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Post by cfesmire on May 27, 2004 0:29:29 GMT 1
You know Nick, that if you were to compile your posts here, edit them and throw in a few pictures, you'd have a nice coffee table book. Chester
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on May 27, 2004 0:59:35 GMT 1
Dear Chester:
Thank you. I am considering this advice.
Nick K
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on May 27, 2004 4:58:01 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
In all,Hot Wheels had it all when debuted in 1968. However, there was a competitor who could give problems to it at the time: Topper,the original creator of Johnny Lightning. These were imaginary cars as well and accordingly, claimed to be as fastest. After a two- year period, the company had a wrangling with the Justice,and went out of Business.The original Topper cars,if founded,can also command a good amount of cash.Personally,I never saw any of the original Johnny Lightning items.
History repeats itself,as it is said. Tom Lowe obtained the Johnny Lightining Trademark by the early 1990's and the Company trades under the name of Playing Mantis. Some of the original Topper cars were re-manufactured,and then its most popular series was introduced. One thing goes with this company: the series of vehicles,be it Muscle Cars,Classic Gold (still offered) or Hollywood on Wheels.For a while,original vehicles were offered and the latest are the Nash Metropolitan and the 1948 Tucker- yes,the Tucker and despite its 1/64 scale,it looks outstanding. Other vehicles include AMC the Machine,Buick Gran National,Ford Gran Torino from Starsky and Hutch,1988 Ford LTD Crown Victoria (one of the few miniatures from this car;debuted as the Car from Blue Brothers 2000) and the all known by now 1974 Dodge Monaco from the Blue Brothers Movie. Their Hollywood series also included the De Lorean from Back to the future and their James Bond cars were discussed already. Incidentaly, these JB cars were distributed in the UK as Corgi cars. Their muscle cars and Classic Gold series actually were the ones which made this manufacturer known. In all, some of the cars were not made by anyone else and even at other series- such as racing vehicles- unusual subjects such the 1960's Dodge A-100 Pick-up (the one based on the van),1965 Oldsmobile,a Dodge Dart and one of the earlier Plymouth Barracudas were offered as well. On their frightning series, not only Cadillac Hearses were seen, but there was an ambulance that I think that was based on a Packard Chassis and they did not forgot the ECTO-1 from Ghostbusters.Police cars were offerd,including the Ford cruiser that appeared on the Andy Griffith show or Dragnet's Ford Sedan. This is unavoidable,but there were Corvettes,Mustangs and Camaro Series. But the unusual models,such as the Corvette Nomad Station wagon, and the original Mustang Prototype. In all,it can be said the Playing Mantis avoided the non-realistic cars;most of their models- except the reproductions from Topper-were from real and/or known vehicles,such as the 'Mistery Machine' from Scooby-Doo. Also,models that did not existed in 1/64 such as the Chevy Nova (by the 1980's,only Buby from Argentina had a Nova 4-door sedan at this scale) and supposedly,these are from different years.
My pick will be their De Soto;supposedly,this is from 'Angel' Tv show; the real car does show up on the new Gone in Sixty Seconds movie. De Soto miniatures are seldom seen, and Playing Mantis did a model of it! I even put it close to the fabulous Chrysler 300 from ERTL;both look good. Other unique vehicles molded by them was the 1957 Lincoln Premiere and a series of 1956 chevys, Including the Nomad from that year.When a new year approaches,one wonders what Playing Mantis will bring next. For this year,there is a series called 'Cars of 2004' and surely enough, the new GTO is being offered by them. I already discussed their Pace Car Models; unusual items in here,too.
Rumour has that Mattel was worried about the Mantis and on a certain amount, of Maisto.Hence,its purchase of Matchbox/Tyco. After all,history was repeating itself. And yes,the Mantis is one of my favorites. Loved their variety. Also,on their site,one can suggest the model he/she wants to see molded. I sent my suggestions already.
Import vehicles included the British Invasion series and that includes a nice MG,Sunbeam; and others that includes one of the few 4-door Honda sedan. That series-with the Honda- was very popular.The new generation full-size GMC van was first offered by them and was at the same series as the Utilimasters vans.
And so it goes..............
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skunk
87thScale addict
5th B-day
Posts: 2,762
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Post by skunk on May 27, 2004 14:02:38 GMT 1
The Majorette Dart is the same one that was pictured on eBay, but it was older and came in an unmolested, larger clear plastic box.
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on May 28, 2004 7:18:45 GMT 1
Dear Skunk:
Thank you for the info. Majorettes- the older ones- can be found at eBay. Just keep away from the dealers who use the word 'rare' or 'scarce' at their descriptions (several sellers,as we already discussed,do not know what they are selling and some freely admit it) and we may get some good deals.
