CONTENTS of the print edition
Model Auto Review 222
Publication 7 May 200804 Cars 07 Ford Consul Classic & Capri Dave Turner, England 10 Ertl Force One: 3 Harvey Goranson, USA 11 Parkers in Spring Maz Woolley, UK 12 Lea-Francis John Hanson, UK 13 Book Review Käfers • Steve Flowers 14 News World News 15 Toff-Roading Graeme Ogg, UK 16,17 Cars 18 Letters 19 News British cars 20 Competitions 23 Book Review GM 24 Truckstop • Pinder Graeme Watt, UK 26 Bus Stop EFE News 27 News World News • Clubs • M2 Machines Kimmo Sahakangas and Dave Weber, USA 29 Buses and taxis
EDITORIAL
by Rod WardWHAT TO DO IN A RECESSION
All right, so they don’t like it if we use the ‘R’ word, but if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck... Don’t be too worried, though; I see an economic recession as a time of opportunity. For manufacturers, this is the time to be bold and bring out your best new products, because there will be less new releases in the market- place from your more timid competitors, who are holding back, waiting for ‘better times’.
For sharp distributors and dealers, this is the time to search out those more interesting models which will keep the punters coming. If a dealer has been running his business efficiently in the period leading up to a recession, he will be able to continue adding new stock when other traders are forced to stop buying, due to cash-flow difficulties. He may even be able to get a better deal from some of his more cash- strapped suppliers.
Similarly, this can be a very good time for collectors. Not only will there be bargains on left-over stock from those dealers who are grateful for the business, but this could be your only chance to get certain new models. In periods of economic difficulty smaller quantities of new releases are produced, and fewer are distributed. Consider those models which were produced in previous lean times; they are now harder to find than those made during a boom. So buy now, while you can still find new items on sale, they’ll disappear more quickly than usual!
Yes, of course, this will be a problematic period for those companies who have not managed their affairs well and we may see more failures, or perhaps some firms just shrinking in size. The healthy operators at every level, however, will come out of this situation in an even better state than they were before. So you see, this could be a time of opportunity for all of us, especially if there is a recession.
Little Ships RETURN
On page 08 you will see a small news item about the latest Water Speed Record (WSR) boat model made by Stuart Delf of Touch-wood Models, a welcome return for our Little Ships feature. Stuart is also assisting with illustrations for the future Auto Review book on Fast Boats, including the WSR. If else has pictures of old or new speedboats, power boats or WSR contenders, please send them to me for inclusion in the book.
Other titles for which I still need more illustrations are Electric Vehicles (battery, petrol-electric etc), British motorcycles and two wheeler records. The latest Auto Review book is on Classic Airships, a fascinating story for anyone interested in transport history.
YOUNGSTERS PROBLEMS
Youngsters is a buying group for UK toyshops, enabling small retailers to combine their orders to the big toy companies. Youngsters went into administrative receivership in April. KPMG were appointed as administrators by Barclays Bank, following ‘credit problems'.
CORGI INTERNATIONAL
Corgi International, whose shares were valued at over $50 in 2003, and $6.63 a year ago, dropped to $1.02 (±50p) in April 2008. Cards Inc was one of the three firms which originally comprised Corgi International. In April 2008 Corgi International sold their Cards Inc trading card distribution division to Esdevium Games Ltd
Partworks Turning Japanese
By Gerald WatkinsAt the March Coventry Toyfair I bought a 1:43 model of a 1967 Toyota 1600GT made by Norev (it said so on the baseplate; years of collecting teaches you subtle detective work like that). It was in the distinctive smaller sized plastic box used for partworks. The original car was a tarted-up version of the Corona coupe and shared its sloping nose with the saloon version that was the first Toyota sold in the UK. The nose and the minor historical detail are about the only distinguishing features, so it’s a very unlikely Cheres Voitures d’Antan or Queridos Coches – and Norev don’t make models for them anyway. It’s actually part of a long running Japanese market partwork, and as can be seen from the list, some of these have been produced as Norevs, with Norev numbers, packaging and prices. In addition there’s a mystery model; a 1959 Prince Skyline with Norev on the baseplate, but not mentioned in the listing. The collection is a fortnightly publication which began in early 2006; at the time of writing they’re apparently up to issue 57, so it hasn’t run out of steam yet. Availability over here is by things turning up at swapmeets or on eBay etc. If you know Japanese you can apparently order from: www.fujisan.co.jp/Product/1281681552/b/list1/ Even if you don’t know Japanese, this is useful for the issue dates and tiny pictures of the models. Hachette Fujingaho’s flagship titles include the Japanese versions of Marie Claire and Elle so this partwork is a bit of a departure.
