Innehållsförteckning för January 2024 från Diecast Collector

Search Impex has announced the release of a 1/50 scale Mercedes Actros MP4 Gigaspace (4x2) tractor unit with 3 axle, regular curtain trailer, customised in the distinctive livery of Kent-based operator, Alcaline Transport UK Ltd. Commissioned by Alcaline to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the company in 2023, this is the first time an official production run of models has been made for this operator and they have been produced exclusively for Search Impex by WSI Models as a certificated Limited Edition (135 pieces). Established in 1993 in Lympne, near Hythe, Kent (and now with operating centres in Italy and The Netherlands), Alcaline UK is an international haulage company offering specialist road, as well as air services, throughout Europe, together with significant on-site warehousing and storage facilities for customer use.…

SOLIDO’S NEW SNAKE BARES ITS TEETH AND IT’S A THING OF REAL BEAUTY The story of how, in 1962, the pretty AC Ace became the mighty AC Cobra, with Ford’s awesomeV8 shoehorned under the bonnet, has been well documented over the decades, but it was all basically down to one man – Carroll Shelby. The 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours winner had rightfully earnt the reputation of a man to be listened to, so when he approached AC with his idea of the engine transplant, AC took him very seriously and an iconic car was born. As the car was developed, a new chassis was created to drop the even bigger 7.0-litre (427cu.in.) V8 into. This bigger lump necessitated a bulge and air intake in the bonnet to accommodate it,…

Seven years ago, I happened by chance to find myself penning a scale model review which somehow, very much unplanned, just led to one article after another virtually every month since. Having contributed to national circulation magazines throughout the eighties and nineties, the penning of magazine contributions was no stranger to me. What was different in 2016 though was that I found myself waxing lyrical (or otherwise) about details not of 1:1 scale automobiles but those in lesser scales. True I had a good grounding in talking about scale models through regular contributions to the quarterly Volkswagen Model Club magazine, first published back in 1978. And then in the early eighties occasional features for the much respected MODEL AUTO Review. The common theme that permeated through from the late seventies…

For those of you who follow Diecast Collector closely, the theme of racing transporters is something you’ve read before in this magazine. In recent years, model makers discovered that this is something of interest for many collectors, even for those who would not consider collecting trucks or buses before. However, when those vehicles have a strong relation to other models in their collections, the appeal of such objects raises dramatically. Without entering the complex world of dioramas, it still makes for a nice display to have a racing car and the transporter that it was taken on, to and from races, side by side in your shelf. On the other hand, the support trucks the team used for taking spare parts and tyres, or even the mobile workshop that helped…

Being of 1958 vintage I guess this makes me as one of the last of the baby-boomers, enjoying the 1960s ‘golden age of diecast’. I can certainly remember that by the early 1970s (as the manufacturers started to swap to display-boxes) my interests had moved on. To Airfix kits mostly. Thinking about being stranded on that hypothetical desert island I was keen to have five models to reinforce past memories, so my choices (with one exception) are not special favourites but will bring back thoughts of my childhood. CORGI NO.356 VW PERSONEL CARRIER I don’t know how other readers played with their toys as a child, but I do recall setting up ‘situations’ and then imagining the dialogue. With this Corgi VW it was a lost fictional American serviceman from…

After watching and waiting for some time on the lovely new issues that the Corgi Model Club have been releasing, I finally succumbed and ordered one of the new 327 MGBGT models. The emails came telling me it was on its way, and finally announced the red-letter day! My wife and I were out for the day but I was comfortable in the knowledge that Royal Mail will handle it. Oh no! We arrived home in the twilight, and as I swung into my drive, I heard a soft and painful crunch! Chris said “I hope you haven’t driven over any of my plants” – dozens of little packages of tiny plug plants have been arriving, destined for the garden. But no, it was a package with the Corgi Model…

