March 2002 - May 2002 Archive
31-May-2002 The Toyota Promotional models which surfaced this week are limited to 2,016 pieces for the Salo version and only 648 for the McNish - even the part numbers differ from the standard Minichamps versions (Salo 403 020074 & McNish 403 020075) It seems these are available from your local Toyota dealer.
Minichamps NA have again updated their website, featured are the McLaren Can-Am cars and the McLaren TAG MP 4/2C British GP version of Alain Prost, the latter being #42 in the McLaren Collection which now leaves numbers 36 to 41 to fill !
Also Minichamps have broken with tradition and have released the Edition 1 catalogue on CD Rom in addition to the normal paper based version! With the release of the Minichamps book around Christmas time they may well be testing the water to see if its feasible releasing a CD Rom version of this too - with so many collectors having computers it seems the logical way to go.
29-May-2002 Further news in on that Toyota Promo model featured a couple of days ago. We have received confirmation from Minichamps stating that this model is a "Team Edition" like the BMW dealer editions and McLaren team editions. These McNish showcar models are available exclusively via Toyota - if this means promotional for staff only or whether they are for sale to the general public is anyone's guess at this stage.
27-May-2002 It seems there are two versions of the Toyota show car in existence. The standard versions in the normal black and white checker boxes have just been released in Europe with several already appearing on eBay, the Salo is limited to 3,600 pieces and the McNish 2,448.
The second version the second version comes in the grey Panasonic/Toyota packaging and despite the poor photograph you can clearly see that the production run is less than 1,000.
At this stage we have no idea if a Salo version exists but suspect these to be some type of corporate handout by either Panasonic or Toyota. If anyone has any further information or a better photograph we would be pleased to hear from you.
24-May-2002 Some Minichamps news just in. A Sauber C21 testcar will be produced in a giftbox complete with a soundchip so when the box is opened the Sauber Petronas V10 engine will be heard. The car will be without a driver but will come with two names on the car, Heidfeld and Massa and will be limited to 4,444 pieces.
Also the following 1/43 items have been announced.
Well done Minichamps with the full dioramas, lets hope there will be more to follow for other teams.
23-May-2002 There will be TWO Audi R8 Sebring 2002 models released the first week of June ! These will be Audi Dealer Editions complete with Audi packaging and Motorsport Products are already taking pre-orders. The standard Minichamps packaged cars are due for September release.
Rumour of the week - Minichamps are to produce the Gunnar Racing Sears Point "Hendricks Field" Panoz LMP01. If anyone hasn't seen this car then the livery can best be described as US Air Force WWII standard military issue complete with khaki green colour scheme !
A model to interest all Mercedes fans is currently appearing on German eBay. It's a red 1955-62 Mercedes Benz 190SL limited to 600 pieces and was made for the 1998 Autoshow and was sold by the German chain store Karstadt and Hertie and forms part of their limited edition "Dreamcars-Autolegends" series.
The Mika Hakkinen Mercedes DTM set has now arrived at Minichamps NA, limited to 3,101 pieces and complete with McLaren Collection packaging.
20-May-2002 Minichamps have today confirmed that they will be producing the Renault models this year ! It seems Renault has issued a joint licence for the production of its models in the same way Williams and McLaren have done in recent years.
A Ford Fiesta promotional model has surfaced on eBay. It has been commissioned by Ford of Europe (FOE) Purchasing Department and is limited to 670 pieces.
19-May-2002 The Mika Hakkinen Mercedes Benz CLK DTM 2001 Test Car is due for release in the next few weeks ! In the meantime we've managed to obtain a pre release photo. It will be interesting to see how well this particular model will sell considering that it will be sold as part of a two car Mika set later on.
18-May-2002 You may remember a few weeks back we featured a McLaren boxed set which was appearing on German eBay with increasing regularity and of course the first question asked when anything "different" appears is whether or not it's genuine.
