Tales of Toy Cars - New finds through August 3, 2007

Volume X, Last Updated August 3, 2007

Expanding the Collection

The following toy cars were purchased or received in trade by Doug Breithaupt in recent months. Some are new but others are older diecast acquired from other collectors or at toy shows. The prices paid are also shown. This addition to 'Tales of Toy Cars'. is intended to share recent finds with fellow collectors. If you have found some interesting diecast cars recently, let me know and send an image if possible, attached to an e-mail.

Expanding the Collection continues with our new format. We still have the 'Toy Cars of the Month' but the remainder are now divided by marque. I would be an ungrateful cur if I did not take this opportunity to thank my many trading partners who are responsible for sending most of the really good toy cars shown below. Thank you everyone!

Toy Cars of the Month - Maisto is king of the small-scale concept cars and their new Lincoln MKR was provided to media at the debut of the real car during the Detroit Auto Show. While TofTC was not at the show, a contact at Maisto was king enough to send one on, thus confirming that TofTC is media too! Perhaps we can now provide Christian Falkensteiner with the press credentials he needs for full access at the Nuremburg Toy Show. The detailed paint and full interior are excellent. While I expect that Maisto will offer this same casting through normal retail sources, that information is not available at this time. The second model was purchased for me by a TofTC reader. It came in a two car set with the Enzo shown in the Ferrari additions. The casting is equal to ther best offered by Hot Wheels in their collector series. The shape is excellent and the wire wheels are some of the best small-scale examples I have seen. The best feature is the opening engine cover with a view of that beautiful V12, complete with 12 Weber trumpets in all their glory. Even Kyosho does not offer this level of detail.

Lincoln MKR Concept - Maisto - promo

Ferrari 250GTO - Hot Wheels (collector) - $5.50

ASTON MARTIN - new color, the third for the Hot Wheels DB9, Matchbox DB7 looks good in steel blue

DB9 - Hot Wheels - $.97

DB7 - Matchbox Premier - $2.50

AUDI - A local thrift shop provided this Soma casting

Quattro - Soma - $.20

AUSTIN - These wheels look good on the London taxi.

Austin London Taxi - Matchbox - $.97

BMW - Yat Ming did this 6 Series on a string while the Summer 5 Series has opening doors.

635CSi - Yat Ming - $.50

5 Series - Summer - $.25

BUICK -

Grand National - Hot Wheels - $.97

CHAPARRAL - The Gulf Racing colors are fine but why these wheels?

2D - Hot Wheels - $.97

CHEVROLET - The Redline Vega Bomb is a nice addition that arrived in trade.

Corvette C4 convertible - Matchbox - $2.50

1955 Chevrolet - Hot Wheels - $.97

1969 Camaro Convertible - Hot Wheels - $.97

Vega Bomb funny car - Hot Wheels - trade

1969 Camaro Convertible - Hot Wheels - $1.00

CHRYSLER - The Chrysler 150 was offered in Europe.

Chrysler 150 - Pilen - trade

CITROEN - The 2006 Citroen WRC ride of Sebastian Loeb is a great addition. Majorette offers the stock version of the new C4 and the C1.

Citroen C4 - Majorette - trade

2006 Citroen Xsara WRC - Norev - trade

C1 - Majorette - trade

DACIA - A Rumanian police vehicle is certainly unexpected

Dacia Logan - Renault Toys (Norev) - trade

DE TOMASO - The Mangusta by Corgi is the best example of this car. The Matchbox Pantara was found at a toy show.

Mangusta - Tomica Limited - trade

Pantara - Matchbox - $1.00

DODGE - .

Charger R/T- Hot Wheels - $.97

2006 Challenger concept - Hot Wheels - $.97

FERRARI - The top three Ferrari models here are some of the best from Hot Wheels. The Enzo and 250GTO came in a boxed set. The 512M is now available in four colors with the yellow and orange shown below, the most unique combination. Does this represent areal car? The 250LM does represent a real car, right down to the yellow circle above the N.A.R.T. badge. Some have questioned the larger rear wheels but overall this is a great vintage racer from Hot Wheels. Along with the 1961 F1 196, 330 P4, 512M and Redline 312, Hot Wheels has the makings of a great fantasy Ferrari vintage racer five-pack. A re-release of the 312 would be a wonderful idea.

