Saturday, November 21, 2009

ERTL COLLECTIBLES MONKEES DIECAST COLLECTOR VEHICLE


THE MONKEE MOBILE 1:18 Scale 2002 American Muscle / Ertl Collectibles MONKEES Die-Cast Collector Vehicle. It vaguely resembled a GTO, but what started out as a "goat" emerged as pure "Monkee!" When customizer Dean Jefferies was contracted to build a car for the TV show about a rock group and its zany misadventures, he knew just what was needed. While the front grille sported a GTO emblem, Jefferies' extensive modifications included a tall split windshield, and extra row of seats where the rear deck was, a T-bucket convertible top, large fender flares and exapperated taillamps. The engine sported a 6-71 supercharger, although the blower was a dummy, as the car had too much power and was difficult to drive with the original blower.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

SCALEXTRIC - THE ITALIAN JOB MINIS




In recognition of possibly the greatest ever British crime caper, three of the stars from the 1969 cult classic, The Italian Job, are now faithfully reproduced by Scalextric.

An icon of design when the film was released, the three Mk1 Austin Mini Cooper S’s captured the hearts of movie fans the world over; starring in one of the most memorable car chase scenes in cinema history.

Incredibly, for the shooting of the getaway scenes the cars were only slightly modified to achieve the array of dazzling stunts. Movie cars are generally heavily modified to cope with the strains of stunt driving, but the Coopers were race bred, extremely light and incredibly tough in all the right areas.

The Mini originally went into production in 1959 and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2009, the same year that The Italian Job celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Each car is liveried in the correct shade of red, white and blue complete with the individual licence plate numbers. The Italian Job Minis are not suitable for conversion to digital operation.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

MARILYN MONROE WITH FORD THUNDERBIRD

Marilyn Monroe (June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962), born Norma Jeane Mortenson, but baptized Norma Jeane Baker, was an American actress, singer and model.

After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946. Her early roles were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950) were well received. She was praised for her comedic ability in such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, Some Like It Hot and The Seven Year Itch, and became one of Hollywood's most popular and glamorous performers.

The typecasting of Monroe's "dumb blonde" persona limited her career prospects, so she broadened her range. She studied at the Actors Studio and formed Marilyn Monroe Productions. Her dramatic performance in William Inge's Bus Stop was hailed by critics, and she won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like it Hot.
The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for being unreliable and difficult to work with. The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture. Though officially classified as a "probable suicide," the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as the possibility of homicide, have not been ruled out.

In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute.







There is justifiably now much interest being shown in the 'Corgi', with their interesting range of vehicles. This model is Ford Thunderbird in silver grey bodywork with cream & pink interior, opening boot & bonnet and diamond headlights. It has Marilyn Monroe figure.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

1968 FORD MUSTANG GT 390 STEVE McQUEEN BULLITT MOVIE CAR


Bullitt is a 1968 American thriller film starring Steve McQueen. It was directed by Peter Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. The story was adapted for the screen by Alan Trustman and Harry Kleiner, based on the novel titled Mute Witness (1963) by Robert L. Fish (aka Robert L. Pike). Lalo Schifrin wrote the original music score, a mix of jazz, brass and percussion.
The movie won the Academy Award for Best Film Editing (Frank P. Keller) and was nominated for Best Sound. Writers Trustman and Kleiner won a 1969 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.



Bullitt is probably best-remembered for its car chase scene through the streets of San Francisco, regarded as one of the most influential car chase sequences in movie history.The scene had Bullitt in a dark "Highland Green" 1968 Ford Mustang 390 CID Fastback, chasing two hit-men in a "Tuxedo Black" 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 Magnum.
In 2007, Bullitt was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".



This is 1968 Ford Mustang GT Green 1/43 Steve Mqueen Bullitt . Made of diecast with some plastic parts. Detailed interior, exterior. Has plastic display stand with plastic show case. Dimensions approximately L-4 inches long.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

CINDERELLA'S COACH


'Cinderella's Coach' from the film The Slipper and the Rose, was a strange choice for release, appealing more to girls than boys, and was only available until the following year. The 1/42nd scale all plastic model was finished in gold with four white horses, a footman dressed in pink, and Cinderella herself, also in pink, seated inside. A photograph and signature of Gemma Craven (who played Cinderella in the film) featured on the window box, but as a TV/Film related model, this one is a pumpkin.



Saturday, August 15, 2009

THE OPEN-TOP ROUTEMASTER 'DISNEYLAND BUS'


The open-top Routemaster bus was produced as a ‘Disneyland Bus’ (no.470), pleasing finished in pale yellow with red interior, stripe and ‘Disneyland’ decals. Disney character decals were displayed along the advertising area of each body side and the 1/65th scale model proved popular during its single year production run.

Monday, August 3, 2009

CORGI: KOJACK'S BUICK


'Who loves ya, baby?'

If you've got the lollipop and the hairline's retreating swiftly, go the whole hog and buy Kojack's Buick. It's a re-release of an buy Kojack's Buick. It's a re-release of an old Corgi 70's favoutite, and now there's a white metal Kojak figure incorporated with the model, albeit a little over scale. He replaces the plastic Kojack and Crocker figures.

The brown Buick is the same moulding as ever, neatly finished with opening doors. The original colour of the model was a metallic dark brown; the new version is a more authentic light brown. However, there's a mystery surrounding the car that Kojak himself might not be able to fathom. The box says the model: 'was originally released in 1976 and included a mechanism recreating the sound of gun fire, which is still featured on this model.'

Either modern guns have better silencers than they did in 1976, or there is no mechanism on the new model. It used to be operated by a revolving toothed wheel at the rear of the car where the number plate should be, this produced a clicking gun noise. -- Model Collector See more

Friday, July 17, 2009

TOP TEN MOVIE CARS


Cars.com staff picks the top ten movie cars. Shot and produced by: Alex Braun, Sarah Gersh and Eric Rossi Edited by: Lindsay Bjerregaard and Alex Braun

CORGI: STARSKY AND HUTCH FORD GRAN TORINO



The red and white ‘Starsky and Hutch Ford Gran Torino’ capitalized on the highly successful American ‘cop’series and captured the imagination well. However, its contours were a little crude and the wheels were far too small. The white stripe label was also prone to being poorly aligned. Early versions of this 1/35th scale model had clear windows and a yellow interior, and featured posed figures of Dave Starsky and Ken Hutchinson apprehending a suspect. Later versions had solid black windows without any interior or figures, but it did gain twin rear aerials due to the casting being altered slightly for the Corgi Torino Road Hog. Production ceased in 1985/86. A limited run included the Junior version in the same box.


'1976

1976 Ford Gran Torino "Starsky & Hutch" Diecast Car Model 1/18 Die Cast Car by ERTL

Thursday, July 2, 2009

McHENRY's TRIKE IN MAGIC ROUNDABOUT


To complement the earlier 'Magic Roundabount Car', corgi produced a complete range of vehicles, figures and setting that included the 'Mr.McHenry's Trike' (no.859). The Trike, also plastic and finished in red, featured Mr McHenry at the controls and Zebedee inside a working Jack in the box trailer that was permanently coupled. The real finishing touch, though, was the 'Playground' diorama that included a musical carousel and an assortment of figures. The car, train and trike were able to run on the racked road system that ran around the edge of the layout. An excellent, well portrayed range available for only one year and now extremely rare.