September - December 2006 Archive
10-December-2006 If you thought you had seen the last of the Michelin men think again, M-Creative have announced another batch of the little plastic men available from their website
1/43 Renault F1 R26 Alonso Ltd 960 Pcs
1/43 Renault F1 R26 Fisichella Ltd 288 Pcs
If you collect Porsches and must have every model Minichamps care to throw at you then these two fantasy items may be your cup of tea, both limited to 999 pieces and are produced for 'Com For Car' The first is an Alpine liveried car part number 403 016904 and the Recaro Car 403 016903.
01-December-2006 Yet another batch of F1 models were announced yesterday all in 1/43 scale -
We also have some better photos of those Esso Collection models courtesy of one of our Japanese reporters !
24-November-2006 It seems M-Creative have moved on from Michelin to Esso and are taking preorders for a couple of promotional items in the new 'Esso Collection'.
22-November-2006 A strange item has appeared on eBay, it's a Michael Andretti McLaren MP 4/8 in a McLaren Collection #1 box. What makes this item strange is that this brings the number of McLaren Collection #1 models to three.
The first model released was a Senna MP 4/8 in the old style chevron box complete with 'McLaren' on the airbox, a second new style McLaren Collection packaged item then surfaced with the 'barcode' livery on the airbox but without a UPC code on the reverse, now this Andretti item. I for one have never seen this item before.
This item has been doing the rounds recently on eBay also, it's a standard Porsche GT3 dealer edition with additional decals supposedly given away as a promotional item by the Deutsche Bank. As these promo items usually have different boxes or plinths for all we know it could be a collector modified model.
11-November-2006 A few new items announced by Minichamps this week. The first is the James Bond two car 'Casino Royale' themed flip top presentation box containing a 1/43 Aston Martin DBS and Aston Martin DB5, comes with a part number of 402 137600 and is limited to 3,007 pieces. Obviously announced to coincide with the release of the film on the 16 November.
Other items announced are
01-November-2006 Since we posted information about those 'Rising Sun' items last week it seems a further two models are available namely the BAR RA106's of Rubens Barrichello & Jenson Button
It also appears Auto Hebdo have carried on their tradition again this year of commissioning a couple of models, this time a red and a black limited edition Lancia Stratos Stradale.
29-October-2006 There has been a total lack of news to report over recent weeks so if anyone has any information then I'd be pleased to hear from you. The one piece of information that we do have is that the Alonso Renault model we featured recently is definitely not Minichamps, we seem to think it's either Norev or Universal Hobbies however confirming it's origin is easier said than done.
Our old friend Ivo Beuken has updated his Minichamps database - for those of you who haven't used his site before it's the definitive list of 1/43 F1 models, Click Here!
18-October-2006 One of our reporters has spotted a strange phenomenon with the latest Renault Dealer Editions of Fernanado Alonso's 2006 R26 model. Since there is no reference to Minichamps or Paul's Model Art on the packaging he decided to unscrew the model from the base only to find unlike previous Renault items there is no Minichamps logo on the bottom of the car.
09-October-2006 A further 'Rising Sun' promo model has surfaced on eBay taking the number we know about to three, this time it's a Ralf Schumacher Toyota.
Also Grand Prix Miniatures in Canada have several Renault promotional models available to pre-order at the moment, all in 1/43 scale.
7711420075 Renault R26 Race Version - Fernando Alonso
7711420076 Renault R26 Race Version - Giancarlo Fisichella
7711420548 Renault R26 Race Version Silverstone GP Fernando Alonso
In addition there will also be some special items including a 1/43 Alonso 2006 Monaco launch car complete with sound chip, several gift boxes and 5 car historic Renault dealer edition however we have no further information with regards to if this will be 100% produced by Minichamps
06-October-2006 As in previous years Minichamps have released some special promotional models to coincide with the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend. These 'Rising Sun' editions have been produced in association with Kyosho and feature both the Super Aguri F1 Showcar of Takuma Sato and the Toyota TF106 race car of Jarno Trulli.
