Thursday, November 14, 2013

EFE 1/76 LEYLAND NATIONAL - BARTON



There's a real appeal to the Barton fleet, with plenty of people who have never had a ride on a Barton Buses vehicle still unable to resist models in the livery.

The Barton livery this National I appears in really suits the shape of the bus, and the archer logo is very well done.

A nice touch is the Barton logo on the drivers windscreen. There's no sign of any legal lettering on our pre-production sample, we rather think it should be for Trent, new owners of Barton. Shop here

EFE 1/76 XA ATLANTEAN - LT



The Atlantean was hardly an unqualified success for London Transport. In its short life it wore few livery variations, but XA18 is seen with open bullseye livery. It also features nice LT house ads for travel enquiries and exact fares.

The EFE advertisements feature a gold stripe, but the production release features the correct white stripe appropriate for the open bullseye era. Shop here

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

VOLVO F12 40' FLATBED AND LOAD - H E PAYNE - BEDFORDSHIRE


Now into its sixty-eighth year of trading and with three generations of family ownership, H E Payne Transport Ltd has developed an extensive fleet of vehicles specialising in transporting goods from ambient, chilled and frozen temperature ranges.

Harry Edward Payne was first introduced to fresh produce transportation during the wartime years when he began replacing local farmers’ previous hauliers.
After his death in 1948, his wife Edna and mother Violet kept the business going until 1958. In its growing years, Payne’s bought its vehicles from various sources. David Payne, managing director and son of Harry Payne, recalls at one time having six vehicles, all painted different colours. Generally the livery was mid Brunswick Green with a black chassis and mudguards with gold paint lettering although in recent years the chassis colour has change to red.

Payne’s first Volvo was an F86 6x2 rigid and made a strong first impression. Today H E Payne operates from their five acre site at Wyboston next to the house where Harry Payne started his business. When Harry Edward Payne started up his Bedfordshire based haulage business back in 1938 he could hardly have imaged that so many years later the company would still be going strong and providing employment for two later generations of his family. Shop here

CORGI 1/76 PD2 ORION - PLYMOUTH



Plymouth had a long history as a loyal Leyland buyer, and in 1955 took delivery of  the then new and lightweight MCW Orion body on 90 new PD2s.

The Plymouth livery is well reproduced, and gives a really satisfyingly Corporation bus feel. The radiator is a bit bright but commendably thin, and both 'Cyder' and beer adverts lead one to think a holiday in Plymouth in the 50s must have been quite an affair. Charming stuff from OOC. Shop here

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

EFE 1/76 DAIMLER UTILITY MIDLAND RED



What a real delight this model is. It may only be a 40's bus, but in many ways it looks older, thanks to the old fashioned Midland lettering and the squareness of the Utility body.

Look up close, and it is yet another virtually new casting around the cab area. Of course the radiator is different from previous Utilities, but so also is the area below the driver's screen, with new positioning again for the cast-in headlights and the cover box.

The bonnet is the same length as the previous Mk I Arab, not the Mk II with the extended length. The mudguards are created in the plastic moulding used for the chassis, and follow a different pattern for the odd Mk II or curvier Mk I wings.

he fluted top of the Daimler radiator is nicely cast-albeit in plastic- and again there is the well-detailed interior roof. Shop here

BRUMM 1/43 FERRARI 330 P4


The model represents the Ferrari 330 P4 V12 'spyder' sports car with race number 224, as raced by Nino Vaccarella and Ludovicio Scarfiotti in the 1967 Targa Florio race, pracices were held and Vaccarella achieved the fastest lap time of 37 minutes 12.4 seconds. Scarfiotti in the same car recorded a time of 41 seconds slower. Vaccarella led the opening lap, but in the village of Collesano, trying too hard, the Sicilian driver slid the car into a stone wall breaking the car wheel hubs and front suspension. Shop here

Sunday, July 28, 2013

BRUMM 1/43 MORGAN MX4



These days, the only three-wheeler we get excited about is Del Boy's Regal van, but back in the 30s, the Morgan MX4 was a most exciting car to own.

Fast, stylish and to all intends and purposes, qualifying as a motorbike in term of licensing and running costs, the Morgan gave stylish motoring to many people for the first time. Noisy though the Supersport was, it became a much loved machine.

Brumm has, of course, done a very neat job with its Morgan. We all ought to buy one simply to encourage the company to make a few more British outline model!

The detailing in that air-cooled engine, the nicely spoked wheels with separate hubs and the gleaming exhaust make this a most attractive model.(Review by Diecast Model) Shop here

Sunday, June 30, 2013

FERRAI 250 CALIFORNIAN


The Art Model 250 Californian is a marvelous looking car in 1957 Stradale red. The interior of the model features picked-out window winders and handles. There's chrome badging and an etched grille, and all the other details we expect. Odd, though, that the door handles should be a rather smudgy silver tampo print amongst all this excellence. Shop here

Friday, June 28, 2013

BRISTOL REEL - EASTERN NATIONAL



EFE's version in Eastern National colours is superb. The cream band with black lining is spot on. The lettering and characteristic Eastern National fleet number plates are also excellent. But the best feature is, to this reviewer's mind, the cream windscreen surround.The Bristol RE with flat front may have been the unsung bread and butter stalwart of its time, but EFE has still gone to town on detail touches such as the cream band with black lining. Shop here

PORSCHE 908 FLUNDE - WATKINS GLEN 69


The Porsche 908/2 Flounder Watkins Glen 1969 is a nicely finished model with neat interior and good decals. As driven by Siffert and Redman it's a striking vehicle. Shop here

BEST MODEL 1/43 FERRARI 312P LE MANS


The best Ferrari 312P coupe of the 1969 Le Mans race is a neat model, with well applied decals, separately fitted lights, fuel caps and well presented wheels and treys  The model has also been produced in 'Prova' 1969 colours, without the decals. Shop here

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

CORGI VINTAGE GLORY


The nostalgic appeal of the Vintage Glory range has already created a stir amongst collectors. Now the Sentinel appears in the livery of Paul Bros Ltd, of the Homepride Flour Mills, Birkenhead. Once again it's a superb model, complete with glazing, interior detail and neat chassis detailing.

This model comes with a trailer for the first time, and moulded flour sacks, which look quite realistic.

The red plastic wheels let the model down just a little, but the tampo printing and general charm of the vehicle will mean it forms part of many a new steam vehicle collection.  Shop here

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

CORGI: RELIANT TROTTERS INDEPENDENT TRADERS


When Lledo introduced the Reliant Regal Supervan III for Christmas 1997 as the Trotters Independent Traders van from the television series Only Fools and Horses, many commented that it looked too clean. So now a 'dirty' version has been produced. 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

KYOSHO 1/18 MORRIS MINI TRAVELLER




Kyosho is offering the Morris in green. The shape has been perfectly captured, and the detailing is extremely good, with opening side and rear doors, and bonnet. Particularly pleasing is the internal detail, albeit the dashboard area is somewhat basic. The fit of the timber on the nearside could be better. A word of warning: if testing the opening features, do be careful. The door handles are very fragile. Shop here

Mercedes-Benz Actros 1846 with a Pril beer bottle

  Die-cast car model "Mercedes-Benz Actros 1846" with a Pril beer bottle on a trailer and a traffic sign, made in China by Hummer ...