June - August 2003 Archive
28-August-2003 Yet another 'McLaren 100 Grand Prix' promotional model has surfaced, this time a Loctite version. It is therefore possible that every sponsor of the McLaren F1 team commissioned a model for this particular race however to date we have been unable to verify if the first one we discovered is in fact genuine.
The question that also needs to be answered is if they are indeed genuine why have they suddenly started coming out of the woodwork some two years after the event ?
Also Minichamps have announced a Jos Verstappen Minardi PS03 100th GP model, part number P030119
20-August-2003 I've just received my second Sauber pitstop diorama in the space of a few weeks and like the first one it arrived damaged. As many of you know these dioramas are a fantastic piece of kit but unfortunately they are so fragile it only requires a minor knock in transit and bits begin to fly off in all directions- the first one I received had no fewer than five broken pieces and was returned to Sauber with several of the pit crew missing arms, legs and hands !
On this occasion I've had to bite the bullet and get out the superglue in order to reattach the offending piece - I'm not happy having shelled out nearly £95 for this item but what else can I do ? I can't afford to keep paying £6 to return the model to the retailer every time plus having the additional hassle of driving a twenty mile round trip to the courier company at a weekend to pick it up when they fail to deliver.
As a result of speaking to several dealers and collectors it seems this is a common problem with all the Minichamps dioramas, any rough handling and it finds any weak spot resulting in a damaged model. It seems so many of the Allan McNish Toyota dioramas had to be sent back to the wholesaler due to damage it has resulted in this version being very difficult to acquire. If Minichamps are to continue producing these and it appears from the recent release schedule they are they must either redesign the set up of the figures within the diorama or take steps to attach the problem areas in a better manner (the guy holding the spare wheel near the front of the car would be a good start !)
I'm afraid to say I have learnt a lesson where these dioramas are concerned and I personally will now only purchase these in person from the dealer and not by mail order - that way it cuts out the all hassle for me and a headache for the poor dealer who has to replace it.
15-August-2003 As you have probably gathered it's been a bit slow on the news front of late however the silence has been broken with this item which reached a whopping 306 Euros on German eBay !
The model claims to be a 100 piece limited edition model to commemorate the 100 Grand Prix partnership between Mercedes and McLaren - there is also a David Coulthard model up for sale too.
If you examine the model closely you will see that the red 'WEST' logo on the back of the insert is much smaller and more to the left than those on the existing Team Edition models. Also a Mercedes logo is evident to the right of the central 'laurel wreath', plus the model contains a Mercedes sticker as well as the standard non smoking liveried car.
Whilst the normal Mercedes Dealer Edition promotional models contain the word "West McLaren" non of them have ever displayed the red 'WEST' logo before so this is a real hotch potch. Although difficult to authenticate the printing can only be described as top quality and equal to that of Minichamps. Also as a 100 piece production run is very low for such a piece it is difficult to understand who would have commissioned it or more importantly who would have received these as gifts. If someone can shed any light on the matter I would be pleased to hear from you.
04-August-2003 Due to other commitments I was unable to attend the NEC toyfair yesterday however our South of England Office (a.k.a. 'Turbo Terry') managed to make it and found this interesting item. It's a Porsche 911 GT3 dealer edition model which comes complete with an additional display plinth - apparently this model was only available at Porsche dealerships to people who bought the actual car !
01-August-2003 We kick off a new month (excuse the pun) with yet another promotional model - this time it's a Ford Fusion which was the official vehicle of the UEFA Champions League.
It seems this item is a limited edition of 2,500 so it shouldn't be too hard to locate - this one was given to our South of England Office by his sales manager - doesn't sound like a bad job to me !
31-July-2003 As a result of a few changes in the driver line-ups for both Jaguar and Minardi Minichamps have therefore announced a couple more models, namely Justin Wilson's Jaguar and Nikolas Kiesa's Minardi in both 1/43 and 1/18 scale.
The previously confirmed 1/43 and 1/18 models of Wilson's Minardi and Pizzonia's Jaguar will still be produced however they will now be limited editions.
28-July-2003 A new Minichamps database website has been created Click Here! I was surfing the site last night and was amazed to see this model !
Ever since I discovered the Irvine & Barrichello Jordan 195 Total promotional models a few years back I have always wondered if a Barrichello 196 had ever been produced - it always seemed strange to me that Total should only produce one promo for 1996 when they did two for 1995. The remarkable thing is that to the best of my knowledge this item has never surfaced before. As I have mentioned in the past I have a theory and that is every sponsor of an F1 team is a possible source of promotional models ! The big question is have any Jordan 'Total' items been produced for 1997 ??
I once got chatting to a chap who worked at Jordan several years ago and he confirmed that a Hewlett Packard Promotional Jordan model had been produced complete with a white insert card, apparently they were to be handed out at a Grand Prix but it never happened and they were returned to the Jordan factory and precise whereabouts of the items is now unknown. Also I have it on good authority that Scania (the truck manufacturer) were selling off a special Scania promotional model at a 'truckfest' event a few years back. There have also been rumours in the past of a 'BIC' sponsored Prost promo model but again nobody seems to know anything about this.
