CastHeads Magazine Volume 2 Issue 1

THE PRINCIPALS OF DESIGN - BERTONE, BERTONI, PININFARINA, CARLO ABARTH & MORE

ITALIAN RALLYART

Lancia + FIAT + Alfa Romeo

TO P

N A I ITAL

The Italian V8Beast

F40

4 0 0 E U S IS

Miura

The Italian V12 Beauty

UNSTOPPABLE, UNBEATABLE

The Model Car Critic reviews THE REZVANI TANK FROM DNA

LE PROVING MANS GROUND

24HR

THE CULTURED CASTHEAD DIVES INTO THE HISTORY OF FERRARI AND FINDS OUT STUFF www.castheadsmagazine.com | Volume 2 issue 001 MAR - APR 2019

LA FERARRI

1:64 SHOWDOWN HOTWHEELS Vs. TOMICA Vs. Bburago

Lamborghini Huracan - Tomica 1: 64 Photo by Lance K MÜLLER

004

Editor’s Notes

Nigel

J DE ZILWA

Happy New Year to all our readers and friends!

Another year and CastHeads crawls to its first anniversary hot on the heels of some really beautiful models that sees absolutely no abatement in releases. Every time we log on, we get thrown a curve ball and immediately bank accounts are checked, compromises made and orders placed.

Business, as usual.

The first issue for the year is Italian themed so as you read this, a glass of 2009 red with al dente pasta may pair well with drool worthy Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Paganis ...ehhh forget about it!

And just in time too! Tomica have got themselves the Ferrari License and learned a few marketing tactics keeping things limited and hard to find. FUEL ME keep dropping Liberty Walks like no tomorrow and honestly, you’d be astounded at the amount of Italian cars there are up for grabs in the CastHead world.

My editor’s pick, car is a Lamborghini Aventador Dubai Police livery from Tomica. Significant, because it was the first car I bought since my childhood from fellow collector and diecast dealer Sam Smith. After that the collection is literally out of freaking control.

As always, we have spent hours searching, negotiating and photographing the best there is to offer across the board and we are sure you will find another exciting issue. And, if you have read this far you would agree with me.

Buona lettura!

January 2019

Lance

K M Ü LLE R

The first issue for 2019 is finally out and it’s actually such a great feeling to get this to you. So much had happened in 2018 and this year is turning out to be exciting to say the least.

Gong xi fa cai to our Chinese readers across the world, even if its a little too late. :) This is a bumper issue of all things Italian, but its not limited to some of our favourite marques in the world, we also have an eclectic mix of automotive goodness from DNA Collectibles, BM Creations, and AutoCult.

CastHeads is also becoming a part of the Asian Diecast Community with our participation in both the Singapore Diecast Expo 2019 in March (22-24 at Bugis+) And the Malaysia Diecast Expo 2019 slated to be held in June of this year alongside the Malaysia Toys, Anime, Games and Comic Con 2019, which is huge deal in the collector community.

We are awaiting some amazing releases this year, some gorgeous specials and of course getting our hands on them to share with you all!

I chose the little Fiat 500C as my editor's pick as this is the first super treasure hunt I found on the pegs and I've named it the People's Treasure Hunt as it seemed that this was the most found $TH in Sri Lanka last year.

Enough reading this... Go enjoy the rest of the mag!

Ciao!

in 06

DIECASTING COUCH

13

CASTING REMARKS

23

GARAGE TORQUE

24

SHUTTER CASTERS

26 31 47 49 52 54 56

Getting the gist on whats available in 2019

Nigel takes you all on an epic journey through all things Italian

TARMAC WORKS gives us more Falken-inspired models... We couldn't be happier

Joe Kanno shows us his incredible miniature dioramas

GUEST CASTHEAD The Model Car Critic takes apart a monster. Reviewing the DNA Collectibles Rezvani Tank

On your marques Looking across the racing heritage of Ferrari

The beast of turin The FIAT that made the Earth tremble.

F1 IS coming No its not what you think... Go to the page and have a look

The saint goes marching on Simon Templar's ride comes alive courtesy of DNA Collectibles

CUSTOMS OFFICE We present a customizer all the way from South Africa

The SEXIEST LAMBORGHINI The Miura is one of the most beautiful cars ever made... Fight us.

62

STREET FIGHTERS URBAN LEGENDS

66

RALLY ITALIAS

this

Issue The CastHeads Magazine team would like to thank the following brands for all their support and encouragement. It acts as fuel to our fires and we are just getting started, thank you: BM Creations Tarmac Works JL Hobby Collectique Nastars GreenLight Collectibles True Scale Models Figure WorkShop IXO Models & Premium Collectibles Mattel AutoCult iScale Models The Amalgam Collection Contributing Writers: Lance K Müller Nigel J De Zilwa Chaim Haffner Antonio de Abreu Photographers Lance K Müller Nigel J De Zilwa Joe Kanno Chaim Haffner Alberto Jorge Rodriguez

We delve into the Liberty Walks and Rocket Bunnies of FuelMe

Italian Marques used to rule the roost of world rally championships

72

GUEST CASTHEAD

76

FERRARI F40

81

RACING DNA ENGINEERED

84

WHAT'S HAPPENING

85

LAFERRARI SHOWDOWN

88

CULTURED CASTHEAD

We talk to David Houston who works tirelessly to bring actual cars to scale so we can all enjoy

We take a closer look at the Ferrari F40

The Alfa Romeo that started a legacy

Events that have happened and is to happen

We pit some LaFerraris against each other

We review a book that we think every Ferrari aficionado should own

Creative Direction / Design Lance K Müller & Nigel J De Zilwa

DIECASTING COUCH

New Releases & Hot Picks

Otto Mobile

1998 Honda Integra (DC2) Spoon

The Honda Integra, which is one of the most extreme Japanese cars, became a real monster after passing into the hands of the Spoon Sports tuner. Tatsuru Ichishima, the charismatic founder of Spoon Sports, has always defended his vision of Honda sports cars. Since 1998, this test pilot of the Japanese brand, has aligned himself in competitions and alleviates, modifies and reinforces all the Hondas that pass by his hands.

Scale 1:18 Status: Available Feb 2019

Solido Models

1985 Peugeot 205 GTI MK1

The Peugeot 205 represented in itself the entirety of the Eighties, a time when the three letters ‘GTI’ signified the holy grail of cars. The arrival of the 1.9 L with 130 horsepower made it only more popular with sports car fans. Its chassis worthy of the reputation of the brand allowed it to outrank its competitors. The value of this car remains to this day worthy of its performances. It has achieved cult status amongst collectors, and is an icon of the Youngtimers movement.

Scale 1:18 Status: Available Feb 2019

GT Spirit

2019 Ford GT

A Worthy heir to the original GT40, this Ford GT was first designed to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans GT. Developed at the headquarters of Dearborn in the greatest secrecy, thanks to a small team working in a hidden room of the huge headquarters of the firm, everything about this car is dedicated to performance. The aerodynamics are pushed to the extreme with a carbon skin surmounted by two gull wings providing maximum support. The very compact 3.5-liter engine has 647 horsepower thanks to an exceptional well thought out design.

Scale 1:18 Status: Available now

New Releases & Hot Picks

DIECASTING COUCH

AutoCult

Bentley Type R Gooda Special Coupé (GB 1958) In the British car scene during the early 1950s, Bentley, under the ownership of Rolls Royce, sought a successor to the outdated Mark VI. The new sedan that was introduced in 1952 was announced as the “R-Type”. To live up to the sporting image of the 1930s, the engineers at the Bentley plant developed a sportive version based on the R-Type designated with name affix “Continental”.

In 1966 racing fanatic Robert (Bob) Gooda acquired the car in original condition and wanted to prepare it as a racing car. Peel Coachworks located in Kingston-upon-Thames fitted it with a shorter body, fastback and with significantly lower weight, Bob Gouda gave the racer its only public outing at the Bentley Driver’s Club race that was held at the Silverstone circuit in August of 1967.

Scale 1:43 Status: Available now www.autocult-models.de

Amalgam Collection

FERRARI F333SP This particular model marked the Italian marques successful return to racing after almost two decades. The car was built

by Italian motor racing manufacturer, Dallara (and later Michelotto) to take part in the World Sports Car Championship during the 1994-racing season.

Dallara supplied their dynamic transmission and suspension along

with the aerodynamic silhouette and bodywork. But the chassis and the engine was designed and developed solely in-house by Ferrari. The power was supplied by a modified version of the V12 engine used in the 1990 Ferrari 641 Formula One car, which was duly enlarged to four liters, capable of producing 641 brake horsepower.

Amalgam Collection created this to-scale 1:18 model in-house with the assistance and cooperation of Ferrari regarding original finishes, materials, archive imagery and drawings. It would be an exemplary addition to any collection.

Status: Available on pre-order

Discover the Magic of Miniatures

Produced by: iScale GmbH • Große Elbstraße 162 • D-22767 Hamburg • Germany • www.iscale.eu Asia & Pacific sole distributor: CarLoverDiecast • www.cldc.store

Discover the Magic of Miniatures

G & S M i n i atu res P res ents

Artisa n Sc ale d Sc u lpture s Decorate your space with a custom hand-crafted 1:64 diorama. Each one is unique, and you can even select your own model to be crafted.

Call/Whatsapp +94 77 226 5268 or email gnsminiatures@gmail.com

New Releases & Hot Picks

DIECASTING COUCH

Hot Wheels Basic

Land Rover Series III Pickup 2019 brings more joy to collectors who like to get their hands on classic models. The pick-up is designed by Dmitriy Shakhmatov based off the production model which ran from 1971 to 1985.

The first casting is a candy red with a white roof, gray plastic base which also features a spare tire that pops through the bed and a winch molded into the front fender. The wheels are the new 5-spoke off-road (BAJA5) and headlight tampos.

Scale: 1:64 Status: 2019

www.hotwheels.com

Greenlight Collectibles

1965 Lincoln Continental Entourage used to be a popular HBO TV show in the early 00's depicting a young actor who made it to Hollywood and brought his brother and two best friends to help him make it in the business. His first car in tinsel town was the 1965 Lincoln Continental convertible which is driven by Turtle in the title sequence, featuring New York license plates and white wall tires.

This model is released in the Greenlight Hollywood Series 22, which also features the VW Bus from Little Miss Sunshine and the white Dodge Challenger from Vanishing Point.

Scale: 1:64 Status: Available

www.greenlighttoys.com

TSM Models - MiniGT

Pagani Huayra Roadster True Scale Miniatures is releasing a true motoring icon with Pagani Huayra Roadster. The model comes in speckled metallic Blue Francia in both LHD and RHD iterations.

Scale 1:64 Status: Available now www.tsm-models.com

New Releases & Hot Picks

DIECASTING COUCH

Brumm

FERRARI 375 THIN WALL SPECIAL 1951 Brumm releases an amazing collection of vintage racing Ferraris. One of the standouts is the fearsome Ferrari 375 “Thin Wall Special” #9 driven

by Peter Collins in Goodwood, Silverstone and Snetterton. The model is amazingly detailed for its scale. A Racing green paint scheme really makes it stand out from the sea of red usually reserved for Ferraris.

