O F F - T H E - S H E L F
The following editorial reflects
the personal thoughts of Doug Breithaupt relating to our common hobby of
miniature cars. It is intended to generate discussion relating to 'Tales of Toy Cars'.
Your letters are welcome and may be submitted via e-mail.
Last month I provided a list of cars that I would like to see in 1:64 scale.
It is a surprise the so many cars on this list are ones that have been extremely
popular with the public and collectors over the years, have never been done.
How have toy car manufacturers missed these classics?
Almost every auto manufacturer has had a single model that rises above their
other models to represent that particular company in the eyes of the general
public. I started assembling a list of these cars for current manufacturers
and I was curious how often these models have been represented in 1:64 scale.
You may disagree with my list but at least we can all agree that everyone
of these cars deserves to have been done. Following each entry I've listed
the major toy companies to produce each model. If I have missed a few, I'm
sure to hear about it. I have highlighted in bold, cars never produced in
small-scale or only done once.
Volvo - 245DL Wagon (Majorette)
Saab - 95 (never done)
Mercedes-Benz - 300SL Gullwing (Siku, Tomica, Corgi, Zylmex)
BMW - M3 E30 (Welly, Hot Wheels, Corgi)
Volkswagen - original Beetle (too many to list)
Audi - Quattro (Matchbox, Maisto, Yat Ming, Welly,)
Opel - GT (Siku, Schuco)
Porsche - 911 Turbo 930 (too many to list)
Ford Germany - Capri (too many to list)
Ferrari - 308GTB/S (Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Corgi, Kidco, Yat Ming)
Lamborghini - Countach (to many to list)
Maserati - Ghibli (never done)
Alfa Romeo - original Duetto/Spider (never done)
Fiat - 500 Tipolino (never done)
De Tomaso - Pantara (Matchbox, Tomica, Welly, Playart)
Citroen - DS (Majorette, Siku, Johnny Lightning, Matchbox, Corgi, Norev)
Renault - 4CL (Majorette, Norev, Buby)
Peugeot - 205 (Majorette, Guisval, Siku, Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Maisto)
Bugatti - Royale (Tomica)
Rolls Royce - Silver Ghost (never done)
Bentley - 4.5 litre Blower (never done)
Jaguar - 'E' type (Matchbox, Siku, Corgi, Zylmex, Johnny Lightning, Majorette,
Hot Wheels, Playart)
Lotus - Super Seven (Matchbox)
Aston Martin - DB5 (Johnny Lightning)
Rover - original Land Rover Safari (Matchbox, Efsi)
Austin - Mini (Siku, Tomica, Motor Max, Zylmex, Matchbox, Edocar, Real Toy)
M.G. - B (Johnny Lightning)
Morgan - Plus 4 (Majorette, Siku, Tomica, Zylmex)
Ford G. Britain - GT40 (Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Siku, Champion, Zylmex, Ertl,
Aurora)
Vauxhall - (Prince Henry)
Ford U.S. - 1964 1/2 Mustang (Matchbox, Johnny Lightning, Racing Champions,
Hot Wheels, Yat Ming, Playart)
Mercury - original Cougar (Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Johnny Lightning, Corgi,
Playart, Ertl)
Lincoln - 1961 4-dr. Convertible (Hot Wheels)
Chrysler - PT Cruiser (Motor Max, Matchbox, Maisto)
Dodge - Viper R/T and GT (Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Johnny Lightning, Racing
Champions, Road Champs, Maisto, Golden Wheel)
Jeep - CJ and variations (too many to list)
Cadillac - 1959 Eldorado (Hot Wheels, Racing Champions, Road Champs, Summer)
Buick - 1949 Roadmaster (Road Champs)
Oldsmobile - 1966-67 Toronado (Siku, Mini-Dinky, Aurora)
Pontiac - 1967 GTO (Johnny Lightning, Hot Wheels, Racing Champions)
Chevrolet - 1957 Belair (too many to list)
Honda/Acura - NSX (Majorette, Tomica)
Nissan - 240Z (Playart, Tomica, Hot Wheels)
Infiniti - pick a model (never done)
Toyota - original Land Cruiser (Tomica, Majorette)
Lexus - SC300 (Hot Wheels, Tomica)
Suburu - WRX (Tomica)
Mitsubishi - 3000GT (Matchbox)
Mazda - MX-5 Miata (Tomica, Hot Wheels, Motor Max, Road Champs, Zylmex)
Isuzu - Rodeo (Matchbox)
Suzuki - Side Kick (Maisto, Hot Wheels)
Holden - original Ute pickup (never done)
Ford Australia - original Falcon (never done)
Some of the very small manufacturers like A.C., Seat, Skoda, Shelby, TVR,
Panos and others are not listed as they tend to fall below the radar screen
of most auto consumers. Other companies like Plymouth, American Motors,
Triumph, Sunbeam, Simca, Packard, Studebaker, DeSoto and NSU are no longer
in operation, although many still have substantial name recognition. Let
me know if you want to add to the list or offer corrections doug@breithaupts.com.