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Model Auto Review News

July and August 2003

EDITORIAL
By Rod Ward
WE'RE BACK AT LAST!

Yes, here is MAR 174. It wasn't too long to wait, was it? Thanks to everyone who wished us a good holiday. And seeing as you asked, yes, very nice, if a bit too hot in June in France. If seven weeks seemed like a long time to wait , your favourite magazine is here at last, and well worth the wait. I know I keep saying so, but this issue seems to be a particularly interesting one. Is each issue really better than the last? Is this a Golden Age of MAR?

RICH FOLKS IN EUROLAND

The turmoil in the world of international finance of late has led to a fall in value of the Dollar and a consequent rise in the Euro. When the new standard European currency was inaugurated, its initial value against other currencies, especially the US Dollar, was hard to sustain, and it fell in value, making goods produced in 'Euroland' much cheaper to export around the world.
In 2000 a Euro cost .82 US cents. That was the time to buy your new BMW or Fiat. Since then, the Euro has gradually increased in value to its original launch levels, and continues to grow. In May 2003 it cost $1.19 to buy a Euro. It seems that the US powers-that-be have decided that it is no longer in their own national interest to prop up the international value of the Dollar to support everyone else's currency.
>From now on they will let its exchange value slide down to help correct America's own budget deficits.
So your Italian wine or Dutch cheese is now likely to cost a lot more if you live outside the Eurozone, and so, of course, will model cars coming from Euro countries.
I expect to see higher prices gradually feeding through to the model car market over the next few months. This should only apply to those models actually made in the Eurozone, such as kits and handbuilt models. Most diecast models from Eurozone brands are made in China, where the bills are not paid in Euros, but in US Dollars, or in the Chinese currency which is tied to the dollar.
So 'domestic' market Euro prices of Chinese-made model cars should actually be going down by at least 15 per cent, but somehow I don't think that will happen.
If prices on makers' lists are maintained at the previous level, regardless of what it costs to make models in China, then non-Euroland buyers can expect price rises of 15 to 25 per cent by the end of this year.
This is predicted to slow exports further from Euro countries, and to exacerbate the problems of their already-slowing economies, with the resultant deflationary effects, possibly even leading to recession. The bright side for collectors in the Eurozone is that they are now very rich in Pound or Dollar terms, and can afford to buy many more models which come from outside the Euro area, especially by international mail order. As far as the British economy is concerned, we will find it more expensive to buy new products priced in Euros, but our exports are now much cheaper to our biggest export market, the European Union.

LESS MODEL CAR SHOPS?

I have more news of specialist model car businesses in England closing down or up for sale.
First, Robin Dove's famous Magpie Models shop in Leeds has closed, and will become an architect's office.
I suspect that Robin will continue to deal in cigarette and trade cards (in which is a renowned expert) by mail order, alongside his interests in history, but that looks like the end of model cars from Magpie. I am sorry to have to report that Allsorts, the Model Auto Review stockist in Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, has closed down, reducing still more the choice of sources for model vehicles.
Also the famous central London source for model cars, St Martins Accessories, in St Martins Lane, has been put on the market due to the planned retirement of Kathleen and Ralph Avis. Whilst I wish them (rather enviously) a long and happy retirement, I know I will not be alone in regretting their decision to leave the world of model cars which they have served so well. I hope they find a buyer for the business, so that it will still be possible in the future to find a model car oasis in the desert of fast food outlets and gift shops which is our nation's capital.

People and Places

OBITUARY: Bill Cross
The model world lost one of its own on 8 April 2003, when Bill Cross passed away suddenly in Santa Rosa, California, USA. He was known and loved by many collectors and enthusiasts around the world as a specialist in high quality diecast model cars. His knowledge of the hobby always amazed his wife Lesley and his son Daniel.
Bill was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England in 1948, and he emigrated to the USA in 1974.
His main work was as a database administrator for Charles Schwab & Co. He also operated an active business supplying models to others who shared his passion. He will be sadly missed by the model car fraternity.

Bill was a regular correspondent with MAR, and was a larger than life character with an infectious enthusiasm for his hobby. We have been a little delayed in publishing this obituary, as Lesley has been finding life really difficult since Bill's death. We extend our sympathy to Lesley and Daniel in their loss.

ModeleX
2003

Following the success of ModeleX 2002, relaunched after a year's absence, at the Warwick Hall, Stoneleigh Park, Coventry in October 2002, ModeleX 2003 returns to the same venue again this year, but with a difference, says the organiser. This year, for the first time, the show will be held on one day only, Sunday 19 October, from 11:00 am to 5:30 pm. Otherwise, the format and presentation will follow the show's long established pattern.
Organised again by Mike Kennington, with continued support from ModeleX founder, Ray Strutt, the show will be run by Mike's company. Greenwood Exhibitions as part of their classic motoring calendar of events and as such will benefit from their advertising campaign during 2003. Advertising and promotion will also be seen in the various collectors and specialist classic motoring journals.
The website, www.modelex.co.uk will be professionally restructured to provide full details of the show and will be updated continually as the year progresses. It is essential for the continued success of the show that exhibitors book early. ModeleX 2002 participants are being invited to confirm their support for this year's show and other potential exhibitors, who were not at last year's show, or who have not exhibited for some time are also being invited.
Prospective exhibitors who have not been to the show before should register their interest by requesting an advance booking form from Mike Kennington at the earliest opportunity. Tel: 01527 871150, Fax: 01527 835256 or e-mail: mikekennington@aol.com

MORE THEMES?

A number of personalities in the automotive and transport world whose obituaries have been published recently have prompted ideas for 'themes' for collections, displays or even articles for publication in Model Auto Review.
For example, Alejandro de Tomaso died in May at the age of 74. Born in Argentina, which he had to leave after criticising Péron in print, he moved to Italy, the land of his father's birth.
He drove Oscas at Le Mans, then in 1959 founded de Tomaso Automobili, which made the Vallelunga, Mangusta and Pantera road cars, plus two stabs at Formula One cars, in the 1960s and 1970s. His F1 ambitions came to an end with the death of Piers Courage in the Frank Williams-entered de Tomaso Cosworth at South Africa in 1970.
De Tomaso owned Ghia for a short time, took over the Benelli and Guzzi motorcycle firms, then bought Maserati from Citroen in 1975, finally selling out to Fiat 15 years later. He also ran Innocenti from the mid-1970s, so there is plenty of scope for a de Tomaso themed display, or even an article, isn't there?
Remember Rupert Keegan, a promising British racing driver in the 1970s? Well, his father, Mike Keegan, died in March this year, at the age of 77. The life of Keegan senior also offers interesting thematic possibilities. Born in Liverpool, and apprenticed at Vickers, building Wellington bombers, his later service in the RAF led to him entering the promising world of civil aviation in the postwar years, as the 'K' in BKS Air Transport. He later owned other aviation businesses, Transworld Leasing, Transmeridian Air Cargo and British Air Ferries (ex-Silver City and Channel Air Bridge). Look out for a feature on the Air Ferries by Maz Woolley in avia mini in future, by the way.
In 1976 Mike Keegan bought a controlling share in David Lazenby's Hawke Racing company, to promote his son Rupert's Formula 3 racing career. Rupert Keegan soon moved up to the Arrows Formula 1 team and Hawke closed down in 1979. Mike Keegan's was another interesting life in transport, this time with aeronautical connections as well, for a combined display theme.

BOND IN ARGUS

The latest issue of Argus de la Miniature is devoted to James Bond film-related models, and costs 12 Euros outside France. The coverage includes all the usual diecast models (including every Corgi) plus plastic kits, tinplate toys, figurines, and much more, with many photographs in colour and mono, showing differences and variants. Contact: SAFAM Editions Argus de la Miniature #221, BP 40 F78231 Le Pecq Cedex, France.

