This
article is an extensión of this article published a while ago. Both that
Mercedes and this Ford Fiesta were built at almost the same time. Note that the
reference numbers are very similar, although this one seems to be slightly
newer.
Mira, as
many Spanish die-cast manufacturers had in its catalogue a great number of
ordinary cars, the same that one could see at the time in the streets. Ford
Fiesta was one of the most popular cars by the end of the seventies, and this
model probably sold very well.
As seen in
the pictures, the Ford Fiesta has a different wheel type than the Mercedes, it
seems that Mira changed wheels more or less when this model was released, since
most Ford Fiesta came with this two-pieced wheels model. The base is still made
on metal, and the axles are one piece with the base. This was a big problem for
the cars, that broke very easily.
Later
re-issues would come with plastic base and metallic axles. The wheel model used
in those re-issues is this second type.
Two different models of wheels used in Mira die-casts
Unfortunately, I forgot
to take a picture of the plastic box in which it was sold. It is made
of transparent thin and flexible plastic.
Note that
these cars are quiet playworn, this is quite common in Mira toys, It is very
rare to find perfect die-cast miniatures that are not MIB, or at least, rarer
than it is in other brands, like Matchbox or Guisval, just to name two.
UPDATE: The same model in green and great condition (almost mint):
FACTS AND FIGURES:
- Name: FORD FIESTA (R. 145)
- Scale: 1:64 (approx.)
- Year: Around 1978
- Company: Mira (Spain)
- Size: 6-7 cm
A Ford Fiesta! That is so cool, I need to find one of these to display with my Ford Pinto and volkswagen rabbit.
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for your message! Ford Fiesta was a very popular car those days, so many companies produced it (I´m referring to the original end-of-the-70s Fiesta). You can also look for Guisval or Guiloy models, each one with its pros and cons, but all of them beautiful. Are you a die-cast collector? or collect only cars with funny names?
DeleteBy the way, I checked your blog two weeks ago before my summer holidays, and found it very amusing. I wanted to check it more in detail to leave some comments and participate on it, as soon as I have the time.