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| Vespa 400 | |||
| The Vespa 400 was designed in Italy by the Piaggio firm of scooter fame but produced in France away from the near monopoly of Fiat. It was strictly a two seater with a little luggage space behind the seats but with ample legroom for most people. Power was by a rear mounted, two cylinder, two stroke engine developing 14 bhp @ 4700 rpm. |  |
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| A novel feature was the inclusion of an oil reservoir next to the engine which when a handle was turned would allow the right measure of oil to mix with any quantity of petrol. | |||
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| A top speed of 50 mph could be attained but the Vespa would be happier to cruise at 40 mph, performance was a little let down by having only a 3 speed gearbox. | |||
| The Vespa is not short of models, from the top is a French Dinky, Vespa 2CV #24L. The original tyres for the model have a raised 'M' (for Meccano?) moulded into the rubber, but my O rings seem to work just as well. Next down is a resin kit also from France by JPS. The kit had a prepainted body which suited my modelling skills just fine. |  |
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| The rather crude open car is by Midget Toys Co who I believe are also French. The model is very heavy and appears to be made from white metal or something similar. Unusually the wheels and tyres are also metal. Interior details are very good, the seat backs show authentic tubular frames and there is a steering wheel and gearstick. The model is designated 'SERIE B MODEL 12'. How old is it? | |||
| Les Minatures de Norev moulded into the plastic base of the white Vespa give a clue to it's origin. All in plastic but for tyres and wheel spindles the Norev has very fine body details but no interior or steering wheel. All the above models are in the usual scale of 1:43. |  |
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| Lastly
the red car is a reproduction of an early Quiralu model. It has a diecast body and
tinplate baseplate. The reproductions have been made using the same dies as the
original but they are easy to tell apart. Originals do not have window glazing and
the baseplates are painted black with the embossed name Quiralu. Scale is a little
bigger than the previous models at around 1:35, not a brilliant accurate model but with
all the charm of models of the period. PS it is also French! |
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| French Dinky The vespa 400 was made by Dinky in France. This is the rare orange/red version. Ref:
24L |
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| French Dinky The vespa 400 was made by Dinky in France. This is the more usual blue edition Ref:
24L |
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| Norev Made in France. Plastic in 1:43 scale. It has nice exterior details but no interior. Mint & boxed |
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| Norev Made in China Plastic in 1:43 scale. Nicely detailed with a full interior. 2002, Mint & boxed  |
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| JPS Made in France A resin kit in 1:43 scale. The kits are unusual as they have prepainted body shells . 1997, Mint, no box |
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| Midget Toys Co Made in France White metal casting, no window glass, metal wheels. Scale 1:43 Made from 1966 |
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| Midget Cars Co Made in France White metal casting, no window glass, metal wheels. Scale 1:64 Made from 1966 |
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