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Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 19 feb 2012, 01:02
av m.ainger
slotcar7 skrev:Ok guys..how this Auto-Route LR works :) ?

First of all, the two round metallic stuff on the bonnet, in front of the windscreen, switch on the engine and the headlights, while the two on the left side are brush holders (they're part of the electric system).

The electric contact is kept by the front bumper, that always touches, thanks to a spring, the raised border of the track..so, you put the car with the front bumper attached to the raised edge of the track, then you switch on the engine and the car starts moving, and thanks to that spring attached to the bumper, it always keeps the contact with the track edge and so..moving :D

But, as you can see in the instructions, you can put a second car that can also overtake the first one :o ! In what way? The point is that, when moving, all the car's body has electricity on it, so if the second car approaches and touches the first one, this second will get the power from the first one! It will consider the first car like the raised edge, and so, always touching with its bumper the first car, and later being touched by the first car's bumper, the second will overtake and go ahead :beer: really genial, but not always very effective :D

Anyway, two beautiful Salmson S4 Coupe, overall the red one, in my opinion.. :)

Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 19 feb 2012, 01:12
av m.ainger
Hi there Slotcar7, I was browsing the internet and Louiss Roussey-La Rapide search brought me to this forum. I was very interested to see your pictures and your information/knowledge of this toy. You seem to be aware of different sets spanning different years of production and wonder if you may have any knowledge of the year of my set. Please let me know if I can contact you to discuss. Briefly, my set consists of 2 cars, an oval track, about 6 feet long, transformer, instructions in its original box, in very good condition. I live in England, UK, so hope translation is readable for you. Thanks Mark

Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 23 feb 2012, 15:28
av slotcar7
Hi guys, i'm really sorry i couldn't post anything in this last period, but at the moment i'm very busy, and the time to post is always scarce.. :(

Anyway, to make you forgive me :) , i show you something that it's really about slot cars' history, something i personally took in an antiques' shop in the beautiful Palermo (Sicily) at the end of december: the very first Italian slot cars :w00t:

Ok, let's explain: usually, it was thought that the first Italian slot car was the Ferrari Sharknose made in 1963 by APS Policar, and that in the same year National Toys started its production as well, first with a Ferrari 555 Supersqualo that ran in the 1955 f1 Season, and later in the year with a Ferrari 500 that ran (and won) the 1952/53 f1 seasons..

But..after some researches, and after talking to the greatest historian of Italian slot racing, Mr. Gatta, and even after talking to one of the sons of the National Toys' founder..well, it's been discovered that National Toys actually started its production in 1962, with the Ferrari 500, but with an external belt drive..very primitive, i could say :D

So far just one of these early Ferrari was known, not complete and in the hands of Mr. Gatta..but just so far, because the two slot cars i took in Palermo are exactly two National Toys 1/30 Ferrari 500 with external belt drive :beer: When i spoke and shown what i'd found every big Italian collector was amazed..!

But the story carries on..so, they produced this first slot, but this system (external belt drive) wasn't much performing, so after a short while, they decided to produce the Supersqualo..why? Because the Supersqualo had very big sides, and so all the engine and transmission could be put inside the slot car, eliminating that external belt..

But again, a while later, National Toys managed to produce a smaller engine/transmission block, so they restarted to sell their first version, the 500, but without the need for the external stuff..

In this way, we can say that, in the first couple of years, National Toys produced 3 cars in 1/30 scale (later they'll make their production in 1/32), a Ferrari 500 with external belt drive, a Ferrari 555 and again a Ferrari 500 without the belt drive.

So, the two slot cars i show you now are the only two complete cars from a total of three known..they're for sure the rarest National Toys and the first Italian slot cars..

One last thing: so far i've got in the collection 8 of these Ferrari: 2 of the 1st series, 4 of the second series and 2 of the third one..but i couldn't find 3 of them to take a photo all together..but they should be somewhere at home :D

Anyway, in the last photo i put the two Ferrari 500 with belt drive and in the background three of the Superqualo i've got..believe me, it's not so easy to have 5 of them together in just one picture..

And now, enjoy.. :beer:

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Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 24 feb 2012, 00:48
av Fallerfreak
:thumb:
Great!

Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 24 feb 2012, 15:27
av slotcar7
Hi again guys..and thank you, Fallerfreak :) Actually, i should make my compliments to you for your website about Faller..it's one of my favourite sites, and i always go there whenever i've to check or to buy anything about Faller..carry on, please.. :beer:

And now a rare slot car, even rarer in a mint condition with its box and almost unique in the "Race Tuned" version: a Spanish made Exin Scalextric C36 Race Tuned 1/32 Honda RA273 :beer:

This slot was made in Spain for just one year, 1968..in 1970 the production restarted for a while but with some differences to the suspensions, body and chassis..for this reason, the 1st series is very rare, overall when the slot is totally original with no repro parts..and of course when it's "Race Tuned"! And, interestingly, i found this English slot car, made in Spain, in Milan.. :D

Enjoy.. :beer:

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Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 25 feb 2012, 19:32
av m.ainger
hi david, have been trying to catch you regarding LR .any chance i could call you.mark

Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 08 maj 2012, 14:34
av slotcar7
Hi guys, really sorry i couldn't post anything recently, but as said many times it's not easy to find the time to write new posts, and overall to make and upload the photos, but anyway now i 've found a bit of time and.. :)

Ah Mark, i've sent you in the past a couple of PMs, so maybe you should check your inbox.. :)

So, now i show you two absolute rarities, as usual :) : the first and the last set National Toys produced :beer:

The first set that you see here is really, really rare, overall because this one is totally unused..just very few left and this one is the only known to be in this condition.

It was made in 1963 and, in my opinion, it has one of the most beautiful covers you can find: a real photo taken on the 7th of September 1958, at the Italian Grand Prix..you can see the the n.14 Ferrari driven by Mike Hawthorn and the n.26 Vanwall driven by Stirling Moss, am i right, Jormungandr :D ? They're approaching the mighty Parabolica with all the people around, and without any security :) ..the only thing is that, for some photographic reasons, the car's colours have been changed, but the image is still wonderful in my opinion :beer:

This set contains two Ferrari Superqualo (so the second series) and, as you can see, there isn't any usual speed controller, but just a battery box with at both ends two metal stripes you had to push or pull to regulate the cars' speed..a bit like in some other really old metal sets..in my knowledge, that's the only slot car set (so excluding the earlier metal ones) that used this solution..

The second set instead, is the last one they produced..and it's also the their biggest and, so far, the only one known to exist :w00t:

I talked with one of the founder's sons, and he told me they produced in 1970 about 600 of these sets, but since then he didn't see one anymore and so all the big collectors and slot cars' historians i've talked to..maybe the price was really high so just a handful was sold and this one is not just the only known, but it's even MIB :beer:

As you can see, it's a 4-lane set, with a white Cooper, a blue BRM, a red Ferrari and a green Brabham..they look all the same, actually, just on the underside it's written their name :D

Last thing :) : look at the "gold" medal: they wanted make serious stuff :D

And now, finally, enjoy :beer:

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Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 08 maj 2012, 15:50
av Jormungandr
It's truly a beautiful box cover :thumb: I belive that both no 26 and 30 are Vanvalls. Not entierly sure because many of those models are very similar, but the Vanvall had a rather small air intake in the nose. You can also see that the body looks much wider compared with the others.

slotcar7 skrev:It was made in 1963 and, in my opinion, it has one of the most beautiful covers you can find: a real photo taken on the 7th of September 1958, at the Italian Grand Prix..you can see the the n.14 Ferrari driven by Mike Hawthorn and the n.26 Vanwall driven by Stirling Moss, am i right, Jormungandr :D ? They're approaching the mighty Parabolica with all the people around, and without any security :) ..the only thing is that, for some photographic reasons, the car's colours have been changed, but the image is still wonderful in my opinion :beer:


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Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 08 maj 2012, 20:11
av Ravajack
Interesting about the paperworks from the "Derby Car" set is that the "central" piece in the car range presentation, the Lola GT, is such a blatant theft from Monogram...

The picture of the A5 car, Lola GT, differs considerably from the other cars on page 14 in the National pamplet. And it is indeed the very same picture as in the Monogram four-page building instruction sheet for their iconic Lola GT 1/32 model kit issued in 1965.

See illustration below for the forensic proof of this horrendous deed! :beer:
(Monogram top, National Toys bottom, proof outlined in red in between)

Of course it would also be really nice to see a specimen of the National Toys version of the Lola GT. If it exists...

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Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 09 maj 2012, 14:24
av slotcar7
Hi guys, thanks for your replies :)

As usual you're right Jormungandr :beer: ..plenty of Ferraris and Vanwalls in that time..

