Category Archives: Horsch

Sunstar arriving in 2021

By Maz Woolley

Sunstar are a long established producers of diecast cars starting in that field in 1989 and taking over Vitesse in 2001. They are, unusually, a part of a large general industrial , property, and retail group with interests in Hong Kong, Macau and China. They even operate Sun Star Mark Shopping Malls! They are involved in many aspects of building projects and property services and have more recently diversified further into retailing. Unsurprisingly their models are made in the far east and they have facilities in mainland China as well as Macau.

The models shown in this article are expected in 2021, mainly appearing from May onwards. The entirely new castings are often represented with a photograph, whilst other castings marked as new are often new colours or liveries on models seen before. Those marked as newly announced are likely to appear later in the year. Some of the models appear to me to have been previously announced for 2020 and have slipped to 2021. In addition to the models listed below a number of popular models which have sold out will be produced again to allow Wholesalers to acquire more stock.

All the models shown are diecast and plastic, with opening parts, to 1:18 scale and are priced above Norev and Solido but below many of the solid resin models like Otto and GT Spirit. Of course prices and relative cost will vary around the world. They have two main product ranges: American and European and the models are divided in that way below.

SunStar US Range

H1301 Ford F-100 Pickup Orange/White 1965 New item

H1302 Ford F-100 Pickup White 1965 New item

H1345 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner Brown 1957 New item

H1432 Ford Galaxie 500 XL Convertible Dark Red 1964 New item

H1572 Mercury Cougar XR7G Fawn 1968 New announcement

H1573 Mercury Cougar XR7G Seafoam Green 1968 New item

H1583 Mercury Cougar Racing No.21 Watkins Glen Historic Enduro 200 2012 M.Beaulieu New item

H1862 Ford Model T Roadster Pick Up Black 1925 New announcement

H1886 Ford Model T Runabout Black 1925 New announcement

H2512 Checker A11 New York Cab New announcement

H4308 Ford Thunderbird Hard Top Pink 1960 New announcement

H4309 Ford Thunderbird Hard Briarcliffe Green 1960 New announcement

H4657 Lincoln Premiere Hard Top Rose/Black 1956 New item

H4707 Lincoln Continental MKIII Open Convertible John F. Kennedy in Oregon 1958 New item

H4709 Lincoln Continental Mk III Convertible White 1958 New announcement

H4710 Lincoln Continental Mk III Hardtop Dark Green 1958 New announcement

H4721 Lincoln Premiere Convertible Blue/White 1956 New item

H5167 Mercury Park Lane Hard Top Metallic Beige 1959 New item

Picture copyright as shown
H5175 Mercury Park Lane Convertible Red 1959 New item

H5264 Ford Fairlane 500 Convertible Red/Black 1958 New announcement

H5286 Ford Fairlane 500 Convertible Black/White 1958 New announcement

H5623 Mercedes-Benz Strich 8 saloon, bronze, 1968 New announcement

H6107 Ford Model A Tudor Blue Taxi 1931 New item

H6108 Ford Model A Tudor White West Virginia Police 1931 New item

H6126 Ford Model A Roadster Blue 1931 New item

H6167 Ford Lincoln KB Dark Brown 1932 Open New announcement

H6168 Ford Lincoln KB Black 1932 Open New announcement

Sun Star European

H1128 LTI TX1 Gold RHD London Taxi 1998 New item

H2209 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Black 1966 New announcement

H2405 Horch 855 Roadster Black/White 1939 New item

H2406 Horch 855 Roadster Red/Beige 1939 New item

H2407 Horch 855 Roadster Yellow 1939 New announcement

H2408 Horch 855 Roadster Light Blue/Dark Blue 1939 New announcement

H3575 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Cabriolet (W180 II) Grey/White 1958 Open New item

H3576 Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Cabriolet (W180 II) White Black 1958 Open New item

H4116 Mercedes-Benz S600 (V220) Pullman Black 2000 New item

H4162 Audi Quattro Metallic Brown 1981 New item

H4163 Audi Quattro Metallic Lilac 1981 New item

H4589 Mercedes-Benz 280/8 Coupe Metallic Beige 1968 New item

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Autopioneer Horch Woodie

By Maz Woolley

Autopioneer make highly detailed 1:43 scale resin and white metal models which are made in small releases and which are designed and made in Western Europe for Germany. Their latest model is of the 1938 Horch 830BL with an unusual ‘woodie’ bodywork by F. M. Tarbuk of Vienna.