They also publish Gentry, which is a ‘high life’ (?) magazine aimed at men in their forties; in other words the ‘yoof’ end of the MAR readership.
Hachette Fujingaho Japanese Cars List via Ratdat on www.ratdat.com 1. 1968 Subaru 360 2. 1969 Nissan Skyline GT-R 3. 1966 Toyota 2000GT 4. 1966 Honda S800 5. 1964 Mazda Cosmo 6. 1967 Isuzu 117 7. 1972 Mitsubishi FTO 8. 1970 Nissan Fairlady Z 9. 1970 Toyota Celica 1600 GT 10. 1967 Honda N360 11. 1969 Isuzu Bellet 1600 GT-R 12. 1965 Toyota S800 13. 1967 Nissan Sunny 1000 14. 1978 Mazda Savanna Rx-7 15. 1974 Honda Civic 16. 1966 Toyota Corolla 17. 1969 Nissan Bluebird 1600 18. 1964 Mazda Familia 800 19. 1962 Mitsubishi Minica 20. 1966 Subaru 1000 21. 1965 Nissan Silvia 22. 1962 Mazda Carol 360 23. 1961 Nissan Cedric 24. 1955 Toyota Crown DX 25. 1973 Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR 26. 1964 Hino Contessa 27. 1959 Datsun Fairlady Sport 28. 1961 Toyota Publica 700 29. 1965 Honda S600 Coupe 30. 1969 Mazda Luce Rotary Coupe 31. 1967 Nissan Fairlady 1600 32. 1968 Toyota Corona 33. 1960 Mazda R360 Coupe 34. 1978 Honda Accord EX 35. 1965 Daihatsu Campagno Spider 36. 1957 Toyota Corona 37. 1967 Nissan Gloria 38. 1972 Mazda Savanna RX3 Coupe 39. 1969 Honda 1300 40. 1974 Toyota Landcruiser BJ40 41. 1967 Nissan Fairlady 2000 42. 1965 Mitsubishi Colt 800 DX 43. 1984 Toyota MR2 44. 1967 Isuzu Florian 1600 45. 1964 Prince Skyline 2000GT 46. 1970 Mitsubishi Galant GTO 47. 1979 Nissan Silvia 48. 1967 Suzuki Fronte 49. 1973 Nissan Violet Hardtop 50. 1970 Honda Honda Z 51. 1967 Toyota 1600GT 52. 1982 Mitsubishi Pajero 53. 1962 Isuzu Bellel 2000 DX 54. 1968 Nissan Laurel 55. 1989 Toyota Corona 56. 1991 Honda Beat 57. 1986 Toyota Supra 58. 1977 Toyota Celica XX 59. 1970 Suzuki Jimny 60. 1988 Nissan Cefiro 61. 1990 Mazda Eunos Cosmo 62. 1963 Nissan Bluebird 63. 1981 Honda City 64. 1970 Toyota Carina 65. 1990 Nissan NX coupe 66. 1985 Isuzu Gemini 67. 1992 Mazda AZ-1 68. 1988 Nissan Cima 69. 1972 Honda Life Touring 70. 1987 Nissan Be-1 71. 1953 Hino Renault 72. 1983 Nissan Silvia Coupe 73. 1994 Toyota Celica GT4 74. 1990 Mitsubishi GTO 75. 1978 Suzuki Cervo 76. 1978 Nissan Fairlady Z 77. 1976 Toyota Mark II 78. 1991 Mazda RX7 79. 1973 Nissan Bluebird-U 2000GT 80. 1993 Suzuki Wagon R 81. 1983 Toyota Corolla Levin 82. 1971 Nissan Sunny Truck 83. 1989 Mazda Eunos Roadster 84. 1973 Toyota Celica Liftback 85. 1991 Nissan Figaro 86. 1977 Mazda Luce Legato 87. 1962 Nissan Cedric Van 88. 1991 Toyota Soarer 89. 1991 Honda Prelude 90. 1959 Daihatsu Midget
BOOK REVIEW • Rod Ward
TKÄFER Miniaturen - The Beetle in miniature: All models from 1935 to 1957, by Fabian Houchangnia, captions in German and English, hardbound with dust jacket, 192 pages, 210 x 240 mm, 523 photographs. €29.90. ISBN 978-3-7688-2453-8 Published by and available from Delius Klasing Verlag, Siekerwall 21, 33602 Bielefeld, Germany, tel: +49 (0) 521 559 955
Fabian is known to any reader of MAR who has been with us from the beginning, as a renowned expert on Volkswagens, and here he concentrates on his first love; the early Beetle. Not just early cars (splits and ovals), but early models; nothing made after 1957 is included. Fabian has collected Beetle models for over 30 years, so he started collecting about 20 years after the dateline for this book finishes!