And about what you rightly pointed out Ravajack, i think i can maybe give you an explanation for that image theft :D

The point is that National Toys started the Derby Car line in 1968..they produced three sets, Tipo 2, Tipo 4 and Tipo 6 (the one i've showed you) and, of course, in 1968 they also printed the leaflet, that remained the same until the very end..so, in 1968 they hadn't still produced the Lola, even if they were going to, so they took that image from Monogram :) . When in 1969 the Lola, together with the Chaparral, was really produced, as said they didn't change the leaflet. But the National Toys Lola exists, i've seen a couple of them..not for sure so detailed like the Monogram one but some are around, even if they're rare like the Chaparral..and if you want to see how both of them look like, just look at the box cover: this set was produced in 1970, so these two cars could be finally shown: the blue one is a Chaparral and the yellow one is a Lola :beer:

Anyway, in my opinion, the most beautiful slot car they ever produced has been the 1/30 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciale, also called Alfa Romeo Giulietta SS. It was made in 1963 and i think it's a kind of car that gives you the sensation of speed even when it doesn't move :D . It's a really rare slot car and here i show you two of them with their original boxes :w00t:

And, actually, just two brands produced a slot car model of this amazing car, National Toys and Policar, so together with the two 1/30 there's also a rare Policar H0 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SS, produced just in 1965..in my opinion, that's one of the most beautiful H0 slots ever produced, even if the real scale is about 1/66..but it's wonderful for me :) . And take a look at the front lapms: they're two small brilliants.. :)

And now, enjoy.. :beer:

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Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 11 maj 2012, 13:54
av slotcar7
Hi guys, now something a bit different, but always Italian.. :)

In 1966 a new company was founded, Mini Dream Car, that lasted until the end of the 70s..they basically produced three different chassis, called Mini A, Mini B and Mini C, and a variety of plastic bodies in the 1/24 scale. They also produced, anyway, a quite vaste range of 1/32.

Their cars were really fast performing, and they dominated the scene of professional slot racing in Italy for some years, outclassing some more famous American brands. In particular, they were using a device, called Pizzi joint, that enabled the engine to move backwards, so going towards the rear axle, when accelerating: in this way giving more pression and adherence at the rear wheels, and so improving the performance in terms of speed and stability..genial :beer:

Their cars are quite rare now, because many of them fought hard duels on the race track, and the one that i show you now is the rarest of all: a Mini Dream 1/24 Cooper Ford, mounting a Mini A chassis :w00t: The chassis in itself isn't so rare, but this body, the Cooper Ford, really is..! Just a handful survived and this one is in an almost perfect condition..so, please, have a look a this really fast and rare Italian..

And now the photos, enjoy.. :beer:

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Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 11 maj 2012, 20:12
av Ravajack
Indeed a rare car, and an even rarer body, seldom seen even by the most avid collectors. B-|

Nice find! :thumb:

However, I don't think it is a "Cooper-Ford", as it has no resemblance whatsoever to any Cooper-Ford I've ever seen, model or real car. In this case, I think "someone" once in a blue moon just put the designated "Cooper-Ford" sticker on this baby out of ignorance, or maybe just for fun.

Instead, I put my money on that what you've got is called a "Mini B Spyder", as can be seen here:

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More on this car here: Lucio Cocchi's Mini B Spyder

Don't know what happened to the clear body on your car, though. Most likely the paintwork is not a factory job, but a homebrew piece of art with a kind of paint not very well suited for the job. Thus it has "flaked away" from the clear plastic over the years, as enamel happily do when painted to lexan, butyrate and also modern day PET.

Finally, some pics here of one of my own Mini Dream cars, the Mini A, beautifully painted and assembled by the renowned slothead Jairus "The Artist" Watson from periodically correct and original parts. 8-)

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Here's some more reading about Mini Dream Cars.

Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 12 maj 2012, 14:40
av slotcar7
Hi Ravajack, first of all i want to make you my compliments for your wonderful Mini Dream..it looks like a piece of modern art, really.. :beer:

And thanks for the useful link you posted, but actually i knew those pages very well, because when i read that i started to understand the rarity of the slot, and for what i've understood, the one shown doesn't belong to Lucio, because he said that he missed that one..and, as you also can see, its condition is not really mint, given that a piece of the plastic body has been cut where the engine is..

Me too i think mine has been painted outside the factory, given that many of these bodies were sold totally clear..

But i think this slot is really a Can Am Cooper-Ford..of course i'd read that in the catalogue this car is called Mini B Spyder, but i think they took a big inspiration from that real car..actually, to me, it's completely a Cooper-Ford, even if a bit stylized, and i think the photo you can look at below can maybe let you think in the same way..

http://lascm.com/Slot-Car-Museum/index. ... ts_id=6415

So, at the end of the day, it's a matter of interpretation, i guess..anyway, guys, i now show you a slot car that tells us straight its name: a rare National Toys 1/30 Ferrari TR59 Le Mans, produced in 1963.. :beer:

And i think also in this case, like in that one of the Lola, they took "inspiration" from some other manufacturer, in fact, the slot looks strangely :D similar to the one produced by the French company Circuit 24.. :D

Ah, in the last photo you can see it together with the two earliest Ferrari models they produced between 1962 and 1963..three red beauties.. :)

And now the photos, enjoy.. :beer:

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Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 13 maj 2012, 13:36
av Ravajack
slotcar7 skrev:But i think this slot is really a Can Am Cooper-Ford.[…]to me, it's completely a Cooper-Ford, even if a bit stylized, and i think the photo you can look at below can maybe let you think in the same way..
http://lascm.com/Slot-Car-Museum/index. ... ts_id=6415
So, at the end of the day, it's a matter of interpretation, i guess.


