Innehållsförteckning för October 2023 från Diecast Collector

We had some exciting post arrive this month… Esval have sent us a quartet of their recent releases of the 1958 Edsel Station Wagon variants. Though the Edsel goes down in history as a marketing flop by Ford in America, in truth the car itself was as good as any on the market in its day, and examples are keenly collected nowadays. There are plenty of models out there, but mostly of the convertibles, sedans and hardtops; not very many of the station wagons or their derivatives. Esval have taken a big step in remedying that with their latest releases. First up the 2-door Roundup was the base model station wagon in the Edsel range, and lasted only through the 1958 year. Esval’s version is in bright orange-red with cream…

Tecnomodel has just announced that it will be replicating the 1969 Ferrari 612P Can-Am racer in 1/18 scale. The 612P Can-Am was the first Ferrari specifically designed to compete in the North American Can-Am sportscar championship. Prior to that, a modified 412P had been used. Although the 612P officially made its debut in the 1968 season finale in Las Vegas, Chris Amon only lasted one lap. The New Zealander had a better time of it the following year though, scoring three podium finishes (in back-to-back races at Watkins Glen, Edmonton and Mid-Ohio) to end the campaign sixth in the standings. Tecnomodel will be producing four different versions of the 1969 Ferrari 612P Can-Am (three Amon racing versions and one press car): • TEC18256A Ferrari 612P Can-Am - 1969 Press Car…

So many of us in the hobby are classic car enthusiasts, and no doubt quite a few of us have a full-size classic or two. For us, a historic car gathering is an enjoyable day out – all the more so if there is a nice big autojumble where we can rummage or browse. One of the largest rallies in the North of England is the annual event organized by NECPWA (North of England Classic and Pre-War Automobiles) at Newby Hall near Ripon, North Yorkshire. Usually with around 1,000 vehicles, mostly cars and light commercials, on show, it has a nicely-varied autojumble as well, usually with plenty of models on offer, as well as everything else motoring-related. This year’s event, on July 16, was as popular as ever, and the…

My love of particular BMW cars started way back in the late sixties with the pretty ’02’ two-door sedans, coupés and convertible versions of the BMW “Neue Klasse” range introduced earlier in that decade. In particular the 1802, 2002 and of course the stunning coupé versions culminating in the E9 series coupés of 1968-75. I guess that, for me, no subsequent model series from BMW have quite equalled those era idiosyncratic vehicles. Granted though there have been some pretty fabulous models built since and BMW seems to have evolved in several directions simultaneously over the past few decades with particular series each becoming almost anthem images for several differing automotive lifestyle followings. There is no doubt also that the excitement and charisma of Alpina further enhanced my love of that…

In order for the Royal Artillery to engage targets quickly, consistently and accurately, a number of factors have to be taken into consideration when calculating exactly how the gun has to be set-up prior to firing. These included: the type of gun, the type of shell, the type of charge, the position of the gun, the elevation of the barrel, the bearing of the barrel, the position of the target, up to date meteorological data and the muzzle velocity (MV) of the gun. Here we will look specifically at the calculation of the muzzle velocity. Muzzle velocity is affected by a number of factors: type of gun, type and weight of shell, type of charge, all of these are known values based on historical information. However, over time as the…

Probably the first toy car that any kid asks from his parents is the replica of the family’s set of wheels. For a child to have in his hand the ‘same’ car as his parents, opens chances to replicate on his bedroom floor, some of the journeys made with the family in the real thing. Of course, it was not always that simple to find the exact replica. Toy manufacturers would not release all models on sale, let alone all body configurations, for instance the number of doors. Cars may have two or four doors and he was a lucky kid who found the correct door count in his toy. Re-stylings and model year changes were not so common in the past, however some car makers already did those, making…