CLUB NEWS

Collated by Rod Ward

Toy Car Collectors Association: Pete Foss says, 'I am VP of this club. My club, TCCC merged with Dana's club (historical notes below) about two years ago. I am trying to set up a chapter in the Palm Beach, Florida area in the Winter and one in the Detroit area for the rest of the year. (This is a big country, I have never been to Oregon or met Dana.) We will be holding our Midwest Convention in Toledo in October, the Saturday evening of the Toledo Show weekend. Anyone interested in joining can contact me'.
TCCA: Peter Foss VP Marketing & Research, 4301 Orchard Lake, #163, West Bloomfield, MI 48323, USA. 248-682-0272 Fax: 248-682-5782 In April 1993 in Bend Oregon, founder Dana Johnson acted on his dream of starting a club for diecast toy car collectors. In the beginning, the club was based on his fascination with the diecast and plastic toy vehicles from France called Majorette. So it was that the Majorette Diecast Toy Collectors Association was born. In its first month, the club accumulated 12 members and produced just one issue of its club newsletter Majorette Toy Collector before folding under the threat of corporate control, licensing fees and royalties from Majorette's corporate legal department! The idea of a club was shelved for seven months until it reformed as the North American Diecast Toy Collectors Association in November 1993, with the intent of focusing on many brands of automotive toys rather than just one, in the process avoiding the licensing problems involved with using a brand name in the club title. The newsletter was renamed Diecast Toy Collector. In 1997, the club name was shortened to Diecast Toy Collectors Association to reflect a growing international membership. On January 1st, 2001, the club was reorganised into the Toy Car Collectors Association. A subscription to the new Toy Car Collector magazine is the primary benefit of membership. Other benefits include supporting an extensive online resource centre for collectors at www.toynutz.com, a certificate of membership, a 40 percent discount on the club's annual resource directory, and free classified ads in Toy Car Collector magazine for the duration of membership. Today the Toy Car Collectors Association remains a small but elite group of devoted collectors and contributors from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and around the world. The Toy Car Collectors Association remains dedicated to the promotion, appreciation and preservation of lesser known brands of diecast, white metal, and other automotive toys and models.
Membership is $29.95 a year (United States), $39.95 (Canada, Mexico and Central America), and $49.95 to the rest of the world. You can enrol online at www.toynutz.com/TCCA.html.
To commemorate the Tenth Anniversary of the Toy Car Collectors Association, there is a commemorative three inch replica (below) of a Lamborghini Miura, $1.95 from Dana Johnson Enterprises, PO Box 1824, Bend OR 97709-1824, or order online at www.toynutz.com. (post paid to US, add $1.00 for shipment to Canada and Mexico, $2.00 everywhere else.)

Porsche Modell Club: Henk Koop updates us on this club. The PMC was founded in 1978 by Ulrich Upietz and is officially acknowledged by Porsche AG. Its main function is to improve communication between all Porsche model car collectors and fans worldwide. There is a club magazine PMC Newsletter (quarterly) and the annual PMC Porsche model car magazine Vision. Each issue has German and English text, with Porsche model car and automobilia news, construction and collection tips, reports on members, collections, manufacturers, meetings and swapmeets (for example the international PMC Summer Swap). Members also get mailings with offers of special model cars, books and other items. An example is our new anniversary pin of a 911 Carrera 2.7 together with the flags of Germany and the USA. Membership fee for 2003-2004: is 50 ?uros or $ 60,00 (overseas). There are 350 members: The PMC Team is: Henk H Koop: Club Manager & Publisher Porsche Modelcar Vision, Andreas Ehrmann: Event Manager, Dr Hayo Herrmann, Editorial Staff PMC Newsletter, Albert Lo USA Representive. On 4 October 2003 the 7th International PMC-Porsche Summer Swap 2003 will be held in Stuttgart, the world's biggest Porsche model car and automobilia swapmeet. For more information on the PMC, write to PO Box 2, NL-7800 AA Emmen, Netherlands.

The Brooklin Collectors Club: The UK-based club for Brooklin collectors has announced its 2003 club model, for members only. It will be BRK 66X Packard Patrician two tone 1956. The colour scheme is split three ways (roof and lower body in one colour, the middle section in another colour). The model will also be 'updated' with separate chrome door handles and windscreen wipers. It will cost £55.00 and will be ready in time for the club's Annual General Meeting in October 2003. The special model is just one of the benefits of belonging to the BCC. There is also the excellent 'Brooklin Collector' magazine, which covers all aspects of collecting products of the Brooklin factory, as well as full-size car topics. It includes information on those special models made for other clubs.
The San Francisco Bay Brooklin Club 2003 special model is B RK 76 Ford F-1 fire vehicle 1948. It is finished in red, equipped with fire accessories, and has the Ford logo on the doors, for the fire service of the Ford Assembly Plant in Richmond CA, USA.
The Canadian Toy Collectors Society 25th Anniversary special model is BRK 93 Studebaker Commander roadster with top up 1935. 'Uncle Jack' Patrick, who edits the Collector, allows regular contributions from John Roberts, who keeps everybody up to date with Robeddie and Lansdowne news, gleaned from his inside track to the factory. He admits that the Morris Minor two door car from 1952 was his dad's first car, right down to the OTO 498 number plate. Unfortunately, Nigel used that plate on the model of the Singer SM1500...
This may also explain why a two-door Minor was chosen. I asked Nigel why he hadn't opted for the four door version (better for Police etc variants?) and he didn't really have an answer. Maybe it will come out later in four door form, as the only major changes would be between the A and C pillars. If you need to keep up to date on Brooklin matters, and want the special clube models, you can get membership information from John Bowyer, 57 Gloucester Road, Bagshot, Surrey GU19 5LT.

South Hants Model Auto Club Chris Derbyshire is working hard on SHMAC members to get their displays together for Modelex 2003. This year's theme is styling, including a tower display of Lancia Stratos models, which it is hoped will be complemented by two real cars in the hall, and others outside. Styling is a very interesting theme, which should provoke interesting displays based on the work of particular designers, or on style icons. Even if you are not a member of the SHMAC, your contribution will be welcome. Contact the club, and they will put you in touch with Chris. The current issue of the club magazine includes the latest part of the model shop listing, with three in the Southampton area. There is also a 'true crime' story of how three members pinched a Kodak cardboard figurine from the NEC Photographic show, held at the same time as the Classic car Show, at which the club had a stand. The figurine was of a swimsuit-clad young lady holding a Kodak banner. 'Within a moment, Robin had got out a stiff brush, painted over the Kodak bit and replaced it with the club logo' they say. She disappeared for some years, but was found in Chris's loft, looking a bit tatty round the edges. Robin's stiff brush will once again be in action to touch her up, so that she will be available again for club publicity. If you want more information on joining the club, or if you just want to join in nefarious activities, contact the third guilty party, Chairman Rod Fox, on 02380 432226.

Maidenhead Static Model Club A recent MSMC clubnight competition theme was horse drawn models, won by Ray Jeffries with a Regal six horse landau. Robert Newson's Eebee brewers dray took second place, and John Garside's Crescent stage coach (with galloping action came third. All three are shown left. The MSMC 'Windsor' September Toy fair will be the 100th event, marked by a competition to win a 'rare and desirable' Corgi resin pre-production prototype of an Eddie Stobart model.
For more details contact John Garside on 07729 910632.


BOOK REVIEWS

By Jim McLachlan, Hans-Georg Schmitt, Rod Ward, Ben van Roode

BIRTH OF THE BEETLE (the development of the Volkswagen by Ferdinand Porsche)
by Chris Barber.
Published by Haynes Publishing.
320 pages, over 300 photographs.
ISBN 1 85960 959 7.