Dear Sirs:
I do not consider Siku as an 1/64 manufacturer because is known that their vehicles are well scaled and they made 1/55 scale popular. In all,during their modeling lifetime,very interesting vehicles were offered,and these were mentioned two posts above.Their recent moldings includes newer cars,enphasis given to German prototypes and good quality molding. Their vehicles are quite well known,because their older cars command high prices at eBay. Three of them that I would not mind having is their circa 1958 Mercury Villager wagon,DKW coupe and Edsel (the late one was sold at $92.00 at eBay last year).Their first offerings were molded in plastic, but due to the popularity of Matchbox,they switched to diecast at the early 1960's. Some of their diecasts ended in Brazi and these were packed on Rei Diecasts boxes and sold as Brazilian-made Sikus. The few Brazilian versions I have do show serious rust or oxidation problems. Also,some of their cars of the 1980's could not keep their doors closed if one tilted it,but all in all,the quality of their models are quite high. Of course,they are associated with Wiking now,and 1/87 scale Siku cars were introduced.
A phetora of Mercedes,BMW,Opel and Volkswagen are offered; there are selected models from GM and Ford as well.And their larger vehicles are quite ineteresting as well- trucks from Kenworth and Mercedes and Buses from Setra and Mercedes; hence this is quite a collectable brand, and it is a counterpart to 1/64 models ( some dealers call it 1/64 model manufacturer,anyway). As I understand,they been in business since 1921 but as far as I know,vehicle production started around 1955.
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on May 30, 2004 22:51:20 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
It is one of the manufacturers which went away.
Kidco,which was absorved by Matchbox.A nice 1953 Chevrolet Corvette was molded;before Playing Mantis,it was the only one avaliable in three inches. Fetaures includes an opening trunk. Also,a unique model was offered: the 1977-78 Dodge Monaco coupe ( as a two door) mostly as a cop car (in real life,that may not have happened).A so-so rendition of the car.One of their best models was the 1982 Chevrolet Camaro,which was released prior to the debut of the real thing.There were other vehicles which were incorporated to Matchbox as Kidco was taken over to it,but the cars did not made to the 1-75 series. As it was discussed before, during the Universal period,many Matchbox sub-series debuted and,as Tyco took over,these disappeared as quickly. With the Camaro,an interesting feature was introduced: locking doors. The car came with a key, and the locking mechanism was located at the chassi.So far I know,it is the only toy that had that feature. One day,when I was walking along a yard sale,I found out that Kidco molded trucks in circa 1/50 scale,and these are quite well done.I do not know much what was done, however.The truck I have is a Kenworth.
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on Jun 4, 2004 3:04:35 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
In all, this is a response thread.
I just learned about the Japanese kei cars. I knew about these, but not under their 'special status' condition. Models from the Subaru 360 is made by Tomica, and the Honda Beat, Z and 600 were reproduced by Tomica,Playart and Zee Toys respectively. Tomica also modeled some of the three-wheel trucks that prevailed or are still avaliable in Japan, the Daihatsu being one of these. I am not sure if this can be a kei car,but Tomica also molded the Honda Vamos truck.I am pretty sure that there is more made by them.
I also heard of the enquiries about Duesenberg and Pierce Arrow. The latter did not graduated in 1/64,but the Doosie has a four-door,1931 version by Hot Wheels ( the mold been scheduled for destruction) and RC2 had the SJ and that is a fantastic 1/64 model. There are other Doozies in other scales,specially 1/43,but these are still a minority. Further,most of the real cars were issued as a chassi; the bodies will be from third parties.
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on Jun 9, 2004 3:55:30 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
It is Imperial Toy Corporation, located in the Los Angeles Area.By the late 1970's, they molded a Blazer Police car and the sole model that I know of the 1971 Chevrolet sedan , as a police car ( likely an Impala). By the 1980's,this company had some Yat ming cars labeled as Imperial Toys. By 2001, some car carriers were offered. The one which carried Fords had a Mustang,1950 and 1957 Fords,plus an Woodie.Again,there are few 1957 fords in 1/64.Another carrier had a fleet of Chevrolet cars as their cargo. It seems this company is associated to Buddy L now,because I saw the same car carrier with the Fords under Buddy L logo. Another small company that offered a unique car or two.
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on Jun 10, 2004 7:29:57 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
In all, at times, it is interesting to see a car made by several manufacturers.At times, different years of the car will be done,or some models will have more details than others.
On the case of the police cars in 1/64, the 1997 Ford Crown Victoria was handled by Matchbox,Playing Mantis and Golden Wheel. The Matchbox, if it comes from its more expensive series,is a quite detailed car; on its basic 1-75 series,the rear tailights are not painted and the overall look of it is fine.The Golden Wheel has scant rear detail,and it looks average. The Playing Mantis redition seems too long and not that well captured at the rear window section. The 1998 on Vic was molded by Maisto,RC2,Realtoy,Welly,Motormax and Liberty Classics. The Welly is a good unit,lots of detail including the computer set-up,but the tailights are not painted; the Motormax has painted tailights, but the detail at the front is in between; the Realtoy version does not look right at the photo; I never saw the real thing. Maisto's version is all right; no interior and again the front end looks a tad wrong; the ones from RC2 and Liberty classics are all right and receive all the stars followed closely by the Welly version ( the latter even has the Ford oval at the front grille; paint its tailights, and it will look very good).
