The Kokuyo Mistral series of body-knock pencils (and pens) is probably the most successful, if not prolific of its kind. I remember doing a search and finding out that ‘Mistral’ was taken from the name of the cool northwesterly wind that blows from southern France into the Mediterranean. I filed it away as a marketing move by Kokuyo to give the series a classier image than Platinum’s awkward ‘Angle’.
When I decided to do this series of cool cars paired with equally cool writing instruments, the Mistral was a definite milestone I wanted to plot into the journey. However, the first true ‘Mistral’ car, a Maserati from 1963, would turn out to be a bit outside the fascination zone of miniature car makers. I would have to go for a rather large model, which did not fit with the visual style I wanted.
Instead, the earliest “famous wind” Maserati I managed to find would turn out to be a Ghibli from 1967, miniaturized with loving detail in 1/64 scale by Kyosho. It came in several colors but my eyes locked on to the candy red version right away. It seemed to be a perfect match for my Mistral PS-3, which came in a similar metallic scheme. Perfecto!
Honest confession: I was never a big fan of Maserati cars while growing up, partly because I wasn’t as exposed to them, either in real life—Maseratis were a rarity in Singapore relative to Ferraris and Lambos—or in games: the Top Trumps playing cards emblazoned with beautiful sports cars and their technical specifications were pretty lean for Maserati. I think I subconsciously tied the Trident logo with Prince Namor or Aquaman, superheroes that sat on a lower tier of popular consciousness
I am glad to find out now that the Ghibli is yet another design from the gifted hands of Giorgetto Giugiaro. The next “wind” will also be a Giugiaro masterpiece.
Our next ‘Legendary Wind’ is the Maserati Bora from 1971, matched to a pair of Kokuyo Mistral PS-1 in silver. Also designed by Giugiaro, the Bora is named for the cold northeasterly wind over the Adriatic Sea. This was Maserati’s first mid-engined production car.
What I found interesting about the Bora is that it had a two-tone paint scheme. I originally thought this 1/64 model by Kyosho was ‘all silver’ but when I received it, I noticed the body was done in a very light blue tint while the roof and pillars were in silver. This worked out nicely with the PS-1’s chromed highlights.
Thanks for the welcome. Though this forum has caused random buys of things I have overlooked or wasnt in the loop at the time. Someday I will take some time to get more and better photos up. I had not seen anyone else really collect these. Neat.
K is for Kokuyo and Khamsin.
Last of my exotic Maserati ‘winds’… Presenting the Khamsin (1974) and Kokuyo Mistral PS-102 (1980s). Named for the hot, dry wind from Egypt’s deserts, the Khamsin’s design departs from Giugiaro’s hands into the those of Marcello Gandini under design house Bertone.
There would be other ‘winds’ later like the Shamal from the 1990s and Levante from 2016, but none would wear those stunning curves that came before.
Like @DarkwingDuck says… literally. I search for them on Mercari, Yahoo Japan Auctions etc. FromJapan has a multi-site search. If I don’t know what I’m looking for, or just want to see what’s out there, I can search for:
Tomica トミカ
1/64 minicar / 1/64 ミニカー
Or sometimes, I want a specific brand or maker, like:
Kyosho / 京商 (which makes this series of Maseratis plus a ton of others)
If you want to find a specific model, just run the name through Google Translate and append to the above search terms. That’s it!
