New from Altaya/Ixo.

A very interesting model, at least for French collectors ! The Simca CG Proto MC raced from 1970 to 1973 in the French Rally Championship.
This CG is a prototype, although it is sponsored by Radio Monte Carlo, it couldn't enter the Rallye de Monte Carlo (no prototype allowed)

MC stands for moteur central (mid-engine) not Monte Carlo !

The Simca CG Proto MC won 32 of the 49 rallies it raced

http://www.database43.com/main/images/hobbytalk/cgmc_1.jpg (http://www.database43.com/)
http://www.database43.com/main/images/hobbytalk/cgmc_2.jpg (http://www.database43.com/)
http://www.database43.com/main/images/hobbytalk/cgmc_3.jpg (http://www.database43.com/)

I like this color combination, and it looks very well done! Is this from collection available on news-stands?

I like this color combination, and it looks very well done! Is this from collection available on news-stands?

Yes, it comes in the "les Belles Années Simca" (http://www.database43.com/main/db43_collections_une.php?ID_collect=44) collection

We do not have such neat castings here in the States. Oh they import in, but at such a price that it is almost out of reach. Great car there Database 43!

I am all about the racing repelicas, so this one really got my attention!

What is the average price for 1:43 castings in Europe? Right here, bewteen the to post you have made we have a member from France and one from Slovenia. What average cost do 1:43 castings run for you there. I will have to find a good curency converter to see it in US dollars (whick STINK in value right now). That might be why the size is so expensive in the US right now!

69Stang: It's practically impossible to find any quality 1:43 models here in Slovenian shops, we're such a small market it's just not profitable. Shops carry mainly Bburago, Cararama, Maisto and that's about it.

I was in Prague/Czech last week, and was in a small shop that is collectors heaven...I could just look all day. :) They had 1/43 Minichamps at around 760Kč (30 EUR, 46 USD), and 1/43 Spark at around 1100Kč (44 EUR, 67 USD).

I have no other choice than to order models via internet. The shipping costs are unfortunately quite high. It's funny that shipping from our neighbor countries (Austria, Italy) can be higher than if I order model from Japan. :confused:
After some research, I found out that reasonable shipping costs are from United Kingdom, and they also have a large 1/43 selection.

It also seems that 1/43 Minichamps models are quite cheaper in USA than in Europe (exchange rate USD/EUR also plays the role I guess). Once I considered buying some 1/43 models from USA but the shipping was too high and I think I would also have to pay import taxes.

I would LOVE to see some high quality models on newsstands (like this Simca above) but there aren't any chances to happen here. :p
There were some models in Prague (Saleen S7, Police BMW X5, and Ferrari F50) but the quality was really poor.

Oh, yeah... Google is your best currency converter... just type something like this in a search field:

30 eur to usd

And Google will convert it to you. Neat, hm? :p

We do not have such neat castings here in the States. Oh they import in, but at such a price that it is almost out of reach. Great car there Database 43!

I am all about the racing repelicas, so this one really got my attention!

What is the average price for 1:43 castings in Europe? Right here, bewteen the to post you have made we have a member from France and one from Slovenia. What average cost do 1:43 castings run for you there. I will have to find a good curency converter to see it in US dollars (whick STINK in value right now). That might be why the size is so expensive in the US right now!

Models sold at newsstands (Ixo, Norev, Universal Hobbies) are rather cheap 10-13 euros (US$ 15-20).