SIX: Porsche 917/20 "Pink Pig" Le Mans 1971 (1/43, HighSpeed/Schuco Jr.)

This race car's paint job is very unique. It has been said that the "Pink Pig" came about as a sort of joke. The 917/20 was a wide bodied, short-nosed version of the venerable and highly successful Porsche 917 family of cars. During practice sessions (car was unpainted and white), some comments were made that the car was fat, like a pig. The racing team played along, and for the race, they painted the car pink like a pig. The markings on the livery show butcher's cuts. I wanted the Minichamps version of this model, but it is very rare, and when found on eBay sell for $100USD, which to me is too high for a 1/43 scale. Instead I bought this much cheaper HighSpeed diecast, and have to say its not bad. Its a decent diecast, with accurate shape and details. Problems with this diecast; the windscreen wiper is not a separate piece, but is molded into the windscreen, the windows are made from thick plastic, the wheels are not as scale as Minichamps', and the casting is not the best (but not bad at all). What I think is great about this model is that the markings are mostly tampo prints, rather than decals, and they are applied nicely. A great addition to my 1/43 scale collection, and my collection of 917 series cars.

FIVE: Audi R8 ALMS Adelaide 2000 "Race of a Thousand Years" (1/43, Minichamps)

This is a replica of one of the more interesting paint jobs on a modern race car. Driven by Capello and McNish to victory, more commonly known as the "Crocodile" Audi R8, this livery was only used for one race. Other than because I have a thing for collecting race cars with weird/cool liveries, I also collect Audi race cars, so getting this car was a no brainer for me. Compared with the IXO version, this Minichamps is done a hell of a lot better...and well worth the extra money. In my case, I got lucky, and won this one off eBay for around what an IXO would cost locally. Minichamps really does make excellent diecasts most of the time, and their R8s are excellent. This model is a limited edition of 3552 pieces, Minichamps tends to produce their 1/43rds in a seemingly arbitrary quantity.

FOUR: Kremer K3, "Mambo" #54, DRM 1979 (1/43 scale, Quartzo)

I have deviated from my original plan somewhat, in that I wanted to keep this blog to ONE picture of one of my diecasts a day. So from hence-fourth, I will keep my posts to only one picture. I think that keeping it to one picture to portray the whole car's character will be more challenging, and will keep things fun - hopefully.

Either way, today's car is one of my 1/43rds, this one being a very old Quartzo of the Kremer K3. I actually got this car in an eBay auction along with another car which I wanted. The Kremer K3 variants of the Porsche 935s had very very odd proportions, and as such its hard for me to tell you if the shape is accurate on this diecast. Instinctively, it looks off, but then pictures of the real car suggest that its somewhat accurate in portraying the oddness of the actual car. Being an old diecast, the decals are starting to dry and lift...not good!! The quality of the diecast is not bad though. It may not be as good as older Minichamps, but its not too far off, while I cannot make a fair comparison with modern Minichamps, which I find really good. I do like the paint scheme, actually I pretty much love all the paint schemes from the 70s and 80s...race car liveries were at their peak in terms of uniqueness and creativity. Off the top of my head, the only modern race car with a cool livery is the Audi R8 "crocodile". I do want to get another version of the Kremer K3...Fujimi's replica of the Apple Computers car, it has a cool livery, and its really retro!

THREE: Nissan Skyline GTR Nikko Kyoseki GP-1 Plus #55 (1/18 scale, AutoArt)

I got this diecast for X'mas from my mom. This is a limited edition piece from the Millennium Collection line up, and is serial number 2704 of 3000 total pieces. The detail is very good, and the quality of this diecast is very nice. This is how AutoArt should be building all their model cars, I know many of their newer releases have been lacking in quality, while the prices sky rocket...not unlike the TTC and their lack-luster service. The engine detail on this car is very well done, they even replicated the HKS flat dome style air filter element very well. The brakes are typical AutoArt, which I think is one of the best out there, with nice photo etch rotors which look very realistic.

TWO: Porsche Carrera RS type 993 (1/18 scale, UT Models)

Since I'm stuck in class until 9pm on Wednesday nights, I will do this feature now...

I bought this über rare model inside this specialty model shop. I couldn't believe that they had stock of the UT 993 Porsches. At first I bought their black Turbo, and was not really thinking about picking up this Guard's Red lightweight. But then I was looking at pictures of this model, and sort of fell for the bucket seats and unique whale-tale spoiler. Considering that these models go for anywhere from $100-249 USD on ebay, I think I got a pretty good deal on it. I will feature the type 993 Turbo in another feature. I won't elaborate on the quality of this diecast, it is well known that the UT 993 Porsches are currently the best made in 1/18 scale, and have been out of production for a long time. The detailing is not quite on par to modern offerings of similar price, but the quality is really nice.

ONE: Shelby Cobra 427 S/C (1/18 scale, Shelby Collectibles)

I found this gem at Wal-Mart, just as I was thinking a day or two ago that I needed a Shelby Cobra in my collection. The model is pretty well done overall, and by comparison to the other budget brands' offerings, I dare say its the best of the budgets. Of course the models from Kyosho and Exoto are better, but they do cost a lot more than the Shelby Collectibles version I have here.  Other than being one of the few American cars that I really like, there was a nostalgic reason for my purchase. As a kid, I had a 1/24 scale model of this car in red...and with the white stripes (By Revell, when they used to do diecasts in 1/24). That particular diecast suffered from a de-striping, and hideous flame paint job I did as a kid, inspired by the hot rod building TV shows on Speedvision (now Speed channel).