Well a friend has managed to purchase one of these sets and has kindly sent a few photographs so you can make your own minds up about it. He says that the dimensions and the construction materials used for the packaging are very similar to that of the "Coulthard Fan Club" set which was produced for the Australian market by BIANTE a few years back. He points out that if it is fake then someone has gone to a great deal of trouble plus the profit margin would not be that great taking into account the price he paid.
The box.
The milled aluminium base containing an individually stamped number in the top left corner denoting one of 500 pieces and signed by both drivers.
Note under the Mika Hakkinen signature "The Flying Finn" has been added. Also check out the UPC sticker on the back of the box. If anyone has any further information relating to the origins of these sets we would like to hear from you.
Also some further information on that cancelled eBay auction on the Daytona Grand Am Final Porsche. One collector contacted Minichamps direct and received the following clarification :
thank you very much for your message and for your interest in
our products.
This is to confirm that we have the rights from the team to produce our item no.
400016976 PORSCHE 911 GT3-RS DAYTONA JEANNETTE/BARTKIW/MINKIN 2001 in scale
1/43.
Additionally please be informed that neither we nor collectors have the right to
call this car or offer it as “van Halen” or “Frankenstein”, which we
never did.
We are sure that this is the reason that your offer was cancelled on e-bay.
Thanks a lot for your kind attention. Sincerely, Your Minichamps Team
16-May-2002 The first pictures of the Canadian GP event car have made an appearance on Toronto Motorsports website ! The model pictured is the 1/18 version and the packaging comes complete with bi-lingual printing (English and French) in order to comply with Canadian Law. As with previous event cars all will be individually numbered with the number stamped under the base of the car.
If news of the German GP Event Car didn't get you excited then this might - we are getting reports that Minichamps will be producing an Audi R8 from the 12hr Sebring 2002 ! Unfortunately no further details are known at this stage re production numbers or release dates.
15-May-2002 Since the omission of the BAR showcars from the planned release lists for 2002 there has been a great deal of speculation relating to Minichamps and the production of any further BAR models. Well the bad news is that Minichamps will no longer be producing any BAR models in either 1/43 or 1/18 scale and all details have been removed from the Minichamps website. If that wasn't enough it seems that the contract for the 1/18th Williams cars will also go to another manufacturer.
In order to put things into perspective lets examine a few facts here. The number of F1 models sold for a particular team depends on the success of that team or a driver within that team. I'm sure you will agree that BAR or their drivers certainly haven't been breaking any records recently so these aren't going to be best sellers by any stretch of the imagination. This is reflected now by the number of discounted Minichamps produced BAR models at swapmeets and model shops so if another company think they are going to step in and set the world alight then they are certainly mistaken. You may think I'm being cynical however I seem to remember a certain "toy manufacturer" promising to set the world alight with their products and this was with Ferrari on board and we all know what happened there.
One German dealer claims that he has been requested by his wholesaler to place pre-orders for a German GP event car limited to 3,333 pieces. If we find out any further information on this we will let you know.
And if you're reading this Paul Lang here's a personal request on behalf of Minichamps collectors worldwide - why not sell those little Paul's Model Art / Minichamps stickers for the top of the cases as a separate item ? There must be thousands of collectors out there who have them missing and would like to replace them.
13-May-2002 It's been a busy weekend for collectors around Europe this weekend. On Saturday there was a large swap meet at the "Mecca" of diecast (otherwise referred to as Aachen) which was attended by our European reporter. Click Here! to view a photo of the event.
On Sunday in the UK the Donington swap meet took place however due to a clash of fixtures with the NEC the previous week a large number of people stayed at home resulting in most dealers reporting slow trade. The stars of the show however were the BMW boxed M3 ALMS number 42 & 43 cars pictured below.
