Saturday, November 21, 2009

ERTL - 1976 FORD GRAND TORINO "STARSKY & HUTCH"


The red and white ‘Starsky and Hutch Ford Gran Torino’ capitalized on the highly successful American ‘cop’series and captured the imagination well. However, its contours were a little crude and the wheels were far too small. The white stripe label was also prone to being poorly aligned. Early versions of this 1/35th scale model had clear windows and a yellow interior, and featured posed figures of Dave Starsky and Ken Hutchinson apprehending a suspect. Later versions had solid black windows without any interior or figures, but it did gain twin rear aerials due to the casting being altered slightly for the Corgi Torino Road Hog. Production ceased in 1985/86. A limited run included the Junior version in the same box.



Friday, November 20, 2009

VANGUARDS 1/43 AUSTIN MINI ON FIRE


Resplendent in customised Boy Racer decoration, our 'On Fire' mini also features jewelled headlights, working suspension and detailed chassis, not to mention that prominent aerial and shocking pink upper body paintwork.

SIKU - LINDE H80 FORK LIFT TRUCK


The Linde H80 Fork Lift truck, in the usual 1/15th scale range, is a superb piece of kit and it will not look out of place alongside any other 1/50th scale models in your collection.

Siku have excelled themselves and produced a model coasting just a few pounds that is equal to those 'other' German promotionals which cost three or four times the price. Using their now stanard 'truck' wheels and tryres, which are pretty good for a toy, the Fork Lift is beautifully decorated and well put together.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

REVELL 1/18 WIESMANN ROADSTER COLOR A


In the beginning, as with many individually built cars, there was a dream.This was the case with the brothers Martin and Friedhelm Wiesmann who, in 1985, came up with the idea of building a made-to-measure car developed and designed by them. It was not realised until 1993 when a small series was produced. This agile, hand-crafted two-seater from the workshop in Dülmen offers individualists intoxicating performance combined with classical but timeless lines.

Opulent, but also attractive and sporty the Roadster presents itself with a long sweeping bonnet finished off with a rounded rear which fires an enthusiasm that many a major manufacturer longs for. The cockpit is also dazzling, finished with top quality chrome and leather fittings from the firm's own workshop. It is not only the design of the MF 3 that satisfies the highest requirements. Dynamic handling characteristics prove the Roadster to be a real thoroughbred sportster. The technology, suspension, axles and gears come from the BMW M range, so that the MF 3 hides under its bonnet a powerful, water-cooled, 6-cylinder in-line engine with a capacity of 3.2 litres and 343 bhp.

The workmanship and harmony of all its parts give it a really spectacular performance. In addition to a powerful burst of speed, the Roadster offers perfect traction and accurate cornering, together with neutral handling characteristics at its performance limits. It sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5 seconds and has a top speed of 255 km/h See more

MINICHAMPS 1/12 LOTUS RENAULT 97T 1985 AYRTON SENNA




Minichamps 1/12 Lotus Renault 97T Ayrton Senna 1st GP Win Portugal 1985 # 540 851292 For the first time ever on an Ayrton Senna replica, this 1/12 scale Lotus Renault 97T from Minichamps features a cockpit fairing which lifts off to reveal the kevlar-carbon monocoque and Renault EF4B/15 engine in all their glory. Limited to just 6194 pieces worldwide and measures some 14 inches (32cm) in length.

VANGUARDS - TRIUMPH HERALD 948 SALOON - 50 th ANNIVERSARY


Triumph’s elegant Herald was styled by Italian Giovanni Michelotti and launched in April 1959, priced at £495 in saloon form. The car modelled, WOY 660, was built on 24th August 1959 and dispatched on 3rd September to Mr Frank Carr, of the influential Triumph dealership ‘Carr’s Auto Sales’, for his personal use. Carr was a good friend of Standard-Triumph’s Managing Director Alick Dick, and had previously sold Dick his yacht ‘Herald’. The yacht’s moniker inspired the naming of Triumph’s new model range, so, without this car’s first owner, the Herald may have been launched with its development project name, Zobo. See more

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

CORGI - FODEN LIVESTOCK - IAN S. ROGER -NEWTON OF FORGIE, KEITH


In 1973 Ian Roger and his wife Rachel started in livestock haulage operating 2 lorries and employing 1 driver with a 1968 7 tonne Commer with a 21 ft cedarwood float painted in British Leyland Rover Sand. The business slowly grew through the 70s and 80s expanding into bulk and general haulage. In the early 90s their two sons Colin and Graeme Roger joined the family business and started moving bulk vegetables in a larger scale. Today the Company runs a mixed fleet of Scania, Volvo, Foden, DAF and MAN artics and drawbar combinations concentrating on livestock, bulk and general haulage, still painted in the same colour of Rover Sand. See more

