Leigh’s Diecast Diary

Today there’s some Revell news. They’re a manufacturer I don’t mention much, as they don’t do that many 1:18 replicas, but when they do release one it tends to be a very popular subject. As is the case with their latest replica which we received today, the Opel Manta 400 rally car (RV8916).

They also announced a new 1:18 subject in two colourways, the sporty looking Artega GT. It will be available in silver (RV9024) and blue (RV9025).

Amalgam also announced two of their imposing 1:8 replicas of the forthcoming Ferrari California. It will be available with the roof up (AML844), and the roof down (AML845).

Mattel sent us a sample of their Elite 1:18 replica of Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari F2002 from the 2002 French Grand Prix, the race in which he won his fifth world championship (HW2076), so hopefully it won’t be long before we see that released.

Finally today, probably the biggest news was that Minichamps announced the cars that it would be replicating from the new James Bond film ‘Quantum Of Solace’, in 1:43 scale.

There will be 007’s trusty Aston Martin DBS of course (P137622), and a black Alfa Romeo 159, which I believe will be the baddies’ car (P120500B). The last car is the new Ford Ka (P120500C), which I’m not sure how big a part it has in the film. It may be a bit of product placement, like with the Ford Mondeo in ‘Casino Royale’. There will also be a limited edition two car set of the DBS and the 159 (P121300).

There won’t be an entry tomorrow or on Monday, as I continue my summer of Raikkonen jinxing with a visit to the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Today we received new deliveries from Minichamps and from Spark.

On the Minichamps delivery were the 1:18 Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 RSR from Le Mans 2006 (PG066480), Riccardo Patrese’s 1:43 1991 Williams FW14 (P910006), and Klaus Ludwig’s 1:43 1982 DRM Ford Capri (P828501).

Spark released the 1:43 1978 Aston Martin V8 (SPK576), and, through its luxury Red Line brand, the winning 1972 Daytona Ferrari 312 PB (RL124). Two other Red Line releases were the two Ferrari concept cars, the Fiorano (RL144), and the Millechili (RL145).

Today we received the new Minichamps release schedule, which actually encompasses a full six weeks, so it takes us up to the middle of September. If memory serves me right, Minichamps then closes for about two weeks at the end of September for its annual stock take, so there will be no new releases then.

Next week the biggie (literally) will be the 1:6 Kawasaki 900 Z1 (PG164100). Another very significant release will be Valentino Rossi’s 1:12 2000 Honda NSR 500 testbike (PO06186), and his 1:8 helmet from pre-season testing in 2007 (PO79046).

From Formula One, there will be Nigel Mansell’s 1:43 1991 Williams FW14 (P910005), and Anthony Davidson’s 1:43 2007 Super Aguri SA07 (DC27423).

The following week we will see the 1:18 Bentley Continental GT in red (PG139620), and the re-release of Rossi’s 1:12 2005 Yamaha YZR-M1 (PO53046).

The week after that (beginning 18th August) we will see the 1:18 Mercedes 300SL Roadster in silver (PG039030), and Takuma Sato’s 1:43 2002 Jordan EJ11 testcar (P024399).

Seven days later will see the release of Roberto Moreno’s 1:18 1991 Benetton B191 (PG910019), and, much more importantly, Lewis Hamilton’s 1:43 ‘First Podium’ special of his McLaren MP4/22 from the 2007 Australian Grand Prix (DC27402A).

The big release on the penultimate week of the schedule is Kenny Roberts’ 1979 Yamaha YZR 500 (P793001), as well as Mika Hakkinen’s 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera Cup guest car (P936033).

Finally, the last week of the schedule sees the next 1:12 Rossi figure, and the first for an Aprilia, the 1997 riding version (P970146), and Martin Brundle’s 1:18 1992 Benetton B191B (PG920120).

It’s going to be a busy end to the summer!

The other big news today was that we at last received a final production sample of Universal Hobbies’ 1:12 Honda RC30 (UH88030), complete in its ‘proper’ packaging! We’ve been waiting four years now to see its release, and expect to receive the shipment in September, so the hundreds of you who have pre-ordered it don’t have much longer to wait now!

It’s signed news today, as we received the AUTOart 1:18 replica of the Aston Martin DBR9 that won the GT1 class in the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours (AA80706S). Jason got Darren Turner’s and David Brabham’s signatures last week, and then Rickard Rydell’s at Brands Hatch over the weekend at the WTCC meeting.

Just to keep you in the loop, Turner and Brabham also signed the AUTOart/Prodrive 1:18 2008 Gulf showcar for us too, which also won its class at Le Mans this year of course (AA80800S), so that one’s now two thirds completed. It will be finished in September when Antonio Garcia comes over for the European Le Mans Series race at Silverstone, and we will finish the job there.

Welcome to the thirty ninth Leigh’s Diary Vidcast, reviewing all the new diecast replicas that were released last week.

