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Oxford Diecast
Topic Started: Feb 27 2011, 09:33 AM (391 Views)
Sak
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Ezekiel 25:17
www.oxforddiecast.co.uk

First off, this ain't your run-of-the-mill toy car line. At three or four quid a pop, they're really meant to enhance OO gauge train layouts, since the scale's 1:76. They're not even easy to find at home in the UK, which is, for all intents and purposes, their exclusive market. James_Autos had to labor a bit to find these for me, an effort for which I'm truly grateful- the Oxfords here are among the most prized pieces in my collection, because they're put over so well...

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Nice day for a white wedding! This is a Daimler DS420, in wedding gown white. The link between this and the Jaguar Mark 10/420G (Jaguar swallowed Daimler in 1961) would be the floorpan. It's a shame the line was discontinued-this was a beautiful carriage indeed.

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It's also a nice day for...um...more somber pursuits...

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The Daimler DS420 hearse. The rear was done beautifully, and unlike Matchbox, you won't find ghostly hands emerging from the coffin. You'll notice that this hearse sports a roof rack. I don't know what they would use it for, but I'm reasonably certain it won't house a jet ski.

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Among the most memorable offerings from the Luton branch of General Motors during the postwar era was Vauxhall's P series saloons. The first generation, known as PA, debuted in 1957, superseding the E series. Early issues featured a triptych backlight (Lesney's Matchbox 22B version illustrates this), and an eggcrate grille. This version here is a circa 1960 model, with a facelifted fascia and grille, and modified one piece backlight...

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In its day, the Vauxhall Cresta and Velox PA models were regarded as the zenith of wretched, overblown American excess, with tailfins and wild colors and Yankee Go Home interiors. The nostalgia for it (and it's smaller Victor F series sibling) started to grow in the '80s, as it (along with the Mk II Zephyr/Zodiacs, and other Rootes/BMC offerings) became symbolic of a lovely, bygone era. If you want a really nice perspective of the Cresta, youtube 'Ghost Town' by the Specials. That's the car they're cruising around in.

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...and as our beloved quartet of Scouse Sentinels plotted their happy takeover of the world from their hideously crumbling seaport where nary a tree ever grew, the third generation of Ford's full-size line came off the assemblies at Dagenham. Roughly of a size in between that of the contemporary compact Falcon and the midsized Fairlane, the Mark III Ford Zephyr 6 proved very popular with middle-class families, and middle management dudes. The flash kind of hides the color, a very nice seafoam green.

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Dating a Morris Minor 101: okay, this is easy. From 1949 to 1954, they had split windshields, or as they say, windscreens. Until 1952, the headlights sit just above the front bumper. These retroactively became known as 'low-light Minors'. In the late '50s and early '60s, the wipers faced each other; after that, they rested to the left side.

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This is a Morris Minor tourer. Like the early Nash Ramblers, the soft top rode down the sideframes, so it's not exactly a convertible, per se. Either way, they're RARE now...and they cost much more than the stock two/four door Minors, or the Traveler estate, or even the pickup/panel. The Morris Minor is THE iconic vehicle of postwar Britain, folks. Period.

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The now very rare Vauxhall PA Friary Estate. In those days, estates (station wagons) were conversions, outsourced to an independent coach builder, and they usually represented less than ten percent of overall sales. They were also expensive. This Oxford model in particular, in a very dark green, is modeled on one that was driven by a woman who purportedly could afford it...

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Even more impressive, she could afford a very clever vanity plate, as you can see. I suppose she drove it around her estate at Balmoral, in Scotland, tending to her Welsh Corgis...with her young children Charles and Anne in the backseat. It's an unusually warm day in Scotland, and the sun's making young Charles feel somewhat uncomfortable in his kilts.

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This would be the Jaguar Mark 2 belonging to a very popular figure- TV's 'Inspector Morse'. A vinyl roof was, after all, a very American type of trim, not nearly as popular in Britain, and almost unknown on the continent in those days...and this gave this Jaguar in particular a very strong identity with the TV series.

James said he plans to send more Oxfords to me in the future. I'm thrilled, I love 'em :D

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james_autos
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Minivan
I just wish they were closer to 1:64. Then Oxford would probably be my favourite small-scale manufacturer.

I'm still on the lookout for more for you, George :thumbup:
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
Incredible! I too have the Daimlers shown (also thanks to James) but they remain the only Oxfords in my collection. I need to change that- that Vauxhall PA Friary Estate & Ford Zephyr both are screaming my name loud and clear. I bet there are more too....
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QuicksilverDC
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Mopar Fanatic
Very Nice 1st time I ever heard or seen these...Thanks
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Sak
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Ezekiel 25:17
At the top of my post you can paste that url into your browser. It shows everything that's available. There's stuff there, Sean, that'll freak you out.

Now, there's also another line of OO vehicles called 'Classix'. Last time I looked, they don't have a website (although that might've changed by now), but are advertised through the stockists that carry the line. They have some cars, not many. What they specialize in, though, are commercials- AWESOME commercials! They carry on a magnificent British diecast tradition of great scale commercials.

By the way, Oxford makes :43s. Nice.
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