NEW STUFF
from GERMANY
continued... The last two diecast that Harry sent me are both Siku. One is new, the other is old, and it isn't even a Toyota! SIKU Siku - not really a name I'd associate with Japanese cars. Siku is a German company that has been making toys since 1950, and has had a dedicated line of car models since 1955. Siku's current range includes a nice selection of German cars, emergency vehicles and farm machinery. At the moment, Siku offers two Toyota models, a RAV4 and a Land Cruiser. The RAV4 comes in several emergency vehicles versions as well as a road car; the Land Cruiser is just offered as a road car so far. I received the RAV4 assortment from Harry a couple of months ago. While trying to do some research on Siku, I found some reference to a Toyota 2000GT which was made in the early 1970's. Unfortunately Siku doesn't label their vehicles with a scale size, however, according to Wikipedia the current range of vehicles, designated as Super Series, is roughly 1:55. I really like the quality of the Siku cars and hope they will bring out more Toyotas in the future.
For more information on Siku, please visit the following sites:
Remco Natrop's Siku Super Site
Marcel Lenting's SikuModels.com
SIKU
1440 TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 
SIKU 3112
MERCEDES BENZ 320PS with AUTO TRANSPORTER TRAILER
(MODEL 2232 AND 3112) Made in Germany 
Yes, it's true, this model doesn't really fit into these pages as it is not a Toyota, Lexus or even a Scion. However, it is a very important model to me, and means a lot for several reasons, so please bear with me while I take a short break from being Toyotageek. This Siku transporter is the result of a Random Act Of Kindness - or what we diecast collectors call a RAOK. Harry sent me this car transporter because he knew I was looking for one to add to my collection... I had seen pictures of a similar model posted on the Tomica Fan Club forums (one of the members that goes by the nickname theArchitect was sharing pictures of his vast collection. The Architect takes nice photos, often as diorama scenes with other cars and assorted background pieces, especially Tomica playsets). I had mentioned I'd like to get a similar transporter one day, and even though that was months ago, Harry must have picked up on that comment and had me in the back of his mind ever since. So, when I received the package of minicars from Harry, I was surprised to find a transporter as part of the treasure. At first I thought Harry just picked up this model at a second-hand shop or something-to-that-order, but then Harry told me this was actually his old toy. The last time Harry saw this model was over 20 years ago. For the past 20 years it was packed away in a big crate in the family attic. It was while Harry was looking for some other things that he found this old friend. Harry had read about my interest in an 'old skool' transporter, and he decided to share his old friend with me. As Harry put it, "...at yours, he was in best hands." It is the fact that this little metal toy truck, once belonged to my friend, combined with the fact that I am originally from Germany (my family moved to the US many, many years ago when I was only 3 years old), has made this a very meaningful model in my collection. After I received this neat little truck from Harry I posted about it on another forum, where there was a discussion about car carriers. At that point in time I knew even less about the model (and Siku) than I do now. There were several replies to my posting including one that said "...it must have been a good friend to send me a transporter with the scarce triple siku wheels". I had no idea what he meant by that, and then another member shared some more information regarding this model... "This is the first color variation of this model, these wheels were only in use from approx. 1976 until 1978. The artic trailer was also used with the previous model (Magirus) in the so called v-series. With the change from the 1/60 scale to the 1/55 in the 70's the cab changes from Magirus to Mercedes NG. The artic trailer is (with a slight modification on the upper deck to allow higher cabs) still in use today as #3112 in combination with a MAN TGA cab. so it is the longest produced siku model ever. It survived a more modern car transporter from siku which was issued in the 80's and is already out of production now. Later versions do not have the two hydraulic cylinders for the upper car deck." Some more information can be found at the SikuModels.com database    
For more history on Siku, check out this three part series by Remco Natrop: A History of Siku Model Cars - Part I: Plastic Perfection
A History of Siku Cars - Part II: Siku Goes Metal
A History of Siku Model Cars Part III: Metal all the way! I'd like to once again thank Harry, aka Cruiser72, for all the fine minicars he sent me! Visit Harry's website at Japan-Miniatur-Classics. 
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