While the RS2000 was available in various striking colours that complemented its sporting character, very few were finished in Tuscan Beige, an unpopular shade offered for just one year from August 1978.

This particular example, affectionately nicknamed ‘Werthers’ due to its distinctive toffee hue, features an even rarer chocolate interior. Originally purchased from racer Vince Woodman’s RS dealership, VMW Motors in South Gloucestershire on May 26th, 1979, the car covered 1,818 miles in its first month. By 2004, it had spent 24 years with its second owner, Alan Reynolds, accumulating just 54,000 miles.

Buckinghamshire enthusiast Ian Parker acquired the rust-free example in 2004 after an extensive year-long search. His ambitious goal was to create the world’s finest restored RS2000 to Ford’s ‘Group 1’ dealer accessory specification. Over two years of painstaking work, he exceeded his aim through phenomenal determination and meticulous attention to detail. 

The finished car became an icon of the RS2000 scene and a multiple concours winner, widely regarded as the finest restored example in existence. Current owner Aled Hopwood from North Wales purchased this remarkable machine on August 1st, 2022 and continues to showcase its exceptional restoration at events.

VA14911

Collect Shaun the Sheep, Bitzer the Sheepdog, and Timmy the Lamb, each riding their own brightly coloured quadbikes, ready for adventure.

Life’s a treat with Shaun the Sheep!

Bitzer the Sheepdog

Bitzer is the farmer’s faithful sheepdog and a good friend to Shaun. His job is to manage the flock, but he also likes to join in with the fun – as long as the farmer doesn’t find out. He has a tolerant attitude to the sheep’s antics but is ready to step in if things get seriously out of hand.

Keep those wayward sheep in line by adding this charming Bitzer the Sheepdog die-cast quadbike to your toy collection.

CC81003

Collect Shaun the Sheep, Bitzer the Sheepdog, and Timmy the Lamb, each riding their own brightly coloured quadbikes, ready for adventure.

Life’s a treat with Shaun the Sheep!

Timmy the Lamb

Timmy is the toddler in the flock. He is an adorable character, usually with a yellow dummy in his mouth and carrying an orange teddy bear. Not as innocent as he looks, he has an alarming propensity for getting into dangerous situations. As a result, Timmy’s mum is often close by!

Perfectly displaying his cheeky personality, this Timmy the Lamb toy vehicle is a must-have addition to any Shaun the Sheep toy collection.

CC81002

She also ordered the GT and XLR option packs, the second of which included the matt black bonnet, spot lamps and Rostyle wheels. The lady obviously loved the car and its characterful 1599cc Kent Crossflow, a power unit shared with contemporary Escort Mexicos, as she kept it until 1993. After the first owner sold it, the car was resprayed Ford Pacific blue, then traded into London-based Curry Motors, in 1998.

The current and fourth owner, Berkshire-based Capri enthusiast Nick Campbell, spotted it advertised in High Wycombe as a restoration project in 2004. He paid £400 for it that day because his first Capri had been in this specification. Family commitments delayed the restoration until 2009, but by then he’d acquired the parts and the space needed. 

He stripped the bodyshell and was pleased to find it needed comparatively little metalwork. Over the next six years, he totally restored the car to its original colour and specification, making some subtle improvements to the brakes and suspension as he was rebuilding it, and had it painted to a high standard. 

It was returned to the road in 2016 and featured in Retro Ford magazine in 2017.

We’re recreated this restored car in 1:43 die-cast metal, making it an elite addition to your Vanguards collection.

VA13320

Like all 16V GTE’s, it featured GM’s futuristic Liquid Crystal Display dashboard so drivers could see the revs rapidly rising on the car’s magnificent 2-litre DOHC 16-valve ‘red top’ engine, a characterful rev-hungry unit that gave the GTE its appealingly raucous demeanour. 

It went on to owners based in Kent, Dorset, County Durham, and Bedfordshire, before being purchased by Bedfordshire-based enthusiast, Lee Proctor, a former Vauxhall employee and subsequent car bodyshop proprietor, in late March 2013.

The car had covered 125,000 miles and was complete, but in poor condition. It was bought by Lee as a restoration project, and he soon embarked on a three-year nut-and-bolt structural and mechanical rebuild to concours standard, in which he used as many new old-stock original parts as possible. 

He did most of the work himself, bringing the car back to original specification except for the fitting of an ‘Astra Champion’ leather interior, which he had retrimmed. Lee enjoyed driving and showing the finished car, but in November 2020 he sold it to fellow enthusiast and Mk2 Astra Owners Club member, Derbyshire-based Clive Emery. 

He has added some original equipment finishing touches and enjoys using it to attend classic car events.

Our die-cast model represents this car in its restored condition, making it a delightful addition to your Vanguards collection.

VA13209

This made it a bargain because the extra cost got the lucky buyers front-to-rear racing stripes, 17-inch black alloy wheels fitted with huge 33-inch tyres, red recovery hooks and jazzier interior trim. It shares the standard Raptor’s impressive 10-speed automatic transmission, towering 283mm ground clearance, and Fox Position Sensitive Damping (PSD).