250LM - Hot Wheels - $.97

308GTB - Hot Wheels - $.50

Enzo - Hot Wheels - $5.50

512M - Hot Wheels - $.97

250GTO - Hot Wheels - $5.50

308GTB - Summert - $.10

FORD - Fords from Australia, Spain and elsewhere in Europe and the United States are included in this month's additions. Racing Champions had planned to offer the famed Aussie Interceptor driven by Mad Max but due to licensing issues, it was shelved. The casting then appeared in a Scooby Doo 2 multi-pack, adorned with tampoes that made the model hard to recognize. I could not justify $6.99 for the multi-pack in order to get this one car but was happy to find one in trade. To see how it should have looked, click here. Three Escort models from Pilen came in trade and include a Spanish police car. The Capri racer from Summer is quite nice and one of their earliest models. Later versions of this casting were as crude as the Sierra model shown below. Matchbox and Hot Wheels continue to get plenty of value from their GT40 and GT castings.

1950 Coupe - Racing Champions - trade

Escort (Spanish police). - Pilen - trade

Capri racer - Summer - $.25

Sierra XR4Ti. - Summer - $.10

2005 Mustang concept - Matchbox - $.97

1968 Mustang - Hot Wheels - $1.00

Escort - Pilen - trade

2005 GT - Matchbox - $.99

1961 Starliner - Maisto - gift

Explorer US Forest Service - Matchbox - $.97

Falcon Interceptor (Mad Max) - Racing Champions - trade

Escort - Pilen - trade

2006 GTX1 - Hot Wheels - $.97

GT40 - Hot Wheels - $.97

2006 Convertible - Greenlight - $2.99

FIAT - Pilen, Ritmo provides a seldom-seen Spanish 'policia' cruiser. The new Panda from Majorette is a very welcome addition.

Ritmo - Pilen - trade

Panda - Majorette - Trade

HONDA - While I often leave toy trucks on the pegs, the fact that this is a Honda changed my mind.

Ridgeline - Matchbox - $.97

HUMMER - For some reason, I can't resist U.S. Forest Service variations. The flat white paint seem a bit odd.

H2 - Matchbox - $.95

JAGUAR - Another color for Corgi's XJ-S gives me red, white, green, blue and now silver. Summer's XJ6/12C was likely 'inspired' by Corgi's 1:36 scale example.

XJ-S - Corgi - trade

XJ6/12C - Summer - $.10

JEEP - This nice green promotional model for Climat was sent in trade.

Jeep CJ6 - Matchbox -trade

LAMBORGHINI - For a dime, this Yat Ming Jota seemed a good deal.

Jota - Yat Ming - $.10

LOTUS - The Esprit Turbo was not part of the Bond series but was a modifacitation of the mini-sub casting. The mini-sub replaces a rougher example. It was interesting to add both of these at the same time.

Esprit Turbo - Corgi - $2.00

Esprit as Mini-Sub (Bond) - Corgi - trade

LAND ROVER - Two more Pilen Range Rovers arrived. The Sterling was a Honda re-badged as a Rover and this is a color I did not have.

Range Rover - Pilen - trade

Sterling - Matchbox - $.25

LINCOLN - There is a lesson here. Several years back, I sent of my example of theis maisto model in a trade figuring I could easily find another. This one arrived in a trade from Mexico.

Continental Mk. VIII - Maisto - trade

MARCOS - This nice example replaces the rough one I've had for many years.

XP concept - Corgi - trade

MAZDA - Soma castings are simple but rather nice. I found this and others at a local thrift shop.

RX-7 - Soma - $.10

MERCEDES-BENZ - Majorette's version of this sporty Merc is quite good.

SLK - Majorette - trade

MERCURY - For years, the only Hot Wheel Spoiler model I was missing was the Nitty Gritty Kitty. While 'much loved' by previous owners, I am very happy to have this example

Nitty Gritty Kitty (Spoilers Cougar) - Hot Wheels - trade

MINI - Majorette's topless new Mini is cute and fun.

Mini Cooper - Hot Wheels - $.97

NISSAN - This 260Z is my first Brazilian Majorette-Kiko, received in trade. The new Murano is one of Majorette's best from 2006, complete with an opening hood.

