16th
February
2009
We received the rest of the new Minichamps delivery today. Some of these items we do have stock remaining of after fulfilling our pre-orders; quite a rare occurrence at the minute!
These items include the last ‘regular’ 1:43 2008 F1 car, Adrian Sutil’s Force India VJM01 (DC28420). And, of course, the 1:12 McLaren F1 in silver (PG133129)!
We received a new delivery from Spark as well, with their latest classic F1 car the most popular new release, of Jacques Laffite’s 1976 Ligier JS05 (SPK1630).
Away from new releases, IXO confirmed some new announcements today. The highlight is the next subject in their Le Mans Winners collection, the 1973 Matra MS670B of Henri Pescarolo and Gerard Larrouse (LM1973).
posted in Diecast, Other Cars, Formula 1 |
13th
February
2009
Today we received new deliveries from Mattel and Norev.
There were three new 1:18 cars from Mattel; the Ferrari 410 Superamerica in silver (HW2048) and black (HW2049), and the Michael Schumacher 2007 Ferrari F2007 testcar racesuit special (HW5423). There was also a new 1:43 replica, in the form of Chris Amon’s 1967 Ferrari 312 (HW5589).
Norev’s highlight in 1:18 was the 2007 Porsche RS Spyder of the Dyson team (NV187518). In 1:43, we received Fernando Alonso’s 2008 Renault R28 (DC28405NV).
Right at the end of the day we received two new items from Minichamps, both sold out to pre-orders. These were Sebastian Vettel’s 1:43 2007 Toro Rosso STR2 (DC27419V), and the Valentino Rossi 1:12 2004 ‘kissing’ figure (PO40246).
posted in Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
12th
February
2009
Yesterday it was Kyosho, today it was Sun Star’s turn to announce their 2009 subjects.
There will be four 1:18 2008 Ford Focus WRCs, of Mikko Hirvonen (SS3935), Jari-Matti Latvala (SS3937), Henning Solberg (SS3936), and Gigi Galli (SS3938). Sun Star’s prices have gone up however, quite significantly, to £51.99.
Some of the classic rally Escorts that had been previously announced but not yet released have also gone up to £51.99. So, a £12 saving for those of you who ordered them from us before the end of last year!
The most exciting road car subjects are the next variants of the 1:18 Ford Escort, the RS1600i, in red (SS4996) and black (SS4995). These are only £5 dearer than Sun Star’s roadgoing Escorts last year, at £34.99.
posted in Diecast, Other Cars |
11th
February
2009
All of Kyosho’s 1:18 2009 announcements are now ready to pre-order from our website! You can click here to view them in all their glory. To be honest, not a lot else to tell you about today, things are flat out here from the annual ‘post Nuremberg fall-out’ as we tackle putting everyone’s new announcements on our system and our website!
posted in Due Dates, Diecast, Other Cars |
11th
February
2009
Welcome to Leigh’s exclusive vidcast diary of the 2009 Nuremberg Toy Fair. Join him as he gets an inside look at all of the latest announcements and samples from some of the biggest manufacturers in the diecast business. As there were so many stands to see, we’ve had to break the podcast down into three parts;
Part 1:- Introduction To Nuremberg, Mattel
Part 2:- AUTOart, Sun Star, Minichamps
Part 3:- Minichamps, Kyosho, Norev, Bauer
Keep the comments rolling in. You’ll need quicktime installed to view the video on this post.
Nuremberg Toy Fair 2009 Part 1 - Diecast Legends Podcast [6:46m]:
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Nuremberg Toy Fair 2009 Part 2 - Diecast Legends Podcast [9:50m]:
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Nuremberg Toy Fair 2009 Part 3 - Diecast Legends Podcast [7:56m]:
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You can also view Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the Nuremberg footage on YouTube.