One promo model which amazes me is the Candy Schumacher Ferrari - they regularly appear on German eBay at ridiculously low prices and fail to attract bids ! It's crazy when you consider only 500 were produced - take it from me these are real and will rocket in value once Schumacher collectors cotton on to them, a fantastic investment for the future ! The problem collectors like us are up against with a lot of these promotional items is the people they are given to do not know their true value.
24-July-2003 Some news from 'Down Under' - the white Allan Moffat 1988 Bathurst 1000 Ford Sierra RS 500 has been released. The model comes with an individually numbered certificate signed by the drivers.
Whilst relatively unknown outside Australia these models command a high price on the secondary market, the previous model released in the series namely the Dick Johnson red RS 500 from 1989 is now commanding AU $400 !
20-July-2003 The long awaited McLaren Mercedes Mika Hakkinen MP 4/14 1999 World Champion Pitstop diorama is due for release soon and Motorsport Products have the picture to prove it. It's expected to be one of the best selling items of the year so best get your pre-orders in as soon as possible.
One Hakkinen model Minichamps have never produced is this Lotus which is currently up for sale on eBay at the moment. It surprises me that despite the fact that these fakers blatantly misuse Minichamps trademark and breach copyright and licensing laws they are being allowed to get away with it - perhaps it's about time Minichamps legal department got tough and started firing off a few emails to them.
13-July-2003 The fakers are still churning out models like there is no tomorrow, this one appearing on a Dutch auction site. I can't honestly believe people are still buying rubbish like this, anyway it's the winner of our 'fake of the week' title.
12-July-2003 Our South of England reporter has been busy this weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed managing to find this Ford Promotional model of the 'Street Ka' limited to 2,000 pieces.
Also reported to be selling well at the event was the Ford 100 years set.
09-July-2003 Here's another interesting find on German eBay - it's a Karcher promotional model which is apparently a replica of the car that Karcher uses in their TV spots on German TV and is apparently based on an old Citreon. If anyone has any further information then please email the details.
Some good news for F1 fans, Minichamps have announced a 10th Anniversary Model of Eddie Irvine's F1 debut, the Jordan Hart 193 Japenese GP version. The Japanese GP 1993 was the Irishman's first F1 race and he certainly caused a stir - in the underpowered Jordan Hart, Eddie battling with Damon Hill's Williams for fourth place re-passed the race leader, the great Ayrton Senna who had already lapped him.
Although Eddie finished the race in sixth place and taking a championship point it has gone down in F1 history mainly due to the fact that the angry Senna punched the rookie for the move.
Does this now mean since Paul's Model Art has regained the Jordan licence it will lead to further historic Jordan releases - if anyone in Aachen reads this here are a few to ponder !
Jordan 191 'Carbon Fibre' Black Test Car - Bertrand Gachot Paul Ricard 1990
D Hill / R Schumacher First GP & 1-2 Finish Belgian GP
Jean Alesi 200th GP
08-July-2003 According to reports the Ford 100 Year sets have now completely sold out and the warehouse in Germany is bare ! Of the 500 complete sets produced a high number have already been split up to be sold as individual items on eBay whilst a large chunk of the remainder have been purchased in bulk by clubs for their members who will of course never sell them.
It appears that the sets are already difficult to come by in any of the model shops in Germany as nobody ordered them in great quantities which could cause a drastic shortage on the secondary market in weeks to come - another RS200 scenario perhaps ?
07-July-2003 News just in from Australia - another Ford Sierra RS500 in 1/18th scale is due for release shortly, this time the ANZ Moffat Bathhurst last race model. This item will like the earlier RS500 Dick Johnson Bathurst Winner will come complete with an individually numbered certificate of authenticity and will be sold under the BIANTE brand name.
Although these are not very well known outside Australia these models sell out very quickly and command a high price on the secondary market despite being having a run of between 5-6000 pieces.
Here's an interesting find on German eBay - it's a Porsche Carrera GT Dealer Edition and was given away free by Porsche Dealerships. The only catch...if you can call it a catch...is that you have to buy the real car to obtain the model. As you can see from the photographs it's a quality item which is what you would expect from one of the worlds leading manufacturers.
As promised some 2003 BMW Dealer Promotional model part numbers for you :
1/43 scale
80420301613 FW24 Launch JP Montoya
80420146692 FW25 Race Car Ralf Schumacher
80420143548 FW25 Race Car JP Montoya
80420149306 FW23 Launch Pitstop Diorama Ralf Schumacher
1/18 scale
80430301615 FW24 Launch JP Montoya
80430146699 FW25 Race Car Ralf Schumacher
80430146738 FW25 Race Car JP Montoya
1/8 Scale.
80430148743 FW24 Race Car in HP livery
06-July-2003 It's all BMW news tonight folks both good and bad. The good news is the Montoya BMW boxed FW24 2003 launch car has been released according to Sport Express and here's a picture to prove it. Unfortunately we don't have a part number yet but when we do we will of course post it.
