Captain Scarlet doll set to fly in sale

Items and memorabilia related to the celebrated Gerry Anderson Supermarionation series of the 1960s and onwards will go under the hammer in a Surrey sale of toys and models this month.

Surrey auction house Ewbank’s has established an enviable reputation for selling premium lots associated with the puppeteer and programme maker Anderson, including various props, models, sets and scripts in November 2020.

This sale also features Anderson-associated highlights, most notably a pedigree Captain Scarlet doll, with pistol red tunic and boots, in its original box. At approximately 30cm high, the estimate is £400-600.

A Matchbox Stingray Marineville headquarters action playset, offered with a boxed Captain Scarlet action figure and a Captain Scarlet Spectrum Command Team, including various Thunderbird figures and vehicles, comes with a guide of £200-400.

“Die-cast toys, especially those in excellent condition with their original boxes, can command significant prices at auction,” said partner Andrew Ewbank. Ewbank’s Toys sale on May 24 is a prime example of this, with premium brands including Corgi and Hornby on offer. Star Wars figures will also feature.

Highlights include a Corgi The Man From UNCLE Gun Firing Thrush-Buster, model 497, guided at £200-300, while a boxed Corgi Batmobile, model 267, released in 1966, has an estimate of £100-200.

Further Corgi highlights include a Riley Pathfinder Police Car, model 209 – a model of the car used by the Metropolitan Police Service from 1958 to 1964 – which has been lotted with a Corgi Ford Thames Airborne Caravan, model 420, and a Corgi BMC Mini Police Van with tracker dog, model 448. Together they carry a guide price of £100-150.

One of the most iconic Corgi models is the James Bond inspired Aston Martin DB5, model 261, the car seen in the 1964 film Goldfinger. The example in the sale, from 1965, has an estimate of £50-80.

Equally popular are tinplate toys, including boats. A Bluebird Wonder Speedboat tinplate clockwork toy by Sutcliffe, originally released in the 1930s, will be offered at £50- 80.

Larger toys include a Baghera child’s pedal car. In green and with a 1939 number plate, it should fetch £80-120.

The sale takes place on May 24, with more Anderson material set to appears in Ewbank’s May 26 Premium Entertainment Memorabilia auction.