Photographs Courtesy of Motorsport Products
12-May-2002 One collector was in for a shock when he attempted to sell a "Van Halen" Porsche 911 GT3-RS Daytona Grand Am Final 2001 model via eBay (it's the September 11th model with the black band across the nose product number 400 016976) His auction was cancelled by the artist who produced the artwork for the car and the following reason was given :
The item you attempted to sell via eBay made unauthorized and infringing use of the Frankenstein Artwork (Edward Van Halen, artist), the copyright of which is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office under Vau 505-308. The owner of a copyrighted work has the exclusive right to, and ability to license others to, reproduce, prepare derivative works, and distribute copies of Frankenstein, and to display Frankenstein publicly.
The owner of the Frankenstein Artwork did not, and has not, authorized any party or manufacturer to use, or make derivative works of, the Artwork for use in connection with the sale of model cars. Accordingly, this item, and any attempt to sell or distribute this item, infringes upon the Frankenstein Artwork copyright as well as common law trademark rights. It is for these reasons that your listing, and others for the same item, were removed from eBay.
We can appreciate that you may not have been aware that you purchased an item that made unauthorized use of another's intellectual property rights. However, we trust that, know that you are aware of the facts, that you understand our position that we cannot permit items that make unauthorized use of the Frankenstein artwork to be sold or distributed."
Whoops ! Now if that isn't a good enough reason to go out and buy the
model then I don't know what is. If you remember Philip Morris owner of
the Marlboro brand tried a similar tactic with dealers a few months back who
displayed pictures of red and white McLaren models on their websites.
10-May-2002 Minichamps have announced that they will be producing a special MP 4/16B Test Car that was piloted by Jean Alesi in both 1/43 and 1/18th scales. Jean tested this car at the Paul Ricard circuit in France with the special "Jean" livery.
Also the USGP models do come with an outer "stars & stripes" sleeve.
09-May-2002 Attention all "variation" collectors. One Japanese collector has discovered a difference in the 1/43 scale Toyota TF102 Promotional Showcar.
If you want to check it out for yourself then Click Here!
08-May-2002 The wait is finally over, Toronto Motorsports have finally updated their website - here's what the Canadian GP Event Car will look like !
As you can see from the above picture the design reflects the Canadian flag when viewed from above whilst the paint scheme depicts a subtle Maple Leaf design. As soon as a photograph of the actual model is available we will of course get one uploaded.
05-May-2002 UPDATED ! If you can cast your minds back a few months you will remember that Minichamps announced that they had obtained exclusive rights to produce models of the cars appearing in the new James Bond film which at the time was without a title. As we know this will now be called "Die Another Day" and to commemorate the event Minichamps will be releasing three 1/43 models in November to coincide with the release of the film.
P137220 - Aston Martin Vanquish - James Bond's car
P082130 - Ford Thunderbird - Bond Girl's car
P130230 - Jaguar XKR - Villains car.
In addition to these three models which will all come in special James Bond packaging there will also be an individually numbered limited edition "Die Another Day" boxed set featuring all three cars, product number P041202.
I've just returned from the NEC in Birmingham with some hot news items! According to reports the Christian Albers Minardi Test car will possibly be the most difficult F1 model to obtain this year ! The reason is that due to the large number of Minardi's released this year and also with the relatively unknown pilot many dealers have not preordered in the expected numbers resulting in Minichamps cutting back severly on the production numbers.
Also there has been much discussion on the possible production numbers of the BMW boxed Williams Schumacher diorama - well we have it on good authority that this was around 500 with many dealers selling out since the announcement of the McLaren pit stop diorama, possibly explained by the fact that collectors don't want to miss out on the start of another sub collection.
The lack of Prost models on sale today was quite apparent - it seems that since the demise of the Prost F1 team dealers report that collectors have been snapping up the models like there is no tomorrow.
01-May-2002 The UPC code for the Sato BAR Test Car featured recently is 403 010109 - if anyone has any further information i.e. any outlets where these can be purchased or if indeed these are an international release or just for the Japanese market then I'm sure our readers will be pleased to know.
It's spot the difference time - check out the photograph below and you will notice a Prost AP04 and the Toyota TF102 Showcar - notice anything ?? Well apart from packaging and paintjob there isn't a difference as Minichamps have used exactly the same mould, only a minor alteration has been made to the Toyota on the rear winglets and near the rear tyre.
