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Post by DeadCanDanceR on Apr 17, 2022 11:19:18 GMT -5
You have so many cool looking models that it’s difficult to mention them! Enjoying the new visit!
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Post by Tom on Apr 17, 2022 11:57:49 GMT -5
The next one is another nostalgia-inspired purchase. When I restarted collecting in the 1980s, part of the reason was the then-new series of American classics by Franklin Mint. There were leaflets distributed with the car magazines I read, and I kept one of them for years. The models were state of the art for the time, there was a superb cabinet to hold them all... they were not for sale in stores, but by mail order only. My budget for diecast at the time would allow for about one of these a year, not every couple of months. Years later I bought one of my favourites, the Studebaker, used. Then they were rendered obsolete by modern issues, but I still loved the quality feel and the details. So when one vendor at the swapmeet offered a bunch of them new in boxes for EUR 6 each, I pounced on another favourite. In retrospect I should've bought more but I'm generally cautious when actually paying real money for models instead of swapping. It may be obsolete but it still looks great to me. I should've pushed the hardtop back on a little more firmly for the pics though
Franklin Mint - Ford Thunderbird
And with its predecessor, the Tekno Thunderbird made between 1956 and 1962The next model is actually four different models. I used to collect the 007 series from the newsagents' when it was current, picking out the cars I liked. However, the series went to subscribers only after about 70 models, presumably because sales were dropping. Luckily there was lots of surplus and most of the models I liked were sold at the swapmeets, sans booklet, for extremely low prices. Some issues were harder or impossible to find though, so I contacted one of the swapmeet vendors to get me four models I really wanted. He wanted only EUR 4 each so I paid him and he promised to bring the models next swapmeet. I didn't go to that swapmeet nor to a couple that followed. Some time passed and I'd forgotten about the models until two swapmeets ago, when we talked again and both recalled the old order. He'd been so kind to take the models to every swapmeet and he had them there, so I could take them home. I'd never seen the models IRL but I knew that the Ford wagon was pretty nice. When I unpacked them, I found that the Ford was nice indeed... the rest not so
007 Collection - Ford Country Squire
Nice proportions, good colour, love the roof rack and the fake wood. One of the best models in the series.
007 Collection - Ford Falcon Ranchero
Googling pictures confirmed my suspicion. The proportions of the model are all wrong, it's either too narrow or too high, whichever way you look at it.
007 Collection - Peugeot 504
This one's off too and there was no search necessary to confirm it. Every line is incorrect, making it a weirdly proportioned model. The worst error is in the characteristic crease in the bootlid, which is exaggerated on the model. Another one for the back of the display.
007 Collection - Ford Taunus
This is more subtly wrong than the 504, but it's still wrong in many respects. Not a good ratio, one out of four. Luckily they were cheap.Another one I'd wanted for some time. Whitebox makes quite limited production runs though, and stocks ran out before I could get one. I'd resigned myself to missing out on this one when I found it in the stock list of my trade partner. It's the perfect colour too, the majority of the Orions sold here had this colour. Very happy with this one
Whitebox - Ford Orion
Quite a high Ford content here lately, BTW...The Beetle section of my collection is due for an overhaul. The time is now, there are quite a few nice models of the car in stores now. For that reason I pounced on another old Whitebox issue I hadn't seen for some time. Not my favourite colour though I seem to get the photography bit sussed. A nice example of the late Beetle and a good model
Whitebox - Volkswagen 1300 Special BugMartin's going to like the next one. I missed out on the old edition, and now I can only find the purple version which I don't care for. So I was really happy when I found that this was to be another reissue in the Maxichamps range. Now I have the late version as a five-door and three-door ti and the early version as a two-door. Next on the list would be an early ti... But for now I'm really happy with this
Maxichamps - Alfa Romeo AlfasudNext one is a replacement for one I got about four years ago. I thought at the time that I needed no more than the cheap PW version of the roadgoing Stratos, but when Santa gave me a HPI rally version last year, my PW looked a bit sad. I finally decided that this one would go on the upgrade list, and when I found this MC at an incredible bargain price it was an easy decision. I love it and won't miss the PW
Minichamps (Auto Hebdo special) - Lancia Stratos stradale
And the PWThird and final red Italian in this batch is the basic version of the Lancia Delta. Better known as the rally monster Integrale but in the late 1970s and early '80s this basic FWD version was a fairly popular alternative for the Golf. I used to see a few running around in the neighbourhood and I thought they were nice classy cars. I bought this model five years earlier but gave it to a friend who used to run an identical car years ago, fully expecting to buy a replacement later. That turned out to be very much later, but I'm glad to have one in the collection again. Next to be added is either a roadgoing or a rallying Integrale
DeAgostini - Lancia Delta 1300So what the .... are you doing now? You don't even like SUVs and the Mercedes ML is somewhere around the bottom of the desirability ranks. So why buy a model of that car? Well, because of mud. I like weathered models and this was done very nicely indeed (better than the picture suggests). The box is nice too, with a good slogan ('For the tarmac and the road that leads to it'). A single-digit price made it irresistible. Those impulse buys are usually followed by remorse (I could've bought something from my long wish list with this money...) but not this time. I'm pretty happy with a model of a car that I don't like. Weird
Minichamps DE - Mercedes-Benz ML-Klasse Back to a model that will likely be more popular. When the low roof version was released I didn't have the funds, when I did the price had gone up. So I bought the later T2 version in white. Then came the MAN transporter plus the desire to add a suitable support vehicle to the set. Perhaps this isn't based on a real car, but when I was offered the high roof version for a very low price I thought it would look great in the set... glad to have it, love its looks
Premium X - Volkswagen Transporter T1 'Porsche'
Next week I will have three 904s to display on the MAN transporter. I will take pics of the entire set.
At least it's based on a real vehicleThe next model is somewhat off the beaten track too, and I guess not many of you will like it. As a kid I used to love comic books, and the Dutch, Belgian and French have along-standing tradition with comics. The Belgian Tintin series was quite famous here, and one of the reasons why I loved to read them was the vehicles which were quite realistic and recognisable. The recurring background characters Thomson and Thompson, detectives, always drove their green Citroen 2CV, a Belgian-built version. For a PW series, Atlas created a range of brand-new 1:43 castings in the vein of the comics, with a comic-like way of modelling and painted in matt finishes to mimic the original drawings. There are a few more in the range that I'd like but for now this is my second 2CV, after a scene where they rear-end a truck. Not sure if this really speaks to anyone as realistic appearance clearly wasn't the objective but I think they're irresistibly charming
Atlas PW - Thomson and Thompson's 1965 Citroen 2CV AZL This might prove somewhat more popular. For decades, my collection has been light on Japanese vehicles. The cars that I liked were not modelled or had only been made in the Diapet range with its different scale, never mind spotty availability outside Japan. Luckily that's been corrected in recent years and now I can finally add those charming classics to my collection. In the last five years, my nine Japanese models went to about seventy in total and there's more to come. This car used to be everywhere here, nearly as popular as the Toyota Aygo is now. When the Civic of the previous generation, with its distinctive styling, was introduced the popularity declined radically. Last Monday I saw my first of the current generation on the road, and it was introduced late last year (and it was UK-registered). Back to the first generation. It looks like a tiny car now, and cars have grown a lot over the years. However, this car didn't feel that small at the time. A colleague of mine had one in metallic blue and I drove it a few times, and was a passenger quite often. I liked it, though it didn't feel that special to drive like the 1984 model. However, it's a nice car and was very happy to add this nice model to my collection. It was made by Miniature Model Planning, with which I have no prior experience but I'd say it's about Ixo quality
Miniature Model Planning - Honda CivicThe first Civic received a hatch in the second half of the '70s, increasing its appeal. Then there was a major overhaul in the lare '70s which made it a much larger car which still resembled the original somewhat. That all changed with the 1984 model though. The all-new Civic was radically different and much sportier. A low-slung seating position, advanced engines and excellent suspension made it lots of fun to drive.and I fully understand why it became a boy racer favourite instantly. It took a couple of years for Honda to cater specifically to their demands and release the Civic CRX, but the basic Civic was popular enough, especially with the VTEC engine. As with the CRX, most basic Civics succumbed to rust or sudden encounters with hard objects. The model is nicely done by First43, which I believe is the umpteenth Ixo offshoot
First43 - Honda CivicBefore VAG took over, Seat was a Spanish licence builder of Fiats. Some cars were modified (a four-door 800 version of the Fiat 600, for instance). A new management at Fiat in the 1980s decided that Seat were now independent and had to have their own model range in the blink of an eye... or they'd go under. So Seat spent a lot of money modifying the Seat Ronda to make it look less like a Fiat Ritmo (and they were made to prove in court that they'd changed enough). Likewise for the Seat Fura which looked different from the base Fiat 127. This time Fiat didn't feel like taking them to court and they struggled to survive until VW came along. The rest, as they say, is history. Besides a 1980s toy I couldn't find a nice model of the Ronda, but this Fura slipped through the cracks years ago and I was glad to find one. It never sold in large numbers here, but the lukewarm Crono version at least looked nice
Ixo PW - Seat Fura CronoNext one is a few decades younger and a lot larger. This was the car that hauled the custom bikes and cars that I helped build to their new owners, to bike shows etcetera. I spent lots of hours in the passenger seat and more than a few in the driver's seat too. A very nice car to drive, excellent trailer tow car too. I loved its torquey 2.5 turbo engine, its auto 'box and AWD. I was lucky to find the exact version (a V70 XC, not the later XC70) but couldn't find the proper colour. However, with what I paid for this ('secondhand' model without the cardboard outer box) I can replace it easily if I do find the correct one. If not, I'm happy with this too because it's really nice. A proper Volvo, safe and strong
Minichamps - Volvo V70 XC
And this was purchased at the same time, the Volvo should be towing this with a car or the horse box with Harleys
Premium Classixxs - Car trailer
The Minichamps version is better, but hard to find...Next up is another classic Italian beauty, a true gran turismo that shows its simple shapes off well in basic silver. I have known the car from pictures since I was a kid, in fact I was much older when I learnt what car it was exactly. It's one of my favourite Lamborghinis along with the Miura, Espada and Countach. I'm really happy that I found an affordable but nice model of this car, it's one of those models that you always have on your mind when you're browsing a swapmeet or going through sellers' inventory lists. I assume it's part of the Lamborghini Collection PW made by Leo/Ixo
Leo Models - Lamborghini 350 GTNow for a Germanic beauty. The 'sharknose' era BMWs are my favourites, elegant designs that exude power and quality. In the late 1970s, the elegant classic CS coupes were replaced by the 6-series, which turned the BMW coupé into more of a classic gran turismo, a car that eats the miles with ease. Nothing awkward about the design, not a line out of place and IMO a design that's aged better than the Bangle-era successor. I love the model but despite the silver that suits the shape well, I would have loved a more '70s colour like the once popular pale green metallic. However, I'm very happy that Minichamps released this in their VFM Maxichamps range. It's an excellent model and I'm glad to add it to my growing BMW contingent
Maxichamps - BMW 635 CSIAnother German, another elegant 1970s coupé but this time more of a peoples' car than the BMW. And yet another orange Maxichamps box, which seems to be taking over my collection. In my youth these impressed me. I liked the shape and weirdly enough I loved the manta ray logo on the front wing. All the 'cool people' (who in retrospect were perhaps a little less cool) drove these. In bright colours, some even had the SR version with the matt black bonnet (how '70s!). My school teacher traded her Honda CB750 for one in orange, the father of one of my classmates (moustache, bell bottoms, loud shirts, long hair, checked cap, platform shoes) drove an SR in yellow. This replaces another vintage toy that was long overdue for the boot. Top quality work by MC and I couldn't be happier with the colour
Maxichamps - Opel Manta ANext one is another Opel most of you won't know. It's the estate version of the Kadett E, known as Daewoo Racer or Pontiac Le Mans elsewhere but sold in those markets as a hatch only. The UK got the Vauxhall version called Astra. For its time it was a pretty radical design and it broke records on the drag coefficient front. It's a three-door version which for some obscure reason was more popular than the five-door which seems more practical to me. I am a fan of the early version with the interesting all-in-one bumper and grill, the facelifted version was styled much more conventionally. This was my reason to go for the Opel Collection issue because Minichamps only did the later version
Opel Collection - Opel Kadett CaravanAnother oddity. I don't like the movies, they're corny and cheesy and I'm no Disney fan anyway. However, when I was 6 we moved from the city to a new estate in a small town. As a car-mad kid I loved watching young guys in the neighbourhood work on their old cars, among which were a couple of Beetles. All were made following the same recipe: lower the suspension, widen the steel wheels, put some racing stripes on and add larger carbs. Looked great to this six-year-old. With that memory in mind and an impressive price reduction as an incentive this was an easy decision. The model looks quite good IMO, they managed to capture the shape well
Hot Wheels Elite - Volkswagen Beetle 'Herbie'
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Post by Tom on Apr 17, 2022 14:35:56 GMT -5
Yet more oldOn to a much flatter and -outside Walt's imagination- probably much faster Beetle. I saw the real car at the Techno Classica and was very impressed by its presence, a proper hardcore road racer (built as the roadgoing version of the 911 cup racer). I imagine it's not much fun as an everyday driver but with lots of power and less electronic assistance than today's versions it probably requires some skill to drive it quickly. A track day tool for experienced drivers and a great model
Schuco ProR - Porsche 911 Cup 3.8
No idea what caused the odd reflections on the sills, no imperfections can be seen with the naked eye even in good light.To avoid too much excitement it's now back to mundane road cars. The Opel Omega was the successor to the Rekord and as a knee-jerk response to Ford's Scorpio it looked a lot more modern than the conventional Rekord. However, Opel didn't go as far as Ford did- the Omega was still a saloon and not a hatchback. I liked the clean looks of the Omega but when my employer bought one of the first Omegas in 1986, he complained that it was less stable in crosswinds than the Beetle he ran in the '60s. I got the Gama model of the Omega at the intro, now it's time to make room for a better version. Thanks to the Opel Collection PW, here's another hole in the Opel section filled
Opel Collection - Opel Omega
I will de-bling the wheels soon.From mundane street car to fire-breathing monster... as part of the nazi master plan, dominating motor sports got a lot of attention. The silver arrows from Mercedes and Auto Union were pushing the boundaries of technology, with huge engines developing ever more power. For 1938, the displacement was limited to 3 litres so Auto Union ditched their V16 and introduced a 12-cylinder developing no less than 420 hp enabling the car to do 330 km/h. On skinny 1930s tyres with a driver protected by a leather helmet... At the turn of the century I attended the Monterey Historics when Audi sponsored the event. Part of the deal was a number of historic racers from their collection that were taken out onto Laguna Seca Raceway for some demo laps. They were not exactly nursed around the track either, but got a proper workout. One of the directors of Audi AG drove the type D and I watched him from the Audi hospitality tent, impressed by the amount of work that went into just driving straight on- he made constant corrections and the car alternated between understeer and oversteer in the blink of an eye. In between all this the man managed a wave as he rounded a corner in the track. Now that is courage. The model is made by good old Minichamps and is one of their better efforts. It replaces a 1980s Brumm
Minichamps - Auto Union Type DBack to road cars and another Maxichamps. A car I've always admired, though I prefer the early model with its cleaner shape. I bought the AA version of the early car in blue, MC gave me a choice of grey or blue for the late model. I love blue, no problems there. The model is like we've come to expect from MC, a solid effort with the correct shape and stance. Now I'll have to dig out my AA, because I want to see 'em side by side
Maxichamps - Porsche 928 GTSTo avoid showing nothing but Porsches I'll skip a few and show this one. It's another red Volkswagen Polo for my group shot. The second generation got a facelift late in life, which brought square headlights and bulkier bumpers. The coupé version was already optionally available with the G-lader supercharger, which made it the G40 (the Golf and Corrado got the larger 60 mm G-lader, which made for the G60 name). This sounds more exciting than it is, but the Polo G40 only made 116 hp. Luckily it was a pretty light car so performance was decent- knowing VW's basic suspension layout and pre-traction control drivetrain more power would only result in an undriveable car. The G40 even spawned a sucessful one-make racing series. Neo did a nice version of the late-model mk.II (2F) Coupe G40 with the correct BBS cross-spoke alloys
Neo - Volkswagen Polo coupé G40Next up is another Porsche. The 50th anniversary of the 911 was commemorated with a special edition. Only when I got it, I found out that the model was made by Welly. It's none the worse for that (just the door handles and front indicator repeaters are a little simpler in execution) and holds its own in between MC and Schuco 911s in my display. A lot cheaper to buy though
Welly - Porsche 911 50th anniversaryTo avoid a Stuttgart overdose this makes a nice change. A car I used to like a lot, and it's high time that my old modified Solido got the boot. This colour was never sold in Holland but it looks good on the car. Vitesse did a decent job on the model. An older release, but it still looks good. I will see if I can do something about the too-thick number plates though
Vitesse - Ford Escort XR3iA while ago I did a trade involving the MAN Porsche transporter which was apparently being remaindered at the time. A racing car transporter is useless without a load of racers so I sent my trading partners looking for a couple of affordable 904s, which would make a period-correct load. After a while I got an offer of two silver cars and a red one. After some googling I decided on three silver cars, so I got the two and kept looking for a third. That came a little later, but it was the wrong year. It did however have a huge bonus point in the shape of a Dutch driver, Ben Pon. The Pon family are the owners of the Dutch importer of all VAG makes, the first foreign importer of Volkswagens and Ben Pon invented the VW Transporter. So I decided to go against historical accuracy and ended up with two '64 cars and one '65. The models are typical Spark, with different castings for every car to reflect small differences. Alas I cannot display the cars and transporter right now, so I didn't want to take the models off their base plates. I will however take pictures when I get the display finalised. Looking forward to that moment
Spark - Porsche 904 Le Mans
and the transporter and support vehicleTo avoid showing nothing but Porsches I'm alternating them with other cars. A while ago some Donguang models were shown here and I liked them. So I scraped together some cash to buy one only to be told that it was their last one and it was damaged. Luckily, a couple of months later and within days of each other two of my trading partners offered these models at an incredibly low price- just over 30% of what I would have paid online. Apparently these models had been sold off at bargain prices because they were all over the internet. I googled around and decided on the ones I really wanted. They're very nice indeed, never mind at this PW price
Donguang - Aston Martin DB2/4This was a gift from friends, who took the risk of getting me something that I had already... and they found the right gift! It's part of a classic rally cars PW from Atlas issued in France and French-speaking Belgium. A 911 ánd a rally car, great combo. I love it when cars are used in street, race and rally version. I have a couple of 911 racers but no rally cars so far and the widebody version helps too. The model could use some refinement but it looks really nice in the display. It's a DNF from the Rallye Monte Carlo
Atlas PW - Porsche 911Now for a non--Porsche again. It is a sports car though, based on the Lotus Elise. It was the first proper showcase for Elon Musk's electric car technology and as such a flawed product, but it might also be seen as the first proper electrically-propelled sports car. There were no more than 27 of these sold here due to the high price, and I see one in Utrecht every day. I like its shape but think that open cars should be modelled with open roof. Problem was that 'my' traders offered the black with open roof and the silver with closed roof. Hmmm... why not get both? Priced just above 10 euros each (for a resin Schuco, apparently these sold as well as the 1:1), we'll see what works best IRL. I'll let you decide
Schuco ProR - Tesla RoadsterAnother Donguang. I love the not-so-obvious Ferraris and especially those from the 250 era. After the 250 GTE, I was delighted to add this really nice 250 GT Pininfarina to the stable. This also came at a bargain price which was a bonus, it's much better than many much more expensive models (with superb wire wheels and an etched grill and wipers, and great window trim). I hope to add a few more of those elegant front-engined gran turismos to my collection over the years
Donguang - Ferrari 250 GT PininfarinaI like the allroad 'offroad' versions made by Audi. Not true offroaders but quite capable on less smooth terrain with their AWD and air suspension. The appearance reflects this capability, with the plastic mudguards and fatter bumpers. Another bargain, probably thanks to Audi's recent axing of the A6 version. The model was listed as made by 'iScale' but it's a dealer edition with no markings anywhere except for the obligatory 'Made in China'. It's impossible to distinguish recent dealer editions made by Spark, MC, Schuco, Herpa or the like... could anyone identify the maker? The base is no indication, it's MC-style but so are many others, probably dictated by Audi
iScale DE - Audi A6 allroad quattroAnother iScale, so probably another Kyosho. The 1:18 dealer editions are made by Kyosho anyway. What happened to Paragon? Anyway, a modern BMW and to my eyes one of their best current shapes in the best colour they offer, Estoril blue metallic. I was photographing one of these in the exact same colour at work last week, and it looked great. Does anyone know why BMW insists on opening bonnets on their 1:43 DEs? I've even seen MC versions with this feature. It's not always a success in this scale, especially on light-coloured models... on this one it looks better in hand than in the pictures though, but I looked at two more before selecting this
