Ged Fitzsimmons

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Ged Fitzsimmons ran a Sydney business in the 1980s called Twentieth Century Models, specialising in diecast metal model cars. Born in northern England, he was intrigued when old diecast model Australian Holden cars started to turn up. In fact, Micro Models had first produced toy Holdens around 1950. Having become one of the major Australian collectibles dealers, Ged listened to his customers closely, especially those wanting model Holden cars.

The only mass-produced diecast Holden available was the Matchbox HJ utility, along with some overseas General Motors clones like Vauxhalls and Opels. However, an older, highly sought after miniature Holden was the Dinky Toys 1962 EJ sedan. Ged was selling many Dinky Holdens and he began to think about manufacturing his own series of white metal Australian cars.

Subject ID: 82945

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Ged Fitzsimmons ran a Sydney business in the 1980s called Twentieth Century Models, specialising in diecast metal model cars. Born in northern England, he was intrigued when old diecast model Australian Holden cars started to turn up. In fact, Micro Models had first produced toy Holdens around 1950. Having become one of the major Australian collectibles dealers, Ged listened to his customers closely, especially those wanting model Holden cars.

The only mass-produced diecast Holden available was the Matchbox HJ utility, along with some overseas General Motors clones like Vauxhalls and Opels. However, an older, highly sought after miniature Holden was the Dinky Toys 1962 EJ sedan. Ged was selling many Dinky Holdens and he began to think about manufacturing his own series of white metal Australian cars.

In 1981, there had been a successful run of 200 white metal FJ Holden sedans, made exclusively for Pier van Netten’s Model Cars Of The World by Brooklin Models in England. The business like Dutchman had also acquired the rights for a failed diecast Streamlux 1958 FE Holden in 1:40 scale. Ged acquired several of these kits from Pier and they were fast sellers.

Ged’s immediate inspiration was an enigmatic Londoner named Mike Stack, the first person in Australia to create a series of 1:43 scale white-metal models. The earliest Dinkum Classics were an XK-Jaguar, a 1948 Holden sedan, and an MGB sports car. Mike’s products were first promoted by Model Cars Australia, run by the wealthy auto enthusiast Ian Cummins. Amongst the toys, bottles, weapons and paraphernalia in Ian’s shop, the Dinkum Classics debued, with the Holden being the fastest seller.

Impressed by Mike’s success, Ged abandoned his secure government job to manufacture model cars. Disregarding the silicon rubber techniques used by other white metal model manufacturers, he would cast his products in multi-piece resin moulds. He turned a wrecked Dinky Holden into the master pattern for the 1963 EH Holden, and then created a six-piece mould. Inside the garden shed stood Ged’s home made centrifugal casting machine, as described in his forthcoming book:

The basis of the machine was a wooden plank, bolted to a large fishing reel. At one end was a resin crucible, at the other end a counterbalancing weight. The crucible and the clamped-down mould, sitting on a separate pivoted piece of wood, were lined up so that molten metal would pour into the mould at the instant the machine began spinning.

Basically, he heated the metal, poured it into the crucible, pulled on a long rope that was wrapped around the fishing reel, and then ran like the clappers out of the shed, during which few micro-seconds the crucible and the mould swung into place. The hot metal then cooled, producing a perfect model car body. Well, that was the idea, but it was usually one hit and three misses. The castings were sometimes full of air bubbles, sometimes only half-formed.

On two occasions, when Ged hurtled out of the shed, the rope broke and he ended up spreadeagled on the concrete path. The first time this happened, he was unconscious for several minutes. “Sadly,” says Ged, “nobody missed me and nobody came looking for me. The second time it happened, late at night, I lay there for quite a while, counting the stars in the heavens.”

Naturally fearful of the molten metal flying through the air, Ged built a cardboard fence around the machine to protect his tender flesh. On hearing of Ged’s travails, Mike Stack roared with laughter, being the only one who could empathise. Mike’s own original casting machine was converted from a Simpson clothes washer. The beast would spray hot metal all over the workshop, so Mike took to wearing a home made cardboard suit of armour whenever he was casting. What a sight that must have been!

