Corgi Buick Riviera

[peekay]

I'm sure a few of you here share my affection for Dinkys and Corgis that we had as boys.

I've been acquiring some of the models I had back in the day and was chuffed to find this one at a comparatively bargain price.

Always liked the "lights", achieved with a small reflective panel on the dash.

And the sprung suspension, of course - I even confess to pushing them round the desk a few times to try them out. 

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Hosted on Fotki

Edited January 8, 2018 by peekay

[Snake45]

Interesting. Kinda reminds me of the Aurora Thunderjet HO Riviera I had as a kid. There was an article in the model car rags of the day on how to "convert" it to a '66 or '67 Chevelle. And I did. 

[Anglia105E]

Peter.... I also have memories of this Buick Riviera, which I remember as being a Corgi diecast and gold in colour, but I don't remember the model car having those working lights.... ? Used to have a huge collection of Corgis and Dinkys, most of which were raced on a concrete pathway from the bottom of the back garden to the top of the front garden ( some through the gates onto the road ! ).

David

[peekay]

The lights only "work" if there is a strong-ish light shining on the top of the car but little or none shining on the front - which is how I set up this photo. So it would be quite possible to own the model and never notice the effect.

My brothers and I had quite a collection in the 50s/60s but they all got played to death, lost or willfully destroyed. I will post others that I have bought in recent years although I realise that most adult model builders will find them toy-like and crude.  They pale in comparison to modern 1.43rd models but for me it's a nostalgia thing.

[Anglia105E]

I do get the nostalgia thing, and of course it would be wrong to compare the Corgi and Dinky model cars to what you can buy in 1:43 scale now. For example , they do a very nice Rolls-Royce Hooper Empress in 1:43 that I have tried to find in 1:24 without success, and the price is something like four or five times the cost of a 1:24 scale kit or even double the cost of a 1:24 Franklin Mint or Danbury Mint diecast on Ebay.

If it wasn't for the high prices I would have built a 1:43 scale diorama, but I am happy with 1:24

David

[peekay]

29 minutes ago, Anglia105E said:

For example , they do a very nice Rolls-Royce Hooper Empress in 1:43 that I have tried to find in 1:24 without success

 

My 1:43 collection is actually mainly every-day English subjects which will never be plastic kits. But building kits is still my thing.

[Anglia105E]

I agree with you, in that building kits is much more interesting than simply buying a fully assembled diecast model car. What is even more interesting is converting a plastic kit into a different version of what it is intended to be, which is what I did with the London Routemaster Bus by Revell, by converting it into an earlier type bus that fits into the 1950's period. My next conversion when I get the time to do it, will be converting a 1936 Tamiya Toyoda into a 1955 Austin FX3 London Taxi, because the only London Taxi available in kit form and diecast 1:24 is the FX4 taxi from 1958 onwards. Even the Revell taxi kit is out of scale, being slightly too large.

David

[peekay]

David, your Toyoda project would be totally out of my range. I'm not a very creative modeler and I've never done any conversion (or custom) work on a model. I just try to build the kit as nicely as I can and add whatever detail I deem necessary - providing it is within my skill range. 

[Anglia105E]

The Toyoda may be a step too far for me, but it was the only car from the 1930's, 1940's or 1950's that appears to be similar to the Austin FX3.

Yet again, the FX3 taxi is one those that is available in 1:43 diecast, and finding the cars that I need for my Hooper & Co diorama in 1:24 scale is proving difficult.

Two photos, one is FX3 taxi and one is Hooper Empress

David

[peekay]

Too late now I know but perhaps you should have done your diorama in 1.43. The variety of subjects seems to be endless. Here are a few of mine that would fit:

Hosted on Fotki

Hosted on Fotki

Hosted on Fotki

Hosted on Fotki

[ChrisBcritter]

I had the Riviera as well, in metallic medium blue. The lights actually work on the same principle as fiber optics; the panel in the dash links to the taillights while the entire rear window links to the headlights. Thus the lights work best when the car is lit from the opposite end - learned a little science from that one!