iScale DE - BMW 4-series coupéLast of my Donguang adds and another great one. They captured the shape perfectly and the amount of PE parts lifts it far above PW level. The price however was laughable for what could compete with a Spark. Nice interior, body-coloured wire wheels... I absolutely love it
Donguang - Jaguar XK140 DHCAnother Maxichamps. The Minichamps release of this was the Pirelli special edition ('Campaign' in the UK) with special P-pattern alloys, A-post wind deflectors and colour-coded bumpers. I've never been a fan of the colour-coded bumpers on the mk.1, the black bumpers break the shape in the right places. I was therefore happy that the Maxichamps release had black bumpers. A very nice model, great to have a good representation of the facelifted mk.1 (plastic bumpers, larger rear lights) in the collection
Maxichamps - Volkswagen Golf GTIAnd back to less enthousiastic replies :lol: I'm generally no fan of the '90s in automotive design, as a knee-jerk response to the square-shaped '80s cars everything became rounded and ill-defined, as if someone had overinflated the cars over a flame. Some cars just became blobs, they generally lacked presence and authority. The Mr Blobby school of design works best on small cars, and the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa B was among the better ones IMO. I really liked its lines, quite clean and cute. Dynamically it was nothing special and it soon proved to rust with enthousiasm, though some examples seen to have survived a lot better than others. Despite all this I still like it and could be persuaded by a clean example. Once more the Opel Collection PW came to the rescue with an example in a typical cheerful '90s colour, with a fabric sunroof and a nicely detailed interior as a bonus. A nice addition to the Opel shelf which is slowly getting more crowded
Opel Collection - Opel Corsa BI'm still replacing my old models and my Beetles have been in the crosshairs for some time. Several of them are pretty bad and I would like a good replacement as a representative of every decade. Next one is a typical 1970s version, which can still be seen on the roads here from time to time. After seeing this for real I knew that the shape was correct. For a very cheap model I think it looks quite good
Altaya - Volkswagen BeetleThis is fell out of a box when I was moving my stuff to a different storage unit. It looked wrong somehow and looking at the real car, I know where the problem is. They just cut the roof off a coupé, forgetting that the convertible has a lower bootlid. Oh well, I guess this will get displayed front forward
007 Collection - Aston Martin VantageI wanted a decent FHC XKE S1 for a while now but the Spark is hard to find and expensive. This Whitebox is a decent model for the money and the colour is one of the best available for this iconic shape IMO. Intended as a placeholder until something better comes along it looks do good that it might stay, though a RHD version with UK registration is preferred
Whitebox - Jaguar E-type FHCA while ago I was looking at pictures of a Brazilian Volkswagen Gol (no, not an amputated Golf. It means Goal and was never officially imported here). I did some searching and got interested (well, actually I've been interested in overseas products of familiar makes for as long as I can recall, from reading those 'world cars' books as a kid) in the model. My vendors couldn't find any models of the Gol and after some searches I found several really cheap sources in China. This arrived for < EUR 10 with free shipping within a week. The Gol was sold in the US as the Fox in saloon and estate form. It featured a longitudinally-mounted front engine and was even sold with an aircooled engine. The Brazilian Gol is a nicely proportioned three-door hatch. Its platform was derived from the first-gen Passat and Audi 80. The model is from a partwork with Brazilian cars
Ixo/Altaya PW - Volkswagen GolAndy's recent addition of a Venturi reminded me of my first encounter with this car, then called MVS Venturi (Manufacture de Voitures de Sport, or Production of Sports Cars- how creative) at a local exotic car trader in the late 1980s. The shape looked great and I loved the fact that you never saw them on the roads here, very exclusive. Andy reminded me that I wanted one in my collection and preferably a road car. For a modest sum this PW model fulfilled that wish. Now I wish that I knew what happened to the cars I saw at the trader's years ago
Ixo/Altaya PW - Venturi AtlantiqueThe next one was a very kind and generous gift from RT when he visited NL recently. Not only is it a beautiful car and incredible model, it's also an early hybrid and a car with a production process that rivals the Cadillac Allanté's in its complication. The chassis were produced at AC in the UK and then shipped to Frua in Italy who crafted the beautiful bodywork. Then the rolling shells were shipped back for the 428 Ford engine to be installed. The result was a beautiful and fast Gran Turismo. Neo did an amazing job on the model and I love the colour. This will get pride of place in the display
Neo - AC Frua 428As a proper car nut, this gift got me interested in AC and I picked up some books to refresh my memory. The result was a list of AC cars I would like models of (a Cobra was my only representation of the marque until I was given the Frua). Unfortunately, my vendors came up empty handed but I found this when I was at a vinyl record/CD/antiques fair. Another pretty coupé by AC and, though it's not a Neo, a more than decent model. When photographing I noticed that it had probably been displayed before because it was pretty dusty. It will receive a good cleaning before it goes in the display
Atlas - AC Aceca
A DavidMG wiper and wheel upgrade would make it even better. I forgot to properly centre the axle for the second shot.The next one is unlikely to get much positive comments as it's not beautiful, sporty or even sold abroad in significant numbers. It is however interesting as it's the missing link in my DAF and Volvo collections. In 1975, DAF was having a hard time surviving in the market. The latest new model, the 66, was powered by a Renault engine because DAF lacked the funds to develop one after their flat twin was rendered obsolete. Development in the automotive industry was going at a fast pace and their upcoming new '77' hatchback had depleted the funds of the small car maker. The continuously-variable transmission that was DAF's raison d'etre had got the cars a reputation as pensioners' transport which wasn't positive for sales. At the same time, Volvo had a problem too. They had the 140/160 range of large cars, which is a rather narrow base with the fuel crisis increasing demand for economical, small hatchbacks. By absorbing DAF they had an instant model ready for launch (which became the 343 to be introduced in '76) and the 66 series of a saloon and an estate which were hastily Volvised by adding bigger bumpers and a different grill. Thus they retained the DAF customer base, whilst moving on with a new design. This is the Volvo 66, in estate form, in a colour that was quite popular at the time but seems weird now. Whitebox did a nice model of it, a recolour of the Volvo Collection PW model
Whitebox - Volvo 66A couple of months ago I showed this cool 1970s Simca 1000 Rallye
The first version was followed by a slightly faster Rallye 2 version a couple of years later. I didn't intend to buy this but got it in a trade and I liked it enough to hold onto it. I could be persuaded to add the final Rallye 3 version for the sake of completeness
Whitebox - Simca 1000 Rallye 2The next one was bought to make up for the disappointment that was the 007 Collection version and more than makes up for its shortcomings. A very nice model in a colour that was very popular here in the final days of this car. The 504 was known as a very strong and reliable workhorse, good for many trouble free kilometres. In fact, only rust could kill it. Most were exported to northern Africa when rust got the better of them, and still live on as taxis. These were very common here in the day and can still be seen from time to time, though mostly as imports from the south of France. Another excellent reissue from Maxichamps
Maxichamps - Peugeot 504As I have a lot more to share I'd better move on. As said, the AC Frua got me into the marque. This beauty later became the fire-spitting Cobra when fitted with a Ford V8, but it's nice to see the beginnings. The model is as nice as the Aceca, but it's covered in a greasy residue that's so far resisted my attempts at wiping it off. Therefore it looks like it's painted matt black. Maybe I'll take some dishwashing soap to it
Atlas - AC AceAnd a while ago I found that my collection was somewhat lacking in the VW T1 department, I wanted to get rid of my horribly inaccurate '90s Corgi and replace it with a charming signwritten version. This excellent Premium Classixxs model was offered by one of my trading partners at an irresistible price. It was apparently in use by the tech service training department of D'Ieteren, the Belgian Volkswagen importer
Premium Classixxs - Volkswagen Transporter T1 'Service Technique'Another one for the 'overseas versions of familiar cars' collection. When the T3 replaced the T2 Transporter in 1979, production of the T2 continued in Brazil. The car evolved into a new generation, the T2c with a watercooled engine and became more of a local product. It was made until 2013(!) when this Final Edition showed how many changes had been made over the years. I've seen a 1:1 T2c here a couple of years ago and an unregistered Final Edition from the collection of a VW dealership last year. Premium Classixxs fid an outstanding model with many modifications to their existing T2 casting to reflect the differences
Premium Classixxs - Volkswagen Transporter T2c 'Final Edition'The next is so off my usual subjects that nobody will have seen it coming. In fact, when I saw it at a street fair it took me some time to convince myself that it should be in my collection even though it had me fascinated when I first noticed it. I even walked away in the hope that it would sell before I returned, but it seemed destined to end up here. The first ambulance in my collection, far more interesting and a lot less plain and functional-looking than what I'm used to. Incredibly cool for an ambulance and a very nice model for a PW
Atlas - Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulanceNext one wasn't that high up on the list, the colour combination took it from nice to desirable. Oxford does these very well
Oxford - Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud After adding the 1970s 'coda tronca' Alfa Spider to my collection recently, I wanted its predecessor too. This Duetto model was sold as a 'factory back door special' in a Chinese online store for a paltry sum, and aside from a slightly chunky steering wheel it's a nice effort. The most elegant version of this car IMO. Now I'll be looking for the remaining generations, which I suspect will be much harder... I'll probably have to hold on to the old ARS version of the 4th generation
Edison - Alfa Romeo Spider DuettoYes, I know MC based this on the wrong body shape 911. However, it's a very nice model and I like the green as a contrasting colour compared to the usual red or blue. Perhaps the fact that everyone else wants red or blue made it that this was so cheap, that it was impossible to resist
Minichamps - Porsche 911 Carrera RSNext up is a model I missed out on when it was plentiful. I always thought 'I'll get one later' until at some point I realised that they were all gone. Luckily, one of my trader contacts bought an entire collection and I was very happy to see that this was in it. He made a very good trade deal for me, which essentially got me this model at a price lower than when it was introduced. The green metallic version is my favourite but I'll happily make do with this. A very nice model indeed
Neo - Volkswagen Golf Country
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Post by WallOfCars on Apr 17, 2022 19:34:11 GMT -5
Just so much beauty here, I don't know where to start
I really need to spend more time later and read your always fun commentary, but visually really enjoying the Renault Espace, Honda CRX's, that perfect green Maxichamps Peugeot 504, most of the Saabs just to name a few! I could easily 'waste' the whole evening just on this thread! Going to check back after I get some other work done. This move seems to be making our forum 10X as interesting as before
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 2:40:59 GMT -5
Thanks for your support Brooks, on with the task in hand because there are hundreds of pages left to do... Recently I decided to add a few models to my collection of a historic marque I'd been neglecting a little. It is however a marque worth getting into... so I've put a few notable models on my wish list. The next model I always though of as a large, classy car when I was young. It was a clever move on the part of designer Pinifarina: you design a car and sell it to two manufacturers. In this case it was BMC with the Farina series and Peugeot with the 404. It was never an innovative design but rather conservative with nice, classic proportions and tail fins, which were still fashionable at the time. It was introduced in 1960 and soldiered on until 1975 with a minor facelift, and by then it was decidedly old hat. In Africa, production continued until 1991! The 404 had a successful career in rallying and was known as a very solid and dependable car. They're still somewhat common around here, though most examples are recent imports from southern France
Altaya - Peugeot 404
This is the new (2010-on) Peugeot logo so it doesn't really go with the car, but I like it anyway
Next is Martin's favourite make in Jeff's favourite colour. One of my favourite cars, though. Ever since I took a test drive in a 156 I liked it a lot. A very sharp-handling car in a really attractive package. The best colour was Azurro Nuvola, a 'flip flop' colour that changed between silver, yellow and green to blue however the light was reflected. Sounds gaudy, but the result was great and made the shape of the car look its best. Like all good designs, the 156 has aged well. It doesn't look that dated (a benefit of the simple shape) and the 'absent' rear door handles set a trend that's still current. The 156 was replaced by the 159, which was never as nimble as its predecessor. The simple but nice and correct model was made by Solido and this one came in an attractive tin can embossed with the Alfa logo
Solido - Alfa Romeo 156
The next one I couldn't resist when RT and I visited the Louwman Museum. In the gift shop they sold a number of models, and this one jumped out at me. I really wanted the black one with the gold eagle but they only had a matt black version. Gold was my second best and coincidentally the same colour as the Firebird I once photographed at my previous job. Driving it was less pleasurable but at least it had a lot of power. A car I recall from my childhood (everyone who wanted to be noticed drove one, preferably with a loud exhaust) and I quite like its looks. A simple but decent model
Road Signature - Pontiac Firebird
I owned a mk.1 Jetta in the 1990s, alas only a two-door base model. I loved this luxury GLS version then, if I hadn't gotten a job that required lots of driving I'd have bought one. Neo did a beautiful model of the GLS in period correct Inarisilber
Neo - Volkswagen Jetta GLS
A couple of years ago I added a Vitesse model of the DB7 to my collection. That's quite nice, but this AutoArt takes it to another level altogether. I didn't need much convincing to get this one to replace it, looks great in blue too
AutoArt - Aston Martin DB7
As if those two fantastic models weren't enough yet, Santa sent me yet two more superb gifts. First is this one that I've been chasing for a long time with no success, and that can now finally be struck off my wish list (on the brink of the new year)
Neo - Volkswagen Derby 20171225_114015b by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr
I'd almost bought this as a 1:1 before I had my licence, but advanced rust unfortunately intervened. Still a very charming model, the saloon version of the VW Polo.
And this will be on my desk in the new year, so that I can enjoy a beautiful car every day
20171225_114125b by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr
Thanks a lot Santa, great gifts!
This has been on my wish list for very long, another release during my collecting hiatus that's vanished off the shelves. I really like this car and model, the 100 type 43 is the car that started my love for Audis. The fantastic five cylinder engine and the shape really hit the spot for me. The 100 Avant was something of a departure for Audi, a large five-door hatch was not common in Germany. Later, the Avant moniker stood for the estate versions. I would love to have the saloon version too, both are really nicely made models
Minichamps - Audi 100 Avant
I wanted a better street version of the Lancia Delta Integrale but it was hard to find an affordable model. This looked nice and crisp in the pictures and it was incredibly affordable... when it arrived, I found out why it had such heavily tinted windows. The Kyosho dnano series were a failed attempt at small-scale RC cars with a modular approach. They had several bodies with the same wheelbase and track width to fit on the motorised chassis, and a remote. A complete setup for one car cost about EUR 250, which explains the lack of success. However, as a static model it looks great and the tinted windows give it a nice aggressive appearance. It looks a lot better than it does in these pictures BTW, you can't see anything of the lack of interior (thanks to about 500 W of lighting and a long exposure this looks quite different). Until something better comes up this will look great in my display and I'm in no hurry at all to replace it
Kyosho dnano - Lancia Delta Integrale
Another Italian car that I liked very much since it was launched, but the model seemed to sell out quickly and I missed out. Luckily I got a second chance when one of my traders bought a collection with lots of cars that I liked. Luckily, I still had some 1:18s to dangle in front of him so this was added to the collection without a second thought. Very happy with it
Minichamps - Alfa Romeo Alfetta 1.8
Another Italian, back to the 1980s. The Tipo Quattro was a collaboration between Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Saab to jointly develop their top-of-the-range models. In the end only the mid section was the common part of the Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema, Alfa 164 and Saab 9000. The Lancia Thema developed a reputation for electrical and electronical unreliability before it could rust, the dealers even dubbed the car Lancia Trauma. Later in life, someone came up with the bonkers idea of putting the Ferrari 328 V8 engine in the Thema, making this the ultimate tyre tread stripper. The spoiler that could be raised from the bootlid and the '8.32' badging raised the car's status among those in the know, but most people still wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. With over two decades gone by, most Themas have vanished. In retrospect it was quite an attractive design that has aged well. The PW model depicts the turbo that was top-of-the-range before the 8.32 arrived
Edison PW - Lancia Thema Turbo i.e.
The Mondial used to be the ugly duckling, a less pretty 308/328 with 2+2 seating. I wasn't a fan at the time but over the decades and given what they are turning out now I've come to appreciate it enough to give it a place in my display. A Kyosho or HWE would be a good idea, but even after looking for a long time I couldn't find one. For now I'll make do with this PW which at least gets the shape correct
Ixo PW - Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole _MG_7945b by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr _MG_7946b by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr
More Italians coming but to keep it varied and interesting I thought I'd skip a few and return later. I was googling around when I found this model and couldn't believe that it existed. It's a car I remember from my 'World cars' yearbooks and another one I like. When the Golf was introduced in 1974, it didn't take VW long to introduce this to other markets as their 'world car' successor to the Beetle. To circumvent import taxes and feed overseas markets more efficiently the US version, the Rabbit, was produced locally. The Latin American market was supplied with cars built in Mexico called the Volkswagen Caribe. It was essentially a Rabbit with the 5 MPH bumpers but without the side markers. I wanted this model badly but other than getting one off ebay, paying inflated shipping costs and a customs fee or getting a none too cheap Chinese factory back door special, there was no way to obtain it. Until I came across this foreign gentleman at the NAMAC swapmeet who had one on his table, allegedly from a Peruvian PW. It wasn't cheap for a PW but no more than a recent Ixo, the model looked great so I didn't think for long. Very happy with it and now I have the German, American, Mexican and Yugoslav versions of the Golf all in my collection. Group shot is in the works
Atlas PW - Volkswagen Caribe
Back to an Italian car with this rallying Fiat. I would love to have lots of HPI rally cars, but Douglas bought them all so I had to turn to a PW model for my next addition. When I was young one of my favourite models was a 1:24 Fiat 131 rally car. So I needed little persuading to add this one, in the classic Alitalia livery. The wheels need some toning down but the antenna is more realistic than MC's
Altaya PW - Fiat 131 Abarth Rally
The next one could hardly be more different from the 131. It is however a car I've come to appreciate. About two years ago the friend I was working for building custom motorbikes and cars found this as a cheap offer and decided to do it up to flip it. Turned out that it was less simple because the car was more neglected than it looked to be. I spent a lot of time working on it, mostly cosmetics but also fixing overheating issues and non-working lights. He eventually sold it but I don't think he made a lot of money given the amount invested in fixing it. I also had the experience of piloting it through narrow Utrecht city streets at night with only the sidelights to guide my way and drunk nighttime cyclists all around me, not an experience I'd like to repeat. The shape however has grown on me and to remember the experience I wanted a model. The car in question was a '69 but the Neo model of that exact vintage has sold out. Therefore I decided on this '72 from Whitebox which is the same colour as the 1:1, nice bonus. The model is quite decent
Whitebox - Buick Riviera coupé
Buick Riviera by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr
Another blue one and a reference to the Alfa 156 I showed earlier. The flip flop paint called Azzurro Nuvola that was my favourite on the 156 was first shown on the Nuvola show car. Now I'm generally not a fan of the rounded 1990s school of design as a response to 1980s square shapes, IMO most went too far and made blobby, uninteresting and weak jelly mould shapes. However, this is not uninteresting at all. Especially the lights are very nicely done and proportions are good too. It was a good way to test design ideas and gauge responses. The model was made by Solido long ago and compared to today's offerings it shows its age. However, the simple shape is captured well and so is the characteristic colour. The low 'price' makes it simple to eventually replace it with a better version but it's so nice that I'm in no hurry to find a replacement, should it exist
Solido - Alfa Romeo Nuvola
I've shown the second generation Audi 100 as an Avant recently, now it's time to move upmarket. The start of Audi's attack on Mercedes' position in the market was with the turbocharged version of the 100, called the 200. It featured the first five cylinder turbo engine that would later power the famous quattro. In the US, this was known as the 5000 turbo. The model was made by Neo and they did a great job, I was happy to find one after all these years and in my favourite colour too
Neo - Audi 200 5T
I have been catching up on some car makes recently, and Peugeot is one of them. This one is iconic if you've watched any French '50s and '60s movies. Used as taxis, police cars and in fact for any task where the car should be very sturdy and reliable. Every once in a while they can still be seen on the roads here, though they're usually recent imports and rarely shiny. These look quite good with faded paint in dark colours IMO
Vitesse - Peugeot 403
Another car I've loved since childhood. I had the Matchbox version as a kid, but this is definitely an improvement. Renault had two sporting cars based on the R12 at the time, the 15 and the 17. The 17 was the best of the two, with those cool 1970s louvres over the rear side glass. I'd been looking for a decent model for some time but couldn't find one until the Gordini PW was released. This totally fits the bill, good period colour too
Gordini PW - Renault 17
The next one is another Brazilian Volkswagen I found in China. Though the model is excellent, when it arrived it was missing one mirror. I contacted the vendor but got no response at all, so I contacted the sales platform and got a full refund within a day, retaining the model. So now I have the option of ordering a new one, keeping it as is or trying to scratchbuild/find a new mirror. It's my second Volkswagen Gol model and the only one I've ever seen IRL
Ixo/ Altaya PW - Volkswagen Gol
I do have the rear wiper but need to refit it.
