Graham Heeps

Spark

Lamley Daily: Sparky Renault F1

With Nico Hülkenberg back in an F1 car last weekend, it seems a good time show this Sparky model of his 2017 Renault

Matchbox

Not such a Swede deal? Matchbox’s Volvo V60 Wagon is the Superfast Super Duty

This Superfast Volvo wagon isn’t finding buyers in Canada. Perhaps we can reroute them all to Europe?

1/64, Lamley Daily

Lamley Daily: Bobby Allison’s 1983 Buick Regal

With all the buzz around the new Hot Wheels ’87 Buick Grand National casting, here is one of the cars that earned the Grand National street car its name

Hot Wheels, Majorette, Norev

Collection Update: Hot Wheels ’12 Ford Fiesta

Join us for a rundown of all the issues so far of the Hot Wheels ’12 Ford Fiesta, including some recollections from the casting’s designer, Mark Jones

Lamley Daily, Tomica

Lamley Daily: Tomica Jaguar XJ-S Group A

The Jaguar XJ-S was one of the most recognizable touring cars of the 1980s. Tomica’s Group A model was based on an XJ-S casting that had been around in street trim since 1978 and featured an authentic but obscure racing livery.

Lamley Daily, Matchbox

Lamley Daily: Matchbox Florida Highway Patrol Ford LTD

I’ve accumulated a few different releases of the Matchbox Ford LTD police car, but this Premiere World Class release from 1997, in authentic Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) deco, is the one I like best

1/64, Matchbox

Don’t take your favourite magazine for granted: A tribute to Model Collector

I was sad to hear that Model Collector, a long-running diecast magazine published in the UK, had closed. I enlisted the help of Nigel Cooper, former Matchbox Ambassador, to look back at this link to collecting in the pre-Internet age

Johnny Lightning, Matchbox, Tomica

Baby you can drive my car! Johnny Lightning’s British Invasion

It’s 20 years since Johnny Lightning released its British Invasion sets of six classic British roadsters – including the only near-1:64 MGB until Matchbox’s came along. Let’s take a closer look

Kyosho

Lamley Daily: Kyosho Porsche 907

Kyosho issued its fourth Porsche Minicar Collection in 2011. The 911 RSR Turbos are probably the most sought-after releases from the set, but it contained some other great stuff including three versions of the 907

Kyosho

Building a 1:64 Kyosho Ferrari 575 GTC

I’d always wondered how easy it was to put together a 1:64 Kyosho Ferrari and I wasn’t sure whether a kit model would hit the same heights as the pre-assembled ones. When a Ferrari 575 GTC came up for sale for a good price, I decided it was time to find out.

Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Tomica

Battle of the ’82 Toyota Supras: Hot Wheels vs Matchbox

I found a classic Hot Ones ’82 Supra in good shape a few years back. It makes a great pair with my Matchbox version of the same car; I thought it would be fun to compare the two!

Matchbox

5 x 90: Favourite versions of an all-time great Matchbox Land Rover

Here’s a short tribute to what I regard as one of the finest Matchbox models. Just like the real thing, the Matchbox Land Rover 90 is quite a survivor. There have been more than 40 versions of the 1:62-scale model so far, spanning over three decades!

Lamley Daily, Matchbox

Lamley Daily: Matchbox Chevrolet Avalanche

Chevy trucks are a hot collecting trend right now but amidst the scramble to collect the (ahem) avalanche of vintage Squarebodies, Stepsides and more being issued by the likes of Hot Wheels, Auto World, M2 and Greenlight, I don’t see a lot of love for the Avalanche.

Lamley Daily, Matchbox

Matchbox Ferrari Berlinetta (Part 2)

By now you’ll have read fellow Lamley contributor Alex Winson’s take on the Matchbox 75a Ferrari Berlinetta. Alex showed his beautiful regular wheels version; here’s my Superfast one to complete the story.

Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Tarmac Works

Mail call: Hot Wheels, Tarmac Works and Matchbox emerge from postal lockdown

With travel restrictions, mail delays and border closures, it’s been harder to obtain some cars that I’d bought before the days of social distancing, but this week a box came through from the UK after a couple of months in transit

Greenlight, Hot Wheels

[Guest Post] Lockdown racers: Creating custom Indy Cars to reconnect with my childhood love of Hot Wheels, by Greg Bryce

Today’s Lamley Guest Post takes a fascinating approach to customizing.

Lamley Daily, Tomica

Lamley Daily: Tomica Mazda Bongo Friendee

The Bongo Friendee is one of my favourite Tomica castings. It’s a solid lump of metal and has the fantastic ‘Auto Free Top’ extendable roof for great play value. It also comes in paint finishes that reflect real-life colours, complete with the correct graphics

Aoshima, Kyosho, Matchbox

Matchbox Formula 1 grid walk, Part 2: 1970s-1990s

Welcome to Part 2 of my walkthrough of Matchbox’s Formula 1 cars. We’d reached 1978 and the demise of the Team Matchbox, a generic formula car that had been part of the Superfast range since 1973. That left the No.36 Formula 5000 as the only single-seater in the lineup, but some of the best Matchbox F1 cars were still to come

Lamley Daily, Matchbox

Lamley Daily: Smells like a winner – Matchbox’s ‘Corvette Cologne’ convertible

When I look at this black Matchbox Corvette, I can’t help but think of where I bought it – from a basket of loose, bagged, surplus stock in a small-town toy shop in New Zealand in 2003. But as the tampo print on the hood suggests, the Corvette originally came in a 1997 gift pack with a bottle of cologne

Kyosho, Matchbox, Tomica

Matchbox Formula 1 grid walk, Part 1: 1950s-1970s

I began writing this article with the intention of covering Matchbox’s Formula 1 history, based on cars in my collection. The more I dug into the topic, the more there was to say, so I’m splitting the story into two parts. This is Part 1 and covers the 1950s, 60s and 70s, from the Maserati 4CLT to the Team Matchbox

Hot Wheels, Kyosho, Maisto, Minichamps

Vintage Weissach: Ten of the best 1:64 racing Porsches

It’s a great time to collect 1:64 Porsche race cars, with a ton of suitable subjects available for diecast companies to model. I thought it would be fun to dip into my collection and showcase 10 of my favourites.

Johnny Lightning, Lamley Daily

Lamley Daily: Evel Knievel’s Chevy-powered Aston Martin Lagonda

This Johnny Lightning Aston Martin Lagonda is a bit of an oddity. Its modified look includes side pipes and a rear wing, because the original version was issued as the only car in a 1998, four-model set of Evel Knievel’s vehicles. Knievel owned a Lagonda that had had its original 5.3-liter Aston V8 swapped for an 8.2-liter, big-block Chevy

1/64, Lamley Daily, Matchbox

Lamley Daily: Supermarket snake – Matchbox’s 428 Mustang Cobra Jet

Happy 428 day! The Matchbox version of Ford’s drag car for the street is a substantial model. Later versions – it became a staple of premium releases such as Superfast for a decade – showcased its great stance and nice details to the full.

1/64, Lamley Daily, Majorette

Lamley Daily: Majorette’s Subaru rally masterpiece

This Majorette casting is one of the best Subaru Imprezas around. It’s available in multiple street versions and a couple of different authentic rally paint schemes (with several different wheels) but it’s hard to beat the classic Subaru World Rally Team look