Best companies for 1/18 scale models
Discussion
NoBrakesWC said:
I have been looking at Autoart and GT Spirit. I have a couple minichamps but old smashed up ones.
I'm no expert, but there are at least two different options, in terms of what you want from a model. GT Spirit & Otto produce "kerbside" or "curbside" models, which have no opening features, & are usually resin. Autoart & Minichamps produce models with opening doors, bonnets etc, which means the under bonnet requires additional detail & they tend to be metal.I have a mixture, as it's about the subject for me, rather than the medium. I would say where I have the same car in both, the kerbside are more accurate in terms of the body shape etc, but the metal are still very good.
MarkwG said:
NoBrakesWC said:
I have been looking at Autoart and GT Spirit. I have a couple minichamps but old smashed up ones.
I'm no expert, but there are at least two different options, in terms of what you want from a model. GT Spirit & Otto produce "kerbside" or "curbside" models, which have no opening features, & are usually resin. Autoart & Minichamps produce models with opening doors, bonnets etc, which means the under bonnet requires additional detail & they tend to be metal.I have a mixture, as it's about the subject for me, rather than the medium. I would say where I have the same car in both, the kerbside are more accurate in terms of the body shape etc, but the metal are still very good.
on the differences. For me its about what car it is and who makes the best one. Autoart make the 996 GT3 RS while GTSpirit don't same with Carrera GT. Also GT Spirit make the Cayman GT4 and Autoart don't. NoBrakesWC said:
Shows i haven't done enough research on the differences. For me its about what car it is and who makes the best one. Autoart make the 996 GT3 RS while GTSpirit don't same with Carrera GT. Also GT Spirit make the Cayman GT4 and Autoart don't.
Schuco made a very good Cayman GT4, in metal with openings. Spark made a really good version of it too, theirs was sealed resin - a couple of colours are currently on special offer. (I have no connection to the linked site but have bought from them before) on the differences. For me its about what car it is and who makes the best one. Autoart make the 996 GT3 RS while GTSpirit don't same with Carrera GT. Also GT Spirit make the Cayman GT4 and Autoart don't. I'm not a fan of Otto and GT Spirit, they seem to mess up the shape quite frequently and for a resin model, the shutlines aren't as well-defined as they should be. They've made a couple of models I might've bought, but I've always been disappointed with the pictures. For a budget brand, Norev have been very good recently - check out models like their R129 SL.
On AutoArt, their recent models have been "Composite", as they call it, which means they have a plastic bodyshell. Unlike the resin manufacturers, many of the Composite AutoArt models have openings. They took a fair bit of flack from traditionalists for moving away from diecast metal, but most of the problem with their recent models is that the prices have gone up (significantly) whilst the level of detail has gone down.
Minichamps have also gone very much downhill from their best days. Very few opening models, and generally poor detail. The last 3-4 years, they've been poor, though the rot started setting in about 10 years ago.
The decline in detail and increase in price has been pretty much universal across the industry, even premium brands like CMC have put out some mediocre models at high prices lately (Ferrari/Lancia D50, Jaguar C Type). I'm buying far less than I used to.
As you've noticed though, if you want a specific model you sometimes have to pick and choose manufacturers.
spikyone said:
Schuco made a very good Cayman GT4, in metal with openings. Spark made a really good version of it too, theirs was sealed resin - a couple of colours are currently on special offer. (I have no connection to the linked site but have bought from them before)
I'm not a fan of Otto and GT Spirit, they seem to mess up the shape quite frequently and for a resin model, the shutlines aren't as well-defined as they should be. They've made a couple of models I might've bought, but I've always been disappointed with the pictures. For a budget brand, Norev have been very good recently - check out models like their R129 SL.
On AutoArt, their recent models have been "Composite", as they call it, which means they have a plastic bodyshell. Unlike the resin manufacturers, many of the Composite AutoArt models have openings. They took a fair bit of flack from traditionalists for moving away from diecast metal, but most of the problem with their recent models is that the prices have gone up (significantly) whilst the level of detail has gone down.
Minichamps have also gone very much downhill from their best days. Very few opening models, and generally poor detail. The last 3-4 years, they've been poor, though the rot started setting in about 10 years ago.
The decline in detail and increase in price has been pretty much universal across the industry, even premium brands like CMC have put out some mediocre models at high prices lately (Ferrari/Lancia D50, Jaguar C Type). I'm buying far less than I used to.
As you've noticed though, if you want a specific model you sometimes have to pick and choose manufacturers.
I have some old Minichamp ones which were given to me but not in the best of condition. Just trying to decide on best price for what i get. I'm not a fan of Otto and GT Spirit, they seem to mess up the shape quite frequently and for a resin model, the shutlines aren't as well-defined as they should be. They've made a couple of models I might've bought, but I've always been disappointed with the pictures. For a budget brand, Norev have been very good recently - check out models like their R129 SL.
On AutoArt, their recent models have been "Composite", as they call it, which means they have a plastic bodyshell. Unlike the resin manufacturers, many of the Composite AutoArt models have openings. They took a fair bit of flack from traditionalists for moving away from diecast metal, but most of the problem with their recent models is that the prices have gone up (significantly) whilst the level of detail has gone down.
Minichamps have also gone very much downhill from their best days. Very few opening models, and generally poor detail. The last 3-4 years, they've been poor, though the rot started setting in about 10 years ago.
The decline in detail and increase in price has been pretty much universal across the industry, even premium brands like CMC have put out some mediocre models at high prices lately (Ferrari/Lancia D50, Jaguar C Type). I'm buying far less than I used to.
As you've noticed though, if you want a specific model you sometimes have to pick and choose manufacturers.
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