Scale 1:43 Status: Available www.brumm.it

TSM Models - Scale43

Land Rover Defender CNN Armoured Defender "Pizza Truck" True Scale Miniatures adds another quirky model to its line up with the release of the custom Land Rover that was commissioned to take CNN reporters into very hostile territories to cover some of the worst news stories. The one which the model is based on is now at the Imperial War Museum.

Scale 1:43 Status: Available now

www.tsm-models.com

Diecast Masters

2019 Ford Mustang We are about to get some great Ford models from Diecast Masters this year.

First to release will be the 2019 Mustang* and the 2019 F150 Raptor*.

The Mustang comes with opening features and not only that, it would also be possible to change the camber of all the four wheels! We are eagerly looking forward to the release of this model.

Scale 1:18 Status: Coming soon *Prototypes shown

TOMICA LIMITED VINTAGE NEO

FERRARI F40 MANY MORE MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM. ORDER YOURS TODAY.

OFFICIAL EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTOR www.jlhobbymy.com | jlhobbymy@gmail.com |

JLHobby

Words + Pics + Design | Nigel J De Zilwa

CASTING REMARKS

This issue, Casting Remarks is going to be big.

Simply, because there is a never ending supply of Italians in all shapes, sizes and manufacturers. In fact, it’s quite hard to draw the line, which we did, but we did end up with a sizable list of models you must own from the simple to the almost unattainable

AVENTADOR LP700-4 - HOTWHEELS - Scale: 1/64 Definitely in my top 10 2018 castings from Hot Wheels this is a much sought-after model and with good reason.

Bright red paint with a strip of gold at the bottom which is supposed to make this a tribute to the Miura is a nice touch. I like the gold wheels and the transparent engine cover. Nice one Hot Wheels!

HURACAN PERFORMANTE - TOMICA - Scale: 1/64 Another 2018 fav from Tomica is this Pumpkin Orange matte finish Huracan Performante. Nice job on the light tampos in front, clean lines and faultless mold this is a pretty good Tomica Lamborghini. The Italian flag colors just above the side skirting is classy AF.

Raging BullsOF ITALY

The

AVENTADOR SV - TarmacWorks / Global64 - Scale: 1/64

2018 saw TarmacWorks meteorically rising through the ranks to steal the hearts and drain the wallets of collectors across the globe. Global64 is their lesser premium arm but golly, the detail is quite competitive and in the zone. This particular model was an event exclusive but TarmacWorks used the casting for many others. No, nonsense tampo lights but straight up plastic giving the impression of the real thing. The rubber side mirrors are a nice touch but also, scarily flimsy. Downside: The rear spoiler is offside and that messes with my OCD. Also, if you like playing with your cars the wheels on this don’t roll.

AVENTADOR SV - TarmacWorks / Global64 - Scale: 1/64

CASTING REMARKS

Words + Pics + Design | Nigel J De Zilwa

LAMBORGHINI CENTENARIO - TOMICA - Scale: 1/64 Don’t give this one a miss. Another good casting from Tomica’s main line series, decent paint job, 6 striking yellow stripes at the back marking the notorious down-force fins the Centenario is famous for. Transparent engine cover and good stance, usual Tomica attention to detail.

COUNTACH LP-400 - AMALGAM MODELS - Scale: 1/8

DID YOUKNOW?

The word 'COUNTACH' comes from the dialect Piedmontese in Italy and roughly translates to 'Wow'

Price:

USD 7,580 LKR 1,347,837

Poster car of the 80’s the Lamborghini Countach is unmistakable in being one of those cars you look at and wonder, what the hell were those guys thinking back then? This piece by Amalgam is serious business. The price tag that comes with this had us shivering and knocking our knees together. But, if you have the cash to splash or you want to own just one Amalgam Lamborghini this is one to take a look at. Perfectly replicated 1:8 scale, opening scissor doors (the first production car to have them), lights, spare wheel space, boot space and a highly detailed V12 engine on display. This handcrafted model is not mucking about. Amalgam Models are re-created using the original manufacturer's CAD files and the final product is quality checked by Lamborghini to make sure even the standard process is as close as it can get to the real thing.

This is centrepiece worthy and will have all your friends whispering in hushed tones "Countach”

LB WORKS 700 AVENTADOR N15 ZERO FIGHTER - FUEL ME MODELS - Scale: 1/43 The new Zero Fighter Livery on the Liberty Walk Aventador looks perfect.

The Aventador’s stealth fighter look and stance pair perfectly with the fighter's colours and livery design.

This piece comes from Fuel.Me Models who do some really nice limited editions in 1:43 scale. Unfortunately, the editions are limited to around 30 – 60 pieces per model created which means once sold out the prices shoot up insanely. The other sad part is the lack of opening parts. I can see the engine, but I can’t get up close and personal. However, the detail for this scale is really impressive and I do like 1:43 scaled models also available is the Ferrari 458 version as well.

The actual 'Zero' Fighter AKA 'Reisen' was powered by a Mitsubishi A6M Zero engine.

LAMBORGHINI URUS - MAISTO - Scale: 1/24 Maisto’s 1:18 and 1:24 scale is surprisingly good for the entry price they come in at and details are pretty spot on considering the price point. In fact, Maisto and Bburago have had a fairly good run with Lamborghini and Ferrari.

The ‘Urus’ is no exception even though the name sounds atrocious the 1:24 is a good scale with opening parts and all the bells and whistles a collector needs.

I was really impressed with 5 T-Spoke wheels that reveal sizable disc brakes and yellow accented brake disc calipers.

Words + Pics + Design | Nigel J De Zilwa FERRARI TESTAROSSA - TOMICA PREMIUM - Scale 1:64

Worth checking

out...

CASTING REMARKS

Another 80’s / 90’s icon made incredibly famous by a white model in the hit show Miami Vice and brought to scale life by Tomica in 1/64. This particular model is from the Tomica Premium line, we are still waiting for the F40 TLV release which I know will cost the earth. Unfortunately, Tomica has cottoned on to the exclusive model madness and now there are 3 different variations of the Testarossa two of which were Japan exclusives.

Nevertheless, I have my hands on the red one and I'm pleased to say, its fantastic. Pop up lights, great detail right down to the proper placement of logos. It’s very clear that Tomica is taking their licensing from Ferrari very seriously because all the releases have been pretty good.

Hot Wheels has a few stunning models that are hard to find as well like the 365 Daytona Spyder from Miami Vice or the 250 California from ‘Ferris Beuller’s Day Off’. If you see either one of these up for sale buy them without hesitation.

FERRARI 275 GTB - PREMIUM X MODELS - Scale: 1/43 You know those Ferrari’s you get with those hobby magazines? Most of them come from a place called Premium-X models which also does the IXO brand as well. This is good because for a fraction of the cost you get to pick up some cool 1:43 models spanning through Ferrari’s, rally cars, Le Mans car etc. Plastic lens caps for the lights, prancing horse emblems in all the right place, parts don’t open but altogether a great little number for yourself.

FERRARI 400 SUPERAMERICA - iSCALE MODELS - Scale: 1/18 Looking more like a luxurious fastback coupe the Ferrari 400 was indeed a monster under the hood. 4 Litre, V12 engine with an overdrive gearbox made this car a wolf in sheep’s clothing with plenty of torque and power. Its charm further highlighted

by Pininfarina’s fantastic coachwork and body design making the 400 SuperAmerica the darling of 1962 and probably one of the most beautiful Ferrari’s to be built. The 1:18 model by iScale captures that beauty in two colours and great detail but with no opening parts you don’t get to see that long block Lampredi designed V12 engine.

CASTING REMARKS

Words + Pics + Design | Nigel J De Zilwa

FERRARI 599 GTO - Bburago - Scale: 1/32

This is one of the best Bburago models I have seen in a long time (I have many to see). The overall look of the car feels extremely premium, really, worth the price. No complaints in the general body casting, glued on parts are done perfectly, the wheels look good and actually fit the wheel arches, the doors snap open and close fine. What would have made this perfect would have been an opening engine bay. To reiterate, for the price this is a great deal, it even comes with an acrylic display case. I just wish all their models would get the same treatment.

FERRARI 308 GTB QUATTROVALVOLE - KYOSHO - Scale: 1/64

Tiny Kyosho’s are quite cool. And one of the cooler rare models you can pick up is the 308 GTB Quattrovalvole. Metallic black paint, great detailing, proper side mirrors not just some plastic bits stuck on but aerodynamically shaped side mirrors. It doesn’t take a private detective to show you how famous this model is in 80’s pop culture and for a sports car of that era the shape is just timeless.

FERRARI 308 GTB GROUPE 4- OTTO MODELS - Scale: 1/18

Welcome to a rare site, a Ferrari Rally Car. In the early 80’s Ferrari took an unexpected yet successful trip into Group B Rallying. At the hands of Jean-Claude Andruet, the modified and raced the 308 GTB, winning the Italian Rally Championship, Tour De France and Tour De Corse. Ferrari wasn’t just a track winner it was a rally winner as well.

This piece by Otto Models is a scale replication of the Number 12 car that was part of the winning team in Corsica. Recaro seats, detailed rally car interior, these cars are hard to come by in real life the closest you may get to one is by ordering it from Otto Models.

Worth

checking

out...

Hotwheels, when it had the Ferrari License, made some pretty decent castings. These two are first editions with beautiful paint finishes and minimum tampos. The hard top 308 is a Matte Rust Orange finish and the Targa top is a Dark Blue Metallic finish. If you can find these, a definite add to the collection.

CASTING REMARKS

Words + Pics + Design | Nigel J De Zilwa

ALFA ROMEO STELVIO - OTTO MODELS - Scale: 1/18 Here is a little something off the usual cuff. A 1:18 SUV from Alfa Romeo. This is not, however, a simple SUV. This is the 510 Bhp all-wheel drive STELVIO which definitely puts the sport into SUV. The highly detailed resin model comes in one colour called Competition Red and is currently available on eBay. The OTTO Models site has listed it ‘out of stock.' No opening parts but highly detailed interiors with a lot of attention to the finer points.

This is also a limited edition so you can expect prices to go up as availability on eBay dwindles.

ALFA ROMEO GIULIA SPRINT - MATCHBOX - Scale: 1/64 IIn 1963 Alfa Romeo introduced the first Guilia Sports car in the form of the Guilia Sprint GT. Designed by Bertone the car was quick with its 1.5-litre engine and got around corners efficiently making it a fantastic rally car and a cult classic. This simple little version by Matchbox embodies the very style of the actual legend. A little car that thought it could and did. I also like the Shamrock on the front fender, nice touch.

Worth

checking

out...

Another little gem is the Hot Wheels Giulia Sprint GT Forza versions with their real rider rubber wheels and FORZA livery. A perfect little pocket car for those who like to do carry-ons.

ALFA ROMEO 4C SPIDER - TSM MODEL - Scale: 1/43

Showing just one Alfa Romeo from the TSM Models collection is just the tip of the iceberg. They have an extensive range in an assortment of colours, from different era’s, from luxury to track at different scales and all highly detailed. This 4C Spider is a splendid example of how gorgeous resin bodies can be. And, since this is a ‘Spider’ version it’s an open top which means you can enjoy the effort gone through to keep it detailed as much as possible without trying to catch a glimpse through the side window.

