www.f1scalemodels.com

... specialising in 1:43 scale model cars (Formula 1, Indy 500, Le Mans, GT and classic road cars)

Back to Archived Pages

Archived Updates - 2017

New Additions: December 2017

Welcome to the last update for 2017, yes it's December already and the downside is we have to wait four long months before the start of a next F1 season! Congratulations to Lewis on his 4th championship which is quite an achievement (only 5 drivers have won 4 or more); as well as being the world champion, he now holds the record for pole positions (72) and is steadily creeping up to Schumacher's record of 91 GP wins (he has 62). On the topic of F1, there's a couple of new models I like to mention, the first is the 2017 Force India VJM10 from Minichamps. The Force India's pink livery (the corporate colour of their main sponsor BWT) is the most distinctive of the entire 2017 grid and arguably, the most polarising. The team managed to finish 4th in the 2017 constructor's championship with 187 points, the most the team has scored since the team's debut in 2008.

Minichamps: 2017 Force India Merc VJM10

The second model of interest is the 1967 Cooper Maserati T81B driven by Jochen Rindt. Cooper was a Formula One constructor between 1950 to 1969 and achieved considerable success for its own works team and for its numerous customer teams. The high points being the World Championship in 1959 and 1960 for Jack Brabham. Apart from building successful and revolutionary race cars (the first to mount the engine behind the driver), Cooper had the ability to attract talented drivers, one of those being Jochen Rindt who would go on to become world champion with Lotus. In 1966 and 67, Cooper used the large, heavy and thirsty 3.0L V12 Maserati engine (an updated and enlarged version of the engine last used in 1957) and the T81 chassis was necessarily on the large side to accommodate the bulky engine. The combination was not a success.

Spark: 1967 Cooper Maserati T81B

I recently received some really great models from Dutch model maker Neo and it was hard to pick one to highlight; eventually however I decided to select the stylish Chrysler 300B in white. This car was released in 1956 as a two-door hard top with a 5.8L (354 cu.i) V8 engine. Buyers had a choice between the 2-speed automatic or the 3-speed manual version. The 300B also had the honour of being the first American car to produce 1 horsepower per cubic inch and 1102 cars were produced.

Neo: 1956 Chrysler 300B

Well that's it for another year, just one model fair this month; the regular Friday night fair at Granville on 8th December. This will be your chance to buy yourself a really nice Christmas present. Also, please don't forget to cast your vote in the "Greatest F1 Driver" poll; I'll post the results in next month's update. Nothing left but to wish everyone a safe, relaxing and fun-filled festive season. Happy collecting.

Formula One

1967 Brabham Repco BT20, G.Ligier (15) 6th German GP (Spark)
1968 Brabham Repco BT20, Silvio Moser (22) Dutch GP 5th (Spark)
1970 Brabham Ford BT33, J.Brabham (5) 2nd Monaco GP (Spark)
1967 Cooper Maserati T81B, J.Rindt (12) Dutch GP (Spark)
2017 Force India Merc VJM10, S.Perez (11) Australian GP (Minichamps)
1958 Lotus Climax 16, G.Hill (16) British GP (Spark)
1978 Martini Ford MK23, R.Arnoux (31) French GP (Spark)
2017 Renault R.S.17, J.Palmer (30) Bahrain GP (Spark)

1:18 Models

1967 Brabham Repco BT24, D.Hulme (2) 3rd Mexican GP World Champion (Spark)
2017 Dallara DW12 Honda, F.Alonso (29) "McLaren Honda Andretti" Team (Greenlight)

Le Mans/Spots Car Racing

1972 Lola T280 HU3, N.Takahara (3) Fuji Grand Champion Series (TSM)
1955 Maserati 300S, Perdisa/Mieres (15) Le Mans (Leo Models)
1964 Maserati 151/3, Trintignant/Simon (11) 1000km of Paris (Leo Models)

Road Cars

1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Sport Coupe in metallic red/beige (Neo)
1956 Chrysler 300B in white (Neo)
1961 Chrysler Newport Wagon in beige/brown (Neo)
1956 DeSoto Firedome 4-dr Seville in metallic red/black
1957 Hudson Hornet V8 Hardtop in metallic brown/beige/white (Neo)
1966 MGB convertible in white (Spark)
1959 Oldsmobile 98 Convertible in white (Neo)
1929 Packard 640 Custom 8 Roadster in dark red/grey (Neo)
1954 Packard Pacific Convertible in beige (Neo)
1958 Plymouth Fury Hardtop in light blue/white roof (Neo)

After Thoughts: It's probably no co-incidence that Spark have just released the 1:18 scale model of Denny Hulme's 1967 Brabham Repco BT24 as it's 50 years since the New Zealander won the World Drivers Championship. Denny Hulme (18 June 1936 - 4 October 1992) made his F1 debut at the 1965 Monaco GP and his final race was the US GP in 1974; during this time he won eight grand prix races and stood on the podium 33 times.

Hulme at Dutch GP 1967 Denny Hulme at 1967 Dutch GP (Photo: Eric Koch)

Hulme's racing career really started when his performances in an F2 Cooper Climax saw him invited to join the NZ Driver to Europe program in 1960. His results in F2 and Formula Junior across Europe that year were largely ignored by the NZ press who preferred to report on fellow Kiwi, Bruce McLaren. Hulme returned home and prompty won the 1961 NZ Gold Star Championship (NZ's premier championship for open-wheel race cars) and attracted the attention of Ken Tyrrell who invited Hulme to race with his F2 and Formula Junior teams. Back in Europe again, Hulme started to work as a mechanic in Jack Brabham's garage while pursuing his racing career. In 1964 Hulme joined Brabham's F2 team and enjoyed considerable success in partnership with his boss; as a reward he was invited to race in several non-championship F1 races. Finally in 1965 Hulme made his debut in the F1 Championship at Monaco, where he qualified 8th and finished 8th driving the Brabham Climax BT7 (incidentally, it was this race that Australian Paul Hawkins crashed into the harbour, the 2nd person to do so and probably the last). Hulme raced a further 5 races that year scoring a 4th and 5th place for a respectable debut year.

Spark: 1966 Brabham Repco BT20 Denny Hulme

1966 was the first year of the new 3 litre engine formula and the Brabham team used the Repco V8 power plant in the BT19 chassis with Hulme now the full-time number 2 driver after Dan Gurney had left to race for his own team (AAR Eagle). For the record, team boss Jack Brabham won the 1966 championship with Hulme finishing in 4th. In 1967, Lotus unveiled the new Ford Cosworth DFV engine which would become the dominant engine for many years. The V8 Repco in Hulme's Brabham was now outclassed in the power stakes but it was a consistent and reliable power unit which Hulme used to great effect, winning 2 GP wins (Monaco, Germany) and 6 podiums from 11 races. His consistency won him the world championship, with Brabham 2nd (2 wins) and Jim Clark 3rd (4 wins).

Spark: 1972 McLaren Ford M19A 1st Sth African GP

For the 1968 season, Hulme joined the McLaren team where he stayed until his retirement from F1 at the end of 1974. His acheivements at McLaren never reached the same heights as his championship year but he won a further 6 races and was placed 3rd in the championship in 1968 and 1972 to complete a memorable F1 career.

Minichamps: 1968 Can Am Champion

Hulme was a prolific racer and typical of the drivers of that era he spent a lot of time racing in other categories, most notably in sports cars, Indy cars and Can-Am cars. His exploits in the Can-Am series are legendary, winning the championship in 1968 and 1970 in the Chevrolet powered McLarens. At Le Mans Hulme achieved a class win in 1961 and 2nd outright in a Ford GT40 in 1966. He also competed twice at the 24 hours of Daytona race in 1966 and 67. Hulme raced 4 times at the Indy 500 and finished in 4th place on two occasions (1967, 68) driving Ford powered Eagles. After his retirement from F1, Hulme spent most of his time as a co-driver in the Australian Touring Car endurance races and on the 4th October 1992 as he was barrelling down "Conrod Straight" at the Bathurst 1000 race, his BMW M3 suddenly veered to the left and rolled to a stop after sliding along the safety fence. When marshalls arrived at his stationary car, they discovered he had suffered a massive and fatal heart attack.

[Back to Top]

New Additions: November 2017

Welcome to another monthly update which is going to be short and sweet as I've just returned from my holidays. The new additions for November are listed below.

Formula One

1967 BRM P115, J.Stewart (11) German GP (Spark)
1982 Ferrari 126 C2, D.Pironi (28) San Marino GP Transport version (Brumm)
1966 Matra MS1, J.Stewart (25) F3 Goodwood Test (Spark)

American Race Series

1972 Datsun 510, J.Morton (46) SCAA Trans Am 2.5 champion "BRE" (TSM)
1968 Ford Torino, D.Gurney (121) 1st NASCAR Riverside (Spark)
1969 Mercury Cyclone, D.Gurney (121) Riverside 500 (Spark)
2003 Porsche 911 (996) GT3 RS, Bergmeister/Bernhard/Schrom (66) 1st Daytona (Spark)

Le Mans / Sports Car Racing

1947 Alfa Romeo 8C2900B Loungo, Biondetti/Romano (230) 1st Mille Miglia (TSM)
1976 Chevrolet Monza, M.Keyser/E.Wachs (75) Le Mans (Spark)
1953 Lancia D20, F.Gonzalez/C.Biondetti (63) Le Mans (Spark)
1965 MGB, P.Hopkirk/A.Hedges (39) 11th Le Mans (Spark)
1962 Sunbeam Alpine, Harper/Proctor (32) Le Mans (Spark)
1995 Toyota Supra LM, Apicella/Martini/Krosnoff (27) 14th Le Mans (Spark)

ATCC

1962 Ford Falcon XL, Firth/Jane (21) 1st Phillip Island 500 mile (ACE)
1966 Ford Mustang, B.Jane (7) Bathurst Easter winner (ApexReplicas)

Road Cars

1954 Bentley Continental R-Type in metallic grey (Road Signature)
1960 BMW 700 LS in red (Maxichamps)
1938 Chevrolet Fleetline Aerosedan in grey (Neo)
1971 Citroen SM Espace in metallic blue (Neo)
1950 Ford Custom 4-door in light grey (American Heritage)
1951 Ford Custom 2-door in light green (American Heritage)
1963 Ghia 230 S in red (BoS)
1937 LaSalle Series 50 in dark red (Neo)
1955 Mercedes Benz 180 (W120) in dark red (Maxichamps)
1969 Mercedes C111-1 in gold (BoS)
1962 MGB in dark green (Maxichamps)
1965 Renault 16 in yellow (Maxichamps)
1971 Renault Alpine A110 in metallic blue (Maxichamps)
1990 Porsche 911 (964) Turbo in metallic purple (Maxichamps)
1993 Porsche 911 (993) Turbo in metallic red (Maxichamps)
2017 Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport in white (Spark)
1950 Studebaker Champion in metallic beige (Road Signature)
1971 Stutz Blackhawk Convertible in white (PremiumX)
1963 VW Kafer Australian Antartica expedition in Red (VW ed.)

Only one model fair this month - the regular Friday night meeting at Granville on 10th November, I hope to see you there. Until next month, happy collecting.

[Back to Top]

New Additions: October 2017

Welcome to my October update and thanks to all who dropped by my stand at the Hawkesbury Model and Hobby Show last month. This months new additions is light on "race" cars and is rather heavily skewed towards "road" cars as you can see below. The highight F1 car this month has to be the 2017 McLaren Honda MCL32 from Minichamps. The reason is that it's almost unheard of for Minichamps to release an F1 model in the same year that it actually raced! Also it was recently announced the McLaren-Honda partnership has been terminated after a troubled 3 year association; McLaren will switch to Renault engines for 2018 and Toro Rosso will take on the challenging Honda power plant.