Now for the bad news - according to one reliable source all future BMW 1/43 scale Dealer Edition models such as the new 6 Series and X3 models are going to be produced by Kyosho and NOT Minichamps. Their first release will be the new 5 Series, examples of which are starting to appear on eBay. This model was a joint venture between Paul's Model Art and Kyosho but all future models will be solely from Kyosho. Precisely why BMW plumped for Kyosho rather than Minichamps is a complete mystery - answers on an email please !
04-July-2003 Firstly I would like to wish all our readers on the other side of the 'pond' a very happy 4th July !
The 2003 Le Mans 1/43 models have been announced by Minichamps today and are as follows
All of these models are expected to arrive Q4 of 2003. In addition to the above a further two items have been announced both in 1/43 scale -
DTM 2003 - P033274 Mercedes Benz CLK 'Service 24H' Team Rosberg G.Paffett
Porsche Supercup 2003 - P036220 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 'Dewalt' Team P.Huisman
The 2003 Edition 2 catalogue is also expected on the shelves
within the next few weeks too !.
03-July-2003 At long last something to report ! I've just received some information from Motorsports Products confirming that Amerang have announced that the 1/43 Kimi Raikkonen First Win Malaysian Grand Prix model will now come complete with a figure of Kimi exiting the car at the end of the race. It will also come in a 'high box' but it isn't clear at this stage if it will have an outer sleeve.
Also the 1/18th version of the Fisichella First Win model has been cancelled probably due to a lack of orders, however the 1/43 scale will still be produced.
26-June-2003 According to the UK importers Amerang, a licence has now been negotiated so Minichamps will definately be producing the 1/43 scale 2003 Renault race cars of Alonso and Trulli, expect these in early 2004.
In addition to the above a limited edition Jordan Honda EJ10 Sato First F1 Test Jerez 2000, product number P000099A will be released. This is the first 2000 Jordan Minichamps have produced. If they were to produce the Alesi 200th Grand Prix model in a gift box I'm sure this would be one of the best selling items they could produce !
Also another batch of pitstop dioramas have been announced -
19-June-2003 Here's something that will interest all the 'variation chasers' out there ! It relates to the Webber 'First Points' Minardi that was released a few weeks ago - it seems that some but not all of the Webber 1st Points cars actually have a Union Jack and the name 'Davidson' near the drivers headrest. This is not immediately apparent and you do need a magnifying glass to see it but nevertheless it does appear that there has been a mix-up at the factory.
14-June-2003 After a weeks vacation I've returned to a stack of emails which I've finally managed to sift through ! Well it seems it's all been happening whilst I was away.
As you can probably recall a T-D1 McLaren 'promotional' model appeared over a year ago and was quickly dismissed as a fake, however since the discovery of the various 'Schuco' models I'm no longer convinced that it is. The fact that the insert doesn't appear to have been made by Minichamps doesn't necessarily mean that it's fake due to the fact that both the M-Creative and Schuco inserts were produced after the models had left the Minichamps factory.
So where does this leave us ? What do we deem to be a true promotional model ? One where the entire package has been produced by Aachen or where the model has but the packaging has been produced elsewhere - I'll leave you to decide. If anyone has any further information on the TD1 model then please contact me with the full story.
Here's a puzzle for you - has anyone seen a variation of the Ayrton Senna Williams FW16 model which comes complete in "Racing" livery ? The standard model and Senna Collection models both come with Elf, Renault & "Hashmarks" decaling and the only other Williams model to have the "Racing" livery is the Damon Hill FW16 Silverstone GP model.
Another model being auctioned at the moment on Japanese eBay is the Toyota 'SACHS' model we featured a few weeks back however we have it on good authority that this model is definately a fake. Our source contacted the head honcho at Toyota who is responsible for sanctioning all the promotional models and this definately wasn't one of them !
The Bentley Continental GT Dealer Edition models have been released and are available from Tim Dunlop at Mad4Models who has kindly uploaded a few images for everyone to see. As one would expect from Bentley the presentation and packaging is superb !
Another model which finally made it as a dealer promo is the BMW 3.5 CSL H-J Stuck & C Posey car from the 12 Hrs of Sebring 1975. Click Here! to view a picture. The part number for this item is 80 420 151 627. Whilst on the subject of BMW's the part number for the Z1 model we featured a few weeks back is 80 420 152 797.
05-June-2003 Here's the picture we've all been waiting for ! It's the individually numbered 5,555 piece limited edition Bentley EXP Speed 8 2002 Giftbox model - tipped to be the best selling Minichamps model of 2003.
Also hot off the press another couple of new releases - two new Toyota Pitstop Dioramas for both Panis (343 100075) and Da Matta (343 100076) together with a Minardi PS01 Jos Verstappen Valencia Testcar and a Nico Rosberg Williams FW24 Testcar !
Please note due to other commitments there will be no further updates until next Friday.
03-June-2003 The new Minichamps BMW Z1 dealer boxed edition in 1/43 scale has been released - in Germany at least ! As you can see it comes in the normal 'clapper style' box and several have already made an appearance on eBay. As soon as we have any further information or a part umber we will of course let you know.