Ged’s casting experience grew tenfold, but he knew he couldn’t go ahead with the EH first up, as it required windows and suitable wheels, with no immediate sources for these items. So, the first Fimcar would be the 1950 Holden Utility. Ged had an original Micro Models version on hand. “It was a crude toy,” says Ged, having been produced from what was called a jelly mould. This requires only two sections, so that the top and bottom pieces can be easily removed, leaving an intact casting in the same way that a jelly is produced.

Ged telephoned the manufacturers of a new range of 1:43 FJ Holden panel vans in Western Australia. In 1981, they owned the trademark Micro Models and their Holden van was identical to the original 1950s model, except that their product was made from plastic.“I had a pleasant conversation with Mrs Sue Williams,” says Ged. “She and her husband Gordon came from Salford, the very place I was born. She assured me that they could supply the wheels and axles I needed.”

Sixty-five castings of the Fimcar Holden forged ahead. Heavy ingots of lead, tin and antimony were produced by a western Sydney foundry. Three hundred rubber tyres were actually neoprene “O” rings, made by a Sydney engineering company. The cardboard boxes were manufactured in Hurstville. As far as paint went, Ged liked the smooth colours on the Dinkum Classics.

“What’s the secret, Mike?” asked Ged. “How do you get that perfect finish?” “No secret at all,” replied Mike, with a straight face. “I use Dulux outdoor enamel paint.” With the castings strung across the yard, Ged loaded up his spray gun with Dulux Full-Gloss Exterior, then proceeded to paint the cars on the assembly line. “If you are walking along,” says Ged, “painting small inanimate objects, you aren’t really watching where you’re going, and I tripped over a big rock. I lay there, legs waving upwards, spraying blue paint on the trees, the grass, and my backside, everything except the Fimcars . “And the castings, when they dried, were a bloody mess, with a terrible golf ball finish. I knew I had been had. I could picture Stacky, laughing his head off.”

Those castings had decidedly inferior paint jobs. Nevertheless, Ged’s July 1983 catalogue announced the release of FIMCAR, a fine new series of limited edition models. The Holden Utility was designated No. 100, available in three colours, and all units sold out within the fortnight.

Future Fimcars demanded a better paint finish, and this is where Chris Fitzsimmons, an experienced spray painter, came in. Ged’s brother Chris was happy to sit in the sun, filing, sanding, and painting, fortified with the occasional beer. “Thanks to Chris, the new Holden castings and eighty Morris Minors made it into our 1983 Christmas catalogue,” says Ged. “The Morris was based on the old Spot-On toy.”

In March of 1984, Ged released a highly-detailed 1953 FJ Holden utility, with all 110 units having a built-in black tonneau cover, the first ever model of this commercial vehicle. From now on, each new Fimcar would be a genuine first.

The next Holdens were the EK Sedan, EH Sedan and the FC Panel Van. Mike Stack would produce the necessary 300 plastic window sections at $2 apiece. In due course, Ged approached Mike with a wad of readies. Mike reached behind his counter and brought out the little window sections. Ged nodded his approval, then asked for a receipt for tax purposes, as you do. Mike blew his stack and tossed the bundle into a conveniently-placed basket.

“I don’t give receipts,” said Mike. “Look for your windows somewhere else…” “Don’t be bloody silly,” said Ged. “Take the money --- I’ve got to get them on the market! I’ve got a house to feed, and three children on a mortgage.”

The Fimcar EK and EH Holdens, with windows and shiny five-stud wheels (courtesy of Dinky Toys), were released in October, 1985. Two months later, thirty FC panel vans appeared, ready for Christmas. In January, another forty vans were selling steadily, but slower than other Fimcars.

“I soon found out why,” says Ged. “Pier van Netten had commissioned Weico Models to produce a range of cheap Micro Reproductions, which were simply white-metal copies of original Micro Models, except for their ‘new’ FC Holden panel van, based on the old Micro FC station wagon, but it was an inferior casting. When I explained the faults to Pier, he sent me a cheque for the more accurate Fimcar version.”

It was not until July of 1987 that a new Fimcar was released, the 1966 HR Holden Premier Sedan, priced at $55, in metallic gold or silver. There were still parts left over for thirteen EK sedans, thirty FC panel vans and thirteen EH sedans. Twelve uniquely blue EK Holdens were sold to Automodels in Parramatta, whose flamboyant proprietor, Bob Rusconi, was happy to stock an exclusive Fimcar variation.

