Based on the cartoon submarine from the Yellow Submarine film – which was released by The Beatles in July 1968 – Corgi ingeniously added figures of John, Paul, George and Ringo under hatches that flipped openby pushing buttons on the side of the die-cast body.
This special Corgi Model Club edition is based on one of the two early variants issued by Corgi in 1969 – one with red hatches and the other with white hatches. Records show both as being in production that year, it is uncertain which, if either, was issued first. Versions with red stripes separating the submarine’s yellow body and the white conning tower and foredeck are later issues and are less desirable to collectors.
Also of note is the original 1969 packaging, depicting all four cartoon Beatles from the Yellow Submarine film on the header card, plus a green-blue ‘sea’ insert for the die-cast submarine – all faithfully replicated here.
Corgi
This model comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity. Only the second non-British car to be modelled by Corgi, the Studebaker Golden Hawk was introduced into the range in 1958 – just two...