In pre-war Germany the Horsh brand was known for its luxury cars and this specially bodied example would have cost as much as a sizeable villa. Horch was the premium brand within the Auto Union group and the 830 series was powered by a V8 engine driving the rear wheels. It was launched at the Berlin Motor Show in 1933 shortly after the merger of companies creating Auto Union. The BL was the third generation of this model and its engine was of 3.8 Litres in size and it produced 92HP. In all 9,571 units were sold and this was Horch’s most successful vehicle.

After searching histories of German vehicle production Autopioneer says that one of the first mentions of a woodie being produced by a German maker was one based on a Wanderer type W23 but the prototype of that car, which was intended for export only, was not finished until 1941 and never entered production. That means that Autopioneer believe that the Horch 830BL Woodie that they have modelled is the first such vehicle made by a German manufacturer for the European market. Looking around at models it would also seem to be the first model of a German pre-war Woodie.

The engineering and trading firm F.M. Tarbuk & Co. had been founded in 1920 and was based in Vienna. By 1928 they were the Austrian agent for Horch, Zwickau. The Woodie would have been made by their team of coachbuilders. Tarbuk went on to be a major car importer and marketing firm in the later 20th Century before being liquidated in 2007.

Today you may see the restored Horch 830BL Woodie in the EFA-Automuseum in Amerang.


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Matrix Releases for July

By Maz Woolley

Matrix has announced a set of releases for July, all bar one are new releases which have not been announced before. The other has been previously announced but has now been produced. All are resin cast in China for the Netherlands with photo-etched and printed detailing and are to 1:43 scale.


MX40205-101 Bugatti T57SC Sports Tourer Vanden Plas Chassis #57541 metallic blue open 1938

The car that the model is based upon sold for nearly ten million dollars in 2016. It is powered by an eight cylinder 3.2 Litre engine with overhead valves and a Roots-type supercharger.

In addition this model will be produced with a raised hood as:

MX40205-102 Bugatti T57SC Sports Tourer Vanden Plas Chassis #57541 metallic blue closed 1938

MX41804-051 Stutz Model M Supercharged Lancefield Coupe black 1930

The car that this model is based on sold for over a million US Dollars in 2017. It spent its early life in the UK before being shipped back to thye US in late 1940s. The engine and chassis were developed during Stutz’ attempt to win Le Mans. The car was fitted with the M engine an overhead cam eight cylinder with a supercharger and reputedly capable of producing over 180 brake horsepower.

This model will also be available with an open ‘dicky’ seat as:

MX41804-052 Stutz Model M Supercharged Lancefield Coupe black w/open trunk 1930

MX50603-031 Ford Cougar II Concept #CSX2008 metallic red 1963

The 1963 Cougar was the third iteration of Cougar concepts and was introduced as a show model “from the company which pioneered the personal car.” in 1963. It was styled by Eugene Bordinat Ford’s stylist rather than Vignale who had styled the previous Cougar Concept.

To get into the car one needed to open the electrically-operated top-hinged doors. The fastback design was shown in candy red and used a fibreglass body fitted with a Ford 260 High performance engine pack and was built on an AC-Cobra tube frame. It was intended to reach speeds of around 170mph . Although handsome the design was not taken up by Ford who were content with the runaway Mustang sales and did not feel inclined to launch something so exotic even as a competitor to the Chevrolet Corvette. Perhaps the car was just not that suitable for sales as a rear panel had to be included that opened at speed to reduce air pressure in the car.