Chris Barber has always been interested in early Volkswagen history and is well known for many articles about the pre-war VW period published over the years in VW enthusiast magazines Beetling, VW/Audi Car, Volksworld to name a few. I have known Chris for some 25 years from the earliest days of the VW Model Club when he dreamed of writing a book on those early years. His dream is now fulfilled after 20 years of research (on and off).
A lot of books have been published on the history of the Volkswagen Beetle, the earliest of these dating from the 1950s with many mistakes and errors in the historical data. With the Beetle's increasing popularity amongst enthusiasts during the 1980s and 1990s a number of people jumped on the bandwagon, and there have been a lot of books published during this time. Not all of them concentrate on the early years of course but a lot of the information published has been quite inaccurate and misleading. Well many of them can now be thrown away. This book is the authoritative version of the pre-war history of the Volkswagen Beetle. It's the bible to which everyone can now refer. The book has been published with the blessing of the present day Porsche company. The author is fluent in German and has over the years been given virtually unlimited access to the archives at Porsche, VW and Daimler Chrysler, as well as being aided by those who work in those archives. He has been further aided with 'first hand' information from people like Ghislaine Kaes, Porsche's nephew and personal secretary, and other Porsche employees from that era. A lot of the information in the book is presented for the first time. Likewise the author gained access to many early photos of the pre-war prototypes which have never been published before. Some in fact have only been unearthed in the archives in recent years.
There are nine chapters covering the V1 and V2 prototypes from 1934-1936, the V3 prototypes from 1936-1937, the W30 series prototypes from 1936-1938, the V303/VW38 and 39 prototypes from 1938-1945, variations of the pre-war Beetle from 1939-1945, the military Kübelwagen from 1937-1945, the military Schwimmwagen from 1940-1944, the Type 64 racer from 1938-1945 and the link from Volkswagen to the Porsche 356 from 1939-1948. The book contains 320 pages and more than 300 period black and white photographs, the majority of them rare, most never having been published before. According to the author, the publishers have even been able to reproduce some of them which are in poor condition, to a very high standard. This book is highly recommended to all who are interested in the history of the Volkswagen Beetle.
Jim Mclachlan

BRADFORD and its TROLLEYBUSES
by Geoff Lumb,
published by Venture Publications,
128 Pikes Lane, Glossop, Derbyshire SK13 8EH.
80 pages, hardbound, landscape 240 x 180 mm
ISBN 1 898432 94 5, £16.95.

At its peak, Bradford had the fifth largest fleet of trolleybuses in the UK, and this book, packed with full-colour period photographs, evokes it. It was the last surviving trolleybus system in this country, ceasing operations as late as March 1972. Many street scenes of Bradford, brightened by the blue and white trolleybuses, are featured in this book, along with retired buses in use as holiday caravans, 'learner' L-plated trolleybuses, special jubilee liveries and even pictures of groups of trolleybus enthusiasts in Bradford. The familiar bright blue livery was not always used by Bradford. The original livery was ultramarine and cream, though some buses were painted in dull khaki during the Second World War in response to a Government plea to make vehicles less visible to air attack. In 1940. however, Bradford borrowed four buses from Southend-on-Sea Corporation, and in 1942 they managed to get ten of a batch of 25 trolley buses which could not be shipped to Johannesbourg in South Africa, These were painted in bright blue and white, rather like the Southend vehicles, and the new livery was born. Recommended reading, even if you aren't a bus fan!
Rod Ward

Rolls-Royce & Bentley - Die Geschichte einer legendaren Marke (The History of a legendary Marque).
by Jonathan Wood, translated into German by Walther Wuttke.
160 pages, 187 illustrations. Hardbound with dust jacket. 215 x 275 mm.
ISBN 3-89880-106-3.
Published by and available from Heel Verlag GmbH, Gut Pottscheid, D-53639 Konigswinter, Germany. In this lavishly illustrated book Jonathan Wood tells the history of the Rolls-Royce and Bentley, with most coverage on the post-war years. Models, covered include the Silver Shadow series, the controversial Camargue and the Bentley Continental. Now this interesting work is available to Rolls-Royce and Bentley enthusiasts, who only speaking German and cannot understand English. In Austria, Germany and Switzerland there are lots of of Rolls-Royce and Bentley owners and connoisseurs, so this book will become as successful as the original English edition.

Hans-Georg Schmitt

UNITED Automobile Services Ltd: part Two: the fleet 1942-1970
by Alan Townsin, Philip Groves and John Banks,
pub: Venture Publications, 128 Pikes Lane, Glossop, Derbyshire SK13 8EH.
1760 pages, hardbound,
A4 ISBN 1 898432 85 6, £24.95.

Part One of this story covered 1912 to 1941, and Part three (still in preparation) will tell the story from 1971 to 1998. So here we have the 'middle years' of the extensive bus fleet based in the North-East of England. From the glum days of wartime austerity to the growth decades of the 1950s and 1960s, this story could represent many other Tilling Group bus companies in its largely Bristol-ECW fleet, its impressive management and technical standards and its extensive route network. Included among the hundreds of photographs in this book are lots of colour shots of the jolly red and cream buses in North Eastern cities, villages and the beautiful Durham countryside, as well as buses in other liveries for coaching duties or with subsidiary companies. This is a very useful work for anyone interested in buses and their operation.

Rod Ward

Jaguar - Die komplette Markengeschichte (the complete history)
by Halwart Schrader,
German text. 432 pages, 676 illustrations, hardbound with dustjacket. 250 x 275 mm
ISBN 3-613-02259-1.
Published by and available from Motorbuch Verlag, Postfach 103743, D-70032 Stuttgart, Germany

Germans also love the British big cats, and here one of them has written a book about his favourite marque. Halwart Schrader has a particular fondness for British sports cars. He is a member of the Michael Sedgwick Memorial Trust and of the the Guild of Motoring Writers, and he has driven Jaguars from XK150 to supercharged XKR for many thousands of kilometres. He tells the company history, describes every car, their race victories, special bodies, prototypes and concept cars. A chapter covers Jaguar in Germany, and some prominent German Jaguar drivers. Also included in this book is Jaguar's sister brand Daimler and its history. Halwart received support from personalities in the Jaguar world who unselfishly shared their exclusive knowledge, valuable archives and document-ation. This book will be indispensible to anyone who loves Jaguar cars.

Hans-Georg Schmitt

Mercedes-Benz Personenwagen seit 1986; Volume 3by Gunter Engelen,
German text. 624 pages, 500+ illustrations, hardbound. 180 x 244 mm.
ISBN 3-613-02169-2.
Published by and available from Motorbuch Verlag, Postfach 103743, D-70032 Stuttgart, Germany.

This is the last part of a series on Mercedes-Benz car documentation, covering the passenger cars since 1986. In production series these are numbers W107, W124, W126, W129, W140, W201, W202, W208 and W210. Each is shown with a short survey of its history, photographs and technical data. The book is quite interesting for all Mercedes-Benz car fans.

Hans-Georg Schmitt

Porsche Cayenne
by Clauspeter Becker and Stefan Warter, German text. 191 pages, 213 colour photos. Hardbound, with dust jacket.
ISBN 3-7688-1402-5 250 x 320 mm.
Published by and available from Delius Klasing Verlag GmbH, Postfach 10 16 71; D-33516 Bielefeld, Germany.

Porsche engineers like a challenge, and this time they succeeded in a virtually impossible assignment:
In 1998 they were told to create a new car to set new standards on the road and off road. The resulting Cayenne has amazed and convinced the experts. The authors show the development of the new car, how it was brought to production in the new Porsche plant near the city of Leipzig in Saxony, Eastern Germany.

Hans-Georg Schmitt

Porsche 924 & 944 - Mit vier Zylindern zum Erfolg (With Four Cylinders to Success)
by Jan-Hendrik Muche,
German text. 144 pages, 227 illustrations. Hardbound. 215 x 300 mm.
ISBN 3-89880-105-5.
Published by, available from Heel Verlag GmbH., Gut Pottscheid, D-53639 Konigswinter, Germany

The VW-Porsche 914 was not very successful during its production life from 1969 to 1975, so Porsche Engineering at Weissach had already started developing a successor in the early 1970s, again in co-operation with Volkswagen. It was planned to be a more conventional-looking coupe, but in technical terms it was a mis-mash of components from the VW-Audi parts bins. As time went on, The chairman of the board changed from Rudolf Leiding to Toni Schmucker and in the meantime Volkswagen had the successor to the Karmann Ghia in their programme, the Scirocco sports coupe. This was quite successful, so they were no longer interested in building a coupe. Audi was at that time not strong enough to demand their own sports car. So how could they get back the development costs? Porsche decided to enlarge their own programme, now with two new model ranges, this unwanted coupe, now named the 924, and a new V8 sports car, the 928. The 924 was built in the former NSU plant, so it could work at full capacity. In later years the 924 was given more power, a slight facelift and the new type number 944. In this book the tortuous development is described, and all the models and derivations shown as well as sporting activities of the 924 and 944. All Porsche fans will need this book.

