#497 CORGI JUNIORS – SEVERAL MODELS FROM 1984 TO 1990 (Around 1984)

Corgi entered receivership in 1983, but in 1984, the Company was re-formed as Corgi Toys Limited and continued producing toys. The competition with new Asian manufacturers was very high, so Corgi also sent the moulds to China to produce there in association with a Hongkongese company called Flying Dragon. These miniatures are not as good as those done before 1983, and sometimes they do not appear in catalogues or are not mentioned in specialized books.

Some models still share casts with older (made before 1983) toys, but colours are usually plain or with rather poor tampographies, and sometimes, windows are dark to hide the lack of interiors.

In this entry, all models shown should be relatively recent after the refoundation of the company, since all models are still marked “Made in Gt. Britain” (in the next entry some will be marked Made in China).

The models made between the years 1984 and 1990 have a reference number starting with J, maybe an indication of the old series name “Juniors”.

Ford Escort (J25)
BMW M3 Racing Car (J50)
Zakspeed Capri 3.0S (J57)

Ford Sierra 2.3 Ghia (J31)
Pontiac Firebird S/E (J46)
Mercedes 2.3/16 (J90)

Note that the casts are quite rough, and the only one model (the Ford Sierra) has practicable doors. Even the tampographies are poor, most of them in only one colour.

It is also interesting to point out that all models except one have the classic Corgi Juniors wheels. The Mercedes already have the wheels that would come next, and that in my opinion are much uglier than the original model.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: FORD ESCORT (J25), FORD SIERRA 2.3 GHIA (J31), PONTIAC FIREBIRD S/E (J46), BMW M3 RACING CAR (J50), ZAKSPEED CAPRI 3.0S (J57) and MERCEDES 190 2.3/16 (J90)
• Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
• Year: Around 1984
• Company: Corgi (G. Britain)
• Size: approx. 3’’ or 7 cm