The FC Holdens had been slow sellers, so why not convert them into fire brigade vans? Fire-related models always sold well.   Why not make them a numbered, limited edition? Geoff Sherriff, of Sherriff’s Mini-Cars, was keen to have a batch of Fimcars that nobody else had, especially his arch-rival, Bob Rusconi. The castings were supplied with the legend Sherriffs Mini-Cars on the base plates instead of Fimcar, but Geoff was not impressed. He had wanted his own Fimcar, to be able to trade it with other dealers! Geoff consigned the thirty non-Fimcars to his store room, where they languished for more than three years.

Another local dealer, a cheery English chap named Dave Barry, was always on the lookout for a money making proposition. Dave badgered Ged regularly about the potential market for white metal models. Dave commissioned Weico Models in Melbourne to run off some white metal copies of the Dinky Toys Morris J van, to be sold under the banner of Austra Models. A later production was the early Ford Zodiac, based on an old Micro Models toy.

Australia’s bicentenary occurred in 1988, and Ged took the opportunity to market his last dozen EH Holdens as a contribution to the occasion, painted in metallic gold, and finally using up all spare castings.

It was time for a revolutionary new Fimcar. Mike Stack had left white metal behind, and Dinkum Classics were now made from resin, with windows and interiors. To compete, the new Fimcars would have chrome-plated parts, full interiors, and realistic wheels.

Gerry Weight, proprietor of Weico Models, had been casting the Micro Reproductions for Pier Van Netten, as well as the Austra Models for Dave Barry. Gerry had long been known for his white-metal HO/OO railway accessories. Ged contacted Gerry, who agreed to undertake the casting of all exterior and interior parts for one hundred HR Holden station wagons.

When the parcel of castings arrived, everything appeared OK, but there was an ugly hole in the roof of each model. During a heated telephone call, Gerry agreed to repair everything at his own expense. Two weeks later, an impatient Ged received a hundred body castings in intact condition, ready for finishing.

Les Hardaker, owner of the world’s largest collection of Holden models and paraphernalia, brought his camera along and photographed the eagerly awaited wagons. Occasionally, the retired Les would do some casual labour for Mike Stack, cleaning flash from Dinkum Classics castings, and preparing them for painting. In fact, Les was occasionally heard to hint that he “helped to make Dinkum Classics”, but that was probably stretching it a bit. Mike Stack himself appeared to be independently wealthy. Making Dinkum Classics was Stacky’s hobby. Not only that, he was employing others, like the talented commercial artist Tony Hannah, to sculpt the master patterns, and Mike was happy to pay Les Hardaker a bit of pocket money.

The HR wagons sold rapidly, but Ged began to accept that the business of making Fimcar models was becoming extremely labour-intensive. He had already promoted the Fimcar 1970 HQ Holden sedan. The ever-reliable Les Hardaker provided an official HQ Holden engineering report, and Ged did his best work to make the first 1:43 scale miniature of this innovative design. But Fimcar was never going to be a money-making concern. A thousand units had been sold, with very little to show for it financially.

“Mike Stack, bless his dodgy heart,” says Ged, “came to the rescue’’. He took over the HQ masters, and marketed them as Dinkum Fimcars, so Ged had no further obligations to his collecting clients.

In 1990, Ged went to work for his former competitor, Geoff Sherriff. In Geoff’s store-room, he discovered the Holden fire vans, the non-Fimcar models he had made for Geoff some years earlier. Ged displayed one in the shop window, with a sign advertising them at $80 each. That was their only promotion, and yet all thirty units were gone within days.

Gerry Weight’s Micro Reproductions were re-named Nostalgic Models, as a New Zealand company had bought the rights and the tooling, in the early 1990s, for the original Micro Models. Mike Stack went on to manufacture the resin Dinkum Classics Leyland P76, made from Ged’s white metal master, but the Fimcar brand name was soon dropped, despite Mike saying he had great plans for it.

The name FIMCAR thus went into oblivion, but it still turns up on eBay now and then.

Subject ID: 82945

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Subject ID: 82945