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Post by WallOfCars on Apr 18, 2022 12:33:53 GMT -5
Whitebox XJ-S in burgundy is lovely! Would love to snag one as it's the same color of one of my first ever (and still owned) 'large' model cars. A 1/32" scale Corgi from the 1970s...
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 14:34:43 GMT -5
Thanks! This is a weird one. It's a record car that was never used in anger and that went straight to the museum. We have our good friends at AutoCult to thank for the model, I just love their 'left of centre' choice of subjects and their quality, pity that the prices prevent me from adding everything that I like. In fact I'm very happy that this was still available. Anyway, back to the model. Porsche decided to make a record car to boost 924 sales, which had to do 10,000 miles at an average speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). For that, they fitted a turbo engine that put out 250 hp and redesigned the body for an impressively low drag coefficient of 0.268, impressive today never mind in 1976. However, just before the attempt was to take place at Nardo, it was aborted for strategic reasons. The car was never painted, it was left in primer which explains the finish on the model. The model is from AutoCult's Masterpiece series in a more elaborate packaging with a numbered certificate explaining the background. Despite its aesthetic shortcomings and lack of pedigree I like this a lot
AutoCult Masterpiece - Porsche 924 record car
In the 1970s the only motorsport on Dutch tv was the occasional F1 race summary, and if you could find it the odd rally or rallycross report. The last two were my favourites because you could see everyday cars battling it out. The Fiat 131 was a successful rally car and it looked the part with its wide arches. My particular favourites were the Alitalia and OlioFiat liveries, because they looked just right. The local fuel station had a small shop with, among the sweets, oil and washer fluid, magazines and cassette tapes (it was the 1970s) a small selection of models which naturally caught my attention. I wanted that Burago 1:24 OlioFiat 131! It took a couple of weeks of washing cars to save up for it, and it soon took pride of place in my collection. It was never used as a toy because by then I had grown out of playing with cars but just the sight of a row of models on a bookshelf pleased me. I don't know where it is now, but I suppose it's still alive and likely in good shape. When Ixo announced their 1:43 it was a sure thing for my wishlist. I really wanted the support van in matching livery but I was too late for that. Never mind, I fixed that in a different way. Luckily, I was still in time for what must be my most eagerly-awaited model of 2019
Ixo - Fiat 131 mirafiori Abarth, Rally San Remo 1977 Walter Röhrl
In the mid-1990s I bought a model of the then-current Volkswagen Polo. It was red, which was something of a coincidence- I just went for the most attractive and affordable one I found at the swapmeet. Then, years later, I found another model of the then-current Polo cheaply, an AA for only EUR 2.50. It was red too, but that was just because it was the only colour available. When I bought the generation after that I chose a red one as it would be cool to have them all in red. From then on, I wanted one of every generation available in red, so I started looking out for them. The second generation proved harder to find, then I started looking for the first generation. It had been released by Minichamps in red, but that was long ago and the models were now hard to find. Maxichamps to the rescue again, with a timely reissue in the right colour! It's a nice model too
Maxichamps - Volkswagen Polo mk.1
And here's my previous group shot
The mk.1 Polo was released as a more upmarket Audi 50 first, although upmarket was mostly in trim. More chrome and nicer upholstery. The circular shapes in the C-pillars are actually vents. They were mistaken for fuel fillers by many a fuel station attendant, so lots of cars ran around without the lids when they were new. The fuel filler is ahead of the right rear wheel, much lower in the panel.
The next model has long been a favourite of mine. I love the scale of it but especially that lovely long, sloping rear end. But that's not all of the story, it lived up to the Bentley performance claims by being the fastest four-seater in its day with a top speed of no less than 190 km/h... in the early 1950s. The fins were actually the result of aerodynamic experiments and stabilised the car at high speed. Most of the cars were built up by HJ Mulliner in this body style. Minichamps did a lovely model
Minichamps - Bentley Continental R-type
This replaces a 1990s Dinky Collection version, not before time
Porsche didn't want to create a full cabriolet version of the 911 for safety reasons, so they introduced a rollover bar that was properly integrated in the design and that became so iconic that 'targa' became generic lingo for a rollover bar and removable roof panel. The first generation of the 911 targa featured a removable rear window in vinyl. This feature was done away with quickly and the early 'soft window' cars are now rare and valuable. Luckily, the excellent Atlas 911 PW has a very nice version which completes my lineup of early 911s
Atlas Porsche Collection PW - Porsche 911 targa 'soft window'
In the mid-1970s Mitsubishi was launched onto the Dutch market with the slogan 'de gestaalde perfectie', which loosely translates to 'perfection in steel'. Introducing a new make is a tough proposition, as Nissan recently found out when they tried to sell Infiniti here. In fact, only Tesla has been introduced successfully in recent times. Mitsubishi had no technical advantages to trade on, they just followed the tried and true Japanese way of value for money, which in the mid-'70s meant standard seat belts, a rear fog light and a radio. It proved enough, even though by 1970s standards it soon became known as 'perfection in rust'. Because most cars rusted in those days and Mitsubishi made good engines the cars continued to sell well here. This Lancer, together with the Galant, made up the entire lineup in the early days. The model of the first generation Lancer was made by Norev and apart from the colour it's exactly as the car was dropped on the Dutch market. We had more metallics here in my memory- brown, gold, pale green, blue, silver. Nice model though
Norev - Mitsubishi Lancer 1600
I'm not buying huge amounts of US cars for my collection, but there are a few that have a special place in my memories. As for my preference, it's usually for pre-'65 cars. After that, the fins, slabs of chrome and OTT shapes were replaced by anonymous square hunks that looked alike to me. There are only a few exceptions, one is the Cougar I showed you recently. Another is the Lincoln Continental of this generation. It exudes quality, it has those nice simple lines that give it class. It was also very strong, it was turned into a four-door convertible without any need for strengthening. A car that appeared in many movies, and thanks to Greenlight we now have a nice and cheap model. These were mostly black but this pale metallic blue is a good second choice- and I prefer almost anything over black when it comes to diecast. I love this one
Greenlight - Lincoln Continental
In the late 1960s the popular no-nonsense Fiat 124 saloon was joined by -as usual in those days- a striking coupé and two-seater Spider. Both proved to be hits and the Spider even lived on into the 1980s. After the demise of the Barchetta and coupé Fiat, the Fiat lineup was a little on the utilitarian side and needed an attention-grabber. In 2016 the 124 Spider was reborn. It was built in Japan by Mazda and based on the platform of the MX-5. It's however not a simple reskin. The 124 features a 170 hp version of the 1.4 turbo Multiair Fiat engine, the body is larger and bulkier than the Mazda's and the suspension was redone to give more of a gran turismo experience than the MX-5s proper sportscar setup. For the 1:43 version there's the choice of two models, the TSM and Ixo version, the latter costing 25-30% of the former. Though I love the car, I did not think the TSM was worth the premium and I wanted the bright red version rather than the TSM's darker red. I hope there will be a bright blue version in the future because that's my favourite colour on this car
Ixo - Fiat Abarth 124 Spider
The new generation of Jaguar saloons was introduced in 1968, the last Jaguar designed under the supervision of William Lyons. It succeeded the 240/340 models and its completely new design looked completely up to date though it retained lots of design cues that shouted 'Jaguar'. The XJ6 was powered by the famous XK inline-6 engine (though V12-powered versions followed later). The XJ6 had the same rear axle as the E-type. In 1973, the second generation replaced this. The model is the general Ixo release of the Atlas Jaguar Collection PW, nicely made though I'd prefer it with a dark blue interior
Ixo - Jaguar XJ6 S1
Yes, I did have a very nice R17 from some PW. It did nicely for me, and I should have been looking out for an R15 to accompany it, but instead I was offered this recent Solido release... another R17. And I couldn't resist. Though a basic model, it looks really nice IMO and I have a weak spot for 1970s Renaults. The rear window heater is a bit heavy-handed but luckily I display my models front-facing
Solido - Renault 17
In 1972 the second generation of the Transporter was facelifted. Larger square rear lights and high-mounted front indicators were the main distinguishing features on the outside. You can never have too many Transporter models, and Ixo's T2b 'surf bus' stood out with its '70s paint scheme and US side markers. Only when it was delivered I noticed that it did not have the US registration I expected but a Dutch 1976 registration (which does not exist anymore, coincidentally). Ixo did a superb job and while whitewall tyres are not a '70s feature they look good on this model
Ixo - Volkswagen Transporter T2b 'surf bus'
I wanted a nice model of Fiat's 124 'world car' which became -among others- a Seat and a Lada. However, I was surprised when this sub-EUR 10 model arrived and it was a 1:24 instead of a 1:43. I guess the amount of detail should have alerted me, as it's really nice. So nice that I won't even try to trade it, it will go into the 1:24 subcollection. I love the shape, the colour... very nice model all around
Atlas - Seat 124
The coupé version of the Jaguar XJ was intended to be released together with the S.2 saloon in 1973 but there were problems with rainproofing the pillarless doors. Its front end is identical to the S.2 saloon's with the indicators moved underneath the front bumper and smaller headlight units. A vinyl roof was always a feature of the coupé. The model depicts the version with the 5.3 V12 engine and is the Ixo general release of the Atlas Jaguar Collection version. It used to be very popular in dark green with a black roof, good choice for the model
Ixo - Jaguar XJ 5.3 Coupé
Next is -sort of- British, but no Jag.
Though I'm generally no huge fan of modern Bentleys appearance-wise, my only encounter with one -a 2006 Conti GT- gave me a lot of respect for the quality and dynamics of this car and I appreciate its looks. It's a proper granturismo that would be ideal for doing Amsterdam-Barcelona, with only (frequent) refueling stops and still arriving relaxed and rested. I wanted this to put next to its granddad the R-type, it's a very nicely-done dealer edition by Minichamps in a ridiculously large box
Minichamps DE - Bentley Continental GT
Obviously Ixo has hit the jackpot with their inspired issues of rally cars and support vans. They are actually reissues, the 131 started life as a Seat 131 in a Spanish rally car PW years ago and we've seen several versions of the Fiat 242 van and its Citroen C35 twin in different PWs. Both are slightly basic PW models yet pretty accurate and nice. I was too late to find the van to go with my OlioFiat 131 and my second choice, the Alitalia 131/van combo proved equally elusive. My third choice was this, the steed of ms. Mouton which continued her successes, and its support vehicle. Not bad for a third option in fact, with a strong livery in the colours of the French flag. Now I need to dig out my 1:43 car trailer
Ixo - Fiat 131 mirafiori Abarth rally & Fiat 242 support van
The 1993 X300 was the successor to the 1980s XJ40 and the first Jaguar developed under Ford's ownership. It returned to the traditional Jaguar feature of the bonnet following the lines of the headlights after the square and frankly featureless front end of the XJ40. The model depicts the X308 model with a 4.0 8-cylinder engine introduced in 1997. It was as close as I've come to Jaguar ownership as in 2009 or thereabouts I worked as a photographer at a large used-car dealership where a nice one was traded in for the low price of 1000 euros. It had a small dent in one of the sills and a slight clearcoat defect on a rear wing but was otherwise in great condition and at 235k km it drove like new. I loved its metallic blue paint and fantastic grey leather upholstery, and it came complete with service history and manual. Though my employer agreed to sell it to me at the same price, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to afford the running costs so I had to let it go. It was sold to someone in the neighbourhood who ran it for years. I still want that car and have looked at trade-ins at my next employer but all those were on their last legs instead of the well-maintained blue car. Another Ixo reissue of the Atlas PW, I hope these will be issued in more colours in the future because I've never seen a grey 1:1 and I really dislike the bright white interior. This will keep the place warm in my display until a better colour is released
Ixo - Jaguar X300 XJ8
My police subcollection happened by accident, because it turned out to be a great way to obtain models which were otherwise expensive or hard to find. Case in point: around EUR 4 bought me this very nice Alfa 90 which is otherwise available as a pricy Kess, or a Pego which is older and hard to find. Though I would prefer a civilian version, the Altaya PW will do fine until I find an affordable alternative
Altaya Police cars PW - Alfa 90 Carabinieri
This cool little coupé with its pop-up headlights became a cult icon from its role in the Japanese Initial D comic series. In the Netherlands, we just got the Corolla GT coupé (Levin in Japan) with a more run-of-the-mill front end. Though the Levin is a nice car and very rare these days, I prefer the Trueno. Only a handful have been imported here, I've seen no more than two over the years. Kyosho made a really nice model of the car
Kyosho - Toyota Trueno AE86 coupé
Citroen had been building UK-specific cars in a factory in Slough since 1925. Notable example was the Traction Avant that was modified to fit UK tastes. They did their own version of the 2CV and this Bijou, a GRP-bodied 2CV designed by Peter Kirwan-Taylor (who drew the Lotus Elise) to conform to conservative British tastes. Its slick shape meant that it had a higher top speed and lower fuel consumption than the steel-bodied 2CV but the higher weight of the GRP body affected acceleration because the 12 hp engine was left unchanged. Only 210 were built of which no more than a handful are left. In the 1970s I spotted one of these on a street somewhere in the UK. I cannot recall where it was, but it took me some time to find out what it was in the days before internet. A really nice model from the 2CV of the world PW marketed by The Diecast Club
The Diecast Club 2CVs of the world PW - Citroen Bijou
To give you an idea of 'performance': The Motor magazine tested a Bijou in 1961 and measured a top speed of 44.7 mph (71.9 km/h) with 0-40 mph (64 km/h) in 41.7 seconds. Fuel consumption of 59.5 miles per imperial gallon (4.75 l/100 km; 49.5 mpg-US) was recorded. Not a car for the terminally hasty.
BoS did their own version of the Bijou, but it suffers from BoS silver 'chrome'.
I like '80s cars, with their strong self-assured square shapes. The '90s were an all-out response to that with all rounded shapes and not an angle in sight. Many cars looked weak and bloated to my eyes and the clear identities had vanished. They looked like '80s cars that were put over a flame and then overinflated. This means that few '90s cars are in my favourites or in my collection. Notable exception is the coupé version of the Peugeot 406, which is easily their most beautiful car of the decade. Designed by Pininfarina, this is a stunning svelte shape that has stood the test of time. Their residual values are better than any contemporary Peugeot so there are more admirers. I missed out on the Minichamps release so I'm extremely happy with the rerelease, in my favourite colour even
Maxichamps - Peugeot 406 coupé
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 15:00:27 GMT -5
If for some reason I found myself unemployed again, I'd reshoot all these horribly bad pictures first... When I worked for the used car wholesalers', I had the good fortune to drive quite a few XFs. Very nice cars, but the XFR took it to another level. It managed to be a large yet chuckable car, comfortable and still sharp. I would love another drive in one of these. The excellent model was made by Ixo for Jaguar itself
Ixo DE - Jaguar XFR
Despite its XL moniker, these cars were not intended to be bloated monsters at all. Quite the opposite in fact, as the XL1- a project masterminded by the recently-deceased Ferdinand Piëch - was intended to be the first usable street car to attain 1 litre of fuel for 100 km. XL stood for Extra Light. It used a very small diesel engine and was anything but fast, but the exotic materials and technologies and the small numbers produced meant it cost as much as an upmarket Touareg. The XL Sport didn't concentrate on economy but on performance instead. The 1.2 litre v-twin of the Ducati 1199 provided 200 hp which propelled the 900 kg lightweight to 270 km/h. The model is a dealer edition made by Spark in the proper cool-looking matt metallic blue. Very nicely made too
Spark DE - Volkswagen XL sport
From roadgoing to rallying Volkswagen... I had the 2014 car which I think looked cool in its RB livery, but in 2015 that was improved on considerably with the blue fade. Luckily that went on sale too and after some waiting this was offered to me at about the same price as the '14 car only that was made by Spark and this is an Ixo. Not that the difference in quality is very noticeable, mind you. Quite happy with this
Ixo - Volkwagen Polo Monte Carlo rally 2015
UK members might recognise this as a late-model Chrysler/Hillman Avenger estate. Apart from a less than stellar, expensive prefacelift Brooklin, the late-model Avenger Estate was not modelled in 1:43 which makes it interesting. The model depicts the Argentinean version apparently in use by the local roadside assistance organization. I've considered taking the tampo off to return it to a UK Avenger, but I'm undecided because I actually really like it like this, a great discussion piece. An Argentinean PW model and pretty nicely done too. I believe this was created for this series alone because I've yet to find another version
Atlas PW - Dodge 1500 Rural
The previous one was an introduction for this. Overseas production, badge engineering and strange crossbreeding has been a fascination of mine for as long as I can remember. And it doesn't get much stranger than this, a Rootes-Volkswagen. In 1971 the Hillman Avenger was launched in Argentina as the Dodge 1500, with only the boomerang-shaped rear lights of the Avenger changed for more conventional units. The Dodge 1500 was a huge success and proved to be extremely reliable and got a long life. Long after British production ended in 1981 in fact, because Volkswagen Argentina took over after that and built the car until 1991 as the Volkswagen 1500. In 1982 the car got a facelift to make it look more like a Volkswagen. Thanks to an Argentinean cars PW we can now have a pretty good model of this interesting crossbreed. Yes Luc, it does have headlight pegs
Altaya PW - Volkswagen 1500
The model came from China for a price I couldn't have shipped within the country for.
I was really looking for the Spark pre-A but those have apparently sold out quickly. Luckily, Minichamps reissued the 356A that also sold out quickly (do I sense a theme here- good models of the 356 sell out quickly?) in the Maxichamps range. Less choice of colours here but luckily I like the ones they picked. Whenever I add a 356 to the collection I am reminded that my current collection was restarted in 1985 when I bought a Brumm 356 Speedster which I still have and consider charming and nice
Maxichamps - Porsche 356A
Jaguar still makes some great-looking cars today and I love the F, it's in between a sportscar and a GT depending on the version. It's a lot of fun to drive and with the top down it sounds phenomenal. From a 300 hp 2.0 four banger turbo to a 575 hp supercharged V8, there's more than enough choice in engines. I drove several of these for work and always enjoyed them. The model is a really nice dealer edition by Ixo, and I love the metallic orange
Ixo DE - Jaguar F-type V8S
The Ferrari 330 was based on the 275, but equipped with the 4.0 V12. Production started in 1963 and it was discontinued in 1968, with the introduction of the 365. I see one of these every year when I attend the finish of the Gijs van Lennep Legend classic car rally and I've come to appreciate its elegant lines and great proportions. The model is one of the Altaya PW versions but I looked out for the version with a display box because they are more detailed than the basic versions in the plastic bubble. For an older model it's pretty nice with good interior detail and very good wire wheels
Ixo/Altaya PW - Ferrari 330 GTS
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More from the Argentinean PW. A car that is hard to find in 1:43 unless you don't mind the Norev, which is essentially a slightly updated 1970s plastic model. The Renault 18 was introduced in the late 1970s and was quite popular at the time. Unfortunately, it liked to rust a lot. I recall cars 4-5 years old with impressive holes in the front wings and the doors. There's one that is freshly repainted that I've seen in the neighbourhood a couple of times, apart from that these can only be seen at youngtimer shows occasionally. I like this version which resembles the GTX or Turbo sold here, this was apparently what it looked like for the Argentinean market. It'll look great alongside its contemporary, the Fuego
Altaya PW - Renault 18 II
Thanks to Ian (Jager) I was in the possession of a model of the Evoque. However, it was a model of the four-door and therefore limited to black or white (I chose white). My favourite colours for this car are blue metallic or red metallic. I couldn't find the former so I went for the latter and got a two-door. The model was made by Ixo for Land-Rover and is very nicely made, only slightly improved on by the more expensive Century Dragon that can only be found in black
Ixo DE - Land-Rover Range Rover Evoque
Scaglietti built this 250 as an export-only version intended for the USA. The engine was a 237 hp 3.0 litre V12, fifty cars were built and today their resale values are in the millions. The 250 GT California is known for its role in the movie 'Ferris Bueller's day off'. I recently started looking for a couple of classic Ferraris to add to the collection. Another Altaya PW model, pretty decently made with a nice interior
Altaya PW - Ferrari 250 GT California
Recently, my pictures have lost all sharpness. I believe that this is at least partly due to the app that I use for scaling, will look into it and fix. You'll have to take my word that it's a nice model.
A what? Yes, another Argentinean special of a familiar car for UK members. This is better known as a BMC Farina, more specifically a Riley 4/68 or 4/72. I could slip this in with my UK contingent or put it together with its Agentinean brethren. Take the tampo off and give it a two-tone paintjob and it'll pass for a Riley. It's another of the models that were created specially for this PW and it shows, it's quite nice. These can be found for little money online, excellent VFM
Altaya PW - Siam di Tella 1500
In 1953, Alfa Romeo and Bertone collaborated on a prototype based on the Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint called the B.A.T. 5 (Bertone Aerodinamica Tecnica) that investigated the influences of heavily aerodynamicized bodywork on performance. The result was a car that reached 200 km/h using a 100 hp engine. Pretty impressive. In 1954 and '55, there were two more cars featuring a slightly different styling, called the B.A.T. 7 (even more extreme styling) and 9 (less extreme). I cannot recall what year it was but years ago all three BATs were brought together for a special exposition here in Holland as part of the Dutch RAI motorshow. It was a memorable event and I was incredibly impressed by the cars, though my then camera was unable to take decent pictures because the cars were displayed rather awkwardly and rather far from the viewers. It must've been in the 1990s as I didn't yet have a digital camera. Unfortunately, my pictures were lost in a move. The amazing model was made by Matrix
Matrix - Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 5
More from the Argentinean PW and a nice one for the 'Volkswagens around the world' subcollection. Known as the Fox in the USA and the Voyage in Brazil, the Argentinean version was called Gacel (Gazelle). In fact I already have the Voyage (though that's a two-door) and it's very similar to this, but I couldn't let this one pass. In fact I'm very happy with it and will keep expanding my collection of 'weird' Volkswagens
Altaya PW - Volkswagen Gacel
When I first saw this, I thought 'something is off'. The wheels look like 17" instead of 15" and the nose... it should be raked more and the bonnet should be higher. On top of that it was expensive, in the realm of TSM/Autocult. Then I was offered one 'you like old Audis, don't you?' for a low price (as in about the price of a new PremiumX) and I thought it would have to do until someone else does a better model, because nobody else makes a model of the 20V Avant (Neo does the saloon). Besides, I'm a softie for Audis in Lago metallic and the packaging is as nice as it gets. So I now have a model that should be displayed back to front in the collection
DNA Collectibles - Audi 200 Avant 20V
When I started replacing my Porsche 356es, the A-type was the first to be replaced because the A and pre-A are my favourites. At the same time, the Maxichamps series was expanded with the 356C in the ultimate Carrera 'road racer' spec. That was pretty welcome in my collection as well... a no-brainer, in fact. These are solid models with a correct basic shape and nice detail. I really like the green on this too, great colour for the 356
Maxichamps - Porsche 356 C Carrera 2
Yes, I have shown you an R5 GT turbo earlier. But I decided to upgrade when I was offered this Ixo with a better finish than my old model. After twelve years of the initial R5 it was time for a successor which, though outwardly bearing a -fully intended- resemblance to the old car, was actually all new. In 1985, the 5GT Turbo was introduced. Interestingly, the 1397 cc turbocharged engine was fitted with a carburettor instead of the more usual fuel injection. The 848 kg car needed only 115 hp to propel it to 100 km/h in 7.8 seconds (impressive in 1985) and a top speed of 201 km/h was unheard of in its class. A proper boy racer's car. Many owners here profited from the loophole where you could order one without the rear seat and register it as a van. Thus you did not only avoid a lot of the road tax, but also the 41% new car purchase tax. That made it an affordable racer. Unfortunately, the cars that survived the rust usually met with accidents due to the overenthusiastic nature of most drivers. They are now quite rare. Luckily, we still have the model and it's a nice one
Ixo - Renault 5 GT Turbo
Back to limited appeal now... with a pleasant little classic saloon car. In 1957, the Morris Oxford s.III was exported to India to become the huge success that was the Ambassador. The suspension was beefed up and raised to cope with bad roads. The Ambassador remained in production until 2014 (the Morris was phased out in '62), by which time it had been superseded by lots of more modern cars. The model is from one of the police cars PWs and quite well-made. I am half tempted to convert it to a Morris, though it looks good as-is. I've seen at least one of these here, might've been one of the cars imported through the UK by Fullbore Motors. It won't have been a recent model though, as those would never pass emissions checks here
Altaya PW - Hindustan Ambassador police car
After the iconic mk.II, Jaguar updated the shape with the release of the 240/340. Slimmer bumpers were the main distinguishing feature, but the cars were a little less opulent in their spec than the mk.II in order to widen the appeal and these cars were positioned below the mk.II which continued to sell well. The S-type was the real successor of the mk.II, introduced in 1963. It featured IRS like the larger mk.X, under an updated body with a larger boot and more rounded front end. Though the S still looks like the quintessential classic Jaguar its values, like those of the 240/340, are significantly below those of the mk.II. It's hard to improve on perfection... The model, like all the others in this excellent series (a reissue of the Atlas Jaguar Collection) is superb
Ixo - Jaguar S-type
I wonder why they painted the wheels green on this one and not on the mk.1... will probably repaint the interior as bright white is a bad choice.
