17th
April
2009
It was looking like a quiet day today, until we had a new IXO delivery late in the afternoon.
There were two very significant 1:43 subjects on it; the latest (eighteenth) release in the La Storia collection, Jean Alesi’s 1992 Ferrari F92A (IXSF18), and Valentino Rossi’s Ford Focus WRC from the 2006 Monza Rally (RAM255).
That’s all the diecast news; in F1 news, will Ferrari get their first point of this season at Shanghai this weekend? From today’s practice times, it doesn’t exactly look like a foregone conclusion!
posted in Diecast, Other Cars, Formula 1 |
16th
April
2009
The diecast news is dominated by rallying today.
We received the Trofeu 1:43 three car set that commemorates Subaru’s 1-2-3 in the 1995 RAC Rally, courtesy of Colin McRae, Carlos Sainz and Richard Burns (TR691). That of course was where Colin took his only world title, while Sainz and Burns also became champions during their careers. Limited to just 499 pieces worldwide, this is a very special set indeed.
Sun Star also announced a couple of new 1:18 classic rally replicas. The most popular one will be Hannu Mikkola’s winning Ford Escort from the 1979 RAC Rally (SS4445), while Michele Mouton’s winning Audi Quattro from the 1982 Acropolis (SS4195) has also been confirmed.
posted in Diecast, Other Cars |
15th
April
2009
With the welcome news that the Brawn diffuser is legal, you can now pre-order your Minichamps Brawn replicas safe in the knowledge that the team will not lose any of its results from the beginning of the season! You can click here to see what will be available.
We received two new 1:43 replicas from SMTS, of the controversial twin-chassis Lotus 88 from 1981. It was designed to get around the ban on ground effect, a typical example of Colin Chapman’s ingenuity, but the FIA decided to ban it after complaints from all the other teams.
Going by today’s standards, Lotus would have been hauled in front of the FIA every week as its rivals sought to get its latest aero update banned, because they hadn’t thought of it!
Anyway, we have the Lotus 88 that Elio de Angelis campaigned before the car was banned (SMTS247), and the 88B that Nigel Mansell failed to qualify for that year’s British Grand Prix (SMTS093).
posted in Diecast, Formula 1 |
14th
April
2009
We received new deliveries from Minichamps, Spark, and Mattel today.
From Minichamps, there were the two 1:12 2007 Yamaha YZR-M1s of Makoto Tamada (PO73006) and Sylvain Guintoli (PO73050). In 1:43, there were three 1:43 Porsche 911 GT3s from the 2008 Sebring 12 Hours; car 45 (P087845), 46 (P087846) and 87 (P087887).
Spark released their next two 1:43 Le Mans winners, the Porsche 953 from 1979 (SPA43L079) and the Porsche 956 from 1982 (SPA43L082).Other significant subjects were the classic Mini Clubman (SPK1503), and the Lotus 340R (SPK1230).
Finally, Mattel released the second, third and fourth cars in their five replica ‘Ferrari 200 Grand Prix wins’ series. These were Niki Lauda’s 1974 312 B3 (HW5601B), Alain Prost’s 1990 641 (HW5602B), and Michael Schumacher’s 2002 F2002 (HW5603B). Why hasn’t the most important one (Raikkonen 2007 F2007 – HW5604B) been released yet?!
posted in Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
14th
April
2009
A special edition of the Leigh’s Diary webcasts, filmed inside the Minichamps Museum in Aachen, Germany. Leigh takes us on a guided tour, exploring rare and iconic Minichamps replicas from past and present. Leigh also gets a unique look at the making of a diecast replica. Also on show are 1:8 Formula One cars, as well as the official Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher collections. Enjoy!
Keep the comments rolling in. You’ll need quicktime installed to view the video on this post.
Leighs Diary Vidcast - Minichamps Museum Special [9:39m]:
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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 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, Formula 1 |
9th
April
2009
Once again we got the news late in the day, but it was worth waiting for, as Minichamps confirmed their 2009 Formula One race car announcements! You can click here to see them all.
As expected, in 1:43 all the ‘other’ teams are being replicated (the obvious exception being Mattel-exclusive Ferrari), with the McLarens coming in £1 more expensive than the others because of their fancy paint.
In 1:18, three teams will be replicated, but each has their own unique price point! The McLarens are £69.99, the BMWs are £64.99, and the Renaults are £59.99.
The Renaults will not come with working steering and, like last year, the Renault packaging will have the drivers’ numbers on, but not their names, as we assume Norev will have the licence to replicate packaging with the drivers’ names on again. The Minichamps replicas will still be 100% accurate with having the drivers’ names on the cars though, just not on the boxes!
I’m surprised that a Vettel Red Bull hasn’t been announced in 1:18, but if he wins again this year, you can expect that situation to be reversed.
The other piece of news today is that we unexpectedly received the next 1:18 CMC Ferrari Sharknose, the Phil Hill Monza version (CMC068). As ever with CMC, we only have a couple spare from this first delivery after fulfilling our pre-orders. Move quickly or you may have to wait for our second delivery which will follow in a few weeks.
And by the way, Happy Easter!
posted in Due Dates, Diecast, Formula 1 |
9th
April
2009
Diecast Legends presents Austin Hobden; International Man Of Diecast. Dr Evil has returned, and he’s looking to exploit the world of diecast on a big scale. There’s only one man who can stop him; Austin Hobden! Together with his trusty sidekick Pricia Riser, the duo head off to Dr Evil’s diecast lair to thwart his plans and save collectors the world over. Groovy baby!
Keep the comments rolling in. You’ll need quicktime installed to view the video on this post.
Leighs Diary Vidcast - Austin Hobden; International Man Of Diecast [5:35m]:
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Download
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 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 |
8th
April
2009
It seems that last evening’s developments rather got the best of our Leigh. So he decided to take a day out….to the Minichamps Museum of all places! Perhaps he’s hoping to get sneaky samples of the Brawn GP cars or something.
Speaking of Minichamps, we had some re-releases arrive today, in the form of 1:18 Le Mans-winning Porsche 956Ls from both 1982 (PG826901) and 1983 (PG836903). New releases that were in on the 1:43 mix were the Porsche 936 which won at Le Mans in 1976 (P766620), George Lazenby’s Aston Martin DBS from the Bond film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (P137600C) and the White Line BMW M6 coupe (P026120).
The highlights from Spark were the 1:43 #61 Jaguar XJR12 from the 1990 Daytona 24hr race (SPK750) and the white Gumpert Apollo S from 2005 (SPK667).
posted in Diecast, Other Cars |
7th
April
2009
It was left pretty late in the day, but we received Minichamps’ confirmation that they will be replicating the 2009 Brawn GP Formula One cars!
And they’re not going about it lightly either, with no less than 11 replicas confirmed.
Starting off with the limited edition Australian Grand Prix specials, there will be Brawn BGP001s for both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello in 1:18 (DC2922A and DC2923A) and 1:43 scale (DC29422A and DC29423A), and a 1:43 two car set commemorating their 1-2 in the race as well (DC29422A2).
There will also be showcars for Jenson (DC29422P) and Rubens (DC29423P) in 1:43.
Finally, there will also be four ‘late season decoration’ replicas released as well. Obviously, we don’t know what these are going to look like yet, but it would seem that Minichamps does think that the Brawns are going to change appearance at some point during the season, presumably with a greater Virgin influence. Again, there will be 1:18 (DC2922B and DC2923B) and 1:43 (DC29422B and DC29423B) replicas for Button and Barrichello.
By the way, the 1:18 cars will be from Minichamps’ new series that will not come with working steering.
posted in Diecast, Formula 1 |
