September - November 2003 Archive

25-November-2003  Some news just in from our Japanese reporter - the BAR Bridgestone Promotional models recently available on pre-order from the Suzuka Circuit have started to arrive and here is a photograph to prove it !

These models are in fact official Minichamps Promotional models and come complete with a UPC code on the reverse of the box.  The Villeneuve model is 403 030016 and the Button 403 030017, both are limited editions of 1,000.

23-November-2003  It seems every update I post at the moment either relates to the discovery of yet another Porsche 911 promotional model or in order to post a "Collectors Alert"  Well today it's the turn of the latter.

If you can cast your minds back a couple of years you may remember a number of 'Autosport Paperazzi' models that were doing the rounds and fetching ridiculous prices on eBay.  Now despite these featuring in the Japanese book the 'Art of Minichamps' they are in fact fake, basically standard Minichamps models which had their standard inserts replaced with something printed up by a UK model retailer.  Well it seems their latest venture into the promotional model market has resulted in this load of rubbish.

19-November-2003  Yet another couple of promotional Porsches have surfaced, this time in UPS livery.  Click Here!

16-November-2003  I'm sure many of you head off down to the newsagents each month to flick through the latest issues of both 'Model Collector' and 'Diecast Collector' in the hope of finding some decent articles on Minichamps only to come away disappointed.  You would think that ever since the demise of 'Motorsport Collector' magazine a couple of years back these other two publications would have a captive audience however they only seem intent of pushing out page after page on buses and other assorted non descript items.

Well help is at hand ! A new free bi-monthly on-line magazine has been launched named MinichampsOnTheShelf aimed at providing a constantly expanding and updated guide to what's genuine in the diecast collecting world.  There will be features on various teams and drivers plus there is also a guest features spot so if anyone feels like submitting an article then please contact the editor !

14-November-2003  Yet another rare item has surfaced on German eBay in the last couple of days, this time it's a Porsche 911 presented at the Minichamps Open Day 1998.  There are currently two for sale and both auctions are in excess of 220 Euros !!.

It seems now that not only do rare promotional and difficult to obtain items reach ridiculous prices on eBay but also run of the mill models which were made in abundance in the early 1990's.  The catalyst in the recent price hike in certain models prices especially the early Mercedes EVO and Ferrari F50 models has been the issue of the Japanese Art of Minichamps book earlier in the year.  This work has been accepted by some collectors to be the definitive work on the subject of everything 'Paul's Model Art' and has meant that some are now working their way through the book collecting the models at any cost.

Whilst the presentation of the book is first class it does however include a few glaring errors so don't take everything as read !  These errors include  the Qantas Schumacher Ferrari 'Lo-nose' (fake), the Autosport Models (all fakes) and the Tyrrell 021 Gode Edition (definately a fake as Minichamps never produced this model)

13-November-2003  A couple of dealer promotional items have surfaced on eBay over the last few days.  The first is an Aston Martin boxed DB9 in blue - now if you can locate an Aston Martin dealer then these should be no problem to pick up (I would imagine locating any Aston Martin dealership is a task in itself).

The second item is an Audi RS6 DTM Safety Car from the 2003 season.

12-November-2003  We have been reliably informed that the Official Minichamps Bible has now been slated for 'mid 2004' release - something we feared may never happen with the announcement of Volume 1 of  "The Passion of Model Cars"

Whilst on the subject of the latter we can confirm that Volume 1 will cover road cars only whilst Volume 2 will deal with 'race' cars, whether this relates to just F1 with a further volume planned entirely for sports cars etc we just don't know at this stage.  

Now for those of you who purchased the Japanese book 'Art of Minichamps' earlier this year you will notice that the front cover looks remarkably familiar and appears to have been produced by the same publisher.  The big question is will it just be a translated revamped version of the original or will it contain some new material - one thing is for sure and that is it looks like more volumes will follow.  Does this mean the end of the official 'Minichamps Bible' which was announced last year ??

03-November-2003  As I mentioned in my last update there were two large swapmeets in the UK this weekend at Sandown on Saturday followed by Donington Park on the Sunday. 