CASTING REMARKS

Words + Pics + Design | Nigel J De Zilwa

FIAT 500 - SUNSTAR MODELS - Scale: 1/43 (LEFT) Come on we know by now that SunStar Models is a serious contender in the game. So, I was quite pleased when I rummaged around in their stores and discovered this little Classic. I love how the FIAT 500 has that no-nonsense small Italian man's face (maybe CARS has spoilt it for me). I love the bright yellow, it seems a synonymous colour for the 500 and the details are not shabby even though it's a 1:43.

The downside is the lack of opening parts. It would have been nice to see close into the engine or have opening doors for example.

FIAT 500 - BRUMM MODELS - Scale: 1/43 (TOP) Brumm is proper old school. Been around since the late 70’s they have been building a lot of stuff but as time goes on certain masterpieces become redundant and business acumen has to change. Handcrafted detail, you can see the pride that goes into their work, its not just models, they have a cool catalogue of hobby related items like scale figures and contextual packing in the style of dioramas. These guys are authentic. I like the new international Flag 500’s. Featured here is the Chinese flag, but they have other famous flags as well. Again, at this scale which is 1:43, the craftsmanship is beautiful, and these would sit nicely in your collection. Have a look at Brumm.

FIAT 600 MULTIPLA - BRUMM MODELS - Scale: 1/43 (TOP) Did I review another Brumm so that I can drop some cheesy lines? We’ll never know, however ‘Brumm is Yumm

please excuse the pun and check out this 1956 FIAT Multipla (nowadays we kids call them SUV’s). One of the top transporters in Europe for its size,

price and practicality. This model built by Brumm replicates the 6 seater version which featured front seating with a bench configuration and 4 single seats at the back which can be folded in the actual MPV. And remember these models are handcrafted by professional artisans with a passion for achieving perfect replication. Check Brumm’s website you will be amazed at the catalogue, this is serious collector territory.

FIAT 124 CSA - SUNSTAR MODELS - Scale: 1/18 Known as the C-SPIDER-ABARTH this technically should be on the next page however it's the FIAT that was homologated for the rally circuit and became the 124 Stradale with the ‘fixed roof’ and tweaked to 128Bhp. Less than 1000 of these cars were created, enough to meet the homologated standards and sold to private individuals. SUNSTAR models have dropped a very nice version in Cherry Red with the Carbon Fiber boot lid and bonnet. Again, all opening parts and detail that makes our heart sing. Get this right after!

FIAT 124 SPIDER BS - SUNSTAR MODELS - Scale: 1/18 This was one of FIAT’s successful range, the 124 Series. The BS is one of the models that came with some aesthetic upgrades. A sports mesh grille for the front and black-rimmed gauges inside. It’s a beautiful car and no surprise its dashing playful

looks comes from one of Italy's finest coachbuilders… Pininfarina. Amongst the

plethora of FIAT’s at SUNSTAR we found this little gem.

Highly detailed interior with the Orange continuing inside, detailed engine and rear boot. So opening parts, yay! If you are looking for some cool 1:18 cars to fill your shelves. Get this!

Words + Pics + Design | Nigel J De Zilwa

CASTING REMARKS

FIAT ABARTH 1000 - BRUMM MODELS - Scale: 1/43 This year the Trento Bondone Hill Climb happens from July 5th to the 7th. It’s a grueling run with enough twists and turns that would make you wish were riding the worlds fastest roller coaster at Dubai Ferrari World. This model is a FIAT ABARTH 1000 with its ABARTH tuned engine and body mods that raced in 1976. The rear engine bay is open to display the scorpion that made this car formidable. It’s a true piece of history right down to its colour scheme and finishes.

FIAT ABARTH 124 SPIDER - TOMICA - Scale: 1/64 Last year’s darling from Motor Show to road sharing the same Mazda MX-5 chassis this nifty automobile is a true affordable sports car. For a 1:64 the TOMICA version isn’t fantastic, but, it does have the option to remove the roof and I like miniatures that do cool stuff (like TOMICA’s flip lights on 1:64 scale). It also has the ABARTH standard and classic Carbon Fibre bonnet and boot lid. However a simple model. Now, if you want something crack-a-lacking check out the car below.

FIAT ABARTH 124 SPIDER - TSM - Scale: 1/43

This is the ABARTH 124 Spider in 1:43 scale and made TSM aka True Scale Miniatures. Resin model, so no opening parts but it is a Spider and therefore we can see into the car cockpit and appreciate TSM’s details. Your TSM model will also arrive mounted on a piano-finish white base. I’m liking the 1:43 scale so….for 1:43 scale CastHeads this would be a good addition.

FIAT ABARTH 131 - IXO MODELS - Scale: 1/18 Another great and popular car that found love on and off the beaten track. The 131 is one of those cars where everyone would have had one family member or friend owning one. It was popular! The rally version was again for homologated purposes but had an all-star cast behind it. FIAT, Bertone and ABARTH. Not many of these exist in the real world so the next best thing is to jump on to IXO’s site and get ordering.

Was founded by a chap named Carlo Abarth in 1949. In addition to its taste for racing and rallying ABARTH also made its bread and butter on developing performance parts for FIAT, Lancia, CisItalia and SIMCA. ABARTH was also very active in the designs of its cars. In 1971 FIAT took over ABARTH and for a while, they lost their identity until someone pulled them out 2007 and re-established them as an independent company.

CASTING REMARKS

Words + Pics + Design | Nigel J De Zilwa

PAGANI HUAYRA 11' - AMALGAM MODELS - Scale: 1/8

I’m not going to lie to you, this is going to hurt. This 1:8 scale Pagani Huayra 2011 costs USD10,300/. Comes on a leather or carbon fibre base and acrylic Cover. This is accurately modeled with complete oversight from the Pagani engineering and design teams. This super accurate replication levels of detail are unbelievable and, at this scale, enables you to enjoy the finer details, which might escape you in 1:18 scale or smaller. A seriously beautiful model I do hope one of you may achieve the level of owning one of these. Good Luck!

PAGANI HUAYRA BC - TSM - Scale: 1/43

A little more down to earth in price, swinging in at USD86/ is this pretty piece from TSM The Pagani Huayra BC is a tribute from Horacio Pagani to his friend and first Pagani customer Benny Caiola. This car was also the testing ground for a lot of future technology on later models. I have become a huge fan of 1:43 scale models and this is a good one to get. No opening parts but as a display piece, it is very nice.

PAGANI ZONDA F - TSM - Scale: 1/18

Another great 1:43 buy from TSM, is the Zonda F. I

have always been an enthusiastic fan of Pagani and as a model car collector this is satisfaction. Reasonable price (not cheap) but excellent

detailing, and where these scales score well, is with things like paint finish and intricate details like the mesh that covers the engine rear and carbon fibre side mirrors. Also, I must admit the white bases are growing on me, they really make the car stand out as opposed to the black bases.

NOVICE ADVICE

Starting off your collection does not mean you need to dive off the deep end. Let the madness take time.

Soon you will be looking at other avenues of income like starting a magazine to supplement your lavish collecting habits, or selling pirate DVD’s of the Grand Tour, the Latest Season of Top Gear and Downtown Abbey. Hot Wheels have a few in their repertoire and discussed earlier in our coming soon section Mini GT will be dropping their first Pagani in 1:64 perfect for your first 100 cars.

Words + Pics + Design | Nigel J De Zilwa

CASTING REMARKS

LANCIA STRATOS - SUNSTAR MODELS - Scale: 1/18

You cannot do an Italian Issue without the Lancia Stratos. This was one of the first Rally cars I fell in love with as a kid. There was this, the Opel Ascona, Audi Quattro and of course the Renault 5 Turbo. But the Stratos was a beauty to behold. SUNSTAR models have a healthy choice of the Stratos In both road and rally versions. For this piece, we chose a nice bright yellow 1:18 scale Stratos with great interior details, opening parts, flip lights etc. I love it, a product of Bertone design this is as Italian as pasta, if I

could I would buy SUNSTAR’S entire range of Lancia Stratos.’

LANCIA B24 SPYDER AURELIA - BRUMM MODELS - Scale: 1/43 Another one of Lancia’s racing pedigree cars, a saloon that whooped ass in the 1950s. In addition to being a fast little car, its deDion setup with the rear axle gave it superior road handling making it a tough overall setup to beat. In 1955 Pininfarina styled the Spyder and these days a real car cost’ over Euro200,000/. Fortunately, BRUMM has you covered with a 1:43 version for 24 Euro and it’s a nice little display model.

Don’t forget BRUMM also makes accessories to go with their models like props and figures.

LANCIA STRATOS 0 PROTOTYPE - PREMIUM X MODELS - Scale: 1/43

Before the Stratos HF (the one we all love), came its kinda odd dad, the Stratos Zero.

It was a complicating time for ‘Wedge’ designed cars that rolled well into the '80s, fortunately, they got their act together by then. The Stratos HF was unveiled as a prototype and thank goodness. However, it’s a great piece of motoring history and Premium X models / IXO have got a really nice 1:43 version of it painted in a nice copper finish. I do wish this had opening parts due to its quirky design and layout.

LANCIA ASTURA 1934 - PREMIUM - X MODELS - Scale: 1/43

Nothing like a good classic to make the collection exciting. I suggest you try the Lancia Astura Cabriolet designed by Pininfarina. This beautiful model by Premium – X / IXO is a lovely rendition of a beautiful 30’s era car. White wall tires with multi-spoke gold hubs, gold and yellow paint combination, large wheels arches this is bookshelf centerpiece. I would like to see this in a 1:18 scale as well. Fingers crossed!

CASTING REMARKS

Words + Pics + Design | Nigel J De Zilwa

MASERATI GRAN TURISMO - BBURAGO MODELS - Scale: 1/24 I will always have special fondness for Bburgo they do good models surprising me sometimes, bodies and details on point, opening parts with detailed engines. But they can never get the wheels right. I really like the Gran Turismo and Maserati models but they are not easy to find so having the perfect prince or princess with the hairiest beast like feet is such a letdown. The rest of the car is pretty the standard Bburago keeps for its 1:24 scales. The red interior looks super plasticky probably because of the shade of red is so vibrant. Yes, I would buy one but I would look to change those wheels as fast as possible.

MASERATI LEVANTE - BBURAGO MODELS - Scale: 1/24

Having ranted about the GranTurismo the Levant was more acceptable on the wheel issues that I have. Another 1:24 scale model which is pretty good. Decent interior detailing is passable, but the engine was a bit of a quickie covering it up with mostly black plastic and slapping on a V8 badge. But, for USD15 it's a decent addition to the collection.

MASERATI GRANTURISMO STRADALE - MASERATI MODELS Scale: 1/43

In my search for other brands that carry Maserati models, I discovered that the main Maserati site has a webstore that has plenty of 1:18 and 1:43 scale models. Like this beautiful blue GranTurismo Stradale model that comes on what looks like a leather covered base. The detail is perfectly fine and I'm sure a lot of QC would have happened before Maserati decided to sell these on their main web store. These are not cheap though and you could be looking at 190 Euro for a 1:43 scale model, yikes!

TORQUE

GARAGE The FALKENS Come Home to Roost FALKEN liveries are super cool end of story. As a result, there is a lot of excitement over Tarmac Works new Falken additions to the fold. We already have the BMW E30 MSport in the Falken Colors plus their collaboration R34 Skyline with GreenLight. And now, incoming is the M6 GT3 and the Supra MK1 running our favourite colours. So far we have been impressed by the previous Supra and M6 releases and hopefully, we'll be seeing more stuff coming out from all corners of the Tarmac Works world.

