Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2024 i Diecast Collector

AS we were going to print with this issue, we received advanced information from Spa Croft Models about a couple of upcoming models from Goldvarg. The first is a 1/43 scale resin model of the 1956 Pontiac Safari in either Sandalwood Tan Poly (reference GC-68B) or Glendale Green Poly (reference GC-068A). Price wise you can expect to pay in the region of £80, but remember to include import duty and shipping from the US in your budget. The second model announced is a 1/43 scale resin replica of a 1948 Pontiac 8 Silver Streak. Details on this are still limited, but you can expect to pay a similar price to other Goldvarg models. More details about this models, or others available at Spa Croft Models, visit www.spacroftmodels.co.uk.…

SPA Croft Models grew out of a childhood passion for Dinky Toys in the 1940s and 1950s, a passion possessed by many boys of a certain age. It is one which never really waned, although it took a little dip when the fairer sex became a little more interesting. A significant milestone was in 1983 when I established the Hardstoft Swapmeet at a local pub, the Shoulder of Mutton in Hardstoft, near my home village of Tibshelf. A year later in 1984, the shoots of my retail business began to show. I had been a collector of Brooklin Models for several years, but there was no outlets in my part of the East Midlands for these products, so I took the plunge, contacted John Hall at Brooklin Models and began…

Only available from New Holland, and its dealer network, MarGe’s new model is based on New Holland’s popular grape harvester, designed for harvesting vines in rows of 1.6metres spacing. It’s a well-built, largely metal, collector’s display model. The front wheels can be turned to different steering angles and their height set. Pipework to the front drive motors are detailed, as are the road warning boards and plastic lights. MarGe has provided a white GPS receiver, a plastic warning beacon, painted work lights, driving mirrors and on the front screen a wiper blade on the cab exterior. Like MarGe Models’ replica tractors, the cab door on the model does not open. However, visible through the fully glazed cab, there’s an accurately detailed interior. It has black floor matting, grey cool box,…

It made a very pleasant change to see that the sun was shining across The Fens, as I made my way to Spalding… it made the early start much more enjoyable! The reason for my journey? To visit the 37th Spalding Model Tractor & Construction Show, held at Springfields Events and Conference Centre. The show was founded in 1987 by Colin Boor and Stuart Gibbard. Bill Richardson had run his farm toy show on his farm in East Hatley, Bedfordshire and this sparked the idea of a show closer to home with Colin saying ''Why travel all over the country looking for model tractors when we could get them to come to us?'' and so Spalding Model Tractor Show was born. It is now in the safe hands of Kerry…

Along with cars and trucks, aircraft made up a large part of the output from Dinky’s Paris plant, at Bobigny. From the earliest days in 1934, the Dinky range featured both civil and military aircraft. Named and numbered, some imported models, from the Binns Road factory, in Liverpool, had generic titles, for example, heavy bomber or light transport. During the early part of 1934-1947, production reflected France’s main aircraft manufacturers: Amiot, Bloch, Breguet, Dewoitine, Farman, Hanriot and Potez. Various aircraft from each plane manufacturer featured in the popular gift boxes, and a few aircraft were sold as individual items. Now, all are rare and therefore, quite expensive and often unavailable for purchase. Gift boxes have sold for anywhere between £1,500 and £3,000, while single items regularly fetch over £100, or…

That was the question my mother asked when I suppose I was about 5. I simply don’t know the answer and from that age to now, at 71, I haven’t changed at all. HOW DID IT ALL START? Well I remember at an early age travelling on Southdown buses with my mum and dad as we didn’t have a car in the mid fifties and when we went on holiday we hired one. Living in a small town called Waterlooville, just north of Portsmouth, where I grew up we would walk the short distance to the main bus stop in the town and board a 1947 all Leyland PD1 - one of 90 that Southdown had across their sprawling operating area, which stretched from Warsash in Hampshire in the west…

In France as well as the UK, the Meccano Magazine is the main contemporary source of information about the development of the Dinky Toys range. But at the peak of their popularity in the 1950s, references to Dinky Toys were often found in other publications, particularly comics in which toy manufacturers often placed advertisements. One car-oriented European periodical (aimed at “youngsters from 7 to 77 years”) was the Tintin Journal in which Dinky, CIJ, Quiralu and other toy car makers advertised their new releases regularly, and there were always articles about motor racing, motor shows and even road tests. The issue dated 21 June 1956 is particularly fascinating. Billed as a “Numéro Spécial Auto”, this contains intriguing headlines like “how to reach an average speed of 105 kph” and “at…