The 1963-67 Chevrolet Corvette C2 Sting Ray is an instantly recognisable American classic; readers of a certain age may remember Corgi’s cherry red split-window coupé with its swivelling headlights. Taking its styling themes from the 1959 Corvette XP-87 Stingray Racer concept and V8 engines up to 427 cubic inches (7.0 litres) delivering 435 gross bhp, this was an awesome beast. The ultimate C2 was the Grand Sport “Lightweight”, intended as a track rival for the Ford-supported Shelby Cobra programme, despite the ongoing Automobile Manufacturer's Association ban on official racing initiatives. It was created in secret by Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, with an intended batch of 125 for homologation in the FIA’s Grand Touring category and an eventual target of winning the Le Mans 24 Hours. Five coupés were built…

It’s a big venture (and seemingly getting bigger by the week!), and I freely admit that this sweep of diecast production cannot realistically cover everything. That said, hopefully, in amongst the entries, there will be something fresh for the seasoned collector; whilst those embarking on this fascinating hobby will have at their fingertips some information that may prove useful in their perusals or purchases. So, without further ado, let’s begin… ATLAS SHRUGGED A division of De Agostini, the company (off shoot?) of Atlas Editions faded away from the collecting scene around 2018. Specialising in the subscription collection, something a little out of the ordinary, it hooked plenty of interested parties, largely because the models it presented were not necessarily available elsewhere. Coaches and buses in 1/76 scale were arguably its…

Warwick and Warwick’s latest auction saw some very competitive bidding, with a wide range of diecast collectables leading the charge. Lot 208A containing later dated Matchbox models was estimated at £725 and sold for an impressive £1,950. Lot 209, comprising over 100 Matchbox themed items such as fire engines and replicas, also sold well and went for £1,300, over an estimate of £525. Lot 219 was a racing themed collection with Minichamps and Onyx, which sold for £850 and had an estimate of £450. If construction vehicles are your thing, then Lot 244 would have appealed. Consisting of Conrad, Corgi and NZG models it sold for £900, with an estimate of £380. All the Corgi Aviation Archive lots sold well, as expected, as the condition of the models were all…

■ Item: Taylor & Barrett 1930-40s aircraft set No.306 Condition: near mint, with all original figures, planes and accessories. Sold for: £1,250 (2 bids) ■ Item: Hot Wheels RRRumblers Rumblers Condition: excellent with all original pieces, box was worn but generally good and intact Sold for: £908 (5 bids) ■ Item: Matchbox Superfast Pontiac GP Sports Coupe No.22 Condition: excellent model although missing outer box Sold for: £797.77 (35 bids) ■ Item: Matchbox Lesney Ford Galaxie E-Type, dating from 1966 Condition: excellent pre-production rare blue version Sold for: £1,099.99 (5 bids) ■ Item: Dinky Toy pre-war Delivery Van No.28S "Fry's Chocolate" Condition: body casting good with some small paint chips, would benefit from cleaning Sold for: £886.33 (42 bids) ■ Item: Corgi Toys No.270 James Bond Aston Martin DB5 Condition:…

Derbyshire based promotional model trucks specialist, Search Impex, has announce the release of a 1/50 scale DAF XF 530 Space cab MY2017 (6x4) heavy recovery truck, customised in Stort Mill Recovery’s livery. The models have been produced exclusively for Search Impex by WSI Models as a certificated Limited Edition (155 pieces). With its Head Office in the village of Braughing, close to the Hertfordshire town of Ware, Stort Mill Garage & Recovery have been recovering, repairing and fixing vehicles in the London, Herts and Essex area for more than 35 years. Known for being specialists in on- and off-road recovery for all types of vehicles (cars, trucks, vans, buses and coaches, through to horse boxes, plant and agriculture machinery) Stort Mill Recovery understands how important it is to stay mobile.…