This is my next Chinese find. A true factory back door special in a generic display without cardboard box, however the model was pristine and arrived shipped for under EUR 10, which is about 30% of RRP. The car is another example of Pininfarina selling the same design twice, to Peugeot for the 404 cabriolet and to Fiat for this 1500 cabriolet. Luckily it was a good design and a car that I've always liked a lot. Norev made a great model of it too
Norev - Fiat 1500 cabriolet
The next one is bound to have more universal appeal too. I wanted the late version because I already had the 1:24 of the early one but holding it in my hand made it impossible to give it back. So it came home and I'm really happy, still a beautiful car and a great model
Minichamps - Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 4:11:00 GMT -5
The next one will be unknown to 80% of S143 members, in fact I've only added it to complete the series and because it cost EUR 3 at the swapmeet. The third generation of the VW Polo had almost grown to the size of the original Golf. This made room for a smaller car, and VW teamed up with Suzuki, maker of small cars, to design it. For reasons unknown this venture was aborted (good thing too, because the end result was the Suzuki Wagon R, co-produced with Opel as the Agila- google it if you don't know what it looks like). Volkswagen started over, which resulted in the Lupo (and the almost identical Seat Arosa). It was rumoured that these cars cost VW a lot of money, perhaps because they used the Lupo as a technology leader in the form of the advanced 3L TDI. When the model needed an update to conform to the latest safety and emissions standards, it was decided to discontinue it for cost reasons. Instead, VW sought a cheap alternative in the form of an existing model produced in large numbers and with the advantage of lower wages, as the car was made in Brazil instead of Germany. The car was the Fox (known as Lupo in Mexico) and in Europe the 3-door version was the only one available. By stripping the car down to bare essentials, the base version cost just under 10,000 Dutch Guilders (before the euro). The Fox turned out to be a very reliable and pleasant car. It was succeeded by the up! in 2011. The model was made by Schuco and even features posable front wheels. Those wheels are a common Schuco problem and my only criticism: they look to be closer to 17" than the 14" they should measure
Schuco - Volkswagen Fox
And another one which will probably find few admirers, though its quality is beyond reproach
Looksmart - Volkswagen up! taxi concept
Next up is another car I've shown before: the Renault 5. I couldn't find the orange version but the white one was easy, so I got that. Now a Chinese seller had another dubiously acquired cheap one in a generic box, so I ordered it. Luckily the model turned out to be fine so I now have a model of my parents' car in the exact same colour they had. Needless to say I like it much better than the white one
Norev - Renault 5
Next one has been on my wish list for a while, but full RRP is a bit on the high side for me. Now I got a good offer and couldn't resist adding this to my Maserati collection. I saw the real car in Essen once, might've been at the Essen Motorshow. I loved it then and still do, a nice addition for my small collection of Shooting Brakes. PremiumX did a decent job on the model
PremiumX - Maserati Quattroporte Bellagio
Paid a rather brief visit to the NAMAC swapmeet today- I had a lot to do, among which overhauling my bicycle. Still not entirely done with that. I traded a couple of models that no longer fit in my collection for some new ones that do and managed to strike a couple off my wish list in the process. Also met Ecclesley and had a brief chat. Great to talk to you again Gerrit, we share quite a few interests. Next one is actually from the previous swapmeet. I intended to buy this when they were cheap and plentiful but there was always something else, then one day they went from plentiful to absent. I always regretted not getting one and couldn't believe my luck when I found this in a stack of dusty old Minichamps- and still as cheap as they were years ago! Excellent model of an incredible car (read the back story if you don't know it, essentially a LM winner you could go shopping in). Wish it was dark green, but otherwise it's great
AutoArt - Jaguar XKSS
The next one I've wanted for a while too. I'd been waiting for a general (Ixo/Triple9/Whitebox/PremiumX) release, but it appears that this is not on the list. So I started looking for a vendor who sold the Saab Collection PW version for decent money. Luckily I found this, the penultimate evolution of the 96. It was quite popular when I was young and there were several in my neighbourhood. Now I'll be looking for the late model V4 Super, in a better colour than the Whitebox. I like this one though, another hit from the Saab PW
Saab Collection - Saab 96 V4
This is a model I had to have as soon as it was announced. You see, in the 1990s I bought the Provence Moulage resin kit because I'd read about this car in books and magazines but over 20 years later the kit is still unbuilt. I simply lack the time to do this properly. I still love the car though and it fits neatly in my theme of coachbuilt shooting brakes. So even if it was an expensive Matrix, I had to have it... Luckily being a Matrix it was done properly, it's a fantastic model and I'm very happy with it (even more so when I found that it was about EUR 15 cheaper than the best price I found online). Worth the money
Matrix - Jaguar mk.II County
The mk.II County was built by Jones Bros. Coachbuilders and served for some time as support vehicle for the Jaguar factory team, for instance at the Tour de France Rallye. It reportedly hit the road surface as soon as something was loaded into the boot, so presumably no uprated springs were fitted. After several owners the car came to the Netherlands where it was restored by a Jaguar specialist near where I live. It is still in Dutch ownership.
From a classy one-off classic to everybody's classic. In the mid-'70s these were everywhere and it seems like every other one was this same green. A family across the street from where I lived bought one in '75. They drove it at least until we moved away in '86. I've always liked the Westfalia, a very friendly-looking van. Ixo made a great model for a 'campers of the world' PW, even though someone was obviously unable to spell Helsinki correctly
Ixo/Atlas - Volkswagen T2b Westfalia Helsinki
Next are my Secret Santa's picks, and he knows me well! At the time when I was trying to get a couple of key models from the history of Peugeot, this was a very welcome addition. Not only is it one of the nicest cars they sold in the '70s but it is also entirely characteristic of the car as the vast majority was sold in this colour. When I think of the 304 coupé, it's metallic gold. Minichamps made a quality model of it, correct in every detail. It will look great in my revamped Peugeot corner
Minichamps - Peugeot 304 coupé
My Secret Santa was more than generous, just the Peugeot would be great but he sent yet another gift and one that was equally fantastic. A racing Porsche 924- always +1 for me, but it was a car I'd never seen before and boy, is it great! Wide body, beautiful livery and Spark quality. What more could a collector ask for? One of the models that haven't been out of my sight when I'm home, fantastic addition
Spark/Biante - Porsche 924 Carrera GTR
Next is another Christmas gift from a friend who knows exactly what I want too. I've been looking for this for a long time now, it went from common to obsolete in days apparently. The Derby was the saloon version of the Volkswagen Polo and would have been my first car, if rust and the annual safety inspection hadn't intervened. The car I intended to buy was even in the same colour, how's that for nostalgia? The 1:1 is even harder to find than the model nowadays. Neo made a great little model of it, I love it
Neo - Volkswagen Derby
Some weird reflections in the front shot, nothing like that visible IRL.
I don't know why, but the next one has been missing from my collection for a long time. A classic and a fantastic car. Still the ultimate M3 for me, a raw and fast car, a racer for the road. I'm a little late for this, as the Minichamps model is now quite pricy. Good idea for a Maxichamps rerelease? Anyway, this Whitebox seemed to offer the best quality for the least cash. The model turned out to be quite nice and a decent representation of the ultimate E30 3-series in my collection
Whitebox - BMW M3 Sport Evolution
These two models were acquired from a collector who was changing the focus of his collection. I have been aware of the Vitesse Renault 5 series for some time but they're old models and they hardly ever show up nowadays. I wouldn't mind having the entire series though, and these two make a nice start. For the first two years of its life (1972 and '73) there were two versions: the Renault 5L and 5TL. The L had the smaller 845 cc engine with all of 36 hp, the dash-mounted gear stick, simpler wheel trims and the exhaust exited in front of the left rear wheel. The TL had more power (1108 cc, 45 hp), better trim, front discs, a floor-mounted gear stick and a full--length exhaust. The orange used in the first two years was darker than the colour used after the small facelift of '74. The model is a nice depiction of the early 5L, though the exhaust hangs a little low and needs toning down. The second model is the 1975 5TS, the successor to the short-lived LS. It had a 1289 cc engine delivering 64 hp which was quite sporty in a light car in the mid-1970s. More upmarket trim, better seats, wider wheels without trims (in a 'sporty' style) and more paint colours were the hallmark of the LS and TS. Yet another nice model by Vitesse, who even included the optional rear wiper. I will keep looking for these, like them a lot
Vitesse - Renault 5L
Vitesse - Renault 5TS
The next one is the successor to a model that has been in my collection for a short time. When I got the Ixo version I was happy: great colour and they got the shape right. However, when I came across this 'used' (dusty box, model was never unpacked and the oval tapes were still in place) model for an Ixo price, it was out with the Ixo. One of my favourite classics (especially the FHC) and I love the upgrade, though without it I would have lived with the Ixo happily
Spark - Jaguar XKE FHC
and the Ixo
As said, another bargain Spark from the same vendor. Worn outer box, dusty case, model is new and untouched. When the MG Midget was introduced, it was a twin of the new mk.II Austin-Healey Sprite. The Sprite had been heavily re-engineered losing its flip-up front with the 'frogeye' headlights but gaining a bootlid. These cars were among the first monocoque convertibles from BMC and the unibody structure was still somewhat of an unknown. There were no computers for stress or torsional rigidity calculations so the bodies were massively over-engineered. It was deemed that the rear end would lose rigidity if the mk.I Sprite's round wheelarches were retained, so the squared-off shape was designed. By 1972, there was enough experience to predict that the reintroduction of round rear wheelarches (which match the fronts better and make the car look more elegant) would not harm the car's structure so the 1972 redesign featured the new rear arches. The Austin-Healey Sprite was axed at the same time. However, by 1974 the US safety regulations were tightened and the Midget got another redesign as a result. It gained the urethane impact bumpers, jacked-up suspension to comply with minimal headlight height regulations and a new engine in the form of the 1.5 from the Triumph Spitfire. The emissions regulations were impossible to attain on the old 1275 cc A-series whilst retaining some sort of performance. At this time the square rear arches were reintroduced to avoid a negative rating on rear impacts. This made the 1972-'74 round wheelarch with the elegant chrome bumpers the most short-lived version, making it more desirable to collectors. My brother has one of these (under restoration since 1987), albeit in white and not Harvest Gold like this model. Spark did a great job on the model, though the yellow is slightly too light
Spark - MG Midget
And from British classics it's on to old Volkswagens. I have the German version, the Yugoslav licence-built Golf JGL and the Mexican Caribe which leaves the US Rabbit. I wish that someone did a very early square headlight 'Westmoreland' version but this will have to do. At least Neo made a nice model with good proportions and it's a five-door. I will do a group shot later to show all different Golfs, now I would love to see someone make a decent South African Citi Golf
Neo - Volkswagen Rabbit
I need to mess with my polarisation filter more often, it worked really well in these shots for getting rid of the glazing reflections.
And we're back to British classics. This one fits my Aston and coachbuilt shooting brakes themes. A beautiful car and Matrix made a superb model of it. Another model that was described as 'used' but I'm still looking for evidence of use
Matrix - Aston Martin DB5 shooting brake Harold Radford
A while ago, Ian posted about the 1:43 Harley-Davidsons by Rail King. Recently, RT showed us his bikes and this is the one I found. It will be mildly customised (mostly paint) later. I found it in China for EUR 2 with free shipping, so expectations were on the low side but it seems to be about worth that amount. Detail is sparse, but 1:43 Harleys are thin on the ground
Rail King - Harley-Davidson
Luckily there are better looking models left to show you. The next one was modelled by Neo but I couldn't locate one so I opted for the cheap but rather nice PW version. It's a sports coupé by VW do Brasil on a Beetle floor pan and it's achieved cult status over the years. I saw the real thing at a classic car show and loved its looks, so I wanted a model for my 'global Volkswagen collection'. For a PW model the shape seems to be well captured
Atlas - Volkswagen SP2
This one might qualify for the title of coolest Citroen of the 1980s, however improbable that sounds. The Visa Mille Pistes was a homologation special, a rally car available to anyone. With only 840 kg, four-wheel-drive and 115 hp (easily tuned to 145) it could give quite a few other rally cars a run for the money. 200 were made and most were wrapped around the scenery at some point, so few survive. On my way to school I passed the home of a rally driver who had one of these parked in his drive and I watched it being prepared to full rally spec. Wish there were digital cameras in those days, I'd love to have saved a few shots
Atlas - Citroen Visa Mille Pistes
The decals on the sides say '4 roues motrices' or 4 wheel drive.
Another Volkswagen, another one from Brazil. In Europe, the Beetle lasted until 1983 with the last batch being imported from Mexico. However, the Beetle lived on in Brazil where it wasn't axed until 2003. Like the Transporter T2 I showed before, this was the Final Edition of which 2000 cars were sold in two colours, blue and beige. I wanted to show the evolution of the model by displaying one from every decade, and I'm well on my way to the full set. I intend to do the same with the Citroen 2CV. The model is by Ixo and they did a very good job IMO
Ixo - Volkswagen Beetle Final Edition
Käfer is German for Beetle, BTW. Strange that it wasn't labeled as a Volkswagen 1300, which is its official name.
This is another model that, though extremely nice, is unlikely to get many positive comments here... simply because most of you have never heard of it. The DAF 600 was the first passenger car made by DAF and featured their flat twin 600 cc engine (hence the model name) coupled to their Variomatic infinitely-variable automatic transmission. It was made between 1958 and 1963 and the model depicts one of the first two cars made. The originals are displayed side by side in the DAF Museum in Eindhoven, and a model of the other car exists too. Matrix made the model and they did quite a nice job
Matrix - DAF 600
Yes, I have the silver version. But when I was offered the red one for only EUR 5, I couldn't resist... I have to say the silver is quite boring in comparison, some cars look better in silver but I guess red is a natural choice for this, and it goes well with the earlier Duetto version that I have. I will be on the lookout for the third generation that was made by Minichamps
Maxicar - Alfa Romeo Spider 2000 Veloce
Whilst cycling through Utrecht today I saw the 1:1 to my next model, a VERY rare sight on our roads today. It was an original Dutch market 1976 car in white with lots of amateur paint repairs but it was still running and largely rust-free (and gone before I could get out my camera). I am a fan of the original car, quite elegant and it screams Citroen from every angle. Ixo made the model and they did a nice job. I saw it at the swapmeet and simply couldn't resist it
Ixo - Citroen GS
I had been looking at the Whitebox version of the next model for some time but found the blue a little harsh for this car and I disliked the grill which needed a blackwash badly. Then I came across the Ixo version and it was close to perfect: a blackwashed grill and a classic Aston colour. A great 'buy two, get one free' deal made this even better
Ixo - Aston Martin DB7 Zagato
The next one was one of the last big adventures of Dutch high-end car maker Spyker, the second coming of the famous make of the 1910s and '20s. The make was resurrected by wealthy businessman Victor Muller but despite lots of publicity never managed to actually put enough cars on the road to make it profitable. They did put out some memorable cars though, and even competed at Le Mans. It all went belly-up when Muller tried to take over Saab after its bankruptcy. That was the end of Spyker's revival, though officially it isn't over as the bankruptcy was reversed in '14. It's a part of Dutch automotive history though, so besides on of their road cars I wanted a LM racer in my collection. The model is by Ixo and it's quite good
Ixo - Spyker C2 Spyder GT2R LM 2006
Both of the Spyker cars that competed in 2006 DNF.
Any Saab subcollection needs one of these, the iconic 900 Cabriolet. For years I thought the soft top was fake because they always ran around with the top up. Apparently, Dutch Saab Cabrio drivers dislike sun or they think their hairdo will suffer. I had two choices for this model, the Norev and the PremiumX. I couldn't find anything to make the choice easier so I just went with the one that my trading partner had in stock. A good choice I think
PremiumX - Saab 900 Cabriolet
The 250 GT Lusso is one of the best-looking Ferraris ever and even ranks up there among the most beautiful cars. The first time ever I saw one IRL I was flabbergasted, what a fantastic shape! Then there's the engine, the fantastic interior... I already had a couple of models of this car but this cheapo PW wasn't among them and it looked good enough in the pictures to warrant its single-figure price so it came along as a box filler. I am not disappointed at all
PW - Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso
I was finishing a deal with a trader and he knew of my Volkswagen collection, so he alerted me that he had a couple of these at a great price. I love the colour and I didn't have the R version yet, so this was a no-brainer. The model looks superb, like all recent Norevs
Norev DE - Volkswagen Scirocco R
I was on the verge of getting the Maxichamps when I found this for the same price. And however nice the MC is, this is better. Still a pretty common classic here, there's one in the same colour one street over
Spark - MG B Tourer
and to prove that it was cheap
A while ago I found a silver Amarok by MC for EUR 10 at the swapmeet and I bought it for my good mate who collects Volkswagen commercial vehicles. Whilst fiddling with it I got to like it and decided to get one for myself too. Unfortunately they're getting rare and it took me a while... cost slightly more than EUR 10 too. This colour is even better IMO
Minichamps - Volkswagen Amarok
Next one is unlikely to appeal to many of you as well. It had been on my list for a while. It's the last of the 'weird' Citroens, the high-end model with their famous hydropneumatic suspension. All their newer models look like anything else and most have gone to conventional springs. The C6 was a proper new model with a concave rear screen (like the CX) as the only retro cue. Despite that, it's immediately recognisable as a Citroen. I've driven a few and despite the complete lack of feedback from the suspension and steering (lots of Citroen fans prefer it like that) it's a nice car. The model is quite hard to find here, it took me over a year to locate one
Norev - Citroen C6
I cleaned off the surplus glue around the mirror later, hell of a job.
