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Playart was inspired by.........

9K views 33 replies 8 participants last post by  Mike(^RacerX^) 
#1 ·

The Dinky Jensen FF casting to make their pocket version
 
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#4 ·
Yo Dave :wave: its cleared!

The concept Alfa P33 looks like a boat on wheels to modern eyes. Playart copied the Corgi in this instance.
The Dinky Jensen FF shown above has been with me since I was 8 years old - a bit chipped and sunfaded but not too shabby...


 
#14 ·
What began life as the Corgi oo7 car, lost its special features and was copied by Playart - oddly the hardtop version which could have been made using the same baseplate and front bumpers has a new different baseplate - Playart missed a trick. Mercury wagons are coming this week, but i dont have the Playart Custom Barracuda to lineup against my redline.........
 
#16 ·
I think you have explained why there are 2 completely different castings- the convertible is a thick waisted stubby but accurate copy of the Corgi which was distorted to fit in the rocket firing mechanism whereas the hardtop has the correct profile perhaps modelled on a real car or maybe an obscure diecast brand like Tekno.1970s HongKong was full of Toyotas,Datsuns and Hondas so these unique castings in the range can most likely have been designed using a 1:1 car unlike the exotic foreign motors......
 
#18 ·
I can see from the video that this car clearly inspired the Datsun 240Z - Toyota missed the opportunity that this car created and Nissan made a mint from it....
Here is the Playart copy of the Mercury C111 - they also copied the Mercury Fiat Dino but I dont have one to make a comparison shot although occasional poster here Baskingshark does........


And here is the copy of the Lesney Mercury wagon, issued also as a police car and a family wagon with tow hook (odd Lesney never gave this casting a tow hook although there appears to be a cut out for one.....)
 
#20 ·

There can be no doubt that the tiny Rover 2000TC was copied from the obscure 50,000 peices only Corgi Rover of 1972.Its very tiny size leads me to believe that it was designed for tiny hubcap wheels in 1972 alongside the other tiny cars in this 1/64 range but for reasons unknown not released until 1975 by which time these larger one peice wheels were standard.Very hard to find in any colour or condition today,i count myself lucky to have this playworn example....
 
#22 ·
Playart copied the Corgi Ford Cortina Mk3 even down to the vinyl roof overlaps and side casting guides for the Police stripe tampo. The steering wheel being fitted on the left side instead of the right side proves that Playart used the special Ford Europe promo model for the launch of the real car(c10,000 made) which was in fact uniquely issued by Corgi with left hand drive .Both the Cortina and Rover were part of the 5th wave from 1975 or 1976 - dating Playart releases is not so precise given very limited promo material available,although waves on 12 new cars in each of the first 4 years seems confirmed from boxes and blister listings
 
#25 · (Edited)
Resurrection time again for this thread!

Here's the Playart Fiat Dino together with a (rather overloaded) Mebetoys one:




In the second picture, notice that on both the the cars, there is a panel between the leading edge of the boot/trunklid and the bottom of the rear windscreen. On the real Fiat Dino this is not the case: the trunklid goes right up to the edge of the window. Also, both cars share the slightly-too-tall-looking glasshouse and the front grilles and bonnet/hood outlines are the same.

And while I'm resurrecting, I've suddenly noticed a very obvious one that I didn't notice for ages: the Playart Cadillac Eldorado is a copy of the Dinky Eldorado. Pics to follow...
 
#26 ·
Great Dino pix from Baskingshark :thumbsup:

It strikes me as odd that Playart flared their wheelarches and squared the front bumper rather than copy the Italians - could there possibly be another source for Playart´s master model?

However the Tin Toys 1/45 Dino does look like a very good copy of the Mebetoys around the wheel arches and trunk and badges,with only their clear rear lights insert being a radical departure in design.
 
#29 ·
I now have over 40 different colours on Playarts, and have an afternoon off watching cricket online so have been having some fun with my Playarts.
Here are most of the metallic colours from the hubcap era 1971-75 plus spectraflame red which may well be surplus Mattel paint.




My Fiat Dino rainbow hasnt grown now for over 2 years.......

 
#31 ·
Wow..........missed this thread back when it originally was started...probably because I spent most of my time on HT in the slot forums.

Funny,looking ver this thread.Im 49 years old,and my skull is a vast store house of arcane diecast information from when I was a kid.

I remember a LOT of brands,Match Box,HW's,JL,the obvious ones,but others like Corgi,Husky,Impy,heck,I even had a few Majorettes and Tomy Pocket cars as well.

I dont ever remember seeing Playart stuff in the stores.I dont know if it was a regional thing,or they were just never really in this country that much.

Great pics,and great info none the less.Great thread.

Mike
 
#32 ·
I dont ever remember seeing Playart stuff in the stores.I dont know if it was a regional thing,or they were just never really in this country that much.

Great pics,and great info none the less.Great thread.

Mike
Maybe you remember them branded as ´Peelers´ - Woolworths exclusives 1971-5??????
Later packaging for other stores was under the ´Fastwheel´ name in a yellow blister with checker outline of the bubble.
 
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