[Diecast/Models] 1:18 and 1:24 Juan Pablo Montoya Models

[J-C]

Glad it finally arrived. I agree about the race ageing - I think I just look too close at them! Was just looking on the Sunday Hauler website and it seems they do race aged models for the winner of pretty much every Cup race, so when JPM starts winning regularly it'll get a bit crazy!

[fish88]

Damm you make me cuirios . Where are the pictures staying i havent seen any good pics of the car yet

[Craig]

Right, the 'American situation' is looking better. Finally! The guy making the two custom models (mentioned previously) has sent an email saying they are now finished and will be shipped on Monday. Got to wait until Christmas for these but, hey, at least I've not got to pay for them!

Also, having just got home from work ten minutes ago, the postman has just stuck the mail through the door (I honestly thought they were supposed to come in the morning?) and in there was two cards saying that customs have pulled two of my packages. They are gonna cost me 15 quid each (!) which isn't the greatest of news but at least I know that they've not disappeared totally. I'll have to go down to the Post Office and pay up, I guess. Bah.

To any of you - Knowlesy! - who import these from the US, does 15 quid each sound about right? Sounds a little excessive to me.

[Knowlesy]

I have not paid customs on any imported models for over four years.

I paid twenty quid for two 1:43's last time.

But since then, nowt. So I can't say if that is OK or not but it seems harsh.

[Craig]

Wish I'd left it and bought them back in my bag when I come back from Homestead now! grrr

[Knowlesy]

Make all your future NASCAR diecast orders from Sunday Hauler. Reasonable price and no customs.

Very good service indeed.

[Craig]

What's the shipping costs from them? I'm pretty sure I emailed them before to enquire and never recieved a reply. Which is why I never ordered from them in the first place!

[Knowlesy]

Don't remember actually. But if it was extortionate I wouldn't have ordered.

It's certainly going to be cheaper than paying postage and a customs charge.

I'll try and find my receipt...

EDIT - £12-ish.... not greatly cheap but OK. And it did arrive fairly quickly.

[Craig]

Yeah. Damn you customs. Wonder what would happen if I didn't pay? Would the items be returned to the original sender? I could then have them send to a friend in Florida who I'll be visiting in three weeks... hmmm.

[Knowlesy]

I think they are more likely to be held for ages are they not?

They do it differently now....they used to send you the item and then you'd get a customs slip a week later. Used to hate that.

[Craig]

Especially as I am still awaiting delivery of the Mexico car, the 99 Champcar and the 99 oval Champcar...

[J-C]

CoT has arrived and very nice it is too, though haven't had a full look at it as it's screwed into the polystyrene and I haven't created space for it yet! Also got the speedway 99 Champcar which looks good, decals are well applied and although the driver figure reminds me of the Monty cartoon character it is a nice addition to the collection. Now if only someone would do a 2000 Lola....

The first Charger I received came from NASCAR.com (as a gift) and that had a massive customs charge on it because apparantly they calculated it on the total order cost (including shipping) rather than just the cost of the item itself.

[Knowlesy]

Where did you get the oval Champcar J-C? I've had an alert search on eBay and haven't had one come up yet.

[Craig]

I might be able to let you have a Jimmy Vasser one nice and cheap if you feel brave enough to convert it

I went to the post office to pick up the two parcels. Turns out there was no import duty charged - simply a VAT charge on each parcel of around £7.50. But the good old 'People's Post Office' (yeah, right) whack a surcharge of £8 per parcel on these days!!

Anyway, got them home and opened the first one to find the Mexico winner. Then had a pleasant surprise to find that there were two cars in the second package (haha, swivel on that, People's Post Office!) -- the regular Havoline #42 and the Big Red #42. Very nice indeed. Really pleased

I'm even impressed with the 'race worn' Mexico car which I expected to hate. Although the red on the Havoline logo is very different to the standard Havoline livery - is that correct?

Incidently, Knowlesy, I got the correct livery on the standard Havoline car Big Red rear panel, Texaco logo in the correct position, etc. Sorry, I don't mean to gloat

I've even managed to make contact with the person I bought the 99 (road course) Champcar from and that is now winging it's way to me too. It's got the makings of a very nice looking collection.

