Or maybe Sierra Saturday? Time again for something a little different. Today we examine an unusual item, a Corgi Ford Sierra. These “jellymould”, “jellybean”, “worn bar of soap” designs were alien when new, but the market warmed up, and they became pioneers in 80s aero, with long production runs. These were also a standard “rep car” in the UK and Europe for many years. I believe this is a promo item, and it is a nice little casting:
I have a little thing for these cars, as my mom had a Tempo for many years when I was a kid, and those are related by design if not technical elements, to the Sierra. This design went on to influence the aero T-Bird and Tempo, and eventually the historically significant Taurus, which helped USDM design break into a modern age. A Sierra variant was also sold in NA as the Merkur XR4Ti. I guesstimate scale on this model to be around 1:60, it is typical small scale size. I never warmed up to small scale Corgi back in the day, as I found them to be a little crude and I didn’t like the wheels (there was plenty of ~1:43-1:36 Corgi here through the 80s), but this model is much different from my perceptions. There are plenty of fine casting details, and the wheels don’t even look too inappropriate. Glazing is of decent quality, but suspension is quite firm, not like a Tomica or even Matchbox. Headlight lenses and colored tail lights are nice touches. From all angles, this is a quite decent item:
Doors open wide, which looks amusing, but provides a good view of the interior. The interior detailing is exceptional, with an accurate steering wheel, seat contouring, dash details, and even a gearshift:
I notice this has the “A” shape steering wheel, accurate for early Sierra (and 1984-85 Tempo):
Front and rear have similar detail, with those wide doors and light/lens details catching the eye:
The base is plastic (which helps this model feel quite light), but has a nice amount of detail:
The reason I think this is a promo item - the box, which does not seem like typical toy store fare. I suspect this is from around the time of the Sierra launch in 1982:
This is a fun item I randomly picked up for a low price, and I am happy with it. These cars are a piece of design history, still disregarded, but maybe not forever. I am pleased to have it in my collection:
A couple of pics with the Majorette Sierra (sometimes found on card labeled as a Tempo for NA market Majorette) which will be available in the hoard sale:
A couple pics of an early Ghia 1:1, from flickr:
And the infamous BBC documentary from 1993 about company/rep cars - many Sierras visible here (just before they were replaced by the Mondeo, another one with the rep image):
And now on to the hoard sale.
I’ve been quite busy lately, away for several days the past couple weeks, already driving over 200 miles today, and a few more hours of driving ahead of me. The next 2 weekends, I plan to photograph the lots and write the ads. Expected sale date is now the weekend after Memorial Day (first weekend of June) - I would have been sooner, but the extra hoard purchase means more processing time. I’m also going to throw in a handful of duplicate Tomica from my own hoard, prices won’t be hoard cheap, but I think they will find new homes. Those will be individual listings, but most of the hoard will be in lots, easier for me, and cheaper in volume for you. And now there is extra time for people to make space and save up if needed :)
That is all.