Twenty One and a Half...

The reason for my lack of updates for the past century? For one thing I was busy finishing up school, and other things get in the way as well. But perhaps the bigger reason - I was working on the above. The engine for Tamiya's Martini Porsche 935 1/12th scale kit. As can be seen, the engine assembly is basically done for now.

TWENTYONE: Porsche 962C, 1986 Le Mans Winner, H. Stuck, D. Bell, A. Holbert (1/43, Spark)

 

Another great hand crafted Spark resin model. The Rothmans Porsche livery is perhaps one of the most well known, and most easily recognizable out there. This model was purchased without the Rothmans decals affixed, but are provided by Spark in the package. The decals are nice, and easy to work with. I for one, love this car, the dominance of the 956/962 platform in group C racing was amazing, and the cars looked great. Spark models are really impressive, and they are beginning to take over Minichamps' spot as top brand to buy.  

Thoughts on HPI diecasts

Having received my third HPI diecast, here are my initial thoughts. First, they are not perfect by any means...they have some minor quality control issues. However they are mostly wonderful diecasts. Whether or not they are nice enough to justify their high costs is debatable - I am still on the fence.

In a nutshell:
precision of Minichamps + fine details of Spark - sometimes poorly applied decals of Minichamps - somewhat inconsistency of handbuilts like Spark = HPI Racing diecasts...?

TWENTY: Yamaha YZR-M1, MotoGP 2008 Season, Valentino Rossi (1/18, Maisto)

 

Another great Maisto diecast at a great price point. These MotoGP bikes from Maisto are such good deals that it would seriously be foolish not to buy them if you have any interest in racing bikes. The overall finish quality on these models are nice. Just make sure to inspect the models before you buy, as there are some examples where the tampo prints are not that great (misaligned, rubbed off).

Valentino Rossi, "The Doctor", is pretty much a modern day legend, his skillful riding cannot be disputed. Having had much success riding for Honda-Reposl, many had criticized that The Doc's success was from the amazing Honda RC211V. However, when Rossi made the surprising move to pilot the inferior YZR-M1 for Yamaha, he silenced the critics.

NINETEEN: Porsche 956LH, 24 Hours of Le Mans 1984 Winner, H. Pescarolo, K. Ludwig, S. Johansson (1/43, HPI Racing)

  

 

 I just received this diecast in the mail this morning, my 50th 1/43rd scale model car. The NewMan (brand of jeans in Europe) sponsored Team Joest Racing 956 driven to victory in the 1984 Le Mans is recreated nicely by HPI. The 1980s were Porsche's for the taking in Endurance/sportscar racing. The 956/962 platform was a dominant contender in the Group C category. I really like Group C, as the rules allowed for variety and creativity in the design of the cars. There was no limit to engine size/output, instead the rules regulated how much fuel could be consumed by a car in a given race. Porsche went with twin-turbo'd flat six motors, Mercedes a turbocharged V8, Mazda entered the game later with a rotary powered machine, while Jaguar elected for a 12 cylinder powerplant. 

There has been a lot of hype surrounding HPI's diecasts. They are detailed, and relatively expensive. I must say, I am impressed with many aspects of the HPI diecasts. The removable rear engine cover reveals a nicely detailed motor. Exterior details are nice and crisp. I really like how HPI's diecasts make minimal use of decals, most everything is done with tampo graphics. The graphics are done very nicely, crisp and even. A downer for me however was the paint quality. Its not that the paint is bad, but given the price of these diecasts it leaves something to be desired. The paint is mostly smoothly sprayed, but there are areas where the paint is a little thin. The display case this diecast comes mounted on is nice. Like Minichamp's cases, it is simple, with simple not too flashy text on the base (I hate how some manufacturers use flashy text - looks gaudy). Of all the different brands of 956/962 diecasts I own (Minichamps, Quartzo, Spark), I think the HPI is best.

EIGHTEEN: 1956 Ford F-100 PickUp (1/64, HotWheels)

 

This is a cool little HotWheels made 1/64 scale model of the classic Ford Pick-up truck. This model is larger than normal HotWheels, and so has better detail and quality...although it is closer to toy car than to precision diecast model. Nonetheless, for $6 I had to have this, it has cool paint, is really low, has white-wall tires, and looks pretty neat. I am pretty sure the proportions of this model have been messed around with, cartooned if you will. I think it is important to enjoy your model cars, and just get stuff you like. It is easy to get caught up with obtaining every version of a particular race car you like etc., to a point where you don't actually get to enjoy your collection. I can attest that it has happened to me from time to time. Sometimes you get cars that you put away and don't really look at much after the initial inspection...you got it for the sake of having it, and 'completing' that part of your collection.

I am not a HotWheels collector in any way, and really know nothing about them. As a kid like most kids, I had a whole lot of HotWheels and Matchbox cars which I played with, but I never collected them. On the bottom of this model, it says "3477EA", I am not sure if this is just an item number, or if it indicates that 3477 examples of this model were made, 3477 EAch. Anybody who may know what the 3477EA means, can you please comment? Thanks, and as always happy collecting.

SEVENTEEN: Audi R8, 24 Hours of Le Mans 2001 Winner, F. Biela, T. Kristensen, E. Pirro (1/18, Maisto)

 

Year 2001 would be the second time in a row that the Joest-Audi team would win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2000, on its maiden Le Mans race, the Audi R8 racer proved highly successful, and won the legendary 24 hour race outright. In 2001, the aerodynamics of the vehicle were tweaked and improved upon. Piloted by the dream team of Frank Biela, "Mr. Le Mans" Tom Kristensen, and Emanuel Pirro, Audi car number one was driven to victory. 

This Maisto diecast is a prime example of why Maisto is one of my favorite brands, despite being labelled a "budget" diecast brand. The level of detail and quality suggest that this model would cost much more than the $30 that they were sold for. Everything from the wheels, the model's stance, and its shape are all done very well. The paint quality on this model is also very nice, smooth and deep. Owning both this $30 Audi R8, and the much more expensive R8 made by Spark ($120 retail price), I can without hesitation recommend anyone who wants a 1/18 scale Audi R8 to get the Maisto. Sure the Spark may have finer details, better paint (amazing paint job), and other merits, it is not THAT much better than the Maisto...that and the Spark is a curbside/sealed model. The engine bay is not bad on this model, it is nice, but nothing to write home about. In short, I think this excellent Maisto diecast possesses the qualities I look for in a diecast - proper shape, proper stance/wheels, fair detailing, and over good quality.