The scope is very wide from early crude toys to superb presentation prototypes; most of them are now very rare and the only chance most of us will get to see an example is in the pages of this book. The photos are top-quality, and the captions informative, as one would expect from Fabian. A nice touch is that all the captions are in German (black text) and English (blue text) though the introduction is only in German. On a personal note, a couple of plastic buildings are pictured alongside some Arnold Beetles. I owned some similar buildings in the early 1950s, and I never knew who made them. Mystery solved. I highly recommend this book to all fans of Beetles and of any early toy cars.
STEVE FLOWERS CATALOGUE
Steve Flowers Model Supplies replacement parts are popular with MAR readers. Recent additions include Dinky 009 set of four plastic mechanics left, French Dinky 1402 Ford Galaxie plastic front and rear bumpers, Corgi 1106 Decca radar silver plastic antenna and silver plastic aerial set, and Chad Valley Wee-kin series rubber hollow fit tyre. Ring 0116 2332288, see www.model-supplies.co.uk or send £1.70 for a 2008 catalogue £1.70 to Steve at Model Supplies Ltd, 25 Pennant Close, Glenfield, Leicester, LE3 8LL
BUILT SOMERVILLES
Since Promod have begun reissuing some of the old Somerville 1:43 Vauxhall kits, Marian Gradus, our favourite Pole, tells us that he can now supply them in built form. The L-type Velox comes in plain colours, police or taxi versions. The H-Type Vauxhall Ten comes in plain colours or police. The Vauxhall Caleche Convertible is finished in white or burgundy. We have no idea of prices, and obviously we never ‘recommend’ any building service, but if you are interested contact Marian at Millennium Models, Clematis House, 2 Holly Close, Brackley, Northants NN13 6PF.
CHINESE 1:18 CARS
The latest 1:18 diecast models from Paudi (Paul’s Diecast) of China are all modern cars: Ford New Mondeo 2007, Ford S-Max 2007, Peugeot 307 2007, Citroen Xsara Picasso 2007, Mazda 6 Sports Sedan 2007, and Toyota Corolla 2007.
IN THE STORES IN THE USA
By Peter WalkerImex models have stopped making their 1:87 scale trucks from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Some of theme were made by Golden Wheel in China, and they can still be found in some hobby shops. K-Mart have some stocks of 1:43 scale Bburago models, but not a lot of choice.
CLASSIX 1:76 MODELS
By Neil Fraser, Pocketbond LtdImex models have stopped making their 1:87 scale trucks from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Some of theme were made by Golden Wheel in China, and they can still be found in some hobby shops. K-Mart have some stocks of 1:43 scale Bburago models, but not a lot of choice.
EM76624 Ford E83W van British Railways maroon EM76626 Morris Minor van Royal Mail: side ad panels EM76629 Moms Minor van British Railways blood & custard EM76631 Morris Minor pickup grey EM76633 Morris Minor pickup green with tonneau cover EM76808 Ford Consul Mk I dorchester grey EM76812 Ford Zephyr Zodiac Mk I grey over fawn EM76814 Austin A40 Devon four door streamline blue EM76816 Austin A40 Dorset two door cherry red EM76614 Morris J Van Royal Mail with poster panels EM76627 Morris Minor Van Telephone Engineer with ladders EM76628 Morris Minor Van RAC Road Service EM76635 Morris Minor Van blue/green EM76809 Ford Consul Mk I Taxi black with cream bonnet & boot EM76813 Austin A40 Devon 4-door Saloon Police EM76821 Morris Minor four door beige
NEXT ALEZAN HANDBUILTS
Michel Ducleux of Alezan Collector tells us of his latest 1:43 handbuilt models, only 120 of each model are made:
AC21 Alfa Romeo Sprint QV 1.5 litre Cabriolet 1985 red.
