Monthly Acquisitions August 2020

This month’s haul

I thought August was going to be a slightly disappointing month, in the first three weeks, I had only found a few cars in the secondhand shop but nothing to set my heart racing. Then on 23rd August, I met Beso at Dry Bridge Market, who was selling some Matchbox and Majorettes from the seventies. Two of my favourite brands and my favourite era for collecting. I wrote about this in my last post: Bonanza Time!

Beso’s stall on 23 August

I eventually bought 12 cars from Beso, 9 Majorettes and 3 Matchbox. I spent more this month than I have in any other month. This year my average expenditure is about 100 lari a month, but in August the expenditure shot up to 401.30 lari ($129.87).

expenditure

Majorettes

Majorettes have almost as big a nostalgia buzz as Matchbox for me, as a 9 year old child I visited Paris for the first time, went up the Eiffel Tower and came home with three Majorette cars, a Chrysler 180, BMW 3.0 CSi and a Mercedes 350SL, if my memory serves me well, I have now got all three of these and more.

9 Majorettes from the 1970s

1. Majorettes

These are all made in France and have boxes, some of the boxes are missing end flaps.

1. Jaguar E Type (Majorette) x 2…I have an orange one and a blue one.  Enzo Ferrari described the Jaguar E-Type (XKE on the US Market) as “the most beautiful car in the world.” 1:60 Scale. Opening bonnet (hood).
2. Fire Truck “Pompier” (Majorette). The ladder should be detachable, but I don’t want to detach it lest it breaks. This could be based on a Dodge. 1:80 scale.
3. Plymouth Fury Police Car (Majorette). This model should have an aerial (missing). 1:70 scale
4. Mercedes 350SL (Majorette). This model I had as a kid and it was on my Wants’ list. Beso had two: one in white, one in yellow, as I had the yellow model as a kid, I had to choose that. Scale 1:60. Opening boot (trunk).
5. Citroen DS Ambulance (Majorette). This model has a different style box to the others. It has blue flags on the bumpers and an opening rear door. Scale 1:65.
6. BMW 3.0CSi (Majorette). Like the Mercedes, this was also a model I had as a kid but in orange, not metallic dark red. Scale 1:60. Opening doors.
7. Citroen SM (Majorette). The Majorette is a very similar colour to the original Matchbox model. Scale 1:60. Opening doors.
8. Citroen Dyane “Maharadjah” (Majorette). This is a strange quirky model with a parasol that spins in Rolamatics fashion when the car is rolled along.

Matchbox

Matchbox models

1. Citroen SM (Matchbox)… I had one in a copper bronze colour but not in metallic light blue, it is also a fantastic example of a quirky French sports car, the lovechild of Citroen and Maserati. Scale 1:63. Opening doors. I’ve since been informed that the light blue version is very difficult to find to add to my joy. Made in England.
2. Dodge Charger  Mk 3 (Matchbox). #52 This is based on a concept car from 1968 with a flip up canopy. Scale 1:62. Made in England.
3. Iso Grifo. #14 This is my favourite Matchbox casting, I have never seen the actual car but I love the Matchbox model, this was one of the first cars to be made into a Superfast model back in 1969. The loop track set (SF2) included an Iso Grifo in the set and on the box art. Scale 1:62. Made in England.
4. Porsche Panamera. This is a recent casting, made in Thailand. 1:66 scale. I found this loose in a secondhand toy shop.

Hot Wheels

Hot Wheels

1. Volkswagen Golf Mk2. This was the only model I bought new this month. Because of Coronavirus, the toy shops here haven’t stocked up on any new Hot Wheels product since the beginning of the year. I like this colour for the casting, I think it works better than yellow or white, which I have seen previously. Made in Malaysia.
2. ’64 Impala. Classic Chevrolet. Made in Malaysia.
3. ’55 Chevy. This model is a little playworn, I got it in a trade at Samgori Market with “Tsiteli“. I like the colour and the style. Made in Thailand.
4. Avant Garde . This is a fantasy model inspired by the Citroen DS. Made in Malaysia.