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

 

 Leighs Diary Vidcast Episode 39 [4:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (597)

 

 Leighs Diary Podcast Episode 39 [4:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (198)

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

1/18 Bugatti Veyron 2005 Red/Black - AUTOart
1/18 Honda NSX JGTC 2004 #18 - AUTOart
1/18 Honda NSX JGTC 2004 #32 - AUTOart
1/18 Porsche RS Spyder Carbon Fibre 2007 - AUTOart
1/18 Porsche RS Spyder ALMS 2007 #6 S.Maassen/R.Briscoe - AUTOart
1/18 Mercedes G55 AMG 2005 Silver - AUTOart
1/18 Mercedes G55 AMG 2005 Black - AUTOart
1/12 Rossi Sitting Figure 2006 - Minichamps
1/12 Rossi Standing Figure Sachsenring 2006 - Minichamps
1/8 AGV Rossi Helmet 125CCM 1997 - Minichamps
1/12 Yamaha YZRM1 2007 #5 C. Edwards - Minichamps
1/43 Bentley State Limousine 2002 - Minichamps
1/43 Porsche 935 Le Mans 1976 #40 R. Stommelen/M.Schurti - Minichamps
1/43 Ford Cortina Mk1 Monte Carlo Rally 1963 #129 Taylor - Minichamps
1/43 Ford Transit Super 3 Royal Mail Van - Spark
1/43 Gemballa GT750 2007 Black - Spark
1/43 Ferrari F2007 Constructors Presentation 2007 - Mattel
1/43 Ferrari 126C2 1982 #27 G. Villeneuve - Mattel Elite
1/43 Ferrari 250 TR 1958 Red - Mattel Elite
1/43 Ferrari FXX 2006 #30 M. Schumacher - Mattel Elite

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 feel free to leave any comments on what you thought of it or anything you would like me to feature in future shows below.

Today AUTOart confirmed two 1:18 replicas of the menacing Nissan GTR R35. It will be available in silver (AA77386), and white (AA77387).

We are also pleased to announce that we can now offer several more 1:12 Minichamps motorbike replicas, signed by their World Championship winning riders, to pre-order.

From 500cc racing, these are John Surtees’ 1960 MV Agusta (P606001S), Wayne Rainey’s 1990 Yamaha YZR 500 (P903002S), and Kevin Schwantz’s 1993 Suzuki RGV 500 (P932034S).

From World Superbikes, there will be Carl Fogarty’s Ducati 916s from 1994 (P941202S) and 1995 (P951201S). A few more to add to your hall of fame!

Today we received Mattel’s two car 1:43 set commemorating Ferrari’s 2007 Constructors’ Championship (HW6239). Both F2007s of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa are in the metallic shade of red used in the second half of the season, and at just £39.99 it’s a very good value piece.

In other news, just to let anyone who missed out on Sebastien Vettel’s 1:18 2007 American Grand Prix BMW F1.07 (DC2710V) know that we now have one spare, after a customer’s card declined. It’s not on our website, as otherwise we would oversell, but it can be ordered over the phone on 0870 460 3456. First come, first served!

We’ve also reduced Felipe Massa’s 1:43 2007 Ferrari F2007 (DC27405) to clear our last half a dozen pieces. As our new self-imposed rule dictates, it has to be half price before it can go on our Sale site, so that’s what we’ve reduced it by!

Today we received three samples from Mattel of forthcoming releases in their 1:43 Elite series. These were the Ferrari Testarossa (HW5593), Gilles Villeneuve’s 1982 Ferrari 126 C2 (HW5580), and Michael Schumacher’s black Ferrari FXX (HW5591).

I have to say that I was impressed with the quality of all three of them, especially at their £24.99 pricepoint. They were fully finished samples too, so hopefully we will see them released in the not too distant future.

We also received July’s AUTOart delivery today. The highlight was definitely the first colourway of the Bugatti Veyron production car in their Signature Collection, in black and red (AA70906). As with their 1:12 Signature Collection Veyron, the piece of bodywork around the rear of the car is removable and there is an adjustable spring-loaded rear spoiler.

Also on the delivery were two replicas of the Porsche RS Spyder that we have been waiting some time for; the carbon fibre testcar (AA80773) and the yellow DHL sponsored car (AA80774). There were also two new Japanese GT cars, both Honda NSXs, in the colours of Takata (AA80498) and Epson (AA80499).

The big news today was that Minichamps announced that they will be releasing the 2007 and 2008 Le Mans Peugeot 908s in 1:18 scale. Both cars from 2007 will be replicated, and all three from this year. All five will be limited editions, ranging from 1,207 pieces to 4,208 pieces. At £54.99 each I assume these will be ‘sealed bodyshell’ replicas. You can view all five at the top of our New Announcements section.

Trofeu also announced one of their neat 1:43 two-car sets. This one is of two Ford Capris from the 1971 Nurburgring 6 Hours (TR2391), the #12 car that took pole position and the #14 car that won the race.

As you may have read yesterday, the new Minichamps delivery arrived while I was away. As well as the two new 2006 Rossi figures there was also his next 1:8 helmet, his 1997 version (P970846), and Colin Edwards’ 1:12 2007 Yamaha YZR-M1 (PO73005).

On four wheels we saw several new 1:43 releases, including the 1963 #193 Ford Cortina Mk.I from the Monte Carlo Rally of Taylor and Mella (P638293), the 1976 #40 Porsche 935 from Le Mans of Stommelen and Schurti (P766340), and the Queen’s 2002 Bentley State Limousine (P139700).

As for the German Grand Prix, what a race! Yes, it wasn’t great for us Raikkonen fans, but you’d have to be pretty pathetic to write off a weekend just because whoever you support didn’t do very well, especially when it had as much action as Hockenheim provided. Raikkonen did a lot of the overtaking too, but unfortunately it was only to get back to where he had started! As long as Mattel don’t end up re-releasing his 1:18 2008 Spanish Grand Prix win special as a ‘Last Win’ special!

The warehouse received our Minichamps delivery for the week, and it’s certainly one for the Rossi fans! The highlights are the 2006 sitting figure (PO60046) and the 2006 Sachsenring standing figure (PO60296). Two brand new Rossi figures in one go…..that doesn’t happen every day!

We’ll wait for Leigh to come in tomorrow to see what other gems are inside!