AC22 Maserati Spyder V6 1995 metallic light blue or red
J&M CLASSICS NEWS
Marqueart tell us that they have now made all the Daimler Conquest variants for J&M Classics, including the Conquest Mk I and Mk II in two tone silver grey over black, silver grey over blue or silver grey over maroon. The Mk I has white instruments on the dashboard and spotlights to each side of the radiator. The Mk II has black instruments on the dashboard, air intake vents next to the radiator and spotlights above the bumper. The Conquest Century Mk I comes in midnight blue, British Racing Green, silver grey over maroon, silver grey over black, with white dashboard dials, including a rev counter, and spot lights next to the radiator. The Conquest Century Mk II comes in two tone silver grey over maroon, maroon, British Racing Green or black, with black dials on the dashboard, including rev counter, air intake vents next to the radiator and spotlights above the bumper. The next model from J&M will be the Jowett Jupiter SC Mk 1A, in turquoise blue with beige upholstery and hood, British Racing Green with beige upholstery and hood, scarlet with beige upholstery and hood, or ivory with a red interior and black hood, at £120.00 each.
Rolls-Royce Update
By André BlaizeHere is an update on the activities of the Ghost Club for Rolls-Royce collectors. Production of Rolls-Royce scale models is very quiet and most new releases come from China. Prices are more than reasonable, but quality is also down and doesn't compare to European artisans. There are no longer any Rolls-Royce toys on the market, other than obsolete colour variants which are hard to find and which can command high prices on the web. In spite of all this, the Ghost Club is faring well. I have noticed that more and more members are also owners of the real thing; our 253 members own 135 Rolls-Royces and Bentleys in 24 countries. The club website is at http:// TheGhostClub.net The latest Club ‘Bible’ includes newly structured price guides. Below is a table of what members have found since my last MAR update in Oct 2007.
ABC Brianza 218w Phantom IV H J Mulliner Cabriolet #4af6 1951 1:43 ABC Brianza 232k Silver Wraith Inskip Cabriolet #Wya26-#Wzb36 1947 1:43 Acme 225 Silver Cloud III Std Swb Saloon 1962 1:24 Acme Products / Bburago Silver Shadow II Std Swb Saloon 1977 1:29 ATC 1 (A Top Collector) Corniche Mulliner Park Ward Cabriolet (O) 1974 1:43 ATC 2 (A Top Collector) Corniche II Mulliner Park Ward Cabriolet (O) 1988 1:43 ATC 5 (A Top Collector) Silver Spur II Std Swb Saloon 1989 1:43 ATC 6 (A Top Collector) Phantom I Jonckheere Round Rolls #94mc 1925 1:43 Busch 44415 Marklin 28502b Silver Cloud III Std Swb Saloon 1962 1:87 Cheetah Silver Cloud III Std Lwb Saloon 1965 1:72 China Handcraft Models Phantom V James Young Limousine Pv22 1963 1:43 Conavon Reproductions Silver Shadow Std Swb Saloon 1965 1:25 Corgi Toys AG003 Phantom III Barker Brougham De Ville #3bu168 1937 1:43 D'Antonio Giorgio 20/25 Barker DHCP #GNS12 1930 1:43 Dinky Toys 158 Preprod Silver Shadow Std Swb Saloon 1965 1:42 Dubois Michel (087b) Silver Spirit Hooper Landaulette Silver Wing 1986 1:43 Dubois Michel (133) Silver Wraith Hooper Landaulette #Blw92 1954 1:43 Eus Nostalgic Handicraft EC30 Silver Ghost Limousine 1907 1:10 Feldkamp RRC 012 B Silver Shadow Std Swb Saloon 1969 1:43 Feldkamp RRC 012 C Silver Shadow II Std Swb Saloon 1980 1:43 Feldkamp RRC 014 Silver Shadow II Laurence Coachbuilding Estate 1980 1:43 Feldkamp RRC 119 Silver Shadow II Std Swb H.J.Mulliner Landaulette 1979 1:43 Franklin Mint Copy (1) 10hp 2 Cyl. #20165 Phaeton SU13 1907 1:16 Franklin Mint Copy (2) Silver Ghost Schebera-Shapiro Skiff #54pb 1914 1:24 Imai B-2095-1000b Fab 1 Lady Penelope's RR 1964 1:50 MacLeay Robert (02) Silver Ghost Willis Roi Des Belges 1912 1:43 Mauriciu & Itzhak Silver Cloud II H J Mulliner Cabriolet D7504 (O) 1961 1:10 McCoin Jim Silver