Discussion
I don't wish to be biased, but the Solido model comes a very poor second compared to the AUTOart versions, even though it does have opening parts.
Yes it would have been a real bonus to have the AUTOart models with doors open, but Aston Martin wanted the models that way, and as they offer the licence to create the models in the first place, I think they have to follow their wishes.
Prodrive also had a Limited Edition version of the DBR9 in their own unique packaging. Guess which brand they choose to use...
It's the AUTOart model of course. It's a well used phrase, but very true. You get what you pay for. It really is worth the extra money, so forget the Solido versions.
A little like the ERTL Range Rover Sport models that came out at the beginning of the year. Great choice of car to create, but many collectors simply do not like the cheapness of the ERTL models, but then you can't complain when they are under £30. The good news is that AUTOart are doing their own version which comes out sometime next year.
...and they plan on doing the latest Range Rover (non-sport) too:
Yes it would have been a real bonus to have the AUTOart models with doors open, but Aston Martin wanted the models that way, and as they offer the licence to create the models in the first place, I think they have to follow their wishes.
Prodrive also had a Limited Edition version of the DBR9 in their own unique packaging. Guess which brand they choose to use...
It's the AUTOart model of course. It's a well used phrase, but very true. You get what you pay for. It really is worth the extra money, so forget the Solido versions.
A little like the ERTL Range Rover Sport models that came out at the beginning of the year. Great choice of car to create, but many collectors simply do not like the cheapness of the ERTL models, but then you can't complain when they are under £30. The good news is that AUTOart are doing their own version which comes out sometime next year.
...and they plan on doing the latest Range Rover (non-sport) too:
Hmmmm.....not having seen the Autoart one up close I can't be all tTHAT objective, however...........comparing it to the quality of an Autoart R34 Skyline I have, I would have to say Solido.
Yes there's a reduction in quality, but is it a 50% reduction to reflect the price against the Autoart offering? No.
I only started collecting 1/18 models this year and have to say there is a marked difference between the Sunstar MKII Escorts & some of the rally offerings from Solido, but this Aston is a definate step up in quality from those even though they were the same price.
Throughly recommend the Solido version.
p.s. if it is licensed by Aston themselves, why the hell would they let the cheaper manufacturer have the opportunity to balls up the interior/engine etc when they won't let Autoart do it?
Yes there's a reduction in quality, but is it a 50% reduction to reflect the price against the Autoart offering? No.
I only started collecting 1/18 models this year and have to say there is a marked difference between the Sunstar MKII Escorts & some of the rally offerings from Solido, but this Aston is a definate step up in quality from those even though they were the same price.
Throughly recommend the Solido version.
p.s. if it is licensed by Aston themselves, why the hell would they let the cheaper manufacturer have the opportunity to balls up the interior/engine etc when they won't let Autoart do it?
autoart said:
havn't seen the Solido R34....
I meant comparing the AA R34 to the Solido Aston in terms of overall quality!
I will concede that the Autoart versions are very nice, but to the extent that I'd shell out twice the price for them? Not me.
For me it depends on how you're going to display them i.e. if they're going to be picked up, handled and minutely inspected by yourself & visitors all the time, sure, pay the money for the AA models, but, if like my collection they're pretty much locked away in a glass cabinet all the time & only come out on rare occasions, why bother?
At the end of the day, I feel the Solido versions pass muster enough to stand up to a fairly rigid examination.
A couple of months back, before the Solido version appeared, Modelzone had a racing DB(R?)9 model in (not sure which manufacturer but it was £89!), and having looked at it, it appeared as the though there was something wrong with the front wheel arch in as much as it looked like there was too much space between the rear of the arch & the wheel. I don't know if the wheel was too small or the dimensions of the arch were wrong but it didn't look right. The point is I tend to go for models that look right, which the Solido ones tend to do.
Having said all that, my Solido Aston is going back 'cos after I sneaked a look at it out of the box (it's a crimble present!), I noticed the offside front tyre isn't sitting on the rim properly.......but I'm still not paying out +£40 for the AA version!! :P
I'm quite happy to concede the AA versions are worth twice the price if you can tell me why?
