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 Midland Diecasts:
   A Collection of 1:64 scale model cars.


  Celebrating 50 Years of the Mini:
     June 2009 Edition
 

  This year the Mini is celebrating 50 years since it was first created back in 1959. The Mini featured a new space-saving front-wheel-drive layout, which later influenced a generation of car-makers and was manufactured at the Longbridge Factory in Birmingham. In 1999, the Mini was voted the second most influential car of the 20th Century, behind the Model T Ford and is very well known for it's appearance in the 1969 film, Italian Job, where three Mini Cooper S models were used to carry gold through the congested city of Turin.

The original Mini was manufactured up until October 2000, by which point over 5.3 million cars had been manufactured. When BMW divested itself of Rover in 2000, BMW retained the MINI brand and launched an all new (slightly larger) Mini in 2001. The new Mini, now being manufactured at BMW's Oxford plant, reached 1 million units on the 3rd April 2007, which had been only just one month longer than it took the classic Mini to reach the same total in March 1965.




So, with the Mini being such a classic icon its not surprising to see that the Mini (both the classic and new Mini) has been made by so many diecast Manufacturers. The original Mini has been made by Motormax, Siku, Hot Wheels, Corgi and recently Matchbox have released two new castings; the Minivan in 2007 and the hatchback in 2009. The new MINI features in most manufacturer's product lines, with the new Mini Cooper being made by Motormax, Maisto, Hot Wheels, Tomica, High Speed and Realtoy, and with Siku, Welly, Majorette making both hatch and convertible variants (Although the Welly Convertible was the Cooper S). Matchbox, Yatming and Maisto have made Cooper S variants and Norev is currently the only manufactured who has made both 2001 and 2007 variants. A full list of Mini's in my collection can be viewed below:

Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Yellow, black roof)Real Toy Action City
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.50
Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Blue)Majorette 200 Series
Scale: 1:58 Year: 2007
Cost: £0.00No. 294 C
Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Yellow, black roof)Real Toy Tesco Mini Series
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.40
Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Red)Motor Max Fast Lane 5 Pack
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2001
Cost: £0.70# 6057
Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Red)Real Toy Asda Kids Connection
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.43
Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Blue)Welly M&S Car Collection
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2008
Cost: £0.70No. 2069
Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Red)Welly Morrisons Originals
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2007
Cost: £0.99No. 2069
Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Yellow, black roof)Siku Super Series
Scale: 3" Year: 2003
Cost: £2.00No. 1315
Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Red)Maisto Tesco Mini Series
Scale: 1:64 * Year: 2003
Cost: £0.99
Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Red)Welly Car Salon Display
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2007
Cost: £0.50No. 2069
Mini 2001 - Cooper - (Black)Hot Wheels 05 Realistix
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2001
Cost: £0.99No. 157
Mini 2001 - Cooper S - (Black)Matchbox 07 Best of British #08
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £2.00MB 579
Mini 2001 - Cooper S - (Red)Matchbox 07 Regular #06
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.99MB 579
Mini 2001 - Cooper S - (Yellow)Yatming Sainsburys
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2009
Cost: £0.56# 1208
Mini 2001 - Cooper S - (Blue)Matchbox 05 Regular #07
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.84MB 579
Mini 2001 - Cooper S - (White)Matchbox 05 Superfast #12
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £1.99MB 579
Mini 2001 - Cooper S - (Union jack on roof)Matchbox 03 Regular #75
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.99MB 579
Mini 2005 - Cooper Cabrio - (Green)Majorette 200 Series
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2007
Cost: £1.22No. 284E
Mini 2005 - Cooper Cabrio - (Red)Siku Super Series
Scale: 3" Year: 2005
Cost: £3.29No. 1005
Mini 2005 - Cooper S Cabrio - (Blue)Welly Road Masters
Scale: 1:60 Year: 2008
Cost: £3.00No. 52266
Mini 2007 - Cooper - (Blue)Norev Mini Selection
Scale: 3" Year: 2008
Cost: £4.00
Mini 2007 - Cooper S - (Yellow)Norev Mini Selection
Scale: 3" Year: 2008
Cost: £4.00
Rover Austin Mini Van - 1965 - (Cream)Matchbox 07 Regular #31
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2006
Cost: £0.99MB 713
Rover Austin Mini Van - 1965 - (Blue)Matchbox 08 Classic Cars 5 Pack
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2006
Cost: £1.20MB 713
Rover Austin Mini-Van - 1965 - (Emerald Green)Matchbox 07 Regular #31
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2006
Cost: £0.99MB 713
Rover Austin Mini-Van - 1965 - (Gold)Matchbox 07 10 Pack
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2006
Cost: £0.80MB 713
Rover Austin Mini-Van - 1965 - (Red)Matchbox 09 Regular #53
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2006
Cost: £1.09MB 713
Rover Mini - (Red)Corgi Diecast
Scale: 1:64 * Year:
Cost: £1.50
Rover Mini - (Red)Corgi Fina Promotion
Scale: 1:64 * Year:
Cost: £1.50
Rover Mini (Morris) - (White)Hot Wheels 07 Pop-Offs
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2000
Cost: £0.99No. 037
Rover Mini Cooper - (Blue)Motor Max Kids Connection
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2007
Cost: £0.44# 6017
Rover Mini Cooper - (White)Siku Super Series
Scale: 3" Year: 1998
Cost: £1.75No. 1031
Rover Mini Ha Ha - (Red)Matchbox Lesley
Scale: 1:64 * Year: 1975
Cost: £0.99 SF 14b
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