Ghost 1920 Pattern armoured car 1920 1:10 Meccano Gyro-Jet SSPB Silver Cloud III Std Swb Saloon 1964 1:18 Neilyman Silver Ghost Tow Truck 1920 1:57 P.T. / ATC 3 Models Corniche Iv Mulliner Park Ward Cabriolet (O) 1993 1:43 P.T. / ATC 4 Models Silver Cloud I Std Saloon 1955 1:43 Race Saver Golden Ghost (Ind.) Silver Cloud II Dragster 1960 1:65 Road Champs 1051 Phantom VI HJM-Park-Ward Limousine D2003/1 1969 1:80 Road Champs S.692 Silver Cloud III Std Lwb Saloon 1965 1:72 Rolltoys 43 Tra43/01 Phantom IV H J Mulliner Cabriolet #4af18 1952 1:43 Weetabix Series 10b Silver Ghost Willis Roi Des Belges #60939 1909 1:55 Yo-Koo Jayland 1206-W Silver Ghost Wilson Roi Des Belges #1676 1911 1:11 Yo-Koo Jayland 1207-BL Silver Ghost H J Mulliner Balloon Car Replica #1513 1911 1:12 Yo-Koo Jayland Hc109-1 Twenty Saloon 1928 1:20
Book Review • Rod Ward
GM IN MINIATURE by Randall Olson, softbound, 160 pages 250 x 250mm, 545 colour photos. Veloce Pub, 33 Trinity Street, Dorchester, Dorset DT1 1TT, tel: 01305 260068. ISBN 978-1-845841-4. £24.99
You will recall Randall Olson’s previous book on Ford in Miniature, and he is even more proud of this second book. ‘It has over 100 additional photos from a greater variety of points of view and profiles of select replicas’, he says. He saves me the trouble of pointing out an error, by apologising in advance for crediting the creator of Tron Models as Paolo Rampini, when he meant to say Paolo Tron. ‘I have an excellent book on my shelf, Model Cars Made in Italy. Its author is Paolo Rampini. I must have made a mental substitution that made it past the editing stage’, he says. He only covers 1:43 models, mostly handbuilts, so as usual I looked first for any of my own products. Sure enough, Randall gives a very generous review of the Sun Motor Co Cadillac series 75 limousine, considering its humble origins as a stretched Ertl diecast model!
More deserving handbuilt creations from the likes of Elegance, ABC and the like get appropriately lavish analysis with top-quality detailed photos. Fans of any GM marque, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick or Cadillac, will have to buy this book, as will commercial vehicle collectors, as Randall also covers vans and pickups. In fact anyone with any American cars in the collection, or any fan of Americana will find GM in Miniature fascinating and useful.
BUS STOP
EFE NEWS • By Frank Joyce
2008 is a significant year for us, as it marks the 20th Anniversary of Exclusive First Editions. Two decades ago we were busily working away, blissfully unaware of the effect we were about to have on the collectable diecast model market. In the first 18 months we had a Dragon’s Den-type experience when we refinanced the business and we gained legal experience when we used our patent to defend our product. Then the National Lottery started, taking a large amount of money out of the retail market, and the EU imposed trading sanctions on China, limiting our production. More recently Hong Kong was handed back to China. Alongside all this were the day to day tasks of running the business before we even think of complying with the mountain of government legislation. Monty Python tells us to always look on the bright side of life, so whenever we are feeling down we open the daily postbag and read the many letters of encouragement we receive from our collectors. We are instantly cheered up and ready to get going again. It is my intention to try to recreate for EFE collectors some of the excitement that used to exist in the 1:76 scale model market, so I will withhold the identity of the new models we are currently tooling and only identify them closer to their date of release.
Cobham Bus Museum
Two fundraising models were commissioned for this year’s Cobham Annual running day and Bus Gathering: STD 64 and GS 1, sold at Wisley airfield on Sunday 6 April.Sutton United Football Club.