Just before Volkswagen took over things, Seat was asserting itself as a bona fide car maker and distancing itself from the Fiat licence builds. The new Ibiza was their own design though it still leaned on Fiat underpinnings. The first real Seat development was the 1.5 litre engine, designed together with Porsche ('motor System Porsche'). The saloon version was called Malaga, I showed a model of that earlier. From the second generation on, all Ibizas were basically Volkswagen Polos in drag
Altaya - Seat Ibiza
Amédé Gordini was to Renault what Carlo Abarth was to Fiat, the 'wizard' who extracted more power from engines the old school way, by mechanical tuning. The modified cars were usually painted French racing blue and decorated with two white bands. He started performing his sorcery on 4CVs and by the time the R8 came along he managed to extract 95 hp from the 1100 cc engine which usually put out 54. Top speed was a really impressive 175 km/h. The quad headlights on this model show that it was the later 1300 version with 110 hp and a five-speed 'box as standard. I've always been a fan of the blue Renaults and would like to have a small subcollection
Gordini Collection - Renault 8 Gordini 1300
When Alpine was absorbed by Renault, the fast versions were all named Renault Alpine. However, for the UK market the Alpine name was owned by Rootes and later by Chrysler. For the UK market, the hot hatch version of the Renault 5 was thus renamed 5 Gordini. It was available in metallic blue with white graphics but as a kid I loved the black one with the red go-faster stripes. The alloy wheels were Alpine-only and they still look good. When your parents have a 845 cc version, the 1.4 with 97 hp and a top speed of 170 km/h is a real powerhouse. In only 850 kg of car it was probably a lot of fun. The model is from the same PW
Gordini Collection - Renault 5 Gordini
The next is one of my first attempts with my new camera. Whilst it's a much better tool for the job than my old one, getting to grips with the more extensive settings for every mode comes with a steep learning curve. At least I managed to get the focus 100%, and consistent over all pics. Now I need to find the right settings to make colours more predictable and fiddle with the lighting some more. Anyway, I think Andy's pictures were the straw that broke the camel's back here, I just had to have this. Only Spark's model convinced me completely and the car definitely deserved a good model. It didn't disappoint at all, what a beauty
Spark - Aston Martin DB6
Now what, you don't collect pre-'45 cars, do you? Generally speaking not, but this was intended as a gift and the recipient already had it. Never mind, I'd grown to like it so much that I'd already convinced myself that I needed it for my collection too. I've even thought I'd add a few others to show the evolution of the car in a couple of steps. So for now I give you: any colour as long as it's pale yellow :lol: The model is by Donguang and they did a great job
Donguang - Ford Model T speedster
Next one is a model I've wanted to have ever since I joined S143 and learned of its existence. The fact that I hadn't noticed one in over 30 years of perusing the swapmeets indicates that it's not a common sight here. However, Martin (Alfaholic) was so kind to obtain one for me at his local store and we did a swap deal with a model that was suddenly available here that Martin wanted. I'm still convinced I got the best end of the deal Martin, and it was a real pleasure to deal with you. After sending packages across the world for years, the big surprise for me was the speed with which my package arrived and likewise the short time it took for Martin to get his- only eight days from NL to AUS is pretty amazing (especially when you consider that it took me months to send something to the US). Anyway, this ends up in my best models of the year list and rightly so, what a beauty! When I was in high school, I dated a girl whose dad had one of these and I'm pretty sure the length of the relationship was affected by me getting rides in that beautiful car. :lol: The model has the usual AutoArt quality and the posable front wheels add to its appeal. I don't think I've ever seen this colour on a 1970s Alfa but it really suits it and brings out the shape. Martin, thanks for your help in getting a model that will remain in my collection as long as I will be able to control matters
AutoArt - Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV
In the 1980s, customising cars was a big thing. Firms like Koenig, B&B, Gemballa et al modified cars to such an extent that it was sometimes quite hard to determine what it started life as. The more successful tuners concentrated on a single make and catered to a specific market. For Audi, the most successful tuner was Treser, started by ex-Audi Sport manager Walter Treser. They made many weird creations such as a quattro with a folding hardtop and several models geared towards Middle Eastern customers: Audi 100/200 limousines and this wacky offroader called the Treser Hunter. As the name suggests, this car is intended for hunting in the desert, hence the ruggedised exterior and jacked-up suspension. The wheels were a Treser creation too, in metric TRX size. It's ugly, but a must have for any Audi nut (I have quite a few Treser brochures too). Neo made the model and did a great job
Neo - Audi 90 quattro Hunter
I love music and used to mess with stereo equipment so this was an easy choice. A very charming van and as usual nicely made by Oxford
Oxford - Ford Thames 400E 'HMV'
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 4:34:46 GMT -5
I've shown you the early version of the Alfetta, now it's the time for the late '70s facelift version. The bumpers gained some weight, no doubt to comply with new safety regulations. The front was redesigned with large rectangular headlights and the rear got a new look too. The car looks less classic as a result but still looks nice and uncluttered. The fundamentally correct and attractive proportions remained which gave this car lasting appeal. The model is by Neo who did a stellar job
Neo - Alfa Romeo Alfetta
I love my Alfas but not to the extent that I want to collect every iteration... this landed in my collection as a result of a miscommunication on my part and after looking at both the early and the late model I decided that I was unable to choose between them.
It's back to Porsches now. The 'G model' with the impact bumpers was always my favourite 911 but I only had late versions, with the black centres on the wheels and the body-coloured headlamp bezels. I know it's somewhat nerdy (...somewhat?) but I wanted the early (1975) version too. Luckily, Schuco made a fantastic 1:43 in their ProR series. Alas they want a Spark and a half for it, which it certainly isn't worth to me. Luckily one of my trading partners managed to source this at a price level below Spark's which makes it a great buy. Very happy with it
Schuco ProR - Porsche 911 1975
A typical 1980s Fiat of the type they did so well, they sold millions of them. A small, practical and clean design that maximises interior space and a small economical engine. My first driving experience with an Uno was when my next-door neighbour graciously lent me hers when my car was being repaired after an attempted break-in. Unfortunately the brakes were feeble, though this improved when I replaced the rear brake shoes (she later told me that she'd driven it to work with the handbrake on). Cheap parts and easy to fix, though. Then I discovered that it leaked so much oil that I had to put cardboard under the engine bay whenever I parked it. Then the single wiper packed up in a downpour and I discovered that she managed to put coolant in the washer fluid reservoir, nice when you're doing 120 and suddenly your visibility goes to zero. Cue a few jokes about lady drivers and yes, she was a blonde... :lol: Anyway, the car was getting on in years and probably hadn't received much maintenance so I won't blame Fiat. There was a Uno-shaped gap in my Fiat collection and this PW filled it nicely for EUR 5. Typical '80s colour too
Atlas PW - Fiat Uno
I wanted a red production car but my trading partners couldn't find any. I got an incredibly good deal on this however, so I now have a Looksmart Alfa 4C concept. Some might think it's an ugly car but I love the styling, compact and muscular like a clenched fist. I agree that the bigger 8C's design is more of an everyman's favourite than this. The 4C is a concept that I love: low weight, therefore great performance without having to resort to a huge engine. To aid weight distribution Alfa did away with some equipment such as AC, electric windows and power assisted steering and uses a 1750cc 4-cylinder engine (240 hp for only 934 kg of weight). The result is a hardcore sports car that goes like stink and has wonderfully communicative steering and suspension. It's on top of my 'want to drive' list and would be my ideal weekend/fun car. The model is superb, as is to be expected from LS
Looksmart - Alfa Romeo 4C coupe concept
Only in my thread, from a cheapo PW to a Looksmart in a couple of posts.
And from an expensive exotic to a lowly people's car. Skoda used a rear-mounted engine and RWD for decades because of the traction advantage in bad conditions. Though people in the West tended to look down on Skodas, they were incredibly strong and the simple engineering made them easy to repair and maintain. My uncle ran one for years and still says it was his best car ever, it never let him down and started even in in conditions when other cars packed up. The low price unfortunately meant that few people cared well for them, they were simply throwaway items. I haven't seen one in decades. Abrex made an excellent model of the basic 110 in a colour that was very popular in the late '70s
Abrex - Skoda 110L
I had the blue PW version of this already, but fell for the full-blown Ixo Museum version after seeing it in the flesh. This luxury car has lots of chrome and the PW simulates this with silver paint whereas this one has proper chrome which makes all the difference. The blue is nice if a little less classy-looking than this metallic green which fits the car perfectly. I wasn't planning to upgrade but I'm glad that I did
Ixo Museum - Facel Vega Excellence
The next car is one I recall from my youth. Decades ago our police force was divided into municipal and national police. The latter was active on the motorways only, and they needed cars that would have to be fast, nimble and reliable, and it was imperative that you could direct traffic from a moving car, standing in the sunroof opening (not the driver, mind you ). They started using Porsche 356 cabriolets so it was a natural move to get the 911 when that was introduced.The Targa version was very handy as the passenger could hold on to the roll bar. I distinctly recall the policemen in their long white leather coats with orange crash helmets. They were respected and generally relaxed (they would drive alongside and let you know to slow down a little instead of giving you a ticket, unless you behaved like an utter idiot). The 911SC was followed by a couple of 964s and that was the end of Porsche in law enforcement here. Nowadays it's Volvo estates. A couple of years ago a Dutch shop commissioned a batch of Police 911s but those have long sold out. Luckily, Schuco fixed this problem with this very nice 911 Targa
Schuco ProR - Porsche 911 Targa Rijkspolitie
I thought my recycled Norev PW X1/9 was enough for me. However, when several people here showed this much nicer Maxichamps version I changed my mind, this was so much better that I needed an upgrade. It depicts the early, slim bumper 1300. The later 1500 got the Federalised 5MPH impact bumpers. The X1/9 was quite uncommon here when it was new, though in the late 1980s, early 1990s several were imported from the US. It's still a nice and clean design especially when you realise that it was released in the mid-1970s
Maxichamps - Fiat X1/9
I wanted at least one example of the bonkers TVRs in my collection, but most of them are very expensive older Sparks and none of my trading partners was able to find anything for me over the last few years. Cue a vendor at the swapmeet who had one of these Vitesses for sale at a very modest price. I didn't even know it existed but only a weird flip-flop colour could make it more perfect. I love the model, another one to strike off the list (actually the rarity had made me remove anything TVR from my list as a reality check, so this is really excellent)
Vitesse - TVR Tuscan
My Alfa TZ2 needed an upgrade and this Minichamps does the trick admirably. It's quite hard to find so I was happy to find one at a very good price too. An amazing shape replicated well, from the MC Alfa series
Minichamps - Alfa Romeo TZ2
And this had to follow. Apparently BoS is holding a 1:43 clearance sale, because it was incredibly cheap. BoS did a great job
BoS - Alfa Romeo Canguro
and the two together
Next up is an American icon and still a great-looking car. It's no coincidence that the latest generation of the Mustang takes its design cues from this, as IMO Ford never managed to improve on the shape. This replaces an ancient Dinky Collection model in my display and rightly so, Ixo have done a great job on this PremiumX version
PremiumX - Ford Mustang GT Fastback
This was Steve McQueen's personal transport in the movie Le Mans, but it's not the reason that I added it to my collection. I wanted a good example of a basic early '70s 911 and it was either this or the Norev. The Norev was available in bright yellow only and, whilst a proper '70s colour, it looked a little too bright for my tastes. The Schuco captured the shape perfectly and I like the colour, I got a good deal on it so it was added to the stable. Looking at it now it's the right decision, really nice model
Schuco - Porsche 911S
For a change of pace I will take you to Sweden... I like Saabs but feel that the less idiosyncratic designs of the last couple of years have lost most of their Saabness. This was the last generation that really showed its Saab roots IMO, even though it was comprehensively facelifted it's still recognisable as a grandson of the old 99. The model is a typical PremiumX with nice detail and impressive finish, though I feel that the wheels are perhaps a tad oversized
PremiumX - Saab 900i
The 550 Spyder is one of my favourite Porsches. I wanted the Minichamps model but that was apparently hard to find and expensive. Luckily there was the Maxichamps reissue with slightly less interior detail but the same excellent shape. I love it and no longer feel the need to replace it with the Minichamps. This has to be silver for me, a classic Porsche colour
Maxichamps - Porsche 550 Spyder
To avoid a strong resemblance with someone else's thread I mix my Porsches with other makes. The Saab 95 was the estate version of the 96. In those days it was common practice to make two-door estates, something we cannot imagine these days. The 95 is a charming car IMO, but Dutch buyers apparently never really fell for it. The 96 always outsold it by a considerable margin. PremiumX made the model, it's a jazzed-up version of the Saab Collection model
PremiumX - Saab 95
I was looking for a 1980s Alfa Romeo GTV and found a '70s Alfetta GT. When I got that I was happy and when I subsequently was offered a GTV I passed that on to Martin, still happy with the early car. Then I was offered another GTV as a part of a job lot, most of the rest of which wasn't interesting to me (duplicates, inferior versions or not in my field of interest). However, I knew a few people I could easily offload the rest on so I pounced and kept only the nice stuff. Selling off the remainder more than paid for what I kept. For a free model this is fantastic. Comparing it to the Ixo shows by how much the Ixo is off. I still prefer the original 1970s Alfetta GT but this is pretty amazing too in its own way. Personal memory: a former colleague, learning that I was into cars, borrowed his father's black '85 GTV6 and treated me to a very spirited ride. I loved it and will treasure the memory
Minichamps - Alfa Romeo GTV6
...and the early car as a reminder
The next one will likely come as a surprise. It doesn't fit any of the themes in my collection, however vaguely defined. In the 1980s and '90s I read tons of classic car magazines, as much as ten titles every month. A couple of articles about the GM Parade of progress got me interested in the subject but there was very little info in the pre-internet age. A couple of years ago I was watching Kindig Customs on Discovery Channel where they restored one of the trucks used in the PoP and I loved it. Such a stunning design, a behemoth and just imagine a whole fleet of those coming to your town to show you all the latest technology you'd never seen before... amazing. As for the model itself, it's made by Neo and it's HUGE. I will put it in its own display case to make it the centre of attention. As for the facts, I couldn't say it any better than wikipedia
Neo - GMC Futurliner
I don't really care for modern Lambos, but the classics are a different story altogether. As a 6-year-old I had a picture from a magazine on my wall, I loved the shape even though I knew nothing about the car. The love for the shape remained when I saw my first 1:1 but somehow a good model never made it into my 1:43 collection (I did have a Matchbox and a 1:24 though). When I was offered this Maxichamps I didn't have to think for a long time. This had to be in my collection and I'm really happy with it
Maxichamps - Lamborghini Miura
When Vauxhall still had their own model range in the 1970s, they were sold here too. They had their own dealer network separate from Opel and the cars were fairly popular, there were quite a few in my neighbourhood. Most were Vivas, the British counterpart of the Opel Kadett. The Firenza was the coupé version of the Viva, too impractical for most people so few were sold. Whenever I did see one, I really liked it and even more so when the sexy 'droop snoot' version was introduced. This is the original version in a colour that was incredibly popular here. Oxford made a nice model of it
Oxford Diecast - Vauxhall Firenza
I showed the Porsche 924-based shooting brake made by Günther Artz earlier, now it's time for the 928-based version. The 924 looks better but I wanted this to park alongside it. The model was made by PremiumX and looks great
PremiumX - Porsche 928 Artz
Even in the 1980s, Porsche was thinking of a way to build a four-door car. Before the Panamera there was the H50 concept based on the 928. Tests were abandoned when structural rigidity didn't meet Porsche's standards. The proto was put in storage and didn't see the light of day until recently. The model was made by BoS and it was a cheaper version of the Neo. I bought it to complete the 928 lineup, not because I love the shape (I think it looks awkward) so the BoS does the job here
BoS - Porsche 928 H50 four-door concept
And the two together clearly showing the differences
I'm slowly expanding my American classics subcollection, which generally contains 1945-1965 cars with the odd early or late model in between. I love large barges with fins and chrome, and this one fits right in. Epic fins and lashings of chrome. Vitesse first released this a long time ago but like most of their models it was upgraded recently, making it great value for money
Vitesse - Chevrolet Impala
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 5:15:07 GMT -5
Some people give expensive Christmas presents. In 1967, a Mrs. Dick was given a very exclusive Porsche 911 for Christmas by her husband, a Porsche dealership owner who had it built by Troutman & Barnes of Culver City, CA. Apparently she liked four-door cars and the coupé shape. The car was cut in half and stretched by 21", an entirely new roof panel had to be made. The rear doors were front doors with a new window frame and they hinged at the back, suicide-style. The interior was entirely reupholstered in leather in the same colour as Mr. Dick's favourite pair of handmade Italian shoes. A Sportomatic semi-auto 'box was installed, the car got a walnut veneer dash and was equipped with air con. The client felt that standard steel wheels with chrome trims fitted the car better than the Fuchs alloys it came with. Later in life, the car was repainted in a nice burgundy metallic and regained a set of Fuchs alloys. The model of the car in its original '67 guise was made by BoS. Luckily there's little chrome on the real car so the model looks like a decent reproduction and at BoS' 'everything must go' sale prices it was a nice add. I was content to leave it at that and add this weird Porsche to the collection. Then I was contacted by the trader I was doing the deal with, if I wanted the BoS or the Matrix version of the T&B 911. I told him the Matrix was too expensive for me and I didn't like the opened doors on it. 'Wrong on both counts' was the answer. His Matrix was a version with closed doors (which I'd never seen before) and it was cheap. As in 25% of regular Matrix prices, and it was new in box. So I thought 'at that price I'll have both' which landed me with the duo I'm showing you today. The Matrix represents the repainted car with the Fuchs alloys
BoS - Porsche 911 Troutman & Barnes
Matrix - Porsche 911 Troutman & Barnes
Looking at both I feel that, tampo-printed window frames apart, BoS has the edge on shape. MatrIx got things wrong on the front of the car, where the headlight bezels are reproduced badly and the shape of the front wings is off. Not that noticeable in a display, much worse in photographs. Nevertheless, both models together tell a story and I love to show them side by side
Mitsubishi came to the Dutch market in 1976, with a couple of good looking cars. The Celeste coupé made an impression but when the Sapporo was introduced more people got interested. After that it got a lot less interesting IMO, but these early cars are hard to come by in model form. Luckily Neo treated us to a Sapporo, and they did a pretty good job. The colour is very typical for the period, must be one of the most popular shades available
Neo - Mitsubishi Sapporo
Thanks to Chinese online sellers I've been able to add another rarity to the collection. I've already shown you the Caribe, the Mexican Golf. Now it's time for its saloon counterpart, the Jetta that was sold as the Atlantic in Mexico. I always thought that Neo was the only one to make a decent 1:43 but apparently Atlas/Ixo has this in its inexhaustible collection of castings too. I like that it has the quad headlights, a popular option here at the time. The model is quite nice for an inexpensive PW
Ixo/Atlas PW - Volkswagen Atlantic
When the time came to replace the ageing (1972 intro) Renault 5 in 1984, they didnt want to change a winning team. So the new Super5 was an entirely new car that looked like an '80s revamp of the original. They did an incredibly clever job, it was clearly a 5 but not a single part was carried over. Lightning did strike twice and the Super5 was another hit for Renault.In the 1980s, Solido made a 1:43 but they got the proportions wrong. I bought one and dissected it in an attempt to fix it, but it was beyond my skills. Years ago there was a partwork which included a Super5. It wasn't perfect either so I decided to wait for a better model. However, none appeared and I was sorry that I didn't get one as they'd disappeared off the market. I was quite happy when Ixo announced a reissue of the Super5 in their Odeon range, but as Odeon is made for the French market it would be hard to find here. Turned out that at the swapmeet there was only one vendor with one of these models, so I decided in a millisecond. It's still not perfect and it's a five-door (I prefer the three-door) but it'll do. It comes in the original intro colour and under the plinth there's a sheet with French number plate decals. Glad to tinally have a model of the basic Super5
Odeon - Renault Super5
The last Saab generation with the characteristic windscreen was the 900. The 9000 was sort of OK, but I still prefer the Saabness of the earlier car. So after the 900 saloon I would like to present the three-door version in Turbo 16 guise. Even though the 1980s were gone, Turbo was still a buzzword and 16-valve engines were all the rage in the '90s, while the ducktail spoiler made it look faster. It must need the downforce, or those rational Swedes wouldn't put a spoiler on it, would they? This is the first of my recent Saabs that doesn't have Ixo/Saab Collection roots, it was made by Norev and they did a great job
Norev - Saab 900 Turbo 16
When the Land-Rover Defender finally got the boot in 2015 (having been around since 1948!) there were three special final editions. The most interesting of those IMO was the Heritage Edition, which commemmorated the first Land-Rover car. It was a SWB version painted the same colour as the first car and carried a decal that said 'HUE 166', the registration of the first car (which still exists). The model was made by Almost Real, a new company supposedly distributed by Minichamps but surpassing MC in detail. It has posable front wheels and full undercarriage detail. I was lucky in finding one at a very good price, but Matrix-like pricing gets these right out of my comfort zone. It's borderline value for money IMO, but it certainly is the nicest 1:43 of a recent Defender
Almost Real - Land-Rover Defender Heritage Edition
Now I'll be looking for a model of the original HUE 166, which was made by Century Dragon and is beautiful but very expensive. Luckily, Vanguards made a nice model of it too, which should be more affordable.