260Z - Majorette Kiko (Brazil) - trade

Murano - Majorette - trade

OLDSMOBILE - Greenlight seems ready to match the quality of Johnny Lightning but at a better price. The 1970 Olds 442 in green is excellent. Hot Wheels' CCM Country Club Muscle could be the custom Toronado they neglected to produce in 1967. Jay Leno's 1,000 hp twin turbo '66 Toronado was the likely inspiration for Mattel's designers. Jay's Toronado looks stock while the CCM is anything but. The body is plastic which is a shame but I like it anyway.

1970 442 - Greenlight - $3.99

CCM Country Club Muscle (Toronado) - Hot Wheels - $.93

PEUGEOT - The Pilen 504 is very interesting as a Spanish taxi.

504 - Pilen - trade

PLYMOUTH - This plum version is a nice change from the original orange example but the wheels are a bit too modern for my taste.

1970 Hemi 'Cuda - Maisto - $.66

PONTIAC - The nice black Corgi Firebird was a toy show find. The shiny Hot Wheels '64 GTO lookd good on sale for just $1.

Firebird - Corgi - $1.00

1965 GTO - Hot Wheels - $1.00

PORSCHE - The little red TC Toys 911 is curious in that the black tires revolve arount the silver wheels. the wheels screw into the chassis. The white/green Soma 928 carries German police colors while the black/silver example is in racing livery. Summer's 959 provided a missing casting. Darda's racer looks like a 962 to me. Hot Wheels is the first with the pretty Cayman and it comes in yellow or silver. The red 935 is a very early Summer model with much better detail and wheels than later examples. The Larami 924 will sharpen your pencil. The Matchbox Premier Edition 959 looks good in blue.

911 Turbo - TC Toys - $1.00

928 german police - Soma - $.10

928 - Soma - $.25

959 - Summer - $.10

962 - Darda - trade

Cayman - Hot Wheels - $1.00

Cayman - Hot Wheels - $1.00

935 Turbo - Summer - $.25

924- Larami - $.25

959 - Matchbox - $1.99

RENAULT - The new Norev Classic Renault R8 Gordini and 5 Turbo are the perfect follow-up to their first three offerings. As this series continues, perhaps we will see other marques included. The Classic series almost makes Norev's contemporary cars seem average and they are certainly not that. I could live without many more of the tuner models.

4F - Pilen - trade

Clio B85 - Majorette - trade

SAAB - Somehow I missed this racing color varation back in the day.

9000 - Matchbox - $.10

SEAT - It is wonderful to add all these Pilen models and what could be more Spanish than a Seat? The 131 Familiar is based on the Fiat and the wagon version is even more fun.

131 Familiar - Pilen - trade

131 Familiar 'traffic control' - Pilen - trade

SATURN - This Saturn Ion is over-tampoed but welcome as a missing casting in my collection. I just found the nice blue version as well that will showe up in the next 'additions' in TofTC.

Saturn Ion - Hot Wheels - trade

SUBARU - I expect this is a copy of someone's casting. It comes in the 'X-Press Changes Over' series with extra wheels, seats and windows.

Impreza WRX - Sun Toys - $1.00

TOYOTA - Like the Porsche 935 above, the Celica racer from Summer is a very early casting and has better detail. Majorette continues to offer the Hilux and I found the Land Cruiser in red.

Celica racer - Summer $.25

Hilux - Majorette - trade

Land Cruiser - Majorette - $.10

VOLKSWAGEN - Years ago, I had the Hot Wheels Beach Bomb but I traded it for the Custom Cord. Now I have another and can walk with my head held high. Frankly, I think the mania about VW vans and busses is over the top but it is nice to have an example of this classic Hot Wheels model. The green VW Concept 1 looks very eco-friendly.

Beach Bomb - Hot Wheels - trade

VW Concept 1 - Matchbox - $.25

VOLVO - Even a Summer Volvo is welcome, especially the 164E. Again, this is an early example.

164E - Summer - $.25

*CUSTOMS - HOT RODS - FANTASY - The Cockney Cab is based on an Austin London Cab but this is clearly the hot rod version. The condition on this example is quite good.

Cockney Cab -Hot Wheels - trade