December 2005 - February 2006 Archive
17-February-2006 What could get the weekend off to a better start than the arrival of this phenomenal BMW M3 GTR 2005 Nurburgring 2005 Winners set ?
Our sources at Damon Hill BMW advise that this authentic 'race dirty' set is limited to 3000 pieces and comes with a part number of 80420410832 - contact Neil Banks if you are interested.
Also if you are looking for one of the 'Gold Medal' promo Porsches we featured in our last update these are being sold exclusively at the following website for 59,95 Euros Click Here!
We also have received some further information in respect of our last update in relation to the sale of items on eBay. If you do sell a converted Minichamps model you cannot put the name Minichamps or Paul's Model Art in the title or description. Also not allowed is to show the Minichamps packaging or logo in any photographs that you post. Of course you can say it comes with original packaging but again you must not post pictures of it or mention Minichamps in any way.
Also announced this week is the Minichamps 2006 F1 Show car programme
12-February-2006 I'd like to start today by issuing a warning to everyone who sells or is considering selling any Minichamps models on eBay or any other auction site for that matter. I received a disturbing email from a collector this week who had five of his auctions pulled by eBay after receiving a complaint from Minichamps - the five models in question were all converted to tobacco livery. This was then followed up with a letter to the sellers home address from a legal firm representing Minichamps demanding over 2000 Euros by way of compensation for Breach of Copyright - understandably Minichamps are clamping down so please let this be a warning.
A new Porsche 911 GT3 Carrera Cup promotional model has been released, it's an Araxa Buchbinder Racing Goldmedal Edition piloted by Mark Wanecke part number 403 056 227 - whilst we aware this item is a limited edition unfortunately we don't know how many have been produced
Whilst on the subject of Porsche it seems the Vertu model we featured last week is reportedly limited to 1500 pieces - 750 of these have been released to Vertu and the remainder are still at Minichamps to be released at a later date.
09-February-2006 A couple of new Porsche models to keep you busy - the first is a 911 GT3 Carrera Cup car from Hockenheim 23 October 2005 driven by Marko Barthlomeyczik. Limited to 996 pieces with a part number of 403 056 216 this item is special promotional item for Bergmann & Franz.
Also announced today by Amerang is the Porsche GT3 RS Black version test car which is being added to the 2006 release schedule -
400 056971 Porsche 911 GT3 RS Le Mans Test Yamagishi/Pompidou/Blanchemain T2M Motorsport (what are the odds of a T2M promo version ?)
I checked out eBay this week and found no fewer than six London Toyfair Audi models up for auction - it seems some people have no morals !
03-February-2006 A new Porsche 997 promo model surfaced on German eBay last week which was given away by the mobile phone company Vertu. We don't have any further information at the moment but will post some as soon as we do.
I also received an email this week from a collector in relation to the recent Toyfair Audi and I have to agree with him entirely. He makes the point that the majority of these goodwill gifts are simply put on eBay to be auctioned off in the name of greed. Why don't Minichamps ask for these to be removed from sale and request their return as it's obvious that some people cannot accept something for the purpose for which is was intended ?
27-January-2006 The London Toyfair took place this week and the commemorative Audi A4 model for the event has already made an appearance on eBay. Our mole reports that an early release 'top secret' catalogue was available to the trade and it includes driver figures for the motorbikes and also Steve McQueen's bike from the 'Great Escape' will be produced.
Unfortunately there were no new models on show as it seems these have been saved for the Nurnburg fair next week however a list of some of the forthcoming F1 models can be found Here! under 'New Stocks & Info'
16-January-2006 World Exclusive! It seems the Minichamps Toyfair models for 2006 will be the Audi A4 DTM 'Street' version in silver. The London Toyfair model is limited to 192 pieces and will be given away to trade customers at the British International Toy & Hobby Show between the 25-28 January - as in previous years the model will come complete with Minichamps logos and markings to commemorate the relevant show.
13-January-2006 Who mentioned Friday the 13th ?? It didn't take Minichamps long to realise these would be popular - McLaren only returned to the track on Wednesday 11th January at Jerez for the first test of 2006 running two interim MP 4/20's in orange livery. All the following are due for delivery in Q2.
First numbers are 1/43 followed by 1/18
Also the McLaren Team Editions are ready for shipment and should arrive within the next week.
06-January-2006 If anyone has been looking round for a watch recently you may have spotted one of these models in TAG Heuer dealers around the UK. It's a 1/18 scale 2005 McLaren MP 4/19 Juan Pablo Montoya Test Car part number 533 051880.
Apparently there are only 50 of these in existence and they all have to be returned to TAG Heuer at the end of the promotion. The car comes in a standard new style 1/18 McLaren Collection box and the UPC label is printed and not an aftermarket sticker so this should help determine if the car is an original or a fake.
03-January-2006 If ever you get fed up with reading some of the drivel I sometimes post then you could always try out these two websites which I'm sure you will agree are terrific reference points! My old friend and Dutch diecast master Ivo Beuken has spent a couple of days over the festive period updating his superb F1 Minichamps database with the 2005 additions from Pauls Model Art. Click Here! Another Dutch based website is the superb Fernando Alonso website which contains details of everything relating to the current World Champion.