Subaru was always an interesting make with 'different' cars. All wheel drive was for Land-Rovers and Jeeps in the 1970s, until Audi came with their quattro in 1981. Subarus were useful in the mountains -which Holland does not have- or as rough terrain farm runabouts, which is not exactly a requirement here either. As a consequence they were used by people who wanted to tow heavy trailers and caravans or those who wanted something different. Hence these were rare, and car-mad me looked at every single one. In fact, this changed only with the Impreza which put Subaru on the map. Now Subarus are driven by both caravaning enthousiasts and wannabe rally drivers (though the latter seem to be looking elsewhere after the Impreza went all hatchbacky). The model was made by DNA Collectibles of Switzerland and despite the fancy packaging, I'd say that this is at about Neo quality level and slightly overpriced at the initial price. Somehow someone realised that these would sell better at Ixo price level. They were right. I applaud DNA for their original choice of subjects and for about 30 euros I'd call this excellent VFM and a very nice model
DNA Collectibles - Subaru Leone 1600 Turbo
Yes, I still collect Audi models but the colours offered (white, silver, black and 50 shades of grey) make for a boring display. So I keep searching for the more interesting colour combinations and this was the only alternative for the usual humdrum shades. It's the current generation of the A4 introduced in 2015, a nice design if perhaps a bit bland and generic. Glad they got rid of the previous generation's ugly curved crease in the flanks anyway. The dealer edition model is by Spark
Spark DE - Audi A4 B9 saloon
Facel Vega started out as a steel pressing facility that made steel for several French car makers. In 1953 they started making cars themselves, using American-made engines and gearboxes. The HK500 was fitted with a 4,7-litre DeSoto Hemi. As an 11-year-old I got a magazine/book about famous classic cars with a picture of the HK500 and I just loved it. Such a fantastic shape, a wonderful interior... my first 1:1 sightings were at classic car shows and in reality the car lived up to the images in my head. When, a couple of years ago, someone in my town bought one and passed me on my way to work with that lovely V8 burble in the quiet morning I loved it even more. Alas, though there are a few 1:43 Facels it was hard to find a HK500. There was no room for the SunStar 1:18 and even after years of trawling the swapmeets I had not seen a 1:43, until the last swapmeet. And at Ixo price level it wasn't even expensive, so I didn't think twice. My holy grail at a great price, what a day!
Provence Moulage - Facel Vega HK500
To solidify my reputation I present you: from the sublime to the ridiculous. Looking through my thread it becomes obvious that I have a rather prominent weak spot for the old Morris Minor. I have a lot of Corgi models of all versions and whenever I come across an affordable model I add it to the collection. Thanks to all the police cars partwork series I can now add this charming 1960s Minor police panda car, for those low-speed pursuits. The Corgis are now showing their age but though a simple model, this is much better. I like it a lot
Altaya PW - Morris Minor police
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 15:20:16 GMT -5
I needed to upgrade some of the old Ford models in my collection, and the mk.1 Capri was long overdue for a replacement. I had a Minichamps in my crosshairs but due to a miscommunication it was replaced by this Ixo. Luckily this is a decent model, I especially love the matt black bonnet and those wheels. Perhaps it's not as good as the MC, but I like it
Ixo - Ford Capri 1700 GT
I've had a soft spot for Morgan three-wheelers for a long time, but somehow never got around to getting a model. There was the old Brumm but they portrayed the brass fittings by using gold and it seemed too gaudy. The fantastic Spark model was released when I was not collecting and is now almost impossible to find, so when this gent at the swapmeet held a clearance sale on all his stock I grabbed this Brumm anyway, at EUR 5 I thought I could improve it a little. This is what it looks like out of the box, it's a little basic but so is the 1:1. Seeing it up close I am not disappointed, though it might actually be closer to 1:40
Brumm - 1935 Morgan Super Sports three-wheeler
A pretty good base for a detailing job, I'd say. I will start collecting pictures of the real thing.
You can never have enough G-type 911s... the harmonica bumper models are my favourites and I have quite a few in my collection. Still, I could not resist these two. Shame about the boring colour but it was a great way to compare the two- the 930 (911 turbo) from the great Atlas 911 Collection and the Maxichamps reissue of the 911 SC. Apart from the obvious differences (picnic table, wider rear haunches, larger wheels) there is little between them. If I compare current online prices, the Atlas PW model costs 50% less than the MC. Is the MC worth the premium? You decide
Maxichamps - Porsche 911 SC/Atlas 911 Collection PW - Porsche 911 Turbo
Another 2CV? Yes. And an early one, which I had already. But I gave mine away as a present to a friend recently and wanted to replace it. When I got the replacement, I noticed that it was not the same one that I'd given away but a different model with a rolled-back soft top, a nice way to show off the 2CV's roof construction and hammock-style seats with plaid upholstery. A good upgrade. Another PW model from a series of classic French cars
Atlas PW - Citroen 2CV AZ
One of the iconic saloons made by Mercedes, the Strich-8 W114/115-series. Still fairly common here, albeit mostly as an import from dryer climes nowadays. However, besides a 4-door saloon and a coupé, the odd 6-door limousine and hearse we never got the exotic variants such as this pick-up. I'm no Mercedes fan and it's one of the makes with very little representation in my collection, but I just could not resist this. Tecin googled out as a fire prevention firm from Argentina and with the huge extinguisher in the back that shouted 'use me for a racing diorama someday'. A sub-EUR 10 price level sealed the deal, very happy with it
Altaya PW - Mercedes-Benz 220D pickup 'Tecin'
Another vintage model I'd taken off my wish list some time ago because it had been succeeded by modern attempts. However, when confronted with this ancient Best I succumbed to its charms immediately, though it's far below the level of detail of Spark's effort. A very low price didn't harm its case, nor that its modern counterparts are hard if not impossible to find. And I love the E-type, especially this one that did Le Mans in 1962 piloted by Briggs Cunningham and Roy Salvadori. The car averaged 108.87 MPH over 24 hours and finished fourth behind three Ferraris. Not a bad result and it looked fantastic doing it
Best - Jaguar E-type FHC Le Mans 1962
I showed you the Corolla AE86 Trueno with its iconic pop-up headlights recently. Well, Kyosho does the AE86 Levin with the more conventional front end too and I had to have that as well, especially when it came with these great-looking gunmetal 'Watanabe' wheels. It does not disappoint
Kyosho - Toyota Corolla Coupé AE86 Levin
After the very pretty original 'Duetto' Alfa Spider the shape was updated in 1969 to show the Kamm aerodynamics theory to the 'coda tronca' version. A little less achingly pretty but slightly manlier-looking, it retained the covered headlights and slim chrome bumpers of the older model. The third generation made a bit of a mess of things with urethane bumpers and a spoiler lip in an effort to update the Spider for the 1980s. Luckily, the fourth generation got rid of the black plastics and returned to the clean shapes. This extremely Italian street scene with pizza delivery guy colliding with a Spider was made by Vitesse. Chance find at the swapmeet, and bought for the model as much as for the diorama
Vitesse - Alfa Romeo Spider
The first DAF, the 600, was replaced by the Daffodil 30 in 1961. The 590 cc engine was enlarged to 746 cc which released the beast, as it went from 22 hp to a raging 30 hp. Combined with a tweak of the primary reduction of the Variomatic continuously-variable transmission, this reduced acceleration between 70-85 km/h from 30 to 10 seconds. From agonisingly slow to just annoyingly slow. The Daffodil 30 differed from the technically identical 750 by 1960s 'luxury': chrome. These cars were very successful in Holland in the 1960s, where a car was still a luxury that not everyone could afford. It's also where DAF went wrong, by showing lots of women drivers in their advertising. This characterised DAFs as un-masculine cars, and that's what led to the demise of the marque. I've never driven a DAF but would like to. I like underdogs and the continuously-variable transmission is interesting. My uncle, who used to be known for picking bad cars, drove an end-of-life Daffodil 30 for a while in the early 1970s. I've never asked him but I'm pretty sure its next owner recycled it into tin cans. The model was made by Norev in correct two-tone with Dutch registration and it's really good. In fact I'd say they caught the shape better than the expensive Matrix DAF 600
Norev - DAF Daffodil 30
Audi's first fully-electric production car is the e-tron quattro. Thanks to its new platform it's been built as an electric car instead of a hybrid or an ICE car that's been electrified, like the e-Golf. This gives it a decent range of up to 410 km depending on the version. The strong electric motors make it pretty quick too. After some initial problems (early models tended to self-combust) they now seem to be pretty reliable. A substantial tax advantage for leased cars sold in 2019 only makes all serious electric cars hot items. As a result they have been selling like hot cakes. Spark made a very nice model in the best colour, Antigua Blue, which unfortunately most people do not prefer over boring black
Spark DE - Audi e-tron quattro
The real colour, without flash:
I already had multiple S1 FHC E-types. One of them a Spark, even. So why get another Ixo-based casting, which I have in two colours already? Well, because it looks just so **** good. And it's BRG, which gets me weak at the knees. And look at it, do I need more reasons? Oh yes, it was incredibly cheap
Atlas Jaguar Collection PW - E-type FHC
The fourth generation of the Audi 100 got a very mild makeover in 1995 after the A4 was introduced, then the 100 became the first A6. The five-cylinder engines could not be made to meet the new emission standards so there were just fours and V6es from then, with a V8 for the S6 plus. Apart from the old Schabaks, there are no models of the first A6... until this nice model was made. It's a little basic, but the shape is correct. I had the Italian police version already and adding this Swedish version was a no-brainer
Altaya PW - Audi 100 Avant police
Development of the Citroen 2CV started in 1935 when project manager Jean-Pierre Boulanger briefed the team to design 'a four-wheeled umbrella'. They started the search for minimal motoring, making a car that would be able to transport two farmers and 50 kg of potatoes or one farmer and a vat of wine. It would also have to be able to carry a sheep, and to transport a basket of eggs across a ploughed field without breaking any. After a close study of French vehicle legislation it was found that nowhere did it stipulate that two headlights were mandatory so they went for one. This was offset on the first prototype (which resembled but predated the HY van in being constructed from corrugated metal) and centralized on the second proto. Only after a nighttime test drive resulted in a collision with someone who expected a motorcycle it was decided to go for two headlights for the definitive design. I'm actually not 100% sure if this has actually been built because I've never seen a picture of the real thing, just design sketches. I had the first prototype from Norev but had not seen this third prototype anywhere, though it was released in the 2CV PW. I came across this whilst browsing an indoor jumble sale with friends and it was cheap enough to tempt me. Nice to be able to add another model from the 2CV's history, now I just need the second proto and the initial development model of the pickup (pre-prototype, a functional rolling chassis but with a water-cooled engine).
Norev - Citroen 2CV proto #3
What, yet another racer? And I thought you collected everyday civilian cars? Yes, and no. Every now and then I pick up an interesting racer, preferably one that I have a connection with. I became more interested in the Maserati Birdcage when I saw one close up at this year's Concours d'Elegance here in Holland. The tubular structure that gave the car its nickname is really impressive to look at and this older Minichamps model displays it nicely. The wheels with real wires add to its appeal and a fire sale price ultimately made me pounce on this. I have no buyer's remorse here, in fact this might be one of my most detailed 1:43s and the shape is gorgeous. The car shown won the Nürburgring 1000 km in 1960 with messrs Dan Gurney and Stirling Moss at the helm
Minichamps - Maserati Tipo 61 'birdcage'
In line with my attempt to introduce more colour in my Audi display I was looking to add a nice colour for the current A4 but failed miserably. So I went for the ultimate A4, the RS4 Avant because that was available in the best colour, Nogaro blue. After a couple of generations with a V8, the current RS4 is back to a 2.7 V6, which yields 450 hp and a 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds. The dealer edition model was made by Spark and they did a great job
Spark DE - Audi RS4 Avant
Back to a 'nobody cares' model. Built initially by Piaggio (of Vespa fame) for Daihatsu as the Hijet with a 1-litre 3-cylinder engine this tiny van was intended for the Japanese market and the old European towns, where this and its ilk were immensely popular. I have no idea what the Italian police did with it (pick up very small criminals?) but it's still quite popular here and I see a couple every day. There is even an electric version. Another car that has never been modelled outside this PW and I am considering a conversion to civilian spec
Altaya PW - Piaggio Porter
Yet another Benz? And you don't even like them! Correct, but there are exceptions and the mighty G is definitely one of them. The Mercedes equivalent of the Land-Rover but introduced in the 1970s, so ergonomically less flawed than the L-R. It was also better as a road car, yet incredibly capable off-road and tough as nails. However, the G was favoured by the jet set in later days and gained lots of creature comforts. This LWB G500 is an example of that, miles away from the early SWB soft top cars. I still want an early SWB but this older Ixo lured me with a tow bar, which is nice as it can be used to 'pull' one of my trailers. While the Cararama model I used to have was nice, this replaces it well. It even has a photoetched grill
Ixo - Mercedes-Benz G500 LWB
The old Cararama
You can never have enough Volkswagen Transporters... I love the deluxe T1 Samba version with all the windows but equally love the basic vans. Though I highly doubt if any were made in two-tone like this (perhaps just for a specific advertising livery) it does look good. The model was made for a Volkswagen partwork, of which the excess is now being sold off at stupid prices. There is a mk.1 Scirocco, a nice split-window Beetle, a Karmann-Ghia, a mk.1 Golf GTI and this, a very early T1 ('barn door' with the large engine lid). I picked this up for EUR 5 and may get a few more to do classic liveries once I figure out how to do decals
Altaya PW - Volkswagen Transporter T1
When Minichamps recently rereleased their Alfa Romeo 75 and 164 I was lucky to grab the 75 as the reissue was snapped up as quickly as the original release. I had to choose which one to get, and it was a tough choice as I love both. The 164 was released in extremely dark blue and silver only, neither of which captured the imagination. Cliché or not, I really wanted a red one. When the 164 was introduced I loved it so much that I photographed the first examples I saw on the streets, which I hardly ever did with new cars. The 164 had a fantastic, clean Pininfarina design and that gorgeous-sounding Busso V6. The interior was equally impressive, with a wide centre console featuring a row of identical-looking switches. Not practical, but fantastic to look at. The 164 shared its centre section with the Fiat Croma, the Lancia Thema and the Saab 9000 but was easily the best looking design of the four. As for the 1:43, one of my trade contacts managed to find a remaining model in the best of the two colours. The silver looks a lot better in the hand than under the hard flash but it resembles unpainted zamac in the pictures, I wish the weather and my time off allowed me to take it outside
Maxichamps - Alfa Romeo 164
Not the car that went into US history as the second worst car after the Yugo, but an odd creation of French carrossier Heuliez, intended as a small stylish delivery van for shopkeepers who wanted to stand out from the crowd. It featured thick carpets, porthole-styled rear windows and a spare mounted on the bootlid. It was intended as a nod to US style, all in all around 450 were built. This is from an unknown PW and quite neatly done
Altaya PW - Renault 5 Heuliez Le Car Van
Uh oh, a US pickup truck... another subject I'd managed to avoid so far, with the reasoning that the only ones I'd seen here were recent imports from the US. However, I like the post-war pickups (with the early 1970s as a cutoff date). I'd never seen this model before so I didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be really nicely made, a very pleasant surprise! It's another model from the Argentinean PW by Salvat, and the level of detail is quite good. It has headlight pegs but they managed to disguise them well, they look like lightbulbs. My only doubt concerned the grill, as I recalled the '59 having a different shape of grill. Google told me that two shapes had been used however (perhaps for '60?) and this was one of them. A really nice model that belies it humble origins
Atlas/Salvat PW - Ford F100 1959
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Post by Tom on Apr 18, 2022 15:38:10 GMT -5
I was taking stock of my Audi collection recently and noticed that for some reason I'd never added a model of the A7. I set out to rectify that with my next trade deal and my trading partner, knowing my preference for colourful cars, got me the ultimate version- the RS7. While the basic A7 is quite an unusual sight here, the RS7 is incredibly rare. I've seen no more than 5 over the years. A pretty nice model made by Norev for Audi AG
Norev DE - Audi RS7 Sportback
There was one parked on my way between home and school in the early 1980s and it was interesting and rare enough then to look at often. When I started taking stock of the cars I wanted in 1:43 this was one of the early candidates. I was bummed when one of my trading partners turned out not to have the model in stock that he'd promised me. That was an Ixo in yellow, not the colour I wanted anyway so I was really happy to find this at the collector's fair, in a better colour and at a ridiculously low price
Starline - Fiat 124 coupé
I love Aston Martin cars, a make that stands out and maintains its style in the onslaught of modern supercars that look like... well, mostly crap, if you ask me. This is an Aston. Not one massive intake/spoiler/diffuser stealth fighter but a stylish sleek car that looks like nothing else and is instantly recognisable. I have steadily added models to my Aston collection over the years, but the DB11 was still missing. Another PW model being sold off cheaply and pretty nicely done too
Altaya PW - Aston Martin DB11
Though I'd call myself a Porsche fan, there are some cars that I like better than others. The 959 is one of my all-time favourites but the Carrera GT did not capture me in the same way, nor did its successor the 918 (perhaps it's a matter of too many wings, spoilers, diffusers and intakes?). However, I like it enough to add one to the collection and after years on the back burner of my wish list this was added rather unexpectedly and indeed on the cheap. I was looking out for the Spark model but as they do it sold out quickly and got rather expensive. The Minichamps was my second choice and seeing this I'm quite happy not to have spent Spark money on it. MC did a great job on the model with exceptional wheels, superb detail on the rear cover and a great interior. I would not call this settling for less, an extremely nice model
Minichamps DE - Porsche 918 Spyder
Jean Rédelé started Alpine in Dieppe in 1955, building a sports car that used Renault parts. It gained popularity when the popular A110 started winning rallies, and in 1970 Renault took a majority share in Alpine but left it to operate as a semi-independent maker in their Dieppe factory. The A110 was succeeded by the A310 which followed the proven recipe of tuned Renault engines in a tubular chassis with a GRP body. Later on, Renault completely usurped Alpine and in 1994 shelved it because it proved uneconomical to continue. A couple of years ago the make was unearthed for the new A110 retro sports car, still made in Dieppe. I've always loved the later A310 with its low roof and muscular appearance. I've shown one in the Car sightings thread a while ago, in the same red as the model. I wasn't even aware that Minichamps had released a model of the 310, it apparently sold out quickly. Luckily they picked this as another inspired choice for their range of Maxichamps reissues and gave me a choice of two colours- orange and red. Tough choice, but I picked red as I loved the car I saw in that colour so much. My only issue with this model is with the silver lines on the plexi covers for the headlights, they should be invisible in 1:43. Otherwise it's ace
Maxichamps - Renault Alpine A310
My interest in overseas production of cars from the main manufacturers has spawned a theme in my collection that is starting to reach serious proportions. Sometimes these come from foreign PW issues, sometimes they come straight from the source in China. This is one of the latter, it was sourced from a Chinese seller on aliexpress at a ridiculously low price with free shipping. Usually these come from excess production or QC fails (I bought one earlier that came with a broken-off mirror and missing rear wiper- I was reimbursed for that). Usually the packaging is damaged or missing. Not so here, this came in full dealer packaging and was in mint shape. It took three weeks to reach me from China and it cost EUR 7 with free shipping. Best-selling car in Brazil from 1987-2014 and in Argentina since 1988, the Gol (goal) falls between the European Polo and Golf in size. This is the second generation of the Gol, built between 1994 and 2013. I'm happy to have this as I have the earlier car too. This is finished to a much higher standard, and though there's no mention of a maker anywhere I'd say it's between Ixo and Minichamps quality. A pretty nice model and a great replacement for the one I had before
DE - Volkswagen Gol
Keko has shown us many of the fantastic Pegaso PW trucks already, and had me biting my tongue to prevent going on yet another tangent in my collection... especially now these amazing models are being remaindered here for incredibly low prices. I remain strong... well, sort of. This one fits my collection of oddities well and it can serve to add a little variety to the display. If you look closely at the cab of this Pegaso Ekus, it looks familiar: it's actually a licence-built Volkswagen LT (or MAN-VW G for the larger models). That clenched the deal, together with an unbelievably low asking price. The model is really nicely finished, far above PW level. It would've added to the appeal if the ramps on the flatbed would be detachable but it looks great if you load it with a car. As it happens, I have just added a number of older Seats to my collection- perfect as a load. I'd say there's a decent chance of this being reissued as a general release Ixo, but in Volkswagen LT guise. Oh, and it isn't a race transporter- the Spanish roadside assistance is called RACE
Salvat PW - Pegaso Ekus recovery truck
EDIT: found the perfect load, a 1992 Seat Toledo, dealer edition, unknown maker
When this DBR9 ran at Le Mans in 2006, I thought it was the coolest ever. A beautiful car in itself, in a classic and classy Aston colour and it was numbered 007 as a reference to the James Bond movies. 007 was driven by Pedro Lamy/Stephane Ortelli/Stephane Sarrazin. They did quite well in the race, managing a 6th overall and 2nd in GT1 while its sister car #009 finished 10th overall and 5th in GT1. A memorable result for Aston Martin Racing, which had more than its share of bad luck over the years. I wanted a model of this car ever since I watched the race on tv, but it took me no less than 13 years to get the model. I missed out on the Minichamps and Spark releases but when I got this Ixo I could not believe my eyes. It's a quality model with superb detail and finish, beautifully packaged and what's more, it only cost EUR 10! A shame that it took so long to get one, but I'm really happy with it. One of my best recent additions
Ixo DE - Aston Martin DBR9 Le Mans 2006
Another recurring theme in my collection is Facel Vega, and the cars seem to go well down here. I'm slowly accumulating 1:43s of every FV ever made, and I'm happy to announce yet another one, the 1956 FV2 cabriolet. I did have the Whitebox FV2 already, but in fact I prefer the cabriolet as it doesn't have the coupé's heavy-handed chrome roof trim. The model requires some work to make it look better than its PW origins but the wire wheels are good. I might try to tone down the overly glossy interior. Shame that it's black, though it quite suits the car
Atlas PW - Facel Vega FV2
Before Renault introduced the R5 in 1972, there was a rather large gap between the R4 and R12. They filled it by upgrading the 4 with some luxury features and a design that was more contemporary (the R4 was introduced in 1961) and a practical, square-shaped design that yielded lots of interior space but to me lacked real charm. The 1968 R6 was equipped with the engines of the 4 and 12 and sold well. It was facelifted in 1975 but in the end it was withdrawn in 1978 while the R4 continued and remained popular up until the 1990s. Apparently, rational thinking does not always go down well with car buyers... Nowadays, an R6 is a very rare sight. This nice model of an early R6 was made for the Salvat Argentinean Cars PW and it shows the peculiar tubular bumper overriders used on the Spanish-built FASA Renaults. Perhaps the cars for the Argentinean market were built in Spain
Salvat PW - Renault 6
I confess to being unable to resist models of some cars whenever I'm being offered any at a good price such as this EUR 5 PW. Luckily I've managed to take at least one step- it used to be 'any cheap model gets added to the collection'. Nowadays I prefer something charming and perhaps a little more expensive over just anything cheap. But I digress... The mk.1 Volkswagen Golf is a great example, I have not only the German version but also several overseas examples and several GTIs. So when I saw this GTI I thought 'I have the Norev version in red already' to dissuade myself from adding another. However, the Norev is the early, 1976, model with slim steel bumpers. In 1979 for the '80 model year, these were replaced by the thicker and longer plastic bumpers. In 1981 for the '82 model year, the Golf received yet another update with larger rear lights. I became interested when I noticed that not only was this a plastic bumper version (though incorrectly labelled as a 1978) but it has the small rear lights making it the transition 1980 'mk.1.25' model year car, of which few models have been made. I fully appreciate that this is too much geekiness for most people here. It's also incidentally a quality model for a PW, with correct plaid seat inserts and alu spokes on the original 'spittoon' steering wheel. Do I love mk.1s? Errr, well... TL;DR nerdy stuff- it was incredibly cheap, well-made and I did not have this exact version yet. Cool
Altaya Volkswagen Collection PW - Volkswagen Golf GTI 1981
The Fiat 128 was introduced in 1969 and was a very modern concept: front wheel drive, very roomy interior and excellent handling. The concept gained it a 'Car of the year' victory in 1970. It was facelifted in 1976, and discontinued in '78 when the Ritmo succeeded it. By then, over 3 million cars had been built in Italy, Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Egypt. Besides the saloon, there was a small estate (128 Panorama), a very nice coupé (128 3P) and even a proper sports car as the X1/9 shared lots of the mechanical components. In Yugoslavia they developed a hatchback (the Zastava 101) and the South Africans made a 'bakkie' pick up version. The cars shown here are from the Argentinean PW (which has yielded lots of interesting cars for my collection) and depict an early TV version (called 128 Rally in Europe) and a late version. I also have the 3P and the Zastava in my collection, and of course the X1/9. Decent models for breakdown prices. I've since managed to straighten out the lefthand rear light on the orange car but the number plate does not budge. I will likely have to break it off gently and reattach
Salvat Argentinean PW - Fiat 128 TV and Fiat 128 Europa
Zastava 101 _MG_6449b by Tom Sfotoos, on Flickr
128 3P
The Ford fans will probably pick this apart easily but for now it will do as my only Transit. Once these were on every street corner here but they led a hard life which means that most were scrapped in the early 1980s. The only ones that you see nowadays are camper conversions, or reimports of the facelifted 1978 version. It looks as if the nose is too long in the pictures but the model is fine in the hand. It does seem a little underscale though. Another model from some police cars PW- it's difficult to find out where it was released and for which PW. A more than decent model for its price
DeAgostini PW - Ford Transit Police accident unit
Like Volkswagen with the Beetle, Citroen once built quite the model range around a single platform. The 2CV-based cars (among others the 2CV van, the Méhari, the Dyane and the Ami) are called the 'A-type' Citroens. They share the separate chassis and the aircooled flat twin engine. The Ami actually predated and was positioned higher than the Dyane. The first generation had the remarkable reverse-rake rear window, this second generation, introduced in 1968, had a more conventional shape. The DS-like roof was abandoned for a conventional part too, in an effort to rationalise production. However, it still had the dash mounted 'umbrella' gear lever and the trade mark single-spoke steering wheel. The model shows the Break (estate) version and was issued in the Argentinean cars PW by Salvat
Salvat PW - Citroen Ami 8 Break
I've shown the Maxichamps Porsche 356A and 356C here, so it doesn't take a genius to guess what's next. I really wanted the entire evolution in coupé form - Gmünd, pre-A, A, B and C to show the gradual development of the shape. Unfortunately someone was willing to pay too much for my A when I needed cash so that's gone until I find another, but here's the B. It's the usual MC quality casting and finish with a little less interior detail, which doesn't concern me that much on a closed car. As the originals are now harder to find and pricey, I'm very happy to add this one
Maxichamps - Porsche 356B coupé
For my holiday in Curaçao years ago, I was advised to rent a small offroader to cope with the bad roads and to facilitate off-road excursions. The Suzuki Samurai was the ideal tool for the job. Ultra light, with a tiny 1.3 engine but a proper separate chassis and low-range gearbox. On-road, like most proper offroaders, it turned out to be horrible. However, when you directed it into the bush it showed its true colours and it managed to climb hills you wouldn't attempt on foot with ease. It was a unique experience to just drive off-road and go anywhere you like. I wanted the Neo version of this but when I restarted collecting it had sold out. This closed car from some police cars PW was the closest that I got and I like it. It's as basic as the 1:1 and pretty nicely made. I have no idea which police force used these
DeAgostini PW - Suzuki Samurai 4x4
I've always liked the original Fiat Ritmo. A very gutsy design lacking a conventional grill and looking incredibly modern for 1978. Unfortunately, Fiat deemed it necessary to tone down the design for the facelifted version when it became just another hatchback. To widen the appeal even more, the Regata saloon version was introduced. Frankly, it looked like the basic three-box shape of a car with few design frills but it sold well around the world. In Latin America it was known as the Regatta, as the Argentinean PW version shows. The Regata will always be on my mind as the car a good friend was killed in when he was hit by a drunk driver. He was always so proud of his Regata, the first car he ever bought new
Salvat Argentinean PW - Fiat Regatta
And yet another model from the Argentinean PW that has contributed nicely to my collection. A tiny one, a nice representative of the post-WWII austerity era when people were just moving up from bicycles and motorbikes to minimalistic cars. This spawned a lot of interesting creations like the Messerschmitt and Isetta, some with three wheels to be taxed as a motorbike and to be driven with a bike licence. This was a step up to 'real' cars, but still basic and tiny. It featured a 583 cc aircooled twin mounted in the rear that yielded a neck-snapping 30 hp (hence the Prinz 30). The first Prinz (German for Prince, the slogan was 'Drive a Prinz and you're a king') was the first post-war car made by NSU and started production in 1958. My collection contains a number of microcars and this fits in nicely. I love the weird 'is it coming or going' styling
Salvat Argentinean PW - NSU Prinz 30
The Opel Kadett was the best-selling car in Holland for decades, earning it the nickname 'Average Joe's car'. There were at least a couple on every street and if you didn't want to stand out, a Kadett was a great choice. That didn't happen because it was a bad car- Kadetts had a reputation for reliability and common-sense engineering. The fifth and final generation of the Kadett before Opel renamed it Astra to bring it in line with the Vauxhall version (the first Opel Astra was basically a development of the last Kadett) was a nice car with some design features that had their conservative clientele reeling at first. Especially the front bumper with integrated grill was a departure for Opel, made to achieve a great drag coefficient. The revised version reverted to a more conventional grill, BTW. The Kadett E was Opel's world car, selling elsewhere as a Pontiac Le Mans or a Daewoo Racer. Neither of these was built with as much care as the European cars from Bochum, Antwerp or Luton which reflected on their reliability, or lack thereof.
