Riley Cars
Riley Cars
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Riley car diecast models
 
Stricktly speaking not all are "diecast" some are tinplate some are plastic or other material.
 
I own some of these models, the rest are available on line.
 
For more detail on models look here Wikipedia
 

 
Autosculpt make 2 x Riley, the RM and Elf :-

 
 
Bachmann make scale models to complement their railway models, shown is a Pathfinder.
 




Base toys make this 1-76 scale Pathfinder in different colours and as a police car.

  

 

 
A poor model from the 1950/60'
 
 
 
 

 
 Brooklin Models incorporating Landsdowne models do several models :-
1957 1.5 and a 1958 1.5 Manchester police car under "International Police cars"
 
 
1935 Adelphi LDM91, 1937 1.5 Continental saloon LMD74 and the 1958 2.6 saloon model number LDM72 sold by both Brooklin and Landsdowne.
 
  
  

 
 
Crossway model cars  make a range of interesting RM's , the 1st shown is custom 2 tone blue, the 2nd RMB is a copy of a car in the Heritage motor museum at Gaydon, the 3rd a standard RMB, the 4th a Portsmouth City Police car, the 5th RMB 1951 registration plate TML255 was driven by Tom Dargue in the 1951 Monte Carlo Rally but had to withdraw due to suspension damage in Paris. 
 
      
 
  
 
Above - 4/72 in 2 tone green, 4/68 in florentine blue/white and damask red/cream.
 
 

 Danebury mint - It appears they do not make model cars anymore.  Around 1980 they made a set of 12 cars "The classic British motor car collection" this 1929 Brooklands was amongst them, it came unpainted with a certificate and information leaflet, they are available hand painted by owners occasionally on ebay.
 
 
   
 
Below - with a diy paint job
 
 
 

 

 
D.G. Models - 3 models available from here under the banner D.S (Dinky style), 34 Kestrel, 33 Lynx and a 32 Monaco.
To go directly to the Riley page click here - http://www.autocraft.plus.com/page9.html
 
 
 

 
Dinky and Corgi - this website covers all sorts about these 2 marques, look for the "History" page.
 
Corgi made the RMF Pathfinder - shown below are 2 x police cars with different boxes, a repainted white police car,a restored one in red and a blue one with box.
 

 
 
 
Dinkey made the RM and called it the 40A or 158 -
 
 
 
   
 

 
Gems and Cobwebs based in Redruth, Cornwall but no website.
 
This is the familiar RMH Pathfinder police car and a standard Pathfinder.
 
 
 

John Day Models John day models RMD model number SRV03 unpainted as sold and a painted version.
 
 
 
Unpainted RMA -
 
 
 

 
 Landsdown - see Brooklin model above
 

 
Matchbox made 2 x 1934 MPH at different times - one red one blue.
 
 
 
Below - the same MPH available in kit form and one mounted on an ashtray.
 

 
 

 
 Matrix  A Dutch company make a very detailed range of models, you may have to click on the Union Jack to see the English version of their website.
 
The only Riley, a 1952 RME shown here.
 
 
 
 
 

Mercator, more famous it seems for model boats, no website that I could find, advertised as a Riley special, looks a bit like an E.R.A to me.
 
 
 

Midlantic models - 1950 RMC Le Mans, website here, limited information though -  https://www.illustramodels.com/midlantic-models/#Other%20Makes .
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
Mikansue sounds like a Japanese company but in fact the name came from the founders Mike and Sue Richardson (Mik an sue) , for more information look here -   http://www.1-43.net/category/mikansue/ 
From that website it appears that they made several white metal Riley kits, a 1964 1.5, a 1934 Monaco, a 1930 Brooklands and a 1954 RME.
 

 
 

 
 
 

 
Milestone Minatures based in Redruth, Cornwall but no website.
 
1954 RMH Pathfinder
 
 
 
 
 

 
Minimarque - found this interesting post on Diecast.org dated December 2009 from Graham Price :-
 
Some of you may have wondered over the years 'what happened to the other models that Minimarque 43 (by the late Richard Briggs) used to produce?'. Well I can reassure those collectors out there that those models i.e. Auburn Cord Duesenbergs etc are slowly coming back into production after a long absence. The models will be manufactured by the original builder (myself) and will be clearly marked on the box as Minimarque 43 by GTA Models. Many of you will not have heard of me before, but some of the earliest work carried out by me was in 1982 for MM43 with the release of MM43's 1955 Chevrolet. Since then I have been a sub contract manufacturer and processor for many well known names in the industry, Minimarque 43, Top Marques, Spacroft, Pathfinder, Crossway, Kenna to name but a few.
 