30-April-2002 We have today received clarification from Toronto Motorsports in relation to the Canadian GP Event Car. It seems that two major F1 sponsors will be taking the majority of the 2,002 models for promotional purposes.
One of these companies will then put their own logo on the box or the car however this will be done after the fact, therefore very few of these models will be available to the general public and it is anticipated that there will be a real shortage once they hit the market. There are very few remaining for pre-order so if you haven't placed an order already it's about time you did.
29-April-2002 Here is a sneak preview of the Canadian GP Event Car box top - unfortunately it appears that due to contractual restraints a photograph of the actual model will not be available until the end of the week. As this model is expected to be one of the hottest items of the year then it may be an idea to place a preorder via Toronto Motorsports
28-April-2002 News just in from SportExpress - both the 1/43 Heidfeld Sauber C20 GP Brazil and Toyota TF102 showcars have completely sold out.
Also the 2002 Sauber, Williams and McLaren pit crews will be available in both 1/18 and 1/43 scales this December together with a 1/43 McLaren pitstop diorama which will feature the McLaren MP 4/14 of Mika Hakkinen.
And last but not least here is the first picture of the Sato BAR 03 Testcar !
25-April-2002 The Jenson Button Renault Test Car has finally made an appearance on the Minichamps NA website. It's a limited edition of 3,144 and from the packaging it appears that Minichamps may have finally moved away from the normal black and white checker box format.
What constitutes a Minichamps promotional model ?? Well in my book it is something that is manufactured by Paul’s Model Art in Aachen for the manufacturer of a car, a team or a sponsor of any car that raced. According to one website this now includes models which are produced by Minichamps, sold to a team who then sell them on to a sponsor who in turn have new packaging made by an outside company.
I am of course referring to the TD1 McLaren which has been popping up on German Ebay with increasing regularity. If this is a true promotional model then this now includes any other model that has been repackaged by anyone who chooses to make up a variation of their liking – I don’t know what your views are on the subject but to me it’s a fake !
17-April-2002 The rumours coming out of Japan at the moment indicate that the Sato BAR Test Car is due for release the fourth week of April and is limited to 2,000 pieces, unfortunately this is all the information we have been able to find so far.
16-April-2002 Here's the moment you have all been waiting for - it's the British GP Event Car "blue box" version in all it's finery.
The model.
The comparison between the standard and blue box version outer sleeve.
The UPC code.
Evidence that this model is indeed a corporate gift.
The reverse of the sleeve.
Many thanks to Craig at Diecast Orders.Com for the photo's. Unfortunately we still have no idea how many of these models were produced so if you have any further information I would be pleased to hear from you.
14-April-2002 A very interesting piece of news just in from Japan - Kyosho have commissioned a T Sato BAR Test Car which can only mean one thing, a Japanese only release. Unfortunately we have no further information at this stage relating to release dates or production run numbers.
I'm sure a number of you are registered with the Scale43diecastclub and are aware of the problems experienced with a number of changes forced upon us since Yahoo "upgraded" the site - well it has been decided to move the entire club to a new location. The new message board is courtesy of Autobarn so please feel free to join.
A couple of interesting road cars have surfaced recently. The first is an Audi A2 in an Audi promotional box to commemorate the start of the all aluminium A2 production and was handed out to guests on the 15th November 1999 at the Audi Neckarsulm factory.
Another one is this NSU Ro80 limited to 144 pieces whilst this VW Golf is to celebrate production of the Golf reaching 33,333,333 on the 26th November 2001 (Part number 821 921 107)
12-April-2002 After the success of the Williams pitstop crews for 2001 Minichamps have announced that they will release crew sets for Sauber, McLaren and Williams for 2002 in both 1/18 and 1/43 scale ! The McLaren version will also be available in a 1/43 fully assembled crew diorama including the car, four wheel sets, jack set and the refuellers similar to the BMW dealer edition. (If you are reading this in Aachen why not do this for all teams - this would solve the headache of displaying the individually purchased items ? You could even take this further with a "memorable F1 moments series")
A new range of 1:2 helmets is also being developed at the moment, the first releases will be of Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa from the 2002 season - more drivers to follow.