Fine, feel free to call it a Cooper Ford or whatever you like. But this doesn’t alter the circumstance that this body shell isn’t called Cooper-Ford by anyone, or anywhere else in the world. Not even by its maker/manufacturer back in the day.

Food for thought: What would you have called this car if this haphazard “Cooper Ford” sticker hadn’t been attached by someone, sometimes in a past distant?

And what would you have called it if there instead had been a sticker label saying “Ferrari”? Or “Monza Roadster”?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the line of actual facts has to drawn somewhere…

Also curious and a little funny is the circumstance that the LASCM link that is proposed as “proof” for the Cooper Ford theory is a Revell Cooper Cobra, which actually is also a great and well known age-old mismomer, made by Revell some 40+ years ago.

That orange car was neither known as a Cooper Ford or a Cooper Cobra in its racing days, but rather as the ill-famed ”Lang Cooper”, in effect an old Cooper Monaco chassis with a new one-shot body design by Peter Brock, and commissioned for racing by Craig Lang for Dave MacDonald. Not very successful at that, as the Cooper Monacos were at that time long overdue.

Speaking of Cooper Monacos, these were very popular at US race tracks in the early 1960s, a mid-engined lightweight british racing car, easily modified and reasonably suitable for fitting small block V8 engines to suit the taste of American muscle racing drivers, be it Chevy, Olds, Ford, Buick or what have you.

Fitted with a Ford 289 V8 engine the designation by Carroll Shelby became “Cooper Cobra” or “King Cobra”, not Cooper Ford. (Shelby coined the term “Cobra” for many of his creations after the pioneering feat to fit a small block V8 Ford engine in yet another small british sports car, the AC Ace, since then known as the Shelby Cobra and later also the AC Cobra).

The term “Cooper Ford” that’s still alive and well to this day was actually coined by model maker Monogram in the mid-1960s for a series of plastic model and slot car kits. The Monogram kits (as we have seen) were then often plagiarized by other companies. And hence modern restorations of old Cooper Monacos are often called Cooper Fords by a historically challenged modern day racing public that have seen a lot of these “Cooper Ford” toys as kids…
Returning to the subject of this little topic, your “Cooper Ford” that is elsewhere in the world called “Mini B Spyder”:

As Lucio states, this car/shell is in fact called “Mini B Spyder” in the period Mini Dream Car catalog, not “Cooper Ford”. And where there’s a “spyder” (roadster, open, no top type car), there’s often also a coupe (closed, roofed type car), a “Mini B Coupe” or “Mini B” for short.

An there actually is, as can be seen here: Essentially the same bodyshell, but a with closed cockpit and a roof.

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And as you´re already familiar with this Mini Dream Car thread I’m sure you’ve also seen a lot of these closed roof “Mini B”s in there, and also several “Mini B Spyders”, and also the original molds for these shells. Maybe you’ve also noticed that nowhere in this thread are there any mentioning of a “Cooper Ford”…

These Mini A, B and C/Spyder shells were actually not depicting any real cars. They were pure fantasy creations, in popular languge then and now known as “Thingies”.

Re: A vintage slot cars collection - DMI Elmodan info wanted!

InläggPostat: 12 jun 2012, 15:18
av slotcar7
Hi guys, and hi to you in particular, Ravajack..after long and deep thoughts i've realized you're..right, as usual.. :) I'm sorry to still do some mistakes in identifying slot cars, but it's just exactly 3 years i'm in this hobby, so some mistakes can be excusable, i hope.. :D

Anyway, now i show you a couple of slot cars that, between those ones produced in Hong Kong during the 60s, are some of the rarest..: a Speedmaster 1/38 Maserati 250 F and a Speedmaster 1/38 Cooper T 55.. :beer:

Speedmaster was an obscure Hong Kong-based company that in the first half of the 60s produced a slot car set with these two cars..comparing the lenght of the real cars with that of the models i believe they should be 1/38..so far, just six of these cars are known to exist, 4 Maserati and 2 Cooper..in my opinion, even if they come from Hong Kong and they could be considered as "cheap" slot cars, anyway they're of a good quality and with a really nice look for the Hong Kong's standards..

One last thing..: have a look at the Cooper..they put doors and handles.. :w00t: I guess because in the real car, on both sides, there were some kind of "lines" that made the manufacturer think they were a kind of door, so in their model they completed the job by even putting the handles..i guess they didn't have a big knowledge about F1 cars.. :D

And now the pics, enjoy.. :beer:

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