CORGI 1/50 FULLER BREWERY FODEN DROPSIDE WITH TRAILERS AND BARREL LOAD


Fullers Brewery Foden Dropside with Trailers and Barrel Load limited edition model overall length approx 38cm, finished in tan with black chassis's and red wheels with gold lettering.The Foden has glazed side windows with gold piping around the cab and also gold lettering for the Company's name a barrel load completes the model. Limited edition certificate is also provided

EFE 1/76 PARAMOUNT 3500 - GREENLINE INVICTA


Perhaps the most interesting of the Paramount release so far is this Green Line-liveried model in Maidstone & District's Invicta branding for the Maidstone to London Express service.

The colourful London Greenline coach services livery sets off the rather formal lines of the Paramount well, and in fact the liverly could have been designed specially for the Paramount, so cleverly does it pick up on that characteristic plunging side window.

The front grille is to a slightly different pattern than the previous versions.

One of the neatest touches is the appearance of the small Plaxton badges front and rear, while the Invicta prancing white horse logo in its red triangle is a gem. A characterful latter day Greenline coach from EFE. See more

CORGI 1/76 MINI VAN 'CORGI TOYS'


A new tool for 2008 the 1:76 scale Mini Van modelled here depicts the retro styling of the Corgi Toys of yesteryear. Like today’s Multi-Purpose Vehicle’s or MPV’s the original Minivan (1962-1969) was designed for maximum interior room and was introduced during the 1950s coinciding with the emergence of Corgi Toys. This model celebrates the decade that also saw Mettoy Playcraft Ltd launch Corgi Toys as its new toy range of die-cast model cars. They were the only toy cars on the market at that time so were a huge hit. See more

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

IXO 1/43 NISSAN R390 GTI 'JOMO' 1998 LE MANS


The model in the IXO ‘Le Mans Legend’ is the Nissan R390 GTI raced at the 1998 Le Mans 24-Hours race.

The car sponsored by ‘Jomo’ and ‘Sports Graphic Number’ was driven to a third overall finishing position in the hands of its three Japanese drivers Motoyama/Kageyama/Kurosawa. Carrying racing number 33, the car carries the goodwill wishes of the sponsoring magazine’s readers on the top of each of its rear wheel arches.

The model shows the complete racing interior through the windows, which includes racing fire extinguisher. See more

Monday, November 16, 2009

VANGUARDS 1/43 MINI VAN ENFIELD BRAKE AND CLUTCH SERVICE YELLOW




During the design of the original Mini saloon, Alec Issigonis had shown great devotion to the packaging of the car. The ten-inch wheels placed at the very corners of the vehicle, external body seams, beautifully packaged drive-train and compact suspension system all helped the Mini to have a ground breaking passenger space to vehicle size ratio. Those very same features meant the load bay of the Minivan was flatter and bigger than you had any right to expect in a van only ten inches longer than its tenfoot long saloon cousin.

MATCHBOX: JEEP GLADIATOR




In January the first release for the year appeared in the form of a Jeep Gladiator Pick-up (71b) with suspension. This was the first of many Jeeps to be included in the miniature range and was obviously to boost sales in the US, although it was not the most appealing of models. It was paintd red all over and had opening doors with either a plastic or metal door spring.
It had black wheels and a black base which came with and without a patent number. A green interior was fairly common in Europe but soon all models had white interiors. The early European versions with green interiors are quite sought after in the US.

Friday, November 13, 2009

MAISTO 1/18 SCALE - MERCEDES CLK-GTR


Following the release of the 1977 ‘works’ AMG and Person Motorsports models of the Mercedes CLK-GTR, the 1998 Champions, gained by victory a the last race, were Klaus Ludwig and Ricardo Zonta, who beat the favourites Bernd Schneider and Mark Webber to the title. The car shown is the Schneider/webber car with racing number 1. When first raced at Le Mans, the car was a dismal failure, retiring early after a fast start; the decision to race at the French circuit proved to be an error.The model has opening doors and removable rear bodywork. The interior of the driver’s cockpit reveals plenty of detail, including all the knobs and dials. The rear body shows engine internals, full suspension detail and engine wiring, which, for a model of this size and cost, represents good value for money. The car carries ‘D2’ and ‘Warsteiner’ sponsorship. See more.

Matchbox Models of Yesteryear Y-18C 1918 Atkinson Steam Lorry

    Matchbox Models of Yesteryear Y-18C 1918 Atkinson Steam Lorry was made in England by Matchbox International in 1986. It is 11 cm long an...