COLOUR CORRECTION
interesting that, in the October issue, both Rick Wilson and Brian Gower mention models of concept cars from the late 1960s that were produced in incorrect paint finishes, the Matchbox Lamborghini Marzal and Corgi Bertone Runabout Barchetta. I've got a duplicate Marzal and have been meaning to restore it to the correct colour for ages, perhaps I'll do that one myself now that clear glazing is potentially available. One concept model I have managed to correct is the Corgi Barchetta (little boat). This great looking Gandini-designed car from 1969 formed the basis of Fiat's X1/9 and, as Brian stated, has been modelled by other manufactures including Mebetoys, which also spawned an unbranded Russian copy in plastic as well as a Junior/Rockets version from Corgi (including a bizarre Wonder Woman version), none of which are the correct white! I found restoring one to the correct colours to be relatively straight forward but the intricate interior colour scheme of red and white is a pain to replicate, I think my effort just about gets away with it. As far as I'm aware the only 1960s/'70s concept car diecast models that originally appeared in their correct colours are Corgi's Pininfarina Alfa P33 in white and the French Dinky version of the Fiat Abarth 2000 Pininfarina in racing red, as opposed to the UK Dinky version in ‘day-glo' pink!
Kevin Brock, Isle of Wight
ED Another great letter – your second this month, sir! And top job on the Barchetta repaint. I have a fair few of the Superfasts lined up to be ‘corrected’ and there are definitely many more out there in need of a little keen-eyed assistance. I often wonder why the manufacturers chose to ignore the real colours when it was so obvious? Dinky’s No 351 UFO Interceptor was probably the first one I ever noticed, back in the day – they were always white with red markings on TV, so why choose that green? I have to say that it is such a great colour that I forgave them at the time. But was the decision driven by a desire to make them stand out in the shops as much as possible, or was it a case of just using up a stockpile of paint at the factory? Maybe it was a bit of both.