The Matchbox AVTAK gift set that wasn't

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Comments

  • Bond Collectors' WeekendsBond Collectors' Weekends Gainesville, Florida USAPosts: 1,902MI6 Agent
    Wow, that is neat. Great work!
    Seven (007) James Bond Tours! Mission: Mexico!
  • ACACIA_AVENUEACACIA_AVENUE UKPosts: 1,775MI6 Agent
    Well after 6 years I have finally completed my AVTAK Matchbox Prototype set -{

    AVTAK_SET_2.jpg

    So here we have it 1. Metal Russian Helicopter, 2. Solid Resin Rolls Royce, 3. Solid Resin Renault 11 Taxi, 4. Metal Plymouth Police car.

    This possibly could be the first time all four prototypes have been seen together as a set.
    I only know of two other Resin Rolls Royce and Renault 11's in existence.

    Finally 'Special Thanks' goes to my good friend Rainer Wolfcastle, who got up at 4am in the morning :o to secure the Helicopter for me {[] {[]

    This is what makes AJB a special place with great people with amazing knowledge and always willing to help out fellow AJB members. {[] {[]
    One of us smells like a tart's handkerchief.
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,768Chief of Staff
    Amazing work there, AA :o -{

    What's next ? :v :D
    YNWA 97
  • ppw3o6rppw3o6r Great BritainPosts: 2,280MI6 Agent
    Congrats Sir Acacia of Avenue, don't you just love "the hunt"? & a hearty well done to Rainier Wolfcastle for securing said piece -{
  • ACACIA_AVENUEACACIA_AVENUE UKPosts: 1,775MI6 Agent
    Sir Miles wrote:
    Amazing work there, AA :o -{

    What's next ? :v :D

    Well I am on 'the hunt' for an original Corgi 269 prototype resin Lotus Esprit, but don't tell Donk ;) :D
    One of us smells like a tart's handkerchief.
  • ppw3o6rppw3o6r Great BritainPosts: 2,280MI6 Agent
    Sir Miles wrote:
    Amazing work there, AA :o -{

    What's next ? :v :D

    Well I am on 'the hunt' for an original Corgi 269 prototype resin Lotus Esprit, but don't tell Donk ;) :D

    X-(
  • ACACIA_AVENUEACACIA_AVENUE UKPosts: 1,775MI6 Agent
    ppw3o6r wrote:
    Sir Miles wrote:
    Amazing work there, AA :o -{

    What's next ? :v :D

    Well I am on 'the hunt' for an original Corgi 269 prototype resin Lotus Esprit, but don't tell Donk ;) :D

    X-(
    :p :)) :))
    One of us smells like a tart's handkerchief.
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,768Chief of Staff
    Sir Miles wrote:
    Amazing work there, AA :o -{

    What's next ? :v :D

    Well I am on 'the hunt' for an original Corgi 269 prototype resin Lotus Esprit, but don't tell Donk ;) :D

    And I was just going to say that you secret was safe with me :))
    YNWA 97
  • Rainier WolfcastleRainier Wolfcastle Posts: 484MI6 Agent
    Well after 6 years I have finally completed my AVTAK Matchbox Prototype set -{

    AVTAK_SET_2.jpg

    So here we have it 1. Metal Russian Helicopter, 2. Solid Resin Rolls Royce, 3. Solid Resin Renault 11 Taxi, 4. Metal Plymouth Police car.

    This possibly could be the first time all four prototypes have been seen together as a set.
    I only know of two other Resin Rolls Royce and Renault 11's in existence.

    Finally 'Special Thanks' goes to my good friend Rainer Wolfcastle, who got up at 4am in the morning :o to secure the Helicopter for me {[] {[]

    This is what makes AJB a special place with great people with amazing knowledge and always willing to help out fellow AJB members. {[] {[]

    Thanks for the thanks. :) The four look far too nice together – now that you are showing off your resin samples again (when will I find some?) I already regret parting with the helicopter … X-( ;)


    Just want to tell the story behind it: In April one of these prepro helicopters was sold on ebay for £137.35 but I only saw this a few weeks later in the completed items.

    file.php?id=13126


    A few weeks later I looked for some items and remembered that I could search for Matchbox helicopters and found this auction of four helicopters, ending in just over three hours and shipping to the UK but not to my country. No mention of "prepro" or "Bond" anywhere, so it was only at $15 at the time. I couldn't believe that two of the prepro helicopters would be sold within a few weeks! Although the paint looked a bit faded in the ebay photos, and the description "boxes have some wear as they were saved from a fire" also didn't sound very encouraging as the plastic could have suffered.

    file.php?id=13129
    file.php?id=13128
    file.php?id=13127


    I decided to email A_A but as it was already midnight in England I figured that he probably wouldn't see the message in time. But I couldn't let this go so cheap … so I set my alarm for 4a.m. (luckily this was a public holiday in Austria), looked if I had got a response – there wasn't –, then if the lot had gone up in the meantime – no, still just $15! – and then just decided to bid even though my country was not listed (something I wouldn't do normally). If the bid wasn't blocked then I could still try to negotiate shipping with the seller afterwards.

    It took a bit of convincing and a hefty postage but I got the helicopter finally. I would have preferred if A_A had won this directly as once I had it in my hands I didn't really want to part with it – but teasing him with the photos of the three AVTAK helicopters together was well worth getting up at 4! :))

    file.php?id=13125



    I was a bit lazy in the last months with the AVTAK box I am making. But I am now in the final stages – the artwork is finished although I am still adjusting the photos and purple background as the Canon imageprograf I am using is printing too blue. This print is in half size just for colour matching. The layout of the sides and rear is based on the Action Packs G-8 and G-10, so an actually produced AVTAK set could have looked very similar.

    DSC_0600.jpg
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