories of your childhood. Not that kids today won't like the car either. The car's design on the base says 1984, with the new carrot paint job the Looney Tune Pro Racers came out in 1991. The figure is made of plastic and rotate slightly in the windshield. The flag and figure are obviously the most fragile, and this is the one of the six vehicles most likely to move and roll onto the floor if where they are being displayed is bumped. It is the lightest of all six pro racers by a long way.

The other three characters in the series are Daffy Duck on the roof of a green ute), Taz on a sprint car and Road Runner on another racing car. It is a shame they didn't include a different character instead of having two Bugs Bunny ones. Sylvester holding Tweetie would have been nice or any of the huge range of other characters. The Matchbox Pro Racers are a nice little set to collect, you should be able to find them for under $10 each on blue blister cards in online auctions if you're patient enough or even cheaper if you can somehow get a set. They also come on black blister cards which are rarer and more expensive. --James N Sympson  Shop here

LOONEY TUNES - PRO RACERS - DAFFY DINNER #13 MINIATURE RACE TRUCK

 

 This is easily the best of the six Looney Tune pro racers. Daffy comes on top of a green and purple off road racing ute. He spins 360 degree around so you can pose him however you like including looking like he is holding onto the roof and top of the windshield. He is sort of in a high diver's stance so you can use him in other displays as well as with the vehicle. Shop here

LOONEY TUNES - PRO RACERS - ROAD RUNNER #2 MINIATURE CAR

 

 The Looney Tune Pro Racer series is a pretty nice and still reasonably priced series of TV related Matchbox vehicles to collect. You can get five characters in six different vehicles. As well as this dragster Road Runner car you get Daffy Duck clinging onto a ute, Bugs Bunny comes in two cars, a carrot themed older style racing car, as well as a Nascar one which is very similar to the Wile E. Coyote flying through the front window after not wearing a seatbelt Nascar one. The carrot themed one is much better where he is holding a flag. You've also got Taz on a sprint car. All characters are plastic and do rotate slightly. The cars are of course like all Matchbox vehicles, die-cast metal. 

Roadrunner is sponsored by Bird Seed Company, written on the right side of the car before the number 2. From the left side the sponsor is also there but it's hard to read on the rear boot side. This sponsor means coyotes will have to come up with something else to use as bait to get roadrunner to stop in the middle of the road for him to pull a rope and make an anvil fall on him. Also sponsoring the boot (trunk) with their name in capital letters is ACME TAR & FEATHER CO. Sagebrush Headers is also a word sponsor on each side of the car, don't really get the joke of that one. 

The car has a massive silver oversized motor, it is impossible for a driver to see out the windshield with this motor so luckily this team found roadrunner with his long neck who can poke his neck through a hole in the windshield and still see. There is also a hole in the rear window for his tail. The head and tail are made of rubber and are pretty flexible, however they would easily be pulled out if a child or someone decided to carry the car around by either instead of picking up the whole car. 

This isn't the best car of the series but it is the hardest to track down.--James N Simpson Shop here