Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Slowing down in Italy


For a country with a great love of fast cars, it is a shame there are so many traffic jams in Italy — but then again, that statement is true of many other countries, too. It will come as no surprise when I tell you that the idea for this diorama came to me in a traffic jam here in Sydney. I wasn't in a back alley stuck behind a marching band at the time, but somehow my traffic jam turned into this 1960s Italian-themed diorama.

Behind our tuba and trombone players, the first car is a Starline model of a
Fiat 1500  (driven by Marcello Mastroiani). Behind him is Claudia Cardinale
in a Lancia Fulvia Sport (model by Starline) and in the distance is a Lancia
Fulvia Coupe (model by Norev).

I really like the look of this Fiat 1500, so perky and stylish
in an early 60s way. As a child we lived a few doors away
from Fiat Australia's sales manager, and he was always
bringing
home new Fiats to drive, including this one.
I guess that is where my soft spot for 1960s-era Fiats comes
from. This model is made by the excellent German company
Starline, whose models are modestly priced and cover all sorts
of unusual and lesser-known Italian cars and motorcycles.

This Lancia Fulvia Coupe is made by Norev.
And this Lancia Fulvia Sport 1968 is also by Starline, and it's
a model I value a lot, as it was given to me as a gift by a
fellow diecast collector, Johan Grinbergs, from Sweden, a
man with a wonderful passion for red Italian cars.

3 comments:

  1. Nice work Oz. The Fiat 500 does have the classic look of the Sixties doesnt it. I dont own any Starline models. The quality is ok? Cheers, Doogie.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Doogie. Starline's quality is generally pretty good, and their prices are low too. They do a lot of obscure Italian cars and motorcycles, and as a result I must have at dozen or more Starlines here at home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Oz. I realised I do have a Starline model. I will be blogging it eventually. Pretty good quality and wasnt too expensive.

      Delete