Having looked at the products of Ebbro, Exoto and Eligor in the last issue, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the letter E is exhausted. But not quite… THE ONE AND ONLY? If you’ve not come across Empro before, I wouldn’t blame you. Having trawled through a lot of posts on the Internet and searched several reference books, I’ve still only managed to come up with a single example of a model from this little-known British manufacturer. According to colleague and diecast expert Robert Newson, in 1948 this company acquired the dies for an Allard and a tipper lorry (and possibly also a petrol tanker) that were previously part of the TP Series (Toy Products Ltd of Walsall). Empro, it seems, modified the toys and added a baseplate and rubber-band…

LET'S HAVE A LOOK! ■ I've enjoyed the Guy Motors article in the May issue. All the versions of the impressive Telsalda Guy pantechnicons were reviewed but without a picture. Is it possible to see a photo of these colourful Guys? I'm looking forward to what unusual models will appear in Part 2. Bob Callaghan, email ED Here you go Bob, your wish is my command! TREASURE HUNTING IN NEW ZEALAND I thought that you might like to hear about my recent outing. Auckland, New Zealand has a total of four major fairs each year for collectors of diecasts, kits, railways, and vintage toys. They are held at two different venues, by two different groups, usually between April and November. The first Auckland Hobbies Fair for 2024 was on 13th…

DERBYSHIRE based promotional model vehicle specialists, Search Impex, have announced the release of a 1/50 scale, gas powered, Iveco S-Way (4x2) tractor unit and 3 axle, Thermo King refrigerated trailer with side underrun bars, customised in McCulla (Ireland) Ltd’s “Sustainable Transport” livery. The models (which include specially made cabinets housing the gas tanks on the Iveco S-Way) have been produced exclusively for Search Impex by WSI Models as a certificated limited edition of just 125 pieces. With more than 50 years’ experience, McCulla Ireland is a leading provider of ambient, chilled and frozen logistics and storage solutions. Established in 1969, the company is now a second generation family-owned business which has shown great resilience, adaptability and innovation over the years. A flagship achievement on the innovation came about after a…

Pre-War clockwork vehicles We conclude our look at British toymakers who combined diecast construction with clockwork mechanisms. ON SALE 4 JUNE …or download the digital edition 7 days earlier! PLUS… ■ Hot Hatches from the 1970s and 80s■ Little and Large■ A Female Perspective■ A-Z of diecast collecting■ Auction results■ All the latest news■ Extensive selection of new model releases Please note: These planned editorial contents may be subject to change where necessary.…

Recently released by Oxford Diecast is this rather wonderful pair of classic British cars that both have Royal connections. The Rover P5B was reportedly HM The Queen’s favourite car and the cute Metro was purchased by a young Lady Diana Spencer. Rover introduced the P5 in 1958 and it was the first Rover to feature unitary bodywork styled by in-house designer, David Bache. Its elegant look included a well-appointed interior that would see the saloon version become a firm favourite vehicle for executive, government and even Royal followers. The final version of the Rover P5, the P5B, appeared in 1967, powered by the 3,528 cc Rover V8 engine. The B suffix was added to represent Buick, the originator of the engine. Rover had no budget to develop a new powerplant,…

In part 1 of this Audi Sport Quattro S1 story (Diecast Collector, May 2024 issue), we concentrated in the first evolution of Audi’s short wheelbase rally car from the mid-1980s. Until then, the German squad accumulated considerable success with consecutive evolutions of the original Quattro long wheelbase version. However, competition got stronger and the technical department decided something had to be done to increase the speed of the car in all types of rally surfaces, particularly on tarmac. Two major decisions were taken, the first one was to develop a more powerful version of the original in-line five cylinder turbocharged engine. The second one was to shorten the wheelbase making the car considerably shorter and more nimble, something the works drivers had always asked for. For marketing reasons, the engine…

Diecast toy planes were very popular in the 1970s. In addition to leading brands like Dinky, Edison and Matchbox SkyBusters, many smaller Far-Eastern manufacturers also got in on the act. The best of these was Lintoy of Hong Kong, which also produced models for Corgi, Tomica, Bachman and Ertl, although many manufacturers of lesser quality such as Zylmex and Road Champs also produced model aircraft. One of the weaker efforts in terms of quality and accuracy was a small range of tiny models sold under the name of Broen Toys Mini-Planes. This was a line of four different WWI fighters made to a very small scale. They measured around 5cm long with a wingspan of 7cm, which is about half the size of a SkyBuster. As mentioned, the accuracy of…

The question of scale is one that reoccurs in our hobby and indeed within the pages of this magazine time and time again. Many collectors like the uniformity of a single scale whereby their models all sit well together, particularly if housed in a cabinet or on a display/diorama. While 1/43 continues to be the most popular scale for collectors of cars and light commercials, there has been a rapid rise over the last few years in 1/64 vehicles aimed at the collector’s market. As both a fan and collector of models of the original Range Rover, I am naturally always excited by the prospect of a new model being released. Included in this rise of 1/64 models are not one, not two but three classic Range Rovers. The very…

