The Fox18 Škodas are this year’s most unexpected 1:64 rally cars

When people see my collection for the first time, they often ask what my favourite model is. The answer is the Matchbox MB176 Škoda 130 LR. It ticks a lot of boxes: it looks great, it’s from my favourite era of childhood blue-box Matchbox, and it’s a 1980s rally car.

(find Matchbox Škoda 130 LR on eBay)

Aside from my Matchbox, I’ve a decent collection of detailed 1:64 rally cars. Until recently, the only Škoda among them was the CMs 2005 Škoda Fabia WRC05. That all changed a couple of months ago when I spotted an Instagram post featuring two new sets of Škodas from the 1970s and 80s.

The brand Fox18 was previously unfamiliar to me but for a few years has been producing detailed, larger-scale models in diecast and resin after being established as a spin-off from Foxtoys, a diecast importer, wholesaler and retailer. The focus is on historical vehicles from its home country, Czech Republic. I believe these fully licensed new releases are its first foray into 1:64 scale and frankly, what a way to start.

[I did reach out to Fox18 for more information but didn’t hear back. I’ll update this article if I hear anything]

There are two sets of four cars in this new Fox64 Line. One features versions of the 130 RS coupe from the 1970s; the other has four different takes on the 130 LR, one of the lesser-known machines from the Group B era.

I bought them online from Foxtoys. They worked out at around US$24 each, including shipping to Canada. They were well packed and even came with a couple of rally-car stickers!

(look for Fox18 Škodas on eBay)

John Haugland / Fred Gallagher, Škoda 130 RS, RAC Rally, November 27, 1976. Credit: Motorsport Images

Rallying has long been Škoda’s motorsport passion. Decades before its current, thriving customer rally-car business, and with the Cold War at its height, factory-sponsored Škodas entered major European rallies on both sides of the Iron Curtain in the form of the distinctive, rear-engined 130 RS coupe (click here for more history). There are three liveried rally versions in the Fox18 set, from 1976-79, plus a plain white car.

John Haugland / Monika Eckardt, Škoda 130 LR, RAC Rally, November 16, 1986. Credit: Motorsport Images

The second set showcases the 130 LR from a decade later, the ultimate evolution of the ‘traditional’ Škoda before the post-Cold-War takeover by Volkswagen and a switch to FWD (more on its history here). The Fox18 set has two rally cars – another of Norwegian driver John Haugland’s famous RAC Rally machines, this one from 1986, plus Škoda legend Pavel Sibera’s 1988 Rally Bohemia contender. There are also two of the Group B homologation special road cars, in white and red.

The models come in familiar, Made-in-China, Tarmac/Inno64-style packaging: cardboard sleeve, crystal case and printed plastic plinth, to which the car is screwed.

Update: I believe these are made in the same factory as models from ixo and Tarmac Works, which explains the packaging.

The models’ style reminds me a lot of the CMs rally cars, but the execution is better. The quality control is good. They are heavy, the printing is crisp and there were no random pieces rattling around in the boxes, despite their journey to Canada.

The 130 LRs (below) roll beautifully, but the tighter wheel wells of 130 RSs (above) means those cars are hit and miss: of the three rally RSs I’ve opened, one rolls perfectly, the other two barely at all.

I don’t collect premium street cars so the rest of this brief article will focus on the rally cars. Here are some close-ups of them, first the 130 RSs:

I like the #31 RS best (John Haugland, RAC Rally 1976).

And here are the 130 LRs:

It’s harder to choose between the LRs but I followed the RAC Rally as a kid in the 1980s (it’s one reason I like the Matchbox so much) so it has to be the #24 1986 Haugland car. Here are some more shots of it in all its glory.

And one of the 130 LR with my personal GOAT!

If you’re a rally fan then I definitely recommend tracking down these lovely models. Hopefully they won’t be the last rally Škodas we see from Fox18. Happy collecting!

(look for Fox18 Škodas on eBay)

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(find me on Facebook @Graham Heeps Author)