I took this picture of a Final Edition in Belgium
I had an MC Porsche 934 in Vaillant livery but I liked this one too. Brumos is one of my favourite classic liveries and it looks fantastic on this car. The PremiumX model, though cheaper, doesn't look out of place next to the MC
PremiumX - Porsche 934
This has been shown here before, one of the nicest reissues under the Maxichamps label. My only gripe is that the red is a little too orange which makes it stand out on my 'red shelf'. Otherwise it's excellent, I especially admire the window trim
Maxichamps - Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA
Next up is another iconic livery, a LM winner and a famous Dutch driver... never mind a fantastic Porsche. I had my heart set on a Minichamps or Spark but my trading partners had neither. One of them came up with this CMR, which I'd never heard of. I've since seen the same model sold under the Ixo name, so presumably CMR is just another label to complicate matters. Their hallmark feature seems to be a race track diorama printed on the plinth. It's not MC or Spark quality, but for under EUR 10 it's very good VFM. It certainly looks good in the display
CMR - Porsche 917K LM '71
Another US car for my collection. I haven't a clue who Skyler White is, but Greenlight makes a lot of movie and TV-themed models so I guess that's what it's from. Entertainment connection aside it's a very affordable yet nice model of an iconic SUV, one of the first ones actually. Lots of these have been imported here and they really stand out with the expanse of fake wood on the sides. I drove one once that had 300k miles on it and I was impressed by its solidity. Love the metallic orangy red too
Greenlight - Jeep Grand Wagoneer
Back to my recurring obsession/interest: the transaxle Porsches. When the 924 needed more oompf, they simply transplanted the engine of the 944. Not an imaginative upgrade, just a different inline four in the same basic body shell. The 125 hp 2.0 went to a 2.5, which had to be detuned to 165 hp because the sleeker 924 body shell with the standard 944 engine made it outperform its bigger brother. The 944 engine is one cylinder bank off a 928 block, much more advanced and smoother than the old VW/Audi-derived 2.0. However much I love the 2.0, if I ever go for another 924 it will be a 2.5. In Porsche tradition and traditionally without much imagination, the result of the transplant was called the 924S. Spark made the model in a slightly boring if characteristic off-white. They did a fantastic job IMO
Spark - Porsche 924S
The 2CV had a very long career, starting in 1948. Initially it was an everyman's car but in the 1970s it gained popularity as a 'hippie' car for the alternative types. They tended to decorate their cars with stickers or lurid paint jobs. Somewhere down the line someone at Citroen probably thought 'we can do that too' which led to a string of special editions. One of those was the German 1986 'Sauss-Ente' (racing duck, as the 2CV was affectionately known as ugly duckling). It was green and had a decal of a flying duck with 'vroarrr' on the flanks. A second slogan said 'I fly bleifrei' (unleaded), which must've pleased the tree huggers. For the second edition, known simply as 'Ente Grün' (Green duck) the Vroarr was deleted. Since there are quite a few of those special editions in my collection already, adding this one was an easy decision. Whitebox did a good job on the basic shape and the decals but messed up completely when it came to the rear lights. I'm currently considering modifying them because it annoys me.
Whitebox - Citroen 2CV 'Ente Grün'
And a 1:1 Sauss Ente without the Vroarr
I love classic Lancias and this elegant little coupé is one of the best for me. I've been looking for a decent 1:43 model of this car for a long time but nobody had anything I liked. In the end I decided that this PW model would do for now, though the car deserves a quality model. It's been sitting here for a couple of months now (yes, I am lagging slightly) and I've grown fond of it. It's slightly crude but also charming and it captures the shape well enough. If I ever find a nice one in a dark grey metallic (which Ixo did years ago), this will go
Atlas PW - Lancia Aurelia coupé
A while ago I had a conversation with a fellow collector about interesting classics. We discussed the AC marque and agreed that the Ace was a beautiful car. Imagine my surprise when we met again for coffee a month ago and he gave me this... wow. I already have the Atlas PW but this is really a lot better. The only thing I prefer on the PW is the windscreen frame, the Neo effort is too high and too straight. I don't dare fiddle with a fragile PE part though
Neo - AC Ace
Now what, a truck? Have you gone completely mad? Well, yes. But that's beside the point. This model of DAF truck has been part of Dutch traffic for decades, it could be found on many pictures of old traffic scenes and the last examples have disappeared off the road in the 1990s. Frans Maas was a very well-known transport firm based in the south east and their fleet with the clean yellow and blue livery was very much a part of everyday life. In 2006, the long established firm became the victim of an international takeover by the Danish firm DFDS Logistics which meant the end of the old Maas name. When Ixo announced this, it became obvious that I had to have it. Only chronic lack of space prevents me from adding more HGVs, should they become available... anyway, for me this is a double whammy. Iconic truck, iconic livery and Ixo did a fab job too
Ixo - DAF 2600 'Frans Maas'
This has been waiting for pictures for a long time. I got it at the swapmeet when RT and his SO were here. A vendor had a box of cheapies under his table and we both found something that we liked. A very nice model by Starline and a bargain at EUR 2.50
Starline - Fiat 1100 TV
A Chinese seller sold me a model with paint defects. After initially trying to pawn me off with a pittance, he agreed to reimburse me and let me keep the damaged model. He didn't have any more of the model in question, so I chose this from his selection and to his credit it arrived promptly. Regular viewers might recognise the first generation of the Brazilian Volkswagen Gol, in the GTI version with a watercooled 111 hp 2.0. I liked this version enough to add it to the collection next to the basic car. All in all a pretty nice model for a PW
Ixo PW - Volkswagen Gol GTI
I got one in metallic orange because it was cheap and I liked it, and then I decided that I'd never seen an SM in orange. The iconic colour for this would be beige metallic... luckily, the same model was available in that very colour and even cheaper. The orange one will be moving on, here's my 1:43 of one of the iconic cars of my youth. No kidding, it will replace a Matchbox Superkings that I've had since 1972
Ixo PW - Citroen SM
Taking over Simca and Chrysler France seriously depleted Peugeot's coffers in the 1980s and their only small car, the 104, was getting long in the tooth. They needed a volume seller in the popular segment to save them from bankrupcy and in 1983, the 205 became just that. Often accredited to Pininfarina (who only did the much later Cabriolet) but in fact designed by Gérard Welter, also known for his successes at Le Mans and who coincidentally died recently. The 205 was a very good car for its time and became a huge sales success, which also went for the hot hatch GTI (introduced with a 1.6 in 1984 and a 1.9 in 1987). Peugeot wanted to replace it with the smaller 106 and larger 306 in 1995 but the customers protested and special editions remained available until 1998! The Maxichamps model represents the 1.9 GTI in Bleu Miami, which is one of my favourite colours for the 205. I've driven many 205s over the years and loved them, to the point of almost buying a GTI. I missed out on the Minichamps release because I was concentrating on Audis and I regretted that. I got an Ixo PW instead, but this Maxichamps is so much better that the PW has been moved on. It was mounted on its plinth a little clumsily, which made it sit high and the floor to become warped, that has been corrected since taking these pictures
Maxichamps - Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9
Minichamps also did a basic 205, I'm still looking for that model.
Back to 1980s Brazil. Volkswagen sold a locally-designed and assembled two-door saloon called the Voyage. It was based on a modified Passat floor pan and its styling resembled the Jetta. In the US, this car was sold as the Fox. The model is another Ixo-based PW that I got from China
PW - Volkswagen Voyage
Based on the same car was a compact three-door estate called the Parati. This was also sold in the US as the Fox Wagon
PW - Volkswagen Parati
The only version of this car exclusive to Brazil was the pickup called Saveiro. I like this one best for some reason
PW - Volkswagen Saveiro
I wanted a 1:43 of the classic Maserati Ghibli coupé since I saw one at a classic car rally last year. That one was blue which I loved, so when Maxichamps released the Ghibli in blue it was a done deal. In close up it doesn't disappoint at all, MC did their usual great job
Maxichamps - Maserati Ghibli coupé
and the real thing
The MC's broomstick looks a lot better IRL.
The ailing Peugeot company was saved by the 205 in the 1980s but the 405 played a similar role. This good-looking car was a runaway success and sold incredibly well. Having run two of these as company cars in the '90s I can testify that they were solid, comfortable and pleasant to drive. I drove a 1.6 saloon on LPG and a 1.9 turbodiesel estate and enjoyed every kilometre and I didn't like it when they were replaced. The saloon was white, the estate was the same colour as the model. Norev did a fantastic job on these, shame that I was unable to get a wider selection of colours
Norev - Peugeot 405 & 405 Break
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 5:56:56 GMT -5
When this car was introduced I didn't like it as much as its predecessor, the Scirocco. Even though much more powerful versions were made (a 2.8 VR6 and a G60, with a supercharger) I preferred the nimbler '80s cars. Over time I've come to appreciate these more, though my only drive in one wasn't that pleasant. Minichamps makes a nice model of the Corrado but after looking at the two together I prefer this Norev. Glad to have this in my collection, where it fills another gap
Norev - Volkswagen Corrado G60
I wanted a decent pre-A 356 or a 356A. Spark has announced both the coupé and the Speedster, but they've yet to appear as anything but dealer versions. The MCs were far from affordable and the Schuco looked bad. This isn't fantastic either (the rear end is a little off) but it looks good in the display and it has the distinct advantage of being dirt cheap, so until I find something better this will be my early 356
Lucky Diecast - Porsche 356A
Another of the Kyosho d'nano (RC-prepared) cars and the second of my Delta Integrales. Equally nicely made and a great idea to have the Martini edition Evo version too. It comes with heavily tinted windows (almost black IRL) that hide the lack of an interior and manage to look incredibly cool too. Cheap yet nice
Kyosho d'nano - Lancia Delta Integrale Evo World Rally Champion Edition
There used to be a couple of these Datsun 200Ls running around where I lived in the 1980s. They were old fashioned yet somehow classy. Neo managed to capture the shape well
Neo - Datsun 200L
Another Japanese car but much smaller. Daihatsu was a subsidiary of Toyota concentrating mostly on small cars, using Toyota mechanicals. They used to sell well here, but their recent models seemed to be a hit with the elderly only which limited sales. Despite a good rep for reliability, sales continued to decline until a dealer network was no longer a realistic prospect and Daihatsu withdrew from NL a couple of years ago. This Charade was the first generation we got here and it was fairly popular. A pity they didn't model the three-door with its distinctive portholes in the C pillars, but I'm happy just to have a decent 'regular' Daihatsu model at all (I already had the Copen Kei car)
First43 - Daihatsu Charade
Another off-topic addition. I saw the real car at the Techno Classica Essen years ago and was bowled over by its shape and presence. Then several people showed it here, and the model looked superb. When I was offered one it didn't take me long to decide, and looking at it still excites me. Perhaps my best model of 2018? We'll see... Anyway, a fantastic job by Minichamps
Minichamps - Bentley Embiricos
still collecting Volkswagen Beetles from every decade and a split window car was still missing. Luckily there's a new PW that's being remaindered and the (Ixo-based) models are nice ánd cheap. Bought this one at a show for EUR 4, excellent VFM and a very nice model too
Atlas/Ixo - Volkswagen 1200
And another from the Atlas Volkswagen Collection PW. There was also a Golf mk.1 GTI (that I have already), a Karmann Ghia (not nearly as good as MC's) and a T1 Transporter. I might get the Transporter too, but I wanted this Scirocco badly. Great '70s original VW colour, nicely made model... and the same unbeatable price
Atlas/Ixo - Volkswagen Scirocco
As a part of a trade deal I was offered several 911 models from the Atlas PW 'The Porsche 911 collection'. I had the 959 already so I knew the quality was good, I had been looking at adding the 964 because it looked like a good alternative for the MC or even the Spark. I think that they are unbeatable value for about EUR 8 each. See for yourself. I got the 901 too but it was missing a wiper so I'm waiting for a replacement
Atlas - Porsche 911S
Next up is another '70s 911, the targa. As said in the review thread the finish of the targa rollover bar and the detail in the interior are particularly impressive and easily make this model into a must-have. This is my second favourite in the series
Atlas - Porsche 911 targa
I'll keep plugging away at the 911 PW. Next up is my favorite of the series, because it has three attributes: it's a Speedster (the bonkers version that harked back to the 356), it's a G-type (my favourite 911 generation with the harmonica bumpers) and it's my favourite 911 colour, petrol blue. Another quality model, with the paint quality as a standout. I have a few 1:43 911 Speedsters, but this might be my favourite yet
Atlas - Porsche 911 Speedster
Gaz showed this earlier and I liked it then, not my favourite 911 but a really nice model. After the G-type came the 964 in 1989. This clearly showed the direction Porsche chose for the 911, more upmarket and with more creature comforts. The driving experience was still pretty close to the earlier generation, though four wheel drive was now available to 'tame' the handling on the edge and a rear spoiler that was raised automatically at speed to counteract lift. Like the rest of the PW models it's got correct stance, excellent glazing and beautifully thin roof pillars for diecast, perforated wheels, proper door handles as well as mirrors with a reflective surface and even a black ring around the mirror glass
Atlas - Porsche 911 Carrera 4
The 993 was the last of the aircooled 911s which in retrospect caused it to be more popular than it would probably be normally. A good car, though. The model is pretty decent too
Atlas - Porsche 911 (993) Carrera 4S
That's it for the PW as far as I'm concerned. The 901 will be coming my way but it's not as good as the rest. The Carrera RS looks quite similar to the MC Carrera RSR that I have already and I have enough modern 911s.
The next one was still missing from my Volkswagen collection. The first generation was great to drive but I didn't care for its looks. The second generation looks much better and is still a very good car. Herpa did a great job on the model, I especially like the panoramic sunroof
Herpa DE - Volkswagen Touareg
For a change of pace it's back to the classics. I love the D-type Jaguar and for completeness' sake I wanted its predecessor, the C-type, too. The C was basically the endurance racer version of the XK120. This one even won a well-known French event. Ixo did a great job, with the grill and cockpit as standout features
Ixo - Jaguar C-type
In the early 1990s, I bought this very odd Minichamps model of the BMW E1 concept. A car used by BMW to see if the public was ready for electric cars (they weren't, nobody cared) and a styling excercise that went nowhere. It's one of those models you don't remember buying and that you forgot that you even had until you start rearranging your collection. It got me thinking about models of electric cars and about my recent drive in the BMW i3. The i3 shows how much things have changed in under 30 years. It's quite popular here despite still being an odd design, though a huge tax break for electric cars might be the only reason for its popularity. I wonder how we'll look at the i3 in 30 years' time
iScale - BMW i3
and the E1, my apologies for the picture quality
Another pretty car to help you forget BMW's shoebox above. It might in fact be the prettiest Beetle-based car ever, it was designed and built in Brazil and despite the humble mechanicals it's a nice sportscar. The model was made by Neo and based on my single encounter with a 1:1 it's spot on
Neo - Puma GT coupe
Puma was started to circumvent high import taxes and initially used DKW 2-stroke engines. Later cars used VW or GM engines on a proprietary chassis, all had glassfibre bodies.
The previous generation A8 continued the upward motion of the Audi brand. The driving experience is top notch and the quattro system takes its handling from good to amazing. The cockpit has been honed to perfection over the years and the biggest compliment is that it feels like a much smaller car when you're on the move. My only criticism is that the styling is somewhat boring, but then again the clientele in this segment is conservative. A8L denotes the long wheelbase version commonly used as a transport for dignitaries and Kyosho did an impressive job reproducing it under the iScale label
iScale DE - Audi A8L
I ordered a Giulia but by mistake I received this Mito, a model of which I had already. Never mind, one look at this nice Minichamps in Rosso Competizione and I wasn't going to return it. Alas, the Giulia was sold out
Minichamps - Alfa Romeo Mito
I had this 1:18 UT Porsche 911 with the usual UT problems- windows going opaque, wheels melting into the tyres. I tried to sell it but no luck so far, until I met this guy who wanted to trade it. We discussed some possibilities until he came up with a deal I couldn't resist: a lot of Skoda models I was looking into anyway. I'm sure I got the best end of the deal.
In 1991, Volkswagen bought 30% of Skoda and immediately dispatched a couple of designers and engineers to develop new models. This led to the '94 Felicia and eventually to the 1996 Octavia, based on the Golf platform. The Felicia was succeeded by the Polo-based Fabia in '99. In '02 Skoda introduced its top model, the Superb based on the Chinese LWB Passat. It's an incredibly roomy car especially for the rear seat passengers, which makes it really popular as a taxi. Skoda now has a good reputation as a well-equipped quality car for a good price.
For some reason the trade involved mostly estate versions, which was fine by me. To start with, the Fabia
Abrex - Skoda Fabia Combi mk.I
Abrex - Skoda Fabia Combi mk.II
In between the Fabia and the Octavia there was the Rapid, built on a stretched Polo platform
Abrex - Skoda Rapid
And the semi-sporty estate, the Spaceback
Abrex - Skoda Rapid Spaceback
Next up is the Octavia, with the Scout 4x4 semi-offroader thrown in
Abrex - Skoda Octavia Combi mk.I
Abrex - Skoda Octavia Combi Scout mk.I facelift
Abrex - Skoda Octavia Combi mk.II
Abrex - Skoda Octavia Combi mk.II facelift
And finally, the high end Superb
Abrex - Skoda Superb
Abrex - Skoda Superb Combi
The new Skoda models haven't been released in 1:43, except for the Kodiaq SUV made by Norev. Apparently, Abrex lost the licence for making the new cars.
Back in time for a little variety. This could only come from France and it's pretty advanced for its time. Very clean and aerodynamic with an aluminium body. Panhard was even more advanced than Citroen but a lot smaller, so Citroen bought them out and killed off the marque. What a shame, I would've loved to see their current-day cars... The model is one of the upgraded Vitesses and it looks great, nicely made chrome and excellent detail. A proper French detail is the front number plate that follows the shape of the bumper, they were usually painted on skilfully. I have a few Panhards as they're nice childhood memories
Vitesse - Panhard Dyna Z1 Luxe Spécial
In 2001, Volkswagen showed us the Microbus concept. A retro-MPV that looked like a modern take on the Transporter T1 and that appeared almost production-ready. We were shown a few more colour combos and it disappeared off the show floors again. Perhaps VW were disheartened by the slow sales of the New Beetle. It took until 2011 for another retro MPV to be shown, the Bulli. This one was based on the Touran MPV platform and powered by an 85 kW electric motor. Once more the rumours died down until last year, when Volkswagen unveiled the ID Buzz, yet another electro-powered retro MPV. Let's see if they dare to take the plunge this time. The model shown is the 2011 Bulli concept, a dealer edition in resin made by Norev. When I got the model I thought it wasn't to scale, but the 4 metre long Bulli seems to be accurately reproduced. There was no 1:43 Microbus and I haven't seen an ID Buzz model yet, so I'll have this Bulli represent VW's retro bus
Norev DE - Volkswagen Bulli
Next is another Skoda. Based on the 110L, this coupé even enjoyed some success as a rally car in its day. The model is by Abrex and available in an impressive range of colours
Abrex - Skoda 110R
I've seen a few of these here, powered by the new 2.5 5-cylinder 400 hp turbo engine. For some reason they were all bin liner grey though, which was an option I wanted to avoid for the model. This orange is much more fitting and Kyosho has done a good job reproducing it
iScale (Kyosho) - Audi RS3 saloon
Black wheels are challenging to photograph.
Another modern Audi and an even less powerful or interesting one at that. The Audi Q2 is the lower end of Audi's crossover range and not geared towards offroad use, most versions are FWD. It appeals to people who want to sit higher up or who want an SUV-like car, but apparently do not need interior space and are prepared to pay for the four rings. Not my kind of car, but it looks nice and I was at least able to find something besides silver, grey, black or white. As usual, Kyosho did a good job on the model
iScale/Kyosho DE - Audi Q2 IMG_0210b by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr IMG_0211b by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr
Opel did some nice semi-sporting versions in the 1970s and '80s and this Ascona was one of them. Opel fanatics had to wrap their heads around the move to FWD, but from a cost POV that was inevitable. The third generation of the Ascona was initially seen as a step backward and it never was as solid and rust-resistsnt as its predecessors. However, this nice CC liftback version was very practical (Opel didn't do an estate like Vauxhall) and it looked quite modern too. Alloys and black panels were enough to give the SR version a sporting appearance and in the interior you were treated to chequered Recaros and a sports steering wheel. BoS did an excellent job on the model, helped along by a distinct lack of chrome in the subject
BoS - Opel Ascona CC SR
Coincidentally, my only drive in one was in exactly this model, a white CC SR. It was RHD, which was my first and so far only drive in a RHD car.
