I have had a nice little run on vintage diecasts this week, which started with this pair of Corgi Rockets. The Alfa Romeo Pininfarina P33 and Mercedes C111 came in at a princely 99p for both and are in remarkably good shape for their age. The deep violet gloss on the Alfa has always been a favourite of mine and this model is in considerably better shape than my original from the seventies.
The Mercedes is one of the Rockets range that passed me by, as Corgi released almost all the cars in the budget Corgi Juniors line, so I got the cheaper version instead. I doubled up with the Juniors version of the Alfa, which came in a rather uninspiring flat blue.
The trick with Corgi Rockets was the Golden Tune Up Key, which came with the car and allowed the entire chassis to be removed, so if axles became bent or wheels scuffed, it was a quick fix to replace either the axle or the entire chassis with a quick twist of the key. Each key had a small paper nameplate attached, relative to particular car, but the actual keys were identical.
Corgi also used the Alfa Romeo in their standard line of cars, with Whizzwheels for a sportier look. The Whizzwheels version is only slightly larger, but has increased detailing.
The Alfa was a favourite for me from the outset as for years it functioned as a poor mans Swingin' Wing from the Hot Wheels line. Although the redline car was entirely fictional, Alfa did produce the P33 as a full size concept car.
Lovely purchases Bill! A bargain! there's nothing like Corgi Rockets for that slick feel and fast speed. Well maybe Redlines but I'm splitting hairs. They're both part of the same cool scene. The Alfa Romeo is such a fab design with that rear spoiler and the C111 is a wedge of speed. I often see it as a bigger plastic computer car toy. The Corgi white Alfa Romeo has a James Bond connection to it doesn't it? My fave of all those pictures has to be your Redline Swingin Wing. How did those Hot Wheels guys make something slick even slicker like that! Cool collection Bill. Have you got many Rockets?
ReplyDeleteI think I have about two thirds of the line. There were never more than about 30 models in total
ReplyDeleteThere was a James Bond OHMSS film tie in, with several rally cars, bobsleighs amd a special skier set. I got the bobsleighs and the Mercury Cougar with skiis on
ReplyDeleteThere's a Playart Alfa Romeo P like yours too Bill.
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