eModelli - ModBlog

A website that proves that nostalgia can be very profitable.
by Ian Hughes
28 November 2006 - Today’s website of the day is toymart.com a specialist auction site aimed at toy collectors. Most people will have stashed away somewhere a big old box full of childhood memories. This will usually be found in your parents’ attic or basement and is something you’ve always said you will get round to “one day”. If I told that you could be sitting on a fortune would “one day” be tomorrow? Those die cast model cars you spent hours playing with could well be rare Corgi or Dinky models. Your bag full of Action Man figures could be just what a collector is looking for to complete his collection. You just never know. Obviously, the big money is in mint condition, boxed. But what kind of child would you have been if you never played with any of your toys. Actually, I don’t want to know… But, you will also find here the stuff that has been bashed about a bit, or well loved as I prefer to think of it and with Christmas on the horizon, it could be a way of clearing out some space and making a bit of cash on the side. www.toymart.com

I am still trying to get over the fact that the winningest Formula 1 driver of all time, Michael Schumacher, has retired and will not be returning to F1 in 2007. Michael elevated Formula 1 to new heights during his 16 year career. He made his team better and he made the other drivers better by continually pushing the limits of his car, his competitors and the tracks he raced on. The retirement of Michael Schumacher left me and thousands of his fans searching for a new driver to root for in 2007.
Then out of the blue, the Mclaren F1 team announced Lewis Hamilton as their second driver who will race along side of Fernando Alonso. Lewis Hamilton is a 21 year old, up and coming driver who dominated the GP2 racing series in 2006. Furthermore and more exciting to me is that he will become the first black driver to race in Formula 1.
I think that Hamilton can do for F1 what NASCAR is expecting Juan Montoya to do, which is increase the fan base and overall worldwide appeal of the sport. I have renewed excitement for F1 and I am lining up my tickets for next season.

More on this story.

iTV - F1
Hamilton hopes for positive impact

Washington Post
Hamilton to be F1's first black driver

SpeedTV.com
F1: McLaren Confirms Hamilton for '07 Race Seat

Ewan from MovieReplicars.net passed on the below information on the upcoming MiniChamps Steve McQueen The Great Escape Triumph motorcycle. Thanks Ewan for the news.




Motorbike ridden by Steven McQueen in the climatic scene in The Great Escape will finally be replicated by Minichamps. Motorbike enthusiast will probably have to wait till end of December 2006 or Early 2007 to own a piece of a classic motorbike.

November 20, 2006
Target has issued a voluntary recall on more than 190,000 of its "Kool Toyz" children's products.
Some of the toys contain lead paint, which is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.
The recall includes sets containing die-cast cars, dinosaurs, trucks, boats and planes.
The packaging is primary blue and has the "Kool Toyz" logo is on the upper left corner.
For more information visit www.target.com .

Updated 11/24/2006. The toys covered in the recall are from Kool Toyz, not Kidz Toyz.

I just received the new Highway 61 1970 Dodge Challenger 1/18th scale release. I ordered this car since it looked very familiar. Is this an undercover replica of the Vanishing Point 1970 Challenger? I hoped that it was when I ordered it and once I received it, I knew that it was. I pulled out my original Vanishing Point Challenger from Ertl to do a side by side comparison. The cars are very similar with only a few differences. Both are in similar White on Black color schemes like the movie car. They have the same wheels and Goodyear Polyglass tires and the same distinct Colorado license plate number: OA5599. The Highway 61 car has a few more details like the radio antenna and rear side windows that are missing from the Ertl version.

Available at Movie Car Mania.

MovieReplicars.net continues to add new photo showcases of movie car replicas. They recently added the Corgi Italian Job three car set. There are 27 detailed photos in this recent showcase. Check out this and other great photo showcases at MovieReplicars.net.

I'm a fan of Steve McQueen movies, esspecially Bullitt, but $70,000 for a pair of sunglasses is a bit much.