PART ONE As well as the famous factory in Binns Road, Liverpool, Meccano Limited had a French factory in Avenue Henri Barbusse in Bobigny on the outskirts of Paris where a separate range of Dinky Toys was made. Inevitably, many of the same marketing approaches were used in both countries. There was a French Meccano Magazine just as there was a British one, and in both countries the back page carried a colour advertisement for the latest Dinky Toy releases. The UK issue had a monthly Dinky Toys News section while the equivalent page in the French edition was entitled De la Réalité à la Miniature. Thus, when Liverpool launched a Dinky Toys Club on 1st January 1957 it was only to be expected that a French version would follow.…

Helicopters are very common today but not so when I was younger. There were Dinky Toys models of the Bristol 173 Helicopter, the Sikorsky one (No.716). And the earlier pre-war Cierva Auto Giro number 60f – as an early form of helicopter. Helicopters are now regularly used for military missions, rescue work, accident assistance and civilian travel. I suppose they came into their own during the Vietnam War and subsequent conflicts. I have flown in a helicopter in Australia at the Great Barrier Reef and in Madeira while on holidays. It is a very interesting flying experience! The Dinky Toys Sea King Helicopter No.724 landed in June 1971 and was reviewed in the Meccano Magazine that month. The Dinky Toys News says ‘The unique range of Dinky Toy aircraft already…

Warwick and Warwick’s auction hosted in November was, by all accounts, a very successful sale. The Corgi section always attracts buyers, and this sale was no exception. Lot 447 included a range of diecast vehicles, generally excellent in very good to excellent plus boxes, with No.420 Ford Thames Airborne Caravan, No.438 Land Rover (109W.B.), No.465 Commer Pick-Up Truck and No.1131 Carrimore Detachable Axle Machinery Carrier and sold for £120. Lot 450 featured a Chrysler Imperial Convertible No.246, red body, pale blue interior, detailed cast hubs, figures (2), golf trolley was estimated at £100 and sold for £130. Lot 451, a Chitty Chitty Bang Bank No.266 sold for £110 and was estimated at £100. Lot 452 had a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Open Roadster No. 303S, with suspension, blue body, yellow interior,…

HORNBY HOBBIES BRINGS WONDER TO KENT HORNBY Hobbies, Britain’s leading model maker, has announced the opening of an exciting new experience, The Wonder Works, located in Margate, Kent. Formerly the Hornby Visitor Centre, the interactive attraction will immerse visitors into the world of Hornby Hobbies’ famous hobby, toy, collectable and specialist brands through a range of educational and sensory experiences, all designed to evoke visitors’ imaginations as soon as they walk through the door. The reimagined experience features new miniature worlds and incredible exhibition pieces, along with a redesigned café with updated menu featuring local produce. In addition to interacting with the impressive exhibitions, visitors will have the opportunity to discover the history of the company and to learn how Hornby, Airfix, Corgi, Scalextric and Pocher make their models and…

WSI MODELS Liebherr LTM1090-4.2 Mobile Crane “Transgrua” SCALE: 1/50 PRICE: €228 REF: 51-2146 The colours of Transgrua are convincingly captured in this release of the LTM1090-4.2 mobile crane. The outriggers extend and the boom telescopes smoothly. www.wsi-models.com BRITAINS John Deere 6R 185 Tractor SCALE: 1/32 PRICE: £35.99 REF: 43351 With working front and rear linkages, steerable wheels and a detachable cab, Britains well-made tractor offers plenty of display options. www.britainsfarmtoys.co.uk SIKU Fendt 728 Vario Tractor SCALE: 1/32 PRICE: £39.99 REF: 3293 Well-built model tractor with metal chassis, plastic body panels, plastic cab and plastic wheel rims. It has working linkages and steerable wheels. www.siku.de UNIVERSAL HOBBIES Massey Ferguson 7S.190 Tractor SCALE: 1/32 PRICE: £69.41 REF: X993042306412 Based on existing tooling this 7S.190 tractor sports updated bonnet, exhaust, work lights and…

