Leigh’s Diecast Diary

Another day, another afternoon out of the office! While yesterday I had the foresight to post my diary entry in the morning before I left the office, today that same level of forward planning escaped me!

So, I have just got back at 6:30pm to see that we have had a new delivery from Mattel, but all of the Graphic Design team have gone home so there’s no-one to get the new releases photographed so that they can go up onto the website! I’d have a go myself, but we use such highly advanced professional cameras that I wouldn’t even know how to switch them on!

Anyway, on Mattel’s new delivery we received the Ferrari 333SP, both the ‘regular’ Elite version (Product Code - HW2974), and the metallic red 60th Anniversary version (Product Code - HW2975), which is the first model to be released in the 60th Anniversary Collection series. The Elite 125S (Product Code - HW2977) was also on the delivery, one of our best sellers from Mattel’s new announcements for this year.

Now I’ve posted this I’m going to cycle home in the dark and the pouring rain! Then it’s two early starts with ITV tomorrow and Sunday for Japanese Grand Prix qualifying and the race itself. Will three drivers still be in contention for the title when the F1 circus leaves Fuji for Shanghai?

I was only in the office for a few hours this morning, so it’s a bit of a slow news day.

Most of you will have noticed how Mattel’s release dates have slipped for their 1:18 2007 F1 cars, which I originally posted on 27th July. Hopefully we will have revised dates soon. Mattel were one of the last diecast manufacturers whose release dates I still held some stock by, along with Kyosho. Now it’s just Kyosho!

It also seems that Minichamps are going to be closed for one week longer than we originally thought, so looking at their latest release schedule which I posted on 4th September, everything scheduled for release in or after the week beginning 1st October may slip by a week.

Today we received CMC’s incredibly highly detailed new 1:18 release, the 1924 Bugatti Type 35 (Product Code - CMC063). It consists of 926 separate parts, a real masterpiece of model engineering! This first delivery has only just been enough to cover all of our customer pre-orders, so if you don’t want to wait four weeks for our second shipment you should order soon.

We haven’t had much news on film diecast recently, until AUTOart announced today that it would be replicating the Road Warrior Interceptor from the Mel Gibson ‘Mad Max’ movies (Product Code - AA72745).

Details are a little sketchy at present, and I have to admit that I haven’t seen the ‘Mad Max’ films myself so am not the greatest authority on them, but we believe the replica will come with opening doors to reveal gadgets and weapons inside the cockpit and also include some accessories such as petrol cans, spare tyre and pet dog! At the moment we’re not sure whether we’re going to see it released before Christmas.

Today we received some new releases in IXO’s 1:43 Le Mans Winners and Ferrari collections.

From the Le Mans collection, we now have the 1966 Ford Mk.II of Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon (Product Code - LM1966).

In the Ferrari collection, we have received the 250 GT Berlinetta (Product Code - IXFR35), and the black FXX testcar (Product Code - IXFR72). It’s interesting to see that IXO have decided to experiment a bit with how they are displaying the cars; the FXX is at a particularly jaunty angle on a slanted base!

Congratulations to Casey Stoner, 2007 Moto GP World Champion! After his repeated acrobatics on (and off) the LCR Honda last year, I don’t think anyone could have predicted that the young Australian would then go on to become the second youngest world champion of all time, but he has ridden superbly this year, and more than deserves the title.

It is unlikely that we will see Minichamps’ 1:12 replica of Stoner’s 2007 Ducati Desmosedici (Product Code - PO70027) this year, but unsurprisingly we have taken many pre-orders for it since the Motegi race finished in the early hours of Sunday morning.

I think a lot of people see Stoner as the new Rossi, particularly with regard to future Ebay values of Minichamps replicas, so to ensure you don’t have to pay through the nose later, it makes sense to pre-order your Stoner Ducati now.

The same would apply to Casey’s 2006 Honda RC211V (Product Code - PO61027), which is also yet to be released, but this was his first ever Moto GP bike (how much are the original Rossi 2000 Hondas going for again? £350?), so is also sure to be one to grab hold of before it sells out.

We are also offering both of these replicas signed (Product Code - PO61027S) and (Product Code - PO70027S), for an even greater potential investment!

Amalgam have released their 1:4 replica of this year’s Ferrari F2007 steering wheel sooner than we expected, and it is in stock now (Product Code - AML702). Something different for all the Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa fans out there. I’ve already bagged my example!

We had new releases from three different manufacturers today, ranging from brand new subjects to, well, scrap!