With the innovation of Gift Sets, Corgi took the lead in the diecast toy market. But other toy makers were soon to follow. For example, before World War Two, Dinky Toys introduced lines in motorcars, racing cars and planes that were specially packaged at gift sets. Corgi was not undone however, and managed to outstrip the competition releasing a series of special Gift Sets in rapid succession in 1956; cleverly combining classic models and new releases. Including the classic models, that were already designed and tooled for production, reduced their costs and allowing freedom to develop the concept and branding of the Gift Sets. TRANSPORTERS In October 1957 Corgi introduced its first major model, the Carrimore Car Transporter (No.1101). It featured an ingenious casting with simulated hydraulic rams between the…

Number 47 during the Lesneyera Superfast range comprises a construction crowd-pleaser, a bouncing driver, a locomotive and a pre-War roadster… DAF TIPPER CONTAINER TRUCK Production: 1970-73 Catalogue: 1970-73 Box Styles: G Retaining its regular wheels colour when the change was made to Superfast, DAF Tipper Continental Truck was a real crowd pleaser, with its tipping body action and removable roof section. Lasting for an impressive run, up to and including 1973, the truck also featured as a key part of the impressive G-4 Truck Superset in its standard 1-75 guise. BEACH HOPPER Range: Rola-matics Production: 1973-79 Catalogue: 1974-79 Box Styles: I, J Two years after No.13 Baja Buggy was released, a new evolution appeared as part of the Rola-matics range, meaning it had a feature that was related to the…

Unsold shop stock is seemingly quite sought after these days, and a factory shrink-wrapped trade pack of six Corgi David Brown 1412 tractors proved that point very well at the last British Toy Auction sale. Appearing untouched, they sold for £200, plus premium. Also at British Toy Auctions was a Corgi Gift Set 16, the boxed Ecurie Ecosse racing car transporter with three cars. The dark blue transporter featured yellow side lettering with a light brown interior with bench vice intact, and was in very good condition. The BRM F1 car, Lotus Mk 11 and Vanwall cars all showed some signs of playwear but came with their respective boxes. The hammer price of £220 reflected the overall condition of the set.…

FAIRS 4 MAY • Gateshead, Jim Corr Toy, Train & Sci-Fi Fair, 07504 035955 5 MAY • Rayleigh, SRP Toy Fairs 07739 998012 / 07498 912091 12 MAY • Ditton, SRP Toy Fairs 07739 998012 / 07498 912091 • Walsall Wood, Transtar Promotions, 01922 643385 • Lincoln, J & J Fairs, 01522 880383 14 MAY • Elsecar, Newcomen Fairs, 01226 744425 19 MAY • Orpington, SRP Toy Fairs, 07739 998012 / 07498 912091 • Rickmansworth, Maidenhead Static Model Club, 07895 581631 • Spalding, J & J Fairs, 01522 880383 • Kidderminster, Tony Oakes, 01270 652773 / 07825 631323 • Rickmansworth, Maidenhead Static Model Club, 07895 581431 26 MAY • Herne Bay, SRP Toy Fairs, 07739 998012 / 07498 912091 • Herne Bay, J & J Fairs, 01522 880383 28 MAY…

BUSES. You wait for one, and then two come along together! This is definitely the case at Buckie Model Centre this month, with the announcement for two new 1/87 scale replicas. First up is the Holland Oto/Buckie Model Centre FLIXBUS (Stanley Travel) VDL Futura. This is the twelfth model in the British Collection, and has a limited edition of only 108 produced (each with a certificate). The second model is a Holland Oto/Buckie Model Centre Megabus (McLean’s of Airdrie) VDL Futura. It has a limited production run of only 105 models and again each comes with a certificate. This particular scale model is the sixteenth model in the Scottish Collection Both of these models are priced at £42.00 (plus postage) and are available directly from www.buckiemodelcentre.com.…

IF you are a member of the Corgi Model Club, you might have noticed a delay in the updating of the collection list this quarter. We are told that there are a couple of reasons for this, including the transition to Hornby as well as some exciting new additions to the collection. Corgi 276 September release - note the change of number! Corgi Model Club has had so much success in replicating the famed 'Golden Jacks' mechanism that it has decided to make the Oldsmobile Toronado as Corgi 276 instead. For those that aren't aware, Corgi 264, which had been previously announced, was Corgi's earlier Toronado version. Corgi 276 is the same tooling (and with the same pop-up headlights feature) but with take-off wheels. Corgi 270 October release - Corgi…