Minichamps: McLaren Honda MCL32 2017

The stunningly beautiful 1957 Eldorado Brougham is arguably the most lavish automobile that Cadillac ever made, as such this model by Neo is my pick of the road cars this month. It was by far the most expensive car made at that time and was built in limited numbers to show that Caddy was the luxury car king. Only the mega-rich and movie stars could afford this car and to give you some idea of its hefty price tag, a regular Cadillac sedan cost $4780, a Chevrolet sedan cost $2048 but the Eldorado would set you back $13075. Only 400 Eldorado Broughams were made in 1957 and Cadillac was rumoured to have lost $10000 on every sale but making a profit was never the intention with this car.

Neo: Cadillac Eldorado Brougham 1957

The Hudson Italia was a limited production 2-door compact coupe made by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit in cooperation with Carrozzeria Touring of Italy. The idea behind this car was to create a fast, sporty car and also for competition in the Carrera Panamericana road race. What resulted was a curious mix of Italian flair and American flash. Hudson commissioned Carrozzeria to build about 50 models but despite cheaper labour in Italy, the car was expensive and sales were slow. Then Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator in 1954 to form the American Motor Corporation (AMC) after which customers turned away in droves from Hudson and Nash branded cars. A total of 26 Hudson Italias were built and none was ever raced in the Carrera Panamericana. Neo have faithfully reproduced this stylish car in silver.

Neo: Hudson Italia 1954

Well that's it for another month. Two model fairs this month with the Friday night Sydney Model Car Fair on 13 October at Granville and then the last Collectormania Toy and Hobby Fair for the year at Penrith on 15 October. Just a heads up, later this month I'll be on holidays so I won't be able to produce a full monthly "New Additions" update; most probably it will just be a list of new additions around mid-November. Until then, happy collecting.

Formula One / Transporter

2014 Caterham Renault CT05, M.Ericsson (9) Japanese GP (Spark)
1963 Lotus BRM 24, J.Hall (24) Monaco GP (Spark)
2014 Marussia Ferrari MR03, J.Bianchi (17) 9th Monaco GP (Spark)
1971 McLaren Ford M19A, P.Gethin (10) 9th French GP (Spark)
1981 McLaren Ford M29, A.de Cesaris (8) Long Beach GP (Spark)
2017 McLaren Honda MCL32, F.Alonso (14) Chinese GP (Minichamps)
1979 Honda TN360, JPS Team Lotus truck + Ford engine (Spark)

American Race Series

1972 Datsun 510, B.Allison (85) Laguna Seca 3rd place "BRE" (TSM)

Le Mans / Rally

2016 Ford GT, Franchitti/Priaulx/Tincknell (67) WEC Spa 2nd LMGTE (TSM)
1954 Maserati A6GCS Berlinetta, Gravina/Prizzi (324) Giro di Sicillia (Leo Models)
1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R LM, Fukuyama/Kondou/Kasuya (22) Le Mans (TSM)
2014 Porsche 911 (997) GT3 RSR, Perrodo/Palttala/Collard (75) Le Mans (Spark)
1968 Porsche 911 T, Elford/Stone (210) 1st Monte Carlo Rally (Spark)
2015 Porsche 911 GT3, Dumas/Giraudet (25) ADAC Rally RGT Class winner (Spark)

Motorcycles (1:43)

2016 Honda RC213V, M.Marquez (93) 1st USA MotoGP (Spark)
2016 Honda RC213V, J.Miller (43) 1st Netherland GP TT Circuit Assen (Spark)

Road Cars

1980 Alfa Romeo GTV6 2.5 in red (White Box)
2012 Aston Martin One 77 in gun metal silver (Spark)
1965 Brasinca 4200 GT in red (White Box)
1934 Bugatti 57 Galibier in blue/black (White Box)
1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham in metallic beige (Neo)
1980 Cadillac Seville Mk2 Elegante in metallic beige/brown roof (White Box)
1973 Chevrolet Bel Air in metallic copper/black roof (White Box)
1931 Daimler Double Six 50 convertible in beige (White Box)
1957 Ford Taunus 17m (P2) in red/white (White Box)
1976 Ford Escort MkII RS 1800 in white (White Box)
1940 Graham Hollywood in metallic blue (Neo)
1954 Hudson Italia in silver (Neo)
1965 Humber Super Snipe in dark red (Neo)
1960 Jaguar Mk II in metallic light blue (White Box)
2010 Jaguar XFR in red (White Box)
1937 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe in dark red (Neo)
1956 Lincoln Premier Hardtop in light blue/white roof (Neo)
1964 Maserati Mistral Spyder in white (White Box)
1982 Mazda 323 Hatchback in metallic blue (White Box)
1956 Mercedes 300 (W186) SC in metallic light green (White Box)
1971 Mercedes 350 SL (R107)20.70 in metallic beige (White Box)
1957 Mercury Turnpike Coupe in blue/white (Neo)
1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser convertible in red/white (Neo)
1959 Mercury Park Lane convertible in red/white (Neo)
1973 MG B GT V8 in red (Spark)
1975 Opel Ascona A Sommer Basar in green (White Box)
1960 Plymouth Fury convertible in metallic turquoise (Neo)
1958 Pontiac Star Chief 4-dr in metallic blue/white (Neo)
1958 Rambler Customs Six in light turquoise (Neo)
2011 Range Rover Evoque Coupe in white (White Box)
1976 Renault 5 Alpine in metallic blue (White Box)
1995 Porsche 993 RS Club Sport in white (Spark)
1995 Porsche 993 GT in white (Spark)
2016 Porsche 911 (991) R in gulf blue (Minichamps)
1953 Simca Aronde Grand Large in red/white roof (White Box)
1959 Triumph Herald Coupe in light blue/white (White Box)
1965 Volvo Amazon 130 in blue/white roof (White Box)
1962 VW T1C Box Wagon, Box van "Ferrari - Automobile Francorchamps" (Schuco)

After Thoughts: Another significant anniversary to occur this year which shouldn't go unheralded relates to the Mille Miglia open-road endurance race held in Italy. In fact the Mille Miglia celebrates a couple of anniversaries; it was 90 years ago (1927) that the first race was run and it was 60 years ago since the last race was held back in 1957.

Mille Miglia Route Mille Miglia road sign

After the Italian Grand Prix was moved from Brescia to Monza in 1927, a small group of Brescia residents responded by holding a road race starting from Brescia to Rome and return over a figure-eight course and covering 1500km (or 1000 "Roman Miles", hence the name Mille(1000) Miglia (Miles)). To show the drivers where to go along the 1000 mile route, the organisers designed the now famous red arrow with white lettering.

Rio: Alfa Romeo 1650T Ferrari/Basso 1930 MM

The first race, held on 26 March 1927 received 77 all Italian entries and 51 cars finished the race. The first finisher, fittingly was a 2-Litre OM 665S, a Brescia-made automobile which completed the course in just over 21 hours. During the 24 years of the Mille Miglia, it was dominated by local Italian drivers and marques but three races were won by foreign (German) cars. In 1955 Mercedes entered four 300 SLR cars for J.M. Fangio, Stirling Moss, Karl Kling and Hans Hermann. Moss with motoring journalist Denis Jenkinson as his navigator did 6 reconnaissance laps to allow them to develop pace notes on a scroll of paper measuring 5.4 metres long. After 10 hours 7 minutes, Moss and Jenkinson arrived back in Brescia victorious in the now famous silver #722 car averaging 160kph for the race. Moss' car number related to its starting time of 7:22am as cars were released at one minute intervals. In the Mille Miglia the slower, lower displacement cars were released the night before the faster cars in order to reduce the time the roads had to be closed.

Starline: Cisitalia 202 SC 1949 MM

The race was briefly banned by Benito Mussolini after several spectators were killed during the 1938 MM race but reinstated in 1940 where it was renamed the Grand Prix of Brescia. This wartime race was held over a short 100 km course which was lapped 9 times. The MM was stopped for the remainder of the war and racing resumed in 1947. From 1953 to 1957 the MM was also a round of the World Sports Car Championship.

Starline: Fiat 8V Zagato 1956 MM

Starline: OSCA MT4 1956 MM

The Mille Miglia was finally banned for good after 2 fatal accidents occurred during the 1957 race. The first accident took the life of Spanish driver Alfonso de Portago and his navigator when their Ferrari 335S crashed into group of spectators. Nine spectators also lost their lives. The second accident took the life of a driver of a Triumph TR3. From 1927 to 1957, the race took the lives of 56 people.

Rio: Ford Thunderbird 1957 MM

In 1977 a "revival" event called the Mille Miglia Storica commenced and continues today. A road rally held over several days, it retraces much of the original course and is limited to cars of pre-1957 vintage. In Brescia, a superb museum dedicated to the cars of the Mille Miglia is a must-see for racing fans.

[Back to Top]

New Additions: September 2017

Welcome to another monthly update. Firstly thank you to all who dropped by my stands at the Shannon's Classic Day and at the All British Day last month. I hope you all enjoyed the fine weather and the fine cars. This month I've received a number of new models to whet your collecting appetite. The first model I'd like to highlight is one that's been long awaited by collectors of F1 champions; the 1974 Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren Ford M23. Having clinched the World Championship for Lotus in 1972, Fittipaldi astutely switched to McLaren in 1974 and with three GP wins, he narrowly won the championship from Ferrari driver, Clay Regazzoni. This Spark model depicts his first win with McLaren at his home GP in Brazil.

Spark: McLaren Ford M23 E.Fittipaldi 1974

Another F1 car I'd like to mention is Jolyon Palmer's Renault R.S.16 which he raced in the 2016 Chinese GP. Although he was not particularly successful at this GP (in fact finishing last) it's an interesting model due to the unique Chinese livery adopted for this race. This Minichamps model is not a mainstream release but was specially commissioned and as such, is a limited edition of just 100 very collectible models.

Minichamps: Renault R.S.16 Palmer Chinese GP

A couple of months ago, I introduced TSM's model of the Ford GT GTE test car in black. TSM have now released a few of the race versions of this gorgeous automobile. The all black test car, I have to say looks fast and menacing but the dark colour tended to obscure some of the finer details of the car. The race version however, with it's bright blue, red and white colour scheme seems to reveal more of the car's sexy aerodynamic curves; if I had to nominate my "model of the year" it would have be the Ford GT.

TSM: Ford GT Le Mans LMGTE Pro Class winner

Minichamps continue to release models under their "Maxichamps" banner at an astonishing rate. A couple that caught my eye this month were the white and silver versions of the BMW 635 CSi. I've always had an affection for this Bimmer ever since I watched Jim Richards racing the black JPS liveried 635 around the race tracks in Australia.

Maxichamps: BMW 635 CSi in silver

Recently, I mentioned obtaining some genuine Cosworth DFV pistons; the full listing of pistons I have in stock has been added to the Misc Scale stock list. These polished pistons look great. OK, it's a wrap for another month. This month there is the regular 2nd Friday night Model Fair at Granville on 8th September and then the 2-day Hawkesbury Model and Hobby Show at the Hawkesbury Showgrounds on 16th and 17th. This show is part of the huge (and I mean HUGE) Sydney Antique Machinery Club's annual rally, well worth visiting for the diversity of machinery on display. I hope to see you at one or both of these events, until then, happy collecting.

