Four Small Wheels 1/2004

news

Heco News

In the last issue we reviewed what we thought to be the last of the Heco series of Bugatti Royales. The display bases for this series each have a section of an engineering drawing of the real car's chassis so that when arranged correctly it becomes a whole. Except it doesn't!
We were recently contacted by an American collector who is fortunate enough to have the whole series and he says that there is a gap in one corner. Heco have confirmed that to fill the gap there will be a full chassis with radiator and bonnet and then to run the length of the display will be something very special. A model of the 1933 Bugatti Autorail 'Presidentiel' which was powered by four Royale engines. Yes GPM now sell trains too!

As one door closes another opens, literally. The first of a new range of models from Heco with the driver's door fixed open will be this Bugatti T57C Atalante. Just 200 numbered pieces will be made, ref HEC387.

Tameo Superkits

Tameo continue to push the boundaries of 1:43rd kit production with their range of high detail kits. The latest arrival at time of writing is an amazing kit of the 1980 Lotus 81. A problem in the past with the Essex sponsored machines has been how to replicate the reflective chrome sponsorship. Not any more with Cartograf's superb new decals in this kit and in the new Studio 27 releases elsewhere in this issue.

Not content with producing these kits of historic subjects, by the time you are reading this we expect that another Tameo superkit will have arrived. This time the subject is Schumacher's 2003 Japanese GP winning Ferrari.

MR Collection
MR Collection are the latest manufacturer to obtain a license from Ferrari for both the MRC and Look Smart ranges. They are already licensed by Lamborghini and also now have agreements for Audi, Porsche and Bugatti.
As a result of these negotiations they now have a huge future production schedule packed with exciting subjects. By the time they have worked through this we will have virtually every type of Lamborghini road car and design study including the spectacular 1-off Zagato Raptor (below) and the new race version of the Murciallago, the R-GT.

As we've said it's not all Lamborghinis, there will be the Audi Le Mans concept, Bugattis from Atalante to Chiron, Alfa Romeos including the 2003 8C Competizione, the list just goes on.

Change-over Time
Visitors to the GPM showroom will be familiar with the four large display cases housing part of Ron Peggs' Le Mans collection. For the past few months we have had the cars from the 1990s on display but during a recent visit Ron has changed the display to include the majority of the cars that took part in the race in the 1980s.

Wish list
A few more suggestions for adventurous model manufacturers. One or two are possibly even more odd-ball than usual!

Lola T163 high-wing Can-Am 1969
Stein twin-Porsche Indy 1966
Jaguar XJR6 1986
Andrea Moda S921 1992
March 717 Can-Am/Interserie
Hesketh 308 Alan Jones
TVR Sagar

New Feeling 43 transkits

We mentioned in the last issue that Feeling 43 were planning a transkit to super-detail BBR's Ferrari 550 Maranello kit. Well here it is. The set includes a replacement bodyshell with separate doors, bonnet and boot lid, a full engine and a fuel cell to go in the rear. You still need a fair amount from the BBR donor kit though, including the cockpit details and windows. When we spoke to Serge Divies of Feeling 43 at Retromobile he said he is already planning the next transkit which will be for another BBR base kit. Possibilities include the 575GTC and the Enzo. Watch this space.

...line by line...

BBR are taking a diversion from their usual production and are to release a 1:18th die-cast of the Ferrari Enzo..... in their more familiar kit and hand built ranges we can look forward to the new Maserati Quattroporte, Ferrari 612 Scaglietti and much more..... also in 1:18th scale MG Models are continuing their range of Ferrari 550 kits and hand builts with the Le Mans GTS class winner, FIA GT Championship and they will also be releasing the Estoril winning 575GTC..... Jade Miniatures are continuing with their history of the Maserati 250 Piccolo...... and Modelismo Leonardo are on a similar theme and will include the V12 250F in their range very soon..... Provence Moulage will be making the new Peugeot and Mitsubishi WRC machines and are also considering the Hyundai Accent WRC. Not before time that last one..... at Retromobile André-Marie Ruf had on display the latest release in the Titan range of 1:12th scale models, the Ferrari 512BBLM and in 1:43rd an amazing photo-etched kit of the Cobra Daytona body buck..... Model Factory Hiro's next 1:20th high detail single seater kit will be of the Lancia D50. One that will definitely be worth waiting for...... Profil 24 are working on a lightweight Jaguar E type and the 1938 Le Mans Alfa 8C 2900B Coupe in 1:24th..... the latter will also be available as a 1:32nd slot car kit..... and Le Mans Miniatures will shortly release Matra MS630 as a slot car, so you'll have something of a similar era to race against their Ford Mk4!.....