The third generation of the popular Caddy van was based on the Touran MPV. Up until the B-pillar those cars were quite similar, with the van body and the rear suspension being the main differences. The Caddy was engineered to carry more loads and the suspension was designed for that task, and also to intrude less into the interior for an efficient loading area. Some ride comfort was sacrificed for that, but having driven all its competitors on many occasions I think it's a class leader there, though Gary will probably argue that the Transit Connect is better. The Caddy also has the best build quality which adds to the experience. The fact that lots of people here drive these as passenger cars says something. The Caddy 3 was also sold as a long wheelbase Maxi van and as an MPV, called the Caddy Life (and predictably a Maxi Life). Minichamps made the pretty nice model
Minichamps - Volkswagen Caddy
I had the 308 (from Vitesse?) and while I prefer it to its successor I wanted that for my collection too. Luckily the PW model is quite good, better than the 308... OK, to be fair that is at least 30 years old. Kyoshos and even HotWheels models seem to be hard to find here, so this will have to do
Eaglemoss Ferrari Collection - Ferrari 328 GTB
Now it's back to uninteresting for at least one more model. The 1994-'98 Felicia was an updated version of the Favorit and it was the first car to benefit from the Volkswagen takeover but also the last car to be built before the switch to VW platforms. It was the first Skoda available with a diesel engine and also the first with airbags, ABS and optional air con. It was sold as a five-door hatch, an estate, a pickup and a van. The Felicia pickup eventually became the Felicia Fun, a lifestyle pickup in all yellow (including the wheels and leather upholstery). The Felicia pickup was also the base for the second generation of the Volkswagen Caddy and identical Seat Inca. The model shows the optional Truckman cover for the pickup bed. It was made by Abrex
Abrex - Skoda Felicia pickup
Next up is another orange box and another car that made an impression in the 1970s. I got the very cheap DeAgostini PW version a couple of years ago and was fairly happy with that until this arrived on the scene. I looked at pictures and decided that the car was iconic enough to warrant a better model and this had the perfect price/performance ratio. I would have preferred a red or white version (my favourite colours for this car) but orange is a real '70s colour and was available on the 1:1. In the end I'm very happy with the model
Maxichamps - BMW M1
You'll see that it's a decent upgrade and that my pictures have improved
I've visited London quite often and along with the black cabs, this was the iconic vehicle. I think it was the 1990s when the classic double decker buses were retired, so I took one last ride for the memory. I have a Corgi model but it was badly underscale. Luckily Ixo came to the rescue with their nice casting of the AEC RT3. Seen here in the Atlas Bus Collection PW version
Atlas PW - AEC RT3
I'm slowly adding to my Jaguar/Daimler collection. However, this one's hard to find if you don't want the limousine version by Matrix. Luckily this is one of the better models from the 007 collection. I thought the wheels were oversize but the pictures tell me that it's not as bad as I thought. Not a key model in my collection so this will do. Number plates are on the thiick side though
007 collection - Daimler Super Eight
The next one is a Fiat 124 coupé. No, really. I had concluded another swap and was looking forward to adding the Fiat to the collection, a model I had been unable to find so far. But when the package arrived this was in its place and on second thought it wasn't that bad a trade. A rare model that might not have been on my wish list, but after looking at it I decided that it should've been. Great work by AA
AutoArt - Chevrolet Corvette SS
XP-64 Led by the gifted Zora Arkus-Duntov, a team of engineers created this ultra-lightweight racecar: 1850 lbs, approx. 950 lbs. less than the 1957 production Corvette. The car had a 283ci iron block with aluminum cilinder heads and Ramjet fuel injection that produced 307 bhp.
Duntov convinced Harley Earl that a race car based on the stock Corvette did not stand a chance against the Ferraris and Maseratis at Sebring. GM would have to develop a purpose built racer. On July of 1956, work begins on Project XP-64, a sports/racer built for the upcoming race in Sebring. The car is named the Corvette SS (Super Spyder), or Sebring SS. A clay model of Zora’s design is made, and shown to management.
The SS was developed in only six months. In 1958, after its racing career ended, the car was clocked at over 183 mph! Success at Sebring for this stunning racer was unfortunately not in the cards. Although the SS was extremely fast for its day, a series of mechanical problems forced it to retire after 23 laps in the 1957 Sebring 12-Hour race. Shortly thereafter, the ban on factory-sponsored racing efforts by the Detroit manufacturers spelled the end of the SS project. Source: Mario van Ginneken - www.corvettes.nl
OK, from the retro-outlandish to the eye-wateringly mundane. In 1974, the second generation of the Opel Kadett was replaced by this. Still a conventional three-box design, with either two or four doors. A little later there was a three-door estate (Caravan, in Opel-speak), a very nice Coupé and later yet the sporty and modern three-door City (sold as the Chevette by Vauxhall). However, Opel's customers were a conventional bunch and the saloon was the bestseller in the range. It took those conventional buyers quite a while to get over the fact that the next generation was an FWD hatch (to which Opel responded with the weird two-door version with a short bootlid). However, everything was still good when this appeared and for a while in the 1970s it seemed like every other Kadett was brown. The sills appear a liile bulky, otherwise Maxichamps did a great job
Maxichamps - Opel Kadett C
After the success of the Cayenne, Porsche found a niche for a smaller SUV based on the Tiguan platform. It was called the Macan and as expected it was more fun to drive than its Volkswagen and Audi cousins. Benefiting from the insights on styling gained from the second generation of the Cayenne it looked quite good too. I had to choose between a cheap and a more expensive version of the 1:43 for my collection and Google told me that the cheapo Welly looked just fine. It was also available in my favourite colour for this car, and I'm happy with the result
Welly - Porsche Macan Turbo
Next up is another modern car, another one that I couldn't refuse when it was offered at a great price. Though for such a high-powered car (2.9 V6 biturbo, 450 hp, 0-60 in 3.9 s) I'd go for the coupé, I like to have the cabrio in my collection. Nice work by Minichamps
Minichamps - Audi RS5 Cabriolet
The next one wasn't on any wish list. I wanted a Dolomite Sprint but preferred a road car. This was offered for the price of two HotWheels toys and it looked charming so it was an easy decision. Even when I get the road car, this will stay because I've become attached to it. From the Atlas Touring Car Classics PW and quite nicely made, from a time when touring car racers actually resembled the production cars
Atlas PW - Triumph Dolomite Sprint
I could in fact easily transform this into a road car...
Another car I knew only from my World Cars yearbooks until I saw my first one at a classic car show. It captured the imagination by being an Italian upgrade of the Austin-Healey Sprite. Innocenti clad the bare-bones Sprite in an elegant Italian body and improved the legroom. I've been waiting for a model of this car to add to my Sprite/Midget collection and I was both excited and disappointed when it was released. Excited because it was a really nice model, disappointed because Matrix made it at their out-of-my-league prices. Luckily they were discounted before they were sold out and one of my vendors got hold of one in the right colour (better than the black one IMO) and offered it to me though I hadn't even bothered to put it on my wish list. IRL the model doesn't disappoint at all, quite the opposite. Now for a 1975 Midget to round off the theme
Matrix - Innocenti 950
Next up is a full-blooded Italian and a less popular car among fans of the marque. I saw my first example when it was still current and was really impressed by the clean lines. However, it went against the tradition of rounded, voluptuous shapes and it was a 2+2, all ingredients for an exclusion for the status of instant classic. A decade later, seeing a silver car in Amsterdam, I decided that I really loved this car and would like a model. It took over twenty years to finally add this to the collection. I'm not entirely convinced that red is the best colour for this (though Johan might disagree) but it looks pretty good overall
HotWheels - Ferrari 412
I'm on a different schedule for showing my models here, from the one model every day I used to do. The reasons: even my trades cost actual money, shipping the 1:18s to the traders or travelling by public transport to meet them. Besides that, I'm now earning a little extra cash helping an acquaintance do up his house, painting and the like. He lives 10 km from my place so I cycle to his place, work for eight hours and cycle back. That leaves me with less time and energy for anything but applying for jobs.
This was supposed to be an electric blue metallic model, which I think is a great colour for the car. However, to my disappointment a black car turned up as the last blue one sold out. So this will be next to my yellow XR3i and a yet-to-be-added base model. The real cars have all but disappeared off the roads here after an extended career as old bangers, driven mostly by very dubious types. I don't know how the mk.1 Golf Cabriolet avoided a similar fate, but it did somehow. I'm afraid that there are too few left for a career as a classic... Luckily I have this nice model to remember the car by
Minichamps - Ford Escort Cabriolet
I'm going to bore you all with my fondness for the Volkswagen up! again. For the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Volkswagen unveiled four up-based concepts. One of them was the winter up! with an interior made to carry winter sports equipment and a ski rack on the roof. This model claims to be a winter up! but it doesn't have the special wheels, interior or the ski rack and it's a three-door with a panoramic glass roof. It's actually the basic Schuco up! model with the blue graphics. It was sourced online in China and I haven't seen it here. It was in dealer packaging but not the same as we get in Europe. I don't think they sell the up! in China so it's probably a clever Chinese product planner who thought this up. Nevertheless, I thought it was interesting enough to warrant inclusion in the collection and being dirt cheap didn't hurt either. The base model is really nice
Schuco DE - Volkswagen winter up!
The up! seems to interest few people here, I guess that's what you get for buying models of low-powered everyday cars. I'll throw in a few more interesting cars to keep you entertained. I've always considered Studebaker an odd-one-out in the US car industry. They made some really interesting and attractive cars over the years and this one has been on my wish list for some time. Raymond Loewy (of Coke bottle fame) created a very recognisable shape that required little chrome. I was aware of BoS' reputation for the use of silver paint for chrome, so I was wary of getting anything older than an '80s car from them. However, my trader assured me that this looked great and even told me he'd exchange it if I didn't like it. He was right, it is good. The bumpers might not be really shiny but even the really critical close-up shots make it look quite convincing. Overall, I think it's a bargain at the recent BoS 'fire sale' prices
BoS - Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe
Back to ups, which for some people might actually be the downs. The next one is a model of the 2009 Up! Lite concept. It had a 0.8 litre two cylinder hybrid TDI engine and a 7-gear DSG automatic which, together with an extremely light construction enabled it to use only 2.44 litres of diesel for every 100 km (116 MPG Imperial, 96 MPG US). It was scheduled to go into production in 2011 but recent developments around diesel technology have made any future production plans unlikely to materialise. Looksmart made the model and they did a superb job
Looksmart DE - Volkswagen up! Lite concept
Porsche wanted to run the 911 3.2 in the Rally Paris-Dakar in 1984. They developed a 4WD car to that end, with the required extra ground clearance and skid plates. The car was tested in Algiers in 1983, and Spark made a beautiful model of that test car. Despite the fact that I prefer competition cars over test cars, I really love this one because of its closeness to the road car. Now I want the '84 P-D car in Rothmans livery to display alongside this one
Spark DE - Porsche 911 3.2 4x4 test Algiers
This was an indication of things to come and a way for Volkswagen to assess demand for a quick version. There's now a turbocharged up! TSI and an even quicker GTI, so I guess demand was there. The GT up! was the concept and if the old blog post I found is correct, the real car now resides here in The Netherlands. The model is another quality issue by Looksmart
Looksmart - Volkswagen GT up!
If you don't like police cars, it's better to look elsewhere for a while. I was offered a number of cars from a PW with classic British police cars for next to nothing and Googling showed me that these are quite nice. I wanted to keep some and return some to civilian guise with a paintjob, because this was a cheap way to fill some holes in my collection of British classics. However when they arrived I displayed them for a while and decided to keep them as is, I quite like the idea of a display of old police cars. First one is a casting I've shown you before, in British Post Office livery. I didn't intend to change this one at all, it fits right in with my collection of Minors
Atlas PW - Morris Minor Van Dog Patrol
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 6:15:51 GMT -5
Next police car is an odd one, but very charming. I assume that it was used for Motorway patrol, bringing someone in for questioning in this would have been very impractical (and limited to one). I can either display this with my other police cars or with my MGs. Another simple but charming model, love the outsized sirenes
Atlas PW - MG B roadster
Another PW police car. As a five year old I had a very nice circa 1:18 plastic pullback toy of this car complete with Sprite caravan that I loved a lot. Alas, it did not withstand my enthousiastic play. This one reminds me of that cherished toy and I fully intended to repaint this to civilian spec. However, that is now off the table. I like it as is, it will look great in my British display. Simple models but quite charming
Atlas PW - Austin 1800
Next up is a car that didn't sell well here so I never saw any until my first holiday in the UK in 1975. That was quite the event for me anyway, with lots of interesting cars I'd never seen before. I like the 'boomerang' rear lights on this and though it's quite a plain police car it looks nice. If I come across another of these models it'll get a respray in blue
Atlas PW - Hillman Avenger
It might not come as a surprise that the next one is another police car. It's also a model that I was tempted to convert to civilian spec, in a '70s colour with a vinyl roof. That would be a labour of love rather than useful as it would probably be more expensive than sourcing a Vanguards model in the right colour (though those tend to be harder to find here). It's a car we hardly saw here, as the German Taunus was a lot more popular. Another pretty basic model but quite nice
Atlas PW - Ford Cortina
I have some more police cars but need to photograph them, so this is the last for now. In the 1980s I tried to build a Heller plastic 1:43 kit of this but the paint reacted and it looked terrible. By then it was an old kit (odd choice for a French maker too) so I never found a second one to build but I really liked the 1:1. Quite an odd car and a typical Leyland product of the '70s, hard to fit in any category and a shape that stands out. I know build quality wasn't stellar and I think there are about three left in the country here though they sold quite well for a niche product. This is another basic trim level version, which makes me want the car I set out to build years ago, in metallic brown with a vinyl roof
Atlas PW - Leyland Princess
You'll get a reprieve from the police cars for now, it's back to my usual eclectic mix. This is a case in point, I love classic chrome-laden US barges but the older Neos are getting harder to find and expensive, if you don't fancy gluing back loose trim that is. Luckily Vitesse have reissued some of their excellent models with upgraded chrome, still for excellent prices. It's no Neo but for less than half of a Neo's price it's a worthwhile addition. White is not my favourite colour for this (or at least I'd love more contrast with the interior) but it does look good
Vitesse - Buick Special Convertible
I'd just received the first of my PremiumX 934s when another trader notified me that he had this one in stock for an extremely low price. I knew that these were nice models so adding another to the collection wasn't a tough decision. From the 1980 LM 24h here's a very nice DNF driven by Bussi, Salam and Grandet. I can't vouch for its accuracy but I think it looks great
PremiumX - Porsche 934
Next one will probably at least appeal to Johan, Julio, David and Martin. The 850 was a big success for Fiat as their top model of the rear-engined cars: the 500, 600 and 850. As was Fiat's usual practice it appeared in several guises to appeal to a wide range of buyers. Best seller was the two-door saloon, but there was also a sporty little coupé, a minivan-like stationwagon and this attractive little Sport Spider. The 'Sport' might be a little overdone with 903 cc, 57 hp and a blistering 20 second 0-60. However, now imagine driving around the Lago Maggiore in the 1970s with much lighter traffic, soft top down, enjoying the lovely weather and the friendly noise of the aircooled engine behind you... sounds good to me. Norev did a very nice job on the model, it looks just like I remember them in the 1970s and '80s
Norev - Fiat 850 Sport Spider
I really like the early Range Rover. Very early two-door cars are fantastic but early four-door examples are nice too. So when I was offered this attractive Whitebox model I didn't have to think twice, these have sold out long ago. Good colour combo helps
Whitebox - Range Rover
When BMW went from their familiar trad designs to the new generations designed by Chris Bangle and Adrian van Hooydonk they lost a lot of fans, me included. It took a few redesigns to return to the good looks at least partially. I still prefer the older models but I've driven so many recent BMWs that I have come to like them for what they are, fantastic mile eaters. I really wanted a 5-series Touring model but my traders were unable to locate one so after about a year I went for the 3-series instead. Paragon did a great job on the model including the fit of the opening features. The colour is Imperial blue, which I really like on the original
Paragon - BMW 3 Touring
In the 1980s, Czechoslowakia was still a plan economy and Skodas were produced primarily for their internal market. Which, as it was in those days, soaked up everything they turned out for lack of a better alternative. The 120/130-series were made to the usual tried and trusted Skoda recipe: rear engine, rugged construction. They were quite a step up from their predecessors but showed their age in a number of ways, such as the need for regular chassis lubrication. However, they were incredibly strong and the engines never quit. Their desirability had nevertheless declined (unjustified) to a point where they were outsold by the more expensive, inferior 2CV which was basically a 1948 car. However, the Skoda proved itself as a rally car. IMHO this is overdue for a reputation rehab. Luckily, Abrex did a great job and gave me a choice of lots of typical colours. Now I want the coupé
Abrex - Skoda 120L
BMW's Z series started with the unconventional Z1 which I loved, then returned to conventional shapes with the Z3. The Z8 was another limited production oddity (a mere 5700 were built) and its upmarket spec kept the prices high and interest limited. The design used cues from the old 507 without being a shameless retro, very clever IMO. From when I first saw one I was captured by the shape and wanted a good model. However, there were always other models to get, the model in question was too expensive or looked off. This Atlas looks good to me and it's in the best colour for the Z8, gunmetal grey
Atlas - BMW Z8
I suppose the next bargain was the result of the intro of the new generation of the 1:1. I don't pretend to be up to date with my collection and I traded my 1:18 of the same car in on 1:43 a while ago, so I guess it was time for this one. The second generation of the Boxster did away with the controversial headlights and the styling was polished slightly. What remained was the excellent weight distribution and the resulting fantastic driving experience. I've driven a few and they make you long for challenging corners. The model is one of Schuco's best efforts with the brakes looking especially lifelike.
Schuco DE - Porsche Boxster 987
This is unlikely to be as popular as the BMW and Porsche but it was missing from my Audi collection and it was dirt cheap so I pounced. The Q7 was the car that launched Audi's SUV range which is now fairly good-sized. The first generation, though very nice to drive, was frankly a huge ugly beast. The second generation improved a lot on the looks front and is apparently even better to drive. The model is a Spark DE and available in boring colours only, but otherwise very nice
Spark DE - Audi Q7
Last for now is a model I've already shown. From the Leo Maserati Collection, for some reason it was the only one with the chrome bumpers painted silver. It looked ugly and detracted from the model, which was otherwise fine. I'd bought a chrome paint pen for the purpose but ended up using a can of 'chrome' spray paint which was fairly easy to use and gave a nice result. It looks better in hand than in the pictures in fact, when I put it in the display with other chrome bumper models it blends in completely
The 'before' shot
And after the chrome paint
My photography made the initial shot look worse than the model did in hand, and even the 'after' pictures do not show how good it is now.
Next up is the last of the Atlas Porsche 911 PW and it's not the best IMO. However, I wanted a 901 (the first of the 911 range, the name change was forced by Peugeot who apparently have the monopoly on model names with a zero in the middle- as if this could be mistaken for a Peugeot) and this has a low enough price to warrant ditching it if something better comes along. Having said that, it's quite correct and has good headlights without fixing stubs. The colour also looks good in my Porsche display. It replaces an example that arrived incomplete
Atlas Porsche 911 PW - Porsche 901
Not really a model but a figurine. I don't usually buy these as they're quite expensive but this was offered at an attractive price and it looks quite decent (I've met the real gentleman a few times). It depicts rally driver Walter Röhrl in his Audi Sport garb. I've had it for over a year but all my Audi rally cars are in storage and I don't feel like going through lots of boxes. So I looked at my displays and found this, a sort-of match and a model I've never shown here before. Yes, it's a Mikkola car and it's in the early instead of the late Audi Sport livery... perhaps I'll redo the shot at some time
Figurenmanufaktur - Walter Röhrl
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 6:49:49 GMT -5
Only 200 or so pages from my old thread left to do
It's back to English police cars briefly, with a model that I really like. I can now display a civilian version, a racer and a police version of the same car together. When I find a rally car for a decent price I will add it too. Another car in the partwork that's nicely made, I just need to reglue the mirror
Atlas PW - Ford Escort Mexico
Slowly approaching the final police classics with yet another Ford. Remember, these were intended to convert to civilian spec to serve as a cheap alternative to the Corgi/Vanguards offerings that are usually hard to find here. My old Ford collection was severely lacking in Granadas do I corrected that with the standard police car in all English '70s movies. Those memories make it hard to repaint for me, so this will stay as is too (though I accidentally knocked the rear orange roof lights off and had to reglue them, so I was already on my way to a conversion). Another simple but good model
Atlas PW - Ford Granada IMG_0405b by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr IMG_0406b by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr
If you dislike police cars, it's almost safe to look in this thread again. We've come to the last of my cars from this PW and by far the classiest of them all. Must've been nice to do your rounds on the motorways in this gentleman's cruiser and even looking at it should make you happy. The shape is spot on and a real departure for Jaguar, with a few updates it kept going for decades. Even their later models used the iconic XJ as an inspiration as it's a shape that makes anyone say 'Jaguar' immediately. Another VFM model from this series
Atlas PW - Jaguar XJ6
Here's one I've wanted for a long time, but it was always too expensive or the wrong colour. I love the 2300S coupé, and it looks great in the same blue that I saw on a real car at a show a couple of years ago. The model was made by Starline and it does not only capture the real thing well but it's very nicely finished too. A good example of Starline's value for money, this cost me EUR 10 of exchange in 1:18s
Starline - Fiat 2300S coupé
Next up has been in my collection for over a year but I didn't get around to photographing it until a week ago. It was a freebie in a swap and I was quite happy until I took it out of the box and discovered that it was free because all the antennae were missing. I sacrificed some time last week fixing this and though it's by no means perfect it looks good enough in the display. I used a nylon paintbrush with assorted thickness hairs as a donor and Uhu glue, which worked out fine. The bent antenna didn't want to stay bent so I heated it with a lighter (and found out that holding the lighter too close makes the hair melt altogether). The first attempt was spot on but it disappeared into my black living room carpet. The second attempt had a less perfect radius and perhaps needs redoing. I used a picture of the real thing for reference and I think the diameter is pretty much spot on. The model itself is a decent effort from Atlas but in a perfect world it would've been a Spark but for a PW model this is pretty good
Atlas - Audi R12 e-tron Le Mans 2012
Edit: one antenna was knocked off when photographing, I see that I reglued it in the wrong spot. :oops:
With the Audi came two boxes with mystery content. They turned out to be some sort of basic pit box setup with figurines. I like it that they're black, so that the figurines will fit in better and not stand out. I know I've set it up wrong for the picture but it wouldn't stay up otherwise. Apparently it's done by Altaya so presumably part of a PW
When I was a teenager, there was a poster of a Countach on my bedroom wall. It was the ultimate car in the 1980s, low and mean-looking with the huge wing, wide wheelarches and massive rear wing. Though I'm no fan of later Lambos, the Countach remains one of my all-time favourites. I wanted a model of the car for my collection, but the really good ones were incredibly expensive or impossible to find within my search parameters. This one was cheap and plentiful and I fully expected it to be nasty... not so, I'm happy to say. Though it's not incredibly detailed, it's a decent reproduction of the real thing and while I preferred white or black, the bright blue has grown on me. Until a high-end model turns up cheaply (yeah, right!) this will do nicely. Perhaps it will even get an extended stay, as there are always other models that grab my attention
Lambo Collection PW - Lamborghini Countach LP400S
BTW those exhausts have already received some attention with black paint.