Formula One

1965 Brabham BRM BT11, F.Gardner (11) Monaco GP "John Willment Auto Team" (Spark)
1974 Brabham Ford BT44, C.Reutemann (7) Belgium GP (Minichamps)
1972 Eifelland Ford E21, R.Stommelen (22) German GP (Spark)
1982 Ligier Matra JS19, J.Laffite (26) Monaco GP (Spark)
1970 Lotus Ford 72C, G.Hill (14) Mexican GP (Minichamps)
1974 McLaren Ford M23, E.Fittipaldi (5) 1st Brazilian GP World Champion (Spark)
1976 McLaren Ford M23, J.Hunt (11) 2nd South African GP Ed.43 No.168 (Minichamps)
2016 McLaren Honda MP4/31, S.Vandoorne (47) F1 Debut Bahrain GP (Minichamps)
2016 Red Bull Tag Heuer RB12, D.Ricciardo (3) Monaco GP 1st Pole Position (Minichamps)
2016 Renault R.S.16, J.Palmer (30) Chinese GP (Minichamps)
2014 Toro Rosso Renault STR9, M.Verstappen (38) Practice Japanese GP (Minichamps)
2014 Toro Rosso Renault STR9, M.Verstappen (38) Test Abu Dhabi GP (Spark)
1971 Tyrrell Ford 003, J.Stewart (2) World champions Collection (Minichamps)
1976 Tyrrell Ford P34, J.Scheckter (3) Japanese GP (Spark)

American Race Series

1963 AC Cobra, Miles/Spencer (16) Sebring 12h 11th (Spark)

Le Mans / Sports Car Racing

1968 Ford Escort Mk1 TC, F.Gardner (16) BTCC Champion (Atlas)
2016 Ford GT, Hand/Muller/Bourdais (68) 1st LMGTE Pro Le Mans (TSM)
1988 Jaguar XJR-9, L.Perkins/D.Daly/K.Cogan (22) LM "Silk Cut" (Spark)
2016 KTM X-Bow GT4, Kraihamer/Vandenbalck (14) GT4 Euro series (Spark)
1960 Maserati Tipo 60 "Birdcage", Maglioli/Vaccarella (200) Targa Florio (Leo Models)
1961 Maserati Tipo 63, Vaccarella/Scarfiotti (9) Le Mans (Leo Models)
1991 Nissan Skyline GT-R, Olofssn/D.Brabham/Hattori (25) 1st Spa 24 hour (PremiumX)
1954 Osca MT4 1500, Macklin/Leygonie (43) Le Mans (Spark)
1992 Peugeot 905, Warwick/Dalmas/Blundell (1) winner Le Mans (Spark)
2009 Peugeot 908 HDI FAP, D.Brabham/Gene/Wurz (9) winner Le Mans (Spark)
1970 Porsche 908/3, Siffert/Redman (12) 1st Targa Florio (Spark)
1982 Porsche 956L, Ickx/Bell (1) Le Mans winner (Spark)
1995 Porsche 993 Bi-Turbo, Kaufmann/Hane/Ligonnet (54) Le Mans (Spark)
1998 Porsche 911 GT2, Maisonneuve/Monteiro/Monteiro (71) Le Mans (Spark)
2016 Porsche 911 GT3, M.Campbell (7) Aust. Carrera Cup Champion (Spark)

Road Cars

1972 Alfa Romeo Alfasud in white (Maxichamps)
1982 BMW 635 Csi (E24) in white (Maxichamps)
1982 BMW 635 Csi (E24) in silver (Maxichamps)
1968 Buick Skylark Sedan in metallic green/black roof (Neo)
1965 Buick Sport Wagon in white with wood panels (BoS)
1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in 2-tone metallic blue (Neo)
1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in metallic red (Neo)
1991 Chevrolet Caprice Wagon in white with wood panels (BoS)
1965 Chrysler Valiant Acapulco in red/black roof (White Box)
1973 Dodge Charger in metallic dark green (Neo)
1978 Fiat 128 Europa in red (White Box)
1960 Ford Ranch Wagon in white/blue roof (White Box)
1967 Ford Galaxie 500, New York Taxi in yellow (White Box)
1969 Ford Thunderbird Landau in metallic green/black roof (Neo)
1967 NSU TT in white (Maxichamps)
1973 Pontiac Grand Am 2-Door in metallic dark red/matt white (Neo)
1955 Porsche 550 Spyder in silver (Maxichamps)
1968 Triumph TR6 in dark yellow (Maxichamps)
1966 Volvo 121 Amazon in grey (Maxichamps)
1986 Volvo 740 in metallic dark blue (Maxichamps)

After Thoughts: With the new release by Spark of Frank Gardner's 1965 Brabham BRM BT11, I thought it would be a great opportunity to feature the life and career of this memorable Aussie racing driver.

Frank Gardner

Frank Gardner (b. 1931 - d. 2009) graduated from technical college with a mechanical engineering degree and when his father died in a car accident, he went to live with his uncle who was a motor racing enthusiast. At the age of seventeen, Gardner was behind the wheel of a MG TA in his first race which he won comfortably. Still only in his early twenties, Gardner started his own garage business and continued racing seriously, most noteably in Jaguars and winning 3 NSW Sports Car Championships. In 1958 with dreams of furthering his motor racing career, Frank headed off to Europe to try his luck. After a stint working as a racing mechanic with Aston Martin and at a driving school, he joined the Brabham team preparing the Brabham FJ car. In 1964 Gardner signed with the John Willment Automobile team, driving Ford saloons, Lotus and Brabham F2 cars and winning a number of races. He also made a brief appearance at the 1964 F1 British GP in Willment's customer Brabham BT10 where he qualified 20th but crashed out on the first lap. The following year, Gardner raced in seven World Championship Grand Prix in John Willment's under-resourced Brabham-BRM with a best result of 8th place in the British GP. He had slighter better results in the non-championship races with a 4th place in the Race of Champions.

Spark: Brabham BRM BT11 F.Gardner 1965

By 1966 Gardner was contracted to Ford to drive for Alan Mann Racing where he had a mixed season driving the new GT40 at Le Mans and other endurance events. Gardner was now regarded as a fine all-rounder and was oftened called up by teams who wanted a good, reliable driver. Three British Saloon Car Championship titles didn't hurt his reputation and his driving prospects!

IXO: Ford GT40 Mk2B Gardner/McCluskey 1967

Atlas: Ford Escort Mk1 BTCC Champion 1968

Minichamps: Ford P68 1000km Nurburgring 1968

Frank regularly returned to Australia during the European winters to race in the Tasman Series with some success against the likes of Stewart, Clark and Hill. Gardner finally decided to retire from European racing in 1975 and he returned to Australia permanently but racing was still in his blood, taking out the 1977 Australian Sports Sedan Championship with a Chevrolet Corvair. After this championship win, Gardner concentrated his talents in team management roles, most notably winning the Australian Touring Car Championships in 1985 and 1987 with Jim Richards. Gardner, who had raced during an era when safety wasn't a big concern and where many of his fellow drivers were killed in accidents, had always maintained that he didn't care if he wasn't the fastest driver, he just wanted to be the oldest. He died on 29 August 2009, aged 78.

[Back to Top]

New Additions: August 2017

Welcome to another monthly update, I can't believe the year has gone so quickly. This month there aren't alot of new race cars but perhaps the most significant would be the 2016 Mercedes W07 of Nico Rosberg where he finished 2nd at Abu Dhabi but 1st in the championship. There have already been a number of models released of Rosberg's 2016 car but this one from Spark depicts the tyre marks left behind after his on track celebrations, the pit board announcing his title and Rosberg standing to take the applause of the appreciative crowd.

Rosberg 2016 Mercedes Abu Dhabi Spark: Rosberg's 2016 Mercedes Abu Dhabi

In January 2009, race car designer Ben Bowlby created a potential new Indy Car Series design for the 2012 Indy car season. With financial backing from Chip Ganassi, the prototype was unveiled in 2010 however the Indy car officials chose a Dallara design for the new 2012 one-make series. The design of Bowlby's was the DeltaWing. Unperturbed by being overlooked, Bowlby instead approached the Automobile Club de l'ouest, organisers of the 24 hours of Le Mans who accepted his entry to the 2012 race as a "Garage 56" entry, a category reserved for experimental vehicles. The radical design of the DeltaWing was aimed at reducing aerodynamic drag, thus allowing faster straight and cornering speeds compared to the existing Dallara design used at that time by the Indy car teams. It had the added advantage of achieving this with just half the weight, engine power and fuel consumption. As the name suggests it has a delta wing shape with an unusually narrow 0.6m front track with a more traditional rear track of 1.7m and has no front or rear wings, downforce being generated from the underbody. After Le Mans, where it retired after 75 laps, the car was then entered in the American racing series where it continues to seek its first win.

Spark: Delta DWC13 Daytona 2016

The Citroen DS19 was a front-engined, front-wheel-drive car manufactured from 1955 to 1975. Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertone and French aeronautical engineer Andre Lefebvre styled and engineered the car. Noted for its aerodynamic, futurist body design and innovative technology, the DS19 set new standards in ride quality, handling and braking and was the first production car to be equipped with disc brakes. The DS placed 3rd in the 1999 "Car of the Century" poll recognising the world's most influential automobile design; surpassed only by the Ford Model T and the Mini. Citroen sold over 1.4 million DS examples.

White Box: Citroen DS19

Well, its a wrap for another month. August will be a busy one with the regular 2nd Friday evening swap meet at Granville on 11th August, then on the weekend I'll be at the Shannons Sydney Classic at the Sydney Motorsport Park Eastern Creek on 12th-13th. Two weeks later I'll be attending the All British Day on 27th August at the Kings School, North Parramatta. I hope to you see you at these events, until then, happy collecting.

Formula One

1976 Ensign Ford N174, C.Amon (22) Long Beach GP (Spark)
2016 Mercedes AMG W07, N.Rosberg (6) 2nd Abu Dhabi GP Standing driver (Spark)
2016 Renault R.S.16, K.Magnussen (20) Race car (Minichamps)
2016 Renault R.S.16, J.Palmer (30) race car (Minichamps)

American Race Series

2016 DeltaWing DWC-13, Legge/Meyrick/Rayhall/Wirth (0) 24h Daytona (Spark)

Le Mans / Rally Cars

1968 Alpine Renault A210, Wollek/Ethuin (53) 11th Le Mans (Spark)
2004 Audi R8, Ara/Capello/Kristensen (5) 1st Le Mans (Spark)
1961 Maserati Tipo 63, Bonnier (8) 4h di Pescara (Leo Models)
1962 Maserati Tipo 151, McLaren/Hansgen (2) Briggs Cunningham Le Mans (Leo Models)
1962 Maserati Tipo 64, Abate/Davis (154) Targa Florio (Leo Models)
1957 Maserati A6 1500, Pola/Croci (84) Rally Automobilistico del Cinema (Leo Models)
2016 Porsche Cayman S, Haener/Follett/Vicenzi/Carobbio (139) 24h Nurburgring (Spark)

Road Cars

1966 AC 428 Frua Convertible in dark blue (Neo)
1937 Adler 2.5L Autobahn in grey (Neo)
1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Spider in dark blue/dark grey (White Box)
1960 Alfa Romeo 3500 Supersport in red (BoS)
1939 Berliet 11CV Dauphine in light red (White Box)
1953 Bristol 403 in metallic blue (Neo)
1939 Cadillac Series 75 Fleetwood V8 in metallic turquoise (White Box)
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Rondine in metallic light blue (BoS)
1960 Citroen ID 19 Break in blue (White Box)
1961 Citroen Ami 6 in dark red/white (White Box)
1966 Citroen DS19 in light blue/white (White Box)
1977 Citroen CX2400 GTi in metallic dark grey (White Box)
1954 Ford Galaxie 500 4-door sedan in metallic light blue (White Box)
1968 Ford LTD Country Squire in beige/wood panel (BoS)
1992 Honda Prelude Mk4 in metallicblue (Neo)
1982 Maserati BiTurbo in metallic grey (White Box)
1960 Morris Mini 850 Mk1 in red (Maxichamps)
1963 Panhard Scarlette in dark blue (White Box)
1959 Plymouth Savoy in blue/dark blue (White Box)
2012 Porsche 911 (991) Carrera S in blue (Maxichamps)
1949 Rover P4 75 in dark red (Neo)
1970 Tatra 603 in metallic blue / white (White Box)
1972 Volvo P1800 ES in metallic light blue (White Box)
1935 Wanderer W240 Limousine in red/black (Neo)

After Thoughts: While Nico Hulkenberg and Jolyon Palmer continue to struggle with the Renault R.S.17 this year, Renault proudly celebrates its 40th anniversary of their involvement in Formula 1. Renault have been associated with F1 as both a constructor and engine supplier for various periods since 1977. In1977 Renault made the bold move into F1 as a constructor but going against the established trend, they eschewed the use of a naturally aspirated 3.0 litre engine in favour of a 1.5 litre turbo-charged unit to power their RS01 chassis. The Renault-Gordini V6 1.5 litre turbo was the first regularly used turbo in F1 history. Renault entered the last 5 races of the 1977 season with Jean-Pierre Jabouille as its sole driver but the car and its engine proved highly unreliable and became something of a joke and failed to finish any of its races despite being extremely powerful.