Hans-Georg Schmitt

Hot Wheels : the recent years
by Bob Parker,
published by Schiffer, USA (www.Schifferbooks.com), 174 pages, 560 colour photographs, $ 29.95.

Bob Parker's is a well known name regarding collecting Hot Wheels models. He has already written three books on the subject, and Schiffer has now published his fourth. Hot Wheels: the recent years covers 1995 to 2001. That is a welcome addition for collectors. I am not into lists of model cars, but if you are, Parker has made a 65-plus page listing including variations, the Treasure Hunt series, and Hot Wheels Collectibles. One must see these lists to appreciate the work that goes into them. Some collectors are very keen on keeping the packaging intact. The result in this book is that many Hot Wheels have been photographed still fixed in their blister cards. I can understand why, but in some of the pictures this tends to make the model size small and one sees only profile views of the cars. You cannot study the detail of front or back.

Ben van Roode

Der Schlepper im Rückblick (The Tractor in Review)
by Kurt Hafner, German text. 112 pages, 288 illustrations. Hardbound 210 x 300 mm.
ISBN 3-7843-3087-8
Published by Landwirtschaftsverlag GmbH, Munster.

Developed originally from giant, mostly steam-powered motor-ploughs, tractors have a long history in agriculture. It would be a Sisyphean task to collect all the names and types of every tractor made worldwide. This book at least tells us about tractors in Germany. Subjects include the takeover of Heinrich Lanz by John Deere & Company on 1 October 1956 with the acqusition of majority holding, when the 200,000th Lanz Bulldog left the line and the model changed, the history and farm vehicle production range of Bernard Krone GmbH, Spelle, a survey of international topics in building farming vehicles in 1953 and 1963, description of the first diesel engines from 1889 and 1891, combine harvesters from Kodel & Bohm; working with the motor plough Cerva from 1928 and its competitors, the range of tractors available at that time, tool-carriers: a new generation of tractors in the 1950s, a comparison between tractors made by Fahr and Guldner and finally a lot of small features on tractor collections and restoration of rare items. This publication is recommended for anyone who loves old tractors, both full-size and in model form.

Hans-Georg Schmitt


Video Reviews

YELLOW IMPACT: CATERPILLAR PROFILE
producer Cranes & Excavators Ltd, 6 Glannant Close, St.Martins Road, Caerphilly, South Wales, CF83 1EE.
75 minutes running time.

As they say: grass is green and earth is brown, but if you're talking about yellow, it's definitely Caterpillar. And this kind of yellow has an enormous impact on the landscape. This video looks at yellow machines at work. It is not an official Caterpillar video with gleaming, highly polished machines, but it shows them at their everyday work and how you would see them if you were to stop at a working site and have a look. These Cats were filmed at various locations over a three year period. You will see bulldozers, articulated front loading shovels, backhoes, articulated dump trucks, motor scrapers, quarry trucks and a face shovel. The trucks include two Terex 3307s being loaded by a Cat 5080. There are also Cat D-11R and 992C. There is not much commentary on the video, only some personal observations, so it is a real pleasure to listen to the sound these big beasts make! Turn the volume up a bit when you get to the 992C and let the noise of its V12 engine fill your living room! A real must if you are a Caterpillar fan.

Tony Steenmeyer

Bugatti Festival 2002
duration 49 minutes, commentary in French, available from Ad'hoc Productions, 6 place de la Cathedrale, 68000 Colmar, France.

In September 2002 once again the Bugatti meeting of the Enthousiastes Bugatti Alsace took place in and around Molsheim, the birthplace of these outstanding cars. Cars in attendance ranged from early Brescias, to the Type 35 and T37 racing cars, T44 saloons and a number of Type 57 cars, up to the EB110, built at Campogalliano in Italy, around 80 in all. On Saturday the traditional round-trip ran through the Vosges on narrow roads, looking as if the 1930s had returned. In the afternoon, all the cars were shown in the main square in front of Molsheim town hall. Sunday saw the laying of the foundation stone for the new Bugatti plant near the Chateau St Jean, steeped in Bugatti history. The Bugatti Veyron design study was on display. This video shows the meeting and all the interesting cars that were there.

Hans-Georg Schmitt

AUTHORS' GUIDELINES

By Rod Ward

It is some time since I first offered guidelines for contributors to MAR. For the first time I am actually publishing the notes in an updated version in the magazine.

This is not 'style policing', but just to show how easy it is to have a go. If you don't need these notes, send your contribution anyway. But there may be others who find them helpful to get started...

The basic principles:
Thoughts First: Get your thoughts in order before you write. Make notes of the main topics, and put them into a logical sequence without gaps in the story before you begin.
Writing should only start when your research is completed, and once there is a natural sequence and flow to the material. Double-check all your reference sources, both for text and pictures.
If possible discuss the outline with us at this stage, before starting to write the final manuscript.

Style: If you have a distinctive personal style of writing, you will not need to read this section. We are not all George Bernard Shaw, however, and most of us need occasional reminders of pitfalls.

Here are six simple rules spelled out by George Orwell in Politics and the English Language (1946)
1: Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you often see in print.
This will stop your writing degenerating into the characterless clichéd style of tabloid newspapers. Do you really need that hackneyed phrase? Can't you use a straightforward description to do the same job with more clarity and originality?
If you are brilliantly inventive, create an original, sparkling metaphor, if not, stick to plain English.

2: Never use a long word if a short one will do.
Short Anglo Saxon words are preferable to long Latin ones. They are easier to spell and easy to understand. Examples: after, not following, take part not participate, use not utilise, show not demonstrate. In order to cut down on repetition, it may be necessary to use synonyms which can be longer than the ideal word. Use a thesaurus to find good alternatives if you find that a word is cropping up too often in your manuscript.

3: If it is possible to cut out a word, cut it out.
Often referred to as redundancy, this is the use of more words in a sentence than are necessary to express the meaning. It is often a sign of someone who likes to hear himself speak. Eg: 'Such are the vicissitudes of this our sublunary existence'. (Such is life) Also tautology: a repetition of the same statement. Examples: Join together (join), appear on the scene (appear), adequate enough (adequate), revert back (revert) and so on.
When I have had to edit some contributions to remove excess verbiage, I found they were only a third as long when I trimmed all the repetitions!

4: Never use passive if you can use the active.
The passive tense is usually a sign of pomposity. Example: Issigonis designed the Mini, as opposed to 'was designed by', which can often lead to problems with construction of following phrases in the same sentence. Issigonis is the subject, so should be seen to actively carry out the verb 'to design' Mini is the object of the design process so should be the object in the sentence, as well. Subject-verb-object is the rule in English.

5: Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. In order that your work should be understood by as wide an audience as possible, keep your language simple. If you are not British by birth you may not know the clearest English phrase, so we may have to alter this at editing stage. We find, however, that most of our overseas writers produce better English than many of our British contributors. Americanisms which are not in common use will be altered: automobile (car) corporation (company), inventory (stock), and usage of nouns as verbs will probably be changed, such as: to host, to author, to pressure etc.
Due to the nature of most of our work in MAR, a certain amount of technical jargon needs to creep in, but it is only left in if we can find no basic English alternative. Try to keep in mind the non-technical reader, as use of esoteric terms may stop them from understanding your work.

6: Break any of these rules rather than say anything outright barbarous. Use your judgement, but always remember the following: Try not to split an infinitive (to boldly go), use short simple sentences, clearly constructed ('Backward ran the sentences until reeled the mind': New Yorker). Regard a paragraph as a unit of thought, not too long, rarely as short as one sentence. It should be able to stand alone, and have a logical sequence of sentences within it. Don't be woolly, covering yourself with conditional phrases (It is thought, or many people believe). If you are not sure of your facts, say so, or even better, do more research.