Other one is the 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS. The Caprice had its own grille; the SS had a different grille, and the chevy bow tie was at the front grille of the SS. Playing Mantis did the SS, but the grille was from their Caprice with a chevy bow-tie on it. Revell's rendition had the right front grille; the same can be said about Jada Toys version,altough the latter is a low-rider and some detail is missing.
In all,this is the way it goes. Some more cars will be covered later one.
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on Jun 12, 2004 2:06:56 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
It is known that at times, cereal boxes would have some prizes in it. One of these was F&F. These giveaways were molded in plastic and had no interiors or chassi, and the top would be susceptible to damage. Most of the subjects were Fords, including a 1953 2-door sedan, 1957 Four door sedan and a 1956 4-door station wagons; Thunderbirds from the 1960's were offered as well. Some of these can be found at eBay and a reasonable price for these would be around $10.00 or so. I was told that a 1953 Mercury was made as well,but I never could confirmate that. On my visits to eBay, I learned that F&F also made a Scenicruiser bus and cars from other makers. I pretty sure that these cars were made until the end of the 1960's; their detailing is fair.
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on Jun 19, 2004 16:21:04 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
It was called D.C.M.T. ,Impy or Lone Star. The brand was from the UK, and their vehicles were at the nice side. Cars such as the Chrysler Imperial,Peugeot 404 and one of the few nminiatures of the Volvo P1800 were molded. One interesting model was their VW van: the rear doors,cargo and engine hatches did opened and this one classify as a scarce model; so do the others.A Fiat 2300 Coupe and a Ford Corsair and Zodiac are also part of their offerings and there were some more models. This company also molded vehicles in other scales,included a line of British trucks in 1/76 scale,a line of 1/43 scale vehicles and 1/87 cars. DCMT started business in 1940 and went out of business by 1983. In 1978,a new collection of cars and trucks was introduced,but these were on the cheap side and included vehicles such as the Corvette and Volvo 264. eBay has some of their vehicles now and then.
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on Jun 25, 2004 6:08:33 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
I already mentioned Lindberg,the kit manufacturer. They did a line called Mini-Lindy. One series debuted in the 1960's, and a second one by the early 1970's. Goes without saying that some of these are very scarce and if found at eBay, competition should be expected. Fact is,some of the 1970's cars I discovered at eBay and these do not appear on lists. The cars includes the Chevrolet Monte Carlo,Pontiac Gran Prix,Lincoln Mark III, Cadillac Eldorado. I knew the Buick Riviera (Impossible to find even at eBay),Chevrolet Vega (got that twenty years ago) and AMC Gremlin (got it last year; got lucky because last week one was sold at $35.00 at eBay). Also, being plastic kits,the details are all there and great attention were given to their wheels. I have a listing of these on a book and at this site (manufacturer listing) and these include one I did not saw yet: the Oldsmobile Vista cruiser wagon (the book I have has a question mark at it- was that done?) If that would be the late 1960's era, and find it.I would be happy.
I saw -and bid,but it went too high in price- the Eldorado last week and thus learned of its existence then. The Gran Prix is also an impossible item to find.The detailing of these are similar to their 1/87 trucks and as always some are good,some are not. An interesting piece is their US Mail Stepvan; close to 1/87, and some call it a Studebaker while others say that may be a Jeep (Jeep built a stepvan in the late 1950's that were used by the Postal agencies; so did Studebaker).
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on Jun 30, 2004 5:05:27 GMT 1
Dear Sirs:
Reporting on 1/64 recent releases:
The Ford Maverick from Tiger Wheels is avaliable at eBay and it looks quite good,specially in Black.As discussed,these models were molded by Anson,and the company is based in Puerto Rico.
Auto Art last release was the the Mazda RX8. I am not aware if there will be a 2004 release.
Maisto new models includes the Jeep Sahara and GM's electric car.
Hot Wheels will make a 'normal' Dodge neon.
More news will be avaliable as I uncover them.
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Post by cfesmire on Jun 30, 2004 19:02:10 GMT 1
Nick, I had a bunch of the Lindberg Mini Lindy series from years ago. Some pretty crude stuff but then I liked the Ford 1000 (although a bit undersized). I thought about putting them on ebay and then cannabalized the kits. Sorry I did now.
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stanhas87
87thScale addict
1978 Dodge Monaco CHP
Posts: 4,906
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Post by stanhas87 on Jul 1, 2004 3:57:24 GMT 1
Dear Chester:
The most disputed items from Mini Lindy are the following: Buick Riviera, AMC Gremlin,Lincoln Mark III,Chevrolet Monte Carlo and perhaps the Gran Prix. If the bidding is heavy,any of these will be sold between $15.00 to 35.00. Since their Eldorado is at the scarce range,that may be a target for heavy bidding.All the other show regulary,and fetch up to $10.00 or so.
Nick K
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