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Welcome to this year’s “Finds of the Year” competition! Please read the following before entering.
• There will be four categories:
- Lesney pre-SF (i.e. pre-1970 incl. pre-Matchbox)
- Lesney post-RW (i.e. post-1969)
- Non-Lesney pre-1970 (i.e. no low-friction wheels)
- Non-Lesney post-1969 (i.e. no models subsequently converted to low-friction wheels)
• You may nominate only one model per category.
• You may add a single paragraph of text explaining why the model is so desirable. (I think this is probably a must for the non-Lesney items,)
• Nominating more than one model per category will result in none of the nominations being considered. However, the mistake will be pointed out (publicly) and you will be invited to choose a single model.
• Each nomination must be accompanied by at least one photograph of the model in question.
• Not all categories need be entered.
• Nominations will open on 1st December and close on 18th December.
• The lists of nominations in each category will be prepared by myself over the weekend of 19/20 December.
• The valid nominations will posted to the topic as four separate lists: one for each category.
• Voting is based on the criterion “The model I would most like to add to my collection”.
• Voting will take place from 20th December to 31st December.
• One vote/member/category.
• Voting will be on an honesty basis and will entail members copying the most recent version of the relevant list and adding one to the score of one of the models.
• No prizes except for being able to go into 2016 feeling rather smug in the knowledge that you've got something that (almost) everyone else wants!
• Sanity clause: there ain't no sanity claus!
• One final point, and that is a request rather than a rule: our non-Matchbox collecting friends on the Forum put up with an awful lot of (for them) irrelevant and probably uninteresting discussions of seemingly obscure and unimportant details by the rest of us. So, when voting in one of the Lesney categories, please also try to cast a vote in the equivalent non-Lesney category as well.

Remember, there’s still plenty of time to unearth mind-numbing rarities, so don’t despair if the fates haven’t been kind to you so far!

I'm still thinking about my Lesney nominations (and trying to remember when I bought them!), so here's my pre-1970 non-Lesney offering: a Condon bus in red. As most of you will know, Don Rix left Lesney to produce his own diecast models, but the business was not a success and he subsequently returned to the fold. It is claimed that Lesney acquired Condon's dumper tooling intending to add the model to their large-scale model range. However, that never happened, and the model was scaled down and appeared as the 2a dumper. Although Lesney actually copied a Dinky bus for the 5a model, I have always felt that the large-scale Condon bus was the inspiration for that model because it is the only one of the first eight models not to have an obvious back-story.

here is my entry...the pre 1970 lesney

#9 merryweather marquis fire engine with GPW and crimped axles

My contribution, the Miss Rivet 24c Rolls Royce Silver Shadow

I think the new rule that one model cannot be used by 2 different Forum members is not really a good one. Last year Nick nominated his Toy Show cheaply discovered 23B in Metallic Lime green as his favorite model find of the 2014 year, then when buying that rarity from him, I also felt it was also my favorite Lesney I would have ever hoped to find in 2014. I didn't care about winning anything at all, I was simply honest with the joy Nick's model had given me after searching for this variation for many years. This year's rule of only one Forum member for any given model makes little sense to me when I knew what Joy Nick's Trailer discovery, and then it's purchase by me had brought to us both in the same year. Such Joy from a single Toy! Damn the winnings, celebrate the one you really love instead of "The runner up"! Too many "Rules" for my liking without ever having gotten past the one I am ranting mildly about tonight....... Kwakers
By the way, nice nominations so far. That Crimped axle Fire Truck was the 2nd toughest variation to find of that model for me also Dan, Nice Job.......Kwakers

kwakers wrote:I think the new rule that one model cannot be used by 2 different Forum members is not really a good one. Last year Nick nominated his Toy Show cheaply discovered 23B in Metallic Lime green as his favorite model find of the 2014 year, then when buying that rarity from him, I also felt it was also my favorite Lesney I would have ever hoped to find in 2014. I didn't care about winning anything at all, I was simply honest with the joy Nick's model had given me after searching for this variation for many years. This year's rule of only one Forum member for any given model makes little sense to me when I knew what Joy Nick's Trailer discovery, and then it's purchase by me had brought to us both in the same year. Such Joy from a single Toy! Damn the winnings, celebrate the one you really love instead of "The runner up"! Too many "Rules" for my liking without ever having gotten past the one I am ranting mildly about tonight....... Kwakers

Rule scrapped (unless anyone would like to object )

Idris wrote:

kwakers wrote:I think the new rule that one model cannot be used by 2 different Forum members is not really a good one. ....... Kwakers

Rule scrapped (unless anyone would like to object )

Am i missing something here or have i also gone blind? Where is that stipulated ruling in Idris's qualifiers/set of rules which Kwakers mentions above.... verbatim?
Sorry about this.
numi

numi wrote:

Idris wrote:

kwakers wrote:I think the new rule that one model cannot be used by 2 different Forum members is not really a good one. ....... Kwakers

Rule scrapped (unless anyone would like to object )

Am i missing something here or have i also gone blind? Where is that stipulated ruling in Idris's qualifiers/set of rules which Kwakers mentions above.... verbatim?
Sorry about this.
numi

Oh dear! Mea culpa! It's no longer there because I've scrapped it by editting my opening post (in an attempt to avoid confusion, but which now seems to have had the opposite effect!), hence the use of the past tense in my previous post.

I have a job to find any thing but this did come up this year.



The 38b Vauxhall Victor Estate Car with Green Interior and 10 x 36 GPW.


I also found the 9c Merryweather with Crimped Axels but Dan has put a very nice one on.

George T.

Hi all,
In the Non Lesney Pre 70 catagory I must pick the Dinky 28 series, type 1, Kodak van that came my way this year.



It's from the very early days of Meccano diecast toys,made around 1934,5 it's the same casting that was used for the No22 Hornby modelled minatures "Delivery van", even before the name Dinky Toys was invented.

Cast in lead, with solid colour wash wheels it's a copy of the 1928 Tootsietoy Delivery van.



Very rare indeed, especially with the lettering in such good condition. I've waited over 40 years for this one!

Chris Warr.