Punctuation etc: not at all mysterious, though we find some interesting variants in our manuscripts.
In English (unlike some other languages) we do not use the apostrophe in plurals, only in possesive cases. The 'greengrocer's apostrophe' (apple's 50p a pound) is not accepted, sorry. If a word is singular, then the apostrophe separates it from the plural s (a girl's friend) and if a plural with an s, then the apostrophe comes after (girls' friends), but if the word is already a plural, then the apostrophe separates it (people's friends). The comma divides material into natural sections, and is rarely used with and, which joins them. Imagine a pause at a comma, when reading out loud. The colon and semi-colon seem to be giving way to the 'dash' - but if in doubt use none of them. Some contributors apply punctuation the same way they season a stew. They don't use any, then chuck it all in at the end. Don't worry too much about this; I'll edit it, adding or removing punctuation as I think necessary. (I may not be 'correct', but I try to be style-consistent).

Sources and references: If you are unsure of any facts, spelling and so on, indicate this clearly, so I may be able to check at the editing stage.
If you have found a particularly good source of additional information, please give a credit, so we can publish it. Endless lists of minor sources are, however, boring and meaningless.

Plagiarism: This is the greatest sin in writing, as it is theft. If we find that any work submitted to us has been stolen from another author we will not only refuse to publish it, we will also support any action taken against the perpetrator. Previously published material can, and must, be used as reference. This is necessary in all research, but blatant lifting of text verbatim from other publications is no way to produce original work.

Structure: You may have your own ideas about how your work should be arranged, and it often depends upon the subject matter. Most subjects, however, benefit from a version of the following structure (though perhaps not too rigidly followed) to organise your thoughts and engage the reader:
Introduction (to introduce a possibly unfamiliar subject to the reader, and briefly summarise the scope of the piece), then main body matter, text, photographs, captions, and end piece. The latter might be a 'conclusion' to summarise points covered, or an invitation for more information from readers, or even a comment about unfilled gaps.

Photographs, illustrations: Should preferably be black and white prints, though these are rare nowadays, so mostly we use colour prints. Please remember that tonal variation (shades of grey) is important for black and white reproduction.
If you want prints to be returned, your name and address must be on the back of each illustration and return postage included. Illustrations sent by email as jpegs are often unsuitable for publication, due to their low resolution. Digital illustrations should be sent by CD-rom in jpeg form, in the post. It's easier to print out a high-resolution version (any size) and send it by post. If you think a colour illustration might be used in MAR, please note that such a print should have a small object size (the same size as a model pictured on any MAR colour page). No guarantees of colour reproduction can be given, due to space pressures.

Captions: should always be clearly set out on a separate sheet of paper, keyed to photos.
(Not just written on the back of photographs).

Manuscript presentation: should be typed or printed on A4 paper, double spaced, on one side of the paper only. Most of our submitted manuscripts are scanned using an OCR (optical character recognition) computer programme, then edited on screen to sort out any OCR anomalies (and at the same time any author's anomalies). If no typewriter or computer is available, then clearly written manuscript may be acceptable; we then typeset it in the old-fashioned way. Please do not write in flowery handwriting. Use clearly printed lettering or block capitals. If you require return of any pictures or manuscript, please provide a stamped self addressed envelope (two IRCs from overseas). Text can be emailed to us, but only as a plain email text, not as an attachment.
Just copy your text and paste it into the mail.
We really like text sent in this way, as it can then be copied directly into our publishing software!
We work on Apple Macintosh computers, and we do not recognise any Microsoft product (Windows, Word, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer etc), so please never send anything to us in any of these formats, in files, attachments or disks.
We use dedicated publishing software, including Quark Express and Photoshop, no others.

References: You should have at your side a good English dictionary and a thesaurus. Other books of use for style include; Usage and Abusage (Partridge), Modern English Usage (Fowler), Plain Words (Gower). If you must, use a computer spell-checker, but my experience of them is not good.
It often takes more time than using a dictionary, which at least gives correct meanings as well.

And finally: A few examples of our own style, if we have one: Different from (not different to), and sympathise (not sympathize). Compare with if you want to show differences, compare to if you want to show similarity. Scotch is a drink, but the people are Scots or Scottish. Diecast is a single word. We don't use full stops after abbreviations (MAR, not M.A.R.). We do put spaces between people's initials (R P Gunn, not RP Gunn). Times are separated by a colon (9:45) and dates are number first (19 May not May 19th). Scales also use a colon (1:43 not 1/43, 1/43rd etc). Numbers from one to ten are in words, 11 upwards in number form. We usually use single inverted commas as quotation marks, not double ('mark', not "mark"). Weak puns, alliteration, topical references or slang should be avoided. They tend to get between the reader and the subject matter. (The Editor is excluded from this proviso, however). What may seem like a topical joke can look very silly six months later, when the article appears in print, and a year later it could be meaningless. A later reader wonders about the significance of the reference, and loses track of the subject. Always remember that your article may still be referred to in decades to come. We don't expect you to know what a gerund, a subjunctive or a participle are, but you should know how to use them properly, even if you cannot put a name to them.

Please do not be put off contributing to MAR by these notes. They are just intended to help you to get your thoughts in order.

Now that you have digested all this and realised how easy it is, we look forward to receiving your manuscript for an article in MAR very soon.


BUS STOP
EXCLUSIVE FIRST EDITIONS

By Frank Joyce
Some good news is that after six years of EFE being prevented from using the liveries of the Go-Ahead Group, the licensing problem has been resolved. So models will appear in modern and earlier liveries from across the country, especially Brighton & Hove and the North East. After my comments in MAR 173 about gimmicks and toy-like features, it has been interesting to read the replies sent in, most of which tend to agree with my thoughts and comments. The London Transport Golden Jubilee models incurred problems for Transport for London, due to different committees and companies being involved. The Jubilee models were commissioned and advertised to stimulate interest, but it was ten months before the decoration was confirmed, to start preparation for production. Because of their detail and the fact that most ads were L or T shaped, extending the decoration across moving parts onto the lower deck, it was decided to use vinyl labels, which goes against our decorating policy. It was a means to an end but it is an experience that we would not want to repeat in a hurry. The last four Golden Jubilee RMLs are now available from London Transport Museum and feature Celebrations on United's RML 2600, Felix on First's RML 2405, Surf on Central's RML2499 and Jubilee Place on General's RML2305.

Models now released
28806 Leyland Titan East London Buses
13702 Atkinson Tanker Texaco
12115 Harrington Cavalier South Wales NBC
23402 Bedford TK Flatbed Fremlins beer
20630 Plaxton Pointer Dart Capital Citybus
23315 AEC RF MKI Bus London Transport
80401,80501,80601, 80701 1959 tube Central Line
28902 GM Standard Atlantean East Kent
27701 AEC STL Bus type A London Transport
17214 Leyland National MK I Northumbria
14011 Bristol FLF Lodekka Scottish Motor Traction
26614DL Plaxton Paramount 3500 Arriva N. East
28807 Leyland Titan Cambridgeshire Police
20129 Bedford OB Coach Leathers Coaches
28603 G M Standard Atlantean PMT/Pennine (Ltd)
24321 BET AEC Reliance Jones of Aberbeeg
17303 Leyland National MKI Southend Transport
28004 Daimler DMS 1 door Derby City Transport

Forthcoming model releases
20429 Bristol VRIII Solent Blueline
27210 Leyland TD1 open stairs Western National
26404 Daimler Utility Bus East Yorkshire
29801 Wright Dennis Lance London & Country
29003 GM Standard Fleetline Warrington Corp
18609 Bristol VRIII open top Vectis Village Bus Co
27002 Bedford TK car transporter dealer delivey
16406 AEC RT roof box LT Coronation service
27611 Wright Volvo Endurance Arriva Merseyside
16121 Leyland PD2 highbridge ClE (Ireland)

Australian bus issues
Australian bus models made for Trux:
27211 Leyland TD1 route 88 Sydney-Enfield
27211a Leyland TD1 route 160 Bondi beach (left)

North Weald Bus Rally
We have produced a model to support this years Rally featuring RF 498 in red London Transport livery on route 254 to South Woodford Station. For details contact Peter Coe on 01372 386998.

Cobham Bus Museum
To support the Museum we have made a special version of RF534, as exhibited at the museum, in later LT Iivery sporting the circle and bar logo, on route 219A to Cobham Bus Museum. For full details contact the museum on 01932 868665.