Other Models

Other models

1. Moskvitch 412. This is in very rough condition and I need to clean it up. I got this at Dry Bridge Market, too but not from Beso. 1:43 Scale. Made in USSR.
2. VW Microbus (Realtoy). A nice looking casting of a VW Microbus in the three inch size. Diecast body, plastic base. Made in China.
3. “Nigel Gearsley” Aston Martin DBR9 (Mattel Disney Pixar). A model from the Cars series. If I had seen the Cars films as a child I might have a nostalgic yearning for them now. The movie cars from my childhood were cars like Herbie, the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine and TV Series Batmobile. I occasionally get these Pixar models because of the cars they are based on, in this case an Aston Martin.
4. Tooned Chevy Camaro. (Funline). I am not familiar with this brand. The car has rubber tyres and rolls well. I can’t see an interior through the darkened glass. It is quite weighty and would be great to race across the playground if you were 7 years old…sadly, I’m now close to fifty-seven years old.

 

Bilan

Totals: 21 Models:  4 Hot Wheels, 9 Majorette, 4 Matchbox, 1 Made in USSR, 1 Realtoy, 1 Mattel Disney Pixar and 1 Funline

1 Bought new, 19 bought secondhand,  1 traded

Outlets:  1 XS Toys, 13 Dry Bridge Market, 6 Secondhand Toy Shop, 1 Samgori Market

Net expenditure: 401.30 lari ($129.87)

1 lari = 32 US cents

Bonanza Time!

August was looking like an uninspiring month as far as collecting went, until Sunday that is, when I visited Dry Bridge Market in Tbilisi. I saw someone was selling some Matchbox and Majorette models from the seventies. Wow!

Sunday’s selection

The asking price per model was 30 lari ($9.71) , which seemed reasonable to me, there was no room for negotiation. I was quite restrained and just bought two; the Iso Grifo (Matchbox) and the Jaguar E Type (Majorette), but I also took the seller’s number as he told me he had more at home.  I asked my wife to call him as my Georgian is still rudimentary and we arranged to meet at the market on Thursday (today) at 2pm. The seller, Beso, came with a case full of Majorette and Matchbox.

Beso’s case

Before I came to the market, I reckoned on getting around ten models, if they were of similar quality to those I’d seen on the Sunday. It was a difficult choice. Not all the boxes had cars and there were a few loose, but soon I had selected ten I really wanted.

sorting through I found 10 I had to get…

My choices were mostly Majorette, whilst Matchbox is my favourite brand, most of the Matchbox were fantasy models and I prefer regular street cars.

I chose:

1. Citroen SM (Matchbox)… I had one in a copper bronze colour but not in metallic light blue, it is also a fantastic example of a quirky French sports car, the lovechild of Citroen and Maserati. Scale 1:63. Opening doors. I’ve since been informed that the light blue version is quite difficult to find to add to my happiness.
2. Jaguar E Type (Majorette)…I picked up an orange model on Sunday and a blue one today, Enzo Ferrari described the Jaguar E-Type (XKE on the US Market) as “the most beautiful car in the world.” 1:60 Scale. Opening bonnet (hood)
3. Fire Truck “Pompier” (Majorette). The ladder should be detachable, but I don’t want to detach it lest it breaks. This could be a Dodge. 1:80 scale.
4. Plymouth Fury Police Car (Majorette). This model should have an aerial (missing). 1:70 scale
5. Mercedes 350SL (Majorette). This model I had as a kid and it was on my Wants’ list. Beso had two: one in white, one in yellow, as I had the yellow model as a kid, I had to choose that. Scale 1:60. Opening boot (trunk).
6. Citroen DS Ambulance (Majorette). This model has a different style box to the others. It has blue flags on the bumpers and an opening rear door. Scale 1:65.
7. BMW 3.0CSi (Majorette). Like the Mercedes, this was also a model I had as a kid but in orange, not metallic dark red. Scale 1:60. Opening doors.
8. Citroen SM (Majorette). The Majorette is a very similar colour to the original Matchbox model. Scale 1:60. Opening doors.
9. Citroen Dyane “Maharadjah” (Majorette). This is a strange quirky model with a parasol that spins in Rolamatics fashion when the car is rolled along.
10. Dodge Charger  Mk 3 (Matchbox). #52 This is a concept car from 1968 with a flip up canopy. Scale 1:62.

