Spark’s Five Lotus 49B’s in 1:43 — Diecast News Roundup, October 15

Spark Models, five Lotus 49Bs in 1:43, running from Jo Siffert’s win at Brands Hatch in 1968 to Jochen Rindt at Watkins Glen in 1969 — part of an eighteen-reference batch that also takes in four Porsche 550 Spiders from Sebring and two Bentley Speed Sixes from Le Mans. Also today: BBR opens the Ferrari 849 Testarossa in 1:18 in ten versions, Almost Real takes the Camel Trophy Defenders into 1:64, ACME has the first photos of its “Fire Chicken” Firebird, and Ignition opens a Kenmeri Skyline and two Z32 Fairladys in 1:18.

Spark: five Lotus 49Bs, and seventeen more in 1:43

A properly historic batch. The 49B group covers Siffert’s win at Brands Hatch — the ninth and last for Rob Walker’s team, the most successful private entrant Formula One has had — through to Rindt’s victory in the United States a year later.

• S6368 — Lotus 49B #22, winner, British GP 1968, Jo Siffert
• S6370 — Lotus 49B #12, United States GP 1968, Mario Andretti
• S6375 — Lotus 49B #10, Spanish GP 1968, Jo Siffert
• S6377 — Lotus 49B #2, Monaco GP 1969, Richard Attwood
• S6381 — Lotus 49B #2, winner, United States GP 1969, Jochen Rindt

The rest of the batch is just as deep into the archives.

• US461, US462, US463, US464 — Porsche 550 Spider, numbers 41, 42, 43 and 66, Sebring 12 Hours 1956
• S7780 and S7781 — Bentley Speed Six, Le Mans 1930, the number 2 car second overall
• S9791 — Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo 2.1 #21, Martini Racing, Le Mans 1974
• S3943 — ATS HS1 #10, British GP 1978, Keke Rosberg
• S5404 and S5406 — Surtees TS20 #18, Spain and the United States, 1978
• S5217 — Lancia LC2 #18, Kyalami 500 km 1987
• S9506 — Cougar C20 #13, Courage Compétition, Le Mans 1988
• UK039 — McLaren F1 GTR #3, British GT Championship 1996

Ten more are listed for the first quarter of 2027, among them the Jaguar XJR-9 that won Daytona in 1988 (43DA88), the Ford Capri 2600 RS that won Spa in 1972 (43SPA1972), two Viper GTS-Rs from Le Mans and a run of 993 and 996 Porsches.

BBR: the 849 Testarossa in 1:18

Ferrari revived the Testarossa name on the 849 last year — a nod to the 500 TR of 1956, where the name described the colour of the cylinder heads rather than the car. BBR has it in 1:18, pre-orders open now, with the Assetto Fiorano package treated as its own set of references.

849 Testarossa

• P18275E — Rosso Magma
• P18275F — Argento Nürburgring
• P18275G — Verde Masoni
• P18275H — Verde Nürburgring

849 Testarossa Assetto Fiorano

• P18276G — Azzurro La Plata with Bianco Cervino livery
• P18276H — Giallo Modena with Bianco Cervino livery
• P18276I — matt black
• P18276L — Verde Abetone
• P18276M — Rosso Corsa with Giallo Modena stripes
• P18276M1 — Rosso Corsa with Argento Nürburgring and Blu America stripes

Almost Real: Camel Trophy Defenders in 1:64

Almost Real has opened twenty-two references for the first quarter of 2027, and all but two of them are 1:64 — a serious push into small scale from a maker better known for its 1:18 work. The Land Rovers are the pick.

• ALM610215001 — Defender 90, Camel Trophy Borneo 1985
• ALM610315101 — Defender 110 support unit, Camel Trophy Borneo 1989
• ALM610323001 — Defender 110 support unit, Camel Trophy Sabah 1993
• ALM610202001 — Defender 90, 2,000,000th Edition 2015
• ALM610204001 — Defender 90 Heritage 2015
• ALM610301001 — Defender 110 Adventure Edition 2015
• ALM650401001 — Pagani Zonda F 2005; ALM650601001 — Zonda Cinque 2009
• ALM641001001 — Porsche 911 (901) coupé 1963; ALM641004001 — 911 (992.1) Carrera 2020; ALM6K0000101 — RWB 930 in Stella Artois colours
• ALM620412001 — Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman 2002; ALM620804001 — G63 AMG Cigarette Edition 2020
• ALM820213 — Mercedes-Benz G650 Landaulet Maybach 2017, in 1:18

Six more 1:64 references cover the 992 GT3 R in Absolute Racing’s Asian and Chinese GT liveries.

ACME: first photos of the Fire Chicken

Fire Chicken?  That one has Lewis Checchia’s marketing fingerprints on it for sure.  His play on the Screaming Chicken eagle graphic on the hood, combined with the red color of the car. A1805223 is a 1967 Pontiac Firebird Street Fighter in 1:18, finished in Buccaneer Red with the flaming-bird hood decal Pontiac put on its Trans Ams a decade later — ACME’s answer to the question of what a 1967 Trans Am package might have looked like. MSRP is $144.95, ETA the first quarter of 2027, and the estimated run is 426 pieces.

Ignition Model: two Nissan eras in 1:18

Three new pre-orders from Ignition, pitched as a pairing of the 1970s and the 1990s — the Kenmeri-generation Skyline alongside the Z32 Fairlady, both in 1:18 resin.

• IG4258 — Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R (KPGC110), Purple Metallic
• IG4310 — Nissan Fairlady Z 2by2 (Z32), Silver
• IG4311 — Nissan Fairlady Z 2by2 (Z32), Blue Metallic

Pre-orders are open through Ignition and its authorised dealers. The KPGC110 gets Ignition’s usual custom-styling treatment rather than a factory-stock finish.

LookSmart: the Temerario Super Trofeo in 1:43

LS572A is the Lamborghini Temerario Super Trofeo in Launch Version colours, 1:43, pre-orders open this morning. It is the racing version of the Huracán’s replacement, and the first of the Super Trofeo cars LookSmart has announced.

Minichamps: this week’s releases, with prices

From the week 42 newsletter. These are recommended retail prices including VAT, and they are for stock on hand — several others in the same mailing were already sold out.

• 100066021 — Porsche 911 Carrera RS 1972, white with red decor, 1:18 diecast — €199.96
• 117251863 — Mercedes-AMG W16 E Performance, George Russell, Singapore GP 2025 winner, 1:18 resin — €199.96
• 155061121 — Porsche 911 RS (993) 1994, blue, 1:18 diecast — €119.95
• 410023124 — BMW M2 2023, matt blue metallic, 1:43 — €59.95
• 410064220 — Porsche 911 (992.2) GT3 2025, yellow metallic, 1:43 — €59.95

Minichamps also distributes other makers, and two of those are in stock this week: BBR’s Ferrari Purosangue in Rosso Corsa at 1:43 (BBR43001A) for €154.95, and Kyosho’s Shelby Cobra 427 S/C in blue with a white stripe at 1:18 (KYO8048BW) for €259.96.

 

Some new images for today also:

Quick hits

• Tecnomodel says the 1977 Shadow DN8 is available now in 1:18.
• Sun Star has a 1:43 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV in NERV disaster-response colours, for the Evangelion collectors.
• No consumer prices have been published for the Spark, BBR, Almost Real, Ignition or LookSmart references above; the ACME figure is United States MSRP and the Minichamps figures are euro RRP including VAT.

For any questions or comments, please contact the club directly at club@diecast.org.