Edited by centurion07 on Tuesday 12th December 18:29
centurion07 said:
I'm quite happy to concede the AA versions are worth twice the price if you can tell me why?
Just to give you a bit of idea as to what the quality of AUTOArt is like mate check out a few of these piccies from my little collection. I i had my way i wouldn't buy anything else other than AUTOArt. IMHO they really are worth the £25-£60 price brackets they fall in.
The first few pictures will be their `budget` range (£25-£40)
Pictures are not the best, enjoy.....
BMW M3 CSL `Budget`
Note the textured stearing wheel, carbon style roof and real carpet...
Aston Martin DBR9 `budget`
Porsche 996 GT3 `budget`
Note textured seat and badging...
Lamborghini Murcielago `budget`...
Matalic paint, real carpet and real seat belts...
The next few are from AUTOArts Millenium range. £40-£60. This is where, i think AUTOArt come into their own. Quality is just simply fantastic for a sub £100 model.
Audi Sport Quattro...
Real carpet, textured seats, insterment display which you can read and real seat belts...
Detial under here is oustanding, with a magnifying glass you can even read the decials on the underside of the bonnett...
No decials there, it's painted on...
Ford Rs Cosworth...
Real carpet, Rs checkered seats, Ford badge on stearing wheel and readable insterments...
Engine bay...
Nissan Skyline GTR32 with matalic paint...
Again seat and carpet textures are present...
BMW e24 M6
... 
Note the fuses in the fuse box with clear plastic lid, colour of expantion tank, brass coloured PAS resevior and matalic paint...
Motorsport tri-colour present on stearing wheel, real carpet and insterments that can be read...
I've loads more detialed shots but just a few there to give you a taster of things.
M3John.
Edited by M3John on Wednesday 13th December 02:01
M3John said:
stuff
I stand corrected in terms of the quality. However, as I mentioned, if they're going to be locked away in a cabinet & the interior is not really going to be scrutinised to any great degree, twice the price? Hmmmmm.
I guess if I had the money to splash out £40/£50 a model then I probably would buy Autoart, but when Solido can offer exactly what I require from a model i.e. an accurate exterior and reasonable enough interior, why would I pay more?
S'a nice collection there, iconic cars one and all. How many do you have? I only just started this year & concentrate on the motorsport stuff, mainly rallying at that. I've got about 10 or so (without going off to count!). Only started 'cos I saw a chap at the Brands round of the DTM selling 1/18 MKII Escorts..........you have no idea how long I've been after one of those!
I was having the same dilema, I initially ordered the Prodrive LE version - until they put the price up to £80!!
Then was looking at the Autoart version, but the closed body really puts me off (the reason I have no Le Mans Bentley in my collection
).
I then decided to go for the Solido version - under £30 and with opening shell etc, then GPL sent a news letter through with this:
It's the Solido one but with there 'race aged' treatment - rubber and crap over the body etc, and for £50 it's the same price as the AA closed version. I've now got one on order
!!
All my models spend most of there time in glass cabinets, so a non-opening one should be fine, but that's not what I want. It's nice once in a while to be able to take them out and have a bit of a poke round and photograph them etc.
Chris
Then was looking at the Autoart version, but the closed body really puts me off (the reason I have no Le Mans Bentley in my collection
). I then decided to go for the Solido version - under £30 and with opening shell etc, then GPL sent a news letter through with this:
It's the Solido one but with there 'race aged' treatment - rubber and crap over the body etc, and for £50 it's the same price as the AA closed version. I've now got one on order
!! All my models spend most of there time in glass cabinets, so a non-opening one should be fine, but that's not what I want. It's nice once in a while to be able to take them out and have a bit of a poke round and photograph them etc.
Chris
The debate over closed bodies or opening parts will rage for many years...
At the end of the day these various versions at least offer the collectors a choice.
I personally have never liked opening doors, mainly because most models then have those huge metal hinges that are simply out of scale and not in keeping with the overall design of the car. Also, as mentioned above, in time, those hinges can become loose and therefore the doors never quite fit properly.
I've got a lot of older 'lower priced models' in my personal collection and even though I show the models closed, if you open them now, they do feel a little more loose than when they originally came out of the box!