Our South of England office attended Sandown and reported brisk trade with the McLaren F1 GTR 'Yellow Corn' version being the must have item and it was exactly the same story on the Sunday at Donington.  The unusual thing about this model is that there appeared to be a big price differential between some dealers - these ranged from £25 for the cheapest at to a whopping £45.  Now I can understand charging £45 if the model is sold out or difficult to come by but in this case there were loads of the things which doesn't therefore justify the inflated price.

As I've said in the past it always pays to use your common sense and shop around - a point I proved yesterday by making a £50 saving.  I have been looking for a pair of 1997 Alesi & Berger Benetton launch cars for a while now and I spotted them for sale on one stall for £70 the pair, both mint in mint boxes.  On another stall a bit further round the hall the same models were £20 the pair, again perfect models but this time the cases were so scuffed it appeared that the inside of box is steamed up !  Now the big question is are two poor cases worth a £50 saving ?.......of course they are.

01-November-2003  Here's a model we haven't featured before - it's a polished Porsche Carrera GT on a 'carbon fibre' style base.  Originally we assumed that these models were handed out at Porsche dealerships to customers who had ordered the actual car however it transpires that they were given out as gifts at the Porsche press launch in Leipzig.

It's a busy weekend on the swapmeet calendar with Sandown today and Donington Park tomorrow.  Our South of England reporter is covering Sandown and I will be at Donington Park tomorrow so we hope to have some news.

30-October-2003  Minichamps have announced some very interesting items for both F1 and Senna collectors.  A new Ayrton Senna Helmet Collection in 1:8 scale will chart his career from 1984-1994 and will come in a special individually numbered display box.

The helmets included in the set are as follows

1984 Toleman Hart, 1985 Lotus Renault, 1986 Lotus Renault, 1987 Lotus Honda, 1988 McLaren Honda, 1989 McLaren Honda, 1990 McLaren Honda, 1991 McLaren Honda, 1992 McLaren Honda, 1993 McLaren Ford & 1994 Williams Renault.

In addition to this there have been a number of limited edition test cars announced in 1:43 scale some of which are extremely low production numbers.

21-October-2003  I've had several emails over the last couple of days in relation to the Jordan models I posted pictures of over the weekend - well these models are the genuine article and better still the Eddie Irvine model comes in full 'Barclay' livery which as you may well know is a tobacco company.

Now it seems to me that either Minichamps are unaware what 'Barclay' refers to and is therefore a genuine error or the advertising ban doesn't extend to tobacco brands or products that are no longer in existence.  As a non smoker I couldn't tell you whether 'Barclay' cigarettes are still in business so perhaps someone out there may be able to shed some light on this for us.

18-October-2003  The BMW boxed 2003 racecars have arrived and are currently on sale via Motorsport Products  If previous years models are anything to go by then these will be some of the best presented models of the year as BMW are one company who take the diecast miniature side of their business very seriously indeed.

Well the website celebrated its 150,000 th hit this week so a big 'Thank you' to those of you who have supported me over the last two and a bit years !  It hasn't all been plain sailing as you have probably noticed over the last few weeks we have suffered a large amount of 'downtime' due to excessive bandwidth consumption - don't worry I won't go into 'techno babble' mode but basically as Angelfire is a free hosting site then there are some pitfalls, a little bit of downtime being one of them due to the limited amount of 'traffic' we are allowed each day. 

It seems however that ever since I posted the story of the fake Schuco models a few weeks back the amount of downtime has increased to the point whereby the site has been off air more that it has been on so I suspect that we have been the victim of deliberate sabotage - I say this as it has been coupled with no fewer than fifteen attachments containing various viruses all via my website email address, all too much of a coincidence in my book.

If these shysters think that I am going to be put off by this then they are mistaken, in fact it has made me more determined to put a stop to them.  In fact we suspect that their next move will be to start 'producing' the 2003 Michelin models very soon especially the Kimi Raikkonen model so if you see them appearing on German eBay within the next few weeks be especially careful.

Also these two Jordan models have already made an appearance on eBay !

16-October-2003  If we didn't have enough to be going on with at the moment Minichamps have announced yet another load of models in 1/43 and 1/18 scale.