Heads Up Collectique has a pretty stock of these at the store in Majestic City Sri Lanka.

Love FALKEN? Click here.

Coll ectibl es | Comics | Toys

SHUTTERCASTERS

Exploring the world of diecastography

D E N O D N A B A BUT NEVEREN T T O G R FO @joe_kanno When others are busy making their customs shiny and new, one person is heading in the exact opposite direction. Joe Kanno, who hails from Japan, makes customs of vehicles that looks inexplicably dilapidated or abandoned. He takes models and adds an air of forgotten-ness that, if it had been real-life, would cause a pang of regret in any vehicle owner.

Joe took time off to explain a few things to us. Read on...

Concept My main occupation is as a contemporary artist. So I take the same level of detail and care to my custom car projects.

Contemporary art is an inextricably liked with concept and works.

My customs depict abandoned cars as a theme based on the landscape in Japan. The rust texture is different in each climate across countries across the world. Even the rust on certain

manufactures varies. I pay extreme attention to these differences when working on a model. I also apply an old Japanese technique to my work aesthetic referred to as “KOGEI”. It is a concept where the technique also adds beauty to the beauty of the work itself.

Resolution One of the most important details is the scale and the resolution of the rust texture. The texture is very detailed at 1:64 scale and takes some time and effort to add them to the model, however, one cannot create artworks without taking the time and effort to do so.

To assure that I get the proper resolution and scale of the rust and deterioration effect, I apply many layers. So it’s a process of Paint > Correct > Paint. I repeat this process over and over till it’s

Words + Pics | Joe Kanno

SHUTTERCASTERS

One of the winning the entries for the 2018 Matchbox Custom Contest

an authentic representation of rust and deterioration over time.

In order to make high resolution rust and deterioration effect, I lay many layers. Paint > Correction > Paint. I repeat it over and over, till the details shows the rust and deterioration as time passes is completed.

Material In order to get these details and effects to the standard I want, it is necessary for me to use more detailed diecast cars. For that reason, I often tend to use Tomica Limited Vintage or Kyosho models. These brands produce very well details models from the 70s 80s and 90s and have a large range to choose from. Their

models enable me to produce dioramas that are very compatible with my concept.

In the future, I intend to design dioramas for 1:43 scaled models and well as multi-car 1:63 scale dioramas where I can add more models. These dioramas will depict landscapes not from our environment but will look quite otherworldly.

I plan to take part in a few exhibitions this year or next, so lets hope to meet somewhere in the world.

Follow Joe on Instagram @Joe_Kanno and keep an eye on his latest creations - Lance Müller

Exclusive review and photos of the DNA Collectibles Rezvani Tank by The Model Car Critic

When is a Jeep Wrangler not a Jeep Wrangler? When it’s a Rezvani Tank of course! Built by AmericanIranian Entrepreneur Ferris Rezvani this Goliath, known as a TUV (Tactical Urban Vehicle), is at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from their low-slung Beast sports car. We can thank the guys at DNA Collectibles - ever the purveyors of the weird and wonderful in scale form – for bringing this incredible looking vehicle to our attention in 1:18 scale. Fully optioned with the 6.4litre 500bhp V8, this thing costs a cool $260,175. For that you get such features as a FLIR Thermal Night Vision System and FOX 2.5-inch Internal Bypass Shocks with Dual Speed Compression tech. Live in a dodgy neighbourhood? How about the Military Edition with bulletproof glass, full body armour and even electrified door handles!?

Read the full in-depth review here: https://themodelcarcritic.com/1:18-dna-collectibles-rezvani-tank-review/ www.themodelcarcritic.com | Instagram: @themodelcarcritic | Facebook: facebook.com/themodelcarcritic

So how have DNA scaled the madness from 1:1 down to 1:18? In short, pretty darn well actually! The Stealth Grey paint is a delight to behold and just the right side of rough to the touch. The use of genuine perforated mesh for the front grille is most welcome, as well as the well defined 4 LEDs that make up each fog light in that menacing front bumper. I would not like to be rear ended by this bad boy!

I last reviewed DNA’s Saab 9-3 Viggen Convertible and I noted how good the interior detail was. The dials and buttons were especially crisp and clear, so much so that people thought my pictures were of the real car! Even though this is a fully sealed model, DNA have not disappointed. Everything from the seatbelt buckles right down to the climate control buttons are so good, it is just a shame you can’t shrink yourself down and sit in it.

The Rezvani Tank is available on www.dnacollectibles.com website

No model is perfect, however. The TANK badge on the front fenders should have been photoetched and the headlights lack any reflective qualities of the real car, amongst other issues. But you won’t find the Rezvani Tank in any other scale by any other manufacturer and I am glad DNA Collectibles are the ones who took the punt. They are a young and dynamic team, always keen to take constructive feedback on board to improve their future offerings. The Rezvani Tank is a keen proposition for the price. Grab yours now before all 320 units sell out!

A MODEL FIT FOR A HERO Words + Pics + Design | Lance K MÜller

While Sri Lanka is famous for many things, its tea, its beaches, and its (most-of-the-time) top performing cricket team, it is also the home of a very famous, multi-award winning racing drivers in the procar circuit.

Ravinda Perera is the proud owner of #23 of the casting, which he got autographed by the legend and he kindly loaned us the model for a photo shoot.

Dilantha Malagamuwa, racer and owner of Dilango Racing is a trophywinning driver, and fixture in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series.

To commorate his racewinning streak in 2015 Super Trofeo Series, LookSmart Models released a limited -to 30 pieces of his Lamborghini Huracán LP 620-2 Super Trofeo.

The 1:18 model sits on a black fabric-covered base and comes in a display box. However it does not have an acrylic cover which is a pity as this is indeed a very good looking model with the entire livery done to exacting detail.

The model features the colour wrappings of the Sri Lankan flag on the left hand side and his codriver national flag colours on the right hand side mirrors.

The issue dedicated to Italian marques would not be complete without us featuring this particular model in our magazine.

Follow Dilantha on the 2019 Squadra Corse Super Trofeo Series kicking off in Dubai in February.

R U O Y ON

M

S E U Q R A !

O G , T E S T

GE

Italian cars are not, just built to drive. They are created to race. Like an engineering imprint that keeps getting passed on from generation to generation. Born of racing into racing

for racing that should be Italy's National Anthem. And we would be singing it as well. From road to track to a circuit, there is always an Italian in the foray. The next few pages look at a handful of some of these pieces of engineering perfection immortalized over an over again by people who love car culture.

GT RACER

BBURAGO 1:24

MASERATI MC12

HOMO LOGATED MASERATI MC12

Homologate Oxford Dictionary meaning: Approve (a car, engine, etc.) for sale in a particular market or use in a particular class of racing.

The GT Championship

THE CAR

An annual championship with Driver, Team & Manufacturer Championship awards consists of a season of endurance races with a minimum of 500Km or maximum duration of 3 hours. Under this category, all GT, GT1 and GT2 cars were allowed to compete.

This, is where you found all those GT1 Class AMG Mercedes, Dodge Vipers, Porsches, Ferraris and of course dominating in the team championship for five consecutive years is the Team Vitaphone Maserati MC12.

This happened all the way up until 2009 when the GT1 and GT2 were split and GT came to an end followed by the other two championships mainly due to disinterest from the manufacturers.

The model featured, is by Bburago and this is where they get it right. The doors are the only opening parts, which is a tad disappointing because these are the cars that were known for their massive engines those massive beautiful engines that sound like butter scraping against toast when they start up for the first time on a cold morning. This Bburago model makes no sound. But, everything else is nicely in place on the outside. Cute little communication antenna that will instantly kill itself on a microfiber cloth, sturdy side mirrors which says a lot for me, the livery is pretty accurate to Michael Bartel and Andrea Bertolini’s winning car from 2009. The interior is sparse another minor disappointment but I can live with the fact just because as a display piece this is really really good. The wheels roll…but seriously….

In GT Racing the minimum was 25 examples. These cars also have to be road worthy as well before they are given the opportunity to be on track which makes them some of the most outrageous supercars the roads have ever seen.

RACE HORSES QUITE LITERALLY, A SNAPSHOT INTO FERRARI'S RACING LINEAGE

HOTWHEELS ELITE 1:18

FERRARI 125 S

This is the first car ever to wear the Ferrari badge and although it wasn’t perfect it was the best symbol of hope that Ferrari built its platform of racers on. V12 engine designed by a man named Gioacchino Colombo, written about in Colombo yep to this day it’s nothing but special. Similar to this Hotwheels Elite Limited Edition. It features opening parts to reveal some astonishing detail, yes for me Hotwheels meant something completely different it did not compute that they would go to this degree of detail. Not an easy find and will not be cheap, this is a #CastHeadsUnicorn

PREMIUM - X MODELS 1:43 If you want a small cheaper scaled version, there are these 1:43 models that come with hobby magazines and make their way to eBay. No opening parts but decent detail to scale and pretty nice finish.

BBR 1:18

FERRARI 375 (1954)

Look at this, simply put, an object of diecast beauty. BBR does some fine detailing, no mucking about. Engine, coachwork, paint right down to the finer points. Opening parts take you even deeper into the heart of this thoroughbred racing machine. Just carrying it during the shoot left me a little awestruck at BBR. Second hand these run at about USD350 but you might get lucky with a good deal.

HOTWHEELS ELITE 1:18

FERRARI 250 LM

The 250 LM was given the LM title because it was created to take on LeMans in the Group 3 GT Class but,

the FIA shook a dipstick at Ferrari and got them to enter the car into the prototype class. The thing

was, this wasn’t actually a prototype, allowing Ferrari to wipe the floor with the competition. Pretty much what Hot Wheels is doing with their Elite series, Opening parts, stunning detail, love the colour. This is Autoart or Kyosho level. C’mon Hot Wheels more more Elite cars!

REVELL 1:18

FERRARI 330 P4

A born winner, with the heart of a V12, running with tech from Formula 1 made a serious dent in the endurance categories taking first, second and third place at many high profile races. The Revell model pictured here is the original hardtop version and what a joy it was to work with a professional model. No complaints just sat there and ‘revelled’ in revealing some highly detailed parts. It was a great shoot and these cars were really distracting.

BBURAGO 1:24

FERRARI 250 GTO (1962) This is one of the more perfect Ferrari’s ever built, highly sought after to this day, iconic, beautiful design, and a winner of races. This is was a prime example of Ferrari achievement.

Today sold in the price range of USD40 Million to 60 Million, that is a lot of money. It would be hard to imagine any Ferrari collector turning down the chance to own a 250 GTO. Its clear Bburago is very careful about their license because most of their Ferrari products are pretty good quality. The 1:24 has detailed opening parts, a detailed casting, turning wheels looks great in pictures and on collection shelves

BBURAGO 1:24

FERRARI 250 LM (1964) In 1964 the 250 GTO got a face-lift and re-shaped body design. The 250 LM "Sebring" was used for racing in both American and Europe. Here is 1:24 scale by Bburago again with opening parts and enough detail to make me sure you would put one in your collection given half the chance. This is of the #29 driven by Walt Hansgen (USA) and Mark Donohue (USA) for the Mecom Racing Team in the Sebring 12 Hours.