Here is a glimpse of the Nick Heidfeld Brazil GP model - it appears the packaging has been designed to compliment the Kimi Raikkonen First Points model. Picture courtesy of Toronto Motorsports
If you like to air your views in public then there is a new message board in cyberspace called Club 43rd
11-April-2002 The "blue box" Silverstone 2001 Event Cars are genuine despite what some collectors may think and were handed out as corporate gifts at last years British GP. Even the outer sleeve is of a different design and the model carries a product number of AC4 010302 instead of the standard AC4 010301.
10-April-2002 STOP PRESS! The McLaren MP 4/17 WEST cars are currently being planned for production and Team McLaren are inviting collectors to make pre-orders already. Click Here! to place a pre-order.
Apparently the 1:43 models are due for "late September 2002" and the 1:18 "late November 2002" release - now if this isn't enough advanced warning then I don't know what is - you have been warned !
09-April-2002 We have just received confirmation from a very reliable source that the 2,002 piece limited edition Canadian GP Event Car will be released in seven weeks time. Also there are further rumours that a 2002 British GP Event Car will be produced - if we receive any further details on this we will let you know.
Now before someone poses the obvious question - the "Silver Lake" McLaren boxed model featured yesterday comes in three wine variations - Red, White or Dessert Red !!
08-April-2002 If you collect anything McLaren and are into "box variations" then this one may interest you. Click Here! It's not available from the merchandise brochure only from the official wine supplier to Team McLaren. The car is a Mika Hakkinen WEST MP 4/16 and it costs around £25 for the packaging and model (the wine is extra) Thanks to Diecast Orders.Com for the photograph & information.
07-April-2002 More news in on that "blue box" 2001 Silverstone British GP Event Car. Motorsport Products have received clarification from Amerang the importer confirming they had all the Silverstone Event Cars and all had a black and white background, none were blue.
The only logical explanation to this is that these "blue box" models were some sort of corporate gifts given out to either the sponsors or staff at the event in the same way the SAP USGP models were used.
If you collect BMW's you probably have noticed that these models are appearing with increasing regularity on German eBay at the moment, its a white BMW E36 complete with a BMW branded base and "PMT Accessoires Sympathie 95" on the side. The box is one of the original silver PMA ones which would indicate that this has been around for a while, possibly discovered lurking in a stockroom until recently.
If anyone knows anything more about these models or can translate the description that goes along with any of these auctions I would be pleased to hear from you.
Another model appearing at the moment is this BMW dealer edition metallic gold M3 which has been produced especially for the Japanese market, this one comes complete with a part number 80 42 013 7691.
04-April-2002 It has come to light that there are TWO versions of the 2001 British GP Event Car in existence - the normal checker boxed version and the one pictured below complete with the blue insert. There have been a large number of the regular versions for sale in the UK since last years race but to my knowledge none like this - has anyone seen one like this before ?
The spectacular (a term I don't use lightly in this instance) BMW Dealer Edition M3 GTR ALMS 2001 model of J J Lehto & Jorg Muller has finally been released, even the headlights are in the correct tinted configuration . The part number for the #42 car is 80 42 0139 179, the #43 car 80 42 0139 180 however I doubt if this will yet be available in the UK.
There are also a number of new items slated for "Q3" release from the Daytona 2002 race -
400 026 800 Porsche 911 GT1 - 97 "Bytzek Motorsport" # 00
400 026 907 Porsche 911 GT3 - RS "Team RWS - Red Bull" # 7
400 026 944 Porsche 911 GT3 - R "Cigar Cigar.com" # 44
400 026 966 Porsche 911 GT3 - R "The Racers Group - Monster Crole" # 66
400 026 973 Porsche 911 GT3 - R "John Guest" # 73
400 021 445 Dodge Viper GTS - R "American Viper - Hezemans" # 45
400 021 477 Dodge Viper GTS - R "Larbre - Thermo King" # 77
And finally MinichampsNA have updated their website complete with a picture of the Ford Sierra RS500 DTM '88.
