SUE RICHARDSON 1943 - 2010

We're deeply saddened to report that Sue Richardson, acknowledged expert, if not the expert, on classic toys, especially Dinky Toys, has died. Sue was born in Doncaster and later with her family moved to Glasgow. While at university there, she met her future husband Mike Richardson, with whom she was to share a lifelong interest in transport and collecting. Eventually they moved south and settled in Windsor, where with other enthusiasts, they decided to found the Maidenhead Static Model Club and pioneer the first of our hobby's swapmeets. Sue became the secretary for the club and played an active role in its activities for many years, eventually becoming a joint honorary life president with husband Mike. Sue was instrumental in helping to found another great innovation: Modellers World magazine in 1971. To this she brought her unsurpassed knowledge and understanding of toys and the toy world. Sue was later involved, with Mike, in setting up the Modellers World shop in 1983 at Eton Wick. Here they sold, bought and exchanged old models, sold modern ones and established the Mikansue white metal model kit range. And following the launch of Model Collector in 1987, the Richardsons were among the first to contribute articles. Another keen interest for Sue was her love of Tri-ang products, particularly the Minic tinplate toys and this resulted in her writing one of her first books. Minic-Lines Bros Tinplate Vehicles was published in 1981 and provided the first real history on these toys. Not content with this she, with Mike, embarked on the ultimate project: Dinky Toys and Modelled Miniatures, part of the Hornby Companion Series published by New Cavendish that same year [1981). And in 1997, Sue's book Diecast Aircraft would cover almost the whole history of flying in die-cast models and toys With her wealth of knowledge, Sue also advised on the authenticity of toys and models and consequently she and Mike were involved in a further work: Christies' World of Automotive Toys, published in 1998. A follow up book on Dinky Toys came in 2000: in the intervening years since the first Dinky book had appeared, a huge amount of new material had come to light and had been collected by Sue, who was keen to record this in The Great Book of Dinky. In 2001, Sue played a major role in putting on an exhibition entitled Motoring thru' Childhood at The National Motor Museum, Beaulieu. The display was based on a collection of toys from Ian Cummins to be auctioned by Christies and this was augmented by models loaned from other collectors, with Sue being involved in the cataloguing. To relax, Sue loved to travel to all four corners of the earth. On these trips Sue would obtain an insight to the country and its peoples, indulge her interest in photography and often find the odd toy for the collection. Throughout this time Sue had a number of illnesses but was philosophical as to how things would turn out. These health problems led the couple to seek a warmer climate, and they relocated to the Loire region of France, where they lived idyllically until Sue tragically lost her battle with cancer this February. Our sincere condolences go out to Sue's husband Mike and her son Gary and his family. Sue will be fondly remembered and sadly missed by all those who knew her. And for her painstaking and relentless research, her knowledge and expertise, the hobby in general remains forever indebted to her.

Here’s a really hot tip for you… We’ve learnt that Hot Wheels has recalled the entire run of one of its Le Mans models as they’ve finished it in the wrong colour. The Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta SWB (Short Wheel Base) car driven at Le Mans in 1969 by Tavano, carrying race number 16, should be blue, not red. Hot Wheels has already alerted its production team and a new run is to be manufactured. Distributors and retailers have been notified and asked not to send out or sell any of the models (bearing reference number P9961) supplied in this colour. If you should be lucky enough to come across a model that has slipped through the net, make sure you hang on to it, because it’s bound to become extremely collectable and can surely only go up in value.

PEEL APPEAL

The world’s smallest production car, the Peel P.50, went on display at the London Toyfair in January, in the hope of finding a manufacturer interested in modelling it. A consignment of these little cars, produced by Peel Engineering Ltd in the Isle of Man, has just been delivered to the Ripleys Believe it or not’ chain of museums. Ripleys has ordered the cars for use in 74 of its attractions in 13 different countries, and is now hoping a model manufacturer will come forward and scale the little car down even further, so that the initial run of models produced can be sold in its museum gift shops. Any takers? Watch this space…

MORRIS MOSQUITO

Classic British car collectors, particularly Morris Minor fans, will be interested to see these two 1:43 scale handbuilt renditions of the Morris Mosquito (the Mosquito was the codename given to the prototype, prior to its launch in 1948). These are produced to order in resin by South African model maker Mike Serrurier and are priced at £35 each (including p&p).