The Lockheed Martin F-35 is an advanced, stealth, fifth generation fighter combining speed and superb agility. There are three variants, the F-35A, F-35B and F-35C. The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy use the F-35B, initially named the Lightning II in UK service. The F-35A is a Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL) aircraft, the F-35B is a Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant while the F-35C is a Carrier Variant (CV). The F-35 will replace the US Air Force A-10 and F-16, the F/A-18 for the US Navy and the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier for the US Marine Corps. The first of three developmental Lockheed F-35Bs for the RAF was completed in November 2011, with the first flight on April 13, 2012. These three aircraft were delivered for evaluation…

Without a doubt, the most popular road vehicle from Thunderbirds, or in fact any of theTV-21 Supermarionation programmes, has to be FAB 1, Lady Penelope’s futuristic, gadget-laden pink Rolls-Royce. It has always been very popular in toy form. Of course, the original diecast model by Dinky has been the most sought-after, although more recently Corgi produced a near-copy of this that was also in approximately 1/43 scale. Smaller diecast models have been produced by Eidai Grip, Matchbox, Bandai and Tomica. The design of FAB 1 is based on a 1960s interpretation of what a Rolls-Royce may look like a century into the future. It has certain styling cues common on 1960s concept cars including the bubble canopy and multiple headlights, plus some original touches such as twin-steer front wheels and…

As many readers will know, I’m a Jensen owner. Many Jensen owners have a strong desire to promote the Jensen Marque far and wide, and classic car magazine features and public car runs are the main vehicles for doing this. So, when another possibility begins to hatch in one’s brain, it’s quite exciting! For many years I have purchased a supply of Ben Christmas Cards, (see web address below), as I just adore their artists’ illustrations of classic cars in period settings in the UK, at Christmas. Call me corny, even old fashioned if you like, but they have a really warm feel about them! As most of these are of cars from the 1940s and 50s, some time ago I wrote directly to the main artist, Richard Wheatland, and…

1970 PART 2 As we move into the second half of 1970, there was still an exciting batch of new models to be released, many of which I fondly remember having in my toy box back then – probably the most notable, for me, of these were the two commercial vehicles and a certain Le Mans racer. So, we start off this instalment with the releases from July 1970, including one of those wonderful commercials that impressed me so much – No.406 Mercedes-Benz Unimog 406. How neat that Corgi’s numbering reflected the model type of the real vehicle! Remember the awesome No.1154 Mercedes-Benz Unimog with Gooseneck Dumper, released in 1969? Corgi had taken the cab unit from that and added a rear deck that was topped with an olive green…

MATCHBOX SALES EXCEL AT VECTIS With the Danny James collection in September and several other specialist diecast sales recently, Vectis has seen some impressive results over the last few months. A Matchbox Superfast 56a BMC Pininfarina factory pre-production colour trial with a metallic kingfisher blue body, low arches, clear windows and ivory interior raced away with a hammer price of £1,100. A Superfast 9c Ford Escort 2000 pre-production trial in red with light amber windows and a dark tan base made £2,817; it came with a Type K box. The Superfast 12d Citroen CX Estate didn’t hang about, either; again, a pre-production example in metallic emerald green with a black plastic tailgate, clear windows and a dark yellow interior, its base had not been zinc plated. With an L type…

■ Item: Dinky Toys 28b Pickfords Delivery Van Condition: minimal playwear, wheels lightly cracked with metal fatigue, tyres show some ageing Sold for: £1850 (39 bids) ■ Item: NZG 155 Broyt X4 Front Shovel 1/50 Construction Digger Dozer Condition: very good with minimal wear or age, the front wheels were melted though Sold for: £999 (2 bids) ■ Item: Corgi Gift Set 3 GS3 Batmobile and Batboat Condition: very near mint, with original purple screens, tow hook and figures Sold for: £620 (37 bids) ■ Item: Exoto 1/18 Alfa Romeo 159M Juan Manuel Fangio 1951 World Champion Condition: mint complete with original box, packaging and instructions Sold for: £1090 (11 bids) ■ Item: CMC Ferrari 250 GTO Schwetzingen Gala M-259 Condition: mint, sealed in its delivery box from CMC Germany,…