This is the last on my buys, or trades to be more accurate. I have just about run out of 1:18s as trading material. Ironically, it's one of the least satisfying buys in the batch. All models from this PW that I'd added were nice, so I did not research this and I regret it. It's a little light on detail and the yellow paint has been applied too thickly which affects the detail level. The pictures make it look worse than it is. This will replace an even more basic Dinky Collection model but not the Bang GTB. It does however bring a nice accent to my 'red shelf' in the display
Ferrari Collection PW - Dino 246 GTS
OK, back to showing some of my older models that I hadn't photographed yet for the next couple of months at least... a good way to document my collection and perhaps show you more of what was made in the last 30 years.
The first generation of Audi's RS4 was based on the B5 A4 and available only as an Avant. The usual 4WD and a 380 hp 2.7 twin turbo V6 made it a rocketship in its day. I've driven a few and they're really hardcore cars, not easy to drive slowly and with excellent but somewhat hard suspension. Minichamps was Audi's 1:43 modeller in those days and this dealer edition was top notch 20 years ago. I recall ordering this from the local dealership and looking at it for a long time. I've added a few more colours later, like the rare yellow one
Minichamps DE - Audi RS4 Avant
In 2000, the Audi Urquattro, as the original quattro became known, turned 20. A lot of fans planned to celebrate the event around Audi's HQ in Ingolstadt, and the rumours buzzed around the internet. When asked, Audi themselves had nothing planned and were caught unaware by the interest. Only weeks before the event, Audi came out with an invitation. We drove there in convoy with several Urquattros and met with hundreds of other fans on the square in front of the Audi building and it turned out to be a superb event. Audi was so impressed by the turnout that they decided to start Audi Tradition, the department that deals with historic cars, on the spot. A German language report with lots of pics can be found here. Audi has a fantastic museum in Ingolstadt and a nice souvenir shop with lots of scale models so I spent whatever could on all the goodies. The must-have was a Minichamps special edition Urquattto model, available in -IIRC- red, champagne and white. I have the red and champagne versions, they were in short supply as several people were hoarding them hoping they would go up in value. As I have the regular edition in every colour, this one will stay in its unique box
Minichamps - Audi Urquattro '20 jahre'
I've visited Ingolstadt several times since and attended quite a few celebrations there but I will never forget the event of 2000.
Next is quite a rare model from the early days of Minichamps. They did quite a few DTM cars in those days and I expect everyone has seen the silver Audi A4s with the large logo on the side. This is one of the lesser known versions, one that was hard to come by even when new. It's not the most attractive livery (looks like they threw the stickers at the car while it was racing) but it's nice to see it again. The A4 B5 was a great looking car and an attractive -and successful- racer. So successful in fact that after a couple of all-conquering seasons AWD got a huge weight penalty and after that it was banned altogether
Minichamps - Audi A4 DTM
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The first generation of the Audi TT was a bit of a departure for Audi. The radically-styled concept was received with lots of enthousiasm so it was pressed into production with only minimal changes. It didn't fit in with the rest of Audi's lineup but gained lots of fans who otherwise wouldn't have considered an Audi. The car was made in Györ, Hungary and shared many components with the mk.IV Golf, the A3 and their brothers. Though very popular from the outset, the TT quickly gained a reputation for being tricky to handle at high speed. Audi responded with a recall, fitting modified rear suspension and a rear spoiler lip. The model shown is a very early roadster without the mods. I have driven a few and they weren't lying: at 100 MPH I felt the back end becoming perilously light. Had I responded by slamming on the brakes or found myself on anything but a straight road, I would've flipped the car or at least done some off-roading. After the mods, the car was vice-free. I usually prefer the more interesting, vibrant colours but this Nimbus grey with the Authentic leather interior with baseball glove stitching just fits the concept car looks perfectly. A nice dealer version by Minichamps
Minichamps DE - Audi TT roadster
This thread will be Audi-only for a while as the backpack full of models that I dragged out of the lockup recently was all Audi. This is still one of the models that I took off the top of my display cases, and another less common A4 touring car racer. This livery looks a lot better than the previous effort IMO, and it's another one that's very hard to find these days and it's in as new shape, including the decals
Minichamps - Audi A4 touring car racer
The story of Minichamps all started 28 years ago, in 1990. I still recall the buzz in our -then- two Dutch model car magazines, looking at the pictures and reading the projected prices. They would cost around EUR 5 more than a Detailcars, Vitesse or similar. And even from the magazine pictures it was easy to see that they were spectacular! Clear, crisp details, excellent wheels and correct stance, beautiful decals. The main problem was that their first release was a racer and I collected road cars. So my first MCs were the Karmann Ghia coupé and cabriolet and they were nothing short of spectacular. Better quality than the handbuilts I'd been buying previously that cost four or five times as much, so everyone I knew eventually bought a few MCs and hoped that they would release their favourites. The first Minichamps model was an Audi, which was one subject (though not the main focus until later) of my collection. But I watched touring car races on tv, so eventually I caved and bought the V8 racers. I did not regret the decision and accumulated lots more later. Frank Biela was one of the touring car heroes of the time and his car was Minichamps' first ever release, with catalogue number 11111
Minichamps - Audi V8 quattro Evo
Another V8, this one ran in the Belgian touring car championship. From the time when cigarette sponsorship was still fine... I don't think Belga cigarettes are sold anymore. This is another early MC of which I seem to have acquired an extra
Minichamps - Audi V8 quattro Evo
Over to a road car, the mainstay of my collection. This is unlikely to be popular here, it wasn't as a 1:1 either. However, people are starting to recognise the genius of the A2 and secondhand values are ridiculously high. The A2 was Audi's second foray into mass-produced aluminium-bodied cars and after the A8 the second car to profit from the innovative Audi Space Frame concept. While at the Dutch Audi importer's for a club meeting, we were shown a bare monocoque of an A2 used for training purposes. Two people were able to lift it easily (I was one of them), it could've even been a one-man job if it would be easier to pick up. The very light construction and the high-tech 1.2 TDI engine of the Volkswagen Lupo 3L enabled it to almost attain the mythical 3 litres of fuel for every 100 km. However, the 1.4 petrol engine was the most popular in the A2. Its advanced, controversial looks and relatively high price limited popularity of the A2 though, and production never reached the level that the car journalists' enthousiastic reviews would suggest. Most people now think that the A2 was ahead of its time, because people weren't that interested in very economical cars at the time. I've driven a few A2s and really like it. In fact, if I ever get around to buying a car again, this is high on my list
Minichamps - Audi A2
After the introduction of the A4 and the facelifted 100 that became the A6, the A3 was Audi's first venture into this segment of the market. Based on the incredibly successful Golf mk.4 the A3 took it up a notch and added more class. It was -and still is- a satisfying drive and it's built like a vault. They seem to last well too, and values are quite firm. The A3 was introduced as a three-door and after a couple of years the five-door version joined the range. It was never popular though and used examples are tough to find today. I prefer the three-door for the looks but the five-door is more practical. The model is by Minichamps and a lot harder to find in 1:43 too
Minichamps DE - Audi A3 5-door
This has been seen before when I showed you the Walter Röhrl figurine, and it's actually a Mikkola/Hertz car. It was the height of diecast quality in the late 1980s just before Minichamps showed up. After that, DetailCars' new offerings were less desirable... even though most were quite decent and their subjects were generally interesting. Minichamps came up with their quattro years later, but I just can't get myself to get rid of the DetailCars versions. Memories of the time when collecting models meant being patient because there were much less releases and when every new model was discussed and admired. It's not a bad model anyway
DetailCars - Audi quattro Rally Monte Carlo
Now I need to reupload some pictures that Flickr decided to delete when they wanted to get money from me.
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Post by DeadCanDanceR on Apr 18, 2022 9:23:19 GMT -5
Amazing collection! You have so many great models, Tom!It was nice to see your old Peugeots. I’m a huge fan of the cleanly styled 404! Among the models that you have I noticed your Volkswagen Beetle “Última edición” and read what you wrote about it. Respectfully, I’d like to make a correction, as far as I know that was not a Brazilean edition, that was made in Mexico!
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 10:45:49 GMT -5
Thanks Julio, you're right.
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 11:48:01 GMT -5
Some 170 pages left to go...I'd been eyeing this for a long time, but couldn't justify spending actual cash. I think that nobody makes better Volkswagen vans than Schuco and Premium Classixxs, and this proves that point for me. It's a piece of Dutch history that marks an era between 1945 and 1993. The Rijkspolitie (national police) was under the command of the Department of Justice and policed smaller towns that did not have their own police force. They were also well-known for policing the motorways in their Porsche Targas. After 1993, a new regionalised national police force was created to better coordinate deployment and to save money on organisational costs. This T4 7-seater was a well-known car on the roads in the 1990s and continued a long history between VW and our police, which came to an end in 2018 when, after years of allegations of bribery and corruption, they chose Mercedes as their new vehicle provider. I wonder how that will turn out, initial reports are not favourable. Back to this Transporter though, it's to me the ultimate model of this car with perfect proportions and great detail. I love it
Premium Classixxs - Volkswagen Transporter Rijkspolitie
Next one was a bonus, I went for the Transporter but got this for free. I'm still undecided on its future, as I think it's a little off. It's underscale and the wheels are overscale, the axles have too much sideways play... However, there's no decent Spitfire in my collection so it's better than nothing. It certainly looks a lot better in between other models
Atlas - Triumph Spitfire mk.IV
Audi's first proper sports car was a spin-off of the Lambo takeover and used lots of Gallardo bits. It used Audi's V8 4.2 initially, later a 5.2 V10 became available. This is the early 4.2 and the only R8 I've ever driven. The model is by PotatoCar (now that's a weird name) which I think is a series that consists of rebranded models. My PotatoCar Porsche 356 LM is a HighSpeed. Despite its low price (I think I paid about EUR 7 for this) it looks more than decent. From the time when I had to have every single Audi model available
PotatoCar - Audi R8
The Audi Le Mans concept morphed into the R8 with not a lot of changes to its looks. The R8 was a departure for Audi, their first proper sports car and intended as the first of a line, but the promised R4 has yet to materialise. It would be a great competitor for the Alfa 4C... but back to the R8. For a car of this type it's quite practical and reliable. It's not hard to drive quickly, thanks to four wheel drive and near perfect front-aft weight distribution. The 4.2 has torque from tickover up to the redline and though the V10 is an improvement in power (I've driven other Audis with that engine) I could happily live with the V8 because it's all you need to get in a lot of trouble speedwise. And even after all those years it still looks good. Great proportions, not a lot of design gimmicks that date it quickly. The side blades are an interesting touch and can be ordered in different finishes- body colour, contrasting shades or carbon. The R8 looks civilised in colours like silver, this grey or pale blue metallic but more noticeable shades like red or bright blue suit it well too, and give it more of a proper sports car look. The next model is what the dealers sold and made by Schuco. Most noticeable difference with the cheapo PotatoCar is that Schuco fitted etched brake discs instead of the plastic items, with separate brake calipers instead of the moulded-in ones that inevitably rotate to the lowest point. If you would like a model of the R8 the PotatoCar will do nicely, if you love the real thing you will inevitably go for the Schuco (or the V10, which I think was done by Spark). Once more my apologies for the abysmal pic quality and for the number of pictures
Schuco (DE) - Audi R8
A rather limited edition model next, from the days of buying anything Audi. This is the doctor's car from the Tour de France, released by Norev in a limited edition in around 2003 or '04, I'd say. Skoda is the TdF's vehicle sponsor but they don't make a cabriolet so it was Audi to the rescue. The model is pretty nice, whilst photographing I found out that the driver's arm rest even swivels up like the real thing. I like this as a 'specialty' model, for now it stays
Norev - Audi A4 Cabriolet 'Tour de France Assistance Médicale'
Next up is the first generation of the Audi A5 coupé. A nice, clean shape.and this shade of blue suits it very well. Another Schuco product
Schuco DE - Audi A5 coupe
Back to a legendary rally car, a model that I bought right when it came out and before Minichamps released theirs. Unfortunately it's the sanitised tobaccoless version, I should really put some HB decals on this (and a few other rwllying Audis in my collection). Another car that I encountered IRL, at several museum events but more importantly driven in anger by Walter Röhrl for the 25 years of quattro event in Ingolstadt. A section of car park was corded off, a few straw bales put down and Walter and Harold Demuth were supposed to do a few casual laps of the improvised circuit. However, there was nothing casual about it. They really attacked it like a rally stage and slung their cars around corners as if they had to win. The event was concluded by 4-wheel donut burnouts, smoking those priceless TRX slicks. I will never forget standing right next to this car when it was started up and hearing it roar by at no more than 20 cm from my toes. Ixo did a nice job on this, but they weren't able to replicate the rear lights properly (on the real car these doubled as vents, they were basically bulbs behind a mesh grill). Never mind, it's still a nice model of the beast
Ixo - Audi quattro S1
And this is what the S1 started out as... Audi had a lot of success rallying the quattro. However, on some rallies with lots of tight corners the nose-heavy and large quattro was at a disadvantage. You tend to lose time when it takes several tries to round a hairpin. So they took 20 cm out of the wheelbase, added a 20-valve engine with a humongous turbo that increased power by 140 hp and substituted steel for kevlar on the outside. The result was a car that might've been handier around a hairpin but the short wheelbase gave it less than ideal handling, 'a touch on the nervous side'. FIA homologation rules said 200 had to be made, in the end Audi turned out 214. A decent one goes for half a million today. I've never had the pleasure of driving a real one but I did a few laps as a passenger in a 600 hp replica around the Assen TT motorbike track. Most powerful car I ever rode in, the only one that made me feel the G-forces on my body. Luckily the driver knew what he was doing, because the car was not an easy drive
Minichamps DE - Audi Sport quattro
Even further back in history, the start of quattro history in fact. The first Audi coupé quattro turbo (its full name, retrospectively known as the Urquattro) was introduced at the Geneva Motorshow in 1980. For the 25th anniversary of this event, Audi Tradition commissioned a special edition of the Minichamps quattro. It came in a larger box with a backdrop picture of the real car at the show and it featured the correct style forged Fuchs alloys instead of the regular edition's Ronal R8s. For some reason it was the only version to feature headlights without locating pegs. I bought this at the 25 years of quattro event in Ingolstadt. If you only get the one 1:43 Urquattro, this would be my choice
Minichamps DE - Audi quattro Geneva 1980
Next up is another attractive coupé but with lines that reflect an earlier decade (or even earlier). It came about because Enzo Ferrari needed an engine for an F2 car (which had to be a V6 and at least 500 had to be installed in road cars). That was too much for Ferrari to handle and besides the Dino 206/246 cars, they came to an agreement with Fiat who installed the engine in two beautiful cars with very different lines. A spider designed by Pininfarina and the coupé by Bertone, from the pen of Giorgetto Giugiaro. The coupé's lines are classic 1970s, echoed in several models of the decade. In the 1980s these were rare already but I saw one in the street on my lunch break. I turned around back to work to get my camera immediately and luckily found it still there. One of the pictures I took was on my study wall for a long time. I had a model of this car in my collection earlier but somebody convinced me to sell. Luckily, I was able to find this in a trade. It's in the best colour too, the lovely metallic blue brings out the shape perfectly and the metalflake is much more realistic than the sunlight pictures suggest. Yes, sunlight. I finally got around to bringing a model on my bike ride and finding level surfaces and sunlight for semi-decent pics. Not perfect, but much better than the ones taken indoors with a flash. The model is by Grani & Partners for some partwork. Whilst G&P are usually not known for their accurate models I think this one is pretty good. Yes, there are pegs in the headlights. Yes, the chrome is silver paint, but the Cromodora alloys are fab and the grill, while in need of a blackwash, is a very nicely crafted piece. I'd say that the maker loved this car and put a lot of work into it. It's a case where I've no remorse of selling the older model
Grani & Partners - Fiat Dino Coupé 2000
Here is another one for my Mini shelf. The classic Mini seems to be hard to capture correctly in scale. Many are deformed, which annoys me. This effort seems to be fairly good. It's from the Atlas 'Classic sports cars' PW, which also yielded my recent Spitfire, Ace and Aceca. I know Atlas doesn't make these but I wonder who the real maker is. Ixo/PCT? Anyway, there's one of these in my childhood. A neighbour had a 1974 Mini 1000 in a slightly darker shade that she used for the shool run when it was bad weather. We were crammed into the rear seat with four children, luckily it was only a short drive. Anyway, the Mini has been etched into my memory and this was a no-brainer. I'm quite happy with the model
Atlas PW - Mini Cooper mk.3
The first generation of the Audi 80 was a rather plain car in its base versions. It wasn't until Audi decided to fit the 1.6 engine with fuel injection to create the 110 hp GTE version that things got more interesting. In true 1970s tradition the sporty version got a matt black bonnet and slightly sportier seats. The suspension was uprated with a beefier antirollbar and there was a sump guard in rally tradition. It wasn't a huge success as it was rather expensive but it paved the way for something that was- when the GTE's engine was fitted to the Golf it became the first GTI. The dealer edition model of this Audi is by Minichamps and I like it a lot
Minichamps DE - Audi 80 GTE
Which makes for a nice segway to the next one, I've had this for some time too. The third generation of the Audi 100 introduced in 1982 was quite a revolutionary car. Low drag coefficient, clean shape, enjoyable to drive. In late 1985 the bodies got a full galvanic protectiin which made it one of the most rust-resistent cars ever. And as a response to serious complaints about rust on the previous generation, the quality had improved a lot even before that. In 1988, the 100 (and its turbo-powered brother the 200) was mildly facelifted with new flush door handles and a revised dash as most obvious attributes. The Minichamps model shows the facelifted version
Minichamps - Audi 100
Let's go a decade or two back in history. Jaguar had a very successful series of saloon cars powered by their famous 2.4 and 3.4 litre inline 6-cylinder engines. The cars were attractive but like many more early unibody designs they were somewhat over-engineered. The mk.2 rectified this somewhat with its much slimmer roof pillars which allowed for a larger glass area and gave the car a more elegant look. The 3.8 version added more power and a high top speed that made it a popular getaway car for criminals, and four disc brakes lent it the stopping power it needed. The model is by Atlas from the Jaguar Collection partwork and it's pretty decent though I would prefer silver wire wheels and a more realistic side trim. The colour is a much darker red in reality, the flash does not do it justice
Atlas Jaguar Collection PW - Jaguar mk.2
Another classic Audi, but in a fantasy colour. For some reason Audi Tradition, the division that handles the classics, releases their special orange model every year. Or at least they did, I know they did a few that I do not have. There must be a special reason for the orange and the small run of 333 models, but I've no idea why they do that. The launch of their models used to coincide with the Techno Classica in Essen and I recall having to go early in the day to ascertain getting one of them. This ended up being my only Tradition model, the Sport quattro. As good as the red, white, green and blue if you don't mind the fantasy colour
Minichamps (Audi Tradition edition) - Audi Sport quattro
Alternating between my existing Audi collection and semi-recent additions and it's time for another Jag. This one was sorely needed to replace my Detail Cars versions which are now showing their age clearly. The MCs are hard to find and expensive, so a PW would be a good alternative. The Jaguar Collection yielded a great model- first generation like I wanted and in a very nice metallic blue. However, that proved hard to find and consequently pricy. Luckily PCT has a habit of recycling its castings in other ranges and this was released a while ago in the Whitebox series. Burgundy suits the shape almost as well as blue, and it was in ample supply. Good thing too, because I really like it