For the fifth generation Opel shocked us with a much less Average Joe version of the Kadett. The new GSI featured a 115 hp 1.8 litre injection engine (Average Joe made do with a 55 hp 1.2 or 60 hp 1.3) which, together with some aerodynamic upgrades, gave it an then-incredible top speed of 205 km/h. The GSI had NACA ducts in the bonnet, a rear spoiler, matt black rear panel, Recaro seats and a digital dash which were all really hip in 1985. Later GSIs got a 16-valve 2.0 engine with up to 150 hp, making it a proper everyman's sports car. The Bertone-built Kadett cabriolet was also released in GSI trim, and became fairly popular.
I bought the Gama dealer models of the Kadett when they came out, because I was a fan of the car. For some reason the Kadett GSI hatch was a diecast model and the Cabriolet was made in plastic, without the hatch's opening features. This improved its looks no end. Later I added PW models of the early hatch and the 'Caravan' estate, but I really wanted the Minichamps versions of the late E. These came as part of a job lot and unfortunately they are painted in dark colours- black metallic and dark green metallic. The hatch represents the limited Edition Kadett 'Dream'. They are quality models and I'm happy to have them in the collection. The old Gama models are now on their way out
Minichamps - Opel Kadett E 'Dream'/ Opel Kadett GSI cabriolet
A while ago I sold my new camera, tripod, photo booth and lighting rig to someone who started a web shop, along with a tutorial on making packshots and editing them. It sold for about twice what I had in it. Unfortunately this means that I'm back to my old, worn camera and whatever sunlight I can get in my living room (aided by the built-in flash). Quality has taken a nosedive as a result, but I'm working on improving the setup.
Another obscure Fiat for Europeans, though Luc might find it familiar. We had the very successful 127 here, which sold in huge numbers. The 147 was the Brazilian version which was also assembled in Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela. The 147 featured larger-displacement engines with lower compression that would run well on Brazilian lower-grade 73 RON fuel (and reportedly ran much smoother than their Italian counterparts). When the European 127 was due for a facelift, some of the design of the 147 was adopted. The 147 was the first car made to run on ethanol, which improved performance but increased consumption- no biggie when ethanol cost just 25% of petrol. There was also a small saloon ('Oggi') and an estate ('Panorama') based on the 147. A pretty nice model for the Argentinean PW, now I would like some better models of the 127 to accompany it
Salvat Argentinean PW - Fiat 147
The mirror is awaiting me buying new glue, the old one had dried out completely.
Seat has been a neglected branch of the VAG group in my collection, and a recent sale of older dealer models enabled me to do some catching up. After starting out in 1953 as a licence builder of Fiat cars with lots of locally-designed models, they were were quite succesful. After a disagreement with Fiat they became a self-sufficient car maker in 1984 until they were taken over by Volkswagen in 1986. The Seat Marbella, an evolution of the Fiat Panda, was the last Fiat-related model. Seat is positioned as the sporting marque of VAG and the cars were always on firmer suspension and used less sound deadening material to get a more sporty engine note in the interior. Because these are likely unknown and of less interest to most S143 members, I will lump them together in two posts
The Ibiza was for a long time Seat's smallest model. After Volkswagen acquired Seat, the new Ibiza was built on the platform of the Polo. Volkswagen used Seat to develop saloon and estate versions of the Ibiza, which could -in modified form- be sold as Polos. The saloon version of the Ibiza was called the Cordoba and it was a pleasant-looking small saloon with a practical large boot. The model was made by Herpa for Seat
Herpa DE - Seat Cordoba
The Golf-based Seat hatch was called the Leon. Its first generation was based on the Golf IV and probably best known for its presence in rally sport. As saloon versions were always more popular in Spain than hatchbacks, there was also a saloon called the Toledo. A rather unremarkable but very pleasant and practical car that had its loyal fanbase. It all went wrong when the next generation of the Toledo became some sort of people carrier with a rather odd rear end. Seat was as good as Volkswagen when it came to shopping around for model makers, this was made by Minichamps
Minichamps DE - Seat Toledo II
For years, Seat lacked any presence in the market segment above the Golf, if you discount the Alhambra people carrier. That changed with the introduction of the Exeo, which was basically a modified version of the previous generation Audi A4 (2001-'08). There was a saloon and an estate, both of which were practical and attractive-looking cars and the plan was to get a share of the lucrative company car market by offering Audi class for Seat money. The plan failed miserably though, at least here in Holland. My theory is that this was caused by the 'birthday effect'- a bunch of bored guys sitting together at a birthday party forcedly making small talk when the subject comes to cars. When 'what do you drive?' will be met with 'ah, recycled old Audi', I suspect that most people will go for an alternative. The Exeo was introduced in 2009 and after a slight retouch in '12 it was quietly phased out in '13. I think the Exeo deserved better and should've been restyled more extensively to set it apart from the Audi, as the concept of platform sharing in itself has never harmed Seat. The model was made for Seat by Fischer
Fischer DE - Seat Exeo ST
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Post by Tom on Apr 19, 2022 12:46:11 GMT -5
The latest Toledo, though once more an attractive car, is not a great seller here. People obviously prefer a hatch in that segment, with the Leon selling very well indeed. The model is well-made and the exact same colour as the only Toledo in my neighbourhood
Fischer - Seat Toledo mk.3
I've shown a few Mii models before. The Mii is Seat's version of the triplets, Volkswagen Up! and Skoda Citigo are its siblings. Because I'm a fan of these cars I decided to add yet another colour to my collection
Fischer - Seat Mii
The Ibiza ST is the estate version of the popular Ibiza hatch. A great choice for families with young children. The same platform was used for the Skoda Fabia Combi, Volkswagen decided against adding a third version in the form of a Polo Estate. There are no maker's markings on the model, internet seems to be thinking it's a Fischer or an Ixo
Fischer/Ixo - Seat Ibiza ST
Now it's back to what you expect from me, with a model that blew me away when I first unpacked it. I have respect for Ebbro's quality, but this one's better than my Spark Midget! Today's platform sharing is nothing new. Back in the 1960s BMC decided that their Austin-Healey Sprite should be updated to a more conventional design (lose the frogeyes, add a boot lid) and that there should be an MG version so that the car could be sold through both dealership networks to their respective loyal customers. Enter the MG Midget. Both cars were subsequently developed alongside, the engine being upgraded from a 948 cc to a 1098 cc and finally a 1275 cc Mini Cooper unit. Ironically, the Sprite got the boot in 1971 while the Midget lived on until 1975 in 1500 cc guise with polyurethane bumpers. As said, Ebbro went all out to make this model. Superb chrome trim, all correct, hollow exhaust pipe, contrasting piping on the seats, the lift the dot fasteners on the tonneau picked out in silver, photo etched wire wheels and rear badges, correct stance... one of my best models of 2020, if not the best
Ebbro - MG Midget mk.1
I thought I had enough models of the first generation of the 911, thanks to the 911 PW and Schuco. However, when I saw one of these in a sales thread here I thought it was really cool. It was also rare and expensive so I concluded that I would make do with what I had. Until I was at the diecast swapmeet and found someone selling one of these models for only EUR 10! It proved irresistible for that price and so it came home. This is not a new model, it's a 1990s or perhaps even 1980s issue. Jouef Evolution had a small range of 1:43 diecasts with opening features and impressively tight shutlines from which I bought the Ferrari GTO Evoluzione, still an impressive model. Now there's this 911 and it looks great. The doors open and they feature hidden, realistic hinges and PE door frames. I guess this will be displayed with the doors open to add some variety, I might even display it on a rotating stand
Jouef Evolution - Porsche 911 2.4L
The oversized Porsche crest on the steering wheel will be replaced when I find a decal. Looks like someone made that on an inkjet printer
At my first job as a car photographer I had a colleague who was a Fiat fan and who actually had an immaculate Uno Turbo i.e. as a hobby car. It turned out that he inherited a Fiat dealership but ran it into the ground with his poor people skills and general bad manners. That was easy to believe, his personality and work ethic were appalling and he was not easy to work with. He was the only one who could keep his hobby car at work and even work on it, for some reason. The Uno Turbo was an interesting experiment from Fiat in the turbo age, they managed to keep the styling restrained with only striping, a modest roof spoiler and alloy wheels differentiating it from the cooking Uno 45. The Turbo i.e. managed to extract 118 hp out of an eight-valve 1.4 which propelled this light car (879 kg) rather quickly to its 200 km/h top speed (0-100 in 8.4 s). Those were impressive numbers in the mid 1980s. Ixo did a very nice 1:43, almost as nice as the Kess that costs three times as much
Ixo - Fiat Uno Turbo i.e.
I realise that this thread is turning red lately. Rest assured that it's merely coincidence.
Yet another police van that nobody cares about... but this has a personal connection. In 1998, I was asked by a friend to drive a van to Barcelona to bring the materials for a trade show for his company. He designed automated voice-response systems and his largest job had been the info line for the Dutch railways. His booth contained a full set of train seats with a table and lots of other train-related set dressing materials. I collected a rental Iveco Daily van and set out to load the stuff required for the show, then drove to Barcelona. I soon found out that I had what was probably the only non-turbo Daily van in the country, agonisingly slow and incredibly thirsty. It would reach 120 km/h after 20 minutes of flooring it and you could see the fuel gauge go down. After Belgium it was nothing more than Autoroute du Soleil through France, with frequent stops for toll and refueling. I managed to reach Orange on the first day, over 1200 km which was utterly exhausting in that slow and noisy van, radio cassette going at max volume in an attempt to be heard over the rest of the din. It was also the age before satnav so I had studied the maps and relied on my topographic knowledge to avoid getting stranded on the Paris Périphérique. The remaining 300 km to Barcelona were easily done the next morning. After unloading I left the van in the convention centre car park and explored the city on foot or by underground. The convention took a week, so after a great all expenses paid week I loaded up the van and returned everything (after a thorough search by Customs on the Belgian border). I wanted a model of this generation of the Daily and as usual, a police PW came to the rescue. Another Carabinieri van, this one's the diving team support vehicle
Atlas PW - Iveco Turbo Daily Carabinieri Subacquei
It's been a couple of years since the current generation of the Mazda MX-5 was released and it was a hit here straightaway. The concept of the car is spot on and it results in lots of sales for what is essentially not a practical car, even in a country like this where people usually prefer a sporting hatchback over a two-seater. Having driven a few I can tell that its reputation is well-deserved, it really is a lot of fun. I like the looks too, it has a pretty aggressive-looking front end. I have been comparing models for a while and the First:43 issue came out as the best one with regards to detail. First:43 models are not universally good, they're a mixed bag of PCT castings- some good, some a little crude and basic. This model was also the only one to feature the fantastic metallic red intro colour and the titanium coloured wheels that I wanted. Very happy with it
First:43 - Mazda MX-5
For some reason, the facelifted version of the Citroen CX never made it to mass-produced 1:43 diecast. Less appealing than the earlier 'chrome' cars? I've always liked them but the Neo version appeared to be sold out. Luckily, I was able to do a great trade deal for a maroon version (much nicer IMO than the grey alternative) and I'm very happy with the result. This is a well-made model and it has a Dutch registration as a bonus
Neo - Citroen CX Turbo II
In the mid 1980s Alpine fitted its A310 V6 with a wide-body kit and larger front and rear spoilers as a homologation 'Pack GT' car for racing. It came with 15" Gotti alloys designed for the car and looked the part as a racer for the road. I had been looking for this model to display alongside the MC A310 ever since the Maxichamps reissue was announced and it had to be in pearl white, the colour that makes it stand out, nothing subtle about it. The model was made for an Alpine-themed PW by Universal Hobbies and it's excellent
UH PW - Renault Alpine A310 S Pack GT
A couple of years ago, Minichamps issued a series of air-cooled Volkswagens from the 1960s, when Volkswagen decided that it would be unwise to stake everything on the Beetle. The 1500/1600 notchback, fastback and Variant were the result of their development. Still based on the old rear-mounted aircooled flat four, but with more modern bodies and actually a lot more pleasant to drive. I wanted to add the MC models to my collection but couldn't find any at normal price levels. Luckily, PCT has this excellent 1600 notchback in their portfolio and it was recently released as a Whitebox. It's the later car with the thicker square bumpers (I would love an early 1500 to replace my 1980s Vitesse) but it's a very nice model and correct in every way
Whitebox - Volkswagen 1600
The windows are clear, but the flash does weird things...
When I showed the recently released Ixo Jaguar X300, I was alerted by Jeff to the existence of a similar car in the 007 Car Collection PW. Because it was at least 10 years since the series was issued here, I couldn't recall that car and made a mental note to check my 007 storage box and found this. It explains why I didn't recall the model- it's not an X300 but its successor the X350. While still an attractive car, it lacks the graceful lines of its predecessor and the 007 model looks a little on the stubby side too. Still, not too bad even if the diorama falls into the 'why bother' category. Sorry for the pics, it's black
007 Car Collection PW - Jaguar XJ8
There seems to be a move away from 1:43 happening in diecastland. However, luckily there are some new manufacturers that come up from time to time with a fresh range of models that everyone else neglected so far. We had Neo and Matrix here in Holland, both of which brought us cars we thought wouldn't ever be modelled. At the swapmeet there was this booth that stood out from the rest because not every square inch was covered in merchandise but instead had one single example of every colour of all their available models. Also, they had a proper cash register and accepted credit and debit cards, and both gentlemen were dressed in branded sweaters. This turned out to be the booth of QSPmodels, a recently-established Dutch model maker with fresh ideas. Like Golden Oldies (their previous brand, from which they continued the DAF 33 models) they did some classic Japanese cars- in this case the Toyota Corolla of the mid-1970s in two-door saloon, coupé and estate form. I went for the two-door and coupé in colours I knew from the real cars. The models are resin, made in China and of impressive quality with flawless gleaming paint. Priced below Maxichamps level they are very hard to resist. Very happy to add two more once-common small Japanese cars to the collection. Now I need an ochre Estate
QSP Models - Toyota Corolla KE30 saloon and coupé
I am not much of a fan of Peugeot design from 2000-on. To me they lost their way with lots of weak, bloated shapes, exaggerated headlights and rear lights that grew larger with every generation, threatening to meet in the middle of the car. This was luckily put right with the new 508 introduced last year. But I digress- before it all went wrong Peugeot brought out a nice successor to the 205, the car that saved them. The new 206 quickly became incredibly popular and sold in huge numbers. There were much less attractive steel-roof convertible and estate versions later, but to me it always looked best in three-door form with the black rubbing strips for contrast. Silver was the best-selling colour, about 70% of all 206es are silver here and apart from the bright metallic blue it's my favourite colour for the car. The 206, despite being a great seller, is not really reliable as it gets on in years - with electrical and electronic issues as its main fault. I used to have a Cararama version of the 206 but its shape was more than a little off. This Ixo model for the Salvat Argentinean PW made me forget (at least for now) about looking for a scarce Norev, which is better but hard to find these days
Salvat Argentinean PW - Peugeot 206
I had been looking at the recent Maxichamps releases of the Escort mk.3 but the colour choices didn't appeal to me. I have the Vitesse XR3i already, so why not choose the basic Vitesse hatch too? This one's from a recent limited-edition rerelease, nicely made in a good colour
Vitesse - Ford Escort mk.3
In 1997, Volkswagen decided to flex its muscle by designing an OTT concept. This was before the acquisition of Bugatti and Lamborghini and they were clearly looking for a way to showcase their new W12 engine. Giugaro was commissioned to design a supercar around the 6.0 W12 engine and a Syncro AWD drivetrain. The result was a 1200 kg car with no less than 600 hp which got it to 100 km/h in 3.5 s (still impressive in 2020, never mind 23 years ago) and a blistering top speed of 347 km/h (probably limited by tyre technology). Volkswagen used the car after a slight redesign for two attempts on the Nardo race track, attempting to cover the largest distance in 24 hours. In February '01 it attained 7749.4 kilometres with an average speed of 322.9 km/h and in October it managed an additional 663 km and top speed increased by 27.7 km/h. The design of the W12 is not Giugiaro's greatest effort IMO- it looks heavy and awkward. However, it is an impressive way to showcase your new technology. The model was made by Spark and they did a great job
Spark - Volkswagen W12 syncro
Minichamps made some models of the early SWB Mercedes G years ago but they sold out quickly and there has not been a Maxichamps reissue yet. I really like the early G so I decided that this Ixo would have to be in my collection. They did quite a good job on it, and the colour fits the car. This will sit alongside my model of the late LWB closed car and, should I find one at a good price, one of the six-wheeled excesses to show the journey from military tool to rich man's toy
Ixo - Mercedes-Benz G 240
There have been several 2CV-themed partworks, most of them concentrated on the history of the car. Ixo/The Diecast Company found a different take on the theme by offering models of local 2CV versions from around the globe. A great idea because all 'history' models have been offered elsewhere and are easier to find, while all new castings had to be made for this PW. I've shown a few of them in the past and have added two more to the collection, which leaves only a few
The Citroneta was built in both Chile and Argentina with a body that suited the local market. No canvas roof and an external conventional boot to facilitate farmers bringing fruit, produce, hens and even pigs to the market- which apparently was done inside the car in France. Judging by the substantial, free-standing bumpers with overiders, local traffic was not gentle on the material. Production of the 'French miracle' started in 1953 and continued until 1979 when they were unable to compete with Japanese and Korean cars
Citroen 2CV Citroneta
After the war, the Vietnamese economy needed rebuilding and cheap transport was needed badly. Citroen had a presence in Vietnam since 1936. From 1970 they made a local version of the 'Baby Brousse', a Jeep-like 2CV designed and built locally in Côte d'Ivoire in Africa, to suit their needs. In 1973, Citroen shipped a couple of these to France to analyse them and came up with an efficient design that could be constructed locally without the need for heavy machinery or skilled labour, which brought costs down. The Dalat was the predecessor, built between 1970 and 1975. As you can see from the model, design aesthetics were not included in the process. This car was built to be tough, cheap and practical. I've no idea why they call it a pickup as it's a closed car with a rear seat and little in the way of cargo space
Citroen 2CV Dalat pick-up
Collecting is hardly ever a continuous stream of fantastic models. It's a series of ups and downs. Ups when some long-announced model finally hits the shelves. When that terribly expensive fantastic model goes on sale just before stocks run out. When a car you never expected to find a model of suddenly gets released, it's affordable and good. Downs when the long-awaited model's proportions are off, detailing falls short or the QC fails and the model falls apart in your hands. When the manufacturer cancels the model you've been waiting for... we've all been there and it's part of the deal. Hopefully the ups outnumber the downs or it's time to find another hobby.