Quartzo: Renault RS01 First GP 1977 Jabouille

However Renault persisted and in the following year, although still plagued with engine reliabilty issues Jabouille managed to score the team's first points, 4th at Watkins Glen. By 1979, no one was laughing anymore, Jabouille and new team mate, Rene Arnoux scored six pole positions and fittingly at the French GP, Jabouille scored the team's first GP win in the RS10. Renault continued to score pole positions and GP wins and nearly won the driver's championship with Alain Prost in 1983. Renault had proven the worth of the turbo engines and in 1981 Ferrari and Toleman (Hart) debuted their new 1.5 L engines and eventually turbos usurped the 3.0 litre engines. By 1985 Renault was not as competitive, with other teams doing a better job with their turbo engines and with the parent company facing financial difficulties, the F1 team withdrew from racing. For 1986 Renault continued as an engine supplier for just a year before pulling out of F1 completely.

Quartzo: Renault RE21 1980 Arnoux

In 2000, Renault returned to F1 by purchasing the Benetton team and continued to use the Benetton name for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. In 2002 the team officially changed to the Renault name believing they were finally in a position to win races and to reap the marketing benefits, but it wasn't until 2003 that Fernando Alonso won the Hungarian GP. In 2005, Renault won 8 Grand Prix with Alonso claiming 7 of those victories and Alonso was duly crowned World Champion. In 2006, in almost a carbon-copy performance of the previous year, Renault won the Constructor's and Driver's Championships with Alonso becoming a dual Champion.

Minichamps: Renault R26 2006 Alonso

The team's glory days faded after 2006 but the team hit the headlines in 2008 for all the wrong reasons. At the 2008 Singapore GP, Renault was found guilty of "race-fixing" when Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed to allow team mate Alonso a winning advantage. In 2010 Renault sold a majority stake in the team to Genii Capital but retained a 25% share and continued as an engine supplier. However in 2011, Renault sold its remaining share to Lotus with the team being renamed Lotus Renault GP but Renault continued as an engine supplier to other teams, most notably Red Bull.

Minichamps: Renault R.S.16 2016 Magnussen

Late in 2015, Renault signed an agreement to take over the Lotus team in 2016 to re-enter F1 as constructor. In 2016 they unveiled the Renault R.S.16 and their two drivers scored a total of 8 points for the season. Now half way through the 2017 season, the team is still struggling but have so far scored 26 points. History shows that Renault can not be underestimated; as a constructor they have won 35 Grand Prix and as an engine supplier, have provided over 130 F1 victories for its customers.

[Back to Top]

New Additions: July 2017

Welcome to my July update (sorry for its lateness), firstly thank you to all who stopped by my stand at the Collectormania Fair on 2 July. I hope you enjoyed the day. This month sees just a handful of interesting new releases. For F1 fans, Spark has released the 1978 Hesketh Ford driven by Eddie Cheever, the American driver who started in 132 races during his career spanning 11 years. Cheever made his F1 debut in 1978 at the age of 20 years, driving for Theodore Racing but failed to qualify in the first two races of the season. He then switched to the Hesketh team for a single race where he qualified 25th in a field of 26 at the South African GP. Unfortunately it was an inauspicious start to his F1 career, an oil leak ended his race after 8 laps of the Kyalami circuit. He never was able to win a GP during his 11 year career but managed a total of nine podium positions driving for teams such as Ligier, Renault and Arrows.

Spark: Hesketh Ford 308E Cheever 1978

On the 50th anniversary of Ford winning the Le Mans 24 hour endurance race in a GT40 in 1966, Ford returned to Le Mans in 2016 with their new GT race car. The GT was powered by a 3.5 litre twin turbo V6 engine producing 647 HP. At Le Mans, one of the four factory-supported Ford GT's run by the Chip Ganassi Racing team won the GTE Pro class. TSM who have the exclusive Ford licence to produce the GT models have released the strikingly beautiful test car version in black.

TSM: Ford GT GTE 2016 Test Car

The Hupmobile was a car manufactured by the Hupp Motor Car Company from 1909 to 1939. The founder, Robert Hupp was a former employee of Oldsmobile and Ford but after falling out with his investors in 1911, he was bought out and left the company. Hupp Motors continued to grow after its founder left and the company competed strongly against Ford and Chevrolet; in 1928 its sales had reached over 65.000 units. However sales and production began to decline even before the depression in 1930. The company had made a strategic mistake in attempting to enter the lucrative high end market and offered too many different models. With Hupmobile's low production capacity, the result was that no model could be produced in sufficient quantity to achieve economy of scale. Realising their mistake and desperate to return to market strength, the company bought the production dies for the Cord 810 hoping to produce a lower priced conventional car which they called the Skylark. Unfortunately production delays soured support for the Skylark. Finally in 1939 deliveries of the Skylark began but due to many cancelled orders only 319 were produced and Hupp Motors closed shortly after. Although not a new release, this Brooklin Models version of the Skylark is an excellent and hefty example of this ill-fated automobile.

Brooklin Models: Hupmobile Skylark

Apart from the Collectormania Fair held on 2 July, the only other event this month is the regular Friday night swapmeet at Granville on 14 July. Just a reminder, next month will be the annual Shannons Classic Day at Eastern Creek (13 Aug) and the All British Day (27 Aug) as well as the Granville swapmeet (11 Aug). Until next month, happy collecting.

Formula One

1967 Brabham Repco BT19, J.Brabham (1) 2nd Dutch GP (Spark)
1978 Hesketh Ford 308E, E.Cheever (24) South African GP (Spark)
1963 Lola Climax Mk4A, C.Amon (19) 7th British GP (Spark)
1972 Lotus Ford 72D, D. Walker (9 ) Monaco GP (Spark)
1959 Porsche 718 RSK, C.Godin De Beufort (15) Dutch GP (Spark)

American Race Series

1967 Honker Ford, M.Andretti (17) Can Am Bridgehampton (Spark)
1985 Porsche 962 longtail, B.Akin (5) IMSA series "Coke" (TSM)

Le Mans / Sports Car Racing

2015 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Lotterer/Fassler/Treluyer (7) 3rd Le Mans (Spark)
1950 Cisitalia 202, Tamburini/Fontana (437) DNF Mille Miglia (in blister) (Altaya)
1969 Ford GT40 Mk1, Gardner/Guthrie (9) DNF Le Mans (Spark)
2016 Ford GT GTE, Test car in black (TSM)
1972 Mazda RX-3 Savanna, Race Car (15) (Kyosho)
2014 Porsche 919 Hybrid, M.Webber/B.Hartley/Bernhard (20) Le Mans (Spark)
2015 Porsche 919 Hybrid, Webber/Hartley/Bernhard (17) 1st 6-hour Fuji (Spark)
2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid, Dumas/Jani/Lieb (2) 1st Le Mans (Spark)
2016 Rebellion AER R-One, Imperatori/Kraihamer/Tuscher (13) Le Mans (Spark)
2016 Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1, Sarrazin/Conway/Kobayashi (6) 2nd Le Mans (Spark)

Road Cars

1970 Dodge Challenger 426 in orange/black (Spark)
1962 Ford Falcon XL Deluxe Van in brewster green (Trax)
1968 Ford Falcon XT GT in deep red [no box; loose] (Trax)
1979 Ford Falcon XD Sedan in burnt orange (Trax)
1982 Ford Falcon XE GL Sedan in monza red (Trax)
1941 Hupmobile 115R Skylark in red (Brooklin Models)
1932 Packard Light 8 Convertible in green (Brooklin Models)
1995 Porsche 911 RS in white (Minichamps)
2003 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Presentation car in white (Minichamps)

After Thoughts: Fifty years ago on June 4th 1967, surrounded by the sand dunes of the Dutch Zandvoort circuit Colin Chapman unveiled his revolutionary new F1 car, the Lotus 49. Powering the Lotus and also making its race debut was the Ford Cosworth DFV 3L V8 engine. The 49 was an advanced design because of its chassis configuration; the specially designed Cosworth engine became a stress-bearing structural member bolted to the monocoque at one end and the suspension and gearbox at the other. History tells us it was a fairy-tale debut for both car and engine with Graham Hill taking pole and Jim Clark taking the chequered flag.

TSM: 1:18 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3L engine

The Cosworth DFV (Double Four Valve) engine came about when the FIA announced the introduction of a 3 litre capacity engine to replace the 1.5 litre engines for the 1966 season. Chapman approached Keith Duckworth, a former employee at Lotus who was now running his fledgling Cosworth company with Mike Costin, to develop a 3L engine. Chapman then developed a business plan and presented it to Ford UK for a V8 engine which was approved. The agreement between Ford, Cosworth and Lotus gave Lotus exclusive use of the engine and initially Ford had no intention of selling or hiring the DFV to other teams, however Ford soon realised there was no worthy competition for their new engine. Ford believed their name could be tarnished if the Lotus continued to win against only lesser opposition. At the end of 1967, Ford executives politely informed Colin Chapman that his team no longer enjoyed a monopoly use of the DFV and the powerplant was now available for sale, via Cosworth to racing teams all around the world.

Spark: 1978 Shadow-Ford DN9

Spark: 1981 Williams-Ford FW07C

The first sale was made to the French Matra team headed by Ken Tyrrell with Jackie Stewart as its star driver. What followed was a golden era where teams small and large could buy an engine which was competitive, light, compact, easy to work with and relatively cheap. The DFV became the dominant F1 engine for over a decade. From its debut in 1967 to it last race win in the 1983 Detroit GP, the engine won 155 races (from 262 races) and powered 12 of the 15 world champions in that period. The DFV also powered home two Le Mans winning cars in 1975 and 1980. The onset of the turbo era in the early 1980's saw the beginning of the end for the venerable engine, even with modifications and upgrades the 15-year-old engine could not keep pace with the powerful 1.5L turbo engines. The last ever F1 race for the DFV was the 1985 Austrian GP, powering a Tyrrell driven by Martin Brundle.

Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3L Piston from 1979 Tyrrell-Ford 009

I have recently acquired a number of geniune Cosworth DFV V8 pistons (complete with certificates of authenticity from Cosworth) which would make a great display beside your collection of Cosworth powered F1 models. I will have these on display and for sale ($250 each) at the forthcoming Shannons Classic at Eastern Creek on 13 August.

[Back to Top]

New Additions: June 2017

Welcome to another month's update. I'm running a little late this month so let's get straight down to the highlights. The Brabham Racing Organisation made its F1 debut in 1962, entering one car for Jack Brabham in three races late in the season. Then in 1964, American driver Dan Gurney scored the marque's first championship win at the French GP and he also won the Mexican GP later that year. Incidently, Gurney has the distinction of winning the first GPs for Porsche and Eagle as well as for Brabham.

Spark: Brabham BT7 Dan Gurney 1964

Also in 1962, French automaker Panhard asked aerodynamicist and engineer Charles Deutsche (CD) to design a car for the 1962 Le Mans 24 hour endurance race. Work began on the CD Dyna coupe at the end of January 1962 and five cars were built powered by Panhard's air-cooled boxer twins with a capacity of 702 cc. Three CD Dyna Coupes raced at Le Mans in the prototype class with engines up to 805 cc, unfortunately car 54 crashed out after 73 laps but the sister car, number 53 finished 16th overall. The racing career of the CD Dyna did not extend beyond 1962.

Spark: CD Dyna Le Mans 1962

The Fiat X1/9 two-seater mid-engined sports car was designed by Bertone and manufactured by Fiat from 1972 to 1982. The X1/9 was noted for its balanced handling, retractable headlights and its lightweight removable hard top. The early versions (1972-78) were powered by 1300 cc engines mated to a 4-speed manual gearbox and were considered under-powered compared with its rivals such as the Triumph TR7. Later versions (1979 - 82) addressed this problem with a larger engine (1500 cc) and a 5-speed gearbox. Leisurely acceleration is generally acknowledged as its greatest flaw but what the X1/9 does have in abundance is poise. Minichamps has released three colour versions of the X1/9 under its Maxichamps brand.

