O Scale Motor Vehicle Chronicle Vol. IXX June 21

WOW!!! I Like the Brooklin models, but I don't like the price.

(actually the story of my life).

As a orphan car collector in 1/1 scale I like your group of cars. And working in the scale model car field I like the Brooklyn cars but I could never justify their cost.....nice to see them anyway!!

Brooklin cars cost a lot, but on the other hand, hard to find many models by anyone else.  I actually think their latest offerings, at around $110-$125 dollars (slight discount) are much better deals, actually, than their earlier cars were at $40-$60, many of those were sort of single-casting, non-detailed lumps. 

The only new car I got this week is this excellent Brumm model of a mid-'30s Auto Union Type C Land Speed Record (LSR) car.  I think the model is resin - too light for metal and the wheels don't turn.  This car had a V16 and was a streamlined LSR variant of the Auto Union gran prix race car.  Although the normal Type C dominated the race circuits, this car was unable to keep the LSR - it could not quite do 250 mph and Mercedes W125 could do 258, etc.  I think it is most interesting because of the side skirts it has on the rocker panels, a concept that is nearly universal today among certain classes of car.

Ferdinand Porsche was involved in the design of the Auto Union race cars, which were very tricky to drive because of their rear-engine configuration. Few drivers could handle them. Bernd Rosemeyer, a top driver on the Auto Union Gran Prix team, was killed in an Auto Union streamliner on January 28, 1938, while trying to break the land speed record. The attempt was staged on the autobahn near Darmstadt, and it is generally believed that Rosemeyer lost control while trying to correct for a gust of wind.

It had to be "thrilling" to drive those cars that fast, given the primitive state of aerodynamics design at the time.  today we take for granted streets cars that can best 200 mph and stay stable (at least in a straight line) but some of the LSR cars from that era must have been treacherous.  The Audi type C was, like you said, reputed to be a handful to drive, and at 40+ mph more, the streamliners had to be dangerous, for sure.

On another topic, I'm awaiting cars for another "collection" project, this being "cars of famous British TV detectives" which will all be on "Shamus Avenue" as my wife has named it (buildings such as 221B, Nero's Wofe's residence, Alfred Campion's townhouse).  The following are on their way, those with asterisks I have

Rolls Royce Phantom 1 - Mrs. Bradley**

1931 Daimler double six - Lord Peter Whimsey

1930-ish Lagonda 16/80 - Albert Campion

1960-ish Rover P5 - George Gently

1963 Jenson 410 & 1970 Jensen Interceptor - Inspector Lynley

1960 Jaguar S2 - Inspector Morse**

1960 Porsche 356 - Judge Deed (yeah, he had a boxer later, but I like this better)

1985ish Rover 800 - Inspector Barnaby (Midsomer Murder)

          not sure what to buy for the 2nd Barnaby (Neil Dungeon)

1990s Ford Sierra - Inspector Frost

2005ish Vauxhaul Vectra - Inspector Lewis

Believe it or not the hardest to find was the Vauxhaul: I ordered a Chevy Malibu of the period (same basic car - will re-do the grill).

this will be a lot of fun

Did Secret Agent John Drake (Danger Man in UK) have a car? And if so, what? And didn't The Prisoner (nameless) drive a Lotus Seven before he was abducted? Both were played by Patrick McGoohan. 

Not sure about Danger Man. 

• I think McGoohan did drive a Lotus 7 - at least enough to make an excuse to get one (cool car), but man, that is not an easy car to find a model of!  Surprising - I can find models of every other Lotus, but not that most famous of them!
• I had no trouble finding Roger Moore's pale yellow Volvo P1800 just now and ordered one.  I can't find anything on the 'net about it, but I swear he drove a Reliant Scimitar in a few early episodes of The Saint.  Anyway, I always liked those cars, and ordered a model of that, too.