Shown below are 1947 RMA, 2 tone RMB, 1948 RMB in grey, 1948 RMB in yellow,
 
      
 
RMC in black, 1949 RMC in silver grey, 1948 RMD in blue and 1948 RMD in green.
 
    
 

Mini Replicas - 1935 Kestrel kit
 

 
 

 

Misc. - not sure of manufacturer of these.

 
  
 
Green/black RM and 1934 Monaco red/cream
 
 
 
Above - unknown manufacturer, made from plastic, the "starting handle" winds an elastic band which drives the rear wheels when released.
 
 
Above - Riley engined 1937 ERA model, maker unknown, picture from the archive of the Science museum  Riley items at the Science museum 
 
 

Motorkits - 1937 Sprite, no information or website that I could find. On the right an assembled and painted model, pictures kindly supplied by Peter Morrell.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Oxford Diecast 1:76 and 1:72 scale Kestrel 12/4 in a mixture of colours.
 
    
 
 
 

 
 Pathfinder models who I understand have ceased production made a 1958 Riley 1.5 in 2 colours as below.
 
 
 

 
Penguin
 
Frog (models) made these wind up cars under the Penguin brand  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog_(models) 
 
A 1950's plastic RM 11.5 cm long   
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
RP models made this but could not find a web site, oo scale I think.

 
 
 

 
Scale Link sell 3 self assembly kits
  
1928 Brooklands shown assembled and as as a kit, a Monaco kit with picture of how it could look and a kit by South Eastern Finecast that can be either an Imp or a MPH depending on which pieces you use.
 
    
 
 

 
Made in China these Siam Di Tella models are replicas of the ones manufactured in Argentina, for more information look here  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siam_Di_Tella 
 
 
 
1/43 scale 1960 4/68
 
Taxi from same era  
 
 
 
 

 
 
Silas Models  http://www.silasmodels.com/index.php?lang=en make  a limited edition Riley 4/72 in 3 colours, I have shown the Iris blue/Old English white here :-
 
 
 
 
 

 
Somerville Models -  http://www.somervillemodels.co.uk/ now owned by Promod
 
Made in 1990 a 1937 Kestrel reg KPM212   
 
Somerville Kestrel in kit form -
 
 

 
Summer toys, Hong Kong, plastic pull back friction toys, not anything like the real thing though!
 

 
 

 
Top Marques based in Redruth, Cornwall but no website.
 
1947 RMD in 2 colours.
 
  
 

 
 Triang / Minic clockwork plastic RM
 
  
 

 
 
The bodywork is plastic about 5" in length. The clockwork mechanism is located high in plastic body, when wound up the car has a front bumper which, when colliding with a solid surface ahead (i.e. your skirting board!) retracts, pushes a similar bumper out of the rear of the car. It then automatically reverses! If it then strikes another solid surface from behind, out goes the front bumper and off it goes forward again! (The rear wheel assembly actually slides back and forth during this action!) Clever clockwork design. I wonder who thought that up? 
 

Varney Transport Replicas - catalogue and Riley Kestrel kit
 
   
 
 
 

 
 Vitesse made Kestrels and Elfs.
 
  
 
 

 
Scratch-built Riley Brooklands.
 
A 1:8 scale model of a Riley Brooklands,
scratch-built model by B G Swann and signed
 to the underside, metal construction, finished
 in green livery, with detailing to cockpit,
 rolling wheels with solid rubber tyres,
measuring 55cm long.
 

 

 
Non Riley
 
Here is my first "car", by Autosculpt - a Ford Anglia van, mine was dark green, paid £25 for it but when cleaning it found half a crown under the seat so only cost me £24.17.6d, did 60,000 miles in it before it eventually rusted out and got £3 for it as scrap.
 
 
 

 
When I joined the GPO as a telephone engineer in 1971 I used to drive a Morris Minor like this, had several over the years, usually hand me downs from other people, they were all regulated on speed except the last one which used to belong to the motor workshop so they had taken the regulator off, it was about the time we changed colour to yellow so that one was green on the inside and yellow on the outside.
 
 
 

 
 
Eventually I had my first new van, a Bedford HA, like the Morris it was regulated on speed, it was a nice drive though, stopped on a sixpence and turned almost in it's own length, with big windows and mirrors it was a dream to reverse park, could get it in any space 6" longer than the van.  Only had it a week when someone drove into the back of me so had a dent in it all it's life.
 
 
 
 


 
My next van was a Morris Maestro, unlike the others it was not regulated and had a radio! unfortunately it did not stop in the wet, it just went into a skid so it did not take me long to brake one wet day and drive into the back of someone, no injuries though just a couple of bent bumpers. It was at the time the vans changed to grey so as you can guess mine ended up yellow inside and grey outside.
 
 

 
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