The car still exists today, I believe that it owned by the Detroit Historical Society and shown rarely.


MX40803-022 Horch 853 Sport Cabriolet by Voll & Ruhrbeck black 1938

The Horch 853 is equipped with a straight eight cylinder engine of 4944 cc and develops around 120 hp. It has a conventional four speed manual gearbox and rear wheel drive. During the Second World War Voll & Ruhrbeck’s works were destroyed by allied bombing and no records were left of the cars they had built.

The silver car which was the first release of this model was captured by the French and used by Marshal Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. In the post war period the car was to be found in Switzerland during which time it changed hands several times and was restored. Perhaps at one of these points it was painted black or perhaps there were more than one originals built?


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Matrix New for June 2019

By Maz Woolley

Here we have the latest announcements by Matrix. These are all resin cast in China for the Netherlands to 1:43 scale and as usual they largely focused on classic cars from coachbuilders.

The first two models are new versions of previous moulds.

MX40803-022 Horch 853 Voll & Ruhrbeck Roadster black 1938
MX41302-082 Mercedes-Benz G4 Geländewagen black 1939

The remaining models are new mouldings. NB not all versions have been shown by Matrix yet.

MX41302-161 Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezialroadster Sindelfingen #421987 dark green 1939
MX 41302-162 Mercedes Benz 540K Spezialroadster Sindelfingen black 1939

MX50201-081 Bentley 8 Litre Dottridge Brothers Tourer #YX5125 black 1932
MX50201-082 Bentley 8 Litre Dottridge Brothers Tourer #YX5125 black closed 1932

We welcome your comments and questions.   Please go to our Model Auto Review Facebook page or email the Editors at maronlineeditor at gmail.com.

News from the Continent March 2019 – Busch Group

By Hans-Georg Schmitt

Here are photographs of the releases from Busch and its subsidiaries EsPeWe and Mehlhose early in 2019. These models are all made to 1:87 scale and moulded in plastic. 

Busch

42893 Weimar Mobile Excavator T174-2 with twist drilling device

The Weimar excavator was introduced by1965 and it was developed continuously. In the eastern area of Germany some are still in use today.


50372 Land Rover Defender – grey

51025 Mercedes-Benz Unimog U5023 – grey

59958 Transport-trailer

59961 Cable-transport trailer

# 23265 – 51572 IFA G5 59 box body (DDR TV)

This is a new mould.


51606 Robur LO 1800 A box body (DDR TV)

51864 Robur Garant K30 Kombiwagen (DDR TV)

54904 TSA trailer with roof rack (DDR TV)

41320 Horch 853 Cabriolet – closed – red

41327 Horch 853 Cabriolet – closed – silver

47575 Ford Mustang Coupe

The long serving Mustang moulding has been upgraded to form the basis of a new muscle car version with new wheels and air filter appearing through the bonnet.


50371 Land Rover Defender “Camel Trophy 1989”

UAZ 469

Anyone in the armed forces or official organisations in the former Eastern Bloc who needed a robust cross country vehicle used the UAZ-469. The spartan car was manufactured by Uljanowski Awtomobilny Sawod. Later versions were named the UAZ-3151. Production started in 1972 and ended in 2003 and it was fitted with a thirsty petrol engine. When used in the former DDR, it was sometimes fitted with a Cunewalder Diesel engine.

The models shown below are produced from new moulds.

52103 UAZ 469 without roof – Voluntary Fire Brigade
52104 UAZ 469 without roof – LPG Hedersleben
52105 UAZ 469 without roof – Peoples Police
52106 UAZ 469 without roof – GST (Society of Sport and Technique)

52300 Framo V901/2 with flat bed – beige

Another new mould here.