When Renault launched its ‘4’ in 1961, 4, it was a time when several decades of economic stagnation were giving way to growing prosperity and surging car ownership in France. Although it was marketed as a short estate car, its minimal rear overhang and single top-hinged rear opening effectively made it the world's first mass-produced hatchback, as well as it being the first front-wheel-drive family car produced by Renault. Production passed the 1 million mark in 1966 and carried on in France until 1992 (1994 in Slovenia), with over 8 million having left the line by then. In early 1956, Renault’s Chairman, Pierre Dreyfus, launched the project to compete against Citroën’s 2CV. The Renault 4 shared many design traits with the older Citroën 2CV in order to allow it to…

In a previous issue of Diecast Collector (June 2016), I wrote about French Dinky’s Berliet GBO Saharian oil pipe laying truck, number 888. Known as the ‘Lord of the Desert’, French Dinky replicated the Berliet GBO because of its importance to France’s oil exploration in the North African desert. Launched in the second edition of the 1969 French Dinky catalogue, they introduced a further version of the Berliet GBO, all-terrain vehicle, as quarry dump truck or tilting tipper (725). It is said that this model was one of the last to be manufactured before the closure of French Dinky’s Bobingy factory, in Paris. French Dinky’s 188mm long Berliet 6x6 GBO was numbered 572 and cost fr 22.225 when new. At a 1/43 scale, the cab and chassis were derived from…

Since the 1980s, Hot Wheels has produced several ranges of colour-changing diecast vehicles. Variously sold under the names of Automagic, Colour Racers, Colour FX and Colour Shifters, the models featured the novelty action of changing colour when exposed to heat or cold – usually achieved by dipping the car in warm or cold water. Early examples were finished in colour-changing paint, while more recent examples had bodies made from a heat-sensitive plastic. There was even a range called ‘Convertables’ that changed shape and colour when immersed in hot water (see the November 2007 issue – Ed.) By the 1990s the novelty of colour-changing cars had worn off somewhat, and the concept was retired for a time. In 2008, a new range of colour changing vehicles was introduced, now called Colour…

P.C. Pinkerton was a short-lived animated cartoon that was aimed at very young children. Produced in 1988 by Trevor Bond Associates, it featured the adventures of Police Constable Bob Pinkerton, an old-school bobby based in the idyllic middle-English village of Cleybourne. Unusually for a cartoon character, Bob Pinkerton was a family man and lived with his wife Jill and children Jane and Peter. The programme was intended to show the life of a policeman, although his life was a pretty mild one. There appeared to be no crime in Cleybourne, and Bob’s most dangerous duties involved helping children cross the street or rescuing pets from trees. P.C. Pinkerton would address the audience directly to explain what he was doing. He was voiced by Ian Lavender, best known for Dad’s Army.…

Number 39 during the Lesney-era Superfast range comprises an original fantasy concept-car in an eye-catching colour, along with a familiar looking Rolls-Royce. CLIPPER Range: Rola-matics Production: 1973-79 Catalogue: 1973-79 Box Styles: I, J From moving figures (No.47 Beach Hopper and No .28 Stoat) to rising and falling exhausts (No.39 Clipper), somebody at Lesney had definitely been very creative with their imagination. Clipper is a wedge-shaped fantasy concept car-style creation with a pair of rear-exiting tailpipes that move up and down in tandem as forward progress occurs (described as "rise-n-fall exhaust" in the catalogue). It also features a rather exciting lifting canopy. Always metallic magenta in colour (there were slight variations in the shade over the years) with a yellow interior and amber window unit, the most obvious variations, albeit still…

Special Auction Services’s Toys for the Collector sale attracted plenty of interest recently. If the star lot, a Dinky Monks & Crane Bedford van in cream over pale blue, and one of two just promotional models made, failed to sell (estimate was £5-7,000), that wasn’t the case elsewhere. A winning bid of £120 secured a pre-war Dinky No.16 Silver Jubilee train set with panoramic box; and £250 won the Dinky Triumph Herald in Lichfield Green with a white flash: these particular paint variants were not retailed in the High Street but sent to Standard Triumph dealerships straight from the factory. A host of Mini models appeared at the two-day auction and the highest achiever was the Stripey The Magic Mini model, which was as mint as they come: this Dinky…