BBURAGO 1:24

FERRARI 365 GTB4

As far as massive amazing Ferrari engines go, the 365 GTB4 has one of those “OMG what were they thinking” engines. 4.4 Litre, V12, fed by 6 Weber twin-choke carburettors banging out 352Hp. This made it a winner in its class in the GT series, a winner at LeMans and a consistent winner at Daytona which earns it the unofficial name 365 GTB4 DAYTONA. Featured here is the 1:24 scale by Bburago with opening doors only, but, its also built on the original design where the lights were covered as opposed to the modification made for the US markets where the lights had to flip.

BBURAGO 1:24

FERRARI 288 GTO

The aggressive big brother to the 308 this car saw a lot of modification to make it race ready and homologated into the ‘Group B’ racing series. This was a car designed and built to race. From that fuel injected twin turbocharged engine to the composite materials used in the body, to the stunning Pinnfarina design there is no doubt this 2.8 Litre 8 cylinder can get its own way on the road

Both these cars are owned privately by Gotabhaya Abeyagoonasekera, who restores model cars. The Red 288 has been completely restored along with a custom paint job on the engine.

FERRARI 156 F1 SHARK-NOSE - HOT WHEELS 1:64 Built to compete in the 1961 Formula 1 the 156 gets its notorious ‘Sharknose’ nickname from the two very noticeable air intakes on the nose. The 156 was a perfect package of displacement and weight distribution which was the reason it was the champion of the 1961 Formula 1 Championship. A bittersweet victory marred by the loss of teammate Wolfgang Von Tripp who crashed out killing himself and 14 spectators. Hotwheels replication of this car in its mainline series is really good. It is heavy and feels premium, nice details but unfortunately not an easy piece to find.

FERRARI LeMans F40 - IXO 1:43 The F40 LM is truly an object of raw and scary beauty.

This model is the 1995 LeMans ‘PILOT’ team driven by M. Ferte, O.Thevenin and C. Palau. Made by IXO models the outer details of this model Is definitely quite decent. Details like the little yellow tow hook on the front or the details of the lights on the rear. LeMans car fans, get this fast!

FERRARI 333 SP - HOT WHEELS 1:64

This is a car that was built from scratch and was returning Ferrari to the ‘Sports Car Racing’ circuit after an absence of about 20 years. Most of the main elements of the car were produced by a Company called DALLARA which specialized in the aerodynamics and bodywork, transmission and suspension. Slap in the 1990 Formula 1 V12 Engine, pull out 641 Hp and you have got a rocket that wins lots of competitions. Hot Wheels has a nice casting of this car I like the way the flames lick over the rear fender. This particular model was an event exclusive but Tarmac Works used the casting for many others.

360GTC

FERRARI Part of my personal collection, this is by far one of my favourite models from IXO. Great display qualities. No opening parts but the level of attention to detail is pretty amazeballs. And, this is one of the reasons why we collect our models it gives us a chance to own a piece of history, to own a leg-ennd, to own an innovation, to own an amazing invention to own a story that can be passed on to someone else.

RECORD BREAKER

THE

BEASTof

TURIN AUTO CULT 1:43

FIAT S76 (1911)

IMAGE SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA

1911 was a very quiet year for the automobile industry chugging along in its infancy the fastest cars on the roads in production with a killer 15Hp engine at the helm…..no….there was no such peace. For there was a monster built by FIAT in a place only brave enough to keep it….the province of Turin.

It was a monster no doubt, 28.5 Litre engine, 4 cylinders, 290Hp all of this in 1911, other car owners quaked in their boots when this FIAT S76 started up.

The man who tested it for the first time claimed it to be uncontrollable. The man who raced it wouldn’t go over 90Mph and in 1913 an American Driver took it to 213Km/h making it the Fastest Car in the World unofficially.

This model by AutoCult is a great replicant of the S76 that was recently brought back to life, restored and then raced at the GoodWood Speed Festival. It’s very nicely crafted with a lot of mechanical detail taken into account. Very Nice!

Hot Wheels payed their tribute to the FIAT with the famous Torpedo Jones line. A very nice and heavy casting of the FIAT S76 with a plastic man (scarf flying in the wind) at the wheel. There are about 5 variations and great pieces to get your hands on.

F1

AMALGAM 1:18

FERRARI IS COMING SF71-H 2018

You thought we were going to show you yet another FERRARI Formula 1 Car… in incredible detail… for a lot of money… when they didn’t even win last year... HA! No! If you are an F1 Ferrari fan with about USD 3,500 to spare this is more Interesting. An exact replica of the SF71H 2018 Ferrari F1 steering.

AMALGAM 1:1

FERRARI STEERING WHEEL REPLICA

Somehow life seems unfair especially in moments like this, when you think about the impossibility of driving an actual F1 car and then finding out the only thing you can get close too, is a replica but the trade off is an eye. We hear you and we feel the same but to be brutally honest… if we HAD the cash we’d splash so lets be thankful something like is available should you win a lottery.

Straight up this is a F1 aficionados dream. From what we can ascertain the center knob that say RACE and BOX obviously controls the pit limiter. Then on the right the purple and yellow knob are those settings we hear the technical advisor telling the driver to switch too either to save something or go all out. That’s all we can guess without Googling it but it isn’t your typical Hyundai Elantra multi-function steering wheel. It also comes with a red leather display platform with an embossed metal plaque bearing all the branding necessities perfect for the centerpiece bookshelf in the living room that bears all your F1 & Ferrari history books.

The detail is so realistic, Amalgam have included the lock and re-lease mechanism for detaching the steering wheel from the car like we’ve seen Romain Grosjean do so many many times. Ahhhh… F1 is coming.

The saint GOES MARCHING ON Words + Design | Lance K Müller

"I am sure that Sir Roger Moore who played the debonair agent would've been highly impressed by the model"

When DNA Collectibles announced the Volvo P1800 Jensen, I was ecstatic.

I would finally be able to get the car that Simon Templar used to drive in the classic 1960s TV series (which was based on the books by Leslie Charteris) The Saint. Even that would not have been if Jaguar had let the character drive their famous E-type as initially envisioned by the creators of the show.

The Volvo P1800 has a turbulent and roller-coaster history. The project to design a sports car that could compete with other European marques started in 1957. It was designed by Pelle Pettersen, under the tutelage of Italian auto stylist Pietro Frua, whose firm was a subsidiary of the famous "carrozzeria" Ghia.

The first prototype was hand-built and then taken to Karmann so the tooling and

engineering machines could be built.

Volkswagen VAG fearing that this would compete with their models, blocked the production by threatening to withhold their business and so Karmann had no choice but to refuse and the P1800 model was shelved.

After many events that led to the Volvo Motor Company in renewing efforts to produce the car, a model was presented at the 1960 Brussels Motor Show. That same year, the company contracted Jensen Motors in England to produce the car. The first production car was rolled out in 1961.

The DNA Collectibles model is a P1800 in Eggshell white, red interior with a left-hand drive setup and dashboard remarkable details. 1:18-scale diecast collectors model features details all around. It is limited to 320 piece worldwide and as at time of publication was available from their website. The images used are of an in-production model and will be subject to change.

Please follow our social media pages and of course DNA Collectibles for updates.

www.dnacollectibles.com

The @poramancustoms Poraman Cometh.

CUSTOMS OFFICE

Antonio "Poraman" De Abeu is all de about Abreuthe talks unusual. about what makes him tick

As CastHeads Magazine is a truly global magazine, we would like to feature Antonio Nelson De Abreu, a customizer from South Africa. "Poramancustoms" as he's known on IG is creates some extraordinary pieces that take a less traveled path.

Read on and he'll tell you what makes him tick - Lance Müller Howzit guys! People always ask me what is a "poraman"? A "porra" is South African slang for Portuguese. Hence I am a Portuguese man living in South Africa. I was never really into cars when I was younger. The passion only came along in my early 20s. Car programs like Pimp My Ride, Overhauling, movies like Fast N Furious, and magazines like Max Power in the early 2000s, started my passion for car culture and the car mod scene.

Hot Wheels collecting started in 2003. Collecting was on and off for a few years because I didn't know of other collectors

in South Africa, even though there was.

In 2013 I found a local collectors club online. So exciting! Other like-minded people! And in my country! I thought I was the only one, a man, going to toy stores, looking for little cars. But there were more of us, AMAZING! Early 2013, my 1st mod: bending the axles up, to lower the car. It blew my mind. Real customs that included drilling out rivets and painting basically started in August 2013. I did a lot of research and of course, YouTube. It opened up a whole new world to customizing, Everyone I showed my work to, loved it and praised me, it was something completely new.

People looked at it in awe, they also

Words + Pics | Antonio de Abreu

wanted something unique, something one of a kind, from me!

Like one of my inspirations, Lukes Hotwheels (@lukeshotwheels), said on his video, and his words are so true: "It was a ground-breaking day when somebody asked if they could buy one of my cars. The amount of money doesn't matter. It’s just the fact that somebody is taking money that they worked hard for, and that they earned, to buy something that you worked hard on. A piece of yourself. A piece that you put yourself into. Your thoughts. Your inspiration. On this. It’s not about the money, because you will lose your passion" Shout out to my fellow South African customizers who inspire me every day, and show me much love. And at the times when I'm down, they lift me up: Thank you to my wife Sandra, my boys Nathan and Julian, for having patience with me, especially during those peak times of custom works, letting me do what I have a passion for.

I am the original inspiration for most customizers here in SA, yet you guys inspire me…..

Riaan Lottering for sticking up for me through thick and

thin with custom work (@riaanlot) Riaan de Beer for his loyal support of 1:64 wheels to me and the SA custom community (@wheelsIncSa) Andrew Ingram for his bad-ass custom work to inspire me (@king_kustoms77) Jeremy Pieterson for all his inspiring custom work (FB -> JC Customs) Inspiration also from Luellen Gouws (@luellengouws) and Asief Omar (@1.64scale) Diecastparts.co.za for all my 3D printed diecast part I need for all my projects.

My good friends in the USA who have helped me A LOT over the years, and also inspire me with their customs (@uniquekre8tionz, @extreem1, @ thecardguy_00_, @freewolf82, @nezto_ kuztoms, @mrsenctvt, just to name a few) I will never be able to mention everyone as there are actually too many, BUT every one of you all inspire me! When I hit the like button on IG or FB, you will know I admire your work, and I praise you all to continue doing bad-ass work!

"When you buy something from Poraman Customs, you’re buying more than just a custom. You’re buying hundreds of hours of errors

CUSTOMS OFFICE

and experimentation. You’re buying months of frustration and moments of pure joy. You’re not buying just one thing, you are buying a piece of a heart, a piece of a soul....a small piece of someone else’s life."

PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN...... SPICED UP WITH SOME PORTUGUESE FLAVOUR.....

Miura

The Italian V12 Beauty

Whenever the topic of the most beautiful cars ever made comes up, two will always take center stage or be in the Top 5. The Jaguar E-Type and the soul of this story…The Lamborghini Miura.

Designed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone, I have often wondered, at the end of the project did they take a step back and really look at what they had done and realize how important this car would be to history.

And even though it was built in 1966 I’d take this over any modern car today and I’m sure you would feel pretty much the same.

The original P400 started off with 3.9 Litre V12 engine mounted transversely in a mid-engine configuration, on its debut it had a top speed of 280km/h and went from 0-100 in 6.7 seconds, this was before Carbon Fibere where super-cars were aluminum and steel. Seriously beautiful, seriously fast. It is still sought after and desired to this day.

