Funny how things move in circles. Cycle back to February 2020 and one of my very first articles for Lamley featured a little green Skoda 120 and probably had a few of the Lamley faithful thinking “who is this guy?!” Well, I had a mission to get the weird and wonderful onto Lamley and prove there’s history and variety in the hobby way past the Mattel brands, and I think I’m doing ok so far. The 120 was made by Czechoslovakian brand Rozkvet VDI and over 100 articles later, I’ve finally managed to acquire the only other model they produced (and a personal Holy Grail): the Skoda 136 Favorit.
Skodas have a bit of a special place in my heart thanks to my little 1999 Felicia which I rescued a couple of years ago when it was mere days away from scrap, but it’s the Felicia’s predecessor we’re focusing on right now.
The Skoda Favorit went on sale in 1985, replacing the rapidly ageing 105/120 and ushered in a new era for Skoda. Designed by Bertone, the Favorit was a mechanically simple yet reliable car with relatively decent handling. Available in hatchback, estate and pickup forms, all variants were powered by a 1.3 litre inline 4 engine or in certain markets a 1171cc engine for the hatchback only. The Favorit was a huge success for Skoda and became one of the most popular cars in Central Europe, and exports went as far away as Peru. On the rally stage the Favorit proved itself even more, winning the 1994 WRC 2-litre Manufacturer’s Championship and notching up class success in domestic rallies around Europe including in Britain’s RAC Rally.
Firm information is hard to come by but it seems Rozkvet made the Favorit (and the 120) in a number of colour schemes including a police car and a rally liveried version. The company headquarters were in Banska Bystrica in what is now Slovakia and production seemingly ended before the country became independent in 1993, as the cars are marked “Made in Czechoslovakia”.
Construction is very simple and super solid with a metal body and base. The paint is very thick which means some of the panel lines lose their sharpness, but hey….. I am really not fussed. I’m just stoked to have finally found one.
And I bought the 120 back out for a side by side. These two really are treasures in my collection.
I’m glad I managed to get hold of the Favorit finally and bring Rozkvet back to the pages of Lamley. Weird and wonderful was my promise, and 2 years later I’m sticking to it.
Instagram: @alex_the_hoarder
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(Rozkvet sales are rare on Ebay but use this link to have a browse)
Hello Alex. Another fascinating post! I love your Skodas. I like the sedan best but both are sweet. And your real Skoda looks great, too.
A different toy subject : Do you have any toys made by the Italian toymaker Mercury? I recently discovered a merchant here in the states who sells the reproductions known as Mercury/Hachette. My favorite is the Fiat 1300/1500 sedan because it reminds me of the classic Matchbox toy from 1965-1969. The one with luggage on the roof.
Best,
Jeffrey
Hi Jeffrey!
Thank you so much for your kind words! And yes, I’m aware of Mercury, there are some *beautiful* models that they make. I featured one of their 1/64 on here last year, the Fiat Campagnola 4×4. Lovely model, very simple. I have a repro Mercury Autobianchi Bianchina and an original Ferves Ranger in 1/43 as well.
That’s a nice little toy model. Simple and crisp.
My Nan had a dull brown/grey Skoda. Her little shop hopper for many years.
I hope one day to gain that model version or even remade by Mattel/Mbx version.
Tbh… My local charity shops have been good for diecast of all sorts. I felt lucky in finding a Maisto green Trabant.
Thank you and great write up👍
Thank you Aaron! Matchbox did a Skoda 130LR rally car, and Rozkvet did the 120L and Favorit. Welly are bringing out a Favorit, as well as a 105 at some point but these will be tough to get hold of. You’re lucky your local charity shops have stuff, I haven’t seen a diecast in any of our local stores for some time!
Excellent! I love the colours, the thickness of the paint really makes the colours sing; and no clumsy graphics. I’m a Majorette fan but some of their 80’s cars suffered from shouty graphics. More oddities please.
Thanks Tim! For more oddities check my previous posts, they’re full of them 😉