6th
October
2008
As we get into October we start the fun process of determining which models we will see this year, and which ones are at least one more Christmas away. To that end we send barrages of e-mails to all of our suppliers asking ‘this year or next’?
Today Minichamps confirmed some replicas that we will not see this year. For Valentino Rossi, we will not see his 1:12 2008 Yamaha (PO83046), or his 1:12 2007 specials from Assen (PO73096) and Phillip Island (PO73196), until 2009. For Lewis Hamilton, we will see his 1:43 2008 McLaren MP4/23 this year (DC28422), but the 1:18 example (DC2822) will be touch and go, so we will probably have to wait for that one. Another Minichamps subject confirmed for 2009 is Nicky Hayden’s 1:12 2006 Honda RC211V (PO61069).
We also received some samples from Oxford Diecast’s new 1:43 ‘Oxford Automobile Company’ range. This is Oxford’s new collection of British subjects, including such models as the Jaguar Mk.VII that won the 1956 Monte Carlo Rally (OXF001), and a Daimler DS420 hearse (OXF003)! You can visit the Oxford 1:43 Road Car range to see everything announced so far.
posted in Due Dates, Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
6th
October
2008
Welcome to the forty-eighth 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 48 [4:03m]:
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Leighs Diary Vidcast Episode 48 [4:02m]:
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You can also view this podcast on youtube by clicking here
These are the products featured on this week’s podcast:
1/18 McLaren MP4/22 1st Canadian Grand Prix 2007 #2 L. Hamilton - Minichamps
1/12 Honda RC211V 2002 #46 V. Rossi - Minichamps (Re-release)
1/43 Tyrrell 012 Monaco Grand Prix 1984 #4 S. Bellof - Minichamps
1/18 Ferrari 250 GTO 1962 Red - Kyosho (SOLD OUT)
1/18 Mini Cooper Clubman 2008 Silver - Kyosho
1/18 Mini Cooper S Clubman 2008 Red - Kyosho (SOLD OUT)
1/18 Porsche 901 1964 Ivory White - CMC
1/12 Honda RC30 1988 - Universal Hobbies
1/18 Porsche 928 1978 White - AUTOart
1/18 Porsche 928 1978 Blue - AUTOart
1/18 Ferrari F430 2007 Metallic Red - BBR/Kyosho (SOLD OUT)
1/43 Aston Martin V8 Coupe 1977 Blue - SMTS
1/43 Aston Martin V8 Volante 1977 Black - SMTS
1/43 Aston Martin DBS V8 1967 Red - SMTS
1/43 Aston Martin V8 Volante POW 1986 Green - SMTS
1/43 Signed Thrust SSC 1997 - Spark
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 Diecast, Podcast, Other Cars, Aircraft, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
29th
September
2008
With the way that qualifying went on Saturday, it looked like another Massa-owned weekend in the dark at Singapore. But never forget the theory that ‘anything can happen in Formula One’. It certainly did! As the circus moves to Japan in two weeks time, no doubt that Hamilton will be out in force to repeat the domination he showed there last year.
For the benefit of any Raikkonen fans, the whereabouts of Leigh for the Japanese Grand Prix are unclear, so there’s a chance that the jinx could be over…for now!
A quick congratulations to Valentino Rossi on bagging his eighth career World Championship at the weekend, re-establishing himself at the top of the two-wheeled pecking order!
Things were not so action-packed in the diecast world today, but Neo refused to let it go by completely quiet by informing us of three new variants of the 1974 Baur-converted BMW. There’s the 325i E30 in red (NEO43293), the 323i E21 in red (NEO43288) and finally the 2002 E10 in metallic blue (NEO43283).
posted in Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
23rd
September
2008
As he mentioned in yesterday’s entry, Leigh has continued his 2008 Formula One world tour with a stop in Singapore for this weekend’s Grand Prix action. We’re wondering though whether he has heard the outcome of the Hamilton/Belgium appeal.
