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April 2005
Each month I go through the most recent e-mails I've
received and pick a few to share with you. I try to personally respond
to every e-mail I receive, but I also post a few here in my Q&A column.
Hi Joe,
In the Hot Wheels (Gone in 60 Seconds)
boxed set, How many of the vehicles were actually in the movie?
Thanks,
Craig Mueller
I believe each of the cars featured in the 4-car set is based on a car
shown in the film (even briefly). The car-hauler is supposed to
represent the truck that allows Nick Cage to jump over traffic in his daring
computer generated escape. In an interesting bit of trivia, the
Mercury (shown above) was originally used in the 1986 film Cobra
starring Sylvester Stallone. It was repainted for Gone in 60
Seconds. The car is now on display at the
Petersen
Museum in Los Angeles.
You
stated on a reply to a question that the original truck used on the
Sanford and Son television show was a 1952 Ford pickup truck. This is
the more famous truck as it's the one shown in the opening credits where
Lamont is driving it around town. That is actually a 1951 Ford F-1 truck
on the show, nearly identical to the 1952 except the word "Ford" is
incorporated into the nosepiece on the 1951, and it's spelled out in
separate chrome letters under the nosepiece (on the front cowling) on the
1952.
The only
reason I know this obscure fact is because I own a 1951 Ford F-1 pickup
truck and my wife has made fun of me because of the above fact, my truck
is also original red in color. :-)
Have a
great day!
Kyle Wren
I stand corrected Kyle. And thanks for sharing photos of your
beautiful truck. I wish someone would give us this vehicle in die-cast
form in ANY scale.
Hi Joe,
I have had a look at your website inc. the pics of your model
collection, & I must say I am well impressed. I am looking for
a die-cast 1/18 scale Model of The A-Team van. I have a
small collection of about 10x 1/18 model cars, & The A-Team van
is high up on my wish list.
I know you can get it as a smaller model with B.A. action figure, &
also scale 1/72 ? size - similar size of UK matchbox cars, but I
prefer 1/18 or similar size.
Do you know of any plans to make it either in the UK or the USA? I
know AMT/ERTL do the van as a kit, but the problem I have is that I am
unable to assemble kits due to a hand tremour that I have had since I
was young, & so assembling kits is a problem for me.
Unless I commission someone to build one & paint it for me, I have
to wait until someone produces a die-cast model. I wonder if you
or your friends could help me?
Regards,
John Arnold,
East Yorkshire.
U.K.
Thanks for your kind words John. I get e-mails
like yours quite a bit. The A-Team van is enormously popular
and recently placed in the top ten on a list of greatest TV cars in the UK.
I haven't heard of any plans from RC2 (who had the license to produce the
van in 1:64 scale) to do the van in 1:18 scale. I was hoping for some
news in the wake of the New York Toy Fair, but nothing new came out of it.
As soon as I hear something from my contact at RC2, you can be sure I'll
post it on my home page.
Hello, I saw your
The Fast and The Furious set. I also watched both films and
I did not see the Rodgers 18 wheeler in either can you clarify? -
Tim Ellis
Hi Tim. You can spot the Rodgers transporter at
the beginning of the first film. It is the one hijacked by the 3 Honda
Civics. Though the model produced by RC2 is an entirely different make
of semi truck, it is white and says Rodgers on the trailer like the truck in
the film.
Joe,
The only reason that I have for writing this mail is to
congratulate you for your site.
I know this mail it's not an important award or something like
that, but being a 22 year old guy from Argentina I had never seen
some of the die-cast models that are shown in your site, so it was a
great experience.
Also, I was surprised when I saw those GALGO and BUBY models
which are very rare to see, even here, nowadays.
Keep up the good work mate, you made this man happy tonight ;-)
Sincerely,
Gabriel
Thank you Gabriel for the kind words. E-mails
like this really makes the effort that I put into this website seem worth
it. I really enjoy getting e-mails from all over the world. As
for photos of Galgo and Buby die-cast cars, I have to thank collectors
like Craig Mueller and Metro Privratsky for contributing photos to my
site. My site could never be as thorough as it is without the aid of
my fellow collectors.
Any clue on
if it’s EVER coming out?
GREAT
site!
Billy
Unfortunately, Billy, RC2 has canceled their plans to produce the
Vacation Family Truckster in 1:18 scale. Should I hear anything
new, I'll post it on my homepage.
Hi Joe!
Where can I find the link to the "Batman"
movie that you made?
Thanks!
=Frank=
Hi Frank. The Big Game is a short film I
made a few years ago with friends. I entered it in an Indianapolis
film festival and was one of the winners. It has since aired on
local cable TV many, many times. Click on either of the following
links to view:
56K
700K
Be sure to let me know what you think.
And finally, a while ago, I was browsing
around online when I came across the website
http://www.jamesbondtoys.co.uk/
and spotted the photo above. Pictured was a Corgi Jr. Lotus Esprit
from The Spy Who Loved Me .... WITH WHEELS!!! It was
the first time I've ever seen this and my curiosity was piqued. The
first thing I did was contact Corgi expert Bill Manzke. Here was his
repsonse:
Not genuine. The labels are available
as reproductions, and the later open wheel version was available in white.
I'd leave this one alone.
Bill
I contacted the Bond site's creator, Nick Bennett, to pass along what
Bill had to say. Here was his response:
Hi Joe,
The toy came from a toy store and so why would it be a fake?
I will bring my camera to work
tomorrow and take some close-ups for you. I would like to clear up the
doubt either way.
I have looked closely at the car and
it seems okay. It has white paintwork, the windows are black
louvered with no launcher holes, there is a nodule on the roof as the
periscope. The badge is the same as the underwater version. The base is
riveted. If its a fake then its good, my friend found it in a toy store
though for 50p.
Nick
Nick then followed up with some photos:
  
So what's the story with this car? I'm going to have
to side with Bill Manzke on this one. Since the white Lotus was
available with wheels in a NON-James Bond release, I believe someone added
the red 007 sticker and carefully placed it on the Corgi cardback.
What is it worth? Only what someone would be willing to pay to add
it to his/her collection. I think it's a well-done custom and
hopefully, it wasn't created to cheat a collector. If anyone can add
any more info about this piece or would like to comment on it, send me an
e-mail.
Your e-mails really make my day. Please keep them coming.
Click on the e-mail link in the left column and I'll do my best to find
the answer for you.
Q&A Archive:
9/03 10/03
11/03 12/03 1/04
2/04 3/04
4/04 5/04
6/04 7/04
8/04 9/04
10/04 1/05
2/05 3/05
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