From AUTOart, we received their 1:18 replica of Petter Solberg’s 2007 Subaru Impreza WRC, the first 2007 1:18 rally car to be released (Product Code - AA80790). It is based on the car that was entered in the Monte Carlo Rally, and while Solberg hasn’t had the most successful season, there are still plenty of Subaru fans out there and the Impreza is still one of the most dramatic looking cars in the championship, so it is sure to be a big seller for us.

Spark released their 1:43 Ecurie Ecosse transporter from 1959 (Product Code - SPK285), which comes with its own display case, which sets its apart from its rival transporter manufacturers of Exoto and Premium Classics. We can also offer the winning Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type from Le Mans 1956 (Product Code - LM1956) to sit on top of it if you want.

As for the scrap, that’s just a way of saying that Revell’s 1:18 Barn Discovery Mercedes (Product Code - RV8854) is now available. It comes incomplete without (as opposed to complete with!) front and rear windows, door handles and Mercedes badge, and also has a nice rust finish to it too!

The La Storia collection has now reached double figures! We received the tenth release today, but in a twist to the plot, we have not received Number 10 in the series, as you would expect, which is Michael Schumacher’s 1996 F310 (Product Code - IXSF10), but number 11 instead, which is Alberto Ascari’s 1952 500 F2 (Product Code - IXSF11).

IXO never confirmed that they would release the La Storia replicas in ‘number order’ though, so this isn’t a huge surprise to us, but we do expect the next release to be the 1996 Schumacher car.

You may recall a few weeks ago when I said that there would be a short video on our website, showcasing the scale of our offices and warehouse and the whole GPL staff working away, to show that Grand Prix Legends is a ‘real’ company and not one of those ‘one man in his bedroom’ operations. Well, the final cut has now been approved and it has been premiering today! You can click here to view the ‘GPL Movie’. It’s two minutes and fifty-two seconds of pulsating red-hot action!

Today we received Amalgam’s gorgeous 1:8 replica of Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren-Mercedes MP4/22 from this year’s Canadian Grand Prix, scene of his first Grand Prix victory (AML704C).

It measures a daunting 59cm long, 23cm wide and 14cm high. And that’s just the replica! It proudly sits on a carbon fibre effect base and comes complete with its own perspex case too. To look at it you get the impression that you are looking at a real Formula One car in miniature, rather than a ‘mere’ model.

The detailing in areas like inside the cockpit and around the rear suspension is simply incredible. What’s more amazing is that Amalgam have managed to release this Canada special already, whereas we will be lucky to see Minichamps’ 1:18 (DC2702C) and 1:43 (DC27402C) Canadian GP versions by next summer. Well done Amalgam, we salute you!

We were also told today that we can expect to receive Amalgam’s 1:4 replica of this year’s Ferrari F1 steering wheel (AML702) in the next couple of weeks.

Get in the bag! I enjoyed witnessing Raikkonen’s victory at Spa, as it will be a good few months before I next go to a Grand Prix. I was sat at Eau Rouge, and it was certainly dramatic watching the two McLarens plunging side by side into there on the first lap. All we need is to repeat that top-four result in the next three races and Raikkonen will be champion! Don’t worry, I don’t seriously think that that could actually happen!

In the diecast world we’ve seen some new 1:43 replicas released from Minichamps and Spark, which vary from Thierry Boutsen’s 1987 Benetton B187 (Product Code - P870020) to the second place Peugeot 908 from this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours (Product Code - SPK1273) to a Lamborghini Gallardo police car (Product Code - P103590)! These and the other new replicas are now at the top of our New Releases category.

It’s been a quiet day in the diecast world, no doubt because everyone’s spent all day logged on to various motorsport websites for news on the McLaren ‘Spy Scandal’ hearing in Paris! As I write this the outcome is still to be announced…..

The only real piece of news is that we will be getting a new 1:43 Spark delivery next week, the highlight being Andy Priaulx’s 2007 BMW 320 Si from the World Touring Car Championship (Product code - SPK403). There will also be the Pagani Zonda F Spyder (Product Code - SPK699), and the #203 Porsche 961 from Le Mans 1987 (Product code - SPK962).

It’s a short week for me, as I’m off to Spa tomorrow for the Belgian Grand Prix, my last F1 trip of the year. Raikkonen’s won every time I’ve been there, and I know I’ve just put the biggest jinx imaginable on him by saying that, but his championship chances are over now so what the hell! Normal full-time diary service will be resumed on Tuesday.