ABC AND OX FROM HK

Here are new releases from the 1:76 diecast ranges from Hong Kong (made in China) Asian Bus Company (ABC) and Ox.
Information from John Ayrey Diecasts.

ABC
AS1003 Scania-MCW Metropolitan double decker China Motor Bus red-cream.

OX
1001 Guy Arab Mk V towing vehicle (cut down bus body) China Motor Bus cream
1002 Guy Arab Mk V water tanker (cut down bus cab plus tank fitted) China Motor Bus blue-cream
1003 Guy Arab Mk V tree lopper (open top double decker bus) China Motor Bus yellow


TRUCKSTOP
UNIMOGS COMPARED

By Florian Sauer
Some MAR issues ago Hans-Georg Schmitt compared Unimogs by Schuco and Mini-champs. He concluded that the latter is better detailed, but he failed to note the incorrect axles on the Minichamps Unimog (Gollwitzer made the same mistake with their Unimog). Only Schuco included this important detail. Unimogs have 'portal axles' so called because they allow more ground clearance, by incorporating an extra gear between the wheel and the high-placed axle. This is why there is no axle visible where you would expect to see it. The limited edition model of the Unimog with log trailer in its dusty paint scheme (above) is very nicely made and suits this workhorse much better than the glossy and too thick coat of paint on the Minichamps model.

Baby Hongwells keeping the streets clean and clear . By Maz Woolley

Hongwell have been producing themed sets of their 1:76 baby models for some time. Recently a number of sets have been seen in large boxes containing four or more related vehicles. Many of these are collections of vehicles that have been seen singly or in smaller sets before. For example there is a Police set with Police cars, minibuses and vans already seen in other smaller sets, but with the added 'bonus' of an out-of-scale helicopter. All these sets have totally out of scale figures and road signs that Hongwell usually include.The accessories are out of scale because they were originally developed to accompany the 1:43 range of vehicles.
However, in amongst these sets are some that contain items that I have not seen before, particularly those featuring commercial vehicles, which seem to be an area where Hongwell are expanding. The set described here includes some vehicles that are new to me. The box contains two different strands of service vehicles. Two are typical of modern cleansing services vehicles which may be seen in many European cities. These feature the Mercedes-Benz Econic cab. One is a street cleaner, the other a refuse lorry. A visit to the UK Daimler Chrysler web site only shows a refuse vehicle with this cab; perhaps a wider range is available in Europe. The second strand is vehicle recovery. Again there are two vehicles typical of those in service in Europe today.
The (working) spectacle lift Mercedes-Benz Sprinter has been seen before, but the Mercedes-Benz Actros cabbed recovery vehicle is new to me.
To add play value Hongwell have thrown in a Toyota RAV 4 to 'recover'. The commercial vehicles are constructed from quite a large number of components, mostly in plastic, though part or all of the cabs are diecast metal. One side effect of this is that these models are quite delicate and the many small plastic parts are quite easily broken. The way that they are packaged means that many will probably be broken even before they are played with for the first time. All the vehicles have generic British liveries but are left hand drive. In the case of the street cleaner, though, many real vehicles are actually left hand drive in the UK since it allows the operative to get close to the kerb when working, but as fitted here the brush and washing gear would only clean the crown of the road if driven on the left! They should also be fitted with a notice on the rear drawing attention to the left hand drive operation.
Mercedes-Benz Econic Refuse Collector
The Daimler Chrysler web site shows a very similar MB Econic in its gallery. This model is orange coloured and largely made of plastic with only the lower part of the cab in metal. It features working tipping mechanisms at the rear and the wheels to invert the wheelie bin being emptied. Nice touches include the amber warning lights, printed lights and hazard strips, and a good representation of black window surrounds and sliding doors, and multi part realistic wheels.
Mercedes-Benz Econic Street Cleaner
Again orange coloured and with the same cab and general level of detail, this model has nice details such as the brushes to clean the road, and the piping for the water jets. A tilting mechanism allows you to lift the tank to reveal the engine underneath powering all the cleaning equipment. Like the refuse collector the exhaust pipes and air intake are nicely moulded parts attached to the rear of the cab. In both cases the interior of the cab is a basic moulding with a separate steering wheel but no dashboard detail. Similar models are available from Germany in Schuco's Junior range, also made by Hongwell, as usual.
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Spectacle Lift
This model has been pictured in MAR before. Based on a recent Sprinter crew cab it is painted in SOS CAR RECOVERY livery. The spectacle lift works well and other details such as the winch and light bars make this much more than a toy, though it is great fun toplay with! This vehicle is in yellow and the metal and plastic parts do not quite match in colour. This vehicle lacks the external mirrors fitted to the other commercial vehicles here and is generally to a slightly lower standard of finish.
Mercedes-Benz Actros Recovery Vehicle
Also in yellow with the same fictitious livery, this model features the Actros cab as seen on several different vehicles recently. This time it is combined with a typical recovery vehicle flatbed. In this case it has a working action reminiscent of the one used on the 1:87 US recovery vehicle shown in MAR some time ago. Again great fun to play with or to pose 'at work'.
Toyota RAV-4
This model has been around for some time and has been featured in Model Auto Review before. This time round it is red, which is not a new colour, with its convertible rear body down.Whilst most of these sets will be destined to be broken in the course of vigorous play I am sure that a lot of them will end up being bought by railway modellers and others with modern dioramas. Indeed none of these models would be at all out of place displayed with the modern outline OOC or EFE buses.


EMERGENCY VEHICLES
PEUGEOT H2O FIRE CAR

By Chuck Kroeber
The Editor's comment in MAR 173 on the Peugeot H2O concept fire car, 'not a serious fire vehicle?' on page 8809 leads me to fill MAR readers in on this new-concept fire vehicle, which indeed reminds one more of a toy than a serious approach to a fire-fighter on wheels. The Swedish magazine Ny Teknik has just published an article under the title Car for superheroes - small electric power-driven fire vehicle copes with the most. The following information is derived from that article:

The Peugeot H2O, looking like a cross between a fire vehicle and Batman´s car, was recently presented at the Stockholm Auto Show. It is electrically powered and GPS navigator guided. This could be, for example, to an otherwise unapproachable fire within a multi-storey car park. Smoke could obsure the view, but the radar contained in the car´s front bumper leads the vehicle on and in the event of the the batteries discharging, the fuel cells kick in to produce the necessary electric power. And in the event that lack of oxygen should incapacite the fuel cells, oxygen cylinders carried on board will take over. So finally the vehicle can proceed with the actual extinguishing of the fire. Thanks to the fuel cells, the car is also a small power station which can drive other equipment, such as pumps, fans and communication equipment. Even if the car park fire scenario may sound far-fetched, the Swedish fire authorities find the concept car interesting, least not last for its versatility. Small rapid intervention vehicles with a multitude of rescue gear onboard are essential today, to cope with the multitude of minor fires and accidents.


CONSTRUCTION


MORE VOLVO PROMOS

LCD Enterprises Ltd has more new models in the series of top quality diecast models produced in China for Volvo.
The three latest issues are:
Volvo A25D articulated off road dumper
Kalmar DRF container loader
Volvo EC45 mini excavator


BRITAIN

Spa Croft Vauxhall 25
By Mike Coupe
Here is a bit of advanced information from Spa Croft for MAR readers. I have just received the master for our 1:43 handbuilt model of the Vauxhall 25 GL Limousine and it is a cracker. I can say that quite modestly, as I didn't make the master. It is our most detailed model to date, so much so that the roof panel will be removable to reveal all the interior detail; door handles, window winders, detailed dashboard, intercom between the driver's compartment and the rear passengers so they can communicate with the hoi polloi, occasional seats (possibly one up and one folded, plus footrests) dividing screen etc. The outside is also bristling with separate features, such as separate door handles (as buyers expect now) cast wipers, 'chromed' bonnet flutes, headlamps etc. The underside is not forgotten either. with separate chassis detailing. I am hoping to keep the price down to the normal Spa Croft Models level by keeping assembly 'in house'.
With this level of detail, it should be a £130-plus model but this release will have a retail price of much less than £100.
Two colour schemes are proposed; black and maroon, and possibly black and grey like the one in the Vauxhall Heritage Centre.


