HOT WHEELS - The BMW M4 a double hit here, with the blue and gold versions from 2015, a nice realistic model.

2015 was a great year for realistic models from Hot Wheels, this is a case in point, the BMW M4 was a bit of a surprise to many, and they have mastered this quite well, but first, a little info about me and BMW, I hate the company, with a passion, ever since they screwed Rover Group into the ground, striped it of everything they wanted and left the unprofitable parts to the Phoenix Four to cock up, it also has to be said that the end of this car company can be traced back 50 years with all the merging, cost cutting, unreliability issues and so on.

So, you can see that when i say the model is quite good, it actually is, the M4 is nothing but a rebadged 3-Series like the 2-Series is a re-badged 1-Series, they have taken the coupe and convertible and M range and given them new numbers, now that does not mean anything really, except that it gives them another range of cars, which is great for the collector.

I love the baby poo, or goldy colour one over the blue, and the new deep rich red one which will be with me in about a a week, looks even better, i will post that as a separate post, the PR5 wheels are also a great choice, and really suit this model well, the blue ones are on short cars the gold on long, and the card art is great too, my only gripe is that it maybe sits a little too high for a sports saloon, but then that's it, i love the fact that they have not ruined it with garish colours and liveries, but a nice Euro spec race car might be a nice addition after the red one, but we will have to wait and see what's next.

Both models come with the same code, #24/250 so keeping them together in my picture file is a lot easier, 

HOT WHEELS - Two different colours of the same car with the same livery, and they both work well.

Another Hot Wheels, this time the 2009 Corvette ZR1, and in a livery scheme that has been used many times on various HW models, this one, is Gulf as in the Oil company, I currently have four of these, three in Blue and orange the other in white and orange, and all with the same livery.

All four are on the short card, and have black PR5 wheels with an orange rim and with the range of HW's now running at 250 per year, this one at number 12/250 has been used a number of times in differing colour schemes.

Unusually it has side, top and front tampoing, which for mattel these days, is more than normal, but is a nice touch.

OXFORD DIECAST - What has to be one of the best models they have released recently, the Bentley T2.

When I first saw that Oxford Diecast were reproducing the T2 Bentley i was so happy, i have a number of the Matchbox Rolls Royce Silver Shadows, in various colours, so when this one appeared, i was really eager to get this, and any, and all versions.

The 1/76 model here in stunning blue, is one of three that are currently/so to be, available, with some models, there is usually something that you can pick at, or notice that there is something not quite, there.

But Oxford Diecast, as far as i am concerned, have hit a home run on this, its stunningly gorgeous, and the details, like th elights, door handles etc, have been painted spot on, and I for one, an really really happy that OD have the licence to produce a number of Bentleys, from the 50's right up to today, and that Mulsanne is another beautiful model.

OXFORD DIECAST - The very early Austin Seven, the car that in reality started it all off for Herbert Austin.

The Austin Seven was the car that got the Austin brand to where it wanted to be, and that is a huge conglomerate, based in Longbridge, where current MG production is made today, the Seven was Austin's Model T.

The Oxford Diecast version is perfectly reproduced, and it is an excellent model to produce from that era, as there are so many Austin's in the OD range, from most era's, this is a great start, and with teh early Mini's being called Austin Se7en (yes thats spelt correctly) the name lasted for many years.

Once they launch more i will add them to the ever growing collection of OD i have, i find these models at a price point of £4.50, or thereabouts, are sometimes a little pricey, but when you get models, like this, that are not produced elsewhere, or very hard to locate, then paying it is an easy option.

OXFORD DIECAST - My second Austin A40 MK II saloon, this time the RAC Version.

Here we have, currently my second Austin A40 MK II from Oxford Diecast, and last, i will order more as they are released, but for now, i have  two, and this one is the special model that was used by the RAC, the Royal Automobile Club of Great Britain.

In RAC Blue with a white roof and the RAC logo on the door, this little 1/76 Austin is a great model, my only issue, the tyres looks very large on the scale model, so if you blow that up to proper scale, i can see that tyres would be far too big, but that's a small niggle that i can live with.

OXFORD DIECAST - Austin A40 MkII- Police Panda, another Oxford stunner.

The A40 is another one of these farina cars, and this on eis in classic British Police colours, I can just remember the days when the Panda cars were Blue with white doors, and there were a lot of them, and I hope that Oxford manages to make more in this colour scheme.

The farina was a small two door family car, roughly about the same size as the Ford KA is today, it was popular and there are, surprisingly a large number of them still about, well, at classic car shows, there does seem to be a number of them.

This 1/76 scale model is spot on, and I apologise for the dodgy picture, they do get better, it sells for about £4.50, so comparing it to Matchbox or Hotwheels, on price is not fair, but on quality of product and with the interior as well detailed as the exterior, the price can be justified.

OXFORD DIECAST - One of the farina range, the Cambridge is one of Oxfords latest releases.

One of the most recent releases from Oxford Diecast has been the Blue & White Austin Cambridge, it is commonly known as part of the "Farina" range of cars, that were designed with different fronts, rear lights and interiors, dependant on whether it was a Morris, Austin, Wolseley, Riley or MG.

The badge engineered cars became something of a common practice within the British Leyland Motor Corporation of the time, and has been used many times since in various scales from various diecast brands.

Vanguards did an excellent 1/43 scale version, and this one from OD has to be one of the best in this small scale, unfortunately they dont have opening parts, but then when the detail is this good, it does not need it, they usually sell for around £4.50, and is one of a large number i have collected this year that will be listed here.