Tri-Ang New Zealand
Rare Diecast to be sold at Vectis on Wednesday 12th July
During the 1930's the Government of New Zealand introduced measures to develop its native economy.
Still actively seeking to export to its main ally Britain and other countries it began to severely restrict imports to encourage consumers to buy products exclusively produced on home soil.
Industrial zones were created near housing areas to develop, build and manufacture what the country required.
By 1938 all imports were subject to licence, it was still possible to import raw materials and then make up the end product in New Zealand which British companies were forced to do to keep the supply chain going. Others ceased supplying products to New Zealand altogether. In 1946 only one toy import licence was granted for Meccano, such were the strict conditions placed.
British toy stalwarts, Lines Bros, looked to maintain their brands in New Zealand and the answer came in the guise of a small New Zealand toy producer Joy Toys. Established in 1938, the company had concentrated mainly on teddy bears, soft toys and dolls producing around 1000 items a day at peak. In 1947 three new names appeared on the list of Directors for Joy Toys - Walter, William and Arthur Lines and by 1949 they became the major shareholders increasing their initial stake from £12,000 to £250,000 not an insignificant sum for the time. Toys were made using raw materials brought in from the UK, plus much of the tinplate and casting which was manufactured at the Camp Bunn warehouse in South Auckland. The 100,000 square feet premises employed 216 people creating Lines, Pedigree and Tri-Ang branded toys, prams, vehicles, train sets, teddy bears and dolls offering over 305 different lines, toys which were to be found in every branch of Woolworths in New Zealand during this period.
As Dinky, Charbens, Taylor & Barrett and similar were no longer available in New Zealand, the Tri-Ang Diecast range competed with locally produced Diecast vehicles from Fun Ho!, Torro and Lincoln Industries. With the marketing strength of Lines Bros behind them the Diecast cars did relatively well, however as they were not produced in the same number as the British counterparts or for the same length of time, today these Tri-Ang (NZ) issues are rare. They can be easily identified as on the underside of the casting it reads 'Tri-Ang Toys, Made in New Zealand, By Lines Bros (NZ) Ltd.' They were originally presented in flap end type boxes sized to fit the models, as seen in Lot No.1627.
Vectis have 10 of these models for sale in the forthcoming Specialist Diecast Sale on Wednesday 12th July including the rare 'Road Roller', which is an orange Aveling Barford road roller with steerable front roller, grey rollers and cream. Although not in the best of conditions the rarity of these pieces will ensure much interest and hammer prices lot be much higher than the conservative estimates
Click here to view the lots.
For more information on this sale contact Andrew Reed on+44 (0) 1642 750616 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Airfix Rarities to Go Under the Hammer
The 28th July Vectis, Military, Civilian Figures, Equipment & Accessories Saleincludes a fantastic selection of original Airfix artwork & rarities.
The iconic artist Roy Cross provides 8 original box art paintings which include: Boeing 747, H.M.S. Victory, Prinz Eugen & the West German Destroyer Rommel (incidentally Roy's last ever commission for Airfix).
Another iconic Airfix artist Geoff Hunt is represented with 4 original naval paintings, these include: H.M.S. Ajax & H.M.S. Hotspur.
In addition to the original paintings there are numerous final version tracings, signed proof box tops & artists roughs.
In addition to the artwork, the sale will include a number of the iconic and extremely rare "Attack Force" 1st issue polythene vehicles, produced in the mid 1960's predominately for wargamers these vehicles were retailed on brightly coloured carded mounts at pocket money prices.
This sale offers an extraordinarily rare Centurion Tank trade box, 5 carded Centurions, 2 carded examples of the Troop Carrier, boxed (Rare 2nd issue) Elephant SP Guns & Tiger Tanks.
The sale is topped off with a fine selection of Airfix kits, late 1950's/early1960's issues, German issue kits, U.S. Airfix releases & a selection of 1/76th & 1/32nd figures.
If you are an Airfix collector you cannot afford to miss this sale, this will probably be the last occasion that such a comprehensive collection of this quality will come onto the market.
All lots for this sale can be viewed here.
For more information regarding the collection or any of the lots in the on Friday 28th July please contact -
Simon Clarke on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call +44 (0) 1642 750616.