1/43 Scale :

Williams BMW FW25 - M Gene Italian GP 2003

Jordan Ford EJ13 - Z Baumgarther Hungarian GP 2003

BAR Honda 005 - T Sato  6th Place Finish Japanese GP 2003

Minardi Ford PS03 - Jos Verstappen GP Brazil 2003 (Rain Tyres) Limited 1,400 pcs

McLaren Mercedes MP 4-18 Alex Wurz Testcar

In the 1/18th department the previously announced on-off Fisichella 'First Win' Jordan Ford is definately 'back on'

Minardi Ford PS03 Jos Verstappen GP Brazil 2003 (Rain Tyres) Limited 1,002 pcs

McLaren Mercedes MP 4-18 Alex Wurz Testcar

All the above models are currently scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2004

10-October-2003  WORLD EXCLUSIVE ! Some breaking news just in from one of our Japanese reporters !! Well Minichamps certainly wasted no time in getting this model out !  It's the Takuma Sato BAR 005 Test Car which is only available via the Suzuka Circuit and is limited to 4,000 pieces so it shouldn't be too difficult to find, also comes complete with a UPC on the reverse of the box.

Now if that wasn't enough to be going on with then check out this ! Click Here! A couple of Bridgestone boxed BAR Button & Villeneuve models both limited to 1,000 pieces which are available for pre-order, delivery expected around November time. 

Well after about an hour and two of the five packing cases later I was in a complete mess - stuck in the middle of the room completely surrounded by models stacked up in various piles, on the floor, on my desk, on top of the packing cases I had taken them out of, even on the window sill they were literally everywhere !  The problem I then found myself in was that somewhere underneath this mayhem was my camera which didn't even have a wide angled lens 'wide angled' enough to capture the moment anyway !

The good idea didn't seem such a good idea after all so I proceeded to put them all back into their respective packing cases - at this point I discovered that these packing cases purchased from my local DIY store were no longer manufactured by the same people who made Doctor Who's Tardis i.e. larger on the inside than the outside as they had suddenly shrunk beyond all recognition !  Now I appear to have at least 25% more models than I started with........seems like a good deal to me !

03-October-2003  It's silly season again in Japan as the release of the 2003 Michelin models were announced today, again limited editions solely for the Japanese market.

Released October :

Toyota Panasonic Racing TF103/O. Panis  984pcs

Toyota Panasonic Racing TF103/C.da Matta  504pcs (SOLD OUT !)

Mclaren Mercedes MP4-17D/D.Coulthard  504pcs

Mclaren Mercedes MP4-17D/K.Raikkonen  984pcs

Released November :

Williams BMW FW25/J.P.Montoya  984pcs

Williams BMW FW25/R.Schumacher  504pcs

Jaguar Racing R4/M.Webber  984pcs

Jaguar Racing R4/A.Pizzonia  504pcs

It appears that the Renaults have been dropped this year in favour of the Jaguars.  Now one joker in Japan is already offering these to collectors at $999 US per set which is very kind don't you think ?  As I said last year, bide your time and the prices will fall to a more realistic level, after all the 'Bibendum' figure and the insert were added after the fact in Japan so in theory they are not true Minichamps promotional models.

27-September-2003  It looks like Minichamps have finally taken some action about some of the items being sold on eBay at present - take a look at the following auction which I'm sure many of you have seen, paying particular attention to the ".....because of some trouble with Minichamps" Click Here!

There are two low production run models exclusive to North America which seems to be rising rapidly in price at the moment, namely the 'Racers Group' Porsche 911 GT3 R Le Mans 2002 and Daytona 2003 winners.  If anyone is still looking for these models then the Exclusive Motorsport Diecast Gallery has them in stock

26-September-2003  According to Amerang the UK importer only 72 of the 2003 USGP event cars will come into the UK which seems to prove the point that these models don't appear to be doing very well at all.  As we already know a large number of the 2002 models remain unsold and are still available for retailers in the UK to purchase from Amerang for a trade price of £3.50 each whilst the new RRP for them is a lowly £6.99 so I'm sure the situation is similar throughout Europe.

Also whilst on the subject of Amerang the UK RRP for 2003 F1 race cars has been reduced to £19.99 for 1/43 and £39.99 for the 1/18 cars to bring prices more in line with the rest of Europe.

Since I posted the picture of the fake Schuco model last week I have been alarmed by the number of emails I've received from collectors confirming that they have been sold fakes on eBay so if you have been a victim of these shysters get in contact with them and demand a refund.  If you are in the UK then I also suggest contacting your local Trading Standards Office as they are always interested in such matters, after all selling fake goods is against the law.  If they need any help with their enquires then don't hesitate to pass on my details as I would be happy to be of assistance in any way I can.  