CALL THE AMBULANCE ■ In the article Call the ambulance! (December 2023 issue) on emergency vehicles, the Matchbox No.3 Mercedes Binz Ambulance is mentioned, but not the excellent 1/45 scale Matchbox King-Size Binz (in bizarrely “Kent” livery although left-hand-drive) which heralded a few other larger car models to rival Corgi and Dinky. The larger Mercedes-Benz Binz Ambulance (or Binz 1100 Europ Lang 230 in full) appeared as K6 in 1965 and challenged the other diecast makers’ ambulances, with steering and opening front doors and tailgate, as well as suspension and stretchered patient. Subsequently appearing as K26 with Speed wheels and K63 as a Super King, colours varied from cream to white with even a red overseas version. Another favourite in the article is the Corgi 223 Chevrolet Impala Police Car,…

THE end of the year is approaching fast and Solido has unveiled the first models for 2024. Whether in 1/18 or 1/43 scale, the company based in Morbihan, France, promises a spectacular year. At the same time, 2024 will be a year of re-order, as Clément Rouvière, Product Manager at Solido, explains: "This year Solido is going to stabilise, and we're going to give pride of place to our new 1/24 and 1/43 ranges in order to build loyalty among our customers, while remaining attentive to their expectations. We're looking to the world with a broader range to satisfy as many people as possible." While the company celebrated its 90th anniversary back in 2022, the Solido name itself will celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2024. So, it’s natural that a…

WE are definitely a nation of collectors, as new research from Airtasker reveals 68% of the population spend an average of £5,500 on collectables. Moreover, 32% say they're‘big’ collectors with two thirds (72%) considering moving to a bigger property to make room for their keepsakes, and 83% admitted they argue with loved ones about their items taking up too much space! To celebrate collectors (and help prevent further rifts) Airtasker is launching the British Collector Awards calling enthusiasts to enter themselves, or a loved one who deserves the accolade. Whether you’re a collector of 90s nostalgia, vintage cars or royal memorabilia, Airtasker is looking for the biggest and most outrageous treasure troves, with five UK winners in line for top awards. Four runner-up finalists will receive a medal, along with…

WHAT do Henry Ford, the prolific farm toy collector Peter Wade-Martins, and a little girl called Pippa Hughes have in common? The answer: they all feature in the new ‘Model Farming’ gallery in the Museum of English Rural Life (The MERL), at the University of Reading. ‘Model Farming’ at The MERL is the first public UK museum gallery devoted to farm toys. Visitors will be able to see over 150 carefully selected toys from an incredible collection of over 2500 items that was generously donated to the museum in 2019 by the collector, Peter Wade-Martins. The displays use farm toys, alongside scale models and other artefacts, photos, and imagery to reveal the fascinating story of agricultural mechanisation. The gallery was officially opened by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Robert…

Hot on the tail fins of two versions reviewed in the November 2023 issue, a further five new releases of Aviation 72’s excellent Gazelle tooling have literally just landed on the helipad. This brings the number of releases, by Aviation 72 of this very attractive helicopter, to 17. The Gazelle is a French five-seat helicopter, commonly used for light transport, scouting and light attack duties. Powered by a single Turbomeca Astazou turbine engine, it was the first helicopter to feature a Fenestron tail (a shrouded, multi-blade anti-torque device housed in the vertical surface of the tail) instead of a conventional tail rotor. Designed by Sud Aviation, later Aérospatiale, and manufactured in France and the United Kingdom through a joint production and development agreement with Westland Aircraft, further manufacturing under license…