McQueen Shades Net $70,000 at Auction
By Associated Press

Sun Nov 12, 2:56 PM
LOS ANGELES - Bidders looking for a piece of the "King of Cool" shelled out six figures for motorcycles and paid more than $70,000 for one pricey pair of shades in an auction of items that once belonged to actor Steve McQueen.
Cars, trucks, motorcycles and memorabilia from McQueen's widow Barbara and other collectors were put up for sale by Bonhams and Butterfields at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Saturday. The entire auction brought in $2.9 million.
A 1937 Crocker "Hemi-head" V-Twin motorcycle brought in $276,500, the biggest price of the day and a world record for a Crocker motorcycle, said auction house spokesman Levi Morgan. A 1934 Indian Sport Scout went for $177,500, and a 1920 Indian Powerplus Daytona brought in $150,000.
One anonymous bidder paid $70,200 for Persol sunglasses McQueen is believed to have worn as he played a dapper thief in the opening scenes of 1968's "The Thomas Crown Affair." A Rolls Royce Silver Shadow from the same movie brought in exactly the same price.
The winning bidders included private collectors in France, Great Britain and the United States, and the Petersen museum itself bought several items, Morgan said.
McQueen, who died in 1980 at age 50, was known nearly as much for his love of vehicles as for his acting. His most famous movie moments include a mad motorcycle dash in "The Great Escape," and a car chase through the streets of San Francisco in "Bullitt."

New DVD releases for car enthusiasts.

DAVID GERMAIN
Associated Press
Selected home-video releases:
"Cars"
Man's real best friend - his automobile - stars in the year's biggest animated hit, the story of one brash car that gets a tuneup on life. Owen Wilson provides the voice of a hotshot rookie race car stranded in a town that the highways forgot. He finds romance and learns that speed isn't everything as he's schooled by a crusty elder vehicle (Paul Newman) on the value of stopping to smell the fumes now and then. The DVD release for the latest comedy from the Disney-Pixar partnership is a compact car compared to the souped-up two-disc sets of their earlier hits, including "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." The single-disc release includes the wonderful animated short "One Man Band" that preceded the movie in theaters, plus a new short cartoon featuring the rusty old tow truck of "Cars." The disc also has deleted scenes and fond recollections from director John Lasseter, who discusses his lifelong passion for cars and a family road trip that helped inspire the film. The DVD is available in widescreen or full-screen versions. DVD, $29.99. (Disney)

"James Bond Ultimate Edition"
With Daniel Craig about to debut as the new agent 007 in "Casino Royale," 10 earlier James Bond flicks return to DVD in two terrific boxed sets packed with new extras. Each set has two-disc editions of five movies. "Volume 1" has the Sean Connery tales "Goldfinger" and "Diamonds Are Forever," the Roger Moore installment "The Man With the Golden Gun," the Timothy Dalton film "The Living Daylights" and the Pierce Brosnan adventure "The World Is Not Enough." "Volume 2" offers Connery in "Thunderball," Moore in "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "A View to a Kill," Dalton in "License to Kill" and Brosnan in "Die Another Day." Extras include new commentary by Moore, deleted scenes, archival behind-the-scenes segments and an interview with one of fans' favorite Bond girls, Honor Blackman, who played Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger." Two more sets with the remaining 10 Bond movies are due out Dec. 12. DVD sets, $89.98 each. (MGM)

Mattel and Disney Pixar have released two new sets of the CARS movie 1:55 die cast model car sets. This release comes on the eve of the DVD release, which is scheduled for Tuesday, November 7. Each set contains four of the movies stars from the Disney Pixar hit movie CARS. The first set is the Crusin' Couples set that includes Lightning McQueen, Sally, Flo and Ramone. The second set is the Radiator Springs Shopkeepers set that includes Tow Mater, Green Ramone, Sarge and Fillmore. Both of the sets are a great way to collect some of the stars of CARS.

MovieReplicars.net has posted several new movie car photo showcases. Their new showcases now include detailed photos of Corgi, Ertl, Shelby Collectibles, Kyosho and Minichamp models. MovieReplicars.net now has photo showcases of the A-Team van, James Bond Die Another Day cars, the 2000 Batmobile, the Scooby Doo Mystery van and Matrix Reloaded Ducati 996. They even have the James Bond Octapussy Acrostar jet. MovieReplicars.net continues to add to their impressive collection of movie and TV replica photos. If you are a fan of movie replicas like me, then MovieReplicars.net is a site that you should bookmark and visit often.

