None of the usual Austin or Morris badging here for Wellys take on the classic BMC era Mini Cooper, they've actually gone a different route and modelled the Italian Innocenti! Ironically although its a licensed casting theres no mention of its Innocenti roots anywhere, only its unique grille design and badging give the game away.
Its not a new casting of course but something as charming as this deserved to be rescued from the pegs of a Tokyo Toys R Us, especially as it cost the equivalent of just 1.00!
Mint and boxed.
Tags: welly innocenti mini innocenti mini cooper innocenti mini cooper 1300 bmc british leyland diecast
© All Rights Reserved
Asian branches of Toys R Us now appear to use licensed Welly products for their budget in house Speed City brand though oddly they do use Suntoy unlicensed and generic castings for multi-packs. So not only was I able to indulge in some much needed Welly buying but whilst I was over in Japan they were on special offer meaning they cost the equivalent of just....1.00!
Admittedly there wasn't much I already have but at that price I pretty much filled my basket and I did at least get lucky in finding this brand new 2003 Lotus Elise 111S.
Despite them releases some really interesting and sought after castings in their 1/60 line their availability Worldwide is still frustratingly inconsistent, especially as some models have been designed to be sold in specific countries only.
Taking into account its sub Hot Wheels price point one can only admire this casting, not only for its subject choice but for its detailing and totally stock appearance.
Mint and boxed.
Tags: welly lotus elise lotus elise 111s diecast
© All Rights Reserved
If you know where to look its still possible to find absolute bargains on Ebay. I recently won a job lot of early Welly multi-sets along with some Maisto ones too, all in unopened and "as new" condition. One such Welly set dates from their early Hong Kong years and even features on the packaging the earliest WELLY logo i've ever seen. All my previous models from this era were packaged under various in house retailer/distributor brands.
This super charming Hino Dolphin is a reminder of Welly early years when quite a lot of their castings were simply copies of Tomica and given additional new body types for maximum play value. At the time they were seen as inferior to Western makes such as Matchbox yet with hindsight were actually rather well made and finished.
Part of a 12 vehicle set.
Mint and boxed.
Tags: welly tomica copy hino dolphin diecast
© All Rights Reserved
At the equivalent of just 1.00 each you bet I grabbed several of these gorgeous Welly Citroen DS23 from Toys R Us in Japan. I did finally find some in France but their prices were almost touching that of Norev which isn't what they were designed to be. Technically now called a DS 23 thanks to the ridiculous airbrushing of history to try and strengthen the ailing DS standalone brand, Welly have performed their usual miracle of making budget diecasts look as good as they possibly can and this thing is just absolute class.
The right amount of chrome, the right amount of all round detailing, a lovely metallic white gold paint colour riding on era appropriate disc wheels.
Mint and boxed.
Tags: welly citroen ds citroen ds23 citroen ds 23 pallas diecast
© All Rights Reserved
The XJ which finally broke the tradition of looking like the original 1968 version and for me was all the better for doing so! It enjoyed a rather long life of nine years and the cancellation of its electric replacement has set back Jaguar years. Whats Jaguar without a large luxury saloon!
Disappointingly very few toy manufacturers bothered to model it, certainly in this scale so thank goodness Welly rose to the challenge and brought us this beautiful replica. Unfortunately Welly haven't bothered to recolour this casting at all despite it being in production for several years, all seemingly coming out of their factory in this metallic silver hue.
Part of a twin pack found recently in a Spanish Pepco store.
Mint and boxed.
Tags: welly jaguar xj diecast
© All Rights Reserved