This one's a clear 'up'. I did not find any pictures of this online when it was offered as part of a job lot and decided to take a chance. The subject is great and it was cheap enough. When I unpacked it I knew I had a winner on my hands.
It's part of the same Volkswagen PW that the two-tone green Transporter T1 and the Golf came from, but it's apparently not over-produced by as much as said models so it's not sold for EUR 5. It's a brand new casting and it's fantastic. Look at the tent cloth under the raised roof, it looks perfectly realistic (colour and sheen are spot on and the 'window' is superb- my bad flash pictures don't do it justice). The seats have nice plaid upholstery even in the back where they're almost impossible to see. The tiny Westfalia logo over the cab is reproduced, though you need a magnifier to see it. All the tiny details are there and correct, look at the roof hinge mechanism. The headlights have no locating pins, but something resembling a bulb. The colour is perfect, if you bought one of these in 1978 it would be orange or this green. In short, if you like these it would be the one to go for. It even came in a nice display case. Another great reminder of the long way partwork models have come since the first clumsy and cheap attempts. One of the models that really need better pictures to show off their quality. Oh, I was able to straighten the right hand front indicator lens easily
Volkswagen PW - Volkswagen T2b Westfalia
Speaking of ups and downs, the next model falls squarely in the latter category. I was trying to get a nice lineup of Aston models and needed a DB10 in the collection. Aforementioned job lot had a DB10 from the 007 collection and I decided on the base of a few pictures that this would be a good candidate but knowing that the 007 PW has its share of hits and misses, I was cautious.
I know that Aston had basically been recycling the same design for 15 years or so, but it happens to be a design that I love. The new design is very clean and sleek but a tad more anonymous, with the trad front grill being less of an identifying feature. Still they're thankfully far away from the inlets/spoilers/diffusers school of design that ruins many modern super cars. I prefer the DB11's looks by a fair margin, this all looks a little anonymous.
The model itself is no great effort, and my pictures seem to amplify its shortcomings. The paintwork is a little better IRL than it looks, the flash seems to highlight the metallic flakes and makes it look like something that you dug up at the beach. In short, this isn't a great model or a great car to me. Luckily it was cheap. It might leave the collection in the future- either because I found a better model or because I decide that it's not attractive enough
007 Collection PW - Aston Martin DB10
A fellow model collector/hobby trader friend and I were discussing classic cars recently. When we met again, he brought me these three models. They might not be in my preferred scale but they're amazing nonetheless. Part of a Spanish 1:24 PW by Salvat, these are superbly made and thanks to the omission of any opening parts there are no unsightly gaps or open windows. They are now in a small display that shows all the 1:24s I was unable to say goodbye to, because they're so nice
My parents' second car ever was a 1968 Citroen Dyane 6 Commerciale in exactly this colour. It was bought in 1969 as a dealer demo and kept until 1974 when it was replaced by a Renault 5. Ours also had the peculiar rear overiders on the bumper protecting the lights. It was even used to tow a light caravan, which might've reduced its performance to excruciating. The model is spot on. Not entirely by design I now have this car in 1:43, 1:24 and 1:18
Salvat PW - Citroen Dyane 6
As said, the Dyane was followed by a Renault 5 in 1974. That ended its life in a pileup on the motorway in early '75 when it was sandwiched between a van and a truck. My father thanked his lucky stars for buying the Renault because it was their first car with crumple zones and a passenger safety cell. I shudder to think what would've happened had he still been driving the Dyane. Ours was bright orange and a very basic version without wheel trims and with the 'umbrella handle' gearbox. Another fantastic model of the R5. Renault/Fasa Spain later made a Renault 7, a three-box saloon version of the R5
Salvat PW - Renault 5
(Yes, the front left tyre has been straightened on the wheel now)
Final of the three models was a car we discussed at length because we both came to like it in retrospect. When the Ibiza was first introduced, it was the first car that Seat built without any Fiat base. The Ronda was a Ritmo with some styling tweaks, the Marbella was a Panda. This was a nice design by Italdesign and the 1.5 litre engine featured some engineering input by Porsche which prompted Seat to call it 'Motor system Porsche'. I like the clean shape, the short overhangs and the narrow roof pillars. To me, the first version (like the model) will always be the best with its simple lines- after the two facelifts it became more modern but also less attractive. The first Ibiza was followed by a Volkswagen Polo-based second generation in 1993. For some reason this model really appeals to me
Salvat PW - Seat Ibiza GLX
The current Jaguar XJ broke with tradition completely and showed no traditional Jaguar styling cues. A bold move that seems to have paid off, as sales were pretty decent. Even though I love the traditional XJ6 shape, I admire the current car for its modern looks, and it's a nice car to drive too. This was still missing in my collection. It's not actually black but a very dark metallic burgundy that needs lots of light to be appreciated. Perhaps I need to take this outside as soon as the rain and storm have gone and there's some sunlight
Ixo DE - Jaguar XJ6
The Honda City was -as the name implies- a small city car intended for crowded Japanese cities. As small cars traditionally sell well here it was decided to export it to Europe, but Opel owned the rights to the name 'City' so it was renamed Jazz. Sold here between 1982 and 1986, it was not as popular as its cheaper competitors but it sold reasonably well, particularly because when you folded the rear seat down it had a very useful flat and square loading area. It was even sold as a small van here because of that. In Japan, a tiny fold-up motorbike was sold as an accessory to get you from your parking spot to the office. The City/Jazz was a strong little car and even now it's 35 years old you can see them from time to time. Its cute looks have made it into a bit of a cult car which means that remaining examples will be conserved. Ebbro made a very cool model of this tiny car, it looks a bit lost in the standard-size display box
Ebbro - Honda City
I'm still home with the sniffles (feels silly to stay at home for a simple cold though I understand that the current situation requires some radical measures). However much I like reading and listening to music, having nothing to do but that gets boring eventually. The rain has stopped, it's sunny sometimes but overcast most of the day and it's not as windy as it used to be... so I took out some of the models that had the worst photographs to do some daylight shots. Even though it's relatively quiet outside, it's still hard to find a place where you're left alone in this crowded part of the country. The pictures are not as good as I hoped they would be, but a lot less crappy than they used to be... I guess I need proper sunlight for this location to work
No way to disguise that this is just a bad casting
Hey look, it isn't black!
Inspired by the dioramas I've seen here, I've been trying to assemble one for myself, keeping the costs down. So when the discount store put their Christmas village items on sale last year I found a few lamp posts, a snowman and reindeer and a Christmas tree. I also found a ceramic Christmas village house at the thrift store that could vaguely pass for 1:43. RT had obviously seen my attempts and decided to add what was an essential element of any Dutch town: bicycles. They are everywhere here, despite having the world's largest covered bicycle parking garage (16,500 bikes) and lots of other free and secure covered parking garages for your bike in the inner city, the amount of bikes still found everywhere is staggering. They are chained to every fence, traffic sign and lamp post. Despite several council trucks going around with people equipped with angle grinders to cut loose ilegally-parked bikes, more are added every hour. It's almost impossible to take a picture anywhere in the city and not have a few bikes in your shot. Inspired by this, RT sent me these two tiny 1:43 gems: a blue gents' bike and a red ladies' bike. They're made of white metal, very nicely painted (must've been quite a job...) and incredibly fragile. I took the wreath off one of the Christmas village lamp posts and put the bikes next to it, as they are everywhere here. One thing's not realistic in this scene: without hefty chains securing the bikes to the lamp post they'd be gone in an instant in the real world. Thanks for these great little gifts RT, I love them!
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Post by Tom on Apr 19, 2022 13:12:30 GMT -5
From the same excellent Volkswagen PW that brought me the very nice Golf mk.1 GTI and T1 Transporter came this really attractive Golf Cabriolet, just as I was deciding which model of this car to get (Minichamps or Norev). An attractive price made the choice even easier and the colour is nicer than the alternatives. The interior lacks a little detail compared to the MC and Norev but the rest easily makes up for it
Volkswagen PW - Volkswagen Golf mk.1 Cabriolet
I'm a fan of the Alfa Giulia of the 1960s and '70s, a great looking sports saloon. Few people know that there was an estate version made by builder Giorgetti, even fewer people know that a van was made too. Thanks to the Carabinieri PW there's this nice model of the van, I've seen models by Progetto K before but it might've been 30 years ago (and an ancient Polistil that is really a toy). So when I wanted a model of this car, I had only one choice and it was the Carabinieri PW again... it has apparently been modelled on a real car and judging from what I found online, they did a pretty nice job too
Altaya PW - Alfa Romeo Giulia Furgonata
The antenna has now been adjusted properly
Took another batch of models outside for better pics. My previous spot was occupied so I found a lightly vandalised picnic table in the park, ignored all passers-by and did my thing. These are not ideal but a lot better than previous efforts. At 8°C, it was not exactly perfect weather for outside photography but at least it was dry and there was little wind
I have the mirror but it needs glueing
This was a very kind gift from a friend. We were discussing police cars from around the world when talking about my recent PW additions and I told him that I once did a road trip from Boise ID to Colorado Springs CO, during which I was taught to recognise the headlights of a Ford Crown Vic in the mirror, because that meant State Trooper was coming and I needed to slow down. I had a close encounter with a policeman in a Crown Vic when I was pulled over in Ely NV, apparently for no other reason than having an out-of-state registration on my rental. The Crown Vic has been phased out now, the last cars were built in 2011. It was a very strong car and one of the last to have a separate chassis, which made accident repairs easier. I'm quite happy to have this in my collection, a pretty nice model for a PW. The bumper sticker is a grim reminder that police work is tough
Altaya PW - Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser
Just realised that this is my third police car in a row... no, I actually collect all kinds of vehicles. This is my last one for now, then it's back to anything but police cars. Promise.
The Hillman Imp was intended as a competitor for the Mini. It was the Rootes Group's first rear-engined car and it was revolutionary in having an alloy engine block and cylinder head. Rootes built a special assembly plant for the Imp in Linwood, Scotland but as the local workers were not skilled for the task, quality suffered for the early cars. It was a good concept with lots of interior space despite modest outside dimensions and great visibility. Besides the two-door saloon, there was also an estate and a coupé. The Imp was built between 1963 and 1976. The model is from the British police cars PW and judging by the jewelled headlights, the casting might have Corgi/Vanguards origins
Atlas British police cars PW - Hillman Imp
Models of older Japanese cars aren't common, so when I was offered a Norev model of the 1980 Celica liftback I didn't hesitate. I couldn't find any decent pictures so I took my chance and waited. Unfortunately, the model turned out to be a little disappointing- the shape is a little off and the grill is too blingy (it's actually a JDM version and as such it's correct). What a shame. Keeping an eye out for the 1985 model now
Norev - Toyota Celica 1980
This is one of the cars that I missed out on when I was away from collecting diecast for a few years. To be honest it's also my least favourite version of the Alfa Spider, which IMO does not need the '80s black trim and spoilers - though we probably thought that it did at the time. Very happy to have this now as it might be one of MC's best models ever. The Maxichamps reissue is not an open-topped version as I prefer but the quality of the soft top, as Marcel noted earlier, is so exceptional that I like it like this. Now I'm going to look into getting the semirecently-released Spider 4 model to complete my lineup that starts with the Duetto
Maxichamps - Alfa Romeo Spider 3
The Lada Samara, called Sputnik in Russia, was quite the departure for Lada in 1985. A modern-looking hatchback with front wheel drive, with clean design. It did not stand out for its refined styling or build quality and its ride height was clearly intended to deal with Russian back roads more than with our smooth asphalt. However, its low price and rugged construction earned it enough fans to sell quite a few of them. In 1996, the German importer gave Finnish car builder Valmet the order to build the Samara with a facelifted exterior and upgraded interior, known as the Samara Baltic. The quality was greatly improved but the car lost its price advantage so after less than two years, production ended. The model depicts the early Russian Samara and though a cheap PW it's actually quite good. It replaces my 1980s Russian model with (ill-fitting) opening features and working suspension. The model will get a little attention before I put it in my display- more black paint around the glass, a tweak for the wipers, a toothpaste cleanse for the windows and the rear mudflaps need installing as they were both misaligned
DeAgostini PW - Lada Samara
My love for cars was initially design-driven, shapes and proportions captured me from an early age (the interest in technology came later in life as I started working on cars). So after acquiring one of the spectacular Alfa 1900-based BAT cars, this spectacular design was on my list as well. The Disco Volante (no John Travolta involved here, it translates as 'flying saucer') was another Alfa 1900-based racer built by Carrozzeria Touring in 1952. Only six have been built in both coupé and roadster form and they look utterly amazing- even more so when compared with the original Alfa 1900 and its contemporaries. The great-looking model is an M4 PW issue enhanced by David by fitting superb photo etched wire wheels that make it look like a million dollars (which the 1:1 would bring in at auction nowadays, should one be sold). Thanks again for your generosity David, it's found its perfect definitive place on my 'red shelves'
M4 PW - Alfa Romeo Disco Volante
And David didn't stop there... he sent a box of surprises! I've said it before and it won't be the last time, the Aston Martin Vantage of 2005 is perhaps the best-looking car of the decade (and design professionals agree, it was voted Best current production car design by the -mostly professional designer- readers of Car Design News in 2006). The compact proportions with short overhangs are just right, the shape concentrates on the long nose and the design screams Aston Martin. I've had the pleasure of driving these on several occasions (if you ever get the chance and have a choice, go for the manual gearbox as the auto 'box is awful) and driving one makes you feel special. I know it has its shortcomings- it's from the period in which both Aston and Volvo were owned by Ford and the Vantage has a cheap and nasty Ford Ka ignition key with a Volvo remote locking key fob and a Volvo satnav system, even with the Volvo font used on every screen. To start the car, you have to turn said Ka key ánd push the engine start button which is a little kit car-like. But look at the sleek nose, those beautifully filled wheelarches, the perfect stance, the sublime headlights, rear lights and mirrors... this is a car that I would want as a 1:1 in my living room to look at every day. This stunningly beautiful Minichamps model was in David's surprise box, it takes pride of place in my Aston collection
Minichamps - Aston Martin V8 Vantage
And David didn't leave it at two... The third very kind gift from David is this amazing model of the Belgian King Leopold III's special-bodied 1949 Austin A125 Sheerline parade car. It must've been a tough order for Belgian coachbuilders Vesters & Neirinck to make such a huge car look elegant but they did a great job with the flowing lines enhanced by the two-tone paintwork. The real car now resides in The Netherlands and Norev did a great job on the model. This has been in my online crosshairs but I'd yet to see the model IRL, and now I love it. Superb gift from David, thanks a lot!
Norev - Austin A125 Sheerline limousine parade car
Austin A125 Sheerline 4-drs Cabriolet - 1949 by Perico001, on Flickr
If you were young and a car nut in the 1980s, like me, you'll probably have had that famous poster of a Lamborghini Countach on your bedroom wall. That was the ultimate version with the flared arches and the rear wing. I used to love that car for its extravagant style but as I got older the purity of the original narrow design grabbed me. I'm now at the point where I cannot choose between the two so after getting the Ixo LP5000S quattrovalvole a while ago, I now present you the early Countach LP400 by Maxichamps. Marcello Gandini's 1971 concept was made production-ready in 1974 with a smaller, 4-litre V12 engine to improve reliability. When F1 team manager Walter Wolf managed to make the 5-litre engine reliable and added wider wheels and a rear wing, so did Lamborghini. Actually, I have no idea why I like this car so much and why I dislike current Lambo designs. Perhaps it's because Gandini just made the ultimate sports car, without taking cues from stealth fighters? Minichamps did an amazing job on this and the Maxichamps reissue is no less spectacular
Maxichamps - Lamborghini Countach LP400
In the late 1960s there seemed to be a consent about the ultimate shape of the gran turismo coupé. The Mustang fastback, Fiat Dino Coupé and the Audi 100 Coupé S are all products of the same school of thought with edgy shapes, a long bonnet, sloping, squared-off 'Kamm' rear end and a reverse slope to the front. It was still the age of chrome but these cars were modestly decorated with their slim bumpers and narrow window trim. Buyers of Aston Martins must've been shocked when the voluptuous curvy DB6 was replaced by the really square-cut modern DBS in 1967. Its design echoed the feeling of the period though and the shape was proper Aston- long nose and beautiful proportions. The DBS was built until 1972 and its successor used the same basic shape but with a more aggressive nose. I would've loved this in a lighter metallic hue which enhances the styling, but in fact I'm very happy to have it at all. Another case where the Maxichamps reissue is a very good thing for those who've missed out on the original version
Maxichamps - Aston Martin DBS
The wipers look clumsy in close-up but the naked eye does not detect this.
For my daily diecast news, I follow wholesalers like Speidel and The Diecast Company. They have all the news and make me add to my wishlist regularly. This was first introduced a few weeks ago and went straight to my wishlist. Luckily it's a new casting and they have not used the inaccurate old Altaya PW version as a base. I also have the Maxichamps reissues of the Golf mk.2 GTI and while their castings are crisper, this has them beat on finish. It's also significantly cheaper than a Maxichamps and look at those windscreen wipers, better than anything else I've seen in 1:43. The wheels are not quite as good as Minichamps'. My parents have run no less than three white mk.2s over the years and while not GTIs, this had to be in my collection. Now, diecast makers, could we have a basic mk.2 Golf C please? There is a minor point of criticism from a Volkswagen geek though- although labelled as a 1984 (the first model year of the GTI) this is actually a facelifted version for 1988 with the front quarterlights deleted, repositioned mirrors and updated badging. If I can nitpick: it still has the pre-1988 grill and the old-style rear lights (after the facelift, the GTI got red/smoked rear lights). I'd highly recommend this if you want a good model of the mk.2 though
Ixo - Volkswagen Golf mk.2 GTI
When the first generation of the Opel Omega appeared in 1986, it shocked traditional Opel buyers. It still featured RWD but the smooth rounded shape was rather an affront to people who had generally been buying square, conservative Rekords for decades. It was voted Car of the Year for 1987 though and gradually won over the buyers. In 1993 the second generation of the Omega was introduced, which was built until 2003. The Omega's sales were plummeting and Opel decided not to replace it directly, offering only a long-wheelbase Vectra (the ill-fated Signum) as a replacement. I really like the smooth design of the Omega but for some reason never added a model to the collection. Luckily there's this nice NOS Schuco model to the rescue. I like that it's a base version with the plastic wheel trims, something that's rarely seen as manufacturers tend to make only models of higher spec versions
Schuco - Opel Omega B Caravan
I now notice that I need to reset the glass...
I've noted before that the late 1960s were a turning point in the design of coupés. Part of this -or perhaps even the initiator, hard to pinpoint as dates overlap and cars were in development before that- was the Ford Mustang Fastback. Its shape showed few curves but a long nose, sloping back and 'Kamm' tail rear end which it shared with -among others- the Aston Martin DBS, the Fiat Dino coupé, the Audi 100 Coupé S and Ford OSI 20M TS. Apart from the OSI I have models of all these cars so perhaps a group photoshoot is in order. Anyway, the early Mustang is one of the cars that is somewhat lacking in my collection and one of the cars I've decided to concentrate on. After the PremiumX fastback I wanted to add at least one example of the first major facelift, and this 1969 Boss 302 is a good representation of that. To my inexpert eyes Highway 61 did a great job on this, and I really like the colour. Now I need a Mach 1, an early convertible...
Highway 61 - Ford Mustang Boss 302
The Tesla Model 3 became the best-selling car in the last 3 months of the year here, when production finally got started. The reason for that was a huge tax incentive for leased EVs registered in '19. As a result, 30,000 were sold here (10% of total production volume) and because the dealerships couldn't cope with such a volume they set up a pick-up operation on the Amsterdam docks where you retrieved your car from a huge car park. My brother was one of the new drivers of a Model 3, his old lease contract ran out in December. The Model 3 offers incredible performance, in twin motor (AWD) guise it beat an M3 in just about every track test- only drifting was harder and less successful. So far my brother is happy with his new car, with the range being the only disappointment (it suffers a lot when you need the lights, AC and heater).
Teslas are not really common in scale. I have a Roadster and a Model S in 1:43 but for the Model 3 there was only one option, the model that Elon Musk gave to those who reserved a place in line early (it was introduced in 2016 but production took until '19 to get up to full speed). I was happy to find that there was at least a model but ebay pictures were not exactly clear, so I took a chance. Luckily RT was willing to assist me in dealing with a vendor who didn't ship to Europe and thanks to his help the model arrived here a while ago. Thank you RT, for helping me out!