The SE’s eye-catching design also included LED headlights, a matte black grille, and door handles. The integrated black sports hoop and lockable Mountain Top roller shutter allowed owners to secure goods in the load bay and added to its showroom appeal. 

Its off-road ability was very impressive, but it performed on tarmac too and was equipped with intelligent speed assistance, a lane-keeping aid, and a collision mitigation system. These features helped it to achieve the maximum five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. 

It had a payload rating of 620kgs, lower than the more workmanlike vehicles in the Ranger lineup, and as a result was not taxed as a commercial. It was, however, aimed at the leisure market where school-run street-cred trumps load capacity.

Our die-cast model brings this iconic vehicle to life in 1:43 scale – a wonderful addition to any Vanguards collection.

VA15205

It was offered for sale by classic car specialists Anglia Car Auctions on 6th November 2022, in a condition that made it obvious a restoration had been started but stalled, apparently because the restorer had lost their storage facilities. 

The auction advertising photographs showed the sills were badly corroded, but that the difficult-to-source black and grey Cadiz fabric upholstery, which was standard on the Cortina S, was present and in sound condition. It was bought by Joseph Monaghan, of Monaghans, Galway, Ireland, a family-run car dealership that has been in business for over 50 years. He purchased the Cortina as a Christmas present for his father, Joseph Senior, because, colour aside, it was the same specification as his first car.

Monaghans’ bodyshop team stripped the Cortina and found it to be badly corroded, so had to do a lot of metalwork before repainting it. The mechanics, however, dismantled the engine and are sure the 20,149 miles showing on the odometer is genuine, as the condition of the dirty but unworn interior had indicated. The newly restored Cortina has created a lot of interest in the company’s showroom and gives Joseph Senior a great deal of pleasure.

Own a perfect 1:43 scale replica of this classic car with this delightful die-cast model.

VA11919

The first owner was RAF Squadron Leader John Duncan Griffiths, who was then serving at RAF St Mawgan, Cornwall. He took delivery on 24th August 1967 and kept it until 25th August 1972. The current and third owner is Abingdon-based Graham Dix, an enthusiastic MGCC MGB Register member and volunteer. He had always wanted an MGB, having grown up in MG’s hometown, and purchased it in December 1979 while it was snowing heavily. 

Later inspection showed corrosion the inclement weather had hidden, but, as Graham says, “I bought her on sight because the shape and sound had won me over”. He used it for a couple of years before it failed its MOT, and then it stood in his parent’s garden before going into storage. He commenced a 10-year restoration in 1995, doing the welding, fabrication and machining himself. 

The finished car has appeared on the cover of the magazines ‘Classic and Sports Car’ and ‘Practical Classics’, and is now a 1:43 scale die-cast model too, so you can own a highly detailed replica.

VA10713

He covered 72,000 miles before taking this car off the road and, eventually, both Escorts were purchased by a local 15-year-old enthusiast for £25 each. In 2013, he sold the blue example to Berkshire-based Ford enthusiast Gary Cook, who stored it under a cover for several years. In January 2018, Gary’s close friends, Ford enthusiasts Maria and Kevin McDermid, purchased it for Maria’s 50th birthday.

It looked solid but, after stripping and blasting the bodyshell, they realised nearly every panel was perforated. Because Kevin already owns a modified Escort, they decided to restore this rare survivor to its original specification. Ford specialists, Bishop’s Bespoke Builds, rebuilt the bodyshell and it was painted in the original Marine Blue by Tony Littlejohn of Porsche specialists GTR Motorsports. The pair then reassembled it, refurbishing components, and scouring the world for rare trim parts. It was finished in August 2021 and featured in Classic Ford magazine in June 2022. 

Maria loves driving it to retro Ford events, where it is often the only unmodified car. 

And now this Ford Escort Mk1 1300 GT is immortalised in 1:43 scale die-cast model form.

VA09534

It had ten further owners before the current custodian, well known North Wales-based Ford enthusiast Aled Hopwood, purchased it on 7th June 1996. He wasn’t initially aware of its rarity but was captivated by it and has amassed a comprehensive history file containing all the previous MOTs and tax discs, plus a list of previous owners.

The car had covered 73,000 miles and was in excellent condition, and Aled enjoyed using it on several European tours, as well as the North Wales Snowdonia Tours and Lakes Tours. It was featured extensively in the book ‘Factory-Original Sporting Mk2 Escorts’, by Dan Williamson, with many detailed photographs of the car by Simon Clay being included in the RS2000 chapter. It has also appeared in Classic Ford Magazine. 

In the summer of 2021, Aled embarked on a nut-and-bolt restoration to as-new condition. He returned the underside to its original dove grey paint before having it fully resprayed, although all the original panels and Beta Cloth interior were retained. 

Aled proudly showed the finished car at the 2021 NEC Classic Motor Show.

VA14910