Anyway, on with the diecast, and once again, a massive diecast release has happened while Leigh’s out of the office. Today marks the end of a four-year wait with the arrival of Universal Hobbies’ 1:12 Honda RC30 road bike (UH88030). All signs are hopefully good for a soonish release of the Joey Dunlop version (UH88031), but if you’re still deciding which version to go for, you’d better make your minds up quickly before the Universal Hobbies £5 price rise takes effect on the 1st October.
The bike news carries on with AUTOart announcing a new 1:12 scale replica of the Suzuki Katana GSX 1100S (AA12151). Finished in silver, it’s good to see AUTOart are keeping Minichamps on their toes in this area of the diecast market.
We were also sent details of a new announcement from Spark, this being the 2008 Mazda Furai concept car in 1:43 scale (SPK1000). Since the car itself was publicy unveiled earlier on this year, we noticed it attracted some attention on the forum. So we hope that this new announcement means some diecast prayers will be answered!
posted in Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP |
22nd
September
2008
Loads of manufacturers ganged up on us today by releasing new models!
From Minichamps we received Lewis Hamilton’s 1:18 2007 Canadian Grand Prix McLaren MP4/22 (DC2702C), which is a limited edition of 7,999 examples, and the re-release of Valentino Rossi’s 1:12 2002 Honda RC211V (PO27146).
Mattel released the 1:18 1947 Ferrari ‘circuit debut’ 125S from Piacenza (HW2072), while CMC released their 1:18 replica of the Porsche 901 in ivory (CMC067C), and Premium Classics released their 1:12 recreation of another Porsche, the 911 Carrera in red (PRE10150).
Schuco also released their 1:12 replica of the VW camper van (SCH190), while we had two new signed subjects from Jason. These were the 1:43 Thrust SSC signed by Andy Green (SPK001S), and the 1:18 2008 Gulf Aston Martin DBR9 #009 showcar signed by Darren Turner, David Brabham and Antonio Garcia (AA80800S).
Red Line announced two new 1:43 subjects today, this year’s Ferrari F2008s. They will be Kimi Raikkonen’s winning car from Spain (RL178), and Felipe Massa’s winning car from France (RL179).
It’s that time again when all the Raikkonen fans hate me when I say I’m going off to a Grand Prix! I’m flying to Singapore tomorrow, and will be back in the office next Thursday. We’re going to keep the diary going in my absence though, as we have a responsibility as the ONLY daily diecast blog in the world to keep loyal diary readers informed of all the latest news! Just don’t expect the same levels of engaging charm, wit and modesty as when I make the entries!
posted in Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
22nd
September
2008
Welcome to the forty-seventh 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 47 [4:26m]:
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Leighs Diary Vidcast Episode 47 [4:25m]:
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These are the products featured on this week’s podcast:
1/18 Audi 90 Quattro 1st Mid Ohio 1989 #4 H-J. Stuck - Minichamps
1/18 Benetton B191 1991 #19 N. Piquet - Minichamps
1/12 Triumph Hurricane 1973 - Minichamps
1/12 Rossi Riding Figure 1997 - Minichamps
1/43 McLaren MP4/22 1st Canadian Grand Prix 2007 #2 L. Hamilton - Minichamps
1/43 Renault R28 2008 #5 - Minichamps
1/43 Mercedes W196 British Grand Prix 1954 J-M. Fangio - Minichamps
1/43 Bentley Continental GT World Ice Speed Record Breaker - Minichamps
1/43 RUF CTR3 2007 Silver - Spark (SOLD OUT)
1/24 Porsche 917/20 Le Mans 1971 #23 R. Joest/ W. Kauhsen - Spark (SOLD OUT)
1/43 Ferrari F2007 2nd Brazilian Grand Prix 2007 #5 F. Massa - Red Line
1/18 Ferrari F2001 - 1st Hungarian Grand Prix 2001 #1 M. Schumacher - Mattel Elite
1/12 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Coupe 1984 Red - Premium Classix
1/12 Kawasaki Z1000 Mk II 1979 - Wits
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, Aircraft, Formula 1 |
16th
September
2008
Now fully dried out from Monza, it was unsurprising to see so many people clamouring for a Vettel First Win Special on our forum! That’s three that Minichamps will hopefully do from this year now, along with Kubica (Canada) and Kovalainen (Hungary).
