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Topic starter
06/11/2021 12:03 pm
I found this one at a local garage sale just a few hours ago. No outer box, but the clear plastic display case shows no signs of ever being opened. Of course, I opened it.
The red car is a Porsche 550, according to its insignia. I thought this was a "racing only" Porsche, but the Hongwell folks in Japan may have their own interpretation. It appears that the doors open on the single hinge popular a few years ago. I don't think I will remove the car at this time.
Pretty good detailing on the set, even though I can't read the price of the gas. A little research shows this to be a 1/43 scale Hongwell Die Cast Mini-Rama Diorama Red Porsche 550 Spyder, and the diorama at times was used with different vehicles by Hongwell. Somewhere I have this set, altered for use with other model cars.
An unusually good find for me!
David H 
06/11/2021 2:22 pm
A garage sale? Could there be other collectors in your neighborhood David?
Karl Schnelle and Karl Schnelle reacted
Topic starter
06/11/2021 3:47 pm
Good thought, Harv. But his widow was finally cleaning out stuff. Very little was of interest, but prices were low anyhow. I'll keep looking!
John Kuvakas and John Kuvakas reacted
06/11/2021 4:52 pm
Nice find David. The case alone is worth the admission.
06/11/2021 10:20 pm
Is the car glued down, or screwed in, do you think? A nice local find!!!
Topic starter
06/11/2021 10:44 pm
@karl Hi Karl, the base has four screws in the corners. I think removing those will show how to release the Porsche. One of these days. . .
Karl Schnelle and Karl Schnelle reacted
07/11/2021 5:13 am
Score one for David!
07/11/2021 8:58 am
Congratulations David on a wonderful find.
07/11/2021 10:59 am
David's post prompted me to dig out a similar Mini-Rama diorama I bought a few years ago.
One version has a VW beetle in red
and the other version has it in primrose yellow, all other details being the same.
Not only is it a pretty good model of a Beetle, but given that this is just a cheap toy (mine was being sold for £5, reduced from the original price of £10) they put lot of work into the workshop detail, which makes it a fun piece.
Having gone to the trouble of crawling under the spare bed to dig these out I thought I'd photograph a couple of other fun 1:43 items, made by Faller Memory Cars, which I also have tucked away due to lack of display space.
This Mercedes 220SE cabriolet is being admired by some street ladies. No sign of the driver. He may have run for his life. (Hope he remembered to grab the keys.)
The caption on the baseplate is German for "Wow, would you look at the ass on that!"
(Well, OK, strictly speaking it means "Open to New Horizons". But this is no place for semantic quibbles.)
And if you can drag your eyes away for a moment, the car itself (plastic) is also nicely detailed.
The other is an older Mercedes 220 with bride and groom and a nice wedding bouquet. Note the very fine shutlines on this model, as on all the other Faller Mercs. The caption says "My Old Love". Or maybe "My Former Love" (before I met my bride).
Graeme.M. Ogg
London U.K.
11/11/2021 1:51 am
Good find. I'm looking for this too. Questions. Are the hoses flexible and moveable? Can the pumps be removed from the base?
12/11/2021 12:12 am
@d-m-holcombe Good find. I'm looking for this too. Question. Are the hoses flexible and moveable?
Topic starter
12/11/2021 1:03 pm
Okay, I just took the base off. The underside is held together with 4 screws. After they were removed and the base frame separated, the car was held by two slightly larger screws. After they were removed, I found the hoses were flexible, but they are held in position by little dabs of glue. The pumps and other pieces are held in place by plastic tabs; it seems that any removal would have to be forced, breaking the little tabs. The figures seem lightly glued into position. Here are some pictures of the results, with the last being a favorite BRK Hudson in the "gas up" spot.
Sorry for the poor photography, but I'm a bit rushed. I think this set could be reduced to its components, but the process would make re-assembly difficult. Enjoy!
David H 
Karl Schnelle and Karl Schnelle reacted