MATCHBOX REGULAR WHEEL NO.51A - ALBION CHIEFTAN

A yellow Albion Chieftan Flat bed Truck with a pale brown load (51a) had ‘Portland Cement’ decals on the cab doors in a circle and on the truck sides in two lines. Very quickly the decals on the sides of the truck were increased to read, ‘Blue Circle Portland Cement’. Both the truck and the load were subject to colour shades, generally becoming lighter as time went on. All four tyres of wheels were fitted, with both the grey and rarer silver plastic wheels even appearing in two sizes.

PICK OF THE CROP

Siku have become specialists in agricultural harvesters of late, releasing sugar beet, potato, grape and combine harvesters, but their new forage harvester must be the best harvester to date. Priced more like a toy than a collectable, this forage harvester puts many much more expensive models to shame. The 1/32 scale John Deere 7500 self propelled forage harvester, fitted with a detachable eight row maize header, is loaded with detail and includesa glazed cab, opening engine compartments which reveal a detailed engine and a steerable knob over the engine compartment for the carpet farmer to steer this impressive machine. Shop here

CORGI 1/43 LAND ROVER 110 - THAMES VALLEY POLICE

The Defender, and in another popular livery, this time for the Police, Thames Valley to be precise. part of the 'nine double nine' range. Shop here

SCHUCO 1/43 MERCEDES-BENZ L 319 PORSCHE SUPPORT VAN

The Mercedes-Benz L 319 was the company’s first delivery van design after WWII, premiering in 1955. It was designed to carry payloads from 1.6 to 1.9 tons and was available in a variety of configurations: Delivery van, small bus, pickup and even as a cab/chassis for customer applications. Mercedes applied its usual engineering prowess and innovation to create a forward cab design with a slightly rounded, enclosed structure, creating a load-bearing box. The mechanical design was intentionally simple with solid axles and leaf springs, and options for gas and diesel engines from the Mercedes passenger car program. The L 319 was a huge commercial success with over 120,000 built when it was replaced in 1968 by the T2 series. Shop here

HOT WHEELS 1/50 1966 TV SERIES BATCYCLE VEHICLE

The original Batcycle designed for the TV series was built from a Yamaha Catalina 250. The attached sidecar featured a portable go-cart with its own Yamaha engine that propelled off the sidecar when Batman™ slowed down or stopped. The Batcycle was customized with a batshield molded into the fairing and fender guard. Since its first appearance in the 1940s, the futuristic gadgets and unique styling of the Batmobile appealed to car lovers everywhere. This Hot Wheels line pays homage to the history of the Batmobile with our second series of 1:50 scale vehicles, using models specific to the Batman movies, comic books, animated series, and television show. Shop here

HOT WHEELS 1/50 1966 TV SERIES BATMOBILE VEHICLE

The Bat Mobile designed for the 1966 Batman TV Series was based on the Ford Motor Company's Lincoln Futura concept car. When approached to create a coar for the TV show, custom car builder George Barris decided the Ford Futura was the perfect fit. With existing bat-like features such as long fins and a bubble canopy, other "bat-gadgets" were added such as the nose-mounted chain slicer, on-board telephone and police beacon. This year, our Hot Wheels version has been modified with a trailer hitch to tow the 1966 Bat Boat. See more

HOT WHEELS 1/50 1966 TV SERIES BATBOAT VEHICLE

The Batboat is the latest in Hot Wheels' line of 1:50 scale vehicles based on the 1966 'Batman' television series, joining the Batmobile, Batcycle, and the Batgirl cycle ( at the time of this writing, the Batgirl cycle is still only available in a limited edition San Diego Comic Con boxset ).

The Batboat comes with a black plastic trailer, customized with the addition of batfins over the wheel wells, and bat insignias on the hubcaps. This trailer is a completely imaginary item, since on the television show ( and in the 1966 theatrical film where the boat was first introduced ) we never saw the Batboat being towed on a trailer of any kind. The boat was always seen to be docked by a pier, ready to go. The trailer attaches to a hitch added to newer editions of the previously released 1:50 scale Batmobile. Unfortunately, when the two models are displayed in tandem, it points out what appears to be a size discrepancy between the two, as the boat seems to be somewhat smaller in scale than the car. The boat does not stay securely, and only rests loosely atop the trailer.

As to the boat itself, the overall color is a dark metal-flake blue, with red pinstriping similar to that on the Batmobile. This is very close to the color of the original boat as seen on the T.V. series. The top of the boat has fairly correct silver highlighted detailing ( although curiously, the 'antenna' between the cockpit bubbles lacks the highlighting ). The sides of the hull have a large white flared leaf or feather shaped area on either side, which appears to be a common feature on the original Crestflite V174, which was produced and modified by Glastron for the show. However, on the Batboat, this was modified with the addition of a sporty red and yellow flame design. The flame on this toy, while similar, does not match the original exactly. However, it is close enough to pass inspection ( if you're not comparing it to still frames from the series ). The large tail fin has the appropriate yellow oval Batman shields ( though they look a bit small ), but it lacks the three white hightlights on both sides that accent the batwing scalloping in the rear ( I don't know why, but this is one missing detail that bothers me a lot ).

The shape of the boat itself seems to be a bit thicker and stubbier than the actual boat used on the show. I may be wrong, but it seems to my eyes that the length of the bow has been foreshortened. Unfortunately, the sculptors of this replica apparently did not have access to the original vehicle from which to take their measurements ( unlike the Hot Wheels Batmobile, which was created from digital scans of the actual car ).

Although the Batboat itself is not entirely accurate, It's still a nice addition to the Hot Wheels line, especially since replicas of the vehicles from the Batman television series have not been seen on toy store racks in well over twenty years. --Davidp