Matchbox Cars Returning to UK in 2019

Will We See Matchbox Cars UK Wide by 2019? I've got a big smile on my face as I write this, having photographed some cars on the first pleasant summer evening here for about 2 weeks. The big news this last weekend for fans of Mattel's Matchbox cars was no doubt the announcement of the...

I’m expecting hell for this, but…

A quick note on Mattel's growing toxic culture... Hi everyone - excuse me for writing to you at half past three in the morning (yes, it's Friday!) but something grabbed my attention tonight and I feel it's time to address it. I've been pretty heavily involved with Instagram the last few years and my experience...

The Tomica Limited Vintage Ferrari F40 is the Perfect Model

The day before yesterday I was looking at Danish Philanthropist J. C. Jacobsen's private art and statue collection in the Copenhagen Glyptotek (founder of Carlsberg). As excited as I was to see the animal-headed deities of ancient egypt, the captivating nude figures of Greek gods, and the swirling oil masterpieces of Van Goph (admittedly I...

My Scottish adventure with an EFE Diecast Harrington Cavalier Coach…

You know I eschew trends and hype! I collect whatever I like. Sometimes that means sneaking out of the 1:64 scale community hall and dipping my toes into the diecast wilderness of OO scale. Sitting on the top shelf of my local diecast dealer's cabinet (plenty of class A stuff in there, let me assure...

Five Minute Customs – Hot Wheels Honda Civic Si, + the new Honda S2000 and BMW M2

Nothing beats finding models in "the wild" that have been on your want list for a while. It might make more economic sense to simply order online, if you have the option, because I just had to fill my car up at £1.31/litre, and it gets expensive driving around looking for cars (which is why...

I pre-ordered my Accelerator 426 Tomica Limited Vintage Tomicarama – and so should you! (If you like beautiful pre-made dioramas)

With the Lamley Group indulging in "TLV Week" recently, the masters of Japanese scale diecast have enjoyed plenty of exposure and discussion amongst collectors. Before I get onto the latest Tomicarama (which you can pre-order here at Ami Ami or here from Japan Booster) indulge me as I editorialise about my favourite premium diecast brand. I'm...

Datsun Bluebird Wagon Custom

With the arrival of  Hot Wheels's Car Culture Japan Historics 2 and the Nissan Hakosuka wagon as part of the Cargo Carriers series, it seems the hype for Japanese cars in the diecast collecting world is as fierce as ever, and the Hot Wheels "dream team" are working hard to meet that demand. But the...

A matter of perspective

A thread came up on an online forum regarding perspective and photography of diecast cars. It's an interesting thing to think about, right? Why do so many people take ugly shots of their cars - just all scattered on a carpet, or in a dark room with grainy light, or on a creepy looking shelf...

Building a 1/64 scale Garage for Hot Wheels, Matchbox, etc…

Time for a new diorama post. You may notice that in the last post there is a new background for the cars. So it is time to document it here. A while back I wrote an article for a magazine about community garages, about how changing technology in motor cars meant that small, family run...

My first Americana, Part 1: The beautiful die-cast works of Castline and Greenlight

The blog has been quiet but I have been not. I have got so much stuff to get through that I just don't know how I am going to manage it all before the year is out on top of my other commitments. But I am glad to finally be getting some stuff out. It...