52301 Framo V901/2 with flat bed – grey
52350 Framo V901/2 with flat bed and canvas cover – dark green

52351 Framo V901/2 with flat bed and canvas cover – Bordeaux red

51277 Framo V901/2 Half-bus RFT – DDR television manufacturer customer service van

51862 Robur Garant K30 Kombi – Rafena TV manufacturer service vehicle

EsPeWe-Model

95172 IFA W50L MK box truck with spoiler, green with white box body

MEHLHOSE modelcars in scale 1:87

210003501 Multicar M22 dumper – blue/grey

210003503 Multicar M22 dumper – red/grey

210003600 Multicar M22 – three way tipper – green/grey

210003604 Multicar M22 – three way tipper – grey

Autocult News December 2018/January 2019

By Maz Woolley

Text and photographs copyright of the Author(s) unless otherwise stated.

December 2018

A glitch means that the December announcement by AutoCult did not arrive in the editor’s email. As there were some interesting models announced we have summarised them here.

#05024 Bentley Type R Gooda

This model is of a sports racer built on a Bentley R type chassis in 1966. It was created for Robert (Bob) Gooda by Peel Coachworks who fitted it with a shorter fastback body with a significantly lower weight, Bob Gouda gave the racer its only public outing at the Bentley Driver’s Club race that was held at the Silverstone circuit in August of 1967. In the hands of co-owner Brian Dumps, the car started with race number 21 and did its laps on the wet racetrack.


#06028 Skoda 440 Spartak Polytex

In 1955 Škoda launched the Type 440 sedan and it remained in production with evolutionary upgrades until 1971. Once in production an idea was developed to build a sports version and Czeck architect Otakar Diblik was commissioned to design a suitable car body.

The new body was in fibreglass hand laid in one piece. The doors and hood were formed as separate pieces fitted to the main body. A removable roof was fitted that used Plexiglass, which was completely clear. With a total weight of only 56 kg (123.2 pounds), the body was very light. The prototype used the standard 1,089cc Skoda four cyclinder engine with only 40HP and the car struggled to go faster than 70MPH. The warping of the body lead to the exrcise being consigned to history and the project car was left in a boiler room. Today, the prototype has been restored in a form very close to the original, although the roof is different.


#09009 Berggren Future Car

In 1951 28 year old Swede Sigvard Berggren started to create a car based upon his own futuristic vision. The base was a chassis from a 1938 Dodge originally used on a taxi. Berggren and his assistant, Lennart Josefson, welded a tubular structure made from lightweight steel tube based on contemporary aircraft construction. The framework also acted as a roll cage in the event of an accident. Shaped body panels were fitted over the steel structure and the result looked like an aircraft without wings. The driver sat ahead of the front wheels and the large air intakes fitted to each side provided cooling for the 100HP flathead Ford V-8 engine.

As often happens, the novelty wore off and the owner lost interest with the car being passed to the Museum Svedinos in Ugglarp, Sweden.


January 2019

The announcements for the first release of 2019 are another set of curiosities. Ranging from the streamlined Horch 930 S Stromlinie through a Cadillac Coupe de Ville prototype from Raymond Loewy to a South American small series car the FNM Alfa Romeo Furia G.


Horsch 930S Streamliner

Initially shown at the 1939 Berlin Motor Show this vehicle showcased Horsch ability to create a streamliner, a style that was very fashionable in Germany due to the new Autobahns which allowed journeys to be made at high average speeds. The car was fitted with luxury touches like a radio and a sink!

The Second World War stopped production after two or three were made and a couple with modified front ends were built from parts in 1945. But at that point the Zwickau was part of the DDR and such luxury cars were no longer any priority for the newly nationalised car industry.


Cadillac Coupe de Ville prototype Raymond Loewy

Raymond Loewy the well know US car designer designed this car to appear at the 1959 Paris motor show. Based on a standard Cadillac Coupe de Ville the cars body work was largely re-created in only a few days by a French coachbuilder Pichon-Parat. After the show Loewy drove the car round Europe bringing it back to the US. The car has recently been fully restored to show condition.


FNM Alfa Romeo Furia G.

FNM ( Fábrica Nacional de Motores ) made Alfa Romeo cars under license in their factory in Rio de Janiero. With models based on the 1900 saloon being a strong seller in the local market. In 1968 Alfa Romeo actually bought FNM from the Brazilian state.

The Furia was made after came about after a tie-up with
Tony Bianca of Comionauto another local factory, who made his own sports model to compete in Brazilian races. The Alfa tie-in was based on the FNM 2000 chassis and a handful of prototypes were made of this pretty car before Cominauto terminated the project.

Neo and BoS September/October 2017

By Maz Woolley

All photographs supplied by, and copyright of, ModelCarWorld.

Market Positioning

Over the last year we have seen prices steadily rising from many suppliers. ModelCarWorld who own Neo, MCG, BoS and other ranges appear to be trying to contain their price rises in the same way that Oxford Diecast are. For example Neo models are now about 25% cheaper than Matrix models and MCG 1:18 scale models are about the same price as a 1:43 MaxiChamp. In contrast their BoS 1:87 scale models have crept up in price and now look rather expensive though their only competition is German made and is quite expensive too.

Many of the models shown are re-colours of previously released castings.

1:18 Scale

ModelCarWorld have models made for them in China to 1:18 scale. BoS models are resin cast and Model Car Group are diecast. Neither range has opening parts.

BoS-Models.

 

213751 Oldsmobile Rocket 88, Black 1949

 

213725 Triumph TR 7 DHC, Metallic Beige, RHD 1976

 

215128 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 75, Black 1967

 

214628 Jaguar XJ 4.2C, Yellow/Black, RHD 1974

 

214633 Maserati 5000 GT Allemano, Red 1960

 

Model Car Group (MCG)

 

220257 Barkas B 1000 Halbbus, Volkspolizei 1970

 

209979 Tatra 87, Silver and Dark Red 1937

 

220256 Wolga M24-10, Red 1985

1:43 Scale

Neo

All these models are moulded in resin in China for Germany.

There have been few 1:43 BoS releases lately and some recent Neo models have been regarded as BoS finish for Neo prices. Comments have been made suggesting the red shade shown in the pictures of the second issue of the Humber Sceptre is too bright and is also incorrectly sprayed at the rear where the red colour should go into the “V” round the rear lights and does not.

ModelCarWorld are certainly getting the most out of their S & S 1966 Ambulance moulding producing it in a variety of colours and equipment. The Buick Flxible Premier has recently been seen modelled by Ixo in the German Atlas series of Ambulances which may limit the sales of the Neo.

 

186011 Humber Sceptre MK I, Red and White, RHD 1963

 

186015 Morgan Plus 4 Plus, Red, RHD

 

180791 Cadillac S&S Ambulance Fire Rescue

 

156253 Cadillac S&S Ambulance, White 1966

 

215306 Dodge Sportsman, Metallic Green and White 1973

 

213737 Mercedes C111-IID, Metallic dark Orange 1976

 

156314 Cadillac S & S Ambulance, Red/White 1966

 

167757 Cadillac S&S Landau Hearse, Black

 

215577 Buick Flxible Premier,Red/White 1960 Ambulance

 

192388 Maybach SW35 Stromlinie Spohn, Black and Brown  1935

1:87 Scale

BoS Models

These resin models made in China for Germany replaced the previous Neo 1:87 range which was expensive and sold slowly with ModelCarWorld still having some available for bargain prices long after the range was stopped. The BoS 1:87 Range was supposed to offer similar interesting subjects but with less expensive finishing. Even so some models still feature p-e parts and some fine details.

For me the most interesting of this months releases are the tractor units from Pegaso and Bernard, though these are quite a bit more expensive than the cars. They certainly add options for 1:87 collectors and if they stick to cab units that the mainstream 1:87 producers are unlikely to release they could sell well.

215516 Mercedes AMG G 63 6×6, Metallic-Beige 2013

 

215124 Pegaso Comet, Beige and Brown 1964

 

218690 Horch 853 Special Coupe, Black 1937

 

214786 Studebaker Commander Starliner, red/white 1953

215122 Bernard TD 150, Light Blue 1955


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