From the 1950s, until the early 1960s, Matchbox models grew steadily larger. This tended to make the early models appear rather under-sized compared to later issues, so Lesney replaced many early models with larger versions of the same subject. As many as four different models within the span of a dozen years in some cases. Not only were these new versions larger than their predecessors, they were generally more detailed. Apart from their size, how do you tell these different castings apart, especially at a fair, when trying to fill the gaps in your Matchbox collection? Surprisingly, model price guides are not very helpful. They may provide plenty of information on casting changes, colours, wheel types, and the various combinations that exist on a particular model, but if you want…

But these are just toys!” Little did I know, when I uttered these words in the late 1970s, that model cars would play such a large part in my life over the decades that followed. I made the comment when visiting the family home of my husband-to-be Andrew who showed me a modest wall cabinet with a display of Dinky Toys sitting on top of their boxes. Having been raised as an only child in the 1950s, I had absolutely no contact with toy or model cars, although cousins did have trains sets. My toy life was firmly centred round dolls, prams and other “girls’ toys”. Andrew frequently asked if I had not seen toy cars in toy shops as a child and the answer was always, “No.” I can…

NEW SERIES Welcome to a new series in which I’ll chart the journey from 1/1 to 1/43 – or indeed, other scales. As an inveterate car enthusiast since my formative years (I well recall painstakingly drawing an E-type Jaguar in my school diary around the time of its launch), I’ve always been fascinated by models of the real thing. Alas, I’ve never owned an E-type (although I have driven an example), and the plethora of replicas seen at swapmeets merely attests to the car’s all-time-great status. But it didn’t matter that Jags were out of my price range, for somewhere along the line I fell in love with Lotus. With hindsight, perhaps I should have stuck with the Coventry product; after all, any owner of Colin Chapman’s work will, at…

No. 42 Number 42 during the Lesney-era Superfast range comprises quite the eclectic selection of models. We start with a popular crane replica, which is followed closely by a fictitious dragster. We round off with a container truck and a classic T-Bird… like you do! IRON FAIRY CRANE Production: 1970-72 Catalogue: 1971-72 Box Styles: G Iron Fairy Crane, a good replication of a real vehicle, had been a regular wheels favourite for some time and was an interesting choice to receive the Superfast upgrade but had great play value. Despite being in the range up to and including 1972, surprisingly small quantities have survived in good condition as very many of them that are still around wear varying degrees of evidence that they were worked hard back in the day. The…

A sale at Excalibur featured painted Aeroart diecast mounted Crusaders soldiers, comprising G128, 231 and G168, produced by Grudsky/Grenada Studios, other lots containing Greek and Roman and £170. A Corgi Ecurie Ecosse car transporter gift set with its (correct) complement of three racing cars wasn’t mint but was very presentable nonetheless: this sold for £250. Bond devotees didn’t miss out, either. It took a bid of £220 to secure the Danbury Mint 1/24 scale limited edition 22 carat gold plated James Bond Aston removable roof panel, display stand and certificate, but its original box. Other offbeat items included the fascinating lots relating to paperwork for Palitoy, General Mills and Airfix: these notes, drawings and photographs for reference purposes. Some lots went under the hammer and the archive material lots that…

■ Dinky Toys No.234 Ferrari Racing Car, blue body with yellow nose cone, yellow racing number 5 with yellow cast hubs, mottled base, in the original all card picture sided box. Excellent to near mint, box is excellent to near mint. Sold for £70, Lacy, Scott & Knight, October. ■ Dinky Toys No.233 Cooper Bristol Racing Car, green body with green hubs, racing number 6 in white, with driver in white slight wear to the decals, sold in the original yellow picture sided box. Very good to excellent, box very good. Sold for £45, Lacy, Scott & Knight, October. ■ Dinky Toys No.230 Talbot Lago Racing Car, comprising blue body with white driver and racing No. 4, with spun hubs, and fitted with grey rubber tyres, housed in the original yellow…