CONTENTS of the print edition
Model Auto Review 244
Publication 7 August 201004 Cars (captions on page 06) 07 Eastern Europe Graeme Ogg, UK 10 Wills Finecast 4 Max Tomlinson, UK 12 Ford Expedition, Lincon Navigator and Ford Excursion Dave Turner, UK 15 Rastar Phil Campbell, Germany 16-17 Techno Classica Hans-Georg Schmitt, Germany 18 Cougar John F Quilter, USA 19 Baddies Maz Woolley, UK 19 M2 Maz Woolley, UK 20 Correspondence 21 Competitions, Clubs 24 Books 25 Truckstop 26 News & Views • Captions to page 29: buses and emergency vehicles 27 The Graeme Factor Graeme Watt, UK
EDITORIAL
by Rod WardWE’RE BACK...
That was a short break, and here we are again with another issue of MAR. We seem to be gaining some benefit from the advanced age of some of our contributors, who now have a little more time to write articles for us, while sitting on their porches in their rocking chairs. As you can see in this issue, we all reap the rewards, so here is a hint everyone else; don’t just while away the hours counting your pension payments, write something for Model Auto Review, take some photos for us. Do whatever you can.
See you after the holidays
By the time the next issue of MAR is in your hands, in about seven weeks’ time, we will have had our much-needed annual holiday; ten days in Dorset. We hope to take with us our new bearded collie pup, Amelia.
A SIGN OF THE TIMES?
Leading UK motor book distributor Menoshire has gone into voluntary liquidation, blaming the disappearance of the retail bookshops it used to supply on the advent of Amazon. Menoshire were valued wholesalers of Auto Review books...
AUTO REVIEW:
Aston Martin & LagondaThe latest Auto Review book is now available, on Aston Martin & Lagonda (see page 22), which tells the stories of these two great British marques. The next title will be Hillman & Singer. Then will come a book on Allard, Jensen, Railton and other British cars with American engines (but excluding AC Cobra, Bristol, Sunbeam Tiger etc, which are covered in their own titles). The last two titles this year will be the AC Album and the Lotus Album.The latter will include a complete list of Lotus type numbers. After that our first title in 2011 will cover ‘British Plastic’; Reliant, TVR, Gilbern, Fairthorpe etc. If you have any illustrations (advertisements, sales brochures, your own photographs etc) or any personal anecdotes you can offer on any subject, please send them to me as soon as possible for inclusion in future publications. I also invite your suggestions for future titles.
Updates and news
BRITISH HERITAGE MODELSFrank Jones tells us about his new range of limited edition handbuilt resin models called British Heritage Models, which he hopes to launch in Autumn this year. The first model, BHM1, is a 1948 Rover P3 (real P3 above). He says, ‘Because of prohibitive costs for white metal quoted by British firms, I eventually got hold of a Chinese manufacturer who builds Rolls-Royce and Bentley models for ATC. I am doing this as a joint venture with a Chinese retailer, using his contacts, with my ideas. I will be selling the model at around £89.00 and it will also be available from UK dealers Peregrine, Spa Croft and Midas Models. The second release will be BHM2, a Humber Super Snipe Tickford convertible.’
Editor’s note: Anyone interested can email Frank direct, at safran@talktalk.net though it seems that the Chinese end of the operation has already been contacting some UK collectors. Even before I had heard from Frank, Graeme Ogg advised me as follows:
‘Smart Flying Model, the Chinese outfit that supplied me with several of the ATC Rolls-Royces, have just sent advance details of a limited edition handbuilt Rover P3. They haven't posted pictures of the actual handbuilts yet, and the maker is not identified. I can understand the Chinese seeing a market for bootleg Rollers, but this seems a rather obscure and improbable choice of subject from their point of view, and you wonder how they expect the news to find its way to Rover lovers. Through nerds like us, I expect.’
SILAS MODELS 1:43
resin handbuilt with photo-etched parts, made in France: 1960 Sunbeam Rapier Series III in pearl grey and pippin red with a pippin red interior. Only 300 pieces will be made;. Frédéric Cros is the man behind this new range, and he says, ‘I hope to offer this model at a price close to those of Neo, Spark or Premium X’.
Plans for future models can be seen at www.silasmodels.com. Contact Frédéric Cros, 11 rue Collette, 75017 Paris, France.