AUTOART 1:18

LAMBORGHINI MIURA

PICTURE BY Alber to Jorge Rodríguez

This AA piece is a replica of one of the later upgraded cars known as the P400SV and we all know the power of an SV badge. I love Auto Art’s details, and this is pretty awesome. Opening parts, interior colour matched to the relevant time period, just a great all-rounder that won’t break the bank and definitely see appreciation in value.

WELLY 1:18

LAMBORGHINI MIURA

Welly is quite the little beast from the underbelly. And that’s cool because for a very reasonable price you can pick up a 1:18 Miura SV with opening bonnet, flip lights, boot and doors. And it is particularly good for a Welly. Like the AutoArt model, this comes in bright yellow, which is a great colour that accentuates the curves of the car.

KYOSHO 1:64

LAMBORGHINI MIURA

Based on the original P400 this is a tiny Miura that comes in an acrylic box. But as the way is with the Japanese the tiny little details are superb, right down to the eyelashes the lights had before they were done away with by the P400SV. No opening parts but even at this size, the Miura is just beautiful to behold.

P I C T U R E S B Y G o t a b a h y a A b e y a g o o n a s e ke r a .

MATCHBOX 1:64

LAMBORGHINI MIURA

The entry budget version of the lot but not the most unimportant either. This is modeled after the P400S and is the most basic model of Miura a collector can find but it does have one cool feature for a basic diecast model and that is rubber wheels. And once again, even in its most basic form, the Miura is gorgeous

What does Miura mean?

Well, it is the name of a very famous bullfighter. But in reality, it means, there is no divide between engineering and art, there are ways to be fast and beautiful, the Miura design is immortal and its engine, divine

KYOSHO 1:18

LAMBORGHINI MIURA

Finally, we look at Kyosho’s 1:18 version of the P400S. Beautifully painted in blue and silver this resin model is completely sealed but you will not find a lack of serious detail on anything that is visible. The body shape is perfect and well molded, the lights including the fender indicators are proper plastic and the slats at the back to cool the engine are actually divided as opposed to the single piece of plastic found on a Welly.

Peek inside, and you will see a hand grip bar for the passenger when the actual car launches from 0-100. A superbly detailed steering wheel and open gate 5-speed gearbox, a nice contribution to the world of Miura from Kyosho.

STREET FIGHTERS

URBAN LEGENDS

Between the ‘40s and the 60’s petrol heads used to strip their cars to reduce weight and modify them to look good. Then they would parade them and race them for everyone to see. Present day, still the same but slightly different.

The kids these days add body parts onto their cars. Flared wheel arches, wind diffusers and giant down force spoilers are all part of packages offered up by tuner companies like Liberty Walks, RWB, Rocket Bunny Etc.

FUEL ME MODELS 1:43

LIBERTYWALKS FERRARI 458

FUEL ME MODELS 1:43

LIBERTYWALKS FERRARI 458

Fuel.Me Models has this genre tied up and in the bag. Like these two Ferrari 458 Italia’s at 1:43 scale and in the Liberty Walk Body kit. Now, none of these models has opening parts but the detail of what you can see is stunning, much like the price tag. And, because every car is super limited, the price goes up even further, so getting your hands on of these from the Fuel.Me shop could be a worthwhile investment. Paint and livery choices are to die for. This pink 458 is just rocking our world now.

Another model we are totally digging is the PZero Fighter livery from Liberty Walks on the Lamborghini P700. We’ve seen the Zero Fighter livery on the MiniGT GTR and we loved it but on the Fuel.Me Models it looks absolutely sick. Another thing Fuel.Me is very strict on is the fact that all the models they recreate are based on cars that have a story behind it. Although we are not too sure about the ‘Supreme’ Lambo’s story.

FUEL ME MODELS 1:43

LIBERTY WALKS LAMBORGHINI P-700

RALLY ItaliaS

SUNSTAR MODELS 1:18

LANCIA STRATOS

Undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful and formidable rally cars in the 70s’ some claiming it to be terrifying in some cases. All I know is, it dominated the rally circuit winning the World Championship 3 times in a row and as a kid I loved it. Fortunately, SunStar Models have a wide range of these cars from Street version, to big-time animalistic rally cars some complete with mud and realistic dirt, Opening parts give you a nice clean view of everything leaving you to discover and enjoy the interior details.

TOP MARQUES MODELS 1:18

FIAT ABARTH 131

Up until 1977, the Stratos dominated the World Rally Championship until a very humble unassuming people mover was given an Abarth treatment resulting in the short and squat, nice centre of gravity FIAT 131 Abarth. This car dominated 1977 and won the championship giving Lancia something to think about. This model is from the 1977 San Remo rally where the 131 Abarth just dominated the entire race. Unfortunately, due to its Limited-Edition stamp, this is now out of stock on the Top Marques site, but you can try to find it elsewhere you can also check the other juicy resin models from Top Marques.

This is the new FIAT ABARTH built on the Mazda MX-5 chassis or was it the other way around? Either way, we know it’s quick and ever ready to go around sharp corners very quickly, perfect for your everyday mountainous rally terrain.

The next question is why is the simple 1:64 here with all the big dogs. Well, because sometimes the younger dogs need to be represented. This is a TOMICA regular line Japan exclusive which means it is a bit hard to get outside of Japan but won’t break the bank too badly.

TOMICA MODELS 1:64

FIAT ABARTH 124

SUNSTAR MODELS 1:18

LANCIA HCF STRADALE

This was a model sent to us from SUNSTAR and reviewed extensively in our last years second issue. But, it is another one of those classic unforgettable Lancia rally cars that took the world by storm and garnered much love for its handling. Interestingly SUNSTAR has a lot of different liveried rally cars, that are worth checking out, especially the rally section.

DIARY OF A DIECASTER THE

We've covered diecast collectors, owners of brands and even progenitors of models that have been immortalized in scaled version. But apart from people like Larry Wood, Jun Imai and Ryu Asada to name a few, people really don't know the people behind the craft. The craft that brings a scaled model of a real automobile to life and ultimately, to their collection. We were fortunate to meet, albeit on-line, of one such person. David Houston works for a model car company, but that not the whole story. - Lance K Müller

One of my first model car memories as a child was when I was around 4 or 5 years old. I was together with my mother and younger brother at the Galleria in Houston. We were just about to step onto the escalator when I noticed a light blue colored Corgi Ford Thunderbird (Which I believe was a mid to late 60s version) in one of the mall’s store’s shop windows.

As I was looking backwards and tugging at my mother to stop and notice the toy that I wanted, I literally got my left middle finger caught between the rubber grab handle which dragged, and rubber burned it. To this day, I still have that black mark under my fingernail.

From that time until I was around 7 years old, I was really dedicated to trains. Above and beyond anything, trains were my thing. I played with my electric train sets, my grandfather drew them for me and taught me how to draw trains for myself as well.

Every chance that I got, I was looking at catalogs filled with train cars/ locomotives that I wanted to add to make my train sets longer. If I wasn’t playing with my train sets, then I was dreaming of being a locomotive engineer at that early age in my life.

During elementary school lunch breaks, I would rather stay inside and draw trains and cars from memory. I got so good at it, that some other classmates noticed and started asking me to draw their parent’s cars. That said, I had no real interest in doing those type of drawings, but for only a select few close friends. With that said, there was a kid that was like 2 or 3 years older than I and the rest of our class. So, this older kid started asking me to draw his father’s Pontiac GTO, which I had really no interest in doing. When I told him ‘no’ a few times, he started bullying me with threats of black eyes after school if I didn’t draw his dad’s car. At age 7, when a 9 or 10-year-old who happens to be taller and probably stronger than you start to demand that you do something to avoid injury, you do it. Ironically, even more classmates started to ask me to draw their parent’s cars as well. So, I started charging 25 cents per drawing…so, it literally paid off, so to say.

Around this time period, I had also started developing allergies. On my lunch breaks, I had to ride with my grandfather to the hospital at the Medical Center area in Houston for daily allergy shots. As a 7-year-old, of course like all kids I didn’t care for needles (but I also terrified by the elevators in high rises more), so after each doctor’s visit, on the way back to school my grandfather would stop by either Toys R Us or Fun City Toys to cheer me up (As this was 5 days a week of me getting a shot). Instead of the more expensive train cars/locomotives, he started to buy me either a Hot Wheels/Pocket Cars (Tomica) or Matchbox almost every week day that I had to get a shot. This started an expectation which turned into a hobby and ultimately a bit of an addiction (7600 plus models in multiple scales, 30 something years later, more on that later).

Later that same year, this interest in miniature cars started to spread beyond 3-inch toy cars (1:581:60 scale) into larger scale model kits. During the summer after school was out for that year, I had seen an older kid building a plastic kit at one of our Cub Scout and Boy Scout meet ups (as my grandfather was a Scout leader and often hosted meetings at the church where he pastored on weekends). I was fascinated with this kid’s parts rack details from his orange MPC Pinto Pony Wagon kit as well as the

box art. It was way more interesting and detailed compared to the smaller scale toy 3-inchers that I was getting almost daily after my doctor visits.

However, I wasn’t impressed with this older kid’s building abilities, as he hadn’t added any paint. In my eyes it looked way too basic. So, I asked my grandfather to also buy me a kit too. I asked for kits of sporty cars like my mom and our family’s friends drove (Usually Camaros, Trans Ams, Corvettes, Datsun 280ZXs as and the occasional Porsche 924s well as Toyota’s sportier RWD CelicaSupras/Celicas).

Even back then, I was into proportions and had a bias towards front engine-rear wheel drive cars, in particularly sports coupes, luxury coupes and luxury sedans. I was also in love with a few rear-engine/rear wheel drive cars like Ferrari’s 512BB, 308 GTS and Fiat X/19. One of the first models that my grandfather

had bought me was MPC’s 1980 Plymouth Volare Road Runner (which caught my attention as someone at his church drove one) and AMT’s 1976-77 AHC T-Top Camaro, both were 1/25th scale (Which was a slightly older version than my mom’s later model 2nd gen Camaro).

I tried my hand at kit building and loved the results. It was a fun and challenging to read/view the instruction pages. It was nice to be involved with transforming something from parts into a relatable subject. Also, kit building was my chance to get into painting and detailing models in order to make them more realistic than the kid that I had seen building one at the Scouts meeting. Monogram (Now part of Revell) ended up being my favorite domestic model kit brand, as they were more accurate and slightly larger at 1/24th, 1/20th scales and they even made gigantic 1/8th scale kits that were so realistic down to keys for their ignitions and doors. Later, I discovered kits from Japan. In the 1980s more and more Japanese

& European cars were showing up on US roadways.

So, I was also impressed with brands like Tamiya immediately and then a few years later Fujimi, Hasegawa & Aoshima kit brands as well. These kits often came in 1/24th, 1/16th and 1/12th scales, which I started adding into my built-up kit collection.

At around 12 years old, my family moved to North Texas. At that time, my grandfather took even more interest in my drawings and the fact that I had started

creating my own car designs a few years earlier.

Other than being a Pastor he was also an architect, so he was keen on noticing drawings and details.

With his interest in my future, he photocopied some of my drawings and sent them to General Motors Headquarters (back in 1987 I had done a “Future Chevy Suburban” based on the then new 1988 Chevy Pick Up Truck). A few weeks later Nancy C. from GM’s HR/Creative Department sent a package to my grandfather with a letter and a list of colleges to focus on. Also, Nancy C. sent a list of all the art supplies that I would need to practice my renderings.

