Pete Atkinson

Some white metal stories are intertwined with many other achievements, and include a variety of materials used for models. Pete Atkinson’s is one of those stories.

Pete was born into a family of gunsmiths, and his father had a group of 6 hunting, shooting and fishing sports shops around south Wales. His interest in cars began in the 1950s when Stock Car Racing came to Swansea, and his father decided to sponsor a local Stock car track. He was more into bikes, and had a Subbuteo speedway track, but he got interested in the cars, took his brothers’ Dinky Toys and crushed them in the vice and painted them to resemble stock cars! 

Subject ID: 80852

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Some white metal stories are intertwined with many other achievements, and include a variety of materials used for models. Pete Atkinson’s is one of those stories.

Pete was born into a family of gunsmiths, and his father had a group of 6 hunting, shooting and fishing sports shops around south Wales. His interest in cars began in the 1950s when Stock Car Racing came to Swansea, and his father decided to sponsor a local Stock car track. He was more into bikes, and had a Subbuteo speedway track, but he got interested in the cars, took his brothers’ Dinky Toys and crushed them in the vice and painted them to resemble stock cars! 

When Scalextric was first launched, Pete’s father sold them in the family’s shops, and he set one up on a table tennis table, charging customers 1 penny a go. He claims to have created the first pay and drive slot-cars!

Pete recalls that around 1957 he saw a picture in an American magazine for sidewalk surfboards. He promptly converted Mettoy Warwick Flyer roller skates into skateboards and claimed to have invented the name! This can be backed up historically with a picture in the South Wales Evening Post. Directly as a result, Mettoy sold thousands of them as the Warwick Skateboard. At just 14 years of age he was in business with royalties for years. This established a strong link with Mettoy and Corgi that endured for some years.

Some time later, he set up the first Welsh surfboard factory called Acorn Surfboards at the same time as his golf and model car shop. 

Between 1960 and 1961, Pete got into racing bikes, especially scrambling, with a magnificent achievement in 1961 when he won a gold medal at the World International 6-Day Trials. He hated the gunsmith business, and decided to go his own way, so with £25 he bought a hairdressers shop, and enjoyed the swinging 60s to the full with all the “chicks” who worked there.

Pete believes that he created a first by producing a limited edition collectors issue of the Corgi Austin Minivan with decals for his family shop, the Atkinsons Golf and Model Centre. Only 50 were made, and he knows where one still exists but he is unable to persuade the owner to part with it.

Continuing with the scrambling, he had a serious accident in 1963, and was in a coma for 6 months. His therapy became making model trials bikes from Britains motor cycles; his first foray into chopping.

Once out of hospital, he opened a range of shops including boutiques and One-Arm bandit shops. This led to the purchase of 9 – 11 Picton Arcade Swansea in 1965, an old toy shop, which he re-opened as a golf and model car centre. Peter stocked Dinky and Corgi Toys, Tri-ang Spot-On, and slot racing systems by Wrenn, Scalextric, VIP and Airfix. Slot racing was all the rage, and Pete was so impressed with the Model Road Racing Car’s racing centre’s portable racing track that he bought it and installed it in the room above the shop. With suitable coin-operated mechanism, this established a very successful local club.

The shop flourished, and the stock was supplemented considerably by Pete beginning to correspond with an Italian collector and trader, who was keen to swap his Mercury, Politoys, Solido and other makes not available in the UK for Dinky Toys.

One day Ian Norris and Derek Slack walked into the shop. Both worked for Mettoy/Corgi in Swansea, Ian in management and Derek in design and development. They offered to give Pete access and use of Corgi’s vac-form machine for making slot racing car bodies.   The old system of barter then came into full swing when Pete met Barry Lester, as a result of advertising in Slot Car Magazine. Barry was seeking RIO models, and in order that he might produce vac-form slot racing bodies, Pete needed a model maker to create patterns. Barry thus made wooden “bucks” for the models, in 1:24, 1:32 and HO scales. The body sat on an aluminium chassis made at a local metal works known as Tom Smith & Clarke.

In addition to the slot racing shells, the Acorn name appeared on a 1:42 range, after none of the UK manufacturers were prepared to accept Pete’s ideas for more unusual cars for collectors rather than children. How their view has since changed! However, both Corgi and Dinky were prepared to sell him the wheels and tyres, which guided his choice of subject. The name came from Acorn Lodge, where Pete was living at the time.

First to be launched was a Morgan Plus 4, based on Pete’s mother’s car, with an option for the Le Mans winning car no. 41. These were featured in Model Cars and Miniature Auto World.

With encouragement from Noel Stanbury, founder of the Mini Seven Racing Club, who was also seeking models of his cars, the next model was the Lotus Formula Ford. All the models were packed in the cellar under the house by a local woman working for Pete. By 1968, a total of 15 models had been made in this range of Acorn models, and thousands had been sold all over the world.

The business grew, and began to include model railways too. Occasional visitors to the shop included a local piano tuner named Mr Hustle, who would bring in old toys and lead soldiers from his travels. Pete also appeared on local BBC Welsh radio promoting toy collecting. 

During those heydays of Corgi production at Swansea, everyone knew an employee of Corgi. It was customary to ask friends who were there to go to the scrap bin and pull out the cars of your choice, and then have them painted and assembled. Pete obtained 5 Mini Mostest models this way. He then bought 50 original shelf stock boxes for the Mini Mostest, and other rally cars. 

However, once the factory had suffered its fire, much was lost. This was the beginning of the end for Corgi, and Pete’s contract finished. Business was not so good, but he turned to many different ventures. He linked up with Dave Gilbert (DG) who wanted to use some of Pete’s old Dinkies as patterns for white metal replicas. Barry Lester moved on to other things.