Soichiro Takabatake
We are very sorry to have to report the death of Soichiro Takabatake, a good friend and MAR stockist in Japan from the beginning. Soichiro died on 15 May at the age of 59. ‘Too young to go to heaven’ to quote his friend and ex-colleague Jun Maeda.
MAR readers will want to join us in passing on our sincere sympathies to Soichiro’s wife and son.
MORE LEGENDARY LINCOLNS
Joel Dickson informs us that his range, Legendary Motorcars LLC, is currently producing its 1:43 scale white metal 1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III in a choice of two new colour schemes, black with a dark red interior and black padded top, or medium gold metallic with nugget gold interior and white padded top. Illustra is building 50 of each colour for Legendary. The two previous colours, released in 2003, were maroon and medium blue. The retail price is around $325.00.
Techno Classica 2010
By Hans-Georg SchmittThe 22nd Techno Classica, the world’s biggest indoor classic car show, seemed to be untroubled by the current economic crisis. Visitor numbers increased by 5,000 over the previous year, to 170,000. The high prices asked for cars showed that money was being invested in valuable assets instead of in disgraced banks. Some current car makers had displays linking classic vehicles from their collections with their latest products, to cash in on their appeal. There were also some anniversaries to celebrate. Audi presented 30 years of the Quattro. The related model car was sold out on the first morning. Skoda celebrated the 40th anniversary of the 110R and Porsche marked the historic victory of the 917 at Le Mans 40 years ago, driven by Hans Herrmann and Dickie Attwood. Volkswagen showed special bodies on Beetle chassis and the development of their 4x4 vehicles, including the Iltis which won the 1980 Paris-Dakar rally. A reproduction of a pre-war KdF-wagen Beetle prototype was brought to Essen, with the wind tunnel model of it. VW offered a 1:87 Wiking Volkswagen K70, also 40 years old right. Daimler concentrated on super sports cars, from the 1903 Mercedes Simplex to the latest SLS. Mercedes-Benz Accessories offered a red 1:87 Bub 300SL coupe as a special fair model below.
Ford mostly focused on the 40th anniversary of the Taunus. BMW recalled the victory of the 328 in the 1940 Mille Miglia and displayed all five generations of the 5 series saloon. BMW offered a 1:38 pull-back toy Isetta to younger model car collectors. Alfa Romeo celebrated their centenary and Volvo marked the 75th birthday of the PV36 Carioca. Citroen looked to the recent past, displaying an M35 prototype, left, designed for a Wankel engine, with assembly planned in a new factory near Saarlouis on the French-German border. They also displayed the SM Presidential, below, as modelled by Dinky France and by Norev, as well as the latest DS3.
Peugeot showed their heritage of classic coupes, with a 601 from 1934 and with the new RCZ. There were also model cars on show, but fewer manufacturers attended than in previous years. Special fair models were quickly sold out. Revell offered a black 1:18 Opel Commodore coupe, with the Techno Classica emblems packed separately in the box. Minichamps offered a Mercedes-Benz C111 wearing the Techno Classica logo. The full-size car was also displayed by Mercedes in Hall 1. Schuco had a 1:43 long-tail Porsche 907 which Jochen Rindt and Gerhard Mitter drove at Le Mans in 1970, the model stained with race grime. They also had a 1:90 Piccolo model of Jochen Rindt’s Lotus 49C, which won the Monaco GP 40 years ago. ADAC offered a Schuco Piccolo set for the Trentino Classic 2010, with a 1972 VW-Porsche 914 and Mercedes 300D 1958. CMC displayed their latest models and advertised a 1:18 Bugatti Atlantic, which will appear in autumn this year in the original blue and in black, as restored by Ralph Lauren. In Hall 5 there was a Carrera slot racing track, built in 1:1 scale. A number of model car dealers and some clubs displayed interesting models, including a very nice Tekno Ford FK1000. Alongside the exotic real cars for sale at enormous prices, there were some rare birds, such as a Japanese hearse based on a 1989 Nissan President, an unrestored Ford Comète Monte Carlo and an excellently restored 1912 Delaunay Belleville Landaulet which belonged to the last Russian Tsar. To cope with the difficult conditions in Russia, it had a heating system and twin rear wheels. Also in Hall 5 was a very special ‘barn find’, the only surviving EMW 340 coupe, built in Eisenach in the ex-DDR in the early 1950s. llustra is building 50 of each colour for Legendary. The two previous colours, released in 2003, were maroon and medium blue. The retail price is around $325.00.