■ Corgi Gift Set 21 Chipperfields Circus Crane with Scammell Handyman Cab and Menagerie Trailer, with 3 x bears, 2 x lions and an elephant figure, diecast showing paint chips but gd overall, inner tray very good, outer box missing end flap. Sold for £360, Wessex Auction Rooms, July. ■ Corgi Major 1139 Chipperfields Menagerie Scammel Handyman MK3 Tractor Unit & Trailer, with 4 x tigers and 2 x lion figures, diecast showing paint chips but good overall, box with small tear to bottom front corner and price sticker to an end, corner of box window missing otherwise good overall. Sold for £160, Wessex Auction Rooms, July. ■ Corgi Major 1144 Chipperfields Circus Crane Scammell Handyman Cab, complete with 2 x rhino figures, decals very good, diecast showing paint chips…

The Dinky Toy Collectors' Association (DTCA) held its 2023 AGM on the 8 July at the Bull Hotel, Peterborough. In the room there were Dinky Toys on display tables providing much interest for the members. The proceedings started at 2.00pm with a welcome by the Chairman, Michael Driver who then followed with his report on the events since the last AGM in 2022. After this the Committee gave their reports. During the AGM there was much discussion by the members about the future of the DTCA. This included all aspects of publicity and as with many other clubs how to find new members. Also important was looking at what young people collect today and to provide an interest in Dinky Toys, especially the later models. For the 20th anniversary of…

The Spalding Model Tractor & Construction Show, under new management since 1st January 2023, proudly announced its first show under the stewardship of Daniel Hewitt and Kerry Gooden “an outstanding and heart-warming success”. Drawing over 700 attendees through the doors, and a waiting list of traders, the event brought together a vibrant community of tractor enthusiasts and hobbyists, fostering camaraderie, knowledge exchange, and a shared love for all things tractors and construction. The bi-annual show has been a staple of the local community and beyond for over 35 years. However, this event held special significance as it marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter, infused with renewed enthusiasm and dedication to maintaining its position as the country’s premier model tractor and construction showcase. Showcasing an impressive array of meticulously…

To celebrate the centenary of arguably the world’s greatest motor race, a brand new collection of 50 1/43 scale releases by Ixo has just begun. Released in pairs or available to purchase individually, the “24h Le Mans Collection” will see many of Ixo’s superb 1/43 scale Le Mans replicas repackaged with an informative magazine (with a free binder to keep them in). Further free gifts for subscribers will come in the form of a specially-commissioned mug and a 1/43 scale Fiat Bartoletti racing car transporter. Starting off the collection are two very recent runners – the 2018-winning Toyota TS050 Hybrid and the 2019 LMGTE class-winning Porsche 911 RSR that was decorated in a tribute livery to the iconic 917-20 that raced in 1971, the ‘Pink Pig’. Both models are finished…

In the post-war era it was the British aircraft industry that identified the need for ever-faster airliners and married this to the development of the jet engine. When the De Havilland Comet became the first jet-powered airliner to enter service it heralded the era of efficient, fast passenger transport on a global scale. Despite the problems that Comet encountered there was no turning back and it was in 1956 that the aircraft authorities first sat down with the UK aircraft industry and formed the Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee (STAC). Between them they forged plans for a future supersonic jet airliner known as Super Sonic Transport (SST). By 1960 Bristol Aircraft, soon to merge into British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), had drafted a feasibility study and design for its Type 198, a…

Golden Wheel Die Casting Factory Ltd was typical of many toy companies that sprang up in China some three decades ago. The rapid development of Chinese diecasting capabilities led Hong Kong toy manufacturers to relocate their production facilities across the border in Guandong Province where labour costs were lower. Founded in 1989 with a staff of only four in the first year of operation, Golden Wheel followed a similar pattern to many other Far East-based toy firms, dealing with sales, marketing, design and administration in office premises in Hong Kong but carrying our production in China. Initially making cheap toy cars of Matchbox/Hot Wheels size, Golden Wheel began to target adult collectors with models of vintage vehicles, often American in inspiration and sometimes with a slot in the roof for…