I just received my first shipment of the Godfather 1940 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75 car by Jada. My first impressions are that this is a very well done model replica. The deep black paint job is very glossy and is accented nicely by the chrome trim, bumpers and grill. This model comes with two figures. One of the figures is a rough looking character in a grey suit who is reaching into his jacket for more than a pack of cigarettes. The second figure is Don Corleone seated in the rear of the car, smoking a cigar while keeping an eye on what's going on. Jada has done a nice job reproducing this classic movie car and is a nice complement to the Scarface series also by Jada. I think this car will be a hot seller this holiday season.

Mattel partners with Ppg Industries Mattel announced today a new licensing partnership with color experts PPG Industries to produce Hot Wheels™ Spectraflame™ paint for use in automotive refinishing

31 Oct 2006 , El Segundo, Calif. : Mattel announced today a new licensing partnership with color experts PPG Industries to produce Hot Wheels™ Spectraflame™ paint for use in automotive refinishing. The co-branded Hot Wheels™/PPG Industries paint line emulates the eye-catching and vibrant Spectraflame™ colors featured in Hot Wheels® toy cars, marking the first time that consumers can purchase Spectraflame™ paint.Hot Wheels® is the No. 1 selling brand in the die-cast vehicle category , and, since 1968, more than 3 billion Hot Wheels® cars have been produced. Now "big kids" can paint their cars in any of the anodized-looking Hot Wheels™ Spectraflame™ colors including aqua, medium sapphire, lime gold, rich yellow gold, bright emerald, anti-freeze green, orange, bright red, Hot Wheels® blue, hot pink, light red watermelon and purple. Hot Wheels™ Spectraflame™ colors are part of PPG's Vibrance Collection and will be available in November 2006 at collision centers and custom paint shops nationwide. Mattel and PPG will unveil the new Hot Wheels™ Spectraflame™ paint line at the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas at the PPG booth 22891 (October 31 - November 3, 2006). "Today's car owners grew up playing with the 1960s and 1970s Hot Wheels® muscle cars that featured the classic Spectraflame™ colors," said Richard Dickson, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Media and Entertainment, Worldwide, Mattel Brands Consumer Products. "We are excited to partner with PPG Industries for this first-of-its kind partnership, allowing consumers to re-connect with the Hot Wheels® brand as adults.""We are delighted with the addition of the new Spectraflame™ colors to PPG's Vibrance Collection and the opportunity to offer these exciting new colors to our custom finishers," said Randy Cremeans, manager, collision segments, North America for PPG Automotive Refinish. "We are looking forward to seeing the results of the creative ways our customers will use these colors."For more information on the new Hot Wheels™ Spectraflame™ colors or any of the products in the PPG Vibrance Collection, visit www.ppgrefinish.com or contact your local PPG distributor. For more information about Mattel's Hot Wheels® products, please visit www.hotwheels.com. About PPG Industries Pittsburgh-based PPG is a global supplier of coatings, chemicals, optical products, glass and fiber glass, with 110 manufacturing facilities and equity affiliates in more than 20 countries. Sales were US$10.2 billion in 2005.About MattelMattel, Inc., (NYSE: MAT, www.mattel.com) is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products, including Barbie®, the most popular fashion doll ever introduced. The Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Hot Wheels®, Matchbox®, American Girl®, Radica® and Tyco® R/C, as well as Fisher-Price® brands (www.fisher-price.com), including Little People®, Rescue Heroes®, Power Wheels® and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. With worldwide headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., Mattel employs more than the 30,000 people in 42 countries and sells products in more than 150 nations throughout the world. Mattel's vision is to be the world's premier toy brands -- today and tomorrow. HOT WHEELS and associated trademarks and trade dress are owned by Mattel, Inc. © 2006 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved.