The next kit to build was selected from the stash simply because it was sitting on top of all the others! Tamiya’s 1:20 scale Lola Indycar in road course configuration. This was (mostly) built straight from the box to be Nigel Mansell’s Championship winner. I was almost going to do Mario Andretti’s car (simply because he’s … Read more1993 Lola T93/00 Ford Indycar, Mansell (Tamiya 1:20)
Latest news and information from Classic Carlectables in Newsletter #68 (April-June 2017). The only 1:43 scale items are the 2017 Supercars from Triple Eight Engineering – the Red Bull duo of Whincup and van Gizbergen, plus the Vortex machine of Lowndes. These models will be made in all three scales.
The latest Raceland newsletter (Jan 27) points out the detail differences between race-to-race versions of various F1 cars manufactured by Spark. The changes made are not restricted to just alternative decoration! Latest Newsletter is HERE
There was a nice little ‘then V now’ review of the 1988 Lotus 100T in this week’s edition of the Raceland newsletter. The company compared ‘mint boxed’ versions of the car as produced in 1989 by Onyx against the recently released Spark version. View all the models in the Raceland Newsletter magazine by clicking HERE … Read moreAnother Then Vs Now: Onyx V Spark, Lotus 100T Honda
Top Gear has announced a number of new 1:43 scale resin models coming in the early months of 2017. There are some nice Aussie-flavoured subjects this time around, but no race cars. Trax Club members get discount on some models, but I think they’re still rather expensive for what they are. (click/tap the images below for … Read moreNew Announcements from Top Gear / Trax
New technology, manufacturing methods and materials sees the model cars of today a superior product compared to those of the past. Case in point are these Wolf and Brabham Formula One racers from 1977. Both of these cars were produced as part of the Technica/Eidai F1 collection. They have also now been modeled by Minichamps. I … Read moreThen & Now: F1 Models 35 Years Apart
One of the aims of my personal collection is to have a model of each Indianapolis 500 winner. At the time of writing, that’s 100 cars! With the models I own, I’m at 12% of target. Now, despite the negativity of me pointing out a bunch of faults on the pieces below, I actually do like them! … Read moreMy Indy 500 Winners
Biante has been busy punching out more 1:43 scale V8 Supercars over the past 6 months or so. This has been a combination of catching up on production that was delayed a few years back (including the AMG Mercs!) and releases from the current 2016 season. Production numbers are in the 300 to 500 range … Read more(More) V8s Galore!
Spark has been churning out the occasional old-school NASCAR stock car racer over the years and have done several Daytona 500 winners. I acquired the 1960 (Junior Johnson, Chev Impala) and 1968 (Cale Yarborough, Mercury Cyclone) winners a couple of years back. Tiny Lund’s Ford Galaxy (the ’63 victor) arrived late last year and the spectacular … Read moreHistoric NASCAR Daytona 500 Winners
The Panini F1 model car collection is now available in Australia, issue 1 hitting the newsagents recently with the 1988 McLaren MP4/4 of Ayrton Senna attached. What’s the model like? From a distance, it looks okay. But in reality, these are basic entry-level models at an attractive price. If you wanted a collection of iconic … Read moreReview: Panini F1 Model Car Collection & Issue 1
With factories going bust in China (or whatever the reason was), there has not been much in the way of 1:43 V8 Supercar models for the past couple of years. Well, that’s all changed in 2016! Both Apex and Biante have been busy churning out multiple releases over the past 6 months or so. Apex … Read moreV8s Galore!
Note: seems I forgot to publish this review when I wrote it about 6+ months ago… Classics Carlectables FG Falcons from 2014 These are par-for-the-course V8Supercars from Classic Carlectables; sealed body with no interior. Lots of collectors don’t like them because of that, but at $39, I don’t mind too much. The livery is … Read moreReview: 2014 Pepsi MAX Falcons
I was browsing through the latest Minichamps Newsletter “Announcements for the next six weeks” when this thing took my attention – the Lincoln Futura concept car. Concept cars would make a great theme for a model collection, but that’s not what caught my attention. It’s the fact the original Batmobile was based on this car. … Read moreConcept Cars: The Lincoln Futura
Models of Australian drivers who competed overseas would be a great collection theme and would make a significant and interesting display, even if it was just F1 cars. While I don’t specifically collect to that theme, I do have models of most of the Australians who have competed in Formula One. Over the past six … Read moreAussies In F1 Additions
Spark recently did a run of 500 pieces of Jim Richards’ Group A 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship winning BMW 635CSi (Spark item # AS017). When the 6-cylinder Bavarian bullet arrived in the post the other month, there was a glaring assembly issue with the car – the rear axle was ajar, the left wheel … Read moreJim Richards’ 1985 ATCC Winning BMW