May 2023 Monthly Toy Haul - 05/06/2023

I know this one's a little late, but I received my last package just recently, so here we go. If you thought last month's 25 cars were a lot, get ready for another whopper of an article. I had just set up a little importing business, so I have a whole lot of new stock that isn't just Hot Wheels. It's now mainly 'True:64' like Mini GT, Paragon Models and Tomica!

My first package arrived midway through the month from Hong Kong and was my first large scale order of Paragon Models. I knew what to expect since I had previously bought 2 Paragon Models' Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 rally cars. The attention to detail on those cars were on another level! With accurate livery, badges, lights, wheels and ever reflective stickers on the wing mirrors!

First up, is some Hondas starting with the brand new 2023 Civic Type R (FL5) in Championship White! It had a much more subdued design than the previous FK8 generation, but it was equally as cool. Though is had the same engine as the FK8, it was revised and it now holds the record for the fastest FWD car on both Suzuka Circuit and the Nürburgring! Paragon Models doesn't really make much for Honda, but they also did the EP3 and FN2 Type R's, both of which were both made European and International market versions of the Civic Type R. The EP3 (which I didn't photograph, as I sold it immediately after buying it) was undoubtedly one of the most boring looking Type R's and the FN2 holds the record for being the oddest looking Type R's (but is actually my favorite generation!)

Secondly, we move onto a pair of 80's wedges: the first generation Toyota MR2 (AW11) and the uniquely designed Cizeta-Moroder V16T. Both cars are some of my favourite 80's mid engine cars, with the MR2 being a must buy since I own an MR-S (ZZW30). A great thing with Para64 is that cars can come in either pop ups open or closed, so naturally I bought one of each! The same could be said for the Cizeta-Moroder V16T, which had the most unique pop ups in the history of all cars. It had 2 pairs of pop up headlights making it the only 4 pop up headlight car in the world! Looking carefully at the car, you may be thinking it slightly looks like a Lamborghini Diablo, and you are correct! The Cizeta was actually going to be the original design for the Diablo, but Chrysler, the owners of Lamborghini at the time dismissed Marcello Gandini's design and made one themselves, much to Gandini's annoyance. And so Gandini made the Cizeta in response! The car is powered by a V16 that was made up of 2 Lamborghini Urraco V8's joined longitudinally. This meant the car had 64 valves, 8 overhead camshafts and a capacity of 6.0 liters! 

Thirdly, we'll move onto the meat of the package: RUF's! The RUF BTR was one of the world fastest cars at introduction, doing 300km/h! I had to buy it since it was in 'Flachbau' (slant-nose) configuration! The BTR stood for Group B Turbo RUF. The cars were built on 1979-1989 911's and were the first RUF cars to feature unique VIN's. The 1987 RUF CTR Yellowbird were both must buy's as they are probably one of the most significant cars in my lifetime, appearing in games like Wangan Midnight, the older Need for Speeds and others, when Porsche didn't allow them to use licensing for their cars. The Yellowbird was and still is one of the greatest cars ever made and was at one point, the fastest car in the world when it was introduced, topping out at a whopping 342 km/h. The CTR stands for Group C Turbo RUF and was based on the 1987 911 Carrera 3.2 (not the 930). 

I also managed to get a pair of CTR2's, which are based on the 993 generation of the 911 Carrera 3.2. However, the engine used was not a 911 engine, but a 962 Group C Le Mans Race car engine: a 3.6 litre single-cam twin-turbocharged Flat-6 producing 580hp! Mind you, that is a lot for a car from 1995! This made RUF have another 'fastest car in the world' title at 354 km/h! It beat out the Nissan R390 GT1, Ferrari F50 and Jaguar XJ220! It wasn't until the introduction of the Mclaren F1 till it became the second fastest car in that decade! Then I also got a CTR3, the third generation in the line and actually the weirdest looking of the bunch. It was build on a mix of the 987 Cayman and the 997.1 Turbo and was the first RUF to use the mid-engine layout rather than the traditional Porsche rear-engine configuration! (Funnily enough, the Lykan Hypersport is based on this car!) This time the car was powered by a 3.7 litre twin-turbo flat-6 used in the 997 911. It had 691 hp but it didn't receive the 'fastest car in the world' title this time round. Very interesting car though!

A few weeks later, my second package arrived in from Australia and after picking it up, I knew exactly what it was even before opening it! I looked like a kid in a candy store when I opened up the box! I was so excited, that I had to record a livestream of the unboxing! (You can watch it here!) Anyways, Mini GT is in similar detail to Para64, also being a 'True:64' scale diecast brand. 