We also reached another milestone earlier this week - our 500,000th hit ! Thank you to everyone for your support over the last 5 years !
1-October-2006 A new special edition BMW M3 promotional model has been released. It's an ex-DTM from Linder Team as driven at the German Hill Climb championship and comes with a part number of 433 032077. The model can be ordered direct by emailing Juergen Scott at ASM car ASM-Modellbau-Muecke@t-online.de
30-September-2006 Here's one for the numerous Porsche collectors out there. It's the annual AVD Oldtimer Grand Prix Porsche VIP model. Every year at the OGP Porsche sells a VIP package containing tickets for all races, entry to the Porsche VIP area and several gifts including a Minichamps Porsche. The whole package costs 250 Euros.
As in previous years Porsche sells the remaining models (some 300) at the end of September for 65 Euros. All AVD Porsches of which this must be the 7th or 8th are individually numbered and limited from 700 to 1,000 pieces. Whilst the earlier models usually were modified standard Minichamps releases (with a sticker on the door) this latest item is exclusive. This 1967 Targa is completely different to the standard Minichamps model with the rear soft top closed, rear seats, different bumpers and more detail.
24-September-2006 It's been another slow week as you have probably gathered however at least we have some news on that Porsche model we featured last week.
The original car has been used by Tolimit Motorsports for promotional use however the model is not an official Minichamps item but a converted model. It seems Tolimit commissioned a model builder to convert them so they have some giveaway items for special customers that have been driven in the car.
17-September-2006 Due to other more important commitments at the present time I have been unable to update the site as often as I would like hence the once weekly updates so please accept my apologies.
A new Mini Car Fan model has surfaced on eBay however it differs from previous models in interior colour only. The white/red model seems to be identical to the original Minichamps release of 1991. Whilst these are limited to 1,000 pieces unlike other Mini Car Fan models there is no individual number printed on the cardboard box.
Whilst on the subject of Porsche we have received details of this item however we do not have any details of it's origin of even if it's a genuine promotional item or converted model. If anyone has any further information we would be pleased to hear from you.
A rare Mercedes promotional item has surfaced - it's a Mercedes AMG Press Test Drive packaged model which was issued to the press in Granada Spain in April 2006.
The 1/18th version of the Bob Jane T-Marts Porsche 956 as driven by Peter Brock / Larry Perkins was originally due for release this Wednesday 13 September however it seems this has now been delayed as a mark of respect because of Brock's passing. It comes with a signed certificate and will be highly collectable because it was the last to be signed by Brock.
08-September-2006 Obituary : It's with great sadness that I report the death of Australia's greatest ever racing driver, Peter 'Perfect' Brock who was tragically killed today whilst driving in a tarmac rally in Australia today. Peter Geoffrey Brock otherwise known as 'Perfect Peter' and the 'King of the Mountain' was a legend in Australia and was closely associated with the Holden company. He was nine times winner of both the Bathurst 1000 and Sandown 500 races plus three times winner of the Australian Touring Car Championship. RIP.
06-September-2006 This item has just been released today it's a Porsche 956 of Australian drivers Peter Brock and Larry Perkins which raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1984. The model is produced exclusively for the Australian market for Biante by Minichamps and is supplied in a non standard Minichamps box with a product code of 433 846534
The release is limited to 3,000 pieces however whilst there is no number printed on the baseplate all models come with an individually numbered certificate, for further information Click Here!
I only realised last night that it was our fifth anniversary on the 1st September.............how time flies !
02-September-2006 We start the weekend with a whole host of new models announced by Minichamps yesterday - the most notable being the Honda F1 'Bonneville 400' car which was driven to an outright land speed record for a Formula One car on the Bonneville Salt Flats on the 21st July 2006. The final measured speed was 400.459 KmPH (250.28 MPH)
And in 1/18th
The 1/18th versions of the MF1 Racing of both Monteiro and Albers have now been cancelled - I would imagine due to lack of interest
