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Minichamps Collectors GBMinichamps Model Cars

September - November 2004 Archive



30-November-2004  Yet another limited edition Ayrton Senna model has been released for the Japanese market only - this one is the McLaren Honda MP 4/6 from his Brazilian Grand Prix first win on the 24th March 1991 and is limited to 1,991 pieces.

Ayrton Senna McLaren Honda MP 4/6 Brazilian GP 24 March 1991 

The model was introduced at the Ayrton Senna memorial fair in Nagoya and it seems another version with the driver figure standing will be the next release.

NB As soon as I am able to find a source for these models I will post the information so in the meantime please don't email asking where you can get them from as I don't know the answer ! 


29-November-2004  The new Porsche Dealer catalogue arrived in Germany at the weekend some two months behind schedule.

New Porsche Catalogue

The 917/10 George Follmer model in the picture above is already sold out and was apparently only available via German Porsche dealers however we have it on good authority from Minichamps that they will produce more at a later date.  Our German office has just taken delivery of the Carrera GT 'High Detail' which is reported to be the highest detailed model Minichamps have produced so far including genuine leather seats, seat belts, moveable rear spoiler, working rear suspension.  It even has a retractable roof that fits snugly in the boot and all for 156 Euros !

The only downside is that the new Boxster isn't a Minichamps item but produced by Schuco and is their first new Porsche since 1998.  This is also a high quality item with several photo etched parts.


27-November-2004 It's always interesting reading the threads on some of the message boards relating to the prices some models fetch on eBay and the prices people are willing to pay.  Well it seems as Minardi are relocating team owner Paul Stoddard decided to sell over 5000 items last week at auction in order to raise funds and a standard unsigned Minichamps Justin Wilson Minardi 2003 Showcar reached a whopping £320 ! (Oh and that's not including the 32.5% fees on top !!)  Check out Lot 6016 here!.


20-November-2004  Well as you can probably gather it's been another slow week however we've finally managed to get the part number for the BMW 645 Safety car, it's 80 42 0 394 065.

Over the last few weeks I have turned my attentions to eBay in an attempt to locate a few of the rarer pieces for my collection and can't help wondering what is going on with the prices of certain models.  Only a few weeks ago I started bidding on a 93 Gode Hockenheim Damon Hill Williams model which eventually sold for in excess of £200 whereas last week a similar one sold for just over £33 !  Why the big price difference you may ask ?  Well there are many factors affecting the outcome of any auction however the simple answer in this case may be the fact that the first seller accepted Paypal and the second didn't and this now seems to be the trend on eBay. 

If there are two auctions running concurrently the one accepting Paypal as a method of payment will usually attract far more bids and reach a higher price that the one that doesn't.  The sellers still out there who seem to think that the Paypal charges are too high are in fact handicapping themselves.  Who in their right minds wants to queue down the bank in their lunch hour and fill in a load of paperwork in order to transfer funds to a seller in another country when you can do it from the comfort of their own computer at the press of a few keys.  Much better to pay 4.5% of £200 than nothing on £33 don't you think ?

I'm eternally grateful to my mate 'Turbo Terry' who gave me a copy of issue 5 of the Japanese published 'Minicar Fan' last week and to be honest I just can't put the thing down.  Whilst it is in Japanese the photography is top class and it just oozes quality. I must admit that when this publication was initially released I didn't bother as I thought it would be a flimsy magazine but it can be best described as a glossy 160 page paperback book and is produced by the same company (Ei Publications) as the superb Japanese Minichamps books.  I'm so impressed with it I have since ordered the other volumes direct from Japan from the Hobby Link website and they are not that expensive even with the shipping.

Since the demise of the 'Motorsport Collector' magazine a few years ago there has been a huge void in this area and if Ei Publications were to reproduce an English version then I'm sure the would certainly be onto a winner as it's a niche that they could fill so if anyone in Japan is reading this then please take note !


12-November-2004  The support vehicles produced by Minichamps make an interesting and popular collecting theme which was evident by the way the Porsche Cayenne IMSA Medical Car from the 2003 ALMS flew off the shelves.  The latest addition to the collection has just been released, it's this superb BMW Dealer Edition of the BMW 645 Ci Safety Car from the 2004 MotoGP.

BMW Dealer Edition BMW 645 Ci Safety Car 2004


06-November-2004  The part numbers for the BMW boxed Williams FW26 models mentioned on Thursday are as follows :

These models are available either from BMW dealerships or www.minichamps.com

We have also discovered that the reason that the Damon Hill Brabham model is so difficult to find in the UK is due to the fact that only 300 entered the country so Minichamps produced an additional 1,000 models last year for the UK only, these will be hitting the shops next week.


04-November-2004  The BMW boxed dealer editions of the 'Walrus nosed' Williams FW26 are already doing the rounds on eBay - as soon as we have part numbers we will let you know

Walrus nosed BMW Williams FW26 Ralf Schumacher 


30-October-2004  It seems collectors are creatures of habit who like to show off their collections as best they can however it's only a matter of time before it soon outgrows anything Ikea has to offer.  When you're at that crossroads you have a couple of options - either sell off some of your models in order to scale down or call in the professionals to custom build you something large enough to put them all in.  The only problem with the latter is the cost can be prohibitive which leaves the 'do it yourself' route.

One such collector who plumped for the DIY option is this collector from Alabama USA who built this superb 12' long dustproof cabinet that holds a whopping 360 models.  The display has lighting below each level of cars which makes it a very impressive sight at night and there is also a fan built in to keep the temperature low as not to effect the older cars with more decals.  In order to keep things in check the under tray of each model has the product number applied with the aid of a labeling machine so there is no danger that the cars can be returned to the wrong box.