Whitebox - Jaguar XJ-S
Next is a racer, not the most common in my collection. From the early days of Audi endurance racing it's an R8, but not the usual LM car. This one won the Spa Francorchamps 1000 km in 2003. I had quite a few silver/black Audi racers in my collection so I bought a few odd ones out just for variety's sake. This one looked good and I've spent enough time at Francorchamps to want a souvenir. Minichamps did their usual great job on it
Minichamps - Audi R8 Spa Francorchamps 1000 km 2003
OK, I didn't need any more T1 Transporters. When I joined S143, I had only two and one of those was better stashed in the rear on the bottom shelf of the display. Both were bought in the 1990s when we weren't exactly spoilt for choice. That's all changed however, and I have a very nice array of T1s of all descriptions. And there are hundreds of cars I'd love to add to the collection but little -if any- space left. However, these are hard to ignore. Whenever I see a cool one, I go into acquisition mode. It being cheap didn't help the resolve any either. It's from a PW I'd gotten a model from earlier, you might recall the gorgeous Cadillac Miller-Meteor ambulance. That's right, an ambulance series. And there are a few more tempting models in the series
Atlas Ambulance Collection PW - Volkswagen Transporter T1 Deutsches Rotes Kreuz
There's at least one more fan of this on S143... as he's been on a Trofeu quattro spree himself recently. I've had this for quite some time now and I agree that it's fantastic. Every detail is spot on and it's great to see one of the less-modeled cars- not one of the German Audi Sport cars, but the one that Mikkola and Hertz drove to second place in the '84 RAC (one of my favourite events). This is a souvenir from years ago, when we attended the Eifel Klassik rally. At the parc fermé in Daun there was a stall selling models and this was impossible to resist. A nice memory and a very nice model, one of my best rally quattros if not the best
Trofeu - Audi quattro 2nd 1984 RAC Rally Mikkola/Hertz
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 11:59:38 GMT -5
To provide some relief from all the Audis I mix them with something completely different. This one came in basic plastic bubble PW packaging but once I managed to get the two tiny TORX screws out (what's with that?) my suspicion was confirmed, this was no cheapo moulding but a proper Norev. A fab model to display next to the MC 304 coupe that Secret Santa gave me a couple of years ago, and in a good colour too. I've always been partial to these pretty little cabriolets, a surprising number of which have survived. I've captured a few with my camera and I'm happy to have the model
Norev PW - Peugeot 204 cabriolet
Time for another Audi, one that I love. For the IMSA GTO series Audi built this monster that only vaguely resembled the 90 quattro it was based on. It had a metal roof and the rear lights were original bits, otherwise it was handbuilt. The 2.2 inline five cylinder engine put out 720 hp with the aid of a massive turbo. Hans-Joachim Stuck, Hurley Haywood, Walter Röhrl and Scott Goodyear drove the 90 quattro to a second place in the series. I've been fortunate enough to see this beast doing demo laps on the Laguna Seca track and it's incredible, backfiring footlong flames out of the side-mounted exhaust and thundering along with a noise that only vaguely reminded of the 90's five pot engine. I've owned two basic 90 quattros so the ultimate version is close to my heart. The model does it justice
Minichamps DE - Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO
When I was born, my Dad surprised my Mum by collecting her and me from the hospital in a car he'd just bought, a four year old Citroen 2CV. Two and a half years later when my brother was born, the 2CV was getting ropy and my Dad repeated the surprise by buying a Citroen Dyane 6 as a replacement. A 1968 model, it was one of the first Dyanes and an ex-dealer demonstrator. The 602 cc engine offered a useful increase of power over the 2CV's 425, especially when my parents bought a small caravan. We ended up running the Dyane until 1974, when it was part exchanged for a Renault 5. This Atlas PW model depicts the actual car nicely down to the colour. It was actually made by Universal Hobbies and is better than the Norev offering
Atlas/UH PW - Citroen Dyane 6
When the second generation of the Audi A3 was introduced, it was a three-door model- the most popular version of the first generation. However, Audi felt that three-door hatchbacks were on the way out but they did it better this time. Not just adding a couple of doors but the entire car was redesigned. A longer wheelbase, a different rear end design that looked more like an estate car. This was accentuated by the optional roof rails. At the same time, the new corporate 'single frame grill' front end was adopted. This was a huge success, the A3 Sportback, as it was called, became a company car hit overnight. As usual, the majority of all A3s were ordered in silver, 50 shades of grey or black. After all, you don't want anyone to notice you. I wanted something a little brighter so I went for the red one, I already had a blue and a yellow three-door. Minichamps did a great job, this is a dealer version which has number plate decals (the rear one has since been straightened after a fashion). A nice car
Minichamps DE - Audi A3 Sportback
Now I need to take another trip to the lockup because this is the last of my batch of non-Audis. Perhaps tomorrow I'll go down there. This is another French car and it replaces two models that are long overdue for a swift kick: a 1960s plastic Norev that displays the typical warping and a very light on detail Solido that I believe is a 1990s reissue of an older casting. Both are blown out of the water by this PW model that shows how nice PW models can be nowadays. It's from the French Atlas PW 'Les voitures de mon père' which also yielded a nice Volkswagen Beetle and a Citroen SM. The Renault Dauphine was the successor to the 4CV with the same underpinnings, a stretched wheelbase and increased displacement to compensate for the extra weight. There was also a Gordini version with a little more power and an Ondine with more luxury, although everything is relative in 1950s Renaults. The windscreen wipers are a great detail for this model, I honestly prefer them over too-spindly etched items. Detailed and correct upholstery is a really nice detail too
Atlas PW - Renault Dauphine
Now I need a better 4CV, but the problem for me is that those all have the wipers printed on the windscreen.
Back to Audi. The allroad was one of the first of the genre of 'ruggedized' versions of regular cars, something like the Subaru Outback but a little less offroady. To paraphrase Jeremy Clarkson, the only time these went offroad is when they parked on the footway. The allroad was essentially an A6 Avant, quattro-only and equipped with air suspension. The body featured different bumpers, wheelarch trims and sill trims. The wheels were allroad-only. This C6 A6 Allroad was the second allroad generation and it was followed by an allroad version of the A4 Avant. For some reason, this was made by AutoArt but it could also pass for a Minichamps
AutoArt DE - Audi A6 allroad quattro
The only addition to my collection I made yesterday, when I was browsing the goodwill store looking for a small table. I decided to go for a new Ikea item but did find this in a corner of the store where I hardly ever bother to look. It's one of the nicer semi-recent Peugeots, before they went overboard with the huge headlights and rear lights, like the successor of this car which is a good contestant for ugliest Peugeot ever. When this was released however, all was still good. Nice classic proportions, elegant understated clean lines. There was an even more attractive Pininfarina-designed coupé that was one of the best designs of the decade. Paradcar made a decent model of it, a good find for EUR 2.50 missing just the cardboard sleeve and requiring reattachment of the passenger wing mirror as well as a good clean
Paradcar - Peugeot 406
First up is a car that has been largely forgotten in Peugeot history. That might be because it's not really a Peugeot but an adopted child, the initial design being the Talbot Arizona- the car that was production-ready when Peugeot usurped Talbot-Simca and axed the marque. A few design touches and it sort of fit in with the Peugeot range. Its main redeeming features were the practical hatch (albeit with a high loading threshold for rigidity) and a low weight. The car did't speak to the younger crowd, which Peugeot adressed by dropping in the 1.9 engine of the 205 GTI, creating the 309 GTI. This created a car that was only marginally slower than the 205 but a lot roomier. They even rallied it. Today, the 309 has mostly disappeared off the roads here and I haven't seen a GTI in years. The model is pretty decent, but I need to take it apart to refit the driver's seat backrest. The B-post has already been painted black
Norev PW - Peugeot 309 GTI
Through mere coincidence it's yet another Peugeot, this one likely with more universal appeal. The rather staid and utilitarian 504 didn't lend itself to a transformation into a sleek coupé. So in came Pininfarina who took it down to the chassis and built a very attractive coupé and cabriolet. An astonishing transformation and a lovely classic shape. These lived on into the 1980s, eventually fitted with black 5MPH impact bumpers. The model is by Norev, who did a decent job
Norev PW - Peugeot 504 coupé
(the stock number sticker underneath has been removed)
Wot, yet another G-model 911? Yes, this is by far my favourite generation and a car I just love to look at. Every little detail gives me pleasure, everything is just right. The introduction of the 'harmonica' bumpers gave the 911 a more powerful, solid look that the first generation -which is pretty- lacks. This might be the only facelift that improves on the original... and most panels were changed making this not just a facelift but a cohesive, proper redesign. The ultimate G-model is the Carrera 3.2. With its stronger engine and better, stronger and smoother G50 gearbox it adresses some of the criticism on the preceding 3.0SC. Outside, besides the badging, only the standard under-bumper driving lights distinguish it from the SC. And that is where this model disappoints, as they forgot to include them. Otherwise it's just like all the other models in the 911 Collection PW, very nicely made and correct in every aspect. I wanted this model when I first saw it, but it wasn't in the overstock when I was still doing trades and I'd resigned to not finding one. Got this for a bargain price because the box was knackered. Luckily, no damage to the model at all
Atlas 911 Collection PW - Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2
Unfortunately, the flash does the lovely rich maroon paint no favours. Soooo, outside natural light shots:
The gaps around the window seals were not as noticeable in the hand, I have now fixed them.
When the Maxichamps Ford Taunus mk.3 was released, I was happy to see that it came in metallic brown that was ubiquitous in the 1970s. However, it was a base model and I really wanted the upscale GXL with a vinyl roof and all the trim. Whitebox to the rescue! They not only did their best, they did an excellent job here! I might get rid of the MC or display them together, still considering. Now I want a nicer mk.4
Whitebox - Ford Taunus GXL
And the MC, a very basic two-door _MG_7654b by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr
I think I bought this as a cheapo PW years ago, so I gave it a miss when the Maserati Collection went on sale. However, I was unable to find it anywhere (in fact I might've sold it earlier) so when it was offered for only EUR 3 I pounced on it as part of the deal. Years ago I had a GF in Amsterdam, and whenever I drove home from her place I passed by an identical red Karif. Always impressed me, it looked out of place in between the mundane tin. Proportionally it's challenged but it has a certain awkward charm. A decent model but showing its age a little
Maserati Collection PW - Maserati Karif
I don't have many US cars in my collection. There are few in my automotive memories, sales in post-oil crisis Holland were marginal. However, there is a car that was in my ownership, and thus holds some memories. The car ownership was alas not in 1:1, but as a kid I had a Hot Wheels version in blue and a gold Matchbox Superkings version. I loved the car even though I was well into my teens before I saw my first 1:1. Getting a 1:43 was more or less a given, and I was looking for a good deal on the Motorhead version. However, this came around for a paltry sum so I forgave it its less attractive colour. The finish is good and though I prefer my 1:43 models without opening features, the bonnet fits reasonably well and engine bay detail is decent
Vitesse - 1967 Mercury Cougar
I guess we're back to the odd semi-positive comment for my next model. You have to be a bit of a 2CV fan to be interested in this, and even then it's bound to be considered less attractive than the original. From a PW that concentrates on locally-built versions of the 2CV, this on depicts the Argentinian version. Called the 3CV, this honestly looks like someone reassembled a total loss car using random spare parts. I guess I'm a car geek to be interested in this, in fact I'd love to have all the other models in the PW too just like I've been collecting Volkswagens from all over the world
The diecast club - Citroen 3CV America
This is a natural follower for the 3CV, being a spin-off of another basic car. The 181, called 'Thing' in the US, is often incorrectly referred to as 'Kübelwagen' which is its predecessor, and one of the projects Hitler spent the money on that was saved by Germans who thought they were getting a Beetle. The 181 succeeded the DKW Munga when it was discontinued and when the European Jeep project failed. In 1968 the first 181s were delivered to the German Army, and the car was built until 1980. In the US, it was assembled from CKD kits. The 181's successor was the Iltis. This model is my first reacquaintance with Solido, a famous make from the past which was recently resurrected and now specialises in basic, affordable models. I know that Maxichamps does the 181 as well, but this came in a trade deal at half the price, I was interested in looking at a new Solido and I liked it in yellow. Also, a basic model fits the car's character. The cast-in wipers are very basic, otherwise I'm quite happy with it
Solido - Volkswagen 181
I tend to avoid large commercial vehicles- you have to impose limits somewhere and large, expensive models seems to be a logical line to avoid crossing. However, the odd one has crept in over the years mostly for nostalgic reasons and here's yet another. This one is harder to explain as I've never seen a 1:1, just pictures. However, Horch is what became Audi later and it's compact and charming enough to win me over. Also, it was thrown in by the trader as a deal sweetener for free. I just have to reglue a mirror
Atlas truck PW - Horch H3
This is the first model I actually spent money on in a long time. Mind you, it was cheap- about a third of what a regular Minichamps would cost. It's also pretty rare, first one I've seen and a pretty eye-catching model in my Audi display -or for my slowly expanding collection of police cars, which was never officially started but just grew over time. I was in Luxembourg a couple of times but never saw one of these. It is the third generation of the Audi A4, or actually a restyled second generation and the introduction of the new, larger 'single frame' grill. Somehow it really appealed to me when I first saw it and it refused to go away when I turned my back, so it came home
Minichamps - Audi A4 Luxembourg police
Over the last decades I've accumulated a collection of old cameras, made between 1900-1970. I bought them at jumble sales, spending no more than EUR 5 each and they're all complete, and most are in working condition. When times were hard I tried selling a few I considered valuable but got no takers. I estimated my collection to be at around 50 cameras (and I say estimated, because apart from a couple I never displayed them all together as I lacked the room since my Ikea display decided to explode into thousands of glass shards) but to my surprise I'd collected no less than 106 over the years. And thanks to a few remarks from an antiques dealer I'd been speaking to recently I found out that at least a few were now quite sought after. Said antiques dealer had someone in his clientele looking for a few specific cameras and willing to offer good prices. A deal was struck and I was able to afford another trade as the antiques dealer is a fellow model collector who does a small booth at car shows with automobilia and models. I was trying to get him to bite on a vintage 1960s Becker car radio that I had, and he suddenly not only decided that he wanted it, but gave me a stonking deal on models for it... it looks like my long-lived interest in old cameras and electronics is finally starting to yield some profit. There are more deals in the future.
Thanks to this sudden sale I now have a stack of new additions waiting to be photographed and shown here. Very happy!
This is still one of the previous batch. Yes, I have a few Beetles. More than a few, actually. I wanted the early car by Schuco that Jeff showed here, to replace my old Vitesse. However, that proved elusive and when this turned up I found it charming and very hard to resist. Not that early but still a split window and the fresh air intakes ahead of the doors ('rheuma flaps') and the split rear window show that it's a pre-1953 model. So, yet another Beetle. One of the cars that are hard to model, and Schuco got it spot on
Schuco - Volkswagen Beetle
The first of my new batch have been photographed and Jerry will approve... The Jaguar 2.4 saloon, later named mk.1, was Jaguar's first unibody car introduced in 1955. Like many of their counterparts they erred on the side of caution when it came to strength, resulting in massive roof pillars and a less than elegant appearance. For some reason however I like its solid appearance and its proper 'Jag-ness'. In 1957, the 2.4 inline 6 was supplemented by a 3.4. The model was succeeded in 1959 by the mk.2 which proved that slimming the roof pillars down considerably worked fine. The mk.1's values vs its successor's show how much the public appreciates the progress. The model is by Ixo and essentially a reissue of the Atlas Jaguar Collection PW. The colour, unlike my terrible flash photo shows, is a proper nice BRG and there's no visible colour difference between the body and the spats. I just wish they'd painted the wheels body colour. This replaces my Eligor which is a 1950s Norev reissue and which has been in my collection since the 1980s
Ixo - Jaguar mk.1
And here's the mk.2 for comparison, as posted on page 189
Ever since this was introduced I just HAD to have it. You see, my first car was an '82 Opel Kadett which I'd bought jointly with my brother. When having my own car became practical I looked around and was offered a VW Jetta by my mechanic friend. It was a trade-in at his work and it had the freeze plugs blown out of the block from being filled with water instead of coolant in the winter. He put new plugs in, gave it a service and fixed a few small things. Then he offered it to me, or a 1979 Golf he had acquired at the same time. I'd been messing with the Opel for years, improving it and fitting everything that was missing in its options list. I decided that the Golf was just too tempting to turn into a GTI clone and spend lots of money so I opted for the Jetta which was rarer and had less of an aftermarket following. I bought it for the equivalent of 200 euros. It was then 12 years old and had done 95,000 km. The paintwork was flat and the interior looked worn, the base-model houndstooth cloth had been damaged by the sun and it smelled inside, otherwise there was no body damage or rust thanks to a Waxoyl treatment. Two days of buffing and polishing brought the sheen back and 45 euros bought me an as-new Jetta GLI interior with sports seats and smart black and white chequered inserts. Gave the wheels a respray (resisting the urge to fit alloys), made the bumpers a deep black again and fitted halogen headlight units instead of the old duplo units. My Jetta was a 55hp 1.3 base model in period Mexico beige, as it was called. Very old hat in the early '90s but I liked it especially when it was gleaming. VW took the 'base model' tag quite seriously in 1980, there was not even a glovebox lid or a switch for the courtesy light in the passenger door. When trying to resolve that, I found out that VW had even made a wiring loom for the base model only without the wires for this switch... I drove the Jetta for three years until I got a job that required me to drive 150 km every day, I fancied a little more power, comfort and safety for that so I part-exed the Jetta for my first Audi. Apart from a rusty fuel filler neck (a common VW problem) and a rusty rear silencer it never let me down. It helped out in a few moves (huge boot space!) and I took it on holiday to Belgium once. Unfortunately, apart from one of the number plates I have nothing to remind me of this car. No photographs whatsoever. I had bought a period 1:43 Schuco Jetta model in the 1990s but was delighted when Neo introduced their model as they actually did a two-door version when the Schuco toy was a four-door. An orange one came closest to my old car, and was in my collection for years. Now I finally have one in the actual beige, a great reminder of my first very own wheels. I would love a black interior but will not take my precious Neo apart for that
Neo - Volkswagen Jetta
There are quite a few Minichamps models that I missed out on. Apparently Minichamps have had a rummage around ebay and found out which models have a high value because there was more demand than supply. They decided to create a 'sanction 2' brand called Maxichamps to reissue existing castings in a limited number of colours and with a little less interior detail for about the price of a new Ixo. A huge success and a great way for me to add some of the models I'd missed out on because I was buying Audi models... or even no models. Among those models are the Alfa 75 and 164. I was too late for the 164 but I did get this, in the best colour too. When the last 75s were announced, one of the owners of the graphic and industrial design agency I was working for decided that he had to have the last RWD Alfa. He ordered a black 3.0 with the lovely-sounding V6 and with every option available. His stereo cost more than most of my cars did. Unfortunately, he did not enjoy driving the car a lot because it kept breaking down. The dealership loaned him a basic 33 (which is not what you expect when you've just invested a fortune in the top of the line model) and every time when he got his car back it broke down again within a day or two. When he'd been driving the 33 for a month it too broke down and he got a Ford Mondeo as a loaner... I'm not sure what happened after that because I moved to another job as the company decided that they wanted to relocate to Amsterdam's inner city, which turned my 8-minute commute into a 2-hour hell. Back to the model- an excellent issue and one I'm happy to add to the collection. However much I like the 164, given the choice I'd go for the 75
Maxichamps - Alfa Romeo 75 3.0
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