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.
posted in Podcast, Due Dates, Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
10th
February
2009
Last thing today Kyosho confirmed their new 2009 announcements. On the 1:18 rallying front it’s very exciting, with gems such as Paddy Hopkirk’s 1964 Monte Carlo Rally winning Mini (KY8102A), Walter Rohrl’s 1980 World Championship winning Fiat 131 (KY8373A), and Carlos Sainz’s 1993 Lancia Delta in the Repsol livery (KY8342D). All these, and the other 50 odd subjects, will be available to pre-order tomorrow.
The prices on all of Kyosho’s existing replicas also went up today. Almost all of their replicas are now going for £75 - £80.
Finally, there was some confusion about the Minichamps 1:18 replicas of the Ford Escort RS1800 (PG084470) and RS2000 (PG084300). We photographed some white samples of them at Nuremberg this year (and last year actually!), but it was unclear as to whether they would be coming through in white or if they were just unpainted. However, it has now been confirmed that they will both be white.
posted in Diecast, Other Cars |
9th
February
2009
Today we received the new Minichamps delivery, headlined by the latest 1:12 Valentino Rossi figure, the 2001 Mugello riding version (PO10176). It is in the dramatic ‘knee down’ pose, and is almost a sell-out on release. Notably, the Minichamps Rossi limited edition numbers seem to be coming down, as this one is limited to just 3,996 pieces worldwide.
Also new in were the blue McLaren M26s of James Hunt (P784397) and Patrick Tambay (P784398) from the 1978 USA GP East.
The last bit of Minichamps news today is that we now have their 2009 catalogue available to pre-order (MCCAT09). We should see it next week.
Finally, Mattel announced a price reduction at the end of the day. That’s not a typo, they really did! All of their 1:18 2009 announcements (excluding Formula One and Super Elite subjects) have been reduced by £10. Will the other manufacturers follow their lead?
posted in Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
9th
February
2009
Welcome to the sixty forth Leigh’s Diary Vidcast. This week, as our diecast guru Leigh Hobden was away at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, we were surprised when we came across another load of embarassing bloopers and outtakes, which we just couldn’t resist putting up for all to see! Be sure to check back later this week, when we’ll be showing Leigh’s diecast diary from the 2009 Nuremberg Toy Fair. Keep the comments rolling in. You’ll need quicktime installed to view the video on this post.
Leighs Diary Vidcast Episode 64 [2:37m]:
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You can also view this podcast on youtube by clicking here
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.
posted in Podcast, Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
6th
February
2009
The first visit of the day for Leigh and co was at Norev, who were proudly displaying Tom Kristensen’s 2008 Audi A4 1:18 replica (NV188326). But they also surprised us by displaying Mattias Ekstrom’s 2008 Audi as well, finished in the striking Red Bull livery. Perhaps there are more DTM cars in the pipeline? Time will tell.
Kyosho were next up, who had probably one of the biggest announcements of the fair, in the form of Paddy Hopkirk’s Mini which won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964. We at Grand Prix Legends have been suggesting this replica for a long time, and we’re sure this’ll be a very popular release. Also in the limelight were Walter Rohrl’s 1980 World Championship-winning Fiat and Carlos Sainz’s Repsol-liveried Lancia from 1993. Lots of potential there then!
Mondo Motors also had some tricks up their sleeves by announcing 1:18 replicas of the four-door Lamborghini Estoque (pronounced Es-to-kay) and the Pagani Zonda F.
The most unusual replica of the day though was spotted on the Bauer stand, who displayed a 1:18 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 encrusted nose-to-tail with Swarovski diamonds. What could stand out in a collection more then that!
Back in the U.K, new deliveries arrived in the warehouse. Mattel supplied the 1:18 Ferrari Dino 246 in yellow (HW2045), Michael Schumacher’s 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA in 1:18 (HW2077) and the 1:18 Ferrari 575M Maranello in red (HW2053).
Also from Solido and Universal Hobbies, we received the 1:18 2007 Peugeot 908 (SL118004) and the 1:16 JCB Majorloader (J2711).
posted in Diecast, Other Cars, Formula 1 |