Maxichamps: Fiat X1/9 1974

OK that's it for another month, there are two events in June; the regular fair at Granville on Friday 9th June and the Collectormania Fair at Hornsby on Sunday 11 June. Unfortunately I will not be attending the Hornsby event this year, and just a reminder the Penrith Collectormania Fair will be held on 2nd July. Until next month, happy collecting.

Formula One

1964 Brabham Climax BT7, D.Gurney (22) 1st French GP (Spark)
1972 Eifelland Ford E21, R.Stommelen (25) South African GP (Spark)
2015 Ferrari SF15-T, S.Vettel (5) Malaysian GP winner (Look Smart)
1963 Lotus BRM 24, P.Hill (42) French GP (Spark)
2008 McLaren Merc MP4/23, L.Hamiton (22) Brazilian GP (Minichamps)
2016 McLaren Honda MP4/31, J.Button (22) 300th GP Malaysian GP (w/ pit board) (Spark)
2016 Red Bull Tag Heuer RB12, M.Verstappen (33) 1st Spanish GP (Spark)

American Race Series

1966 Brawner Hawk Ford, M.Andretti (1) Indy 500 "Dean Van Lines Special" (Spark)
1980 Lancia Beta Monte Carlo, Facetti/Ricci (4) 10th 24h Daytona (Spark)

Le Mans

1962 CD Dyna Coupe, Lelong/Hanrioud (54) Le Mans (Spark)
1965 Ford GT Spyder, Ligier/Trintignant (15) Le Mans (Spark)
1968 Porsche 908 LH, Buzzetta/Scooter (34) Le Mans (Schuco)
1982 Porsche 936C, Heyer/Pescarolo/Wollek (1) Mugello 1000Km (K-Model)
1984 Porsche 962, Bond/Miedecke (34) WSC Sandown 1000 round (Biante)
2016 Porsche 977, Ripert/Dumas (94)1st SPX Class Paul Ricard 24h (Spark)

ATCC

1987 BMW M3, J.Richards (3) ATCC champion (ApexReplicas)

Road Cars

1989 BMW M3 (E30) Sport Evo in red (White Box)
1957 Borgward Isabella Coupe in red/white (White Box)
1930 Cadillac V16 Imperial Sedan LWB in light brown/yellow (White Box)
1964 Checker Marathon 327 in light blue/white (White Box)
1931 Daimler Double Six 50 Convertible in beige (White Box)
1974 Fiat X1/9 in metallic red (Maxichamps)
1974 Fiat X1/9 in blue (Maxichamps)
1925 Ford T Runabout in blue/black (White Box)
2007 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 in light metallic green (Minichamps)
1939 Lincoln Continental Convertible in black (White Box)
1956 Mercedes 300SL Roadster in red (Spark)
1988 Mercedes 190E 2.3 16V in silver (White Box)
1935 Opel P4 in dark red/black (White Box)
1954 Pontiac Chieftain Californian Highway Patrol (White Box)
1979 Porsche 924 Turbo in silver (Spark)
1989 Porsche 911 3.2 Speedster in silver (Spark)
1989 Porsche 911 3.2 Convertible in blue (Spark)
2014 Porsche 911 (991) GT3 RS in river blue (Minichamps)
2015 Porsche 911 (991) Turbo S Coupe in white (Spark)
1934 Tatra 77 in green (White Box)
1963 Volvo P1800 Convertible in dark blue (White Box)

After Thoughts: This year marks the 40th anniversary of the final Targa Florio race which was held in 1977 on the challenging 72 kilometre road course in Sicily. Founded in 1906 by wealthy pioneer race driver, Vincenzo Florio this open road endurance race in the mountains of Sicily was part of the World Sportscar Championship from 1955 to 1973. The Targa was finally discontinued in 1977 due to safety concerns. There have been a few different versions of the course over it's long history; initially the race was a complete tour of the island but in the last decades of the race it was held over the 72 km of the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie which was lapped 11 times.

The 72 km Targa Florio course 1951 -77 (By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36740148)

Alexandro Cagno, driving an Itala won the 1906 Targa Florio (By Unknown - book, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7393100)

The counter-clockwise course started and ended in the town of Cerda and took the competitors through mountainous sections with elevation changes up to 600 metres and then back to sea level where cars raced along a 6 kilometre coastal straight. In one lap, competitors had to negotiate over 700 corners and it was impossible to "learn" the track with any degree of confidence. By the 1920's the Targa had become the most important event in the European motor racing calender (Le Mans and Mille Miglia were just getting established) and all major sports car manufacturers were soon entering their newest, fastest models. A great rivalry between Mercedes, Maserati, Ferrari, Jaguar, Porsche and other illustrious marques were played out along the twisting, narrow roads of the Targa.

Minichamps: Chaparral 2F Hill/Sharp Targa Florio 1967

The record shows the Targa Florio was held 57 times in 67 years until its international demise in 1977. Over this period 9 people (including spectators) died which was a relatively small number given the lack of safety measures. This small number was attributed to the twisting nature of the mountain roads which kept lap speeds down. After 1977 it has been run as a rally. After winning the race several times, Porsche named the hard-top convertible version of the 911 after the Targa.

Spark: Porsche 907 Elford/Maglioli 1st Targa Florio 1968

[Back to Top]

News Update: 13 May 2017

I've been informed the Hornsby Collectormania Fair is now scheduled for June 11th and not May 28th due to venue booking issues.

New Additions: May 2017

Welcome to my May update. Quite a few interesting models have arrived this month, some new and some older models to restock my inventory (and to add to your collection). So let's review a few of my "pick of the month" models. When I started collecting models car (sometime last century), Brumm provided quite a few of my models as the Italian model manufacturer produced a good range of classic Formula One cars. This company continues to release well made, affordable models 100% made in Italy, perhaps not to the same standard as Minichamps or Spark but desirable models nevertheless that fill many gaps in people's collection. Two fairly recent releases from Brumm are the1965 World Championship winning cars of Jim Clark. One is without the driver figure and the other has a reasonable representation of the Scottish champion behind the wheel of his Climax powered Lotus 33.

Brumm: Jim Clark's 1965 Lotus Climax 33

American model maker, True Scale Miniatures (TSM) has established a reputation for high quality models and it's easy to see why when they produce such excellent models like the Alfa Romeo 8C, Buick Roadmaster and the Cadillac Series 90 V16 Town Car. All of these models are from their top of the range "Collection d'Elegance" series and come with plenty of photo-etched parts and are mounted on stitched soft leather bases. These premium models come with a matching premium price but if quality is a paramount consideration then these won't disappoint.

TSM: Alfa Romeo 8C

TSM: Cadillac Series 90 V16

Another model from TSM, or more correctly 3 models is a long sold out set of BRE Datsun 510's from the 1972 2.5 TransAm series. These Datsuns were prepared by Peter Brock's Brock Racing Enterprises (not the Aussie PB) and won two straight under 2.5 litre TransAm championships in 1971 and 72 against opposition from BMW's and Alfa's. Such was the dominance of the BRE Datsun 510's the opposition decided not to compete in the '73 season and the 2.5 TransAm series was canned leading to BRE being disbanded as well. This beautiful set of cars contain the #46 of John Morton (Champion), #85 driven by Bobby Alison and #68 by Bob Sharp. The set is a limited release of 750 and is signed by Peter Brock.

TSM: BRE Datsun 510 1972 TransAm

Okay, it's a wrap for another month. The regular Sydney Model Auto Club's swap meet will be held on 12th May at Granville and I've been told by the organiser of the Collectormania Fairs there will be a fair at Hornsby on May 28th. Don't forget to vote in the greatest F1 driver poll; 4-way tie at the moment between Senna, Prost, Fangio and Stewart. Until next time, happy collecting.

Formula One

1986 Arrows BMW A8, M.Surer (17) Belgium GP "USF&G" Last F1 race (Minichamps)
1965 Lotus Climax 33, J.Clark (5) 1st British GP (Brumm)
1965 Lotus Climax 33, J.Clark (1) 1st German GP with driver figure (Brumm)
1967 Lotus BRM 43, G.Hill (8) South African GP (Spark)
1980 Lotus Ford 81, M.Andretti (11) Monaco GP (Spark)
1955 Maserati 250F, J.Behra (36) 4th Italian GP (Leo Models)
2016 McLaren Honda MP4/31, F.Alonso (14) Australian GP (Minichamps)
2015 Mercedes AMG W06, L.Hamilton (44) World Champion US GP (Minichamps)
2016 Mercedes AMG W07, L.Hamilton (44) 1st Abu Dhabi GP (Minichamps)
1975 Tyrrell Ford 007, J.Scheckter (3) "Elf" (Minichamps)
1981 Williams Ford FW07C, C.Reutemann (2) 1st Belgian GP (Minichamps)

American Race Series

1973 Eagle Offenhauser, G.Johncock (20) 1st Indy 500 (Replicarz)
1967 Chevrolet Camaro SS, Indy 500 Pace Car (Spark)
1972 Datsun 510, BRE Datsun 510 3-car set (signature series) (TSM)
2016 Ligier JS P2 HPD, Sharp/v.Overbeek/Brown/Derani (2) 1st Sebring hr (Spark)
1957 Maserati 200 SI, Reventlow/Pollack (27) Sebring 12h (Leo Models)
1970 Plymouth Superbird, P.Hamilton (40) Daytona 500 winner (Spark)
1968 Porsche 907 LH, Elford/Neerpasch (54) Daytona 24 hour winner (Spark)
1979 Porsche 935, Akin/McFarlin (9) 1st Sebring 12 hr (Spark)
1982 Porsche 935 JLP3, J.Paul/J.Paul Jr (18) 1st Sebring 12 hr (Spark)
1985 Porsche 962, Wollek/Foyt (8) winner Sebring 12 hr (Spark)
1985 Porsche 962C, Foyt/Wollek/Unser (8) Daytona 24 hours winner (Spark)
1989 Porsche 962, Wollek/Bell/Andretti (67) 1st Daytona 24 h (Miller) (Spark)
1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe, Holbert/MacDonald (10) class winner Sebring 12hr (TSM)

Le Mans / Land Speed Record

1932 Alfa Romeo 8C, Cortese/Guidotti (11) 2nd Le Mans (Spark)
2012 Ferrari 458 Italia, Wills/Walker/Crocker (66) Le Mans "JMW Racing" (Fujimi)
1967 Lola T70 Mk3, Surtees/Hobbs (2) BOAC 500 Brands Hatch (Spark)
1953 Maserati A6GCS, Fangio/Mantovani (66) Targa Florio (Leo Models)
1955 Maserati 300S, Behra/Moss (68) Supercortemaggiore GP (Leo Models)
1957 Maserati 450S, Behra/Moss/Schell (2) Venezuelan Sportscar GP (Leo Models)
1958 Maserati 420 M/58 Eldorado, S.Moss 500 Miglia di Monza (Race of 2 Worlds) (Leo Models)
1963 Maserati Tipo 61 Drogo, L.Casner (34) Reims (Leo Models)
1967 Porsche 906, V.Elford/B.Pon (37) 7th Le Mans (Spark)
1981 Porsche 936/78, Ickx/Bell (11) "Jules" Le Mans winner (Spark)
1983 Porsche 956, Fitzpatrick/Hobbs/Quester (11) Le Mans (Spark)
2016 Porsche 919 Hybrid, Webber/Hartley/Bernhard (1) Le Mans (Spark)
1920 Duesenberg, Tommy Milton LSR Daytona Beach 156.03 mph (Bizarre)

Fujimi: Ferrari 458 Italia Le Mans 2012

Road Cars

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Loungo Touring Spider in black (TSM)
1962 Alfa Romeo Sprint 2600 in light silver (TSM)
1949 Buick Roadmaster Convertible in royal maroon (TSM)
1938 Cadillac Series 90 V16 Town car in black (TSM)
1967 Chevrolet Impala SS convertible in red (TSM)
1991 Ferrari F40 Racing Presentation in red (Hot Wheels)
2011 Lotus Exige S in white (Spark)
1974 Maserati Bora Grp 4 in red (Leo Models)
1955 Mercedes 300SL Roadster in red (Maxichamps)
1974 Mercedes 350SL in metallic blue (Maxichamps)
1964 Porsche 901 in red (Spark)
1975 Porsche 911 Turbo in white (Kyosho)
1984 Porsche 924 GT in indian red (Maxichamps)
1991 Porsche 928 in blue (Maxichamps)
2012 Porsche 991 Carrera in white (Spark)
2015 Porsche 911 (991) GTS in metallic blue (Spark)
2016 Porsche 911 (991) Carrera S in miami blue (Spark)
2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS in green (Spark)

After Thoughts: In 1954 the Autodromo Nazionale Monza was redeveloped and work on the circuit also included the rebuilding of the oval section of the track which had been abandoned during World War 2. Then in 1956, the chairman of the Monza circuit met with one of the directors of USAC and they decided an oval race held in Europe would be popular and could attract the top F1 and USAC teams to an international competition. And so the 500 Miglia di Monza was born and was to become more commonly known as Monzanapolis (conjunction of Monza/Indianapolis) or "The Race of Two Worlds".