It turned out that Elon was a bit of a cheapass, as the model he'd given away was made by Burago. Oh well... the packaging is nice and it has a premium display case but the model is basically a toy. No mould marks luckily, but also no chrome trim. I will replace the ugly Burago wheels when I find something appropriate and work on the side glass trim, to at least make it look like a Model 3 in the display. I guess I won't display it alongside the superb Schuco ProR Model S
Burago - Tesla Model 3
A friend of mine used to run a US import W123 Mercedes 300TD (no, the T is not for turbo- it had a 80 hp 3.0 diesel to propel 1600 kg of Stuttgart steel. As you can imagine, it did so very slowly). However, if you were in no hurry then the 123 was a great drive with its smooth self-levelling suspension and lots of torque. The auto 'box fit the engine perfectly, keeping the noise down low for the time when diesels were still noisy, rattly things. From working on the car and stripping another for spares I got lots of respect for Mercedes' engineers, the cars were 30+ years old and showed very little wear and tear. The engineering solutions were top notch, a level that M-B never attained again (though the newer W124 managed to improve on rust inhibition). I had the Minichamps model of the 123 saloon in my collection ever since it was introduced but the estate was still lacking. As usual, Maxichamps reissued this in a very period colour. I wish they'd taken the time to fix my main complaint about this model- the 2D headlights. Still good to have in the collection though
Maxichamps - Mercedes W123 T
The 240-series was the mainstay of the Volvo range for years, but by 1982 Volvo thought it would be a good idea to have a larger model. Thus the 760 was introduced. It was considered a retrograde move by the public because it looked even more square, upright and oldfashioned than the 240, which itself was basically a modernised 140-series from the 1960s. However, the car won people over with its quality and passive safety features. In 1985, the 6-cylinder 760 was joined by the 4-cylinder 740. In true Volvo fashion, there were very spacious estate versions too. The 7-series was rounded off (pun not intended) by the Bertone-designed 780 coupé, a much more balanced design than the 262C which predated it. The 7-series was discontinued in 1992 but the sheer number of cars still in everyday service looking like new speaks volumes for their quality. Owners tend to hold on to them for a long time too. The excellent model is from the Atlas Volvo Collection, which is once more being remaindered. A nice opportunity to pick up what you didn't get first time around a couple of years ago
Atlas Volvo Collection - Volvo 740
I've always liked the looks of the Rover 75, a very well-designed car that has aged nicely. When Rover went bust in 2005 the Dutch importer auctioned off their stock. They were based not far from where I live and for the next couple of years there were lots of Rovers and MGs running around in the neighbourhood. There's still a nice MG ZT-T (the performance version of the 75 was the MG ZT, the estate was the ZT-T) a street from where I live. Vanguards made the 1:43 model years ago, but they're not easy to find here anymore. So when I was offered the MG ZT version cheaply I didn't have to think for long. Quite happy with this, and it's fueled a search for a basic 75 in metallic green
Vanguards - MG ZT
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Post by Tom on Apr 19, 2022 13:53:08 GMT -5
I got the PV444 model when it went on sale, and I liked it a lot. However, you see its successor the PV544 quite often here and I really wanted a model of that too. I'd driven a 544 years ago and it struck me as a car that belied its age and appearance by being quite modern in its driving experience. The only point that needed improvement was the braking performance, otherwise it was a car I'd happily drive every day. It felt quite at ease in modern traffic, the gearchange and clutch were modern and the steering felt good. A testament to the design of a car that was basically a modernised version of the PV444 introduced in 1947! The 544 came onto the market in 1958 and production was halted in 1965, by which time the Amazon had already been introduced. The Amazon was deemed too expensive so the 544 was allowed to run alongside for a couple of years. The 444 and 544 were both assembled locally in The Netherlands. I love the subtle deep burgundy paintwork of this model, one of my favourites in the Volvo Collection PW
Atlas Volvo Collection PW - Volvo PV544
'You like the 544, do you want a rally version too?' Well... yes. The success of the 544 as a road car was very much a result of its reputation as a strong, reliable rally car. This one was apparently driven in the 1962 Rally Monte Carlo by the all-ladies' team of Ewy Rosqvist and Ursula Wirth, both of which later teamed up as Mercedes works drivers. Unfortunately I cannot find any info as to the result, and sources contradict each other. Perhaps one of the rally buffs here can help? At least this is a nice historic rally car from the times when removing the wheel trims and adding aux lights and numbers made a road car into a rally car
Atlas Monte Carlo Collection - 1962 Volvo PV544
The A2 used to be Audi's smallest model but left a gap after its demise. The lesson learnt by Audi was not to make such a niche model for this key market anymore, so when the A1 was introduced it was just a rebodied Volkswagen Polo with more creature comforts and the usual Audi fit and finish. It had very rounded shapes and the roof arches were optionally painted in a contrasting colour, which made the car stand out. The 3-door A1 got a 5-door sibling named A1 Sportback in 2012. The second generation of the A1 was introduced in 2018 and looked a lot less rounded and cute, it could pass for a Skoda or Hyundai. The 3-door had gone, leaving only a 5-door A1 Sportback. The nice model was made by Paragon and frankly I added it to the collection because it was insanely cheap (as in 7 euros). Other, more interesting colours seem to have sold out already leaving this fashionable but somewhat anonymous white with a black roof. For a car that does not excite me that much, it'll do
Paragon DE - Audi A1 Sportback
The PV544 got a very practical estate/van version called the P445 Duett (are you following this nomenclature? Neither am I) that became the first iconic Volvo estate. By the 1970s when the 140-series had long replaced the PV, these were still running around in their thousands. In fact there are two Duetts in my town- one used every day as an advertising vehicle and one that apparently completed a long-distance run (it has maps on the sides with the route). That is also used daily apparently. These are cherished vehicles and daily transport by choice, mind you. I like the Duett and love the two-tone paintwork of this model. It's a car without pretenses, yet it's sort of chic
Atlas Volvo Collection PW - Volvo P445 Duett
I was offered the regular Duett or this charming 'Volvo Service' version and couldn't make up my mind. So both came home- luckily the sale price meant that this was a budget-friendly option. Judge for yourself which one you like best
Atlas Volvo Collection PW - Volvo P445 Duett 'Volvo Service'
There used to be a Trabant 601 saloon by Vitesse in my collection commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall. It came in special packaging to highlight the event and I bought mine at the swapmeet, just after the Wall came down. For years, that was my only Trabant model until I got an early model from a PW and until recently, when I was offered this nice Minichamps 601 Universal for small change. It's an older model (from the times when MC shifted 4000+ examples of one single model) but very nicely done, though there isn't a lot of detailing to be done on a Trabant. There are two Universals running around my neighbourhood and they're kind of fun, like statement pieces. The weird green colour was classic 1980s DDR, works well on it though the model is too glossy- the real cars were made from Duroplast, a plastic-like mixture that was invented by Trabant. They never got the surface really smooth and the paint finish was semi-gloss at best. Picture a blue cloud of two-stroke smoke behind it
Minichamps - Trabant 601 Universal
Back to new cars for now. The A5 is one of Audi's nicest-looking cars. I had the Cabriolet for the first generation but I like the new model too and it did not take me long to add this to the list and for some reason these are now all discounted heavily. Love the colour (dark green metallic) in combination with the brown interior. Spark made the model for Audi and did a great job
Spark - Audi A5 Cabriolet
Excuse my terrible photographs, will reshoot with better lighting
It's been shown here by Dcast and I'm happy to add this to my collection too. The Golf mk.8 was introduced here last month and as usual, it's not a huge transformation from the outgoing model but rather a gradual evolution. This keeps values of older generations high and avoids alienating loyal customers, which some makers have done in the past. If you put all eight generations of the Golf together there's a clear family resemblance from one generation to the next but not much apart from the logo to link the mk.1 and mk.8. I've looked over the new car in the dealership showroom when I picked up the models and it's very nice inside and out
Norev DE - Volkswagen Golf mk.8
This model was part of a shipment I'd ordered from the volkswagen.nl web shop. They had the best price anyway (EUR 10 below the German retailers) but when a friend gave me a coupon for 50% off my purchases, I scaled up my intended order. You can have your order either delivered at home or pick it up at your local dealership, which I preferred. I'd promised not to spend any of my paycheck on diecast but luckily I had earned a little extra from a design job I'd finished last month. That more than paid for these models, all of which were high on my wish list
A while ago I sold my Minichamps Opel Kadett SR. Not something that I wanted to do because my first car was a Kadett D SR, but at least I had more Kadett D models and someone offered an insane amount of money for it. Again, it's Maxichamps to the rescue! So, for less money than I'd paid for my old Minichamps and for less than a third of what I got from the sale of my old one, this has a better colour too... win-win I'd say
Maxichamps - Opel Kadett SR
Sometimes model cars are not representations of what you want, what you like or what you have, but just conversation pieces. There can be lots of conversations on the smart city coupé, smart fortwo and the cabrio (all lower case) because you either like it or you hate it. It seemed like a great idea at the time: a tiny city car that seats only two (the majority of cars has just one occupant anyway), that had plastic exterior panels you could easily change for a different colour and that could be parked nose-in to the kerb, occupying as much space as one-third of a regular car when parallel parked. The reality was less fortunate. The plastic panels were incredibly expensive, the government forbade parking nose-in in between parallel parked cars. There was a tiny luggage space over the rear-mounted engine, but it would cook all your frozen foods before you got home. The car turned out not to like cornering and loved to roll over, so it had to be modified for extreme understeer at the very last moment. Also, the semi-auto 'box was horribly slow changing gear, the engines didn't last 50,000 km before they needed a rebuild (dealers just replaced the engines instead) and were rough and noisy from new, the car was horrible in crosswinds and on the Motorways... it's amazing that anyone bought one at all. They were however a reasonable success (people apparently did not care about the faults, they loved the concept and chic style), but sales started to drop off after a few years. Mercedes pulled out of the joint venture with watch maker Swatch and the ambitious glass towers built to serve as showrooms were all abandoned. There were more models, a facelift and an EV but smart is currently not a big money maker. I drove a couple of these and the nice Minichamps model serves as a conversation piece in my collection that will fit in a tiny corner of the display
Minichamps - smart cabrio
After WW1 ended in 1918, the role of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany's last emperor, was played out. His pre-war antics had cost him his credibility already and his position as a head of state had eroded. So Germany was reformed into the Weimar Republic and Wilhelm had to find refuge somewhere. That somewhere turned out to be Doorn, a small village in central Holland (which was neutral in WW1), where he lived out his days until 1941 when he died doing what he loved best- cutting down trees on his estate. From what I've read he seems to have been quite an unpleasant man and he was 'rewarded' by the Dutch government with a 10 mile curfew zone around his home, if he wanted to travel elsewhere he had to ask permission. So why this history lesson? From 1973 until 1986 I lived in Doorn, within walking distance from Huis Doorn where Wilhelm had been exiled. It was the only place of any interest in Doorn so naturally we were taught its history in school. The former Kaiser drove a huge Mercedes-Benz, which was semi-recently released in 1:43 as part of the Mercedes-Benz Car Collection PW. I had been looking for this model on and off but it was low on my list of priorities and only recently I came across one that was cheap enough to be added to the collection (in which it rather stands out). A nice model though, I will add the appropriate provincial registration plates to the car later
Mercedes-Benz Car Collection PW - Mercedes-Benz 'Grand' 770K
The Amazon or Volvo 120 was Volvo's success of the 1960s and early '70s. These sturdy cars could take any kind of punishment, were easy to fix and nice to drive. They went from daily driver straight to daily driver classic, there are still so many of them around here that you tend to forget that it's quite something for a car to live for that long. There's an excellent parts backup, so running one every day is no problem. After the Duett based on the PV544, Volvo got a very loyal fanbase of people who wanted a roomy practical estate and obliged with the 220 series. Interestingly, the tailgate folds up and down in two pieces which makes it easy to transport long items. Still a very desirable car here are much rarer than the saloon. From the Atlas Volvo Collection, and a very nicely done model indeed
Atlas Volvo Collection PW - Volvo Amazon 220
As noted, the Seat Ibiza was born as the first proper non-Fiat Seat. After Seat was absorbed by Volkswagen the Ibiza became their mainstream small hatch on the platform of the Polo, but with sportier looks and sharper suspension. I took advantage of Seat's sale of older dealer version models, which gave me the opportunity to add lots of very good models for single-figure prices to complete the lineup. The fourth generation of this car in its 2012 facelift version is shown here, I couldn't resist this 5-door version in a nice bright colour. The level of detail is excellent with very nicely made alloy wheels and detailed brakes with calipers. And look, a properly-sized aerial! The model was made by Fischer which may or may not be part of Ixo
Fischer DE - Seat Ibiza 5-door
Over the years I've watched many car custom and resto shows on tv. Most are US-based and logically have a US-centric choice of subjects. Most, if not all of them, featured an early Camaro at some time. No matter if it was for restoration or customising, this is an iconic muscle car that every builder wants to tackle. 1969 was actually the third model year and it featured an all-new shape that was used for that year only. After roughly 20 years of tv you cannot help but be impressed by the car, and it went on my shortlist of cars I wanted in my diecast collection. This model was made by Greenlight which is rapidly becoming my favourite VFM manufacturer for US cars. Apparently it's a special edition made for parts vendor Summit Racing, who have sponsored many of these tv shows. The amount of detail and the finish on what is basically an EUR 22 model is amazing (look at the grill). Minichamps, take note!
Greenlight - 1969 Chevrolet Camaro
After the Amazon, Volvo continued their tradition of basic, practical estates with a model based on the new 140-series. Apparently people still recalled the high roof on the old Duett and there was a demand for a van-like version of the 140. So the regular 145 estate was soon accompanied by the 145 Express, a cross between a van and an estate with a raised roof. Though there was a windowless version, most were bought with full glass in the rear panels and a rear seat, so that they could be used as family cars at the weekends. These were very popular as sales reps' cars and for small businesses. There's still one parked a couple of streets away from my place and there's even a Dutch Volvo Express owners' club. PremiumX used to do a black one but it was too hearse-like for my tastes. I really wanted a bright blue or an ochre version, but as it turned out this signwritten car from the Volvo Collection was just the ticket as it portrayed the car's use perfectly
Atlas Volvo Collection PW - Volvo 145 Express
It used to be very simple when you wanted a car. You selected the size you wanted, based on your needs and budget. All makers had a lineup of cars that usually went head-to-head with their main competitors: Golf vs Kadett vs Escort, Passat vs Ascona vs Taunus. Then came the MPV and several makers thought that it would be handy to have an MPV-like car in more segments than the initial Renault Espace/Pontiac Trans Sport class. These cars were aimed at families but as they often offered no more interior room (just more height) than the hatchbacks they were based on, other marketing avenues had to be explored. Volkswagen's marketing department was clueless what to do with the high-roof version of the Golf, called the Golf Plus. Its main MPV-like feature was the fore-aft adjustable rear seat, though without a longer wheelbase that was just a compromise between rear legroom or luggage space. It looked decidedly unsexy, so it was marketed as an extra spacious Golf but not that much effort was put into it. It appeared to be a good alternative for older buyers who wanted a Golf that was easier to get into and out of, but who thought the compact MPV Touran was too large. That wasn't a great marketing ploy so it was basically ignored, yet sold in reasonable numbers apparently on its own merits. The Plus was introduced in 2004 and given a facelift to Golf mk.6 spec in late 2008. In late 2013, its successor the Golf Sportsvan was introduced- a sign that Volkswagen still has no clue what to do with this car: it's not a van, and it's not sporty in any way whatsoever. I ignored the Golf Plus for my collection until this was almost given to me, so I guess it completes the collection. The model was made by Minichamps and it was nicely done
Minichamps - Volkswagen Golf Plus
In 1986 Citroen had a bewildering range of cars with the legacy of the 38 year old 2CV, the LNA (a Citroenised Peugeot 104Z), the Visa and the Axel, a Romanian-built 3-door Visa-sized car. All these models more or less competed and overlapped in some way. It must've been no fun being a salesman at the time. The introduction of the AX was a bold move to rationalise the lineup, get rid of the ancient 2CV and all those other models. The AX was a thoroughly modern 3-door hatch with PSA-sourced 4-cylinder watercooled engines (finally saying goodbye to the ancient aircooled twin). The introduction of the 5-door version in 1987 meant that there was a replacement for the Visa too. There was a semi-hot 1.3 Sport that was replaced by the 1.4 GTI for 1992 model year. The light (650 kg) construction of the AX ensured that the 95 hp 1.4 had no trouble getting the car to compete with more powerful brethren. Some black plastic add-ons made the car look the part. The AX was replaced by the Saxo in 1998. This very nice model was made by Ixo and represents great value for money with quality easily at Minichamps level for a low price. A great reminder of a nice little car
Ixo - Citroen AX GTI
Last Volvo for a bit. A couple of years ago the Volvo Collection PW models were remaindered. They offered great value for money and many had not been made in 1:43 before, at least not in good quality for a reasonable price. Predictably, sales were strong and every model sold out soon. This gave rise to a number of re-releases under other PCT names like PremiumX, Ixo, Triple9 (which atmittedly isn't a PCT name but a reseller's label that does mostly PCT castings). I wanted the classic Volvo P1800 too but couldn't find the Volvo Collection version in white, so I went for the Triple9 version in metallic green which looked fantastic. However, the only dark green ever available on the P1800 was a non-metallic which annoyed me a bit. Luckily, a friend who had the white version wanted to do a trade. This is the iconic P1800 that I recall from watching reruns of The Saint as a kid. I might not like white cars in general, but this just has to be white for me (though I miss the green one)
Atlas Volvo Collection PW - Volvo P1800
And the green one
The green one has etched wipers but that's a mixed blessing. When the plastic wipers are as good as those on the white car, they look more convincing to me because etched wipers are too spindly.
Next order from the VW web shop and bang up to date is the new ID.3, Volkswagen's first serious EV. The e-Golf and e-Up! are compromises, because they were built on existing ICE platforms and had to deal with location of the battery packs vs. interior space and weight distribution. Not ideal at all and range suffered to a point where these were not usable EVs. The ID.3 shows Volkswagen's future strategy and could mean that the mk.8 is the last Golf ever. The range of the ID.3 (between 330-550 km depending on the version) is very promising and would make it a nice competitor for others on the market. Early reports say that it's nice to drive too. However, Volkswagen is building this in a brand new plant and is still struggling with bugs in software of the early cars. Perhaps this would've benefited from a longer development time... the model in white metallic with black roof depicts the first edition version and is very nicely made by Norev
Norev DE - Volkswagen ID.3
The loss of my photo box with rigged lighting and carefully set-up camera still saddens me when I look at my current pictures. I ordered a dirt cheap fold-out box from China but it'll likely take over six weeks to arrive. I have a LED panel coming in too, looking forward to experimenting with photography again.
Fiat was huge as a small-car maker. The Topolino made its reputation as motoriser of the masses and the subsequent Nuova 500 solidified its position all over Europe. Families grow and so Fiat introduced more upmarket models like the 600. This could comfortably transport a family of four (or five, or six if the kids were small enough) but there was still a call for more room. The engineers sought a way to eek out more from the basic 600 platform which basically introduced us to the concept of the MPV. The 600 Multipla was introduced in 1956 (and made until 1965) and it featured four or optionally six seats (in three seating rows), the rearmost two rows could be folded down for more cargo space. The driver was seated above the front axle, maximising interior space. Not only was this useful family transport for large Italian families but it was also versatile enough to be used as a small delivery van on weekdays, which sold quite a few of these. All in all, 243,000 were made. I already had the old Brumm version but for a single-digit price I could not resist this ultra-cool PW model that shows a commercial version promoting children's pedal cars (which resemble Studebakers)
Altaya PW - Fiat 600 Multipla 'Studer'
My first ride in a classic car left a lasting impression. It was 1984 and we were holidaying in the UK. We had rented a nice historic cottage (low doorways, thick stone walls and floors that were anything but level) in Winchcombe, a village in the Cotswolds. It was next door to the village garage, the proprietor of which liked to buy and sell classics. There was a Jaguar mk.2, a Daimler, an Anglia, the inevitable Morris Minor and a huge Jaguar that I'd never seen before. To a car-mad 17 year old, this was heaven. Naturally I hung out at the garage as much as possible, looking at the cars and talking to the owner and his sons. So when they had to run an errand they took me along in this huge beautiful Jaguar mk.10, in very dark green with a brown leather interior and gorgeous glossy walnut trim. What a treat! Naturally, I wanted a model of this car ever since but when I found one it was always an expensive handbuilt or I had just run out of money (there appears to be a Norev, but I've never seen one). The Jaguar Collection PW had a mk.10 among its issues but I was unable to find one, until Ixo introduced it in its regular release series. It's a great colour too and the level of detail is PremiumX rather than Ixo, no complaints from me! The ride height is its only disadvantage, I will be looking into fixing that as soon as I have the time. RT showed this earlier and my quick and dirty pictures cannot match his, but here they are anyway
Ixo - Jaguar mk.10
BTW I've managed to go off on yet another collection tangent which is almost complete. I will prepare the nerdy back story and post pictures soon. Hint: it's another 'global car' subcollection. If you expect a personal story - or even a basic model history - for this one, you're out of luck. I have no rationale whatsoever for buying this, except that it's fantastic and it shouldn't cost 8 euros. Keko has been tempting me with the superb models in this series for a while and then there was Ian's acquisition of the same transporter. I always try to justify buying transporters by telling that they hold x cars which take up more display space than the transporter with the same cars (not true generally), but in reality I just like them. They break up a display of rows of cars nicely and add some variety. I especially like classic transporters because I can pair them up with cars of the period. That will be a bit harder for this one as I only have one Spanish car of the early 1970s... so I suspect this will only lead to more purchases. Anyway, easily my favourite in the series of classic Pegaso trucks PW issued by Salvat
Salvat PW - Pegaso 1060L car transporter
The Mercedes 300SL formed the basis of a line of SLs which are still being built today. None has been more hardcore than the initial 300SL, though. Because that was basically a racing car for the road, Mercedes saw the need for a less performance-oriented little roadster. That was the 190SL which could be seen as the grandfather of today's SLK. The 190SL, unlike the 300, was built only as an open-top car (though a hardtop was optional) and powered by the 105 hp four cylinder 1.9 engine from the Ponton 190-series that also donated its suspension. I recall seeing these in old movies and they really made an impression. In the 1980s Rio released their 1:43 of this car and it looked amazing for the time. However, seeing it some 35 years later left me underwhelmed, so the Rio was one of the models that went early in the recent purge. I was debating replacing it with the Minichamps edition until a friend showed me this Atlas Mercedes PW. It looked great so when I was offered one for the paltry sum of EUR 5 even the black paintwork did not stop me (the car looks great in black IMO, especially with a red interior) and it was added to the collection. No disappointment here, this shows the high quality of recent PW issues
Atlas Mercedes-Benz Car Collection PW - Mercedes-Benz 190SL
The Seat Alhambra is the third MPV that resulted from the collaboration between Ford and Volkswagen. The Ford Galaxy, Volkswagen Sharan and Seat Alhambra are nice, relatively spacious people carriers with - as usual in this class - flexible seating arrangements so that you can choose between passengers and luggage space or a mix of both. After the first two generations, Ford went their own way in 2006 and based the new Galaxy on the Mondeo platform while VW and Seat further developed the existing base, stretching it by 22 cm for the second generation which was introduced in 2010. Though I'm no fan of MPVs in general these are quite pleasant to drive and a lot nicer than most of their competition, like the Renault Espace. The latest generation can be had with all kinds of nice options to make life easier. The (very well-made) model depicts an Alhambra of the current 2010-> generation and was supposedly made by Fischer, though it bears no maker's name
Fischer DE - Seat Alhambra
In 1999 the Lancia Lybra was introduced. It was based on the platform of the Alfa Romeo 156 and shared its engines, but the suspension and appointment were more comfort-oriented than the 156's. Being a niche marque, the Lancia never sold well outside Italy though it did OK here in Holland. Nowadays it's a rare car though, there's one near my place that looks really clean and it stands out. The model lasted until 2005 with a couple of updates in 2001. It was replaced by the Delta mk.3 which wasn't really a replacement as it was smaller. I was never a huge fan of the Lybra though it was a distinctive car with decent looks. The model was part of a job lot of new old stock models offered for next to nothing. It was made by Solido and they did quite a nice job, probably commissioned by Lancia. Interesting to open up a model that's been on shelves for 20 years with a stack of price tags dating back to the pre-euro age. Never thought I'd say this, but it's a pleasant model and I'm happy to have it in my collection
Solido - Lancia Lybra
If you were into rally in the 1980s, chances are that you admired this car and its drivers at least once. The Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 was very loosely based on the sucessful 205 hatch (there was no mid-engined 205 with a turbo engine in the regular lineup) and as per the Group B rules it was homologised by selling 200 road cars. That meant that you could go into a Peugeot dealership and buy this fire breathing monster for your commute. Mad times. Peugeot managed to win both the drivers' and constructors' rally world titles in 1985 and 1986. After the demise of Group B the T16 was used for the Paris-Dakar and became very successful in rallycross. The PW model belies its low price, it's a quality release. If I ever come across the support vehicle at a decent price, it's coming home
Atlas Rally Cars PW - Peugeot 205 Turbo 16
Third and final model from my Volkswagen web shop order to benefit from the discount is this one, a model that I've been after for some time now. Only 250 1:1s of the ultra-frugal XL1 were made and they currently go for more than 100k euros at auction. In 2013, diesel was the way to go if you wanted a highly developed engine that would still perform. So Volkswagen developed the XL1 as an exercise in fuel economy, basically a concept car that would be built in series. It's a hybrid with a 48 hp 2-cylinder 0.8 turbodiesel engine and a 27 hp electric motor, which propel the 795 kg car made of carbon, CFRP, aluminium and magnesium with a revolutionary 0.198 drag coefficient thanks to -among others- cameras for wing mirrors. Performance is modest (though a top speed of 160 km/h is pretty decent), fuel economy is everything- this car used only 0.9 litres of diesel per 100 km, or 1:111! The fuel tank contains only 10 litres of diesel, but that still gives you a range of 1100 km... Then came the dieselgate scandal and all resources were pulled from developing diesel-engined cars. What a shame, because this could've gone somewhere. I've seen only three of these IRL and there are rumoured to be a few in the country. Economy cars might not excite petrolheads but there's no denying the technical genius behind this and it's interesting to consider what could have been. The model was made by Looksmart and presented in a very nice elaborate dealer box
Looksmart DE - Volkswagen XL1
The next one is in my collection for the second time. I acquired this model when I just started posting here, had to sell it off again (nice when someone offers you almost four times what you paid for it) but my pictures were still in my archive. So when I was offered the same model again as part of a trade deal and at a bargain price it rejoined my collection. There seems to be a recurring pattern in that, but mostly with models that I've already shown here. TSM did a nice job on this early Land-Rover
TSM - Land-Rover 88" S1
Another historic rally car, from the times when they looked like showroom models with some extra lights. The Mini Cooper was very successful in rallying from the outset, with its light and compact construction, the kart-like handling and the revvy 1275 cc engines as strong suits. Makinen and Easter drove this car in the '66 Monte Carlo and after a 1-2-3 victory all Minis were disqualified for the use of 'illegal dipping headlights'. The Cortina driven by Roger Clark that came in fourth also got the boot, so by 'sheer luck' the French-entered DS21 won the rally. The ensuing ruckus scarred rallying for a long time. This model was made a long time ago by Vitesse but they managed to get the shape 100% correct and judging by others' efforts that is far from easy. Got this as NOS at a nice discount, like it a lot
Vitesse - Morris Mini Cooper S
Built between 1992 and 1997, the SVX was the successor to the XT. It featured a flat six engine and automatic gearbox and -naturally- Subaru trademark AWD. It was expensive and the Giugiaro design did not appeal to everyone, so the car was never popular. There used to be two of these in my town, but as I haven't seen either for a while they're probably gone. Interesting cars and sort of weird/cool, but costly to run and therefore not popular. There might be no more than 20-30 in the country. The model was made by First43, Norev made this too in their Lumyno range but that is now hard to find
First43 - Subaru SVX (Alcyone)
Also, a couple of weeks ago I ordered a couple of models for friends and one for myself from MCW. The shipment was sent by DHL and tracking indicated that it had been delivered to the pickup point of my choice on a Saturday, so I went over to find that no package had been delivered. There was a signature and a name for delivery but nobody by that name works there. I waited for a few days and went by two more times: no package. I contacted MCW and they told me that it was at the pickup point and had been signed for (no sh!t Sherlock, I can read a tracking status myself- I do about 50 of those every day at work). When you add the delivery address postcode you get another tracking page, which in my case said that the package had been returned to sender. I asked MCW to investigate, they noted the two different trackings but also told me that the DHL driver, on being asked, had confirmed that he'd delivered it. I told MCW that they paid DHL to ship the package so they had to figure this out and either get me my models or return my money. They replied that it would take eight weeks(!) to resolve this and would I please be patient. I told them under no circumstance would I wait 8 weeks for a refund, after which they stopped replying to my emails. Three weeks later I got a message saying that the shipment had been returned to them (lying @ssh*le DHL driver!) and I would be refunded. So, be forewarned: MCW customer service sucks, if you need them they just stop replying and they do bugger all for you. That just made this my last MCW order.
