august 2019 | http://www.modelcollector.com 37A
When I entered the prize
draw, I never thought I'd be
lucky enough to win. Although,
naturally, I did muse over
which model I would choose
to have customised if I did.
Q
Tell us a little about your
eventual model of choice,
the car it’s based on and how
and why you decided upon it?
A
My initial choice would
have been the 1:43 scale
Weymann Fanfare Coach
announced earlier in the year,
fi nished in Midland Red livery.
But while I knew that Midland
Red had operated a number
of Leyland Weymann Fanfares
for a short time, I didn’t
have any pictures.
My alternative choice was,
therefore, a 1:43 scale car.
As a teenager during the
1960s, the MG Magnette was a
car I had lusted after, the styling
seeming so diff erent to anything
else back then. So, for many
years I had lobbied Vanguards
to do an MG Magnette ZA/ZB.
Imagine my delight, then,
when I read that Oxford Diecast
was going to produce one.
A red MG Magnette ZA was
bought as soon as it became
available and this began the
start of my Oxford Diecast
collection, which now includes
over 120 models.
As I had never been lucky
enough to own a 1:1 Magnette,
on winning the prize I decided
to create a ‘pure fantasy’ model
- an MG Magnette ZB fi nished
in the colour of my fi rst car,
a Speedwell Blue Austin Seven/
Mini. For the registration
number I chose JAC 1,
my initials.
Q
How did you fi nd the
working with Product
Manager Adrienne Fuller at
Oxford Diecast on this project?
And what, if anything, did you
learn that you perhaps didn’t
already know about the design
and development process?
A
As a Chartered Engineer who
had worked in the motor and
motor component industries for
most of my working life, I was
already familiar with the design
and development process.
Initially, Adrienne did some
research on the Midland Red
Weymann Fanfare but could
only fi nd a small picture; this
confi rmed that the Midland
Red version was built to a
diff erent specifi cation than
that of the Oxford Diecast
casting, thus eliminating
my fi rst choice.
Finalising the full
specifi cation for the actual
prize was straight forward.
I had already determined the
casting, colour and registration
number. Adrienne checked
that this did not clash with
any past or future models of
the MG, then asked for some
additional information to
complete the full specifi cation
for the model to be made:
an MG Magnette ZB.Q
Did the end result live up
to your expectations?A
When Lyndon opened the
box and presented me with
the prize, my expectations were
exceeded! To see that fi nished
model, customised to my own
personal specifi cation and
beautifully mounted on a
gorgeous display plinth that
carried a dedicated inscription
was wonderful. When Lyndon
fi rst contacted me about the
prize he wrote: “This is a
fi rst for us, as we have never
attempted to do this before”.
His words highlight how
special this prize is to me.
Totally fantastic!Q
What has been the highlight
of the whole experience?A
Working with yourself and
Lyndon and meeting you
both in person has been
a real pleasure. Having read
Lyndon's book A Journey
Through Time, I had always
hoped to meet him. So, to have
the chance to talk to him about
my life long hobby and share
my thoughts about the Oxford
range of 1:43 scale models (and
Corgi Vanguards!) was both
informative and enjoyable.
I even managed to include a
plug about the one model I
would like to see in 1:43 scale!
Once again, a big thank you.MC