The sun twinkled on the blue band of the distant horizon as my train cantered along, passing orchard and meadow, across the north Kent marshes, it’s whistle shrieking and crowned by a plume of white steam, ahead of time with steam to spare. I had become more excited by the minute at the prospect of a summer’s day of pure enjoyment on the beach. I had wanted to get off at the first view of the coast line; at Seasalter, Whitstable, Swalecliff, Tankerton and Herne Bay and once again at Birchington’s delightful country station. It was a bright sunny day in early July, one of those dangerous cloudless deep blue sky days with a slightly fresh breeze ‘comin’ up Channel over the Goodwins’. A day which so easily might end…

Concluding 1968, the Corgi Toys releases continued on the good work from the first half of the year, with some really great new models. Sadly, though, a rather disappointing trend was starting to show itself as, by the end of the year, sales were shown to be down around 3 million units worldwide. On a positive note, the second half of the year featured a very famous flying film star doing the rounds at the time (I’d just been to see it at the cinema and couldn’t wait to get my hands on Corgi’s release) and another rather popular TV-related vehicle from the USA. There were five new gift sets to get excited about too. So the second half of Corgi’s year kicked off with two very summery releases in…

In the 1950s British cars were being updated from pre-war models and entirely new models were appearing on the roads. Similarly in America new cars were being developed and these were much larger and somewhat more exotic than the English ones at the time. In this period, we in England had to rely mostly on films to see these American cars. However, the toy manufacturers, including Dinky Toys did make models of them and hoped they might be exported to the US as well as collected by us. At least having a model of an American car was some consolation to the young collector at the time. One such model was the Dinky Toys Studebaker Land Cruiser (No.172) which arrived in April 1954. The black and white advert indicates it…

You can’t keep a good Matchbox model down, can you? Vectis recently had the pleasure of dealing with Andrew Woodall’s collection, amongst which were some interesting diecasts. The Yesteryear Y7 Leyland "W&R. Jacob & Co Ltd" Delivery Van with brown body, cream roof and silver grille was a rare issue, with knobbly black plastic wheels and rounded axles. This made £1,103. In turn, his Matchbox Superfast 14b Mini Ha-Ha was finished in red but had windows fitted and contained a flesh coloured figure with a brown helmet. In a type J New box, it whizzed past its £200 estimate to realise £980. Other Lesney included a South African 62c Mercury Cougar (Stannard Code 1) in pale yellow, with clear windows but without a rear view mirror and without cast windscreen…

AMERICAN MUSCLE! Finally getting a chance to explore the August issue, and noticed a couple of oddballs in Francisco's article on US muscle cars with his final 2 examples - the orange Chevrolet Opala SS and Ford Maverick GT. The Chevy is actually a Brazilian-made adaptation of the German Opel Rekord [C] for South American markets only - it usually had a bigger engine (4.1 litre six) to justify the war paint, but its muscularity was severely knobbled by a low state of tune to match the locally available 78-octane petrol. So, more show than go. I'm not a Maverick expert but I think the GT was also a Brazil-only model - again locally made. The US Maverick boyracer version was called the Grabber and later the Stallion but was…

There are few certainties in life but one thing you can bank on it this – if you remove a calf from it Mummy, both of them will bellow their distress from hours (and sometimes days). As the farmyard here lies slightly below, but essentially right behind us, and the barn where the boy calves end up is twenty yards from our bedroom wall, at least once a year we have full stereophonic proof of any separation anxiety. Not being country folk, simple or otherwise, we find this routine unkindness upsetting. It also destroys any hope of sleep at night, or peace during the day. However, we can go out quite soon after our bleary breakfast, so we do. If we hit the town on a non-market day, there are…