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1:43 scale die casts from IXO
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All five models come mounted on plastic plinths and in their own plexiglass cases making for easy display. Sadly there is no dealer for IXO in India as yet but generally speaking they are available from any model mart via mail order
A couple of issues ago in this very column I had outlined how to zero in on model car collection themes and this month's subjects illustrate one such niche. I have a sizeable collection of Le Mans winning cars though by no accounts a complete tally of all the winning cars since the race got underway in 1923. Interestingly I have all the winners from 1923 onwards till 1956 but then there are gaps in every decade after that, solely because not many of the winners have been turned into models. Or if they have I haven’t been able to find them or I made the cardinal error of sometimes not adding to the collection in the 1:43 scale because I had the winners in other larger scales! Well you can be foolish in more ways than one when it comes to collecting models and not all of it has to do with common sense!
That aside, the cars featured here are all French winners of the world's greatest endurance race. All of them are in the classic and very versatile to store and display 1:43 scale and are by IXO. Let's start with the latest of the five featured here and this is the 1972 Matra-Simca MS670, which took overall honours that year, driven with verve by Graham Hill and Henri Pescarolo. Nicely crafted and properly turned out including that twin cockpit cutaways, this IXO offering is a nice departure from the red and white Italian-German domination of the 24 Heures du Mans.
The next IXO model is the Talbot-Lago T26 GS driven by the father and son duo of Louis Rosier and J.L. Rosier to victory in the 1950 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours. This car was a two-seater model of the firm’s naturally aspirated Grand Prix car and IXO has done a reasonable job of conveying the right proportions and details in a very cost effective package.
The other three IXO models feature the winning cars from 1937-38-39. The 1937 car is the duo-toned Bugatti Type 57G, with all enveloping bodywork, more often than not referred to as the Bugatti ‘tank’. This car was driven to victory by the great Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist and the miniature rendition of their car is terrific. What would have been a repeat win in 1938 wasn't to be due to a variety of mechanical reasons and through it all came the Delahaye 135S driven by the pairing of E Chaboud and J Tremoulet. Unlike the futuristic lines of the Jean Bugatti penned Type 57G, the Delahaye was in the classic 1930s style and owed more to the reliability of its V12 motor than aerodynamics or outright pace in its drive to the chequered flag.
The final Spark model is the 1939 Le Mans winning Bugatti, again a Type 57C which was an even more developed version of the 1937 winner. Jean Bugatti's pioneering work on the earlier car had been taken to newer heights with clean surfacing and an unheard of attention to detail. Jean-Pierre Wimille and Pierre Veyron drove it to victory (the latter being the one in whose honour the present day Bugatti is named). This particular model is very finely detailed with great attention to the radiator grille and the headlamps, which feature delicate photo-etched parts that impart a fantastic look and feel to the model. Also the spoked wheels are works of art while the overall form and proportion of this gorgeous model is stunning to behold.
What I find so very interesting is the similarity between the 1938 and 1951 Le Mans winning cars that seem so antiquated compared to the 1937 and 1939 winning Bugattis. Unlike the modern flowing bodywork of the Bugattis, the Delahaye and the Talbot-Lago with their cycle type wheel fenders and exposed exhausts seem to be from a different era of motor racing. Just look at the Bugattis again and one can see where Jaguar got its inspiration for the C-Type!
All five models come mounted on plastic plinths and in their own plexiglass cases making for easy display. Sadly there is no dealer for IXO in India as yet but generally speaking they are available from any model mart via mail order. I have also heard that both IXO has begun to offer the entire range of Le Mans winners so while I live in hope of having a complete collection of Le Mans 24 Hour winning machines soon, it also offers you all a chance to begin collecting with the Le Mans theme.
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