Leigh’s Diecast Diary

There was plenty happening today in the diecast world.

First off, Minichamps announced a couple of hot new releases. The first is a 1:18 replica of Lewis Hamilton’s 2006 McLaren MP4/21 testcar (DC2684). Presumably it will come with wet weather tyres, as the now sold out 1:43 version did.

If that wasn’t enough, Minichamps also announced a new subject in the 1:8 Valentino Rossi Helmet Collection. It will be the helmet that he wore at the Mugello Moto GP earlier this year, which had the heart on the top (PO70876).

Mattel provided us with a preview image of the 1:18 Schumacher Career Records presentation (HW6235). It looks quite exciting and dynamic, with the 2004 Ferrari F2004 ‘suspended’ at an angle, the removable engine cover displayed separately on the base, and four raised plinths detailing his career records.

And finally, a bit of gossip, i.e. something that hasn’t been officially announced yet! We’ve had loads of requests for a 1:18 replica of the Peugeot 908 from this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours, and ‘the word on the street’ is that Solido will oblige us next summer with the #8 car of Bourdais, Sarrazin and Lamy that finished the race in second place. As soon as a price is confirmed it will be available to pre-order on our website. 

 Welcome to the third Leigh’s Diary Vidcast, reviewing all the new diecast replicass that were released last week. We shoot the vidcasts on Fridays, they get edited over the weekend and then get posted on the site on the following Monday, so I didn’t know who was 2007 F1 Champion yet when this was filmed!  

As always I have listed the products below that have been featured in this week’s vidcast. Keep the comments rolling in. You will need quicktime installed to view the video on this post.

 

 Leighs Diary Vidcast Episode 3 [6:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Leighs Diary Podcast Episode 3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

These are the products featured on this week’s podcast:

1/12 Rossi 2001 Mugello Honda NSR 500 ‘Dirty’ Minichamps
1/18 2005 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Minichamps
1/43 Alesi 2001 Jordan EJ11 Minichamps
1/43 1982 Ford Capri III Minichamps
1/43 1932 Maybach Zeppelin Minichamps
1/18 Ferrari 250 GTO Mattel
1/18 Ferrari 125 S ‘Ferrari 60th Anniversary’ Mattel
1/43 Porsche 956 1st Le Mans 1984 Spark
1/43 2006 RUF RK Spyder Spark
1/43 Mansell/Niarchos 2007 Ferrari F430 GT2 Red Line
1/43 Aston Martin DB2 Convertible Green SMTS
1/43 Aston Martin DB2/4 Convertible Blue SMTS
1/43 Aston Martin DB2 Saloon Turquoise SMTS
1/43 Aston Martin DB2 Saloon Red SMTS
1/43 Aston Martin DB2 Convertible Red SMTS
1/43 Aston Martin DB2/4 #304 Monte Carlo Rally SMTS
1/18 2007 F1 World Champion Presentation Grand Prix Legends

Remember you can subscribe to the podcast by clicking the purple podcast icon at the top right or use this link if you wish to subscribe via itunes.

I hope you enjoyed watching or listening to the podcast. Please make sure you leave me some comments on anything you would like me to feature in future shows below.

Oh – my – God! I thought the phrase ‘Anything can happen in motor racing, and it usually does’ was one of the biggest clichés in the world.

But how dramatic was the Brazilian Grand Prix? In the opening laps alone you had Hamilton’s dramas and Yamamoto being launched over the back of Fisichella, then other crazy events like Nakajima driving into his pit crew and Kovalainen’s rear suspension failure.

Through it all Hamilton was clawing his way back up the field, with the Ferraris comfortably running in the lead, but who would prevail? Even with Hamilton not in that all-important fifth place, you had that titanic scrap between Rosberg, Kubica and Heidfeld, and it would just have needed a bit of contact between them for the picture to change all over again.

At GPL we had a big screen erected in our warehouse and a load of us came in to watch the race together. It was a great atmosphere, although you had about two Raikkonen fans against 20 Hamilton ones!

I found the last ten laps almost painful to watch, not wanting to let myself believe that Raikkonen could maybe triumph, because it would have just been too much to bear if Hamilton had ultimately done it!

The Iceman won out though, with one of the closest final standings in Formula One history; Raikkonen 110, Hamilton & Alonso 109.

And so, it is with great pleasure that I can announce that the Grand Prix Legends 2007 F1 World Champion presentation is now available to pre-order (DC2007)! It will consist of Mattel’s 1:18 replica of Raikkonen’s Ferrari F2007 mounted on a wooden base surrounded by plaques detailing his results in every Grand Prix this year, and come complete with a perspex cover to protect it from the dust. We should be in position to despatch these during November.

And please, don’t give me a hard time because Hamilton didn’t win, young Lewis has loads of future championship wins ahead of him, and come on, Raikkonen was due one, wasn’t he? 

But what the hell am I going to do until the 2008 F1 World Championship starts!

It’s the final countdown! There are just two days to go until the three-way title decider in the Brazilian Grand Prix. As soon as it’s finished, I’ll be posting an entry launching our 2007 F1 World Champion presentation.

For the twelfth year in a row we will be taking the 1:18 replica of the champion and mounting it on a wooden base, bordered with plaques detailing his results in every Grand Prix of his successful campaign. The only question is, will it be Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren, Fernando Alonso’s McLaren, or Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari mounted on the base?

Whoever wins, it will cost £79.99 and come complete with a perspex cover to protect it from the dust.

Within a week of the Philip Island Moto GP, Minichamps have already announced a 1:12 replica of Valentino Rossi’s Yamaha YZR-M1 on which he finished the race in third place (PO73196). Yamaha sported their second, and last, one-off livery of the season in that race, to promote the Fiat Abarth brand.

