Trax 1/43 Leyland P76 1974 WRC car

Not only is the 40th Anniversary Event of the Leyland P76 occurring in June 2013, but another exciting arrival is expected that same month - Top Gear, makers of Trax diecast model cars have announced that they will be releasing a 1/43 diecast model of the 1974 Evan Green/John Bryson Leyland P76 WRC entry. For those who will be attending the 40th Anniversary of the Leyland P76 Event in June, Top Gear will have a stand at one of the events on that weekend and have offered some merchandise to the organising committee that will be awarded to Concours winners.

This car is famous for winning a stage of the 1974 WRC rally, the famed Targa Florio section. Ultimately the car ran 13th outright. A spectacular achievement for a car with limited factory support and in a car that had never been rallied or raced before. The majority of entrants dropped out along he way, their cars failing to withstand the rigours of rallying.

The famous book 'A Bootful of Right Arms' was written by Evan Green about the rally, and it's a must read for rallying and automotive enthusiasts, as well as Leyland P76 fans. There is a great deal of information on preparing and modifying a car for rallying, and the repairs that they performed exposed some areas of the Leyland P76 that the factory would have upgraded if the car had made it to a Mark II version.

 The rally ran from London to Munich via Africa, as you do.

The original world rally car still exists in unrestored condition. Evan Green has sadly passed away, but John Bryson is still with us. Most recently his son Matt Bryson and Gerry Crown have rallied a Leyland P76 in the United States and have entered that car in the Peking to Paris rally that is about to start (the Leyland P76 is on its way to Peking right now).

It is very exciting that Trax are producing this car in diecast model form. Its a great celebration of Australian motoring history and will be keenly sought after by Leyland fans and rally fans. Order yours today at the Top Gear website.  

Where it all started

As a child I used to ride my pushbike to the local newsagent in Bundoora and blow my pocket money on comics, plastic models, view master reels and Matchbox Superfast cars (never Hot Wheels). I dont remember how much a Matchbox car cost, but I do remember paying 45 cents for a Sgt Rock comic. 

The newsagency had a separate room at the back which was just for toys and plastic models, and it was next to the Tattslotto counter. In the 1980's an arsonist set fire to the lotteries area, and then claimed he had a lotto ticket with all six numbers - and could the Tattslotto people please give him all the money. Forensic science disproved this, and the fellow ended up in Pentridge. Sadly, my local toy shop was gone! 

The business did survive though, and has moved about 50 metres to a newer building in the now named Bundoora Square Shopping Centre. The old shop is still there, it was renovated and subdivided. It is now a 'dollar shop' run by new Australians from the orient and is called the 'Yes Good Buy'. 

I also used to shop at Tim the Toyman at Northland. No photo of the store seems to exist online, but the photo above (from the State Library of Victoria online archives) has been taken from around the same part of the shopping centre in the late 1960's. It was my favourite toy shop and I last recall shopping there in the 1980's. When I was a very small boy, my Mum received a phone call from the police. I had managed to make my way from Bundoora to Northland, and could she come and collect me! Even as a toddler I was into road trips. 

Tim the Toyman may not exist as a storefront, but the business survives, as an importer and distributor of toys. 

These days I visit the local Toyworld in Fyshwick. They go to an effort to stock 1/43 and 1/18 diecast cars and I appreciate that. I also buy online, at swap meets and from supermarkets and places like Big W and Target. I also ALWAYS check out the dollar shops for obscure low end diecast. These stores have great names like 'Silly Willys' and 'Yes Good Buys'.  

And a shout out to Brad from Cobra Toys - who I have bought from several times always with great service. He is also a great source for SIKU. This post began as a response to a thread on the Matchbox Collectors Forum that Brad runs.

Kaiyu diecast cars

Recently I discovered a new three inch diecast model being sold in my local petrol station. Some research indicated that it was manufactured by a company called Kaiyu, for a Mexican brand called Gashaball. Read that post here. 

Kaiyu appear to be a brand of diecast cars in several scales, manufactured by the Shantou City Kaiyu Industrial Co in Guangdong, China.  They also manufacture plastic bricks similar to Lego and remote control toy helicopters. My main interest is only their diecast cars.  

Kaiyu may have a relationship with Golden Wheel, either as a producer of cars sold as Golden Wheel, or linked in a corporate way (I do not know). The castings with KY on the base started to appear in US 'Dollar' stores two years ago being sold as Golden Wheels.

The sub branding for the Kaiyu diecast cars appears to be Rongda. The scales that they manufacture in range from 1:12 to 1:87, and include construction equipment and trucks. 

Rongda logo - a Kaiyu sub-brand

Supercar brand very similar castings to MotorMax

4D brand, very similar to Tomica packaging

Construction Machines - I cant determine if this carries a sub-brand

Classic Cars - a range of three vintage trucks

At this stage the only cars I have actually seen are three of the Supercars range being sold in Australia under the Gashaball Supercarz range. The quality of these cars is very good. The casting is crisp, the interior is well moulded, it carries clear glass and a multi-strike tampo printing at the front and rear. The tiny badge is distinct. Only the wheels detract from this being more than a kids toy. This is a casting good enough to be in the Matchbox line. 

If anyone has more info on the Kaiyu range of diecast, please leave a comment.