State of the collection one year on, and a wish list

When I started my collection of 1:24 Bugatti models back in November last year, I thought I'd easily be able to get at least half a dozen models, possibly up to around ten or so. Now, a year later, the collection stands at 20 models. In rough 'date of production' order, these are a Type 35, the Type 41 Royale 'Coupé Napoleon', the Type 41 Royale 'Esders Roadster', a Type 50, a 'Baby', a Type 55, a Type 57 Atalante, a Type 57 Atlantic, a replica Type 55, an EB110, a Veyron, the 'Mirror' Veyron, the Vision GT, the Atlantic, a Chiron, the Chiron '42 seconds', a Chiron Sport, a Divo, La Voiture Noire, and a Bolide.

As I write this blog post, I am not aware of any other 1:24 diecast models of Bugatti cars currently on the market, whether classic or modern. That doesn't mean they don't exist, of course, but I've not come across them during the last year. 

Of course, I'd be very happy to add more models to the collection; here's a bit of a wish list ...

First of all, in terms of different versions of models which are already part of the collection, a further few Type 41 Royales, especially the 'Berline de Voyage' and 'Weinberger':

And then, on the modern site, I'd like to add an EB110 SS, a Veyron Grand Sport and a Chiron Super Sport:

                                       

Which brings me to my further wish list: classic Bugatti models which, as far as I'm aware, have never been on the market in 1:24 diecast form, but which I would very much like to add to the collection. I can dream!

First of all, the Type 10 'Petit Pur Sang'. 

Would be really nice to be able to add a model of the first official Bugatti to the collection, wouldn't it?

Next there are a pair of early Bugattis I'd like to have models of: Type 13 'Brescia' and Type 18 'Black Bess'

Currently, the oldest car in my collection is a Type 35, so a few clearly older models would be nice.

Guess the same goes for a Type 15.

Especially because I have actually seen this very car for real!

Moving to racing cars, I really do want at least one more classic racing car in the collection. A Type 32 Tank would really stand out. Not because of the beauty of their lines, though ...

And I'd welcome a Type 57 Tank; it sure has better lines!

A Type 59/50 would definitely add something to the collection as well.

Or a Type 251, often regarded as the last original Bugatti.

Changing gears (pun intended), what about this Type 50 with a Saoutchik body?

Totally different from a classic Type 50!

Another Bugatti that got a completely different body is the final chassis of the Type 101. I've always really liked this Ghia-designed Exner roadster body, but I guess it's not to everyone's taste.

Would Ettore Bugatti have liked or loathed it? We'll never know ...

Moving on to modern Bugattis. With all the modern Bugattis in my collection basically being super/hypercars (what's the difference?), adding a different type of car would be very nice. 

This EB112 concept car of a sedan never made it to reality.

And, similarly, this concept of a 4-door saloon, the Bugatti Galibier, never got beyond the concept stage; as far as I'm aware, plans for this car have been put in the fridge, but who knows what the future will bring?

Talking existing modern hypercars missing from my collection, the Centodieci was designed as a homage to the EB110. 

The Mistral could be the only modern roadster in the collection ...

And then, of course, the Tourbillon, the long-awaited successor to the Chiron, which was unveiled in June.

I came across this picture on the internet: a Bugatti F1 car. Despite their success in Grand Prix racing in especially the 1920s, Bugatti only participated in Formula 1 once, in 1956, and not with great success. I am not aware they have any plans to re-enter F1 (and why would they?), so I reckon this picture is merely the result of clever photoshopping ...

Real or not, a unique addition to the collection it would surely be. 

And what about Jean Bugatti's 1937 design for a car to break the Land Speed Record?

It never got off the drawing board, unfortunately ...

Let's briefly talk about Bugattis that aren't cars .... First of all, the Model 100P air racer, which never actually flew in Ettore's days (a replica did fly ... and crash, killing the pilot).

Models of this Bugatti plane at 1:24 scale do exist, but I've only seen them as resin kits, not as diecast models. And even these are far from cheap (think $100-200+).

Bugatti also designed and created a small number of speedboats, called 'Niniette'.

There is now a plan for a Bugatti luxury yacht, the Niniette 66: 

Clearly, the design is very Chiron-esque! Never seen a 1:24 model of either a classic Niniette or a Niniette 66, though ... 

Finally, staying with non-car Bugattis: a Bugatti-powered rail car

Models do exist, but I've not seen a 1:24 one anywhere ...

Back to Bugatti cars, I'd of course happily add any model I don't yet have to the collection, whether it's on my wish list or not (and in a year's time, my wish list may well be different). Realistically speaking the only cars I can actually see coming on the market as a 1:24 diecast model are the Centodieci, the Mistral and the Tourbillon. So I will definitely keep my eyes open for those ones. And if I stumble across a 1:24 resin kit of a Bugatti model I don't yet have in the collection, I may well relax the 'diecast-only rule' ...

Chiron Sport

The Chiron came in different versions, so getting a model of a version different from the Chiron model I already have doesn't violate my 'no multiple colour schemes of the same model' rule. 

One of these different versions of the Chiron is the Chiron Sport.

Whereas almost all of the 1:24 Chiron models I see on eBay are just listed as 'Chiron', I did stumble across a listing of a 'Chiron Sport', for just £10 (plus p&p).

Of course, most of the technical details in which the Chiron Sport differs from the Chiron aren't visible in the model, but there is one visible difference between the two models: the shape of the exhaust pipes is different. So it can really be added to the collection as a different model!

Bolide

The Bolide is a Bugatti model designed and created purely for the race track. Only 40 will be built.

I got my 1:24 Bolide model for £17.99 (plus p&p) from Wonderland Models.

The (scissor) doors open in this model, but nothing else.

#19 in the collection!

And, of course, Supercar Blondie got access to one of the 40 Bolides.

'Baby' Bugatti

The 'Baby' Bugatti is a half-size Type 35. It's sometimes referred to as 'Type 52', though that doesn't appear to be an official factory designation.

The 'Baby' has an electric motor and was created by Ettore for his five year old son Roland. It created a bit of a stir and was then taken into production for children. Several hundred were produced.

The job lot in which my Type 35 model came included several much smaller Type 35 models. The scale of these was not specifically mentioned anywhere on the models, but it turned out they're almost exactly half the size of my 1:24 Type 35 model ... You see where this is going?

So here it is, a 'Baby' Bugatti!

And here is the 'Baby' with its parent.

Sure, this is not specifically a 1:24 scale model of a 'Baby', but it's very similar, if not identical to what it would look like if it was produced (note the lack of a crank handle, which the 'Baby' also didn't have!). And that's good enough for my collection!

And the picture that just had to be taken: the 'Baby' next to the Type 41 Royale Coupe Napoleon!

Chiron '42 seconds'

When I started this collection, I set myself a limit of not collecting different colour schemes of the same model. Now I have a Chiron in my collection, so no further Chirons, right? But when a model of the '42 seconds' Chiron popped up on eBay, I felt this unique Chiron was different enough ...

The '42 seconds' Chiron, driven by Colombian racing driver Juan Pablo Montoya, set a world record of going from 0 km/h to 400 km/h and back to 0 km/h in 42 seconds. Here is the actual car (note the number 42 on the grill!):

... and here is my 1:24 model from Maisto, off eBay for only £12.

'Zero-400-zero' is shown on the windshield and '42 Seconds' on the side of the car.

Different enough for me to add to the collection: #17.

And here is a video of the word record being set.