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car with pilot driver and air
hostess passenger. Finally,
reverting to police cars, there
is a Spanish National Police
car, in yellow with red and
white stripes. Looking at
photos of this particular model
on the internet, it appears to
have conventional ‘glazing’
rather than an artist’s
impression of windows.
Certainly, of the versions
available, this is the most
boring one.
This model does not, of
course, have an interior, with
seats, etc; the space instead
houses a friction motor.
PLASTICOS ALBACETE –
SEAT Rimo 75
Albacete is a Spanish city
and ‘plasticos’ translates
into English as ‘plastics’. Yes,
you’ve guessed it: this (approx
1:21 scale) plastic model was
made in Albacete. Described
on its baseplate as a ‘Ritmo
75’, there was in fact no such
model designation; there
were, however, 75CL and
75CLX models. While it boasts
no opening features, etc,
it’s an acceptable enough
addition to the collection.
I mentioned in my previous
article that the Fiat Strada/
Ritmo had distinctive hub-
caps with parallel stripes.
These were not fitted on the
SEAT Ritmo, but the wheels on
this model look to be a good
match. In order to conceal
the friction motor within
the interior, the rear seats are
not made quite correctly,
but fortunately this is no
overly noticeable.
My example of the model is
dark brown, but looking online
reveals there are steel blue,
grey, pink and red versions out
there, too. If you decide to buy
just one example, I would
recommend going for one of
the light-coloured versions,
as the characteristic
circular door handles
are more noticeable
against the paler finishes.
GUISVAL – SEAT Ronda (Spain)
To conclude this listing,
I should mention this model,
which represents the successor
to the SEAT Ritmo – the SEAT
Ronda. On its plastic baseplate
it is described as being 1:43,
but I would say it’s slightly
larger than that. My example
is finished in magenta, but
a quick check online reveals
other colours available are sky
blue, lime green, red, white
and yellow. As with the Guisval
SEAT Ritmo, however, as well
as the versions in plain colours
there are also various other
options, such as rally cars and
a rather striking black and
yellow Barcelona taxi. I am
only aware of having seen one
SEAT Ronda (in Calais) but as
far as I can tell Guisval’s model
is a fairly good likeness of the
four-door version, with open-
ing front doors.
My model came in a plastic
display box and, while we're
used to models coming in
boxes with transparent covers,
the packaging for this one
is slightly different, in that
it cleverly angles the model
towards the viewer.
This approx. 1:21 scale
Platsicos Albacete toy is described
on its baseplate as a ‘Ritmo 75’,
but there was in fact no such model
designation; there were, however,
75CL and 75CLX models.
The Guisval
SEAT Ronda.
This model was
issued in various
colour finishes
and guises.
MC