25-September-2003  There appears to be a story doing the rounds at the moment suggesting that a large proportion of the 2003 USGP event cars en-route to North America have been destroyed beyond all recognition due to the consignment shifting in the container transporting them, thereby making the few which do make it through very sought after.

Whether this is a rumour put out to drum up sales for a model which has received mixed reviews so far is anyone's guess however there is no need to panic as there are loads still unsold in Europe ! 

23-September-2003  The 2003 McLaren Team Edition models are currently available to pre-order on the McLaren website, the 1/43 versions will be available in November and the 1/18th items January.

As we reported here earlier in the year these models will come complete with Team Edition packaging but will carry the 'David' and 'Kimi' branding instead of the traditional 'West' markings due to the change in tobacco advertising laws.

21-September-2003  A couple of years back I was told the story of the J P Barthemely Edition of the Panis Ligier JS43 Monaco GP model and how it was commissioned by a French automotive magazine to sell with a Nicolas Watts print of the 1996 race which Olivier Panis won. 

According to the information I was given the models were apparently ordered in batches as the prints were sold and although the expected production run was 500 there were no more than 188 in existence.  Apparently numbers 1-100 came complete with full Gauloises livery and 101-188 were in the normal Ligier livery with a sheet of Gauloises decals taped to the base.  This information was from a reliable source and the story was accepted as being 100% genuine and accurate.

Well today I have received an email from a collector complete with a photograph of the model he has purchased which depicts the edition number of 248/500 thereby blowing the original story completely out of the water.  If anybody else has one of these models with an edition number higher than 248 or has any other information about these models then I would be pleased to hear from you.  

20-September-2003  ### COLLECTORS ALERT! ### We start with a collectors alert.  I have received an email today from a highly respected collector who purchased a Schuco promotional model on German eBay this week on behalf of a third party.  When the model arrived it turned out to be a fake. 

As I mentioned only a few days ago I have it on good authority that a German collector has paid several thousand Euro's for a state of the art computer printer and is producing 'rare' promotional models to sell on eBay.  We suspect that he is not working alone but in cahoots with another two individuals, this is evident from the large volume of similar items these people regularly sell.  Unless Minichamps are willing to take steps to stamp this sort of thing out they are going to continue to get away with it, after all it is a breach of copyright law to use someone else's registered trademark which is what is happening here.  If Paul Lang is willing to email me I will gladly pass on the names of the other two eBay sellers who we suspect are also passing off these fake models.

Some news just in from our Japanese office, another couple of 1/43 Toyota Promotional models have surfaced, these 'Proline' promos were produced solely for the Japanese market. Apparently these have already sold out so expect them to appear on eBay at ridiculously high prices within the next few weeks. The last time I posted pictures from this retailers site I got a nasty email!! Click Here! to view the pictures.

We also have an exclusive picture of the 2003 USGP event car !  Click Here! to check it out     

17-September-2003  As the 2003 US Grand Prix rapidly approaches it means one thing - the release of yet another 'Event Car' promotional model.  Now I've been lucky enough to collect all the event car models released by Minichamps in 1/43 (with the exception of the USGP SAP promo that is) which usually means pre-ordering in advance direct from a dealer in either the US or Canada.

Now for anyone based in Europe the only pitfall is having to pay the dreaded import duty slapped on when the parcel reaches your local Customs area and believe me I've contributed handsomely to Her Majesty's Tax Office over recent years !  Until last year this wasn't a problem mainly due to the fact that the models were reaching premium prices but for some reason after the 2002 USGP a large number of models were 'dumped' and were selling at normal everyday prices.   Already this year Motorsport Products are offering these at £22 thus making the pre-order option from overseas an unviable proposition.  

The same publisher has released a new miniature monthly car magazine in Japan called 'MiniCar Fan' and the quality is reported to be on par with the Minichamps World book, first issue was out August, the second the end of this month.  It seems the magazine comes with a special ticket which if you return it you are entered into a draw to gain the right to buy a special Lambourghini Miura (White with black interior limited to 1,200 pieces) If you manage to collect the tickets from the first four issues you will go into a further draw to gain the right to buy another special Miura, this time a white one with yellow interior, limited to 300 pieces ! 