Club News
Collated by Rod WardCliff Maddock, editor of the Maidenhead Static Model Club monthly newsletter. Wheel Bearings, repeats the warning that he is definitely leaving the job in March 2011, and as yet no-one has stepped forward to take over the reins. Also in Wheel Bearings is a mention that the almost-defunct Avon Model & Toy Collectors club has been re-constituted with a new committee of four members. Let’s hope they survive this time. Showcase, the West Australian Model Collectors Club magazine, now consists almost entirely of club notices and advertisements. It seems that appeals to members for interesting contributions have fallen on deaf ears. The Wessex Model and Toy Collectors newsletter, Wessex Smalltalk, includes interesting accounts of visits to the RAF Museum at Millom in Cumbria and to the Great Dorset Steam Fair. Then Editor Barry Lloyd has the cheek to say that ‘WMTC members don’t seem to get out much nowadays’.
The latest issue of The Globe, organ of the Oxford Die-cast Collectors Club, is very interesting. Obviously it promotes Oxford products, but backs up each new model with the story of the real vehicle, right down to the specific version which has been modelled. Flight Recorder, the bi-monthly newsletter of the Corgi Aviation Archive Club, features the 2010 Club model, a rare Gloster Gladiator which was captured by the Germans in Latvia and repainted in Luftwaffe livery for evaluation and training purposes.
Book Reviews
Automobile Revue 2010 various authors, German and French text. Published by FMM Fachmedien Mobil AG; Automobile Revue, Dammweg 9, CH-3001 Bern. Published by FMM Fachmedien Mobil AG; Automobil Revue/Revue Automobile, Dammweg 9, CH-3001 Bern. 588 pages, many photographs. Paperbound 230 x 300mm. ISBN 978-3-905386-10-3 / ISSN 1422-9730. €32.00
Each year for the Geneva Motor Show, Swiss car magazine Automobile Revue publishes its catalogue issue, including exotica like Artega, Koenigsegg, Pagani and Westfield. Technical data, price and at least one photo of each car are included. Hans-Georg SchmittDas Messealbum: DDR-Motorindustrie im Spiegel der Leipziger Messe, by Christian Suhr, German text. Published by and available from Motorbuch Verlag, Olgastr 86; 70180 Stuttgart, Germany. 176 pages, 327 photographs. Hardbound 245 x 310mm. ISBN 978-3-613-03146-3. €24.90
In May 1946 the first postwar Leipzig fair was held, the leaders of the new DDR seeing it as a way to promote their economic and political system. The motor industry played a key role, and in later years it became more important, earning Western currency. Gradually the DDR auto industry fell behind, due to their archaic two-stroke engines. There were no funds to update the technology. This album includes atmospheric photos from an early and still glamorous era of the IFA. Hans-Georg SchmittCamions Willeme: Le Roi des Poids Lourds (The king of heavy trucks) by Gilbert Lecat, French text. Published by and available from ETAI; Antony Parc II, 10 place General de Gaulle, 92160 Antony, France. 176 pages, 292 pictures. Hardbound 240 x 290mm. ISBN 978-2-7268-8915-2 €42.00
AAfter the Great War in 1918 Louis Willeme returned to his parents’ home, expected to take over the family restaurant, but he had other plans. He first worked for Grégoire, then set up in business under his own name, building powerful and reliable trucks. The stories of the firm and its founder are told here. At the end of the book some movies are described in which Willeme trucks featured, such as Gas-Oil starring Jean Gabin. Hans-Georg SchmittARGUS Made in France by Etienne Flament. Pub SAFAM, BP40 F-78230 Le Pecq, France. A4 44 pages, many photos. ISBN 978-2-9531031-7-5. €28.00
This is the fifth in the Argus coverage of minor French model vehicle ranges, This time we are treated to plastic models by Musy, Scale-Toys, Sesame and Vape-Bourbon. There are some real obscurities here, pictured and listed in tabular form, to help you to identify unusual items in the collection. Rod Ward
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