Karl AKA Stroget is an active curator at HobbyDB of many of the 1/43 model car brands. He has been adding model cars to the DB since 2014; some of his favorites are Alfa Romeo and obsolete Tekno from Denmark!
NOTE: Model photographs from the Author and hobbyDB.com. Model Auto Review scans supplied by Stroget.
By Fedor Eliseev
Introduction to the series of planning articles
Many people who are deeply involved in white metal model collecting have read the book by David Wright and Ray Strutt published in 2011. This is a very comprehensive book that I have not had the chance to obtain. Many of the chapters are on hobbydb.com but not all. Also, not all manufacturers are described in the book, so the main purpose of this series of articles is to fill the gap and to remember some forgotten names, as well as others that are more well-known.
In every future article, the reader will be able to find comprehensive information about the history of the brand, people who established it and designed the models, lists of models, and photos of the miniatures.
Working on these articles, I used the Model Auto Review magazines that I have (Summer 1990 to Dec 1998), several Model Collector and Diecast Collector magazines, and information from different websites. I also tried to connect with some model makers and collectors. To complete the model lists, I also analyzed eBay for hours and hours.
I hope this series of articles will be of interest for the readers. Everybody can support this idea by sending additional information to eliseevfedor17 at gmail.com or to the Editors’ email below. Scans of 1982-1990 ; 1999-2013 Model Auto Review magazines, white metal reviews from Model Collector and white metal articles from Diecast Collector written by Mr. Carlson would be very welcome. New articles about white metal history will be published regularly.
Milestone Miniatures, 1992 – 1998
In the early 90s. Laurence Watkins, a founder and proprietor of Motorbooks, a hobby shop in Johannesburg, South Africa, decided to make its own range of 1:43 handbuilt models. According to his plan it would consist of the cars which were popular in South Africa during the 60-70s. He chose white metal for the production process and thought about exporting to Europe and the UK because the current market situation wasn’t good in South Africa.
The first pattern of the 1960 Chrysler Valiant was shown in Model Auto Review 62 (May / June 1992). At the end of that year, the first models of the Valiant, painted in white, were made.
This new brand was named Milestone Miniatures, coincidentally the same name as used by Gems & Cobwebs from Cornwall, UK, made by Bernie and Graham du Gros.
As soon as the models were painted and assembled, Laurence Watkins donated one of them to Model Auto Review as a prize for the winner of the Model Auto Review 68 Competition. In issue 69 (February / March 1993), the results were published: Charles Barnett, the well-known collector and expert, received the white Valiant.
The 1960 Chrysler Valiant was available in 2 colors – blue and white. The white ones had a red interior which looked very attractive. The model was made in typical Brooklin style of 1980s – early 90s with no separate door handles, side moldings, or windscreen wipers.
The Milestone replica came with separate plastic head and rear lights, much more realistic than Brooklin models of that time. The Valiant also had a chrome ring around the spare wheel panel. By the way, the license plate numbers used the Milestone catalog number.
The baseplate was rather detailed for handbuilt models of the 1990s and carried information such as scale, name of the model, production number, country of manufacturing and company’s logo.
The typical cardboard box was used for packaging. It carried the name of the company on the sides, information about color and country of production, and instructions that this is a collectible model, not a toy. All printing was in 2 languages, English and Afrikaans.
After making several batches of the Valiant, Mr Watkins introduced the second model, the 1961 Ford Falcon. In 1995 Model Auto Review introduced the body’s pattern, and the next year the first Falcons were assembled and of course, one of them was donated to the magazine and results of the competition were published in Model Auto Review 102 (June 1996).
In comparison to the Valiant, the company raised its game. All Falcon moldings and door handles received silver paint, and the radiator grille became more sophisticated. Another innovation was two-tone painting in 2 color schemes: canary yellow or turquoise (light blue), both with white roof. It is very interesting that Ford has a left side steering wheel (Australian Ford) while Chrysler has the right position for South Africa.
More photos can be seen in hobbyDB.com.
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