France does well

Wallis and Wallis conducted another successful sale in May, part of which included a huge number of more recent production Ferrari racing car models – clearly someone’s lifetime collection? Railways, both locos and accessories, also featured strongly. The older, more traditional diecast stock also found plenty of interest and of note at the sale was a batch of French Solido cars, something that’s not too common at the UK auction houses.

The most interesting had to be the silver Solido Lamborghini Miura, which came in an unusual flat box and not the more typical window box. A lovely example, this stunning GT sold for £80. A bit more was extracted from those present for a good example of the Jaguar D Type racing car in dark red. This was of early manufacture, as evidenced by the neat hole in the side of the box which showed the buyer the colour, obviating the need to remove the model from the box.  Its final bid of £110 underlines the popularity of these early models. Back on the home front a Corgi Ford Cortina Estate with imitation wooden flanks came up for grabs: although this model is often sighted in dark blue, the red version certainly stood out, and it sold for £75. On the Dinky front, mention ought to be made of the Dinky Tank, one of the company’s early products. It was finished in silver and came with (intact) red rubber tracks. This unboxed bygone from another age found a new home for £80. Other good examples that sold included a Corgi Bedford van in yellow and blue (£85); a Corgi Gift Set 37, which was based around a racing Lotus Elan (£80) and a number of Dinky and French Dinky catalogues ranging from 1955 to 1979: this interesting lot made £85.