[Sticky] Unique 1/24

terrific story, finding something rare and unique is a great part of collecting. After a long wait to finally acquire a Jouef Ferrari 250GTO I found this featured on the outside of the box. A 1/24 Ford GT40? From a quality maker like Jouef? However I've never seen or heard of one. Was it made? Is it out there somewhere? 

@geoff-jowett Jouef made the GT40 in the 1:18th and the 1/43th scale. I don’t think the 1/24th version came to fruition. 

The Nissan looks very interesting for sure. Great color.

I found this Ferrari 348 Ts cabriolet in a hobbly shop in Geneve. It was produced by Heco Miniatures du Chateau. Three variations were made, the cabriolet, the coupe, and the spider. The latter two can be seen in the last photo. To my knowledge, these are the only 1/24th vehicles Miniatures du Chateau offered. All came with nice presentation boxes.

The car is made out of resin including the tires. The engine cover can be opened to reveal the rather detailed powerplant. The interior is nicely appointed; it came with felt carpet and leather floor mats. The shifter gate is photo-etched. It displays nicely.    

I'm loving these, and the stories behind them, please keep them coming

@geoff-jowett Thanks!

@lu Very nice models! Interesting story. There are actually 2 of them listed for sale on eBay, from France, however the prices are insane. Also there is a seller in France who has many molds from Heco, he is selling unfinished development shells and molds for these Ferraris. Just search “heco 24” and all these will pop up.While I am personally interested in development artifacts, these pieces have no resale value, so paying $400 for a mold with questionable historic significance and no certificate makes no sense to me.

However, you can copy the pictures or the molds and shells, print them and add them to the portfolio of your models, as well as keep them for reference.

Thanks, Chav. Great suggestions! 

@lu I should mention that yours were the first complete models I’ve ever seen. While the heco molds were staying on eBay for over an year, the 2 finished models were just recently listed as I have not seen them before. I didn’t know that heco has produced 1:24 models until your post. I thought that the 1:24 molds was something they experimented with. Definitely rare models. Any idea when were they made?

The F348ts was introduced in 1989.

@chav I don’t know the exact year, but I believe these were made in the early 90s. 

Daimler Chrysler introduced the MB100 and MB140 vans in the Australian and Pacific markets in 1999. The actual vehicle was initially manufactured by Korean automaker SsangYong Motor and was sold under the Istana (meaning palace) nameplate. In 2004, Shanghai Huizhong Automotive Manufacturing Co. took over a major stake in Ssangyong’s automotive division and moved the assembly line to China.   

I found this little gem on a trip to Beijing. The diecast shop was near the Drum Tower, next to a middle school. If my memory serves me right, the shop is called Auto Elements.

The model has many operable features, including rotatable second-row seats. In my opinion, the build quality is on par with major brands. The front doors are spring-loaded, so you have to pry them open with a little plastic pick that was provided with the model. There were two versions, the white one here and a blue one without the front push bar.

Today, we have another Small Wheels/Western Model’s ingenious creation – Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso. This one is a factory-built piece. Small Wheels also offered it as a kit. The factory built ones were done in red or silver. Each car is individually numbered on the underside of the hood. A oldie but a goodie. The last picture shows a couple of curbside Ferrari models from the same era. The red 250 GTO is also a Small Wheels/Western Model factory-built.

@lu Love the Lusso, never seen it before by Small Wheels. I have it in 1:18 by Hot Wheels as well as unbuilt 1:24 kit by Model Factory Hiro. I have the 2 RedLine Ferraris and the yellow GT in the far back if this is the Tecnomodel version.

Internet images if the Lusso models I have:

how good are they? I only have one, a Redline LeMans Ferrari. Always on the lookout for the others but ebay sellers never seem to want to meet the market.

@chav Good eye! That is indeed Tecnomodel‘s SWB version. You have an incredible collection.