Special release of Surrey Motors windover coach taking the team to the 1963 Amateur Cup Final. Contact Peter Coe on 01372 386998.Australian issues
The two 1:76 scale Melbourne W6 Tramcars illustrated in MAR 221, made for Trux of Australia, have been supplied to EFE subscribers at £39.00 each. Another Australian bus model we have produced recently is a Plaxton Minibus operated by Toronto Bus Service, called the Toronto-Train.
CLUB NEWS • Collated by Rod Ward
Robert Timmis informs us of the Lansdowne Collectors Club 2008 model, for members only. Join now if you want an example of LDM58 Lagonda 2.6 Litre drophead with top up in pale yellow with beige interior and top. Only 110 will be made, at £65.00 each (members can order up to four). For more information contact the LDC at 203 Northwich Road, Lower Stretton, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 4PF. Members also get Robert’s jolly Lansdowne Collector magazine, so if it’s Lansdownes you like, join today!
Uncle Jack Patrick edits the Brooklin Collector, thrice yearly organ of the Brooklin Collectors Club, whose 2008 Club model is BRK116X Marmon Sixteen coupe 1931 in two tone caramel and chocolate with chrome hubcaps. There is also a 20th anniversary club model for 2008, BRK134X Chevrolet 3100 panel van 1955 in metallic dark blue. the models cost £65.00 each, and members can buy up to two of each. To join the BCC contact John Bowyer, 57 Gloucester Road, Bagshot, Surrey GU19 5LT.
In the ever-amusing Wessex Smalltalk, newsletter of the Wessex Model and Toy Collectors, Editor Barry Lloyd reveals that their 2008 club model will be a Lansdowne Humber Super Snipe Mk III 1949 in satin bronze. This model will appear in the standard Lansdowne range later this year. to order models you have to order before a deadline, but as I don’t know when that is, you are probably too late to join and get a model this year. Maybe 2009?
On the back cover of Wheelspin, the Coventry Diecast Model Club magazine, is a picture of Lyndon Davies (of Oxford Diecast) donating a Mettoy tin typewriter to Paul Kennelly of the West Wales Museum of Childhood.
In Wheel Nuts, the South Hants Model Auto Club journal, Jason Mitchell begins his ‘A-Z of cars’ series with the Rapide Austin A35 pickup...
M2 Machines Auto-Thentics
By Kimmo Sahakangas and Dave WeberCastline Inc is a new company venturing into 1:64 American diecasts with the 2008 debut of their M2 Machines Auto-Thentics. The firm is located in Arcadia, a suburb of Los Angeles, and is owned by the founders of Funline Inc, former producers of Muscle Machines in the early 2000s. M2 marks their return to diecast production.
Funline was acquired by Action Performance, makers of race car replicas. In turn, Action was taken over by NASCAR affiliate Motorsports Authentics. Funline previously made stylised muscle cars, many with oversize engines, but Castline now have realistic models, cast in China. Their first release consists of six cars: 1951 Ford Crestliner, 1953 Oldsmobile 98, 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air, 1954 Mercury Sun Valley, 1955 Pontiac Star Chief and 1957 Ford Fairlane. A limited edition Fairlane chase car in chrome is also available. Each comes in two different colour combinations, all feature hinged doors and engine hoods (bonnets) with rubber tyres on authentic size wheels. Bodies and interiors are well detailed, some with two-tone seats. Chrome parts include separately fixed hood ornaments, and engines are very detailed for this small scale. Baseplates are metal, screwed to a plastic plinth inside attractive blister cards. Inside the blister is a trading card showing a preproduction resin model. The reverse side of this card and the blister card provide sneak peeks of possible future issues; 1957 Chevrolet, early 50s Mercury, early 60s Cadillac and late 50s Dodge among others.
Castline has licenses from Ford, GM and Chrysler. Collectors have noted a similarity to the Racing Champions Mint Edition series made in the mid to late 1990s, but these models are of better quality, competing with Johnny Lightnings from Learning Curve-RC2 and with Greenlight. Also available is a Clearly Auto-Thentics set of the six cars with tinted transparent plastic bodies to reveal the interiors. These new models deserve a 5 Star rating for quality and detail; models aimed at collectors and only costing around $5.00 each. The main distributor is 1 Stop Diecast in Torrance, CA; www.1stopdiecast.com
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