Spot-On MGA Collection
Originally developed as a project for the MG (Morris Garages) Le Mans Team 1955, the MGA sports car was launched on the open market promising to "Meet the challenge of tomorrow on road and track".
The mighty MGA with its 1500cc engine, long nose, chrome grill and fine craftsmanship resulted in sales of over 100,000 in seven years and a lasting fan base which is thriving to this day.
The Spot-On MGA Diecast collection to be sold at Vectis on Wednesday 12th July is an array of 21 lots covering almost all of the variations of MGA produced including Coupe, Twin Cam and De-luxe models.
Spot-On Models were manufactured from 1959 to 1967, in Northern Ireland by Triang 
(Lines Bros) as direct competition for the popular Dinky and Corgi Diecast toys of the time. The main added dimension to Spot-On over its competitors is the bewildering variety of vibrant colours released over time which can be seen by the models on offer, some being more desirable then others.
The examples in the Vectis Auction on Wednesday 12th July are mainly boxed in excellent condition and would make a superb addition to a Spot-On or MGA collection, large or small.
To view the lots please click here.
For more information please contact
Andrew Reed on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or call 01642 750616.
Star Wars Thursday 27th July 2017
The Tom Olsen Collection
The assembly contains a range of modern Hasbro carded figures , vehicles and accessories plus a superb selection of Star Wars Lego, kits, autographs, comics and graphic novels.
Here, the vendor talks about his time as a collector - "A few words about me as a collector - I am 42 years old. I have been a Star Wars fan from probably the age of 5 when I first saw Star Wars - A New Hope and so I started collecting.
My collection in the past 15 years has become wide and large, filling up way too many boxes. I had a dream of getting a barn or something and creating a museum in a way, for myself, with large displays of battle scenes in LEGO and others with figures, vehicles etc. But my collection has grown too big, so by letting a part of it go to auction, I can focus more on props and rare vintage pieces for the size of displays that I have room for.
I will not stop collecting, I love what I do when it comes to Star Wars, and will always be a collector, but a more focused one. The Star Wars Ep 1 Crew Jacket I purchased from the Prop Store back at Celebration Europe 1, which cost £500, back then. That was my first Celebration and I have been to every one after that, all over the world.
The two AFA Chewies I stumbled on at the collector?s social room at Celebration Anaheim, where I spoke to many collectors and did some fair trades. The guy who had them had been overspending big time and it seemed to me that he needed to sell, so I bought them from him along with some other items. I ended up trading, doing deals and spending a total of about $ 12 000.
It is not always a cheap hobby. It is a passion that I am sure most collectors understand".
Tom Olsen, July 2017
Marvellous Matchbox!
Prices continue to be on the rise for Matchbox it seems with strong interest particularly in the rarer items and desirable Pre-Production Models in the Vectis sale on Tuesday 13th June.
Named compilations included the long standing collector Derek Langthorn Collection of boxed Regular Wheels, the Ipswich Goods Junction Collection of extremely high quality Speed Kings and Super Kings and a further exciting installment of the Ex-Matchbox Employee Collection.
The sale offered boxed, unboxed and group lots across all the ranges produced by Matchbox - Regular Wheels, Models of Yesteryear, Kingsize, Super Kings, Speed Kings, Major, Superfast through to accessory packs.
Lot 29
Matchbox Regular Wheels No.15a Diamond T Prime Mover - Stannard Code 1 - rare yellow body with silver trim, metal wheels with flat crimped axles - Near Mint (minor mark to front wing and minor rub marks to silver trim on front bumper) in Mint type B1 box. Superb example of this rare model.
Lot 77
Matchbox Regular Wheels No.45a Vauxhall Victor - Stannard Code 1 - rare red body with silver trim, without dashboard cross brace, matt black base, metal wheels - Excellent to Excellent Plus with some paint loss to raised door outlines on one side in Excellent Plus type B2 box with large model numbers to end flaps.
