As soon as I saw this, I knew I had to bag one. A collaboration from the top drawer between two of the big hitters in the diecast world, Schuco and Tarmac Works, and a super cool service van livery on one of the German brand’s already top castings. This is the Volkswagen T3 Audi Sport service van.
Service vans are some of the coolest working vehicles out there, having cult followings with several groups on Facebook celbrating them. Mirroring the liveries of the cars they supported means these normally humdrum vehicles were graced with the liveries of some of the most iconic rally teams: Martini, Totip, Alitalia and Talbot Sport adorned Fiat 242s, Rothmans Ford Transit MkIIs, Opel Europe Chevrolets and of course the Audi Sport Volkswagen LTs and Transporters. Normally at this time I’d share a brilliant period image of the T3 Transporters in action, supporting the efforts of Audi’s legendary Group B Quattros. But surprisingly, good images are hard to find! However I did come across a few images featuring the T3s in the background.
About time then, that the workhorse gets a bit of time in the limelight, albeit in miniature form!
The Schuco T3 is a strong casting already, and the Tarmac Works collaboration brings the Audi Sport livery to the mix. There’s also a little difference to normal Schuco castings that I find really cool: numberplates. And the correct Ingolstadt plates for the Audi Sport team vehicles as well. A tiny touch that makes the casting even more realistic. There’s also the “D” Deutschland ID plate on the back.
Needless to say the decals are sharp enough but there’s a bit of a disappointing slant as well as a drop on the “AUDI SPORT” logos on the sides, I’m not sure if this is only limited to my model though as others I have seen look straight and true. Regardless, quality control is always a Schuco strength so it’s a shame this slipped through. Anyway, the rest of the details are accurate and the overall finish as good as you’d expect from a Schuco product. Decent weight, rubber tyres and smooth rolling. And it’s as cool as you’d expect from a Tarmac Works product.
And there’s more to come from the Schuco/Tarmac collaborations as teased recently…
Needless to say the future is bright, air cooled and very low! I can’t wait to see the finished products and what else the 2 brands have up their sleeve.
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(Find the Schuco/Tarmac T3 on Ebay)
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