You already know that we received the 1:43 Hamilton First Win (DC27402C) and 1:12 Valentino Rossi 1997 riding figure (P970146) while I was away.
Also on the new Minichamps delivery was the first 2008 Formula One race car, Fernando Alonso’s 1:43 Renault R28 (DC28405). I was impressed that Minichamps chose to replicate it complete with the ‘shark fin’ engine cover, as it wasn’t used at the very start of the season.
Another interesting release was the 1:43 Ice Speed Record Bentley Continental GT of Juha Kankkunen (P139026). There’s even a nice touch with an ice effect on the inlay!
posted in Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
15th
September
2008
Welcome to the forty-sixth 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 46 [3:52m]:
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Download
Leighs Diary Vidcast Episode 46 [3:51m]:
Play Now |
Play in Popup |
Download
These are the products featured on this week’s podcast:
1/18 Shelby Cobra Super Snake 1966 - Shelby Collectibles
1/18 Batmobile - Mattel Super Elite
1/18 Ferrari F2002 1st French Grand Prix 2002 #1 M. Schumacher - Mattel Elite
1/43 Thrust SSC - Spark
1/43 Mercedes Bionic Concept Car - Spark
1/43 Shadow DN4 1974 #101 J. Oliver - Spark (SOLD OUT)
1/43 Jaguar XJR8 Le Mans 1987 #6 J.Watson/M.Brundle/A.Hahne - Spark
1/18 Benetton B191B 1992 #20 M. Brundle - Minichamps
1/43 Chaparral 2F 1st BOAC 500 1967 #1 M. Spence/ P. Hill - Minichamps
1/43 Bentley Brooklands White Line - Minichamps
1/43 Opel Kadett C 1974 Yellow - Minichamps
1/43 Volkswagen 1302 1970 Yellow - Minichamps
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 |
9th
September
2008
We received the new Minichamps schedule today. It covers the second week of September; then, as expected, there is nothing for the rest of the month while Minichamps does their stock take, then it covers the first three weeks of October as well.
Next week we will see the first 2008 Formula One race car, Fernando Alonso’s Renault R28 (DC28405). This is the first time in a few years that Mattel haven’t been the first manufacturer to get a Formula One race car out!
There will also be the re-release of Valentino Rossi’s 1:12 2002 Honda RC211V (PO27146), Stefan Bellof’s 1:43 Tyrrell 012 from the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix (P840104), and Nelson Piquet’s 1:18 1991 Benetton B191 (PG910020).
Then, after the stock take (week beginning 6th October), we will see a whole host of 1:43 road cars, including the 2004 Lamborghini Gallardo in yellow (P103502), and the 2006 Ford S-Max in metallic green (P085401).
The week beginning 13th October is dominated by Valentino Rossi. We will see the re-release of his 1:12 2003 Honda RC211V (PO37146), his 2001 1:8 helmet (PO10846), and the 1999 Aprilia ‘knee down’ riding figure (P990146). There will also be the next 1:12 classic bike, the Triumph Hurricane (P133600), as well as Marco Melandri’s 1:12 2002 Aprilia RSV 250 (PO20003).
The last week of the schedule (week beginning 20th October) will see Michael Schumacher’s 1992 Benetton B191B released in two scales, 1:18 (PG920119) and 1:43 (P920119).
As for the Belgian Grand Prix, the last four laps were absolutely fantastic (despite a Finnish-driven Ferrari hitting the wall!), although there was something a bit unsatisfactory about coming home Sunday night and getting a text message from a friend saying that the guy who had crossed the line first was now not the race winner after all!
posted in Due Dates, Diecast, Other Cars, Moto GP, Formula 1 |