Jeremy's custom built display cabinet


23-October-2004  Here's one for your Christmas list this year - A Passion For Model Cars Volume II will be released early December, it comes in A4 size and contains 170 pages giving a widespread view of the Minichamps range, product number KATMCBK02.  With a RRP of £19.99 plus postage Andy at Rally Models is already taking pre-orders.

A Passion For Model Cars Vol II 

Also announced are a couple of road cars worthy of a mention -

Well it didn't take long for the silly season to begin on eBay with those recently released Japanese Suzuka models did it ?  The BAR models are currently reaching in excess of 100 Euros and the Toyotas around 70 Euros a piece.  I honestly can't believe that a models with a production run of in excess of 1,400 pieces (4,000 for the Sato model) can suddenly disappear off the face of the earth after the space of two weeks and can command such a high price. So the question is where do they all go ?  Well it seems that once again we are being held to ransom by some people who just seem intent on making as much money as they can when there are more than enough to go round. 


21-October-2004  A couple of model announcements today -

The two Touregs come in 'Red Bull' livery so are expected to be top sellers, all the above are due for Q4 release

Both McLarens are slated for Q1 2005 release. 


16-October-2004  It doesn't matter whatever the event if an F1 car appears then Minichamps are bound to make it !  This time it's Nigel Mansell's appearance in the Jordan Ford EJ14 at the famous Regent Street Parade in London on the 6th July 2004 demonstration run - the item will be produced in both 1/18 and 1/43.  Another couple of models announced this week were the Toyota TF104's of Ricardo Zonta (China GP) and Jarno Trulli (Japanese GP)  All these models can be preordered now. Click Here!

On the promotional model front Renault seem to be taking great strides to promote this side of their business with the announcement that they too will be releasing another two models in Renault packaging in late November.  These will be the Renault R24 race cars of both Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli and are available from Grand Prix Miniatures

Once you've purchased your models you always have the problem of displaying them - it seems this obsessive collector has the problem solved - I spotted this on the Autobarn Forum and is one of the most comprehensive collections I've ever seen. Click Here!


07-October-2004  A pair of Toyota TF104 Suzuka promotional models have been released in Japan for both drivers, both limited to 1,440 pieces.

Suzuka Promotional Model Ltd 1,440 pcsSuzuka Promotional Model Ltd 1,440 pcs

Also Minichamps were present at a recent Japanese Hobby Show and had a number of new releases on show including several Porsches and pieces from the Takuma Sato Collection Click Here!


02-October-2004  Anyone remember how sought after the BMW Hanko model became after it was released a few years back ?  Well they have just released an E30 version of the model which is limited to 1,000 pieces.

BMW Hanko E30 Ltd 1,000 Pcs 

The way these models are being snapped up in Germany means they will more than likely sell out by Monday so if anyone is interested I recommend that you contact John Best as soon as possible - he is willing to deliver in person at the NEC on the 17th October or if necessary post them on, bulk orders are welcome.


01-October-2004  We start a new month with some details of the planned Takuma Sato Collection which is slated for a 2005 release, all in 1/43 scale.

Also one item in a regular Minichamps box

I have also been sent details from an Italian collector (thanks Massimo!) on how to remove the 'Racing' decals from the Le Mans Porsche set using the 'Scotch Tape' method - if anyone would like details of this then please email me and I will send them the relevant pictures in a 'Zip' format (800Kb file)     


25-September-2004  It's that time of year again folks - the '2004 Collection' from M-Creative is on sale in Japan and it looks like the issue numbers are lower than in previous years.  Click Here!


24-September-2004  We reached another milestone today with our 250,000th hit just three short years since the website was born - a big thank you to all of you who check out the site on a regular basis. 

The Senna model we featured earlier in the week is due for release in November and comes with the part number 540884392, as suspected it will be for the Japanese market only.


19-September-2004  We have just received a report that Minichamps will issue this Ayrton Senna McLaren Honda MP 4/4 solely for the Japanese market later this year at the Suzuka Circuit possibly to coincide with the release of the BAR 006 models we featured a few weeks back.

Ayrton Senna McLaren Honda MP 4/4 Ltd Edition 4,000 Pcs 


16-September-2004  Some confirmed releases from Minichamps for 2005 !

On a totally different note I'm always amazed by the prices some models sell for on the Yahoo! Japan auction website especially the ones which are readily available in Europe.  I'm not sure if there is some sort of 'kudos' in Japan by admitting to people that you have paid way over the top for a particular item but even so some of the prices are beyond belief.  The prices on eBay aren't far behind either for the 'phantom' models and by this I mean models of cars with liveries or colours that never actually existed - the Pink Porsche GT1 is a prime example. 

It begs the question 'why do people collect this stuff ??'  Is it peer pressure from other collectors and to seen to be one of the crowd you have to have a particular item or do some collectors simply buy the stuff for their love of the actual model above all else ?


11-September-2004  If you have been wondering where the results of the 'Top 5 Rare Models' poll is then I'm afraid you are in for a disappointment !  Unfortunately due to a lack of responses (six in total) it was as you can appreciate a little difficult to compile a list from that so the idea has been shelved for the time being.  What I will probably do is compile my own list and post it in the next week or so.

As someone who currently stores his own collection (much to the annoyance of my wife I might add) in a combination two wall cabinets, a bookshelf, five large packing cases and assorted cardboard boxes it's always refreshing to see someone who has gone to the job of doing it properly !  My friend Richard has recently purchased a new digital camera and has posted some pictures for everyone to enjoy.  Click Here! 


03-September-2004  The new BMW Miniatures catalogue has been released today and it lists some interesting items -

Also three new 1/18th scale Art Cars