Monza Oval, raced anticlockwise. (By Rumbin - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4274750)

The race was envisaged to be a contest between the ten of the best from the "old world" against ten from the "new world". The first race was scheduled for June 1957 based on the Indy 500 race rules with 2.8 litre supercharged and 4.2 litre unsupercharged engine restrictions, rolling starts and three 63 lap races with an hour break between races for repairs making a total race distance of 500 miles. The overall race winner would be the driver who completed all three heats with the highest average speed. The Americans, naturally, were most comfortable racing on the bumpy 4.25 km Monza oval and took out the first three placings in 1957. The following year the Europeans were keen to stop the Americans from claiming the quite substantial prize money with Ferrari entering three cars while Maserati had a special Indy-type racer built for Stirling Moss called the Eldorado Special. Jaguar also had a custom-built car made by Lister Cars fitted with an engine from the D-type. The body was made from aluminium and stayed unpainted for the event and was raced by Jack Fairman.

Leo Models: Maserati 420 "Eldorado"

Jack Fairman's Lister-Jaguar (2012 Tasman Revival)

Jimmy Bryan, fresh from his Indy 500 win returned to defend his 1957 title with his Belond Special Salih-Offy roadster. Other Americans included Jim Rathman, Rodger Ward and Troy Ruttman (all past and future Indy 500 winners) with their Offy powered roadsters.

Belond Special 1958 Replicarz: Jimmy Bryan's 1958 Indy 500 car

Despite the improved efforts of the European entrants, the Americans were again too good on the oval with Jim Rathman winning all three heats in his Watson-Offy and Jimmy Bryan in second. The final heat was an exciting one for Stirling Moss as his steering sheared at more than 160 mph and all Moss could do was ride his uncontrollable car as it shed parts while it tore along the retaining wall which thankfully held to allow Moss to walk away uninjured. Unfortunately the organisers of the event were unable to make it profitable and it never returned in 1959. The banked oval remained part of the full F1 circuit until 1961 and ceased to be used for any motorsports in 1969. It has since been abandoned and left to decay.

[Back to Top]

New Additions: April 2017

Welcome to another monthly update but firstly thank you to all those who stopped by my stand at the Collectormania Toy and Hobby Fair last month. Despite the torrential rain, a large happy crowd attended the first show for 2017, the next one will be on 2nd July so mark that date on your calendar. The much-heralded flood of new models after the Chinese New Year hasn't really eventuated, at least not for classic F1 and Le Mans cars. But one that did come through was Larry Perkins' 1976 Boro-Ford; this was Larry's 2nd GP race (having previously run some practice laps in an Amon-Ford in 1974). His 8th place finish in the Boro-Ford at the Belgian GP was to be his best result in his short F1 career. The Boro was an F1 team from The Netherlands and the car was built by Ensign (an N175) but renamed after a legal dispute with Ensign's owner, Mo Nunn. Boro entered 8 GPs between 1976 to 1977 with Perkins' 8th place the best finish and the team went the way of all small, under-funded teams, a footnote in F1's history.

Spark: Larry Perkins' Boro-Ford 001 Belgian GP 1976

The heart-break story of the 2016 Le Mans 24 hour endurance race had to be the number 5 Toyota TS050 Hybrid which led the race in the final laps, with the no. 2 Porsche running a minute behind. Nakajima, driving the no. 5 Toyota, had just started his final lap when unexpectedly the Toyota ground to a halt. Neel Jani's Porsche passed the ailing Toyota to claim victory while Nakajima limped the Toyota home but cruelly wasn't even classified as a finisher because he took too long to finish the last lap. Spark has produced this model, perhaps fittingly even before releasing the winning Porsche 919.

Spark: Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1 #5 2016

Kyosho has always produced high quality, affordable 1:43 die cast models often with opening features and their range of Porsche road cars is no exception. What is even more impressive is these are resin cast models.

Kyosho: Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 1984

Okay, that's it for another month. There is only one model fair this month, the usual Friday night event at Granville on 7th April. Please note this event has been brought forward one week to avoid the Good Friday holiday. Until next month, happy collecting.

Formula One

1976 Boro Ford 001, L.Perkins (37) 8th Belgian GP (Spark)
1977 Boro Ford 001, B.Henton (38) Dutch GP (Spark)
1968 Brabham Repco BT24, D.Gurney (18) Dutch GP (Spark)
1975 Brabham Ford BT44B, C.Reutemann (7) 1st German GP (Spark)
2016 Ferrari SF16-H, S.Vettel (5) 3rd Australian GP (Look Smart)
1962 Lotus Climax 24, Innes Ireland (32) British GP (Spark)
1968 Matra Ford MS7, J.P.Beltoise (21) 6th South African GP (Spark)
1968 McLaren Ford M7A, D.Hulme (1) 1st Canadian GP (Spark)
1991 McLaren Honda MP4/6, G.Berger (2) 1st Japanese GP (TSM)

American Race Series

1980 Porsche 935 K3, Fitzpatrick/Barbour (6) 1st Sebring 12 hour (Spark)
1983 Porsche 934, Baker/Mullen/Nierop (9) 1st Sebring 12 hour (Spark)

Le Mans / Rally

1961 Austin Healey Sebring Sprite, Sanderson/McKay (46) Le Mans "Ecurie Ecosse" (Spark)
2013 HPD ARX 03B Honda, Briscoe/Franchitti/Tucker (33) Le Mans DNF (Spark)
1954 Osca MT4 1500, Peron/Giardini (42) Le Mans (Spark)
1976 Porsche 934, Haldi/Vetsch (69) Le Mans "Schiller Racing Team" (Spark)
2016 Toyota TS050 Hybrid LMP1, Davidson/Buemi/Nakajima (5) Le Mans (Spark)
1960 Sunbeam Alpine, Backlund/Falk (111) Monte Carlo Rally (Spark)

ATCC

1966 Chevrolet Nova, Norm Beechey (4) Neptune Racing (ACE)
1966 Chevrolet Nova, Norm Beechey (4) Neptune Racing (satin finish) (ACE)
1966 Chevrolet Nova, Norm Beechey (4) Shell Racing Team (ACE)

Road Cars

1924 Bentley 3 Litre in green (White Box)
1965 Pontiac Bonneville in metallic dark red (Neo)
1975 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 in silver (Kyosho)
1978 Porsche 911 SC in silver (Kyosho)
1984 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 in silver (Kyosho)
1988 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.3 in white (Kyosho)

White Box: Bentley 3 Litre 1924

After Thoughts: Last month saw the loss of another great F1 champion; Sir John Surtees passed away on 10 March at the age of 83. The son of a motorcycle dealer, Surtees entered his first motorcycle race at the age of 15 and after promising rides with the Norton racing team he was offered a place in the MV Agusta factory team. In 1956 Surtees won the 500cc World Championship for MV Agusta; he then went on to win the Championship 3 more times, in 1958, 1959 and 1960 for the same team. He also won the 350cc World Championship in 1958, 1959 and 1960, and the senior TT at the Isle of Man TT 3 years in succession.

Spark: John Surtees' Lola Mk4 1962

In 1960 Surtees switched to four-wheeled racing full-time making his Formula 1 debut in the non-championship 1960 BRDC International Trophy race where he retired his Lotus-Climax. In only his second Championship race he finished a creditable 2nd. He then drove a Cooper the following year and a Lola in 1962 before joining Ferrari for the '63 season and winning the F1 World Championship in 1964. As was the norm for F1 drivers of that era, Surtees raced in other championships, including Can-Am cars and sportcars at Le Mans and it was while driving a Lola T70 at Mosport in 1965 that he suffered a life-threatening accident which left one side of his body an inch shorter than the other. However he went on to win the 1966 Can-Am series. Early in the '66 F1 season, he split with Ferrari after a disagreement regarding his participation at Le Mans and he joined the Cooper team where he finished 2nd in the Championship. Surtees then signed with Honda for 1967 and '68, winning his last of 6 race wins in '67.

Brumm: Ferrari 158 1965

In 1970 Surtees formed his own race team, the Surtees Race Organisation and the team spent nine years competing in Formula 5000, F2 and F1 as a constructor. He retired from competitive racing in 1972 and he remains as the only person to win world titles on 2 and 4 wheels.

Spark: Vern Schuppan's 1977 Surtees Ford TS19

[Back to Top]

New Additions: March 2017

Wow, it's already March, time is really going quickly; so welcome to another monthly update. The Chinese New Year holiday is well and truly over and loads of new models have been shipped out of the factories, however I wasn't able to secure any in time for this update but expect to see a few new and interesting models next month. So lets get to this month's highlights. American model manufacturer Replicarz continues to serve the Indy 500 collectors market with their fine range of detailed, classic 1:43 and 1:18 Indy 500 winners. Just released is the 1975 winner of Bobby Unser with his Jorgensen Eagle Offenhauser. With three former winners (Unser, Rutherford and Foyt) all on the lead lap, torrential rain hit the circuit when 174 laps had been completed and the red and the chequered flags were waved together. The win was Bobby Unser's second of three victories at the famous brickyard.

Replicarz: Eagle-Offy 1975 Indy 500 winner

It started as a bet between two men in 1936 as to who could build the fastest long distance race car; the race was to be staged between Berlin and Rome and the two men were Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. The race never eventuated but the engine and aerodynamic development that occurred was implemented in the Hanomag Airstream car. In 1939 the Hanomag driven by Karl Haerberle broke the world record for small diesel engined cars with a speed of 165 kph. The car was destroyed during the second world war but a project to rebuild it to its original specifications using as many original parts as possible has begun and is still in progress. Meanwhile, collectors can own a replica produced by Schuco.

Schuco: Hanomag 1939 Speed Record car

The Stutz Blackhawk was an American luxury car made from 1971 and when production stopped in 1987, approximately 600 had been produced. The Blackhawk design incorporated a spare tyre that protruded through the boot lid, a massive front grille and free standing headlamps. The Blackhawk was prototyped by Ghia in Italy and it made its debut in 1970. The very first Blackhawk was purchased by Elvis Presley and can be seen at the Graceland Museum in Memphis. PremiumX, an IXO brand has produced several variants of this luxury automobile in 1:43 scale.

Premium X: Stutz Blackhawk

Okay, its a wrap for another month. There are two model fairs month; the regular monthly fair at Granville on Friday 10th and the first Collectormania Fair for the year on 19th. Don't forget the Australian GP on 26th and also the F1 Greatest Driver poll. Until next month, happy collecting.