It's been a while since I last added an Audi to the collection and it's a car that I've neglected. The problem is the selection- you're spoilt for choice if you want a racing R8. I liked the Minichamps and Spark models and Andy's showed us a few recently that got me thinking. I googled around and came to a selection of five cars that I really liked the looks of. Luckily, one of my trade contacts came up with this one ('not on your list, but I'm sure you'll love it') and when it arrived I was very impressed. Interestingly it's badged as a Minichamps and Tarmac Works but the detail is far better than the MC versions that I've seen. Notably the glass (very thin which makes the cutouts look much more convincing), the engine detail and the driver's safety netting (hard to see in the pictures, but it's there and it looks great). The aerials look quite realistic too. I have been looking at this for a long time and I'm over the moon. Might add a few more if they're all this good
Minichamps/Tarmac Works - Audi R8 LMS 2015
The Giulia Super was thé quintessential Italian sports saloon of the 1960s and early '70s. They were always popular here and by the 1980s I was photographing nice examples still on the road (I don't have to explain why they stood out at the time, do I?). The Giulia Super was introduced in 1962 and managed to stay popular until 1978, by which time it looked severely outdated. In Holland the popularity of the Giulia was such that between 1984 and 1998 there was a Squadra Bianca racing series, all white Giulia 2.0s battling it out on the track. It was the longest-running single-model race series ever. As most cars were road legal you saw the odd battle-scarred white Giulia in full racing garb on the roads too. Nowadays there are historic racing days at Zandvoort with a field of Giulias, still with some close racing. I bought the Progetto K model of the Giulia when it was released (I still recall the NAMAC swapmeet where I bought it, having to get there early to avoid missing out because that was a much-anticipated model) and added a Norev PW version a couple of years ago. However, I'm enough of a Giulia fan to replace both by this Maxichamps version. Though the Giulia looks good in many colours (I like it in dark blue), a red one would look good in between my other Alfas. A nice upgrade for my Alfa collection
Maxichamps - Alfa Romeo Giulia Super
For someone who isn't into Mercedes, I have been adding quite a few recently... and I'm not quite done yet. This duo is an older and a newer addition. The Blue Wonder transporter was a 2019 Sinterklaas gift from a friend but I did not want to show it until I'd acquired its load, and that took six months. A couple of years ago I saw the real Blue Wonder at the Techno Classica and it captivated me. A real classic (imagine a transporter in the 1950s that did 170 km/h loaded with a car!) and a unique shape. It needed pairing with another classic so I added Juan Manuel Fangio's 1955 W196 racer. The transporter is a PW issue from the Mercedes-Benz Car Collection PW and the W196 is a regular Ixo release. While the transporter is a bit basic (pity about the wheel trims, which should be partially blue), the racer is impressive with etched wire wheels, nice printed tartan upholstery and a detailed dash. I love the combo
Mercedes-Benz Car Collection PW - 1955 'Blue Wonder' transporter Ixo - 1955 Mercedes-Benz W196 streamliner
Though I'm a fan of bright and noticeable colours for cars as an antidote to today's '50 shades of grey', yellow generally isn't one of those. There are some yellow models in my collection (a Miura shouldn't be anything but yellow for me) and some models where yellow was the best option to escape the usual drab shades. Some models actually look great in yellow and they stand out in the collection as a bonus, but it is generally one of the colours that I tend to avoid. However, it didn't even take an EUR 7 asking price for me to pick this R8 roadster V10 in Vegas Yellow. I love the shape of the R8 but somehow had failed to pick up a model of either the V10 or the facelifted version. I needed no convincing whatsoever to add this, love it (though the black wheels might magically change to titanium colour at some time) and I am very happy with this indeed
Herpa - Audi R8 V10 roadster
What can be said about the Prius? It was the first serious attempt at a hybrid car that actually sold in numbers. It's ugly (and the fact that Toyota did a perfectly nice-looking Auris hybrid with the same technology makes me think that this was done on purpose) and it's no fun to drive, gutless and slow. It was for a while the vehicle of choice among tree huggers and those who wanted everyone to think that they cared about the environment. It's also a sturdy and extremely reliable car that proved that battery packs have a long life. The tree huggers have gone full EV (the new-car market here is largely lease-driven, tax benefits for hybrids are almost gone so very few of them are sold now) and Prii are generally driven by seniors who don't care about the looks and just want a reliable and quiet (in EV mode) car or as taxis. The hybrid seems to be a dying breed. I wanted a model of the best-selling generation of the Prius to recall all those drives in them when I worked for the car dealerships, and also because it's a significant car- like it or not. The model came from China shipped for 3.50 euros thanks to a lot of coupons, so at least it was cheap. I have no idea who made it, it's much more basic than the Ebbro or the Minichamps but it'll do in the back of the display. I'm not willing to spend Ebbro or even MC money on a Prius
Toyota DE - Toyota Prius
From the first generation of the Golf, Volkswagen followed the hatchback up with a cabriolet to cater to buyers of the discontinued Beetle Cabriolet. Following the safety standards of the time they added a central roll bar which had the benefit of making the car a lot less prone to torsion. However, the mk.2 Golf did not get its own convertible, instead the mk.1 was updated and built right into the mk.3 era, in 1993. The mk.3 version was bang up to date and again featured the roll bar. This was made until 1998 when the Golf mk.4 was in the showrooms. There was never an official mk.4 Cabriolet but the mk.3 version got a facelift to resemble the new model. Though I kept up with the evolution of the Golf in my collection, the Cabriolet has always lagged behind. Only last year I got a nice 1:43 mk.1 Cabriolet and it took another Maxichamps reissue for me to add the mk.4. Alas, MC chose boring colours for this reissue- it was either white or silver. Still a decent model though. In the interior, the only decoration is the instrument panel. The rest is a sea of blackness
Maxichamps - Volkswagen Golf mk.4 Cabriolet
As I'm not from the US and too young to recall the Edsel, I never got into the 'failure' thing. I've always looked at it as an outsider and think that it epitomises the barges of the 1950s and '60s. All excess, all flamboyant styling, all retina-shriveling colours. The S143 Secret Santa who gave me the Spark Cadillac has something to answer for as he started a series of classic American cars in my collection that I'm far from done with. I've seen a few Edsels in museums and at car shows over the years and one I was able to examine in detail at the Concours d'Elegance here last year convinced me that I wanted one in 1:43. This amazing Spark model was not even expensive and I love everything about it, not least the colour
Spark - 1958 Edsel Citation hard top coupe
From excess to restraint. Adding more Audis- the current (2018-) generation of the A6 this time. A pretty nice-looking saloon in an unremarkable colour (Taifun grey), but that's representative of the real thing. The DE model was made by iScale, which I assume is Kyosho. Not a bad effort
iScale DE - Audi A6 saloon
Let's counterbalance the grey with some colour. I used to be a great fan of the Lamborghini Miura when I was young. The 1970s Lambos managed to excite me too (Espada!) and the Countach was one of my dream cars at the time. Then came the 1990s and to me it all went wrong. Gone were the crisp shapes of the Countach. The Diablo was all weak, rounded and I did not like the cab-forward design. It used to be 'crap reliability and horrible ergonomics but beautiful shape', then the latter disappeared too. I lost interest. Then came Audi. Reliability, practicality and ergonomics took a 180° turn but IMO the designs did still not appeal. No Italian style, just a slowly more stealth fighter-inspired theme of flat surfaces, flaps and intakes. Perhaps I'm just getting old... I had recently added a good Miura, early and late Countach and had the LM002 coming in. I decided to leave it at that and maybe add a few more classic Lambos, such as the Espada and Jarama. But as Lamborghini is a part of VAG now, it would be a good idea to have at least one model of a modern Lambo and those discounted AAs looked very nicely made. So for less than the price of a Whitebox, this metallic yellow Huracan entered my collection. Like it or not, it's a great model in an iconic Lambo colour
AutoArt - Lamborghini Huracan
Before the introduction of the Testarossa, this was Ferrari's top of the line road car. It was rare too- I recall seeing just one on the road ever, the rest were in museums or at car shows. The 512BB (Berlinetta Boxer) succeeded the 365 Daytona and was the first Ferrari with a mid-mounted flat twelve engine. It was made in various guises between 1973 and 1984 and its shape showed the way for the evolution of mid-engined Ferraris to date. I had a poster of this car on my bedroom wall at some time and I still love the shape, which is more elegant and less brutal than its predecessor. I cannot believe that it's taken me so long to get a model of this car. It's no Kyosho, or not even a HW but for the 5 euros it cost me it's certainly a bargain and it's a pretty nice model
Altaya PW - Ferrari 512BB
In the 1960s and '70s Fiat had two small vans, the 238 and 850T. If you don't look well you might have trouble telling them apart but side by side the difference is obvious. The 238 was just smaller than a Volkswagen Transporter T1, but the 850T was tiny. It was based on the platform of the 850, a rear-engined two-door four-seater. It was made between 1964 and 1976 and besides the van there was also a Familiare 7-seater, just like the 600 Multipla was to the basic 600. The van was very popular for small businesses and this charming PW model shows a typical example. The diagonal red band on the front and the rear shows that it's a commercial vehicle for own goods transport. Transport firms that moved goods for third parties had white bands. This model was shown here earlier by odysseios
Vadis 'Veicoli pubblicitare d'epoca' PW - Fiat 850T
The Saab Sonett (from 'so nett'- so attractive) was a design experiment, a roofless roadster built using the mechanicals of the 96. It competed and won in the under-750 cc class for speed records. Apparently it got Saab in the sportscar mood because they developed the Sonett II (hey, no need to be original- let the car speak for itself) which was still a 96-based car although it was now a fibeglass-bodied coupé. Initially it was powered by the existing two-stroke three cylinder engine which -as in the 96- gave way to the Ford 1500 V4 later. By 1970 its design was getting a little outdated so it got another redesign to make the Sonett III. Its practicality was improved by widening it and giving it a rear hatch instead of its predecessor's small access door for the boot. It gained pop-up headlights and a much squarer appearance. US versions got the usual 5MPH bumpers. The Sonett was rarely seen on the streets here, so I only knew it from my 'world cars' yearbooks. Then came the 1980s and everyone started importing classic cars. Every classic car show had at least a couple of Sonett IIIs, usually US imports with the huge bumpers and usually in yellow, or repainted from yellow. I had the excellent Sonett I in my collection but wanted a II and III. That wish got partially fulfilled by the Saab Museum Collection PW and this great Sonett III. It had to be yellow- and look at the photoetched grill, this is a nice quality model!
Atlas Saab Museum Collection PW - Saab Sonett III
I'm still slowly expanding my collection of Facel Vegas and this FV1b cabriolet by Neo was on sale, so one of my trading contacts added it to my list. Though it looks good in red, I would prefer a different hue- light or dark blue metallic for instance. I have been trying to research this car and according to the experts Neo have named it an FV1b incorrectly as there was never an FV1 cabriolet. Early cars were called Facel, with Vega as a model name. On occasion Jean Daninos, owner of Facel, could be persuaded to make a cabriolet. The first such model was an FV2 for his wife. So, what is this car? It has the 'flat' windscreen of the FV1 but there was no FV1 cabriolet if the FV Owners' Club is correct... is this some creativity on Neo's part or was a car converted later? Googling did not turn up any 1:1 FV1b cabriolets. Well, at least it looks great as a model
Neo - Facel Vega FV1b cabriolet
The 1964-'68 275 series Ferraris were front-engined two-seaters powered by the V12 'Colombo' engine. They were the first Ferrari road cars with a transaxle and IRS. The bodywork was designed by Pininfarina. While I love the profile of the 275, I think its frontal aspect is not its best feature- IMO it's too narrow for perfect proportions. This model was a box filler and basically thrown in for free. I had resisted adding it thus far for that reason, also because it's yellow (paint is too thick too, common for yellow models) and the wheels are a bit lacking in definition. I'm slowly starting to warm to it however and will look into adding some detail
Atlas PW - Ferrari 275GTB
Though most people here agree that 1:43 AutoArts are excellent models, they seem to be perpetually on sale. Maybe it's the subjects, maybe they just make too many. I'd been offered this many times, saw it on sale at the web shops forever and finally decided to pounce before they had only black ones left. I guess it's the subject here as the modern Europa -as opposed to its classic namesake- is not an exciting looking car. However, having an AA model in hand is just a really satisfying experience so for the price of a PW, I just gave in. And I was right. It might not be that visually exciting in the web shop pictures but the shape is great in hand and the AA quality is apparent everywhere. Once you take a good look at it you notice that it's actually quite a pretty sports car, which was actually created when Opel left Lotus with a stack of pre-ordered and paid chassis for the Opel GT that did spectacularly worse than projected. Shame about the dull silver, this really needs a good colour to show off its shape. Very happy with it overall
AutoArt - Lotus Europa S
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Post by Tom on Apr 19, 2022 14:11:34 GMT -5
This has been called a ladies' car here, but the convertible seems -at least where I live- to be a weekend toy for older affluent couples. Who unfortunately do not go for the more 'in your face' colours generally- most are either black, white or grey. I've seen one in metallic red and one in this metallic orange and it makes a dramatic difference to the car's appearance. The Evoque in general seems to have been modelled in 1:43 by quite a few makers: PCT/Ixo for the three-door and five-door and by Century Dragon for the three-door. The convertible was made by Ixo and by TSM. This is the TSM which was luckily discounted to Ixo level because, nice though it is, I don't see a case to pay TSM prices for this
TSM DE - Land-Rover Range Rover Evoque convertible
Took me a while to get used to the 'convertible SUV' idea BTW, but at least here it's been done nicely. When I was in college one of my classmates had a Fulvia. It was the mid-'80s, so it was just in between old banger and classic. His was red too, and had the matt black bonnet with a couple of HF, Marelli and Carello decals on it, and naturally spotlights on the front and no bumpers. My classmates were more interested in the new Kadett GSI but I always loved that Lancia with its great shape and distinctive engine note. It was a little rusty and he didn't care about warming the engine up properly, so I'm afraid it didn't last long. It did however get me into the Fulvia coupé (literally, when he gave me a ride) and when you have a road car model a rally car is almost mandatory. Luckily the PW series have come through yet again with this fantastic '72 Monte Carlo car that managed 6th (win and 4th that year were also Fulvias). This might actually be the first time that I prefer a rally car over the civilian version
Eaglemoss PW - Lancia Fulvia 1.6 HF 1972 Rally Monte Carlo
In 1972, Volkswagen wanted a successor to the popular Volkswagen-Porsche 914 that had sold quite well for such a niche product and had helped solidify their reputation. They once again turned to Porsche for the development and got the EA425 ('Entwicklungsauftrag' or Development Assignment). A front-engined car with a watercooled engine and transaxle for better weight distribution, designed under the lead of Dutchman Harm Lagaaij. However, the fuel crisis intervened and Volkswagen decided to shelve the project, and the Golf-based Scirocco was launched instead. Two years later, Porsche bought the project from Volkswagen and introduced it in 1976 as the 924, an entry-level Porsche. It was built in the Audi plant in Neckarsulm and gave Porsche some badly-needed cash and many new customers at the time. I never thought a model of the first EA425 prototype would be released but luckily AutoCult, under their Avenue43 label, saw this as a viable project. It's not a cheap model and not the greatest looking car (luckily for the final version the styling was tweaked considerably) but for a 924 fan it's great to be able to put this next to the final version
AutoCult/Avenue43 - Porsche EA425
I'll do shots with the production car alongside later
Another Volvo, another replacement. When I got my first 1:43 Volvo 144 it was a very basic version from a low-rent PW in a blister pack, apparently made for a Polish PW series. It was a nice model but some of the chrome was represented by silver paint that just did not look shiny enough and the grill and wheel trims lacked blackwashing. Luckily the Volvo Collection PW came to the rescue with a great replacement with just a little better detail and still a good colour. I really like it that they used the pre-facelift version for the 144 and the facelift version for the 142. Now the 144 does not stand out in a negative way on my Volvo shelf
Volvo Collection PW - Volvo 144
Do I need more Volkswagen Transporter models? Heck yeah. Especially when they're as nice as this Premium Classixxs T2a and they're almost being given away. It's not the quality of the model, so it must be the washing machine ad that spoils it... I'm deciding if I'd prefer it as is or as a plain bus, and if I care enough to risk ruining the paint by attacking it with acetone-free nail polish remover. Does anyone have experience removing PC's tampo?
Premium Classixxs - Volkswagen Transporter T2a bus
In the mid-1930s, Hitler funded both Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union for the development of racing cars that would establish the Germans as world champions in racing. For Auto Union, this resulted in the 6.0 V16-powered Typ A, Typ B followed by the Typ C. These were incredible cars even by today's standards running on narrow tyres, with dodgy brakes and no safety equipment whatsoever, yet attaining speeds of over 300 km/h. The entire history is too convoluted to convey here, but can be found online through several sources. Both the 1930s achievements (despite the unsavoury nazi connection) and the subsequent history of the AU racers reads like a thriller novel. I have looked at the remaining cars and (partial) recreations in the Audi Museum and at car shows several times, and even watched one being run in anger. I'm extremely impressed by the noise and the drivers' cojones required to get to competitive speeds. I collected the Brumm models of most AU racers in the 1980s and '90s but these are now making room for these fantastic creations by Minichamps. The wire wheels in particular are among the best that I've ever seen on a mass-produced diecast and they're so important for the models' overall appearance. I will be looking out for the other cars in this series
Minichamps - Auto Union Typ C
During WWII, the Russians looted what they could from the former Horch and Audi plants in Zwickau under the guise of repair payments. When the war was over and the country needed rebuilding, it was decided to restart automobile production at these locations in what was now the DDR. Two new cars were introduced, the compact AWZ P70 and the large Horch P240 in 1955. The P240 was powered by a 2.4 straight six. The cars sold for 27,000 Marks but it was rumoured that production costs were actually 33,000 Marks. After a corporate restructuring the Horch was renamed Sachsenring P240. Between 1955 and 1959, a total of 1386 P240s were built though insiders quote a total of 1800 including cars built in 1960 from spare parts. So this car is really the last Horch, one of the marques that formed the current Audi. I've seen this IRL only once at the Techno Classic and I was impressed by the size and appearance. The model is an ultra-cheap PW example which has also been released as much nicer Whitebox and IST versions. I will add some detail to this and keep it in the collection until I find a more detailed version. A Horch version would be even better
DeAgostini Polish cars PW – Sachsenring P240
The colours look rather harsh in these phone camera pics, much more subtle in real life.
If you want to get the attention of a car-mad teenager (just) you announce that you, a famous Italian supercar maker, will build an offroader using the 450 hp V12 engine from the amazing Countach. It will be able to go over the notorious desert sand dunes at an incredible 160 km/h and it will look like they bypassed the styling department and just put a car-shaped box on the chassis. In fact its looks grow on you and the epic performance more than makes up for the aesthetics- it looks like it does the job. The LM002 (for Lamborghini Militare) was built between 1986 and 1992 and 301 were sold, mostly to Middle Eastern customers. Top speed was 210 km/h and 0-100 was dealt with in 7.8 s. Pretty impressive for a mobile bunker. The model is by Ixo and it's an older casting which shows in the level of detail
Ixo - Lamborghini LM002
I'm still plugging holes in my Volkswagen collection. Golf Cabriolets were never a priority apparently, it took me years to add a decent mk.1 which is the one that I actually like. So to add the mk.6 I needed an incentive and that was a low price. Now that I have this model I like it a lot. Kyosho did an amazing job with superb detail and fantastic paintwork in a deep metallic purple that even the sunlight fails to reveal completely
Kyosho DE - Volkswagen Golf mk.6 Cabriolet
I shot these outside using the 'live focus' option on my smartphone. Yesterday I finally got my new light box from China. It's quite small (20x20x20 cm), but that will do for 1:43 diecast. It has two rings of LED lights in the ceiling and a hatch for shots from above. The lights come in bright white and a warmer yellow and can be dimmed. I shot this with my smartphone yesterday- no editing, just a quick crop and resize
And that's just a quick point and shoot. Very happy with it and I will reshoot the more atrocious previous efforts
I do not profess to understand the reasoning behind the Eos. It's a Golf-chassis convertible with a folding steel roof. There was a soft top Golf already, so why add another? To join in on the hard roof craze started by the other makers (Peugeot, Ford, Renault)? The Eos looked a little anonymous though Volkswagen did manage to avoid the messed-up pickup-like proportions that some of these had. It was moderately successful here, though apparently not successful enough to warrant the sale of this facelift version. Another fantastic model by Kyosho
Kyosho DE - Volkswagen Eos
I've already shown the Citroen AX GTI in the hot hatch category but there's an everyday version too which used to be more common. Apparently nobody does a good model of the basic version but here's something that used to be hot in the 1980s and '90s: a special edition. In this case it was made together with apparel maker Kway and it featured all-white exterior, alloy wheels and Kway logos. The model is a recent Solido and their releases seem to be a mixed bag. Some are very basic but this one could easily compete with MC, Norev and the like. The wipers are particularly impressive, I wish they were as good on all models. Will compare to the Ixo GTI later
Solido - Citroen AX Kway
The upper edge of the rear hatch needs some detail work, I will tend to that later
A proper childhood memory of my holidays in the UK in the 1970s, when an ice cream still managed to excite me (though, come to think of it, I still love a very occasional visit to an artisanal Italian ice cream salon). I still recall the Cadbury's Flake and the excitement of having to choose from all the available flavours (mint chocolate chip, yum!). This very charming, nostalgic model was an easy decision, though in the ‘70s the Bedfords were probably CFs rather than CAs. Nobody does these like Oxford
Oxford – Bedford CA ‘Mr Softee’
And slightly better pictures of some older acquisitions-
I had been eyeing this for a while but it was always over budget, and without the recent releases of the Minichamps Auto Union racers I would probably not have added this. The NAG Büssing transporter is a logical companion for these and will make a nice display or perhaps - with the right figurines - a cool diorama. A nice touch is the listing of 1934 race and record successes on the sides. I saw the real car somewhere years ago but cannot recall where, perhaps in the Audi museum or at a classic car show. Neo made the model and personally I think it's not worth full RRP. Though it's nicely done with the closed rear hatch or the ramp for display, it shows some typical Neo QC problems – for instance, one of the rear leaf springs was loose in the box and the other one came off when I put the model in the light box. I suspect that displaying it with the AU racers will make it more enjoyable. I need to reshoot the pictures though, the lack of light from the front is annoying
Neo – NAG Büssing Auto Union race transporter
Fiat's strong suit has always been small cars. From the early Topolino to the current 500, that's what sells well and keeps them afloat. However, they've tried their hand at larger models over the years. Sometimes successfully (the 131 was a success for them) but often failing everywhere but in their home country. There was a dumb reason for this one doing badly here: its model name was identical to a popular Dutch brand of baking margarine. It means ‘chrome’ in Italian and if they had bothered to rename it Chroma here, it would've probably done better. The Croma was yet another offshoot of the 1980s Fiat-Alfa-Lancia-Saab project that also yielded the 164, Thema and 9000. It wasn't an ugly car, in fact it had some presence and the rear hatch made it practical too. Yet another Carabinieri PW model and fairly nicely made too, keeping the place occupied until I find the Norev release of the civilian car or decide that this will do
DeAgostini Carabinieri PW – Fiat Croma
Spot the difference
Better pictures make a difference
It appears that quite a few of my purchases fall in the category of ‘you can never have enough…’. Here's another example. I have amazing Spark and AA models of the D-type, so why add another one and make it a cheap PW? Well, the 1957 LM winner is in the Louwman Museum and it's just about my favourite of their collection. I've spent quite some time drooling over it and photographing it from any angle. I cannot find a Spark version so I got this and it’s pretty decent for the money. At least it replaces something, the Brumm version of the same car is now gone. Messrs Flockhart and Bueb battled and won at Le Mans in this beauty. I would happily collect 1:43s of every D-type that ever existed, but this will have to do for now
Atlas Jaguar Collection PW – Jaguar XKD Le Mans 1957
The Ixo version of this car is painted a different blue, much darker. The pictures do not represent the real colour of this model, IRL it's much closer to that of the car I spent a long time drooling over.