03-April-2002 There is another interesting model doing the rounds on German eBay at the moment - this time its a Toyota Celica Dunlop promotional model.
It seems that this model is actually genuine and was released to promote a Toyota-Dunlop driving challenge that took place in Germany. Several have appeared in recent weeks, none of which have commanded a high winning bid. If anybody has one in their collection or knows more about it then I would be pleased to hear from you.
02-April-2002 If you hadn't already gathered then just to let you know that the story I ran yesterday about the McLaren two seater was actually an April Fools Day joke ! I thought that the production run number of 1,402 (1/4/2002) would have given the game away but from the number of emails I have received (including some from very well respected names in the collecting world) obviously not. Don't worry guys your secret is safe with me.
Whilst on the subject of McLaren this one is up on German eBay at the moment. Aptly named "Thanks For the Memories" it purports to be one of a limited edition of 500 pieces and is signed by both drivers - call me skeptical but "Thanks For The Fake" may be a better title for such a tacky effort.
01-April-2002 In order to view today's update Click Here! Unfortunately due to it's sensitive nature I have been requested not to post it on the main page !
31-March-2002 It seems Minichamps have made a slight amendment to the Nick Heidfeld Sauber C20 announced last week - the car will actually be from the Brazilian GP and not the Austrailian GP as first reported.
29-March-2002 There are times when something can be staring you right in the face and you don't even notice it. In my case it's been the Johnny Herbert Renault B 195 - there I was a cataloguing a few models the other day when I noticed the UPC code on the reverse of the box - check out the spelling of the surname.
Poor Johnny - his collection didn't get any further than # 1 and he has to suffer the indignity of having his name spelt wrong. Wonder why Minichamps never continued this collection ?
28-March-2002 More news just in on forthcoming Minichamps releases. The long awaited BMW M3 Motorsport ALMS 2001 cars of both JJ Lehto and J Muller have finally been confirmed !
Also the part numbers for the recently announced Gilles Villeneuve McLaren M23 -
26-March-2002 The latest model announced by Minichamps is sure to be a popular choice - it's the 1977 Gilles Villeneuve McLaren M23 1st GP (British GP) and will be released around August 2002 in both 1/43 and 1/18 - both will have removable components !
25-March-2002 The recently released Team Freisinger Porsche GT3-RS is currently appearing on eBay in a different guise, or at least the box is. This one claims to be a limited edition model of 1,000 pieces made by French distributor T2M and done specially for the French market.
Those of you who have this model already will have noticed that of the three GT3 Le Mans Porsches released this year this is the only one without the production number stamped on the base. The question is are there another 1,000 of these T2M specials out there or is the packaging fake ?
The spring weather brought out collectors in their droves yesterday to the Donington Park swapmeet however dealers were reporting less than average trade - even those who came in anticipation of finding the Kimi Raikkonen First Points model were disappointed
21-March-2002 It's bad news followed by more bad news at the moment - the 1/18th scale Minardi's (see report 8 March) have been pulled, apparently due to lack of international interest.
The further bad news is that the Nick Heidfeld Sauber C20 Australian GP model will only be available to the German market. This item is limited to 1,022 pieces and due out during April so bearing in mind the hoo hah caused by the popularity of the Raikkonen first points model then it may be a good idea to place a pre-order, the part number is 400 010 216. Sport Express and Raceland are already taking pre-orders for this item and for those of you who don't know there is no import duty to pay on items purchased within the EU (this does not apply to non EU visitors to this site)
16-March-2002 It appears that Minichamps are continuing the trend of these "First Points" models, this time it's Nick Heidfeld's Sauber C20 from the 2001 Australian GP, limited to 1,022 pieces. Also the Mark Webber model reported earlier this week will be an international release so hopefully there will be no excuses for not pre-ordering one.
