Brian Harvey
Designer
Brian Harvey is one of the cornerstones of the white metal industry. Grand Prix Models have for many years been the model world's best known model car specialists, but few realize that they were one of the industry's pioneers.
Harvey, the company’s co-founder believes that they were the first specialist model racing car shop in Europe. He and his wife Rachael first opened the doors of what was then a shop, in Hertfordshire's pretty Radlett village in 1972.
Subject ID: 82812
MoreBrian Harvey is one of the cornerstones of the white metal industry. Grand Prix Models have for many years been the model world's best known model car specialists, but few realize that they were one of the industry's pioneers.
Harvey, the company’s co-founder believes that they were the first specialist model racing car shop in Europe. He and his wife Rachael first opened the doors of what was then a shop, in Hertfordshire's pretty Radlett village in 1972.
It all began when Brian decided to take a year off from motoring journalism, where he was Managing Editor of Cars and Car Conversions magazine. He had been building plastic kits for review and came to the conclusion that no one was offering selected high quality scale models of great cars direct to motoring enthusiasts. At the time he and Rachael were both racing a wide range of British club racing cars such as Lotus Cortina, Unipower GT, Ginetta G12 Lotus, Allard Ford, works Hillman Imp etc
Through attending continental toy fairs and swapmeets, he found models made by makers such as RAMI and Dugu, not imported into the UK, and would bring them back to the UK. These were at first sold from home alongside the plastic kits and when this business was sufficiently strong it was moved to the Radlett premises.
They had found that within that scene, fellow race drivers were unaware of good scale models. The Radlett premises were intended as a dual-purpose business, starting a motoring magazine from the rear and selling model cars from the front. From day one they were inundated with enthusiasts looking for just the kind of models they had located. From there on it was self generating but driven by their own enthusiasm to scour the world and find the best new models. At first they had to deal in ready made diecast models as there was little else. Then the first specialist metal kits came along and they began to offer models of Jaguar C and D types.
The range of models on offer was enlarged to include the likes of Airfix, Revell kits and obsolete Dinky Toys, Corgi Toys, and Matchbox. Auto Replicas, Dave Gilbert, John Day and Western Models, soon followed and then Brian began his own range of GPM classics.
Brian felt it was a means to an end as they wanted to encourage others to make obscure subjects like the J2 Allard Cadillac Le Mans, famous rally cars like those of Roger Clark, the Brooklands Chitty Bang Bang and the first Corvette - but at first other makers were reluctant. Soon however, many others followed their lead and from those small beginnings emerged the industry we know today. However, there was still nobody making many of the models they felt needed to be made. From that conclusion it was only a short step for GPM, as it became known, to start producing its own models.
Brian’s first model car kits in white metal were marketed as the Classic Car range, were 1:43 scale and launched in 1974. They were manufactured for GPM by John Day Models.
Two years later, Brian bought his own casting and moulding machinery and began releasing kits created by a team of pattern makers including Richard Stokes, Ken Whetton, Bob Hine and Reg Bishop. This development resulted in the release that year of a series of modern racing cars models under the title "Serie 76". This subsequently became "Serie 77" and so on for some years.
Come 1977 Grand Prix Models began releasing a series of hand built models under the range name "Classic 43" made for them initially by Brooklin Models and then Western Models but from their own masters crafted by Richard Stokes.
With the rise in the prices of the very early Dinky Toys, there was an emerging market for copies. A number of people in the trade moved into this field, and in 1978, Brian was particularly horrified by the very high prices being demanded for first series Modelled Miniatures. So he responded with a new series of models, replicas of those early Dinky Toys, called Buccaneer Models to replicate both old Dinky Toys and Tootsietoys. These were sold as both kits and hand built models. The master patterns were created by Colin Flannery.
Grand Prix Models have always majored on sports and racing cars, and with the increasing values of the original series of Solido models, another market opportunity opened up. So it was that in 1979 Grand Prix Models launched another new series, entitled Dannini Modelli using old Solido and Spot On range models as patterns.
Increasing links with European producers, through selling their ranges, led in 1980 to GPM releasing their kit of the MG Metro rally car in resin made for them by Starter of Marseille with metal parts produced by Grand Prix Models.
Around 1982, the overall white metal and handbuilt market had changed somewhat, and Brian made the decision to cease manufacture of models in order to concentrate on importing and exporting from all over the world. The manufacturing legacy left by Grand Prix Models amounted to around 230 models being released by them, having been made by or for the Grand Prix Models label.
An interesting anecdote came our way, that in an Autosport magazine, in the 1960s/70s, innovative Castrol adverts began appearing, displaying a sheet of Castrol notepaper. This was crumpled and at an angle, with the word Castrol crossed out, and giving the impression of being typed on an old typewriter, complete with manual crossings out. They were different in each issue, but always appearing written as a letter, to “Dear Auntie Flo” and signed off from “your loving nephew Edgar” Occasionally the text would refer to “us Jessops”
Our informant, Paul Crowther, subscribed to Four Small Wheels, the GPM in-house magazine, and noticed that Edgar Jessop was the editor. Later Brian was heard to relate a story of when he was at an Isle of Man TT Motor Cycle event, talking with a number of friends. They were at the bar, and getting irritated by a lady journalist from the USA, working for Harpers Bazaar, who said she was “looking for some human interest”
Pointing out a shabbily dressed man in plimsolls, who in fact was Dunlop’s motor cycle tyre expert, they told her this man was Edgar Jessop, and recounted a heroic story of how he had won a motor cycle race, after his footrests had both sheared off, which was why he had to wear plimsolls. However, she was warned not to approach him as he was very sensitive about the whole affair! In due course the story was published in full in Harpers Bazaar! The myth of Edgar Jessop was alive and well.
Today GPM goes has gone from strength to strength. The same basic principles drive the services they provide, a desire to provide enthusiasts with the very best in accurate scale modelling and to spread the word that good models are being made.
GPM now stocks every worthwhile 1:43, 1:20 and 1:24 model range and produce their own successful model car magazine, Four Small Wheels, which operates as a rolling catalogue, as the industry changes at such an alarming rate that any comprehensive 'catalogue' would be out of date before it was even published. Therefore, the GPM website and the magazine are all that collectors need to keep up to date with all the recent developments and releases within the industry.
Ever popular are collections of cars driven by the likes of Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Nigel Mansell. GPM holds a database with a search facility to enable collectors to develop their own themes.
In the early 1990s GPM had outgrown the original Radlett shop and moved to new premises in St. Albans, remaining there for 15 years or so. In the past few years there have been a lot of changes to the market, with a significant increase in the number of higher volume diecast models produced in the far east. The quality of these has also improved drastically and the embracing of resin casting technology, most notably by Spark, means that they are able to produce runs of a few hundred rather than the thousands of examples needed to make a traditional steel diecasting pattern viable. GPM have also noticed a drop off in the number of kit manufacturers as many of the pioneers in the field have retired. Those kit manufacturers still active are, for the most part, enjoying good sales with single seater racing cars of the 1960s, 70s & 80s remaining particularly popular. GPM have also seen an increase in higher quality large scale resin and metal kits and also transkits to convert plastic kits into alternative race versions.
Sadly Brian Harvey passed away in 2020 at aged 87. (MAR Online, https://www.maronline.org.uk/obituary-brian-harvey/)
Subject ID: 82812
Subject ID: 82812