You might know that what started as a small sidebar in my collection, the interesting variations of cars built for overseas markets, has grown into a full-blown… well, obsession. It started out with a few odd Volkswagens, and I've just finished assembling a subcollection showing the development of a 1970s ‘world car'. But now it's time for something that Michael got me into. The early-1970s German Ford Taunus was known as the TC1 generation here. For 1976 it got a significant overhaul and became the TC2 and the final version was the TC3 from 1979, which was a minor facelift. The TC1 was available as a two-door and four-door saloon and an estate, as well as an attractive coupé. The coupé was dropped for the TC2 but apparently in Argentina it continued in production even in TC3 guise. That is the kind of detail that fascinates my nerdy self, so I jumped at the chance when I was offered one of these. Also, it's a very nice model for very little money
Salvat PW – Ford Taunus SP5 coupé
The TC1 coupé was made by Minichamps. I guess that's on my list now too.
The name of this car hints to its exclusivity- only 77 examples were built of Aston Martin's supercar. It features a 7.3 litre V12 with 750 hp and 750 Nm, reaches 100 km/h (62 MPH) in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of over 350 km/h (around 220 MPH). Is it beautiful? Perhaps not for an Aston but compared to fellow supercars I think it has a good shape. The model is from the Supercars PW and looks pretty good (I like that they blackwashed the grill) but I'd really like it if my recent Astons were anything but grey
Altaya Supercars PW – Aston Martin One-77
The Renault 4 was very popular in the 1960s and 1970s as a slightly costlier competitor for the 2CV. It did not have the canvas roll-back roof but it did have quite a lot of room, a rear hatch that was more practical than the 2CV's bootlid and it had the same basic hammock-style seats (and a monocoque construction instead of the 2CV's separate chassis). As with the 2CV, it soon became the base for a successful small commercial vehicle, made simply by hacking off the rear of the bodywork and attaching something that resembled a shed. It served well as a small delivery vehicle, for tradesmen like plummers and painters, for market vendors and as a garage service vehicle. In the late 1970s, the basic version was renamed the 4F4 and it was joined by a larger 4F6 version with longer bodywork in a squarer style and a larger payload. This model is from the impressive Argentinean PW that has already yielded many models for my collection. It represents a dealer's service vehicle and though it's great as is, with some minor livery tweaks it could serve well in a race or rally diorama
Salvat PW – Renault 4F4
Jaguar's XK series of sports cars is legendary. It started out with the XK120, a production car that could do 120 MPH in 1948! To add to the legend, this was tested on a public motorway near Jabbeke in Belgium. It was powered by the famous XK inline six. Over the years, the XK became less hardcore. The XK140 featured more room in the cabin, a proper folding soft top and more creature comforts. The XK150 of 1957 was the final evolution of the XK range until the E-type of 1961. It was propelled by a 3.4 litre engine, with 193-213 hp. An automatic ‘box was optional. The later XK150S managed 254 hp. Top speed was 131-134 MPH, pretty impressive for the 1950s and in Jaguar tradition it was relatively affordable. The model is by Oxford and it was nicely made with decent PE wire wheels and a good interior. I now have the 120-140-150 trio, but will look into upgrading my old Corgi 120 to a more modern version with better detail
Oxford – Jaguar XK150
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Post by oldirish33 on Apr 19, 2022 15:45:58 GMT -5
I think the 904 was one of the best, if not the best looking of Porsche's designs.
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Post by oldirish33 on Apr 19, 2022 15:52:02 GMT -5
Your collection Tom reminds me of a friend and fellow collector of 1/43 who I don't think has any numbered cars in his large collection. His collection is the equivalent to yours in focusing on the cars you would see on the street every day. Except his focus is 40's, 50's and 60's (mostly American cars) and most the more mundane versions you would see parked in driveways in a particular era. Looking at your collection is much like looking at his. While not my focus, I get great joy of looking at your collection and the memories some of those cars trigger. Thank you!
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Post by WallOfCars on Apr 19, 2022 16:38:37 GMT -5
So much diverse goodness here as always Tom! I just love discovering that TC3 Taunus Coupe from Argentina! What a looker, sort of reminds me of the Lancia Beta HPE from the rear. Much more to comment on here when I get the chance. This is really fun
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Post by Tom on Apr 20, 2022 11:27:52 GMT -5
Thanks gents! Getting a fresh look at your collections is my favourite side effect of the forum move. However, I have over 125 pages left to copy/paste and it starts to feel like work... gotta move on! A cheap PW to replace a Neo, and it's an improvement. When I got the Neo version of this Volvo years ago it displayed the typical ‘Neo banana problem'. The body was bent and the rear end pointed down, a common Neo issue. I didn't mind that much as it was in between other Volvos in the display so it was barely noticeable. Then I got a message from someone I'd been discussing the Neo with that he wanted it for his collection, didn't mind the banana as it was now hard to find and there were more bananas in his collection anyway. I sold it to him and set out to find another. Thanks to the Atlas Volvo Collection here it is, all straight and boxy. The ugliest Volvo ever, but no Volvo collection is complete without it. I did take pictures of the Neo before I sold it but I've misplaced them. Will post a comparison later
Atlas Volvo Collection – Volvo 262C
The DeAgostini Volkswagen Collection PW has yielded a few gems already. Luckily, more models from the series are being remaindered right now and they're priced right. The W30 prototype shows us what would later become the Beetle. Its history involving Ferdinand Porsche and a certain A. Hitler is well known, this prototype less so. Very happy to finally have a Beetle proto, and a nice model it is too
DeAgostini Volkswagen Collection PW – Volkswagen W30 prototype
I freely admit to knowing nothing about the OM Leoncino. Probably never even saw one IRL, which is my criterion for having a model in the collection. But I've hardly ever seen a more charming van that screams ‘Italy in the 1950s' like this one does. Its main attraction however is not the Vibram livery (maker of rubber shoe soles, and recently of ‘foot gloves') but the fact that it could easily be removed and replaced by a car-related livery. It's a good service vehicle for races and would look great in a diorama. A 4,99 price tag didn't hurt the proposition either, and I'm delighted by the quality. It does look a bit shiny though, needs weathering
Vadis 'Veicoli pubblicitare d'epoca' PW – OM Leoncino Furgone
Another one from the Volkswagen Collection PW and a well-made one at that. The Transporter was designed from a sketch made by Dutch Volkswagen importer Ben Pon when he visited the plant. Over the years the concept was honed to perfection, but this is a very early ‘barn door' example with the large engine cover and even a split rear bumper. There have been countless T1 models over the years but most of them are flawed in some way. This one isn't, it's an excellent model of a luxury passenger van version of the iconic T1a. Love the colours too, the exact same combo is on the T1 in the collection of the Dutch importer
DeAgostini Volkswagen Collection PW – Volkswagen T1a
Taking a model more upmarket used to involve trim instead of a new, larger body shape. That had worked well for decades, so Opel used it again when they made the Commodore. It was basically the Rekord that had been available for a year but with more equipment, alloy wheels as standard, a few chrome trim strips and a different grill as well as six-cylinder engines. It seemed to go down well as the Commodore became a staple in the management company car market and a popular taxi. In the late 1970s the Senator and Monza rounded the Opel range off for the top end of the market. When the Rekord was replaced by the Omega in the late ‘80s, the Commodore disappeared off the price lists. The Senator, a luxurious Omega, became the new top spec Opel. This is another model from the popular Opel Collection PW and it's currently being sold off at very low prices. Yes, in the 1970s you could get away with an orange company car, no need for silver or black. They were colourful times
Opel Collection PW – Opel Commodore
I honestly don't know why I didn't add this one earlier. It's quite good and I really like it.
What? Yet another mk.1 Golf GTI? And you have a zillion of these already! Well, yes. But there's always room for one more, and when one of my trade contacts showed me a picture of the second round of Maxichamps reissues of this (first round was red and white, now it's silver and black) the silver for some reason captured me and didn't let go. Sigh... so yet another GTI, the final version with the plastic bumpers and the large rear lights. In a very clean and nice casting. For some reason these are extremely satisfying for me
Maxichamps - Golf mk.1 GTI
Nissan's Silvia SX-series have been a modifiers' and drifters' favourite for years. The S13 version might be the most popular, with lots of specialty parts available. The 180SX was the JDM version for the home market only, the US market got the 240SX with a normally aspirated engine and the rest of the world got the 200SX with a two-litre turbocharged engine. My brother owned a 200SX for a couple of years and though it was generally enjoyable to drive it had a couple of issues that seemed to be impossible to fix. The engine seemed to hiccup every now and then, it suffered from wires breaking down and even though it was generally driven in good weather only as a second car and parked in a dry garage, it rusted quite badly for a 1992 car. He had the skills welded up, but when the rear hatch started to rust around the hinges and gas struts and the number plate lights fell out of the rear bumper because the metal surrounding it had gone, it was time to sell. The rear spoiler pictured was not standard on the 200SX and it should've been; at speeds over 180 km/h the back end became really light (it is RWD) and around 200 km/h it felt quite unstable. The S13 has now almost vanished off the streets here, most examples have been stripped out for racing, rusted to death or met their demise in the hands of inexperienced drivers. The model is by Norev and replaces a Neo 200SX in red that I regretfully had to sell earlier
Norev – Nissan 180SX
I've always felt that two-tone T1 pickups might have existed in theory but nobody ever bought them. Unlike the passenger van, the pick-up was a basic utility vehicle and usually very sparsely dressed. This hits the mark for me- a basic grey pick-up in US spec (with bumper overriders). Very nicely done and any desire to go overboard was stifled, yielding a perfect model. Another score for the PW
DeAgostini Volkswagen Collection PW – Volkswagen T1b pick-up
I spent this weekend photographing my new arrivals. The usual mixed lot: some endurance racers, a rally car, a prototype, some new and some old street cars, a truck... but let's finish this lot first, I have a few left to show.
Ford fans got a shock when the ageing Taunus was replaced by the very modern Sierra for 1983. Not because of the drivetrain used, that was still basically Taunus engines and RWD. But the bodywork was aerodynamic and smooth and it featured a hatchback, which conservative folk did not like. It was for that reason that competitor Opel held on to the basic saloon car shape for their similar Ascona for a couple of years longer. On the other hand, the new shape of the Sierra won it many friends in the lease market and it soon became a firm favourite as a middle management company car. That more than made up for the loss of old Taunus customers. Eventually Ford caved, and the 1987 facelift of the Sierra once more had a saloon version. A friend of mine ran a Sierra for a few years and it was comfortable, predictable and safe to drive. I've always liked the shape and though I have a few Sierras already this Argentinean PW version was too nice to ignore. The pale blue metallic was a popular colour here for years and they captured the Ghia front end with the large headlights well (though it seems that the real car had a more blunt shape). I would love to add a few more Argentinean versions of this, but my sources have so far been unable to find any. They are on the lookout though
Salvat PW – Ford Sierra 2.3 Ghia
When Volkswagen decided that, despite its success, it would not be a good idea to bet everything on a single model, they used the Beetle's basic layout of a chassis and air-cooled rear-mounted engine for the new cars too. It was reliable, proven tech and people trusted and liked it. The new cars were a 1600 saloon, a fastback coupé and an estate. They were faster, more roomy and looked more modern than their predecessor. Volkswagen had lots of success with overseas assembly plants but also with plants churning out cars made for that country entirely. Latin America was a huge market, conquered by Volkswagen at an early stage. Several plants were cranking out Beetles by the hundreds of thousands and among the new designs was this local version of the 1600 made in Brazil. Another car that I wanted to add to my collection but that I could not find outside China. Luckily, there‘s the PW again with this nice model that will look great in my collection
DeAgostini Volkswagen Collection PW – Volkswagen 1600TL Brazil
When I showed you the Fiat 850 Furgone from the same PW, I hinted to the 238's existence. I tried to resist adding this to the collection, as room in some sections of the displays is running out even after the latest mega-purge. Resistance proved futile though and I succumbed to the charms of the humble Fiat van. These used to be everywhere in the 1970s here, a popular choice for small businesses. I recall one being used as an ice cream van (with a high roof) and a local contractor that had a fleet of these, all banged up and rusty. This having a cycling connection helped its case as well as an irresistable price tag
Vadis 'Veicoli pubblicitare d'epoca' PW – Fiat 238
In the late 1960s it became apparent that the RWD rear-engined aircooled cars had come to the end of their development cycle and Volkswagen had to come up with something new to keep ahead in the sales race. There were still a few small steps to be made for the old models and the Beetle eventually held on until the 1980s for the European market. Volkswagen was convinced that a front-engined water cooled FWD platform was the future and they set out to develop the new ranges. First to be introduced was the Passat, a modern-looking car for 1973. They did not feel that the car would be strong enough for the obvious hatchback version so it got a small conventional boot lid. The 1977 facelift finally gave the Passat a hatchback version. The Passat shared its underpinnings and drivetrain with the 1972 Audi 80 which was positioned more upmarket and had a conventional saloon shape. The saloon was soon joined by a roomy Variant estate version, which became a great seller in no time. The first Passat was popular as a leased company car and that popularity has never gone. The model is from the DeAgostini Volkswagen Collection PW and even though I had the older Minichamps releases this is very welcome. I hope to eventually add the Latin American versions too
DeAgostini Volkswagen Collection PW – Volkswagen Passat
I'm still not into supercars. And frankly I think the Chiron is even less attractive designwise than its predecessor the Veyron but you have to admire VAG for pushing the boundaries of technology. The Veyron caused a sensation with its 1001 hp and 400+ km/h top speed only limited by tyre technology. The Chiron is even more bonkers with 1500 hp and a 490 km/h top speed. The 8.0 litre W16 engine with four turbos takes it from 0-100 km/h in 2.4 s and to 200 in 6.1, which is respectable for 0-100. The fastest car I've ever been in was a 600 hp Audi Sport quattro and its acceleration made speech impossible and made you feel the blood rush through your head. I cannot fathom what more than twice that amount of power would feel like… Anyway, beyond the insane numbers and my respect for the huge amount of testing and engineering that went into this car there is not a lot to say for me. I quite like the classic colour combo and this PW model will more than do for me as a representation of the modern Bugatti in my collection
Atlas Supercars PW – Bugatti Chiron
In 1982, the first generation of the Passat had run its course as a model and it was time for a fresh new look. Apparently Volkswagen had decided that every new generation had to grow a little to eventually create room for a new segment underneath. The new Passat was available as a three-door and five-door hatch and a Variant estate version. For the first time it was decided to develop a conventional saloon version, which became the Santana in 1982. A good move as it turned out to be a huge success everywhere, mostly so in conservative markets like China. Though it sold well enough especially in the corporate market where it was deemed classy-looking yet down-to-earth, the Santana was not a great success here in Holland where people wanted the practicality of the hatchback or Variant. After the 1987 facelift, the Santana was renamed Passat saloon. When I was shopping for my first car the dealership where my parents bought their Volkswagens had a 1982 Santana as a trade-in for a very attractive price. I decided against it however because I did not need the room and the larger, heavier car would be more expensive to run than a smaller hatchback. I still like the Santana though and this one replaces a beige PW model I bought earlier
DeAgostini Volkswagen Collection PW – Volkswagen Santana
The mk.2 Passat was sold in the US as the Quantum, but did they sell the hatch and saloon versions too? I've never seen anything but five-cylinder 4x4 Variants
The early 1980s found Peugeot in dire straits. The takeover of loss-leading Simca Talbot was not exactly a great idea, it left them with overlapping models and production facilities that were surplus to requirements. Of the models Talbot had and was developing, only the 309 made it into Peugeot's lineup and it was always a bit of an odd duck. They needed new cars and presto, so the 205 and 405 were developed. Both were huge successes and ended up basically saving Peugeot. The 405 soon became a huge player in the company car market and many (including me) had one as a company car. I still like the 405 and whenever I spot one of the few that are left (most went to Africa) I think it's a good-looking shape that has aged well. I had the Norev 405 already but ended up with this one due to a miscommunication and I like it so much that it's staying
Salvat PW – Peugeot 405
Right rear light needs refitting I've noticed
The first generation of the Polo was released in 1974 and preceded by the identical but slightly better equipped Audi 50. Due to lack of success (it was not yet time for a small luxury car) the Audi was dropped and the Polo went on. A saloon model was added (the Derby) but the hatch was always the practical and sensible choice. After a facelift the first generation of the Polo was replaced in 1981. The new generation was a radical departure stylingwise. It featured the same transverse engines and FWD but the rear end now looked like a small van (Steilheck = steeply-angled rear). Though not exactly lovely to look at it gave small families a great practical tool, just lay the rear seat flat and you have a van that could move flat-pack furniture, DIY supplies, bikes or the camping equipment. For a more sporting look the Polo coupé was introduced later and there was a Polo Classic saloon version to replace the Derby. A company that I worked for In the 1990s had one of these as a messenger car to bring printing proofs and films to clients and printers and I used it a few times. It had the small 1.05 litre engine but it was so lively and nice to drive that I later bought it off them with an impressive 305k km on the odo. It was however soon passed on as I could not get the powerful stench of vanilla magic tree from the interior. Although the Polo 86C was popular, this is weirdly the only 1:43 Steilheck after the 1980s dealer version by Conrad. And even though I had a red one already, this model had to join the collection
DeAgostini Volkswagen Collection PW – Volkswagen Polo Steilheck
As said before, Peugeot was saved by the very timely introduction of two best-selling models: the 205 and 405. Both cars had clean lines and were enjoyable to drive. The technology used was nothing new, but proven and reliable instead. The 205 was introduced in 1983 and remained in production largely unchanged until 1998, when its successor had been in the showrooms for years. People just kept pressuring Peugeot to keep making it and they responded with one special edition after another. I had several 205 GTI models in my collection for years but a run-of-the-mill version had eluded me. As usual I wasn't decisive enough when Minichamps introduced their version and when I wanted one they were all gone. Luckily, it's yet another case of Maxichamps to the rescue. A very nice model in a good colour, really happy with it
Maxichamps – Peugeot 205
While we're on the subject of Peugeots, here's an oddity.
The 504 followed the successful 404 in 1968 but actually was built alongside it for a couple of years until the 404 was finally axed in 1974. It had a very distinctive appearance with a crease in the boot lid that people tend to love or hate. Built in saloon or Break (estate) form for many years and sold well, the 504 was succeeded by the 505 in 1979, but as with the 404 the 504 was so popular that it continued until 1983. That was its European career however. Though rust-prone (even more so than its German competitors) the 504 was mechanically such a solid and uncomplicated car that it became a favourite for the African and Latin American markets, being built in Kenia and Nigeria up until 2006! I still recall adventurers in the 1990s here buying rusted-out 504s and driving them from Holland to Africa to sell them for huge amounts. Many didn't make it, and the stripped-bare rusting shells still lying in the desert decades later are evidence of that.
In Argentina, the 504 continued until 1999, with a facelift (or an arselift, rather) in 1991. I got this model hoping that it would be the 1991 model because it's so gloriously ugly but unfortunately it isn't. I'm still happy with it as it portrays the 1980s version with plastic bumpers unique to Argentina.
It's another of the Argentinian PW models that looks really nicely made. It's a lot nicer than Ixo's chrome bumper version which I've gotten rid of because of its low quality. This will look nice alongside the European MC 504. I will add a Dangel 504, a Break and a pickup version later
Salvat PW – Peugeot 504 Argentina
This one will look familiar to Jerry. His posting reminded me that I had these waiting and needed to do the write-up.