Formula One

1993 Benetton Ford B193B, R.Patrese (6) "Prince" Monaco GP (Spark)
1981 Brabham Cosworth BT49C, N.Piquet (5) 1st Argentina GP (Spark)
1965 Ferrari 158, B.Bondurant (24) Scuderia NART USA GP (Brumm)
1982 Ferrari 126C2, G.Villeneuve (27) USA West GP split rear wing (Brumm)
1982 Ferrari 126C2, G.Villeneuve (27) San Marino GP (Brumm)
1977 McLaren Ford M23, G.Villeneuve (40) British GP Ed.43 No.41 (Minichamps)
2016 McLaren MP4-X, F1 Concept car in black (Spark)
1958 Porsche 718 RS, Edgar Bath (21) German GP (Spark)
2014 Red Bull Renault RB10, D.Ricciardo (3) 1st Belgium GP (Spark)

American Race Series

1972 Ferrari 312PB, Ickx/Andretti (2) 6hr Daytona (Brumm)
1966 Ford GT40 X1 Roadster, Miles/Ruby (1) 1st Sebring 12-hour (Spark)
1989 Nissan GTP ZXT, G.Brabham/Robinson/Luyendyk (83) 1st Sebring 12h (Spark)
1975 Eagle Offenhauser, B.Unser (48) 1st Indy 500 "Jorgensen" (Replicarz)

Le Mans / Rally / Speed Record

1969 Ferrari 312P, Amon/Andretti (1) Monza (Best)
1988 Jaguar XJR-9, Lammers/Dumfries/Wallace (2) winner Le Mans (Spark)
1947 Maserati A6GCS Monofaro, Sports racer in red (Leo Models)
1963 Porsche 718 GTR, J.Bonnier/C.Abate (160) 1st Targa Florio (Spark)
1969 Porsche 908, Schutz/Mitter (23) Le Mans (Spark)
1971 Porsche 917K, Marko/Van Lennep (22) Le Mans winner (CMR)
1979 Porsche 935 K3, Ludwig/Whittington/Whittington (41) 1st Le Mans (CMR)
1936 Hanomag Diesel, World record car (silver) (Schuco)
1963 Morris Cooper, Hopkirk/Scott (66) 6th Monte Carlo Rally (Spark)

ATCC

1978 Falcon XC Cobra, Bond/Gibson (2) Bathurst "Moffat Ford Dealers" (Biante)

Road Cars

1960 Borgward P100 in metallic blue (Neo)
1930 Cadillac V16 in metallic light blue/black (White Box)
1939 Cadillac Series 75 Fleetwood V8 in metallic turquoise (White Box)
1959 Chevrolet El Camino in metallic light green (Neo)
1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS 427 in green/black (Highway 61)
1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS 427 in black/red (Highway 61)
1970 Daimler DS420 in white (Oxford)
1970 Daimler DS420 wedding car with ribbon in white (Oxford)
1975 Datsun 260Z 2+2 in metallic light blue (Neo)
1977 Holden HZ Panel Van, "NRMA" service van in blue/white (Trax)
1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 in green/dark green (White Box)
1956 Lancia Aurelia B24 Convertible in red (Spark)
1949 Maserati A6 1500 Pininfarina road car in red (Leo Models)
1954 Maserati A6G CS Berlinetta Pininfarina road car in red (Leo Models)
1957 Maserati A6G Frua Coupe in red/black (Leo Models)
1960 Maserati 3500 Vignale Spyder in metallic dark blue (Leo Models)
1959 Porsche 356 A Convertible D in dark red (Spark)
1954 SAAB 92B in green (PremiumX)
1956 SAAB 94 Sonett in red (PremiumX)
1971 Stutz Blackhawk Coupe in metallic blue/light blue (PremiumX)
1971 Stutz Blackhawk Convertible in white (PremiumX)
1964 Sunbeam Tiger Mk1 hard top in dark blue (Spark)
1956 Volvo P1900 Convertible in white (White Box)

After Thoughts: The month of March heralds a new season of F1 racing and this year sees one of the biggest regulation overhauls since the introduction of hybrid turbo power units in 2014. This time the changes are centred around bodywork and tyres with both getting wider to boost downforce and grip for the purpose of making the cars faster and physically more difficult to drive. Expect lap times to fall by 3 to 5 seconds according to the teams. So what are the major changes ...

Tyres: Tyre widths have increased with rears going from 325 to 405mm and fronts from 245 to 305mm. This will mean inceased mechanical grip which will translate into faster cornering speeds and faster lap times.

Minichamps: 2016 Mercedes W07

Body and Wings: Front wing span will increase from 1650 to 1800mm. Also the basic shape of the front wing has been defined and must be used by all team. The height of the rear wing has been lowered and the diffuser is more powerful (wider and higher). The barge boards will be much longer this year which will significantly increase aerodynamic downforce.

Engine: A number of changes have been introduced aimed at reducing power unit costs, guaranteeing supply for customer teams and closing the performance gap between engines.

Teams: Manor Racing won't be racing this year as the team went into administration earlier in the year and a buyer was not able to be found.

Minichamps: Red Bull Tag Heuer 2016

Drivers: Only one rookie driver this year, Canadian Lance Stroll joins the Williams Team who was to replace the retiring Filipe Massa but ended up replacing Bottas who replaced Rosberg at Mercedes. Massa was enticed out of retirement to return to Williams. Stoffel Vandoorne gets a full time drive to replace Button at McLaren. The other driver changes involved a round of musical chairs with drivers moving to fill places vacated by other moving drivers. Those to miss out this year are Esteban Gutierrez (ex Hass), Rio Haryanto (ex Manor) and Filipe Nasr (ex Sauber) to join retiring Jensen Button and Nico Rosberg.

Engine Supply: The only change is Toro Rosso using Renault engines after using year-old Ferrari engines in 2016.

Minichamps: Haas Ferrari 2016

The pre-season testing at the Barcelona circuit in February had Ferrari and Mecedes topping the lap times with Red Bull and Renault not too far behind. It came as no surprise that Mercedes and Ferrari also completed the most test laps to reflect their superior reliability. Disappointingly, McLaren and Toro Rosso finished with the fewest laps over four days. The fastest cars through the speed traps were surprisingly the Ferrari powered customer teams. It appears the gap between Mercedes and the rest of the field has decreased with Ferrari leading the charge but it's hard to see Mercedes not winning the championship again.

[Back to Top]

News Update: 12 February 2017

The first Penrith Collectormania Toy and Hobby Fair for the year has been confirmed for 19th March. Great news, it doesn't clash with the Australian GP this year.

New Additions: February 2017

Welcome to the February update and happy Chinese New Year. There aren't too many new releases at this time of year as the Chinese factories close for their annual holidays but expect that to all change once they return to work. So what are this month highlights? The major players in the 1:43 F1 market, Spark and Minichamps have been working overtime to get Nico Rosberg's 2016 Championship winning Mercedes AMG W07 out to the market and it seems Minichamps have won this race, but don't expect to wait too long for the Spark releases. This 2016 Rosberg car is from his last race at Abu Dhabi where he finished second behind Hamilton but it was enough to secure the championship by 5 points.

Minichamps: 2016 Mercedes W07 Rosberg

Minichamps have recently introduced a new brand onto the market called "Maxichamps" which are packaged in distinctive orange cardboard boxes. These are all diecast road cars in 1:43 and are priced below the normal Minichamps model range. The quality also appears to be lower as well so these will appeal to the budget collector and the subject matter is quite broad with a mix of cars from the 1950s through to modern cars. The one below is the 1969 Ford Capri RS.

Maxichamps: 1969 Ford Capri RS

Not to be out-done, Spark have also recently introduced a new series of models. Interestingly, these are metal diecast models which is a radical move by this renowned resin model maker. The packaging is most interesting; instead of the usual acrylic cover over a wooden base, these models come inside a plastic "shipping container" with a clear plastic front and the containers are stackable. The model itself is screwed to a plastic plinth and it takes a bit of effort to extract the model from the container. You need to press down on a flexible plastic latch and then try to slide the plinth from the shipping container. Pricing for these cars, which are all road cars is about half the price of their resin cars.

Spark SDC005: Porsche 911 SC Cabrio

I just received an email last week from the Hawkesbury Model and Hobby Show's organising committee and they have decided to call it quits, so no more HM&H Shows ever. Last year the show was part of the Sydney Antique Machinery Club's Clarendon Rally, while the Rally will continue this year the HM&HS will not. The HM&HS was a great show and will be missed. Only one model fair this month, the usual Friday night fair at Granville on 10th February. Don't forget to vote for F1's Greatest Driver, the poll will run until the end of the year and Aryton Senna is in the lead (just). Thanks for casting your vote. Until next month, happy collecting.

Formula One / Transporter

1974 Brabham Ford BT42, J.Watson (28) 6th Monaco GP (Spark)
1974 Ensign Ford N174, V.Schuppan (22) DSQ Swedish GP (Spark)
1978 Ligier Matra JS9, J.Laffite (26) Monaco GP (Spark)
1967 McLaren BRM M4B, B.McLaren (16) 4th Monaco GP (Spark)
2015 Mercedes AMG W06, L.Hamilton (44) 1st Japanese GP (Minichamps)
2016 Mercedes AMG W07, L.Hamilton (44) 2nd Australian GP (Minichamps)
2016 Mercedes AMG W07, N.Rosberg (6) Abu Dhabi GP (Minichamps)
2013 Red Bull Renault RB9, M.Webber (2) Race car (Minichamps)
1967 Ferrari Transporter, OM 160 Rolfo (Old Cars)
1976 Ferrari Transporter, Fiat 170 Team Transporter (Old Cars)

American Race Series

1954 Osca MT4 1450, S.Moss/B.Lloyd (56) 1st 12-hour Sebring (Spark)
1988 Porsche 962, K.Ludwig/H.J.Stuck (86) 1st 12-hour Sebring (Spark)

Le Mans

1966 Ford GT40 Mk II, B.McLaren/C.Amon (2) winner Le Mans (Spark)
1996 McLaren F1 GTR, D.Brabham/Raphanel/Owen-Jones(34) 5th Le Mans (Spark)
2009 Peugeot 908 HDI FAP, D.Brabham/Gene/Wurz (9) winner Le Mans (Spark)
1980 Porsche 953K3, Rahal/Moffat/Garretson (71) Le Mans DNF (Spark)
1982 Porsche 956, Mass/Schuppan (2) 2nd "Rothmans" Le Mans (Spark)
1999 Porsche 911 GT2, H.Haupt/H.Price/J.Robinson (63) Le Mans (Spark)

Road Cars

1979 BMW M1 in orange (Maxichamps)
1974 Fiat X1/9 in yellow (Maxichamps)
1969 Ford Capri RS in yellow/black (Maxichamps)
1969 Ford Capri RS in red/black (Maxichamps)
2014 Pagani Zonda Revolution in black/blue carbon fibre (Spark)
1968 Porsche 912 Coupe in white (Spark)
1968 Porsche 912 Targa in red (Spark)
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS in blue/orange (Spark)
1975 Porsche 911 Turbo in black (Spark)
1983 Porsche 911 SC Cabrio in red (Spark)
1984 Porsche 924 in silver (Maxichamps)
1956 Triumph TR3 Convertible in light blue (Spark)

Maxichamps: Ford Capri RS in yellow/black

After Thoughts: "Tales of the Race Truck". Once thought of as redundant scrap, classic racing car transporters are now among the world's most desirable vehicles, according to Martin Buckley in his on-line article for "The Telegraph". I've reproduced parts of his article (without permission but I'm happy to remove it should it be an issue) that was first published in 2005. The full article can be found at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2739051/Tales-of-the-race-truck.html

"Modern Formula One drivers and mechanics travel separately to events and reside in vast motorhomes that offer the luxury of a five-star hotel. But the life of a racing driver in the 1950s and 1960s was much more austere. He'd slum it in a local bed-and-breakfast if he was lucky or, if the budget didn't run to that, cuddle up with the cars and mechanics in a rudimentary transporter that doubled as a mobile workshop.

