corgi bond aston,first good find of the year

[GHOSTHUNTER]

As a previous collector of Vauxhall models, I can mention a few interesting snippets.

The well known 'Brand' name toy and model companies did not make as many Vauxhalls against Fords, Austins and Morris cars, simply because of Vauxhall's then policy, on toy and model replicas of their cars. They were very 'against' this whole idea and controlled who was allowed to make replicas.

The models that do exist in collections, the very few Corgi, Dinky and Matchbox examples we know of, were made with full Vauxhall co-operation and only after those firms had paid for quite an expensive licence to do so.

The Vauxhall Firenza range was seen as a direct competitor to the Ford Capri and Vauxhall were desperately keen to make it a huge sales success and a toy or model of it was considered, but the licencing system Vauxhall implied was just far too restrictive and expensive for most of the main 'Brands'.

I only know of three models of a Vauxhall Firenza, two of these are made of plastic and designed for either a 1/32 scale slot-car chassis or a circa 1/10 scale, radio controlled chassis (niether by the way, licenced models), so the only licenced model was the 'Lone Star' version.

The 'Lone Star' model was made with full co-operation from Vauxhall, but with limited marketing through the more successful Vauxhall dealerships in the U.K. and very few seemed to have been retailed in the shops.

There are a couple of very hard to find versions like the 'Budget rent-a-car' and the left-hand drive version, but this is for telling at a later date.

Any version of this model seems to fetch a higher price than known recorded 'HTF' Lone Star models from the same, 'Flyers' range and as a previous collector of Vauxhaull toys and models, I never secured one for my collection!

GHOSTHUNTER.

[MOKOSEX]

I have just got another white interior corgi bond aston,this one is a wheel variation on the first one,anyone one else got a white interior version,i ask because i think these are rare but no one was interested in this one till i bought .
dave

[GHOSTHUNTER]

Hello Mokosex, the 1/36th scale Bond versions come with almost uncountable variations, but essentially your example above dates from 1982-83, no later because of the painted driver, after this date the company was different in as much as they have just been saved from oblivion buy a management buy-out and many cost-cutting measures were put in place. So, your model is catalogue number 271 and comes from the 1982 into 1983 production period with the not so common Ivory-Tan interior and 4 spoke wheel rims. As for it being a 'Woolworths' issue I can not comment, I have not seen these two linked before.

GHOSTHUNTER.

[MOKOSEX]

Hello Mokosex, the 1/36th scale Bond versions come with almost uncountable variations, but essentially your example above dates from 1982-83, no later because of the painted driver, after this date the company was different in as much as they have just been saved from oblivion buy a management buy-out and many cost-cutting measures were put in place. So, your model is catalogue number 271 and comes from the 1982 into 1983 production period with the not so common Ivory-Tan interior and 4 spoke wheel rims. As for it being a 'Woolworths' issue I can not comment, I have not seen these two linked before.

GHOSTHUNTER.

Many thanks for the info,i read the woolworth connection somewhere but it could just have been a coincidence that some were found there back in the eighties.
dave