During 1965, Pete began working with Peter Roberts, who had made the patterns for the Skybirds range of military identification models, all in HO scale. He gave many of the originals to Pete, who cast replicas of both the figures, and vehicles such as Scammell and anti-aircraft gun, together with planes.

Pete had a basic lead casting machine, with which he produced an engine for a Morgan 3-wheeler. He made the complete car in 1965, using Dinky wheels, but was very unhappy with the result. He resorted to using the London Soldier Company to cast them for him, and had 100 made, costing £5.00 each.

By 1968, Pete had sold his shop to Les Turner, who continued to trade as a model railway shop and club.

The skateboard boom hit the streets in 1977, and this re-kindled Pete’s interest in bikes. Through Peter Roberts again, he set about making a 1:32 model of a Greeves scrambler, as his son was now into scrambling. This led him to contemplate creating a model of the Brough Superior as used by T. E Lawrence. To achieve a better result, he approached Brian Lawrence, an experienced and high quality pattern maker, who obtained the original bike from the Brough Owners Club, and was able to use accurate measurements to produce a fine brass master. Pete had 500 cast from this and the Scale Models magazine gave the bike a very good review. The run sold out, mostly through the Brough Owners Club. 

Pete planned to launch a range known as MiBikes, and sell them from his current premises, the Acorn Skateboard shop. He was put in touch with Brian Field, who was to cast them for him. These would be replicas of Britains’ bikes such as the Norton 500 and the Greaves. However, there were many delivery delays, and then when he was visiting Leeds Toy Fair, he saw Brian Field, trading at a table, selling them! In his own way, Pete ensured that this range did not continue.

A Motor Cycle News competition in 1986 featured an invitation to readers to name their dream motor bike ride. The winner was for a race between a Brough Superior and a Bristol Bulldog fighter. As a result of the ensuing interest, the Brough Owners club contacted Pete again, asking if he had any more of his models left? He had six sets of castings, so he found a caster in Newcastle, David Lesley, and a further 2,500 were produced in a reduced detail form, with the rider fixed to the bike. These sold very well.

Pete attended the first ModeleX show in 1990, and no sooner had he walked in than he observed Richard Hutchins of SAMS models displaying his models of the Brough Superior. He challenged Richard about the ownership of these, and rights to sell, and an altercation ensued. Pete is convinced he is not a violent man, but on that occasion he was thrown out of the exhibition.

During this period from 1989 to 1991, Pete was living and working in New York, but returning regularly on business to the UK. At one point due to unfortunate circumstances, he found himself with $5 in his pocket, and had not eaten for 7 days. He had to pawn his passport as guarantee for his apartment. He had no ticket back to the UK, was alone and totally without resources. He walked 20 streets away to a toy dealer he had left some old toys with on a sale or return basis, and he was offered $3,600. Pete then took a taxi back to the antique mall on 5th Avenue and went to another toy dealer who gave him $4000. He never looked back. He was known in the New York toy trade as “Peter the picker”!

By 1991, Pete was in his third marriage, and was attending a car boot sale on a Sunday morning in Swansea. He came across a man with a van in which there were buckets of old toys. After a couple of beers, Pete had purchased the contents of the van for £25, and had persuaded the man to take him to where these were found. He found himself looking across the levelled site of the new Morfa Stadium, which had previously been a landfill. This had been the graveyard for the burnt remnants of Corgi’s stock! He hired a JCB and excavated the area, removing three truck loads of Corgi Toys, mostly with fire damage, but including 12 Mini Poparts, white Man from Uncle cars, Chitty Bang Bangs, and James Bond Astons.

Pete’s attendance at local boot fairs as a trader suddenly increased, and with adverts in local papers, he was able to sell the entire haul within a month.

During late 1994/5, Pete became involved with Swansea born Peter Bailey who set up Retro Scooters, selling scooters of any size from 1:1 to 1:84 scale. He used all his old models, and he recast and remade a wide range for sale. Colin Flannery undertook all the fettling, and Peter Comben the casting. Both worked well together. Pete Atkinson built all the models that Peter Bailey sold. However, due to firstly his personal difficulties, then Pete moving to Spain, the venture floundered. He believes that Peter Comben still has all the scooter moulds.

By 1996, Pete was living in Spain, still buying and selling old toys. He came across another T.E Lawrence Brough, and this prompted him to continue making some more replicas of Britains motor bikes. On this occasion Dave Gilbert made the castings, and 5000 tyres were purchased from Britains to fit. Their agreement was that Dave Gilbert would not sell them for a certain period.

The Morgan 3-wheeler was still nagging at Pete, as he always had wanted to make a really good model of it. He first approached Colin Flannery who agreed to build the models for £2000, and then Pete Comben in Lincoln, who used one of his remaining castings as a pattern to cast them, and tyres were sourced. It was made from 23 separate pieces, and over 3,500 were made and sold. The 1934 barrel-back with man and lady figure was first, followed by the 1935 Beetleback, and race versions of both. Spoked wheels and ribbed tyres featured, and colour schemes could be specified, and were sold from Spain, under the name Justa Espana. However, in due course financial dealings became difficult, but then Pete was approached by an American, representing Lilliput Executive Models. He wanted to market them as an executive toy, offering to pay £25.00 for each built model, and wanted 2000. Pete built them all, also under the Justa Espana name – the best in Spain. He regrets that he sold the brass master, which sold later on Ebay for £500.

Whilst Pete lived partly in Spain, between 1995 and 1997, he also recast some Britains tractors and parts, and the Britains four furrow plough. He also remade the Scamold cars, Era, Alta and Maserati, with correct suspension and drivers. The boxes for these were made by the company in Pembroke who made the original Corgi Toy boxes, in an old converted farm. Pete retains considerable information on the Scamold range, and hopes that they may be re -launched later in 2010.

Subject ID: 80852

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