An extra post to make sure all my readers know about the huge discount on Oakley sunglasses that GPL are offering. This is a limited offer so you will need to be quick.  All of our Oakley sunglasses are marked down by 30%. That’s not just up to or some styles. All Oakley styles we stock are all 30% off. Click the link for Cheap Oakley Sunglasses.

Now I know it’s not summer but with ski trips around the corner, and low sun when driving to and from work, having a pair of Oakleys will not only protect your eyes but at the moment also your wallet.

My favourite pair are the Oakley Ducati Square Wire Sunglasses

Anyway, back to work. Another post will follow later today.

It was good to see some new releases today, after ‘New announcement’ news for the last couple of days.

From Minichamps, we received the 1:12 Valentino Rossi 2001 Mugello Honda NSR 500 (PO16186). This is the ‘Mk.II’ version, with the race dirt effect. It’s limited to 10,999 pieces worldwide, and like the original incarnation it comes with wet tyres.

From Mattel, we received their 1:18 Elite replica of what is one of the most beautiful Ferraris of all time, the 250 GTO (HW8727).

Today it’s the turn of AUTOart and Yat Ming to have some new announcements.

AUTOart have a couple of real 1:18 gems due for release next year. My favourite AUTOart replica of all time has to be their Aston Martin DBR9, and next year one will be released in the striking Red Bull livery (AA80608). It is the #33 car that Wendlinger and Peter drove to victory in the Mugello round of the 2006 FIA GT Championship, which promises to be a real stunner.

We will also see 1:18 replicas of Andy Priaulx’s 2006 WTCC BMW 320Si (AA80646), the car with which he successfully defended his 2005 title, and Sebastien Loeb’s potent 2007 Citroen C4 WRC (AA80738).

Meanwhile, Yat Ming announced a 1:18 classic racer that will prove very popular, as it is of the great Jim Clark. It is the Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato that the Scot campaigned to fourth place in the 1961 Goodwood TT (YM92729JC). Like the AUTOart cars, we will not see this before 2008, but this could well be one where a pre-order is essential to guarantee your example, given the demand it is likely to command.

We also learnt today that we will not see the 1:43 Minichamps Mansell/Senna ‘Taxi’ from the 1991 British Grand Prix (P914305) until early next year at the earliest. Soon this will be rivalling the infamous 1:18 Exoto 1992 Mansell Williams for the replica with the longest ever lead time between announcement and release! I ordered mine about three years ago when I was still at university! 

There were new announcements from Exoto and Minichamps today.

Exoto announced a few new 1:43 racing transporters. These are of the privateer sportscar Gelo racing team from the mid-seventies (GP009), the 1957 Maserati team (GP011), and the 1956 Ferrari team (GP012).

Minichamps also announced a couple of interesting new 1:43 subjects. The first is the car that holds the ice world speed record in the hands of four time World Rally Champion Juha Kankkunen, a Bentley Continental GT (P139026).

The second is a resin replica, as opposed to diecast metal, I assume inspired by Spark, of Hermann Tilke’s Lamborghini Gallardo from this year’s Nurburgring 24 Hours (P071018). Tilke is more famous for designing the recent new circuits to have joined the F1 calendar

After a wait of a few months we today finally received restocks of the 1:18 ‘Eleanor’ Shelby GT 500E from ‘Gone in Sixty Seconds’ (DC500), which has proven to be our most popular film related diecast subject of the year.

We also received an image of the 1:43 Trofeu two-car Ford Sierra set that commemorates Andy Rouse and Steve Soper’s fantastic battle in the Brands Hatch round of the 1988 British Touring Car Championship (TR002). As you can see from the photo, it looks like quite a dramatic piece to add to your collection. We should receive it in the next week or so.

Thanks for all the feedback that was left regarding last week’s episode. Here is the next installment - It’s a little longer than last week’s as there have been many things happening in the diecast world. As always I have listed the products below that have been featured in this week’s vidcast. Keep the comments rolling in. You will need quicktime installed to view the video on this post.

 

 Leighs Diary Vidcast Episode 2 [7:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Leighs Diary Podcast Episode 2 [7:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

These are the products featured on this week’s podcast:

1/12 Rossi 2004 Yamaha YZR-M1 Minichamps
1/12 Rossi 2004 sitting figure without sunglasses Minichamps
1/8 Rossi 2004 Helmet Minichamps
1/18 Shelby 1960 Maserati Birdcage Minichamps
1/18 1973 Ford Capri RS Minichamps
1/43 Fabi 1987 Benetton B187 Minichamps
1/43 Frentzen 2001 Jordan EJ11 Minichamps
1/43 Trulli 2001 Jordan EJ11 Minichamps
1/43 1983 Ford Escort Cabriolet Minichamps
1/43 1973 Alfa Romeo Montreal Minichamps
1/43 2005 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Minichamps
1/43 Makinen 1974 Ford Escort RS1600 Minichamps
1/43 #91 Le Mans 2006 Porsche 911 GT3 RS Minichamps
1/18 Belluzzi 2006 Ferrari F430 Challenge Mattel
1/18 Muller 2006 Ferrari FXX Challenge Mattel
1/18 Alonso 2006 Renault R26 Brazil Mattel
1/18 Fisichella 2007 Renault R27 Mattel
1/18 Kovalainen 2007 Renault R27 Mattel
1/18 Massa 2007 Ferrari F2007 Mattel
1/18 Raikkonen 2007 Ferrari F2007 Mattel

Remember you can subscribe to the podcast by clicking the purple podcast icon at the top right or use this link if you wish to subscribe via itunes.

I hope you enjoyed watching or listening to the podcast. Please make sure you leave me some comments on anything you would like me to feature in future shows below.