Although there were no previous indications of possible release dates for the Benetton's UK dealers have now received a fax confirming delivery will be next week.
14-March-2002 There appears to be quite a lot of discussion on various diecast "message boards" at the moment in relation to the prices being charged for the Kimi Raikkonen First Points model by UK dealers.
Once announced it quickly became clear that this model was going to be one of the hottest items to appear in 2002 - if that wasn't enough advanced warning I even posted a link on this site to the BIANTE website which provided details on how to order the item.
What some people seem to forget is that this particular model was not for sale direct to dealers in the UK so they would have paid the going rate like you and me - depending on exchange rates together with postage it varied between £30-32 per model. If they were unlucky then there is import duty to go on top, add on all the other 'incidentals' that go along with running your own business like VAT then there isn't a lot left to live on.
Unfortunately not everyone has access to the internet and possibly wouldn't know about the model so if you have and didn't place a pre-order then you only have yourself to blame - thankfully some dealers had the foresight and will be happy to provide a service to you.
08-March-2002 News just in direct from BIANTE , due to popular demand a "Mark Webber First Points" model will be released in 1/43 !! - expect this to appear early 2003 possibly to coincide with the Australian GP. Well done BIANTE, evidence that at least one importer is listening to collectors requests. Also a Toyota "First GP Point" model will appear later this year.
If that wasn't enough there is a first for Minichamps, they will produce the Minardi's in 1/18 scale this year.
07-March-2001 If you collect Police cars and live in Hertfordshire then brace yourself for something really exciting - Amerang are to release models of the following Hertfordshire Constabulary vehicles in limited editions of 1000 pieces.
Okay it's hardly exciting news but the question I beg to ask is will these models actually sell ?? I personally think not especially when priced at £24.99 but will be destined for the "cut price bargain box" in six months time mainly due to the real niche market it's aimed at. If Amerang actually did some market research they may find some more exciting topics to cover - like a Jenson Button Collection that was suggested to them nearly twelve months ago. So come on Amerang I'm sure you can come up with something better than these.
04-March-2002 There appears to be something strange going on with the USGP 2001 Event Car. If you can cast your minds back (see update 29 Sept 2001) you may remember that the model came without a UPC code on the reverse of the box.
This model appeared for sale on Dutch eBay a few months back and comes complete with a code on the reverse - the seller claimed to have received two boxes direct from the Dutch Minichamps wholesaler and all of the models contained therein were exactly the same. Anyone else have one with the UPC code ??
In view of yesterdays result at the Australian GP what odds am I given on Minichamps making a Mark Webber or Toyota First GP Point model ??
03-March-2002 The Toyota TF102 launch car featured in yesterdays update is actually limited to 8,002 pieces. Due to the poor quality of the photograph I have taken the liberty of posting a clearer image plus one of the 1/18 version.
Also the Kimi Raikkonen First Championship Point model comes complete with a spare #17 decal in a little plastic bag - it seems Minichamps actually omitted to apply this to the front wing of the model !
(The above photographs are copyrighted and used with the kind permission of the owner Mic Kuo)
The Air Canada Grand Prix Event car will use the Fiorano Test Car mould as first reported and not the BAR 03 - why fix it when it ain't broken ??
02-March-2002 Well Minichamps certainly can't be accused of being slow off the mark - the driverless Toyota F1 Launch cars have already been released in both 1/43 and 1/18th scale. Just check out the packaging on the 1/43 version.
It was only a couple of weeks ago at Nurnburg that PMA were actually discouraging people from taking pictures of the prototypes - the reason ?....well one dealer was told that as the moulds had not been finalised an old Williams FW22 had been decaled up in order to give people the general idea !
I think that we will have to start having a "fake of the week" slot, just check out the latest "limited edition" to appear on German Ebay. Who the hell is buying this rubbish ?