Immediately, my grandfather located an art store in Dallas and drove me a couple of hours to buy all the supplies to help get me started. As I grew older, my grandfather helped me to pick a few colleges to aim for getting accepted into after I had graduated from high school.

I was so lucky, because my grandfather was early to notice that I was getting decent at drawing and loved cars. I am so grateful that he took my interest to heart. Before then, it was stressful for me to think that I had to become an engineer (Like my mother kept saying M.I.T. which sounded scary, even at an early age) to design cars. Unfortunately, later in life, I found out that so many people had learned the hard way, that they went to the wrong school (after they had already become engineers within a large automotive company). Later in my career, I met a few engineers that really wanted to become Automotive/ Transportation Designers. Those people attended the wrong type of colleges/universities only to find out after they when they had finished engineering programs, that this was not the career that they thought it would be.

By the time that I entered high school (very end of the 80s/Beginning of the 90s), larger 1/18th scale models were becoming more popular. Companies like Maisto/Intex Recreation Corporation, Revell Germany, Solido, Guiloy and Polistil started competing directly with Bburago in the scale that they created. Before 1987-88 Bburagos were considered detailed replicas as well as special in those famous black & gold styled window boxes, oh and the fact that they were made in Italy really made the person getting one feel extra special. However, for me personally, 1/18th scale models still felt more like “Toys” for adults that couldn’t build a detailed kit. I was a teenager by then and felt like model kits were where people that wanted more detail had to focus. Besides, even though I had a hand full of 1/18th scale models, at that time my heart was still with kits. As I got older, I was more and more into spray painting and then airbrushing as well as adding carpeting, chrome or black painted trim and wiring on kits that had motors for even better detailed finishes. I loved building kits, even winning model contests throughout my high school and college years (When I had time).

But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, so let me step back a bit just before college.

In high school, what really peaked my interest was wanting to see a detailed 1/18th scale version of the 1990 BMW 850i being made. For me, in 1989 other than the 1990 Nissan 300ZX & Mercedes 500SL, this 1990 BMW was it. So, I immediately wrote Intex Recreation Corporation/Maisto and asked if they would make a model of this car. Sure enough, I got a letter with a photograph from someone at that company standing next to a 1/1 BMW 850i. I was

asked to stay quiet (excuse me, if you are reading this today as I lost your letter along with your name after I moved to Detroit for college). I was surprised that I had gotten a response. This was a turning point, where I had decided that I could also collect even more 1/18th scale models too in addition to my beloved kits.

In the early 90s I finished high school and was accepted into ArtCenter College of Design (ACCD) in Pasadena, California but I was also accepted to College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit. At that time, I really wanted to attend ACCD, because I was more used to a similar climate like metropolitan North Texas had, plus I had shifted more favorably towards Japanese car design and all the Japanese car companies had their design studios on the west coast at that time. I was also interested in yacht design and that course wasn’t offered in Detroit at that time. Basically, I didn’t want to deal with cold weather and Detroit wasn’t known for being safe at that time (It’s changed to a really nice city that I grew to love since getting to know it). However, CCS was slightly cheaper than ACCD, and the faculty/ admissions staff made my entire family and I feel welcomed and sure that it was my fit.

I certainly lucked out! I arrived at college 2 weeks before school started. My mom didn’t let me bring my car, so I was stuck in my dorm room on campus, until, I got a knock on the door from another student a year ahead of me in transportation design already (Freshman Year, you must apply and then be excepted into that program if you’re good enough. You just can’t take transportation out of the blue, you must earn it I’m 1 of 17 out of 88 freshman that wanted Transportation design). So, this fella that knocked on my door is named Alex J. (These days, you’ve probably seen his work in many Hollywood movies). Alex asked me ‘What are you here for?’. I told Alex that I hope to get into the transportation design program “Trans”. At the time Alex that had knocked on my door, I was practicing sketching. He asked, to see what I was sketching. I was like ‘sure’, so he said, ‘your drawings are good, especially your perspectives, but you need help with your core applications and to simplify your reflections a bit’. He asked if I would mind if he could do an overlay and show me how to apply pastels for more realistic cores and markers for more realistic reflections. I was so impressed, he spent time showing me this. Afterwards, he asked did I build kits due to me being able to understand perspective so well. So, I immediately ran to my room brought out my 1/12th scale Hasegawa Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo/Fairlady Z (Z32). He was like ‘wow, wanna’ get outta’ here and see some hobby shops?’ I was like ‘YES!’. Alex was cool enough to drive me to almost every single one of those shops in Metro Detroit and my first time eating Checker’s Burgers.

When we returned from the model shops, Alex showed me some of his sci-fi models and he introduced me to his roommate Jeff G., who also showed me his rendering and design style. Those two guys were two of the top “trans” designers in their class at that time. Those two people not only became my friends, but they both influenced me from the beginning and helped me to define my rendering style basis from that point forward until the summer of 1994 when I went more drastic in my evolving personal style even more(after not taking the last semester serious enough and having to taking a makeup class to save myself). I evolved, won some prizes and notoriety as well as a Toyota internship at the end of my junior year (more on that later in this article). Later, I ended up showing other newcomers the drill… this would come in handy later in my life as I eventually taught as Assistant Lecturer and Guest Lecture at three schools here in Europe when I was a Designer at DaimlerBenz in Germany. In general, I’m grateful that model cars have been a strong bond of many friendships ‘til this day and even influences my career.

So, stepping back to college, I quickly found out that Metro Detroit had a lot to offer in the form of many hobby shops all over the area. This was a far cry from the one or maybe two understocked hobby shops in North Texas. In Michigan building kits was part of the culture. The stores in Metro Detroit had a huge variety

of kits that I could only dream of building. Being starved of desirable model material for so long, I think that I bought like 200 plus model kits my freshman year of college. My roommates often asked their other friends that had dropped by ‘You want to see something neat?..then go check out Dave’s room’. People would then come out of my room with their mouths gaped wide open. Of course, being in college I didn’t have time to build a single kit during the school year as CCS had a rigorous program until Christmas break, so boxes piled up. Due to the cold climate and local industry driven creative culture, a great deal of people in Metro

Detroit found inside hobbies when was cold out. So, back in the 90s brick and mortar hobby shops were booming, successful even.

Now, as much as I loved the general hobby shops, another friend/classmate of mine Jim K. often took me with him grocery shopping (Jim had a really cool Gold 1989 Honda Prelude Si… ironically he had transferred from ACCD in California to CCS in Detroit). When we were back at Jim’s place, I noticed some detailed 1/87th and 1/43rd scale cars. He asked if I liked those? I was like they look neat. So, he said let’s go and drove me to this really cool store in the suburbs called AutoZone (they had the name before the parts store). The store is now called Pasteiner’s AZ. I was impressed. The place has a small foot print, but huge character. It’s owned by a now retired car designer as well. Once inside I was shocked by the plethora of 1/87th limited edition Herpas and 1/43rd Minichamps cars within the glass display case that surrounded the counter as well as stacks upon stacks of 1/18th scale models below all display cabinets and center displays.

Then to top it off, this store was stocked with many of the international automotive magazines/books and automotive paintings from the owner and other featured artists. Hanging out with Jim lead me into about 15 years of collecting a huge stash of 1/43rd and a good deal of 1/87th scale models.

As my Junior year of college came to an end, car companies showed up and we Transportation Design students presented to countless amounts of automotive companies from all over the world. Some of those companies offered a few of us internships.

That summer, I was the sole student chosen to intern at CALTY Design (Toyota/Lexus Design Center) in California. I was chosen because of what I had designed from rendering to 1/4th model for a Jeep Wrangler sponsored project the semester before and then my interpretation of what Toyota’s Supra could look like in the future. The other reason that they chose me, was because they were in the initial design stages of the 2000 model year Celica and wanted a fresh take on it from a Generation-X aged student that they could potentially hire upon graduation. This was a huge honor for me because it was Toyota, and when I was younger, I dreamt of working for them and they actually picked me for 4 months as their only intern. I couldn’t believe it.

Once there, in addition to tons of design sketches and renderings, I had to make a 1/4th scale model of my design proposal. I didn’t like clay, so I made my model out of a material called “Yellow Foam” in 1/4th scale (That is the basic scale for design proposals worldwide, the next size up at most car companies is 1/1 scale). After I got my 1/4th scale model to my desired shape, it was handed off to be professionally painted by Toyota for presentation with other design proposals. Luckily, I got to participate on that project and Toyota was nice enough to release a few images to me of that model to show in my graduation portfolio in order to help me land a job. You can see a bit of my efforts in that design shown in this article.

So, after I graduated from CCS, I had to start my professional career and I really had no time for model kits. I was so tired when I came home from work on weekdays and had some kit projects that I had started but hadn’t completed. Coincidently, on a Saturday,

I had just finished building Aoshima’s new Toyota Aristo 300 Turbo (Lexus GS400) when another friend (Chris L.) who was still in college at that time called me and said ‘Yo Dave, you have to see it. A new company called Gateway just released the Lexus new GS400 and RX300 in 1/18th scale… and all doors open... and the trunk has carpeting like Kyosho has in them’. I was like ‘what? you are joking right?’. He knew that I had spent big money on supplies to detail my Aoshima kit of basically the same car and I assumed that he was pulling my chain a bit because of that.

That’s when Chris went on to tell me that the models were like $50 bucks each at the Lexus Dealership ($50 USD was a lot for a 1/18th scale model back in 1998). I couldn’t get to my car keys quick enough to get out to the Lexus dealership after I called them to confirm that they had it in stock. I bought 1 of each Lexus, a black GS400 & bronze RX300(which I still have to this day), then went back and bought the 2nd color GS400 in silver. Gateway (eventually coming out as AUTOart in stores as well as Gate Models for their lower end brand) was a bargain compared to what I had spent on my kit and supplies to detail it. Also, I now had a couple more modern Toyota based products to put next to my Kyosho Supra which was the standard until AUTOart, Exoto, GMP, Lane and other higher end brands started being released shortly afterwards.

Ultimately, I had started buying more 1/18th AUTOart/Biante models online from Hong Kong and Australia, I pretty much stopped cold turkey with kits. With my automotive design career in full swing, often travelling abroad and then moving to Europe after accepting a job offer here. I had no time to build model kits to the level that I was used to achieving. I didn’t have to build kits anymore, because AUTOart models looked as good as my kits detail wise and were priced at reasonable rates back then. Realizing that I was moving to Europe, I called my friend Chris L. and asked him to ask other friends of ours if they wanted to buy the hundreds of kits that I had before I moved to Europe. At that time, I was done with kits.

After I got to Europe, Kyosho started their highly detailed 1/64th scale Bead Series as well as Biante and AUTOart’s same scale. Those were appealing to me, as I love details and I am fascinated with how model car manufactures achieve such intricate details at all scales. I collected them every now and then. Fast Forward 2015, my 1/64th scale fire has been re-ignited by Tomica, their exceptionally detailed Tomica Limited Vintage and Limited Vintage Neo range starting at around 3 years ago now. Ironically, this was one of the brands that got me into model cars via my grandfather. In a way, it came back full circle. There are other excellent brands at 1/64th scale and I purchase many of those as well. However, Tomica has a special relationship in my collectors’ heart.

