This is my Budgie Supercar circa 1962.
I bought it at an early Fanderson for £15.00. The dealer had dozens of them. It appears that they were part of a consignment sent to South Africa in the sixties to coincide with Supercar being shown on TV. However, I'm told it apparently never aired there , and merchandise including the Budgie Supercars were never distributed but left abandoned in some warehouse for years. Eventually someone must have bought up the stock and the Budgie Supercars along with other collectables found their way into the hands of memorabilia dealers.
It’s a simple die cast, around 4" long and reasonably accurate. The decals are good , but the paint finish isn‘t as good as more modern stuff, but I suppose that's only to be expected. The real downside are the wings which do go in an out but feel like they’re sliding on something inside which marks the paint.
The detail isn't quite up to the box artwork, but then what's new?
Amazing to hear that there ever has been an old stock sold for £15 apiece, considering how difficult it is today to find a great example with both nose antenna and unscratched wings (and Mike your post explains why the latter). And not for 15 quid for sure!
ReplyDeleteI've been told that Budgie models have also been found prone to metal fatigue. Does that pertain to Supercar as well?
Bought it around 1984 , guess it was a case of right place right time. I must admit they do seem to have risen in value ; )
ReplyDeleteThe metal its made of doesn't seem the best, and I wouldn't reckon it would stand up to much playwear.
That's a terrific toy! The box art is super as well.
ReplyDeleteI saw this in a an episode of the Amerrican series The Toy Hunter. It was among numerous items in a man's collection.
ReplyDeleteI have one of these (though heavily restored), it is a nice little thing, but both the Johnny Lightning and Konami ones are more accurate, nonetheless, it has the charm of being of the right age (says someone also made in 1962).
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