LONE STAR

Welwyn Hatfield Museum Service will be hosting the annual Lone Star special event and open day at Mill Green Museum, Hatfield, Herts AL9 5PD on Sunday 14 September 2003. Admission is free, open 2:00 to 5:00 pm. This museum holds many original documents and artefacts from the company archive. For more info, contact Curator Caroline Rawle, tel +44 01707 271382, email: museum@welhat.gov.uk. This information came via Lone Star-DCMT expert Geoff Ambridge, who can be found at PO Box 159, Polegate, Sussex BN26 6AX.


MORE FROM OXFORD

Oxford Diecast continue to produce a plethora for new releases, including these:

Cigarettes and Publications
CIG46 Bullnose van Robin
CIG47 Ford T van Waverley
CIG48 Bullnose van Moorgate
A030 Ford A van Western Daily Press
Buses and comic titles
RM058 Stevensons Routemaster
RM061 London & Country Routemaster
RM064 Key People Routemaster
RT009 Reading Regent
RT010 Morecambe & Heysham Regent
CC020 Routemaster bus Film Fun
CC021 Ford T van The Robin
CC022 Ford T van Topper
Volkswagen Vans
DR006 Cinzano
VW009 Tommy Cooper
VW010 Campbells Soup below
Royalty
ROY001 Ford A Coronation 1953 white (7500)
ROY002 Chevrolet HM Queen 2003 purple (50000
ROY003 Ford T Prince William blue (7500)
ROY004 Bullnose Prince Charles red (7500)
ROY005 Ford A Coronation 1953 black (3000)
ROY006 Chevrolet HM Queen 2003 black (3000)
ROY007 Ford T Prince William black (3000)
ROY008 Bullnose Prince Charles black (3000)
Military
MIL010 Bullnose 771 Naval
MIL011 Bullnose The Chindits
GR03 The Black Watch

Marsh Models 1:43 handbuilt from UK

MM103 AC Ace LM 1959, when Whiteaway and Turner took this lightly modified Ace to a remarkable seventh overall and first in class, averaging over 98mph for the event. John Simons says, 'At Marsh Models the Marsh elves have been very busy; we now have the first batch of MM108 Sunoco M6A, MM98 March 83G Bundy and MM85 Ford X-1 CanAm ready to go. We hoped to have MM83 Delta Tires Autocoast Ti 22 but there was a delay. We've just had the first test castings of the C-100 so we are now working on the etch and Zanchetti on the decals. Four new patterns await casting at CMA: MK08 the 1966 Sebring-winning Mk II roadster, MM24K Foyt 66 Lola T70, MM106 Targa Cobra and MM84 AMR Sebring GT40. Chris is working on the Cheetah pattern and will then work on the Sunoco 917/30. We have found a great way to produce the yellow section that should be easy, without decals! We are now awaiting test castings for the AMR GT40, Sebring Mk II Roadster, Foyt T70 and Targa Cobra 289. We already have etch and decals for the Foyt car so we should have a test build soon, and with pearlescent light blue paint and candy apple blue wheel inserts it should be spectacular. The George Turner model was always the benchmark for the Cheetah, but we believe that our model not only captures the shape more accurately but also includes a lot more detail. Many thanks to everyone who responded to our request for information on the Weisburg M20 and 917 and the Pennzoil March. We just have enough for the Weisburg cars, but still need more on the March (above). Also if there are any good pictures of the Müller Vaillant 917/10-30, that would be great. Chris will be working on the next version of the LM C-100, the Sunoco 917/30 and the BRM 154 in the next few weeks'.


CROSSWAY UPDATED

Latest news from Crossway Models include the following updates: The 1:43 scale Triumph 2000 Mark 1 estate car is now available in kit form, or handbuilt. Production problems have delayed the Riley 4/72, but the first castings have now arrived for the Wolseley 18/2200 'wedge' (Princess family) and are being test-fitted.
The first casting shots of the Rover Jet 1 have also now arrived and are being checked out.
Lots of activity in Lincolnshire...


KERCHING! NO SALE?

It seems that we were wrongly advised about the sale of the Minimarque 43 business assets. Apologies to all who got their hopes up for a new beginning for this much-loved range. We have been in discussion with various interested parties since our Editorial comment in MAR 173, and it seems that there is no potential buyer on the horizon after all. Indeed, no-one reports having seen the business advertised for sale in the past year.


WORLD NEWS

ONE43 1:43 scale handbuilt from USA: The first picture of the 1910 Brooke Swan Car in Phil Alderman's new One43 range. The first pieces should be available by the time you read this, but we still await price confirmation. Phil Alderman can be contacted at AutoFare, 39 Paerdegat, 12th Street, Brooklyn, New York 11236, USA, email: AutoFare@aol.com.


RUSSIAN UPDATE

News of new models available from Russia in various ranges, via Mini-Classik:

MINI-CLASSIC 1:43
ZiS-5 Moscow-Kara-Kum
ZiS-5v double cab instruction vehicle
ZiS-5v double cab emergency vehicle
ZiS-5v double cab fire vehicle
Zundapp KS750 motorcycle and sidecar
Messerschmitt Bf 110, six different liveries 1:144

Kherson Models
(handmade limited copper galvanic models)
KM0202 GAZ M20 Pobeda (1955)
KM0203 GAZ M20 Pobeda Cabriolet
KM0204 Pobeda Sport
KM0205 Pobeda Aerosledge
KM0502 ZIL 111G
KM0603 GAZ M21 Volga 1956
KM1205 Zvezda-6 Racer 1958
KM1305 Renault Nervastella (1935)
KM1306 Renault Nervasport

Vector Models
(handmade limited copper galvanic models)
Z0-01 IZh 2126 ODA
V2-63 RAF Festival
V2-64 RAF Festival open top
V2-65 RAF 08 Spriditis
V2-66 RAF 978 Spriditis
V3-13 CARM Moskva
V3-14 ZiS-154
V3-20 NAMI 053 turbo
V3-21 ZIS 127
V3-22 ZiS 129
V4-80 GAZ 52-04
V4-81 GAZ 52-05 Taxi
V4-82 1ACh (52) refrigerator
V4-83 GAZ 3503 dump
V4-85 GAZ 53A
V4-86 GAZ 53B dumper
V5-28 Ikarus 280
V5-30 Ikarus 260/ 70s
V5-31 Ikarus 260/ 80s
V5-32 Ikarus 260/ 90s
V5-30 Ikarus 260-27 suburban
V5-92 Zhuk A06
V5-93 Zhuk A15m fire
V5-94 Zhuk I07M combi
V5-95 Zhuk A18m bus
V7-01 Citroen C46 Currus
V7-15 Berliet PH180
V7-37 Blitz 1,75 ton box van
V7-38 Blitz 1,75 ton fire
V7-39 Blitz 1,75 ton ambulance
V7-40 Blitz 1,75 ton DL-18 fire escape ladder
V8-50 MCI-9 Greyhound
V9-01 Golaz ZIL4242
V9-10 PAZ 4230-01K Aurora

VOLCHANETSKY
(handmade very limited tin models)
Ya-6-fire: two variants
Ya-7
Ya-8 (8 ton)
YaAZ-210
YaS-1 dumper
YaS-3 dumper


COLLECTION NEWS

By Michel Sordet
Here is the news of the latest Ma Collection 1:43 handbuilt models. They are made in resin with brass and photoetched parts, handmade to a very high quality, in very small series of 10 to 50 pieces exclusively for keen collectors and supplied only direct by mail order, at prices around 250 euros each.
97: 1935 Salmson S4D faux cabriolet four seater in two-tone bright yellow and brown. Salmsons were mid-market luxury cars in the 1930s with a good reputation for their modern sporting engines. The faux cabriolet was the most popular of all the body styles available on the 1935 Salmson.
98: 1936 Delahaye 135 short chassis, a unique coupe with flamboyant coachwork by Figoni Falaschi on the 'competition' 2.7m wheelbase short chassis. Chassis 46576, French plate 4505-RK1. This coupe was commissioned by M Jeancart of Paris and later sold to the 1930s film star Dolores Del Rio. In recent years, this restored coupe won its class at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The model is three-tone blue, just like the real car.