02-January-2006 We start the year with news of a new website. Our friends at RaceZone have come up with the idea of a comprehensive online guide of diecast models available for the champions of all respective formulae Click Here!
If you are having difficulty locating a Renault dealership in your area or the cost of travelling to one to pick up any of the F1 dealer promos far outweighs the cost then JG Car Collectables have the majority for sale at their online store.
Also the mystery of the Williams FW 27 Heidfeld Michelin model we featured a few weeks back continues - nobody at Williams can seem to get to the bottom of it so if you have any information on the model then please email me. What makes the matter even more intriguing is the fact that this model appears to be missing from the list of M-Creative models too so it may be the reason could be due to some licensing issues.
REVIEW OF 2005
As yet another year draws to a close here we are again with another one of my annual reviews. First of all I’d like to thank everyone who took the trouble to email me with news items over the last twelve months as without your input the popularity of this site would not be possible – evident by the fact that we have just exceeded our 400,000th hit – not bad for an amateur operation I’m sure you’ll agree!How can we best sum up 2005? It seemed as though a mad professor had taken over control at Aachen if the number of promotional models released this year were anything to go by, no matter what you collected these items kept popping up in the unlikeliest of places. The job of keeping track of the models coming out of Japan seemed like a full time occupation in itself as Kyosho seemed to be responsible for releasing a new model every couple of weeks, the Taka Q Porsche, Toyota GT1 and Japanese Power models to name but a few.
It wasn’t only Japan that got in on the act, the French automotive magazine ‘Auto Hebdo’ were responsible for a couple of McLaren and Porsche road cars with the latter being repackaged and passed off as earlier rarer boxed versions by the fakers on eBay. The Porsche 911 promotional models continued in their popularity this year and are now the subject of speculators buying multiples in order to make a hefty profit later on.The most controversial story not only in 2005 but also since the birth of Paul’s Model Art were the releases of a certain set of models to coincide with the Canadian Grand Prix and they had nothing to do with tobacco either! These items started to appear at the circuit on the Friday prior to the race however no sooner had these items been shipped than the threat of lawsuits and writs were flying round like there was no tomorrow. Were they real or fake, who commissioned them and where did they originate from were some of the questions being asked. The answers to these didn’t matter one iota as collectors made up their own minds and they became the hottest items of the year. In fact so controversial they are now part of Minichamps folklore alongside the Michael Schumacher Collection #17 and the Villeneuve #12 Reynard 941.
On the plus side the year finally saw Minichamps finally take ownership for exposing the fakers on eBay. They have requested that collectors email them with details of any ‘suspicious’ models they come across and this is not before time - something we have been crusading for since the inception of this website way back in 2001.They have even gone to the trouble of putting a ‘gallery of shame’ on the official Minichamps website complete with photographs.
Some of the other hottest items of the year were the ‘Toyfair BMW’s’ that were produced in exceptionally low numbers and commanded high prices on eBay. Also from the BMW stable were the superb ‘Flavours of Asia’ series, something totally different that collectors warmed to. On the motorcycle front the prices of some of the earlier pieces reached prices never seen before on eBay however it seems the ever expanding catalogue of bikes will see a similar situation to formula one models in the not too distant future – too much product and not enough people to collect it. The demise of the Williams BMW partnership this year meant an end of the BMW F1 dealer released models that have been popular for a number of years now. Also the announcement of Michelin’s withdrawal from F1 will mean the 2005 M-Creative Bibendum models will be the last – something that I’m sure will please a lot of people.Well as midnight rapidly approaches and a New Year beckons what will 2006 hold? The standard of the models being released by other manufacturers has meant that Minichamps have upped the ante in order to keep their position as market leader so I’m sure there will be some fantastic models for next year. I’d like the website to have more appeal next year so would welcome more information for our readers on motorcycles and road cars. Similarly information on Japanese releases would be a great help so if you can assist in any of these areas then please don’t hesitate to contact me. Have a great New Year and enjoy the hobby.
28-December-2005 I'm now beginning to wonder how many models are actually out there that we don't know about. A Japanese collector has contacted me today to point out that there are actually two versions of the R24 driverless car we featured a couple of days back !!
It seems a full tobacco liveried version was handed out to Renault VIP guests in the 2005 season complete with a team cap, media guide bag, an umbrella and a laptop bag. This Mild Seven version with factory applied decals has part number 433 040099 whereas the standard car was released under 403 040199 - Click Here for full details. These cars are actually R24 race cars and not show cars.
25-December-2005 Merry Christmas everyone !
It appears the three March 792 Suzuka Legend models have now been repackaged in standard black and white packaging and are on sale at Japanese retailers just like we predicted a few weeks back.
If anyone is at a loose end on Tuesday 27th December and needs a diecast fix then there is a toyfair at Donington Park, doors open at 10.30.