Marking a significant development in the history of this magnificent aircraft, the second-generation Harrier may have shared many visual similarities with its famous VSTOL predecessor, however, it was actually a very different aeroplane altogether. One which owed much to the McDonnell Douglas Corporation in the USA. Essentially, this new generation of Harrier was a much more capable aeroplane in every respect and a huge development of this now familiar VSTOL Harrier aircraft. As one of the most capable aviation assets in RAF service, Harriers were never too far from the world's conflict hotspots, such as Operation 'Herrick', Britain's commitment to supporting British and NATO personnel on operations in Afghanistan. Providing air cover, ground close air support and air strikes against enemy insurgents, the first detachment of six RAF Harriers arrived…

Watching the emerging coverage of forthcoming new releases from Spielwarenmesse 2024 I felt a sense of detachment and of being mildly uninspired by many of them. This concerned me somewhat and led me into some fairly in-depth analysis discussions online. This led in turn to the realisation that there were two pertinent aspects. Firstly, whilst well attended by some of the significant manufacturers many of the smaller volume and niche market players didn’t participate in Munich. Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, one of the trends that I noticed again this year is in the number of model releases portraying ‘youngtimer’ themes. THE YOUNG ONES So what are the ‘youngtimers’? In a nutshell, cars of roughly 20 to 30 years old, as first defined by colloquial use of the phrase in…

Friction-drive mechanisms, clockwork motors, battery-powered remote control boxes, and even elastic bands: these are just some of the methods used over the years to power toy cars. The earliest and most widespread method was clockwork, popular at a time when toys were usually made of tinplate which was a fairly light material. When it comes to diecast metal toys, the motor has to cope with additional weight but some British toymakers rose to the challenge. Numerous clockwork-powered diecast cars were made in the early post-war period up to about the mid-fifties, after which this type of toy largely faded away in favour of plastic friction cars whose lighter weight allowed them to zoom across the floor without difficulty. The first challenge in designing a diecast clockwork car is where to…

The model that started off the whole Then and Now concept was Corgi’s Ford Sierra XR4i in Strato Silver, released as part of their Vanguards range in 2022. It was the fact it reminded me so much of the Matchbox Superking example from my childhood that caused me to question their similarities and differences, despite their obvious age gap. It only seems fitting then that the third instalment of Then and Now focuses on this Sierra. When Ford replaced the much-loved Cortina with such a radical looking car as the Sierra, it was only natural that toys would quickly follow the real car’s launch. Both Matchbox and Corgi worked closely with Ford and created large and small scale Sierras and both also sold the initial releases in Sierra branded promotional…

Following on from the 1972 releases, Corgi still had plenty of surprises to come throughout 1973. Featuring more of the new 1/36 scale Formula 1 cars and another great group of new models, things were still going pretty well. In fact, 1973 sales figures were actually an improvement on those for 1972. There were no new releases in January, but February saw two, both with a speed theme. No.169 'Silver Streak’ Swedish Jet Car was an accurate replication, at 1/40 scale, of a real vehicle used for a record breaking attempt. Possibly the most outlandish dragster-style release yet, the actual car had been built in Sweden and driven by Arnold Sundquist. The basis for this amazing creation was the engine from a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter fighter jet, with the cockpit…

Many years ago, when I was in America, I came across various ‘vintage’ vehicles and of course a number of cars that had been modelled by Dinky Toys. These real ones were quite impressive and the models produced by Meccano were reasonably accurate as far as I could remember at the time. In the post war years toy manufacturers produced a variety of American cars and so did Dinky Toys. All these toys collected by the children of the day were interesting and certainly different to the real ones that they saw every day on the streets. The Dinky Toys Chrysler Royal Sedan (No.39e) joined the American car series in June 1939 where it is illustrated in that months Meccano Magazine alongside the other American cars under the heading ‘SEDANS…

■ Item: Corgi Starsky & Hutch Ford Torino No.1376 Condition: Little and Large twin set - both cars are mint, outer box is excellent Sold for: £921.07 (38 bids) ■ Item: Britains Farm Gift Set Mf and Ford Tractor Condition: never removed from outer box, however some obvious signs of age wear Sold for: £840 (19 bids) ■ Item: Britains Farm Powerfarm Set Condition: models excellent, contained in a good original box; with shop outer sleeve Sold for: £740 (31 bids) ■ Item: Husky Traveller Portable Service Station Carry Case Condition: holds 20 cars, trucks and vans; inner lining starting to peel, some age wear Sold for: £870 (10 bids) ■ Item: Moskvitch 4-door saloon Condition: good but with some bubbling to paint finish, Russian made Sold for: £810 (17…