VANGUARDS CANCELLED

Corgi tell us that 'due to a problem with the tooling associated with the Rover 2000 P6' the Vanguards model VA06509 in willow green has been cancelled and is completely deleted from the range. This was to have been in the new Anniversary Limited Edition range, and will be replaced in this series with a Ford Cortina Mark II, of which the model number and colour will be advised later.


BIGGER AMERICANS

By Ben van Roode
Here is some news of products in larger scales from US ranges: Liberty, from the USA, is well known for its 1:24 scale cars and 'banks'. They also now have in their range three 1:6 engine replicas. These are a 426 Hemi, a 1967 small block Camaro engine and a 327 Corvette block.
And now for something completely different.
In a department store in Germany I saw a 1:10 scale model of the GMC Terradyne pickup prototype, radio controlled, with features like electronically opening door and rear hatch. Pretty impressive.
I am told that in 1:18 scale there will soon be models of a 2003 Dodge Ram and 2004 Ford F-150 FX4. Who will make them is not certain, but I guess it will be Ertl.
The 1966 Chevy Biscayne two-door coupe is a very welcome addition, never before seen in this scale. Interestingly, it is a two door coupe, not a hardtop. Ford is planning to sell a new high tech version of the Ford GT.
Very expensive if you want to buy a full-size one, but there will be 1:18 scale replica for collectors available later this year. Thirteen-Twenty Inc. is a company whose 1:24 range is dedicated to super-detail so-called 'Funny Cars' and dragsters.


PROVENCE MOULAGE

All Provence Moulage kits and handbuilts increase in price with immediate effect, in addition to the already higher price in non-Euro countries due to the increased value of the Euro. Le Mans fans will be pleased to know that PM already have available 41 1:43 kits, some with different car options totalling almost 50 starters from the 2003 grid.

Provence Moulage recent kit releases
K1779 Aston Martin DB7 Zagato Concept Geneva 02 world exclusive © 2003
Aston Martin Lagonda
K1814 Nash Healey #11 LM 1952
K1815 Lamborghini Marzal Geneva 1967
K1816 Spice SE87C #12 LM 1988
K1823 De Tomaso Pantera #31 LM 1972
K1820 BRM P351 #9 LM 1992
K1821 Nissan R88C #23 LM 1988
K1822 Ferrari 408
K1819 Jaguar XJR12 Big Cat Silverstone 1976
K1825 Jaguar XK150 Bertone 1958
K1826 Renault Clio Super 1600 Lyon Charbonnière 03
K1827 Audi 90 IMSA GTO 1989
K1828 Courage C65 JPX #31 LM 2003
K1829 Bentley EXP Speed 8 #7/8 LM 2003
K1830 Spyker C8 Double 12 #85 Orange LM 03
K1831 Ferrari 550 Maranello Prodrive #80/88 LM 03
K1832 Audi R8 #6 Champion Racing M 2003
K1824 Ford Focus WRC RS03 #4 New Zealand 03
K1818 Aston-Martin AM V8 #50 LM 1979
Built Models
N032 Peugeot 202 Pickup tilt Vin de Cassis
N034 Renault Floride Cabriolet
R204 Citroen AX Gr A Tour de Corse 93


ALEZAN ITALIANS

Michel Ducleux continues to produce models of exotica in his Alezan range of kits, prepainted kits or handbuilt models. The two latest are Italian cars:
254 Alfa Kamal as displayed at Geneva 2003
255 Maserati Quattroporte V8 1979


MORE FROM TENARIV

New 1:43 resin kits from Tenariv include three versions of the Alpine A360 monoposto from 1972-73 and lots of Ford GT40s, including cars from Sebring 1966, from Spa and the BOAC 500 in 1968 and from the BOAC race in 1969. Pictures next time...


ITALY


NEW ABC STOLA

By Laura Brianza
One of our new models is ABC 165 Stola GTS, as the cooperation between Stola and ABC goes on. The Stola company, based in Torino, presented a new prototype Stola GTS at the Geneva Show. It is particularly strong evolution of the famous S.82. The original chassis is that of the Boxster and GTS is a particularly 'bad' looking car, with wider wings, larger wheels and the colour is that of the cars which raced in the 1960s and 70s for John Wyer Automotive Engineering and the Gulf Research Racing Company. We can remember many victories of cars which raced in these colours, Ford GT40, Porsche 917 and Mirage. The windscreen is relatively small and the double bubble roof reminds us of Zagato bodies. Stola took particular care with the design of the front and rear lights and with the aerodynamics. It is available handbuilt, ABC165 or as a kit BRK43165.
ABC161 Lancia Thesis limousine. On 18 April, Mr Ciampi, President of the Italian Republic was presented a new car, a transformation of the new Lancia Thesis. The limousine is 600mm longer than the original car. Details are very accurate, because the shape of the roof is rounded as if no longer version of the car had been made. The choice is not cheap but the car looks really unusual and looks much better than all the other cars of its type. It is finished in blue, and the seats are tobacco. Our model was shown at the presentation of the real car and our customers can now have the President's car, either handbuilt or as a kit, as ABC165 or BRK43165.


ALFA MODEL 43 NEWS

New releases from Alfa Model 43 of Italy, news via Laura Brianza, of ABC:

121 Alfa Romeo 6c 2500 SS Nardi-Danese MM 1949
122 Alfa Romeo 6c 2500 SS Nardi-Danese Street red
123 Alfa Romeo 6c 2500 SS Nardi-Danese Street ivory
124 Alfa Romeo 6c 2500 SS Nardi-Danese Street grey
510 Alfa Romeo 6c 2500 SS Nardi-Danese Street blue


GERMANY


EVELL DIECAST NEWS

By Hans-Georg Schmitt
More new items in the Revell Diecast range were revealed at the TechnoClassica show, good pre-production examples of the Mercedes-Benz 180 pontoon sedan, to be released in summer this year. The VW Microbus and VW-Porsche 914 are almost ready for production.


GERMAN 1:87 NISSANS

By Ben van Roode
Nissan of Germany have ordered three 1:87 plastic promotional models, a Tino, the new Primera sedan and Patrol GR, to be available only from Nissan dealerships in the future.


BUSCH IN 1:87 SCALE

By Hans-Georg Schmitt

Here are latest 1:87 plastic models from Busch of Germany:

40001 Benz Patent Motor car 1886 on baseplate.
40642 Tempo Three wheel pickup +tilt Fire Berlin
40911 DKW 3=6 van Esso , red.
41705 Pontiac TransAm Stripe
41813 Ford E-350 ASB Emergency Doctor Intensive
care vehicle ASB, Hamburg rescue service
41946 Citroen H French fire Pyrenees Atlantiques.
42008 Opel Rekord C 1966 Frankfurt Fire Chief
42906 Cadillac 1966 Station Wagon Woodie
44000 Dodge Power Wagon, developed from the
military WC30, the first 4x4 US civilian vehicle.
44652 Dodge Ram Van Sparkling Spring, van version
of Voyager in livery of a US mineral water firm.
46411 Chevrolet Blazer Fire Rescue.
46803 Mercedes-Benz W123 E-Class T estate Singen
Fire Chief, wide band headlights and blue light.
47688 Chevrolet Caprice Louisiana State Police.
47719 Ford AA Melody Car, 1930s van of Northwest
Sound Systems Miller & Harkins, Washington.
47829 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter ITW Emergency
Doctor's Car from Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
48530 Mercedes-Benz ML-Class Facelift, After the
high detail version in Busch's CMD-Collection,
this is a more simply finished version.
48902 Smart City Coupe Facelift 2002. A new mould
was needed; the facelift version has the same
twin headlights as the cabriolet.
48922 Smart city coupe ASB Arbeiter Samariter Bund
for social services in Nuremberg-Furth area.
48923 Smart city coupe lively sweeper Russelsheim.
48926 Smart city coupe Creative Bath Promotional
vehicle of Nann Creative Baths in Fulda. The
model includes a picture of a woman in a bath.
49083 Ford Crown Victoria New Mexico State Police.
49156 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Autobahn Police
Brandenburg, silver with blue sections.
49253 Audi A4 Avant German Red Cross emergency
doctor's car

 

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