This new magazine is not just about Minichamps however but covers stuff from other manufacturers, new products info, special interviews and shop lists.  The first issue has a nice feature on Le Mans models Click Here! to get a taster.

Some other news from Japan - Minichamps will release a special CLK DTM car for the worldwide market, namely the ARTA Autobacs sponsored car !

09-September-2003  The 2003 Frankfurt Motorshow kicks off this week and if past years are anything to go by be prepared for an array of new promotional items appearing over the next week.  The first out is this silver and black Minichamps branded BMW Mini Cooper which is limited to 528 pieces - it's sure to be a popular item so expect to pay a premium when they start hitting eBay.

If however you are able to wait a few weeks they usually start to appear at toyfairs at more reasonable prices.  

06-September-2003  As a result of numerous telephone conversations and emails discussing the matter of the recently discovered '100 Grand Prix' McLaren models we have come to the conclusion that they are actually fake.

The most worrying thing about them is the standard of the printing however it was this alone that gave the game away, something only an expert would be able to spot.  The typeface and the fact that the date was printed in German were two giveaways - I also have a picture of the reverse of the box which contains a few other 'grammatical' errors which I'm not willing to divulge simply because of the fact that if I do it would be assisting the fakers by advising them where they are going wrong.  

Now I have it on good authority from one of my network of 'contacts' in Germany that one person who lets say is a 'well respected' collector has recently paid several thousand Euros for a state of the art computer printer so something like printing up a few insert cards would pose no problem at all.  If you notice these fakes are based on the cheaper more readily available models so anything they make on them is pure profit and the initial outlay cost of the printer would be quickly recovered. 

It may also be worth noting that the number of 'rare' models the same few people regularly appear to be selling on eBay is cause for concern also.  I have purchased lots of models in the past from Sport Express, a highly reputable dealer who sends me a weekly pricelist by email which I use as a 'barometer' of what rare models are available on the market.  Oliver at Sport Express has models arriving on a daily basis from all over Europe so it gives you some idea on the availability of the rarer stuff that's out there - however some of these eBayers are selling stuff that only turns up once in a blue moon on a weekly basis so where is it coming from ??  Makes you think doesn't it.   

04-September-2003  The website celebrated it's second birthday on Monday however I was unable to post any updates due to the fact I was holidaying in the South of France !  Now before anyone asks a silly question yes I did get time to check out the locality for model shops and hit upon two fantastic shops in Monte Carlo to be precise.  As you would expect they were more expensive than anywhere else but despite this were without anything rare. 

As the regular vistors to the website have probably gathered wherever I go on holiday I always attempt to check out local model or hobby shops in the hope of finding something rare - it's a deal I struck with the wife, I don't moan when she is shopping as long as she doesn't object to me spending a few minutes here and there looking for Minichamps.  It has become apparent however that no matter where in the world I have been the shops are lacking in the more desirable items such as McLaren F1 GTR's, Dauer Porsches, BMW M3's, Ferrari F1 and Michael Schumacher models.  It seems since the advent of the internet every shop on the globe has been pillaged of the more sought after items and these are now only becoming available when a collector decides for whatever reason to sell their collection.  Indeed since the release of the Japanese Minichamps book earlier in the year the majority of collectors now seem intent on completing their collections at any cost which is evident from the prices some of the earlier releases are changing hands for on eBay.

Here's a true story which happened to me a few years back - I found a small shop in Southern Italy, nothing too flash but it had a few models which I purchased however at the time I couldn't make my mind up on a short tail Gulf  McLaren F1 GTR so left it only to regret it when I arrived home.  The following summer I went back into the same shop and sure enough the model was still there so I went to the nearest bank to change some currency however upon my return the shop had closed for a 'siesta'.  As the shop was right next door to my hotel I was first there as the owner opened up some two hours later only to find that the McLaren was gone - you guessed it sold in the few minutes that I nipped out to the bank. The moral of the story therefore has to be if you see something you want buy it straight away otherwise you may miss out. 

On a similar note one thing that always amazes me at the toyfairs I attend is just how many collectors refuse point blank to purchase a model from a dealer on principle just because it was £5 or £10 dearer than the last time they saw it - however the crazy thing is they are prepared to pay £20-£30 in petrol to drive to the next fair in the hope of finding the same model, it just doesn't make sense to me at all.