My selection

I was surprised I was able to limit myself to just 10 models. Even so, the day witnessed the most I have spent in one day on diecast models, indeed the most I have spent in any month on such. I have very few cars with boxes, all of these have boxes, although some are missing their end flaps. The Matchbox cars are all made in England and the Majorettes are all made in France. I am very happy with this haul.

I told Beso if he still has some models in October, I could be interested in buying some more. There were also a couple of empty boxes (Saab Sonnet and Mercury Police Car) which would interest me if he finds the appropriate car. Also there was a two pack of a car with glider and trailer, but he only had the trailer, this could interest me too if he finds the rest.

I managed to cross 4 cars off my Majorette Wants’ List, of the 10 cars on the list, which I put up back in 2017, I only have two Renaults left to find. I wish it was so easy to find my Matchbox wants!

Majorette wants from Wants’ List   (published 23 September 2017):

1. Citroen SM (found 27 August 2020)
2. Renault 17
3. Simca 1100 (found 18 March 2018)
   
4. Mercedes 350SL (found 27 August 2020)
5. Chrysler 180 (found 23 May 2019)
   
6. Jaguar E Type (found 23 August 2020)
7. Matra Simca Bagheera (found 2 May 2018)
   
8. BMW 3.0CSL (found 27 August 2020)
9. Renault 16 
10. Jaguar F Type (found 24 November 2018)

 

 

 

Made in USA

I have been collecting model cars for a long time but only recently have I found any models actually “Made in USA”. I have a lot of Hot Wheels; Mattel is an American company but those models I have are made in Hong Kong, China, Thailand  or Malaysia.

5 models “Made in USA”

It was a surprise to find a TootsieToy “El Camino” at Dry Bridge Market. The model comes from around 1970. It is heavily playworn; the roof and sides have lost most of the original paint. It also doesn’t look like any “El Camino” I’m familiar with.

A second TootsieToy model I found is the Winnebago RV Camper a model from the late 70s, I am a fan of Breaking Bad, a TV series which used an RV as a Meth Lab in New Mexico, I would love to find a model of a Pontiac Aztec to go with it to complete the Breaking Bad vibe.

Winnebago RV Camper (TootsieToy)

The TootsieToy models lack interiors and have less detail than Hot Wheels or Matchbox.

I found the “General Lee” in a secondhand toy store, here in Tbilisi. An ERTL model of the “General Lee” Dodge Charger from The Dukes of Hazzard TV series of the eighties.

ERTL “General Lee” Dodge Charger and TootsieToy El Camino Pick Up

I am not sure about the controversial Confederate flag on the roof, but I guess I used to have Luftwaffe Models with Swastikas and it is faithful to the TV series.

The secondhand toy store also came up with a Hubley Semi Tractor Cab from the sixties, a larger scale than I would usually collect.

Hubley Semi Tractor Cab

Yesterday, I picked up a blue Pick Up Truck by Strombecker (a part of TootsieToy), this truck is plastic not diecast, manufactured in Chicago before the 1980s when the firm moved most toy car manufacturing to China. It was only one lari, I will probably give it to my grandson it is ideal for the sand pit. This is a revamp of an earlier post Made in the USA, revamped because of the two American made models I found in the past week.

 

Made in the USA

I have been collecting model cars for a long time but only recently have I found any models actually “Made in USA”. I have a lot of Hot Wheels; Mattel is an American company but the models I have are made in Hong Kong, China, Thailand  or Malaysia.

Made in the USA: ERTL General Lee and TootsieToy “El Camino”

It was a surprise to find a TootsieToy “El Camino” at Drybridge Market. I think the model comes from the early sixties (correction around 1970, thanks Bill Pulliam). It is heavily playworn; the roof and sides have lost most of the original paint. It also doesn’t look like any “El Camino” I’m familiar with.

The second model appeared about a month later in a secondhand toy store, here in Tbilisi. An ERTL model of the “General Lee” Dodge Charger from The Dukes of Hazzard TV series of the eighties.

General Lee

I am not sure about the controversial Confederate flag on the roof, but I guess I have Luftwaffe Models with Swastikas and it is faithful to the TV series.

The secondhand toy store also came up with a Hubley Semi Tractor Cab from the sixties, a larger scale than I would usually collect.

Hubley Semi Tractor Cab #1490