I can clearly say that many years later, that I really am still fascinated with and appreciate automotive related miniature vehicles. These days, I find myself collecting some of everything car wise, I have no clear theme. However; some people focus on exotics or a certain automotive or model company brand, I can’t or won’t limit myself like that. Since I appreciate good design, I find myself collecting a diverse range of vehicles, but leaning more towards “everyday vehicles or common vehicles”. If you look at 30 plus years of collecting some of the 7600 plus models that I own(stored here in Europe, plus two other countries around the world), you can find something as rarely extreme as a 1/18th scale Nio EP9 Electric Supercar, as hip as a Kia Stinger GT, as common as a 1/64th scale Tomica Toyota Crown Royal and even as purposeful as the gigantic 1/18th scale Mercedes-Benz Actros Giga Space semi-truck tractor head. Right now, we collectors are living in a model car renaissance. If you think of it, someone else is probably in the process of making it as I am writing this article.

This puts me into an interesting position. My career paid me to design and develop 1/1 vehicles, because of that, last year I was asked to join a model car company as a project manager to oversee 1/18th, 1/12th and 1/8th scale existing car designs and to make sure that the prototypes were being faithful to following directions in surfacing to achieve a realistic look for my current employer. Luckily, I have some say in which models are chosen to be created. More on that coming in a future write up.

Road vehicles will always be a part of my life in all scales, so I strive my best to please the most critical eyes with regards of reducing 1/1s down to scale models.

Miniature cars are a huge part of my life’s story overall, it has helped lead into a career in the automotive industry as a transportation designer and now into someone overseeing the developing of miniature automotive models which you can be displayed on your shelves, display case or diorama.

Now, that you’ve gotten to know me. I have some interesting topics as well as some interviews coming up in future articles.

Whatever scale, vehicle brand, company or subject matter and material, I will go there…

Happy Collecting & Cheers!

- David -

F40 an icon of beastl AMALGAM MODELS 1:18

FERRARI F40

For me, this was Pininfarina’s finest work on a Ferrari built to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

Launched in 1987 this car stunned everyone. It looked violently fast and mean, it had a really loud engine and it was totally built to look like it deciphered every road as a race track and every other vehicle its enemy to beat. We picked Amalgam Models F40 to feature because this is the sort of treatment it needs, nay, the treatment it deserves.

ly power and mad fun AMALGAM MODELS 1:18

FERRARI F40 LM

The LM is a whole different kettle of fish. Yes, being homologated allows for the F40 to kick at the heels of the competition and do what it was born to do, race. The LM does take a few changes to the face. The headlights have been changed to accommodate for night racing with lower weight plexiglass covers and riveted, the whole car has been lowered with a front lip added to the buffer. Aero-style side mirrors reduce drag and the number of air scoops on the bonnet have been doubled on the LM.

From that orchestral V8 sitting behind the driver, one can imagine the visceral sound it makes as it climbs through the RPM’s unabated constantly looking for more gears and torque.

The wonderful thing about Amalgam is, their detail is so intense you want to get into it forgetting that you are not to scale. The Interior is highly detailed as so the engine and that side profile is just breathtaking, I’m glad to know there is an F40 diecast model out there I can aspire to own one day which will have all the detail I crave.

If the F40 is a beast this is the mother flipping MONSTER! Everything on this car has been ramped up. The spoiler has been cut into and changed to create added down force for those long straights. Lots of various body changes and modifications to the engine all visible in great detail thanks to Amalgam’s F40 LM. Once again a quality piece worthy of its price tag and something you should want for your home someday.

Alfa Romeo

RACING

DNA

ENGINEERED AMALGAM MODELS 1:8

ALFA ROMEO 2300 8C

Grand Prix gold. That’s what this 2.6 litre 8C Alfa is and in 1932 it was the dominant car on the track being driven to victory in the number 28 car by Tazio Nuvolari, powered by a straight 8 engine. Though when it was produced in 1931 as a 2.3 litre in 1932 it got an upgrade for the Grand Prix to a 2.6 Litre twin supercharged engine which put the 8C Alfa in the winning corner over and over again. Of course, the car was also piloted by one of the best drivers Enzo Ferrari had ever seen.

This model is from Amalgam and from the detailed engine you see on the opposite page you can understand why this 1:8 scale model costs over USD 11k.

This is the closest you would get to owning the real thing (unless you had between 3 to 10 million USD). But owning something like would be owning a study into the history of man’s ability to constantly build things that can make us go faster and faster and faster.

In 1937 the 2900B began production as race reprogrammed to be a comfortable tourer.

The one featured here is from True Scale Models and it features the long wheelbase chassis called the Lungo and the body built by Carrozzeria Touring. This is a 1:43 scale model and a fine example of Alfa Romeo Beauty.

CUSTOMS EVENTS AROUND OFFICE THE WORLD

The Nuremberg Toy Fair is one of the largest events of its kind in the world.

Manufacturers from across the world gather to show off the latest in toys, games, and kids play systems. www.spielwarenmesse.de

A roundup of events across the world

SPIELWARENMESSE INTERNATIONAL TOY FAIR 2019

SINGAPORE MOTOR SHOW 2019

TAGCC 2019 22ND - 23RD JUNE 2019 PUTRA WORLD TRADE CENTRE

SINGAPORE DIECAST TOKYOAUTO EXPO 2019 SALON 2019 ND TH 22 - 24 MARCH 2019 BUGIS PLUS

The Singapore Motor Show this year saw the KOREI booth showcasing not only its products, but also acted as a preview of the Singapore Diecast Expo, of which CASTHEADS is the media sponsor. www.motorshow.com.sg

The Hong Kong Toy Soul is a popular event for collectors across Asia. Many brands including TINY, SunStar and BM Collections showcased their new products. www.toysoul.hk

HONG KONG TOY SOUL 2018

The Tokyo Auto Salon saw Tarmac Works having their first showing at this prestigious event. Tarmac Works along with Ignition Models showcased some of their models. www.tokyoautosalon.jp

LA vs.

LA aaa.

LA FERRARI So, we see a lot of comparisons and comparison talk online and we thought we’d give it go in the CastHeads Office for the magazine. And, seeing how Tomica have just started their foray into FERRARI we now have a new 1/64 scale player. In lieu, we decided to take our La FERRARI’ off the shelves and compare them with the new.

vs.

PAINT JOB

CASTING

WHEELS

The Hotwheels version we have is the metallic silver which looks gorgeous it really is a nice silver paint job. The problem is, it clashes with the headlight tampo and you don’t see the headlights as striking. The rear has no tampos and no FERRARI logo on the rear lid.

The body casting is well defined but the plastic inside is a bit crap. The front air intake is just grooved, no definition on the engine at the back. The front grille is unexciting and again lacks detail. The hood is just one see-through plastic piece the goes all the way to the back.

The Hotwheels are the standard 5 double spokes, they roll easily but they have that larger rear wheel that seems obtuse. But this is a Hotwheels standard practice and we are used to it..

Perfect red no issues there at all. Real lights (plastic) are perfect and stand out all the FERRARI logos are in place including the one on the rear engine lid and the prancing horse in silver at the back of the car.

Metal Cast is flawless and the plastic casted stuff also has a level of detail that the other two don’t have. The hood intakes actually have patterned plastic to make it look like an air intake. The front grille is textured and the buffer splits between metal and black plastic which represents the carbon fibre. The engine at the back is grooved and detailed to a certain extent. The roof is not one seethrough piece but divided.

Also, have this rear wheel issue but not as bad as Hotwheels. They hide it better.

Again the standard mainline wheels with the springy suspension. They do look good though on the LaFerrari black wheels with silver rims goes well with the red.

The paint is a similar shade to Tomica with all the logo’s but the prancing horse at the back has not been printed well and they have added the F1 style brake light at the back which the Tomica lacked. Also, the tailpipes have been painted silver.

Casting is great both metal and plastic, some pieces not as detailed as the TOMICA but a few additions like the quarter panel air intakes being clearly defined as air intakes as opposed to the other two that have bumps in the casting.

The engine is also slightly detailed much like the TOMICA but the TOMICA wins because is got textured black plastic on either side of the engine that looks like mesh. The BBurago doesn’t have that. It does, however, have side mirrors.

Never did like these wheels. And, they seem out of proportion in relation to the car. It’s one of the few things that let Bburago down otherwise TOMICA has a very serious contender. They are obnoxious, clumsy and cheap looking.

The biggest travesty? The Bburago 1/64 is slightly larger than the average 1:64 making it impossible to do a wheel swap without making the car look like a carnival ride.

The Hotwheels version get a 2.5 verdict because in comparison to the other two it looks the furthest away from the actual car. The hood is wrong, logo’s missing and painted headlights are amongst the main peeves. The only thing going for it is the fact that Hotwheels lost the Ferrari License and all existing cars will be worth a buck or two extra.

The Tomica gets 4 stars. Although it was the best in so many ways to the other two it lacked certain things, we couldn’t ignore which would have given it a perfect score. Like the painted tailpipes or more detail on the quarter panel intakes. So close… TOMICA…. so close.

Bburago gets 3.5 stars. It’s those wheels. We can’t get past those wheels and the really ugly screw mount that protrudes from the underside of the car like a magnetic claymore mine. Those two things cost the Bburago score big time. We could also crib about the weird size but I think that’s enough for now.

THE THECULTURED CULTUREDCASTHEAD CASTHEAD

Diecast Accessories and Other Things

Perusing through my favorite bookshop in Malaysia BooXcess, I found this fantastic gem at an insane price. So insane that I immediately checked my bank account and realized I could buy my model car quota and still be able to own this masterpiece from Haynes Publishing. The fact that it’s from Haynes publishing alone, was enough street cred for me to pick this up.

start up Scuderia Ferrari and what quickly become the object of desire for almost any car fanatical lover around the world.

Carefully curated and written by Anthony Pritchard this book traces back the history of Ferrari way before the brand was born. It was surprising to see how much work Enzo Ferrari had done with Alfa Romeo’s racing team before venturing out on his own to

Everything you need to know about Ferrari from inception to the delivery of the LaFerrari in 2013 is in this book along with supporting chapters like a complete chapter discussing the famous coachbuilders (body work) of Ferrari like

From the engines to coachbuilders, from homologated cars to some of the dodgier practices that Enzo did to get his cars into races it’s all there including photography, historical media, stats, races etc.

Bertone, Carrozzeria and Pininifarina to several pages devoted to the engine specs of some of the most famous engines produced by Ferrari.

This book is a standard staple at the CastHead office and should be in all the homes of every respectable Ferrari Collector at any scale especially when it costs just USD $24.53 (without shipping), cheaper than the upcoming Ferrari F40 TLV. Buy it now and then send us a thank you note for the Tip. www.bookxcessonline.com/products/theroad-ferraris-the-complete-story

THROWBACK

Diecst stuff from yesteryear

Vintage Tomica poster, circa 1973

RATE CARD & AD SIZES

Editor | +94 77 789 2006 | +94 76 625 9372 CASTHEADS MAGAZINE | castheads@gmail.com | www.castheadsmagazine.com

Ferrari Testarossa 1/8 Pocher Models Photo by Lance K Müller

www.castheadsmagazine.com If you want your story or pictures featured, please send us an email at castheads@gmail.com and we would love to do so