1996 J.P. Barthelemy Panis Ligier
Initial news:
The model was commisioned by publisher J.P. Barthelemy to sell along with a matching Nicholas Watts print. The print & model were advertised in the French motoring press and it was anticipated that 500 would be sold. Orders fell far short of this projection and only about 180 are believed to have been produced. The models were made as the orders came in. All of the models are numbered. Apparently, the first 100 were sold with Gauloises cigarette livery applied to the model. After the 100th model, the no-smoking version was sold along with a Gauloises decal sheet, should the collector wish to convert the model.
21-September-2003 A couple of years back I was told the story of the J P Barthemely Edition of the Panis Ligier JS43 Monaco GP model and how it was commissioned by a French automotive magazine to sell with a Nicolas Watts print of the 1996 race which Olivier Panis won.
According to the information I was given the models were apparently ordered in batches as the prints were sold and although the expected production run was 500 there were no more than 188 in existence. Apparently numbers 1-100 came complete with full Gauloises livery and 101-188 were in the normal Ligier livery with a sheet of Gauloises decals taped to the base. This information was from a reliable source and the story was accepted as being 100% genuine and accurate.
Well today I have received an email from a collector complete with a photograph of the model he has purchased which depicts the edition number of 248/500 thereby blowing the original story completely out of the water. If anybody else has one of these models with an edition number higher than 248 or has any other information about these models then I would be pleased to hear from you.
Source: Minichamps Collectors GB