I think I'll be bringing the CoT back with me from Homestead if I can find room in my bag. They're rather nicely sized boxes, I'm pleased to say.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by J-C

The first Charger I received came from NASCAR.com (as a gift) and that had a massive customs charge on it because apparantly they calculated it on the total order cost (including shipping) rather than just the cost of the item itself.

Yeah, bizarely they did that with one of the two parcels I just collected. The other was charged on the item value only. Go figure as they say over there. I say that they should learn to 'do the math'

[Knowlesy]

The Busch livery does have more fluorescent Havoline logos, this is indeed correct.

Who did you buy the Havoline car from then? Which ebay seller/shop?

[Craig]

Got it from 'tetonracing' on eBay for just shy of 20 quid. Interestingly, looking back at the auction page, I got shipped a different car. So, if you were gonna buy from them, I'd definately confirm with them first that you're not gonna end up with a second 'dodgy' livery!

[Knowlesy]

Oh for sure.

I'm still wondering what I can do with the dodgy livery, if there is something I can try to convert it into....possibly a Busch car, but with not so bright Havoline decals. Hmmm....

[Craig]

Or you could simply stick it on eBay and mention that, as it's in the UK, there'll be no import duty or VAT surprises and the P&P will be reasonable. No need to mention that the livery is slightly incorrect. To most Monty fans it'll be just fine - it's only us perfectionists...

[J-C]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

Where did you get the oval Champcar J-C? I've had an alert search on eBay and haven't had one come up yet.

Got the oval Champcar off eBay - auction ended last weekend, the model itself came from Canada. Came up on a "Montoya Ertl" worldwide search searching both title and description - the title didn't have "Montoya" in it though which might be why it didn't pop up.

Craig, does your Texaco/Havoline Charger have "Havoline" on the rear end (like the Big Red car) or "Trust your car to the T" - much like the rear QP detail, I've never seen the #42 run with the latter in reality.

[Craig]

How much did you pay, J-C, if you don't mind me asking?

Ref the Charger's rear end, it's got Havoline between the lights ala the Big Red equivalent and Xpress Lube on top of the boot (trunk). Is there yet another variant in circulation?

I know you've seen them before but I'll see if I can't put a photo up on here later

[J-C]

I paid £30 for my oval Champcar, though I think I got stung as it was a private auction ending at 2am, I bidded before I went to bed when it was at £10 (usually bid at the last minute) but mysteriously someone kept bidding up to just below my maximum bid - as it was a private auction I was somewhat cynical about whether the seller/someone related had bid to jack up the sale price. Admittedly though it is a mint-in-box example (apart from the crack in the window plastic which is no big deal).

I only asked regarding the Charger's rear to confirm the version you had was 100% accurate as the "Trust your car to the T" tail markings is the other inaccuracy on the livery Knowlesy and I have. I might try and track one down but just wanted to be 100% that they'd done the job properly. I suspect they've done a second batch of the 1:24 Charger in the correct livery which is what you and Matt have.

[Craig]

Cool, that is a good price regardless of how you arrived there. I dont think it was likely to be the seller bidding. It's a dangerous game to edge the price up as you would likely end up getting caught out. Remember the 'Bong Game' on Chris Tarrants radio show? I'm not saying it doesn't happen which is why I never take advantage of these second chance offer things.

Yeah, the Charger seems to be accurate. It's a real good looking car, I'm very happy with it. I just can't get over how they can keep the costs as low as they can and still get such reasonable quality. I guess it's purely down to the sheer number of models they must sell.

[J-C]

Absolutely - I really thought considering the price the NASCAR models would be just cheap and nasty things, but they're not - they're as good as just about any diecast for the price. I guess as there's only effectively 4 different manufacturers but 43+ drivers they can sell hundreds of thousands of each car with all the driver and race variants.

[Knowlesy]

I don't find the body shells to be 100% accurate on the old style cars, they are a bit generic, but I don't really mind that because the liveries are just superbly done (barring the absence of front grille markings on the Texaco cars, but these are not set in stone race to race either).

The CoT will be more accurate because it is a simple car style that does not really change. Whereas the old cars seem to have slightly different shapes depending on the track, the CoT is consistent.

One thing for next year though, I'll be waiting for the definitive liveries. I feel like a right schmuck shelling out £15 extra back in March for an elite car in a showcar livery.

Anyhow, I've ordered from Sunday Hauler a replacement Texaco Charger.