First up, was a pair of widebody (A90) Toyota Supras! The HKS-liveried one was present at the 2020 Tokyo Auto Salon and features an HKS widebody kit and a massive GT wing, while the white one is equipped with a Rocket Bunny Pandem kit with a fixed spoiler! Both cars feature insane detail like the individual bolts on the fenders as well as the accurate livery to the real life counterpart. 

Secondly, was a pair of Honda S2000's, both of which were the facelift AP2 models. The Apex Blue one was the Type S model, the highest trim level for the Japanese domestic market; essentially the Club Racer equivalent that was prevalent in the US! The New Formular Red S2000 was a Mugen-bodykitted version, with a carbon fibre vented bonnet, gold wheels, visible roll cage and a different spoiler! 

Thirdly, we have a pair of luxury cars. These were quite funny to unbox since they are effectively the largest 'True:64' scale cars I've ever had, surpassing even that of the Mini GT RS6 Avant with the roof box! The BMW Alpina B7 xDrive was a must buy since I used to own a 740i E38 and I just wanted a 7-Series no matter which generation it was! Super happy that my first 7er model was the Alpina version! Though the model didn't have the iconic gold pinstriping that Alpina's are known for, the car still featured tiny details to know the car was in fact the Alpina version: like the center caps and rear badging! The Bentley, on the other hand included the amazing gold pinstriping! It's the Mulliner coachbuilt Bacalar, a limited production 2-seater barchetta based on the Continental GT with an interior made from trees that fell over 5,000 years ago! It's painted in a striking Yellow Flame that it sported when it was unveiled at the 2020 Geneva International Motor Show. Only 12 of these were made!

Next up, we have some German cars: the RUF Rodeo Concept Presentation and the Porsche 911 Targa 4S Heritage Design Edition. The RUF Rodeo is a 911-based 4x4 safari car, made entirely out of carbon fibre and still retaining the classic air-cooled flat 6! The CF monocoque is also shared with the RUF CTR Anniversary and SCR! On the casting, you can spot a total of 10 headlights, a bash bar with rope, an overhead luggage rack and a shovel at the rear; perfect for any off-road diorama! The 911 Targa 4S on the other hand, features the Heritage Design livery, which was created to revive the 50's & 60's Targa beginnings! This particular casting is painted in Cherry Red Metallic, with the iconic silver Targa roll bar, a two-tone Bordeaux Red/Atacama Beige OLEA club leather interior, and fully detailed dashboard complete with the center console in piano black and gold badging!

So up next, we have 2 Italian icons, one of them being this non-liveried Lancia Stratos HF Stradale in Blu Vincennes with gold wheels! The only reason why I bought it was because I sold my Tomica Premium one that was painted in the Alitalia livery. The Tomica Premium casting was a little larger than this, since it wasn't 'True:64'. I might buy Mini GT's version of the Alitalia liveried Stratos Rallye next though! The other car was a Pagani Zonda F in Blu Argentina. The Zonda F debuted in 2005 and was a tribute to Formula 1 driver Juan Fangio.  The casting also features a window to the engine bay where you can see the 594hp 7.3 liter AMG V12 it was powered by, heat lines on the rear window, as well as individual rivets on its 9-spoke 3-piece wheels!. It has to be said that the Zonda is still one of the best sounding cars alongside the Lexus LFA, Carrera GT and the 787B Group C race car!

Last but not least, we have 2 straight line monsters. The Ford Mustang Shelby GT-500 Dragon Snake Concept is essentially the most hardcore version of the Mustang, dating back to the 60's with the first 'Dragonsnake' Mustang supercar. This new car uses an 800+hp 5.2 litre supercharged V8 to the rear wheels, complimented by aggressive styling on exotic materials, a crazy lengthened drag wing and a menacing snake livery on the right side of the car! The Top Secret Nissan Skyline GT-R VR32 is no different, with Smokey Nagata's master tuner/speed demon's hands behind the wheel! The 278hp RB26DETT in the original car was swapped out for a tuned up 750hp VR38DETT R35 GT-R engine! This Mini GT is actually a regional exclusive, so I pretty stoked to get my hands on it!

If you've read up to here, well done, I know it was a long read! Now remember guys, I am selling all of my diecast models, so let me know which ones you want to buy! Until next time!