The Renault 4CV's development was an interesting story. In occupied wartime France it was not allowed to develop new models and Louis Renault wasn't interested in a small car, he wanted to make medium-sized cars post-war. So two engineers took it upon themselves to develop the 4CV in secret. When the prototype was spotted by the Germans they managed to divert their attention, development of the engine was done under the guise of a post-war update of the existing Juvaquatre. The German director was a bit of a Francophile and managed to turn his back towards all goings-on. When Louis Renault found out, the engineers showed him the work and convinced him in short order. The 4CV's layout was deliberately modelled after the Volkswagen’s, which was deemed the best small car. When the Germans eventually did find out about the 4CV it was almost ready for production and they forced Renault to collaborate with Ferdinand Porsche for the development, the mandated meetings were dispensed with in short order and Dr. Porsche could only conclude that the car was ready for production. The end of WWII meant imprisonment without trial for Porsche and Renault and death under mysterious circumstances for Louis Renault. The 4CV was the first new post-war car. The first batch were all painted in yellow camo paint confiscated from the nazis- probably ex-Afrika Korps. The cars became known as ‘lump of butter’ as a result. I've had a soft spot for the Renault 4CV (as for its contemporaries, I just like small rounded cars from that era). However, a model of the 4CV did not feature in my collection yet. It took a while to remedy that as I was critical in what I wanted, an early car with the large wheels and it had to be an appropriate colour. Luckily Renault commissioned Norev to do a series of historic models, which came in basic packaging to keep prices down. No problem, the 4CV's a basic car anyway and does not need a very detailed model. The result is completely to my liking
Norev DE – Renault 4CV
One of my trading partners needed a picture taken for an online auction. I helped him out and as a thank-you he included several models in the latest deal that we had discussed but that I had not decided on. One of those models is yet another 4CV and it's a later (1950s) car. You can see the difference in the wheels- early cars had a very distinctive design with a very large hub and a series of bolts closer to the wheel rim. Later models got a more conventional layout. So cool to have the two versions of the 4CV next to each other, I really like the metallic green on the late car too
Atlas PW – Renault 4CV
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Post by Tom on Apr 20, 2022 11:52:23 GMT -5
The large European Ford in the 1970s was the Granada. As usual, Ford had a huge range from base-spec models to very luxurious versions used by heads of state. Our royals were loyal customers, running extended wheelbase versions for years. The mk.2 Granada was hardly a surprise, along with the Taunus its lines were simplified to look cleaner and more up to date for the 1980s. This grey was not a popular choice- most were metallic beige, blue or green. I will exchange this model for one in a more typical colour if I find one, but so far it's been a challenge to even find one. Luckily Ixo released this model recently, so I pounced immediately. The Granada was replaced by the Scorpio, shocking the clientele by going from a conventional saloon to a hatchback
Ixo – Ford Granada mk.2
Like many of you I'm not into SUVs for my model collection. I confess to having a weak spot for the original Range Rover though. And while their current models are nice to drive and look better than most competitors, I did not feel the need to collect models of them. Until I saw this new Range Rover SV by -new to me- maker LCD Models. A friend bought one and showed it to me and I changed my mind instantly. It's diecast and very heavy, great quality and it was cheap too. I did not want a black one like my mate but went for this attractive deep blue instead. A very satisfying model to hold in your hand for some reason
LCD Models – Range Rover SV
Dangel was a French company that started out modifying Peugeots 504 for off-road use. Their products were equipped with AWD and were easily recognised by their ‘go anywhere‘ raised ride height. They did a number of rough terrain ambulances based on a high-roof 504 Break but this pick-up was their mainstay. They still exist and still modify PSA products- in my old job as a photographer I had a Dangel Citroën van in front of my camera once. It took no convincing to add this Norev 504 Dangel to my collection- it's just perfect in an '80s colour with the period graphics
Norev – Peugeot 504 pick-up Dangel
Yes, the tailgate does close properly. I was too tired to reshoot when I noticed
Though I'm an Audi fan, I confess to having trouble finding my way in their current lineup. There's a bewildering array of models, some catering to needs that seem to have been invented for the occasion. Somehow even their most obscure creations seem to find their own market so they must be doing something right. The Q range of SUVs and crossovers seems to sprout a new segment every few months. This Q8 is confusingly shorter but wider than the Q7 and features a less steeply raked rear window like that pioneered by the BMW X6. To complete my collection I wanted a Q8, but all I could find was this top of the line RSQ8. It has the added bonus of not being black, but instead comes in a colour nobody will pick in 1:1 because it would depreciate like crazy. It's the thing I like most about this model though
Jadi – Audi RSQ8
Staying in the colourful corner. In 1996 Renault showed the Fiftie as a retro homage to the 4CV which was then 50 years old. Unlike the real 4CV it was a two-door two-seater. It was built on the platform of the Renault Sport Spider and featured a rear-mounted 1.2 engine. Though it was the height of the retro craze, people didn't mob Renault to make it like they did Volkswagen with the New Beetle, so this remained a functional concept. My response to this was a ‘meh' much like the general public in ’96, but after my recent addition of two real 4CVs I decided that this would add some interest to the display. The model was made by Norev for an old Concepts PW
Norev PW - Renault Fiftie
A car that I've always liked is the Corvette. I've been toying with the idea of collecting all generations in 1:43 for some time now and finally decided to bite the bullet. This will probably be a slowly developing theme as I don't intend to go about it aggressively, I'll just collect what comes across my path. The C3 is one of my favourite generations with its voluptuous curves and the 1980 version with the ‘soft face’ bumpers took an elegant design to aggressive instantly. Consider this the starting point of the collection- the rest of the generations will follow as well as a few notable racers (a considerable part of Corvette history). I think Ixo did a great job on this C3
Ixo – Chevrolet Corvette C3
Based on the running gear of the popular 504 saloon, Peugeot had Pininfarina design a very elegant coupé and cabriolet. They were introduced in 1969 and went through two facelifts, the last adding colour-coded plastic bumpers. Production ended in 1983. There are still quite a few of these running around here, though I'd say they're firmly out of the everyday use territory nowadays. On nice days you can always see one or two, their owners enjoying the drive. Another Minichamps release that I'd missed out on and that sold out quickly. It's easy to see why, a quality model. The Maxichamps reissue came at the right time so I snagged both the coupé and the cabriolet in the best colours they offered. See Minichamps, it's possible to make an 1:43 aerial to scale, we don't need a broom handle
Maxichamps – Peugeot 504 coupé & cabriolet
Fiat had two saloons it the late 1960s that looked like brothers, but they were mechanically quite different. While the 124 was a brand-new design in every respect, the larger 125 was built on the platform of the old 1500. The story of the 124 is well-known: built in licence for several markets, later (in)famous as the original Lada. The 125 also went across the border: a less refined engine and raised suspension made it the Polski Fiat 125P and it got a third career in Argentina which took it into the 1980s, whereas the Italian version was discontinued in 1975. The blue car is a first series Argentinean model which is almost identical to the Italian 125, the green car is the facelifted 1980s version unique to Argentina, confusingly named Mirafiori though it had nothing to do with the 131
Salvat Argentinean PW - Fiat 125
If you'd told me a couple of months ago that this would be released, I'd have ignored the PW that I added earlier. Mind you, the PW is a great VFM model and represents the car very well (in fact it probably is the same casting), but it contributes to the greyness in my modern Aston section. The cure for that was affordable luckily, and it's here- Ixo's version is nicely made and it brings back the colour
Ixo - Aston Martin DB11
And the grey PW
By now you should be used to my weird excursions, but you might not expect a 1950s US truck with a personal history. Five years ago, a friend bought a 1950 Chevrolet 6400 that had been converted to a fire engine by Geesink. It had served the Naarden fire brigade until 1977 when it was decommissioned. My friend had vague ideas of turning it into a food truck or a mobile DJ booth but other activities intervened and the car was parked up. He decided that it was time to let it go and spend the resources on other things so we set about fixing it to get it through its roadworthiness test (its last one ever, as it became exempt).
The wiring was ‘interesting' with all red wires going to the rear of the truck, bleeding 65 year old brakes was a challenge as was replacing some suspension bits. Then came the test drive where we managed to run the tank dry on the way to the fuel station, completely blocking a narrow country lane. No, these don't just push to the side. Finally the truck got its approval, we took it to a music festival as a centrepiece and it was bought back by the coachbuilders who made it 65 years earlier for a full resto. Alas, there are no models of this very truck. This was the closest I could get, Ixo’s very nice 1949 Chevrolet 6400
Ixo - Chevrolet 6400
In 1976 there was an oil crisis going on, and the number of participants for the 24 hours of Le Mans had dropped because many teams decided to stay home. John Greenwood had just built this humongous wide-body Corvette with 700+ hp (some say lots +) for a customer, was offered a large sum by the ACO to enter for the 24h but wrecked his own car in practice. With no more time to rebuild it he borrowed his customer's car and called it ‘Spirit of Le Mans ‘76' with a nod to the 1976 US bicentennial. The owner of the car, Rick Mancuso, worked for his father's car dealership and was offered a ride in exchange for borrowing his car. He had to cancel as his father did not give him the time off. How's about that for a dumb reason not to race at LM… the car qualified 9th and attained speeds of over 225 mph. The car ran strongly until the 16th hour when a blown tyre forced it out. It still managed to finish 49th! The model is from the Japanese Le Mans PW and made by Spark. It is diecast and nowhere near the detail or finish level of a ‘real' resin Spark, but at 1/3 the price it's quite good value and the finish is more than decent. This is intended for my Corvette-themed subcollection that I'm slowly compiling. I love the bonkers looks of this
Le Mans 24h PW – Chevrolet Corvette Greenwood ‘Spirit of Le Mans ‘76’
It took a while and a few ‘accidental’ adds for me to decide that Volkswagen Transporters would be a nice subcollection. By then, all the Minichamps T2b vans had sold out. As usual the Maxichamps reissue is a bit more basic but it's still nicely made and one of the four popular colours in the 1970s for this van: blue, moss green, yellow and grey. The plain vans like this have now all but disappeared off the roads, the only T2s you see here now are camper vans
Maxichamps - Volkswagen Transporter T2b van
When I was a kid, seeing one of these on the streets never failed to impress me. The black bodywork with gold accents (hot in the 1970s), the ‘fire chicken‘ on the bonnet, the T-top… they weren't common cars here and they would really get you noticed. I had a Road Tough model of this car but that looked so much better in its box than it did when unpacked, so it was boxed up again and dispensed of last year. Luckily we now have Greenlight with their VFM 1:43 range. That generally means movie connections and this is the Smokey and the Bandit car, but that is not my reason for picking it. It's a nice model of the iconic Pontiac of the ‘70s
Greenlight – Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
Occasionally I add another Morris Minor to my collection, one of the few sections of my collection which escaped the purge. These Oxford models are no better in detail or finish than the 1980s Corgis but they have lots of charm and some are pretty unusual. That goes for this delivery van too. Currys is a British appliance chain store that still exists today, I recall them being everywhere in the ‘80s. The van features a skylight panel and a high roof. I hope deliveries were mostly local because even with the ‘large' 1098 cc engine the drag would keep it below 30 mph
Oxford – Morris Minor Van ‘Currys'
When Volkswagen took over the ailing NSU, they were already developing a smaller and more conventional model in between the loss-leading Ro80 and the ageing NSU 1200. It was called K70, where K stands for Kolben (piston) to distinguish it from the rotary Ro80. Despite it being a little generic and anonymous in its design, it was very modern with a roomy and airy cabin, with narrow roof pillars for great visibility. At the time Volkswagen was leaning heavily on its outdated rear-engined air cooled platform but sales were in decline. The K70 was production-ready (in fact its introduction was due only weeks after NSU was bought out) and quickly introduced as the Volkswagen K70, they didn't even bother to think of a new name. Plans for an estate and a convertible were shelved and the K70 allowed Volkswagen to work on their Passat a little longer. Made between 1970-’75, the K70 was Volkswagen’s first front-engined, water-cooled FWD car. The model is by Norev, and somehow disappoints a little because it lacks the crispness of the 1:1 and the paint seems overly thick. The colour resembles that of the sole surviving K70 in my neighbourhood
Norev - Volkswagen K70
‘I thought you collected Astons, so I got this for you’. Turns out that recently, Astons have not been the classic beauties that they used to be. The Vulcan was designed to be the ultimate track toy. All 24 owners need to have their Vulcan inspected by the factory before every track outing, just like Ferrari did, but Aston actually allows owners to keep the car at home instead of at the plant. The 7.0 V12 creates a stonking 831 hp, the car only weighs 1350 kg. The Vulcan was built in 2015 and ’16 and an engineering firm converted one car for road use. Ixo did a great job on the model but they cannot make this beautiful. I'm no fan of matt paint and I think the blue graphics are a bit OTT too. I'm debating if this gets a permanent place on the Aston shelf or goes to another owner. At least it's brutal
Ixo - Aston Martin Vulcan
Jeff's recent add of a racing 240Z made me realise that I really wanted a rallying version, in fact I wanted only one. It had to be this red one with the matt black bonnet that I'd seen in 1:1 at a few car shows already, the iconic Z rally car piloted by Rauno Aaltonen and Jean Todt to a fifth position in the 1972 Rallye Monte Carlo. Luckily this model from the Rally Monte Carlo PW is very nice yet affordable, no need for an upgrade
Atlas Rallye Monte Carlo PW - Datsun 240Z rally
Not a sports car, not a classic beauty. Probably not a model that anyone else on S143 would like to own.
In 2010 the Mitsubishi i-MiEV (no, not the '90s habit of putting an ‘i’ in front of everything - the original ‘i' was a kei-car with a conventional engine, which grew a little for the EV version) was introduced together with the identical Peugeot IoN and Citroen C-zero. They were ahead of the curve in EVs and it showed. To reduce frontal area the cars were narrow, two adults could sit next to each other but you'd have to be good friends. Rear legroom was OK but the rear seat was equally narrow and the heater was pathetic. A WLTP range of only 100 km and a practical range of 90 made this not a practical proposition for most people and the triplets never sold really well, a very high price didn't help either. The Mitsubishi version was withdrawn from sale here in 2019, with only one single car sold here in its last year. The only one left on the market now is the C-zero, which sold 12 here in 2019. These cars are hardly ever seen on the roads in Holland, when I worked at the car dealership these were all exported to Norway and Denmark. The model depicts a special car made for the Dutch Embassy in Japan. It's sold under the J-collection label, which is an amalgam of model makers
J-collection - Mitsubishi i-MiEV
I recently added an F-type roadster to the collection but if there's a coupé version I generally prefer that. In this round of new Ixo releases was a coupé in a nice colour. Ixo made the roadster version as a DE for Jaguar, so I didn't hesitate to get this one. Good call as it turns out, it’s great and it will look fantastic together with the roadster
Ixo - Jaguar F-type SVR
I've had this model about four times already, in theory. Every time that I managed to locate one it had been sold... but despite it not being a completely accurate reproduction it's the only model of this cult car, the first generation of the Volkswagen Caddy (Rabbit Pick-up). I'd almost given up when I came across this one being offered secondhand for an attractive price. The grill needed regluing (Neo models are self-disassembling kits) and I need a brush hair to replace the antenna but that’s all. These were really popular here as small pickups but also with a canopy used by the postal service and with a windowed canopy as cars for the disabled, where the wheelchair user would sit in the back. Nowadays because of the low survival rate they're cult vehicles for Volkswagen fans, like the mk.1 Golf they're based on. There's one in my neighbourhood in use as a service vehicle for a small garage
Neo - Volkswagen Caddy mk.1 (MCW Edition)
I don't think a lot needs to be said about the Porsche 917K in Gulf livery. Some may call it iconic, others a cliché. I have a couple of 917s but lacked this one. My trading partner came up with this, a post-race version by Brumm. It is not the most high-tech or accurate version, but it is charming and it might be 30 years since my last new Brumm. I'm not a hardcore LM or Porsche collector so this'll do me
Brumm – Porsche 917K
You might recall me adding the iconic (or overexposed, some say) ’69 Camaro by Greenlight to my collection recently. I was doing an internet image search for an unrelated model last week when this came up- the 2012 Camaro in exactly the same orange with identical black striping as my ’69. Easy decision, as an orange ’12 Camaro was one of the more interesting cars I'd driven in my first stint as a car dealership photographer. I still prefer the ’69, but this does look good and it hints to the past without any too-obvious references. Ixo made the model and I think they did a pretty good job. No idea why it has a French registration
Ixo – Chevrolet Camaro 2012
At the Turin auto show of 1955, Alfa Romeo showed their third and last (I won't count the much later rehash) B.A.T. concept. It looked a lot less radical than its predecessors with fins not unlike those on then-current production cars. After adding the radical B.A.T. 5 to my collection, I thought I was done. These Autocult models are out of my comfort zone pricewise and I'd need a great offer or a good reason to add one. Then I was offered the 9 at a substantial discount and I could not resist… but the obvious question is: where is the Autocult B.A.T. 7, and when will you add it? The answer: I can't find any online, my trading partners can't locate one… so this might take a few years
Autocult Masterpiece- Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 9
I have the tendency to go in numbers mode when it comes to fast cars, because that's the only thing that really impresses me about them. Let's get them over with: over 750,000 Euros bought you this when new in 2017. A 6-litre V12 with 601 hp, 3.5 s 0-100 km/h, top speed of 324 km/h. Luckily, Zagato has taken care of the outside so it looks great too. With the trademark ‘double bubble' roof, the intricate design around the rear lights (which seem to have a 1950s 'rocket flame' vibe) and the clean, flowing lines. A fast car that actually looks great! Ixo did a good job on it too, with a classic green metallic paint job and well-captured lines
Ixo – Aston Martin V12 Vanquish Zagato
Another car that's so legendary that it needs to be in any racing car collection is the Ford GT40. Its history has been told by many who can do a much better job than I can, because they actually know stuff about it. Quick rehash: Ford wants to buy Ferrari, old man Enzo says nah, Ford builds their own endurance weapon and beats Ferrari squarely at LM. Goliath beating David, if you will. I had a really cheap but very nicely made 1966 car already but the iconic one is the Gulf version. Fixed that by getting this cheapo ‘Spark' PW 1968 winner. I appreciate that proper LM collectors or GT40 fans want a better model, but this is decent enough. I guess that's my Gulf wing of the collection taken care of
Spark PW - Ford GT40
I'll fix the spinner on the front wheel later, it's off centre
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Post by Tom on Apr 20, 2022 12:02:32 GMT -5
Yet another addition to my GM T-platform cars, the ultimate version of the Kadett C here in Europe. Introduced for the 1976 model year and intended to give the more humdrum Kadetts a sales boost, the GT/E was available as a coupé only. The pre-facelift cars had a 1.9 engine, the facelifted versions like this one a 2.0 which got them up to 189 km/h- a big deal in the ‘70s. It became the 1976 world rally champion so Opel didn't just sell a few more Kadetts. A great idea to reissue this in the Maxichamps range
Maxichamps - Opel Kadett C GT/E
Whilst the first generation of the Panamera was a great driver, its ‘pregnant 911’ aesthetics did it no favours. The second generation addressed this, and by making especially the rear look less 911ish and more elegant I think they succeeded with this restyle. I now like the looks too. A cheap DE model in a nice colour was all the incentive that I needed to add this to the collection. The model was made by Herpa and it looks great
Herpa DE – Porsche Panamera 4S
I'd added the yellow mk.2 R8 roadster to the collection recently, but the coupé was still missing. Fixed that by adding one with an interesting twist, it's the Ring Taxi which gives paying customers a thrilling ride on the Nordschleife section of the Nurburgring track, piloted by an experienced racing driver. The 5.0 V10 has been souped up from 540 to 610 hp for the R8 Plus, enabling 0-100 km/h in 3.2 s and a top speed of 333 km/h. No turbos, so no lag… just instant power. If I have one complaint it's that such a car could use a little colour, but the model is ace
Herpa – Audi R8 V10 Plus Ring Taxi
Lancia had their rally successes in the 1970s with the Stratos, but owner Fiat decided to concentrate on their own 131 as a rally car, which had the added bonus of selling road cars. The Stratos was still campaigned on the side (with decent results) so when the 131’s career ended development went back to Lancia. The Beta Monte Carlo was used as the base for the 037 Group B car. Its mid-mounted engine would benefit handling. Unlike Audi, Lancia didn't trust AWD but kept it rear-driven. The 037 evolved until it started winning rallies in 1983 but then Peugeot entered the 205 T16 and Lancia was done. They developed an Evolution version but were unable to beat Peugeot and Audi so eventually they started developing their own AWD weapon, the Delta S4. If you've watched any 1980s rallying you've seen these fly (literally, four wheels off the ground) through the forest stages at incredible speeds. I had to have one for my rally collection and missed out on a superb HPI (I had an undecaled Vitesse, but that was sold recently). After searching for months I decided on this cheap CMR (Ixo) which does not disappoint given its low price
CMR - Lancia 037
There are two American cars that I have started collecting as sub-themes in my collection: the Corvette and the Mustang. The idea is to show all the different generations together in 1:43. For the Mustang, the ‘80s and ‘90s cars will be hard to find in decent quality. I had a nice early fastback already, but this proved irresistible. Nicely done by Ixo
Ixo – Ford Mustang Shelby GT350
Not back to ordinary street cars just yet... After the F-type Coupé there was only one modern Jaguar left to add to the collection. When I worked at the car dealership one of the sales guys ran a web site about fast cars. He would borrow importer’s demo cars for test drives often and sometimes he would take them to work. One of those cars was an amazing bright blue Jaguar XKR-S. It went like stink and sounded amazing. When one of my trade contacts offered me this model and I learnt that it was blue, I had to have it. It was made by Ixo as a DE and they did a superb job
Ixo DE – Jaguar XKR-S
Though commercial vehicles take up a lot of display space compared to regular cars, I cannot help but add one here and there and they might even end up getting a dedicated display case. It started with the odd car carrier, a fire engine, then a nostalgic Dutch truck, the GMC Futurliner, some race support vehicles and now the truck that was everywhere here in the 1960s - and long after that. Scania-Vabis was well known for its torpedo nose tractors which have slowly disappeared here in recent decades. No truck was more iconic than the Scania 110 and even today, a Scania is the truck that most drivers really aspire to. Most 110s were painted in a two-tone livery like this, which I think looks great. Luckily, this came as a tractor only which reduces the footprint considerably. Ixo does these very nicely, my only complaint is that the rear light units and mudguards look a little too modern for a '50s truck
Ixo – Scania 110 Super
In the mid-1980s Audi wanted to break through in the executive car segment dominated by Mercedes and BMW. They weren't so successful yet that they had funds to develop an entirely new car, so the basic 100/200/5000 shell was modified to take a 3.6 V8. It needed quattro drive and more upmarket trim, and in 1988 the Audi V8 was introduced as a handbuilt top of the line model. The front end with the grill built into the bonnet would hint to future designs. In order to keep a low unsprung weight the wheel sizes had to be kept down, for this purpose they developed a unique brake disc with an internal caliper, quickly dubbed ‘UFO brakes' by the public. This allowed modest 16" forged BBS wheels to be used whilst brake capacity was ample. Later in life a custom-made Exclusive version was introduced, a 4.2 litre version and a long wheelbase V8L. I've driven a few of these rare cars and they're amazing, built like tanks and incredibly comfortable yet capable. The Audi V8 was one of the first Minichamps issues. They reissued it as a Minichamps a couple of years ago with a much-improved casting and now as a Maxichamps. I had this in black but I made most of my V8 kilometres in a silver car, so this was a natural choice
Maxichamps – Audi V8
UFO brake
Nissan released the 350Z in 2002 as a modern continuation of the Z-car line and it turned out to be a bullseye hit. The very willing and glorious-sounding Renault/Nissan 3.5 V6, excellent chassis and a great-looking coupé shape made this car very popular. The roadster version came a year later and it worked well with the shape, though torsional rigidity suffered. The 350Z was replaced by the 370Z in 2009. I've driven a few of these and would love to live with one for a while. My only complaints were the lack of space in the cabin and the boot, and the lack of materials quality which lead to cars looking very used after a couple of years. Especially the silver paint in the interior wore off easily which made the car look worn. The model is by J-Collection, which might mean that it was actually made by Ebbro, Kyosho or Norev
J-Collection – Nissan 350Z
This is somewhat out of my usual collection scope but I've seen the real car in museums and I like it a lot. Not a lot of ‘woodies' that aren't estate cars, so this stands out. After deliberating whether or not to buy one for literally decades (the original casting dates from the 1980s), I finally bit the bullet when a batch of the updated Vitesse models were dumped on the market and this could be had for the price of a PW. I really wanted one in green as I love the contrast with the wood. Very happy with it
Vitesse - Chrysler Town & Country
Known as the Nissan Skyline in Japan and the Infiniti G37 in the US, this is very much a driver's car with a 3.7 litre V6 driving the rear wheels. Although Infiniti tried to conquer the Dutch market (the effort was aborted when they got no more than a 0.2 % market share after a few years- I guess there's no more room here for another maker) this model was never sold here. However, through personal imports several Nissans and Infinitis are now on the roads here and every now and then I see one in traffic. I really like the traditional long nose and the harmonious shape of this car, and having driven a couple of 370Zs with the same engine, I can tell that it's a great powertrain. I think the reasoning is that you can get the Z as a hardcore sports car and this is a sporting grand tourer with more room and comfort, but still lots of go. The excellent model is from the J-collection series
J-collection - Nissan Skyline Coupe 370
I love a good mystery and this is one. In 1985, a camouflaged white car was spotted being test driven by Walter Röhrl in Austria. It was recognisable as an Audi quattro but it was mid-engined, a design that would've improved handling of the quattro no end. When people started photographing the car the Audi crew packed up and left in a hurry. I still have the magazine with the blurry black and white shots somewhere. The car was never seen again, not even in Audi's own museum. Was it destroyed? I guess the popular opinion was that motorsport should improve sales, so the cars competing should resemble cars in the showrooms. That would certainly not be the case with a mid-engined quattro so the plan might have been abandoned for that reason, or this could have been a mule for the stillborn Group S contender. I wonder what might have been and I'm very happy that Autocult made a model of this oddity
Autocult - Audi quattro Gr.B Mittelmotor proto
A while ago I added the facelifted version of the Porsche 928 in blue by Maxichamps to my collection. While that is a great-looking car and an impressive update of the classic shape, my preference is for the very early cars with the pure lines. Nothing has ever improved on those. So when Maxichamps announced the early car, it was a given that it would end up in my collection. But would it be the brown metallic or the green metallic version? Tough choice, and after a day of looking at both I couldn't come up with a favourite so I messaged my trader contact ‘please get me the Maxi 928S' to which he replied ‘brown or green?’. My reply was ‘surprise me, there's no bad choice’. I was surprised indeed when the shipment arrived, and I still can't pick a favourite. I'll let you decide
Maxichamps – Porsche 928S
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