22-December-2005 I'm getting to the point where I'm wondering how many F1 models Minichamps actually release during the course of a year. The reason why ? - I was having a trawl through eBay the other day and spotted a model I had missed when it was originally released - the Renault R24 dealer edition driverless show car (part number 7711237670). After some further investigation it seems an R25 driverless show car has also been produced (part number 7711237941) which Grand Prix Miniatures are stocking at the moment - both these items were 1,000 piece issues.
I'm puzzled why these promotional models are produced in the first place when you consider that car manufacturers do little in the way to promote them (with the exception of BMW) and in some cases if you try to order them via some dealerships they seem to turn their noses up at you. I recently spotted the Toyota F1 dealer editions of the TF105 race cars had surfaced on eBay so I logged onto the Toyota F1 website only to find there was no trace of them. I decided to take the plunge as I thought I may have missed the boat eventually picking up a Schumacher version from eBay however the Trulli version seems somewhat more elusive. I decided to email Toyota only to be told that they had sold out but were awaiting another batch. A friend eventually provided me with the part number for the item and confirmed they were in plentiful supply via his local dealer however when I tried locally it drew a blank ! I'm sure if it wasn't for the numerous message boards and eagle eyed collectors these dealer models would never see the light of day as nobody would know of their existence.
The 2005 DTM Mercedes dealer edition cars are due for release in the next couple of weeks with the following part numbers -
20-December-2005 A new BMW promotional model has surfaced on eBay however this must be one of the most exclusive Minichamps items ever. It's a Paul G Lang 'Directors Special' which is limited to 144 pieces and has only been given to very close friends and customers of Paul's Model Art. In this case Mr Lang's generosity has been rewarded by the fact that the recipient has decided to sell it on eBay !
The regular subscribers to Mini Car Fan will be pleased to know that the latest issue (number 11) is available to pre-order on the Hobby Link Japan website.
18-December-2005 Our friends at Eeano.Com confirm that their sources state those Kimi Raikkonen Monaco First Win models we featured are in stock with Mercedes Benz in Germany however they are not due to be released until February 2006 ! This probably explains why our previous enquiries have drawn a complete blank with dealerships in the UK, US & Canada - it doesn't explain though how two have already appeared on eBay.
Important Notice - Just to make everyone aware that I'm getting critically low on webshell space (Angelfire impose a 20Mb limit as part of the free agreement) so in the new year it will be necessary for me to start deleting the earliest archive page as I add the newer information to the archive - I will let you know when this happens and which page will be deleted so it gives anyone who wishes time to download the information.
15-December-2005 A new promotional model has surfaced this time a McLaren MP 4/20 Kimi Raikkonen model released to celebrate his first win at Monaco. These are produced for Mercedes Benz and are an individually numbered limited edtion of 999 pieces, part number B6 696 2236.
We have also managed to locate the source of the Fernanado Alonso Renault R25 Chinese Grand Prix model - it seems these were commissioned by a company called Minimax who are based in Macau.
Also we have learnt that the standard boxed Minichamps Alonso R25 race car is
rapidly becoming a scarce item and according to reports are sold out at
wholesalers. It seems that the majority of the production run will be used
to produce the 'Phoenix liveried' car which is due out in 2006, in addition to
this model there have also been the Chinese GP model and the Renault dealer
editions.
13-December-2005 We have managed to obtain some further information on the Kumho Tyres F3 promotional model we featured yesterday - we have also been contacted by a Japanese collector who has supplied us with an updated photo (see yesterdays update) It seems these items were produced by Paul's Model Art for Kumho and ECSTA Formula Technology who sponsor both the Dutch Marlboro Masters Series and the Formula 300 Series.
12-December-2005 There has been a total lack of news to report over recent days however I hope today's update is worth the wait. I made the trip down to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham yesterday and I wasn't disappointed.
The model which created a lot of interest at the show yesterday was this superb dealer boxed Audi Sport Quattro S1 from the San Remo Rally 1985 complete with 'HB' tobacco markings, part number 503 05 008 03. The Audi twin set we featured last week was also popular with collectors - the part number for that beauty is 503 05 005 03.
A Porsche promotional model has surfaced on eBay - it's a 911 GT3 RSR 'Street' version produced for the 'Porsche Modelcollectors Group' (it's their 2005 club model) and is limited to 250 pieces. In view of the low production run on this car we should see prices for these hitting similar levels to those the 'Ocher Bend' model achieved.
I spotted this one on German eBay last night - a Kumho Tyres Opel Dallara F3. Whilst Minichamps confirmed that they did in fact produce a promotional model for Kumho under part number 403030399 they said it was difficult to tell from the eBay picture if this was the actual model.
02-December-2005 This superb Audi Sport Quattro dealer set has surfaced on eBay recently complete with a 'skeleton style' chassis of the original 1985 Sport Quattro car which is something groundbreaking for Minichamps.
Unfortunately despite our best efforts we have been unable to find out any further information on the BMW FW27 Michelin promo model we featured last week - although the model appears to some sort of BMW promotional item enquiries with BMW have drawn a blank so we suspect it may have been commissioned exclusively for Michelin as some sort of corporate handout. I've only ever seen two of these items on eBay both with German sellers so if you have any further information i.e. part number or better still you own one and have a better photo then let me know.
