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New Releases - 13-pages of honest, unbiased reviews
News - All the latest, hot off the press
A truly scrumptious prize draw! - Don't miss the chance to win a copy of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, just re-released in 50th Anniversary packaging, in your choice of either DVD or Blu-ray format
New for Q2 - More of the models planned by Oxford Diecast for 2019 revealed
Model display stand - Graham Vanstone provides us with the template for a splendid Corgi Toys-style stand, along with a step-by-step construction guide
Feuer-Ware - Stephen Paul Hardy brings us an update on the latest additions to the WIKI NG line-up
Lone Star Land Rovers - James Robertshaw embarks on the first leg of a journey that spans four decades of production
Bristol passion - John Harrison ponders the rather curious choice of the Bristol Type 173 as Dinky's first foray into helicopters
Still Spritely at sixty - Peter Miskelly celebrates the diamond anniversary of Austin Healey's fab little 'Frog-eye' Sprite with some of his favourite small scale versions
Car-based Commer vans - Nigel Robertshaw explores the contemporary toys and models
News - Find out what's happening in our little world
EXCLUSIVE - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Prize Draw 50th Anniversary DVD or Blu-ray copies up for grabs
Sierra launch models - Steve Coles examines how Ford capitalised on the launch of its replacement for the Cortina by working closely with toy and model manufacturers of the day
Auction news - Stay bang up to date with secondary market values as we report back on realisations achieved in the salesrooms and on eBay
Letters - Suberb and rare examples of Micro Models showcased, plus loads more fascinating information and pics shared and views aired
Swapmeets & events - Find out what's on where, and when
Signing Off - Don Townshend underlines the importance of the collecting community in a world where we're certainly not all cast from the same mould
New for Q2 - New Oxford Diecast for 2019 revealed
Accelerate ban on petrol and diesel cars, say MPs" was the headline that jumped out at me as I sat down to browse the online news over my first cup of coffee this morning. I guess the increased urgency comes as no surprise considering the UN's recent warning that we have just 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe. The scenario should we fail to do so would appear to be grim, so unless we can turn things around, and fast, I can't help but wonder what future generations will make of the seemingly wanton abandon we've exhibited.
Less worrying, but certainly interesting to muse on, is how, under the circumstances, the models in the collections we'll leave behind will be perceived. There's been much debate about whether the hobby will eventually die out, but collecting seems to be in our DNA so I think a more pertinent question is, what it will look like going forward? Will miniatures of all the charming classics that fill us with so much nostalgia - or indeed today's aspirational, but gas-guzzling, super cars, be viewed with a sense of wonder (rather like the fascination small children have with dinosaurs), or will they be generally regarded with contempt and discarded in favour of models representing vehicles of a cleaner, greener persuasion?
The other day, my son, who usually shows no interest in the small scale world, asked whether anyone was modelling Teslas yet. Well, yes, they are, and the 1:18 scale Model S Pl 00D commissioned for sale exclusively through Telsa Motors below looks to be particularly stunning. But even that leads us back to another pressing environmental issue -because it comes packed, like so many other manufacturers' models, in one of those moulded polystyrene bricks. Apost by Hornby's Chief Operations Manager, Tim Mulhall, on Linkedin recently flagged up how the Group is currently working on new ways to reduce plastic in the packaging for its Hornby and Scalextrics sets. This is, without a doubt, something that the entire industry is now going to have to give some very serious consideration to.
Anyway, enjoy your read, as who knows how long it will be before it becomes a guilty pleasure
