Trax Models are doing a series of models of Australian cars, and the latest is the Series II Austin Lancer.

It comes in two sets of colours and the scale is 1:43 - the same size as most Dinky Toys and Corgis and made in resin, rather than cast metal.

The car used as a model was Jeff Pyle’s English Grey and Cherry Red car - it was photographed and measured from all angles and the result is pretty good. It will be available in May or June of this year.

Similar cars from our club which have been used to model the model, so to speak, have been Merv and Margaret Thompson’s Freeway Wagon and my Morris Major Elite and Leyland Mini 1275 LS. When asked what was the most popular colour for the Elite, the obvious reply was two-tone green.

Other Austins that were available from Trax include the A40 Tourer, Austin Freeway sedan, Austin Kimberley and Austin 1800 Ute. The Ute used as a model was Russell Houghton's from the Sunshine Coast. His bright red ute was often seen at swap meets and one or two Brish Car Club Days.

They’re not cheap at over $100, but they are pretty accurate. These images are taken from their newsletters and they are of the prototype stage, so there are still adjustments to be made.

I got involved because I felt the Kimberley wasn’t quite right, so they took me on to give advice on colours and originality. I’m no expert, but I often hear the howls of protest from Holden, Ford and Chrysler owners when they get the details or colours wrong. For example, the green 1800 ute never came in two colours, and never in that shade of green. Trax are getting the colours right at last and it is good that Australian Austins (and Morris and Wolseley) are getting recognised. I’m not sure what their next models will be after the Series II Lancer - probably the equivalent Morris Major, and hopefully the Series 1 Lancers and Majors. The Leyland P76 was the first one they did, with it being available in a variety of colours, including the Targa Florio and Evan Green’s London to Munich World Cup Rally car. It is said that Trax made a loss on the P76, as there wasn’t enough demand, so they sold them in batches of three. I couldn’t help myself, and bought a few sets (they were in metal and were about $30 each). Now worth much more than that, and I recently saw a Freeway Sedan in white and red sell on eBay for $160 - not a bad investment for $95!

When the Austin Maxi model was made available in the UK, I was lucky enough that it came in a limited number of colours, including Harvest Gold, so who am I not to add one to the green Elite and Silver Mini!