Premium Classixx: 1955 Mercedes L3500 transporter

Post-war, in the years before big-money sponsorship such vehicles were often based on the chassis of old buses and war-surplus American army trucks with the backs hacked off. However, a few of the better-funded teams could afford purpose-designed transporters, and over the past decade these have become much more widely appreciated as evocative pieces of pit-lane history. The Ecurie Ecosse transporter, built in 1959, is now almost as well-known as the million-pound Jaguar C-types and D-types that it carried. It was the first of the classic transporters to be restored, raising awareness of a vehicle genre that had for the most part been forgotten. Designed by an aeronautical engineer, its sleek and shapely body was an entirely bespoke design fashioned in lightweight aluminium -alloy. It was the first of the high-speed transporters, progenitor of the machines you'll find at today's F1 events. Indeed it seemed so fresh and futuristic 40 years ago that Corgi made a model of it. [Phil - Spark have also made a 1:43 model - S0285] Cruising at 50mph, this transporter could go 1,000 miles across Europe on its 60-gallon diesel tanks, ideal for a long-haul back from a continental circuit carrying tired cars, tired mechanics and perhaps even one or two of the junior drivers.

IXO TRU010: 1966 Berliet Stradair Matra Transporter

Sadly, for every classic transporter that has been saved and restored, many others have been lost. Lancia built a beautiful, six-wheeled mobile workshop to service its D50 racers, but it ended up as a horse trailer before being scrapped in the 1970s. Even the 1954 Mercedes transporter, probably the best known of the classic works vehicles, didn't escape the cutting torch. It only served as a race transporter for about 18 months - Mercedes pulled out of competition in 1955 after the Le Mans disaster - but gave faithful service as a test rig until 1967, when it was cruelly scrapped because it was too heavy for the factory museum floor. It wasn't just a re-bodied bus but a specially designed, high-speed, low-slung, single-car transporter with the same engine and front-end styling as the flagship sportcar, the 300SL Gullwing. While other race team transporters plodded across Europe at 45mph, the Mercedes could reach more than 100. It was such a striking vehicle that it often caused more of a stir than the SLR racers it carried and the mechanics grew so tired of the inevitable questions that they painted "max speed 105mph" on the rear wing.

Premium Classixx: 1954 Mercedes Transporter

Enzo Ferrari commissioned a purpose-built transporter in 1957, but it was rather less scientific. An elegant, Bertolli-designed Fiat, it would otherwise have led a dismal existence as an Italian dustbin wagon but ended up delivering F1, F2 and sports racing cars to events across Europe before being put out to grass in 1969.

Old Cars: 1967 OM 160 Rolfo Ferrari Transporter

Having been rescued from obscurity, the most evocative of the classic transporters are welcomed as special guests at all the most up-market classic car events. Once they were regarded as little more than scrap. Now, to own a genuine period racing car transporter is one of the ultimate status symbols in the world of historic motorsport."

Old Cars: 1976 Fiat 170 Ferrari Transporter

[Back to Top]

New Additions: January 2017

Welcome to the first update for the new year and I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing break. Over the holiday period I was able to add some interesting models to kick-start your collection for the new year. Okay, let's get straight into this month's featured models. After making his name taming the Porsche 917 sports car, Rolf Stommelen entered Formula One with Brabham in 1970 as team mate to Jack Brabham. With sponsorship from the motoring magazine "Auto Motor und Sport" Stommelen achieved a fine third place in the Austrian GP in his rookie year. He participated in 63 F1 Grand Prix in a career spanning 8 years, achieving one podium and 14 championship points. In 1975 while driving an Embassy Hill-Ford, the rear wing broke sending him over the barrier and 5 spectators were killed by Stommelen's flying car. Stommelen also won the 24 Hours of Daytona 4 times in addition to winning the 1977 German DRM in a Porsche 935. Tragically Stommelen was killed during an IMSA Camel GT event at Riverside in April 1983 driving a Porsche 935. The Spark model of his Brabham is from his French GP where he finished seventh.

Spark S3509: Stommelen's 1970 Brabham BT33

The BMW M1 Procar Championship was a one-make racing series that pitted professional drivers from the F1 Championship, World Sportscar Championship, European Touring Car Championship and other international series against one another using identically modified BMW M1 sports cars. The Procar series was held for just two years from 1979 to 1980 and served as support races for various rounds of European rounds of the F1 Championship. The Minichamps model depicts the strikingly liveried 1980 BASF M1 of Hans-Joachim Stuck who won two rounds but ended 3rd in the final standings.

Minichamps: 1980 BMW M1 Procar series

In 1956 Buick unveiled the Centurion concept car; it was a 2-door 4-passenger coupe made of fibreglass. It was powered by a 325 HP V8 engine and featured a long hood sloping towards the front and an all glass top. Minichamps have superbly replicated this car in 1:43 and is a limited edition of 999 pieces.

Minichamps: 1956 Buick Centurion concept car

Okay, that's it for the first month of the year. There is only one event this month which is the Granville Model Fair on 13th January. Please check my Swap Meets link regularly as I will be updating dates for future events as they are confimed. Lastly please cast your vote in my F1's Greatest Driver poll and happy collecting.

Formula One

1970 Brabham Ford BT33, R.Stommelen (22) French GP (Spark)
1982 Ferrari 126C2, D.Pironi (28) (Minichamps)
2016 Haas Ferrari VF16, R.Grosjean (8) (Minichamps)
2010 Red Bull Renault RB6, S.Vettel (5) 1st Brazilian GP (Minichamps)
2012 Red Bull Renault RB8, M.Webber (2) Race car (Minichamps)
2015 Red Bull Renault RB11, D.Ricciardo (3) Pre-season test Jerez (Spark)
2016 Red Bull Tag Heuer RB12, D.Ricciardo (3) 4th Australian GP (Spark)
2001 Williams BMW FW23, J.P.Montoya (6) "Compaq" Team Release (Minichamps)
2002 Williams BMW FW24, J.P.Montoya - Launch version Team release model (Minichamps)
2002 Williams BMW FW24, J.P.Montoya (6) "Compaq" Team Release model (Minichamps)
2002 Williams BMW FW24, J.P.Montoya "HP" 2nd half of season Team Release (Minichamps)
2003 Williams BMW FW25, J.P.Montoya "HP" Team Release model (Minichamps)

American Race Series

1964 Cheetah, M.Jones (33) Riverside "Clarence Dixon Cadillac" (Spark)
2006 Riley MkXI Lexus, S.Dixon/Weldon/Mears (02) 1st 24 hrs of Daytona (Spark)

Le Mans / GT Racing / Rally cars

1980 BMW M1, H.J.Stuck (80) Procar Series (Minichamps)
1948 Ferrari 166 MM, Sigemon/Sigemon (182) 1991 Mille Miglia Storica (Art Model)
1950 Ferrari 166 MM, Marzotto/Cristaldi (650) Mille Miglia (Art Model)
1956 Jaguar D-Type, N.Sanderson/R.Flockhart (4) Winner Le Mans (IXO)
1964 Lotus Elan 26R Fastback, Tony Thompson Racing (20) (Spark)
1985 March Nissan 85G, Test car in white (Spark)
1974 Matra Simca MS670B, Pescarolo/Larrousse (7) Winner Le Mans (IXO)
1989 Nissan R89C, G.Brabham/C.Robinson/A.Luyendyk (25) Le Mans (Q-Model)
2012 Oreca 03 Nissan, Graves/Charouz/Martin (25) ADR-Delta Le Mans (Spark)
1967 Porsche 911S, Cahier/Killy (46) 7th (class winner) Targa Florio (Spark)
1959 Triumph TR3S, Jopp/Stoop (25) Le Mans (Spark)
1963 Morris Cooper, Morrison/Culcheth (155) Rallye Monte Carlo (Spark)

Road Cars

1960 Alvis TD21 DHC in green (Neo)
1957 Buckle Dart (built in Sydney) in yellow (Autocult)
1956 Buick Centurion Concept car in red/white (Minichamps)
1964 Citroen Bijou in light green (BoS)
1973 Dodge Charger in yellow (Neo)
1978 Dodge Monaco in metallic green (Neo)
1983 Dodge Aries in red (Neo)
1984 Dodge 600 convertible in dark red (Neo)
1975 Dome Zero in silver (Bizarre)
1950 Fiat 1100 ES Pininfarina in red (Neo)
1948 Ferrari 166 MM Spyder in white (Art Model)
1965 Ford Mustang in metallic dark green (White Box)
1985 Ford Mustang GT Twister II in red/black (Neo)
1966 Lancia Flavia Sport Zagato in silver (Neo)
1984 Lincoln Continental Mk VII LSC in metallic dark red (Neo)
1973 MG B GT V8 in red (Spark)
1958 Mikrus MR-300 in red/black (White Box)
1969 Opel GT Aero in white (Neo)
1960 Plymouth Valiant Station Wagon in metallic turquoise (BoS)
1960 Plymouth Valiant Sedan in metallic dark red (BoS)
1969 Puma GT Coupe in red (Neo)
1949 Rover P4 75 in light turquoise (Neo)
1938 Tatra T97 in silver (BoS)
1978 Toyota Celica Mk2 (A40) in black (Neo)
1948 Waibel Porsche Special Sport convertible in metallic blue (Neo)

After Thoughts: The Rally Monte Carlo is the most prestigious rally in the world; every driver wants to win here at least once in their career. First held in 1911, the 85th running of the rally on 20th January 2017 marks the start of the 13 round World Rally Championship. The original idea behind the Monte Carlo Rally had absolutely nothing to do with car racing but everything to do with tourism. The Principality wanted to attract visitors to the Cote d'Azur during the cold months of winter and so Prince Albert I gave his approval in 1911 for a rally that started in many different European nations and converged on the city state on the Mediterranean. Twenty-three cars set off in 1911 from 11 different locations; the winning car of Henri Rougier in a 25HP Turcat-Mery was one of 9 that left from Paris to cover the 1020 kilometre course. The rally comprised both driving and (somewhat arbitrary) judging based on the elegance of the car, passenger comfort and the condition in which it arrived in the principality.

Henri Rougier and Turcat-Mery Henri Rougier with his rally winning Turcat-Mery

In 1932, a most farcical event occurred; after travelling the length or breadth of Europe as quickly a possible through snow and ice, competitors found that the entire rally would be decided by a crazy final test. They had to drive as slowly as possible over a distance of 100 yards with their wheels moving at all times! A Frenchman, M. Vaselle driving a 3.5 litre Hotchkiss salon covered the distance in 2 minutes 35.51 seconds at a speed of 1.5 mph to win the most coveted prize in rallying. The go-slow test was unceremoniously dumped the following year.

Monte Carlo Rally Logo

Further controversy engulfed the Monte Carlo Rally in 1966 when the first 3 cars (Mini Coopers) and the fourth place Ford Lotus Cortina were disqualified for using non-dipping halogen headlights which the organisers declared to be against the rules and the victory went to the Citroen team. In 1997 a tradition that had lasted more than 70 years ended. For the last time the Monte Carlo Rally began with cars settting off for Monte Carlo from multiple (equidistance) locations within Europe.

Spark S1190: Mini Cooper 1963 Monte Carlo Rally

The Monte Carlo Rally also features one of the most famous special stages in the world. This 31 km stage is run over a steep and tight mountain road with numerous hairpin turns and it passes over the Col de Turini, a mountain pass which normally has ice and snow on certain sections. It is common for spectators to liven up the action by shovelling new snow onto the route just before competitors arrive and who often end up skidding all over the place to the delight of the fans. It's all part of the Rally Monte Carlo.

M4 7079: Alfa 1900 TI 1953 Monte Carlo Rally

Statistically, Sebastien Loeb is the most successful driver winning seven times, but Walter Rohrl achieved the unparalleled feat of winning the rally 4 times with 4 different marques; in 1980 with a Fiat 131 Abarth, in 1982 with an Opel Ascona 400, one year later with a Lancia Rally 037 and the season after with an Audi Quattro A2.

[Back to Top]

This Web Page Created with PageBreeze Free HTML Editor