Lot 408
Matchbox Regular Wheels No.35c Merryweather Marquis Fire Engine factory Pre-production colour trial model - metallic silver body without labels, clear windows & roof beacons, white plastic ladder, red plastic grille & base, chrome plastic hubs with black tyres, axles and base rivets have been factory spun. Model differs from the standard Superfast production issue in the following ways: body casting is without roof chequer plate detail to rear, both ladder retaining lugs and roof beacon cast circles are smaller, lower edge of body between the wheelarches is flat whereas production version have a raised sill area, rear of body has 4 x cast open rectangular hole above the plastic insert which on production versions are cast shut, base is smooth without any copyright date and without "Pat App" to rear, the body side lockers are cast as 2 separate lockers, production version have these cast together as one with an upper raised panel to assist with the application "London Fire Service" labels - Near Mint to Mint unboxed with just a couple of minor factory assembly marks. Model was never released as a Regular Wheel model only as a Superfast model.
Lot 80
Matchbox Regular Wheels No.46a Morris Minor - Stannard Code 1 - tan body with silver trim and red tail lamps, roof interior without ejector ring, matt black base, metal wheels with domed crimped axles - Near Mint (slightly thin factory paint finish to one side) in Excellent Plus to Near Mint type B2 box with large model numbers to end flaps. Superb example of this rare model.
Lot 87
Matchbox Regular Wheels No.50a Commer Pick-up Truck - Stannard Code 8 - red body with mask sprayed silver grille & headlamps only, white cab roof & loadbed, type A dashboard without brace, with roof ejector ring, gloss black base, 20-tread silver plastic wheels with rounded axles - Excellent Plus with just a few tiny pin size chips only in generally Excellent but a little creased at one end type C Lesney box printed by Pembroke Abbey. Nice example of this rare issue.
Lot 300
Matchbox Super Kings 2 x K2 Car Recovery Vehicle - both are white cab, metallic champagne gold body & base, white interior, red rear ramps, 5-spoke wheels (1) "AVA Race Haulage" labels, scarce clear windows, complete with Super Kings K60 Ford Mustang Cobra Dragster which is dark red with racing number 207 decals, green windows, white interior, black plastic base, 5-arch front wheels, Maltese Cross rear wheels - overall Near Mint (small scratch to transporter cab roof) in Excellent un-punched light blue window box complete with inner card packing insert; (2) "Cobra Rally Team" decals (not labels), amber windows, complete with K60 Ford Mustang Cobra Dragster which is as previous model but light red body - Near Mint in generally un-punched lighter blue window box complete with inner card packing insert. (2)
Lot 409
Matchbox Superfast No.20a Lamborghini Marzal Pre-production colour trial - lemon yellow body, clear windows, ivory interior, bare metal smooth base without cast ridges above & below the central base text and without "Superfast" lettering across front axle, front tow slot is a raised cast slot rather than a rectangular hole on production issues, trial chrome solid disc Superfast narrow wheels - Good Plus with thin factory paint finish to hood and some paint loss to roof.
Lot 444
Matchbox Superfast No.29b Racing Mini Pre-production trial body casting with door outlines cast, complete with pale yellow interior but missing all other components. Production versions of this model do not have the door outlines cast to aid label application - Excellent Plus unboxed.
Lot 410
Matchbox Superfast No.20a Lamborghini Marzal Pre-production colour trial - metallic emerald green body, amber windows, ivory interior, bare metal base without "Superfast" lettering across front axle but otherwise as per production issues. Trial solid chrome disc Superfast narrow wheels - Excellent Plus (some paint loss to raised roof outline and a couple of chips to leading edge of roof).
Lot 411
Matchbox Superfast No.56a BMC Pininfarina Pre-production colour trial model - metallic blue body, clear windows, ivory interior, bare metal smooth base without cast ridges above & below the central text area, base casting also without rear exhausts cast, without "Superfast" lettering and without "Pat App" lettering below the patent number over the rear axle, without front registration number cast, trial Superfast solid chrome disc narrow wheels - overall Excellent to Excellent Plus with a couple of tiny chips and factory paint flaws to hood & roof. Still a nice example.
To view the full results please visit www.vectis.co.uk
If you are interested in buying or selling Matchbox items please contact Julian Royse on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call +44 (0) 1642 750616.
* All prices realised include commission
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