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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 Austin - (Red)Corgi Fina Promotion
Scale: 1:64 * Year:
Cost: £1.50
Mini Austin - (Red)Corgi Diecast
Scale: 1:64 * Year:
Cost: £1.50
Mini Austin (Mini Ha Ha) - (Red)Matchbox Lesley
Scale: 1:64 * Year: 1975
Cost: £0.99 SF 14b
Mini Austin (Morris Mini) - (White)Hot Wheels 07 Pop-Offs
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2000
Cost: £0.99No. 037
Mini Austin Cooper S - 1964 - (Red)Matchbox 09 Regular #02
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2008
Cost: £1.09MB 765
Mini Austin Cooper S - 1964 - (Blue)Matchbox 10 Regular #19
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2008
Cost: £1.00MB 765
Mini Austin Van - 1965 - (Red)Matchbox 09 Regular #53
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2006
Cost: £1.09MB 713
Mini Austin Van - 1965 - (Blue)Matchbox 08 Classic Cars 5 Pack
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2006
Cost: £1.20MB 713
Mini Austin Van - 1965 - (Cream)Matchbox 07 Regular #31
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2006
Cost: £0.99MB 713
Mini Austin Van - 1965 - (Gold)Matchbox 07 10 Pack
Scale: 1:51 Year: 2006
Cost: £0.80MB 713
Mini Cabrio - 2005 Cooper - (Red)Siku Super Series
Scale: 3" Year: 2005
Cost: £3.29No. 1005
Mini Cabrio - 2005 Cooper - (Green)Majorette 200 Series
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2007
Cost: £1.22No. 284E
Mini Cabrio - 2005 Cooper S - (Blue)Welly Road Masters
Scale: 1:60 Year: 2008
Cost: £3.00No. 52266
Mini Cabrio - 2009 Cooper S - (Yellow)Matchbox 11 Regular #28
Scale: 1:58 Year: 2011
Cost: £1.00MB 822
Mini Clubman - 2008 Cooper - (Red)Excalibur RC Car
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2010
Cost: £6.99
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Red)Real Toy Asda Kids Connection
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.43
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Red)Motor Max Fast Lane 5 Pack
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2001
Cost: £0.70# 6057
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Red)Welly Morrisons Originals
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2007
Cost: £0.99No. 2069
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Blue)Majorette 200 Series
Scale: 1:58 Year: 2007
Cost: £0.00No. 294 C
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Yellow, black roof)Real Toy Tesco Mini Series
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.40
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Blue)Welly M&S Car Collection
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2008
Cost: £0.70No. 2069
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Yellow, black roof)Real Toy Action City
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.50
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Yellow, black roof)Siku Super Series
Scale: 3" Year: 2003
Cost: £2.00No. 1315
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Red)Maisto Tesco Mini Series
Scale: 1:64 * Year: 2003
Cost: £0.99
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Black)Hot Wheels 05 Realistix
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2001
Cost: £0.99No. 157
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper - (Red)Welly Car Salon Display
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2007
Cost: £0.50No. 2069
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper S - (Black)Matchbox 07 Best of British #08
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £2.00MB 579
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper S - (Blue)Matchbox 05 Regular #07
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.84MB 579
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper S - (White)Matchbox 05 Superfast #12
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £1.99MB 579
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper S - (Yellow)Yatming Sainsburys
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2009
Cost: £0.56# 1208
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper S - (Red)Matchbox 07 Regular #06
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.99MB 579
Mini Hatch - 2001 Cooper S - (Union jack on roof)Matchbox 03 Regular #75
Scale: 1:56 Year: 2003
Cost: £0.99MB 579
Mini Hatch - 2007 Cooper - (Blue)Norev Mini Selection
Scale: 3" Year: 2008
Cost: £4.00
Mini Hatch - 2007 Cooper S - (Yellow)Norev Show Room
Scale: 3" Year: 2011
Cost: £1.00
Mini Hatch - 2007 Cooper S - (Yellow)Norev Mini Selection
Scale: 3" Year: 2008
Cost: £4.00
Mini Hatch - 2007 Cooper S Challenge - (Red)Hot Wheels 11 Premiere
Scale: 1:64* Year: 2011
Cost: £1.00No. 030
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
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