Oh, and with regard to the Prodrive one. I too felt that was just taking the p~~s with them using the very same AUTOart version and giving it a new Prodrive/AM branded box then asking upwards of £80 for it!!! I have seen one in my local model shop and they are asking £120 for it. It's been in the window for months and now the sun has affected the packaging...
As for dirty versions. Have you ever tried this yourself, it is soooo easy to do. Get some masking tape to mask up the windscreen to match the curve of the wiper blade, then depending on if it is a rally, or road car, get a small tin of Humbrol paint, black (tarmac) brown (rally dirt) white (rally snow) making sure that they are Matt not Gloss, then dip an old tooth brush into the paint and start to carefully flick the paint on. Try it on an old model first and you'd be amazed how easy it is to do.
You get the same effect and without having to spend an extra £20 on a model, plus it is more satisfying to have done it yourself.
At the end of the day these various versions at least offer the collectors a choice.
I personally have never liked opening doors, mainly because most models then have those huge metal hinges that are simply out of scale and not in keeping with the overall design of the car. Also, as mentioned above, in time, those hinges can become loose and therefore the doors never quite fit properly.
I've got a lot of older 'lower priced models' in my personal collection and even though I show the models closed, if you open them now, they do feel a little more loose than when they originally came out of the box!
Oh, and with regard to the Prodrive one. I too felt that was just taking the p~~s with them using the very same AUTOart version and giving it a new Prodrive/AM branded box then asking upwards of £80 for it!!!
I have seen one in my local model shop and they are asking £120 for it. It's been in the window for months and now the sun has affected the packaging... As for dirty versions. Have you ever tried this yourself, it is soooo easy to do. Get some masking tape to mask up the windscreen to match the curve of the wiper blade, then depending on if it is a rally, or road car, get a small tin of Humbrol paint, black (tarmac) brown (rally dirt) white (rally snow) making sure that they are Matt not Gloss, then dip an old tooth brush into the paint and start to carefully flick the paint on. Try it on an old model first and you'd be amazed how easy it is to do.
You get the same effect and without having to spend an extra £20 on a model, plus it is more satisfying to have done it yourself.
Hi there whittaker52
You ask about the 2006 AStons, well here is the Le Mans 007 car - hits these shores (UK that is!) next week, talk about leaving it late for the Christmas rush...
First batch is almost certain to sell out, but fear not, more coming in the New Year, so those who can wait will still be able to enjoy these models
You ask about the 2006 AStons, well here is the Le Mans 007 car - hits these shores (UK that is!) next week, talk about leaving it late for the Christmas rush...
First batch is almost certain to sell out, but fear not, more coming in the New Year, so those who can wait will still be able to enjoy these models
hmmmmmm it looks like the cast may be incorrect when comparing the model photos with the photos of the real car -
the leading edge of the lower front bumper doesn't seem to be bulged out like the model.
I think autoart may have produced the model to the spec of the may le mans test car, which looking at a few photos, has the bulged areas, and slightly different sponsorship too.
may le mans test -
notice the castrol sponsorship, replacing the infonizer sponsorship graphics. also the added IXO sponsor graphics.
The photos i've seen of the silver test car seem to have corrected the issue, but the car appears to have the sebring areo kit.
on another note, will the 1/18th autoart lotus exige model have all opening parts? or will it be another sealed body model?
the leading edge of the lower front bumper doesn't seem to be bulged out like the model.
I think autoart may have produced the model to the spec of the may le mans test car, which looking at a few photos, has the bulged areas, and slightly different sponsorship too.
may le mans test -
notice the castrol sponsorship, replacing the infonizer sponsorship graphics. also the added IXO sponsor graphics. The photos i've seen of the silver test car seem to have corrected the issue, but the car appears to have the sebring areo kit.
on another note, will the 1/18th autoart lotus exige model have all opening parts? or will it be another sealed body model?
The new 007 car is based upon the 2006 Le Mans race car, while the other DBR9 models are all based upon the 2005 cars, not 2006. The green plain body chassis is the Le Mans one, while the Silver plain body chassis is the Sebring version, main different (apart from the colour!) is the front aero tweaks and the vents on the front wheel arch.
Sponsor logos are correct when comparing the 2005 and 2006 car shots.
As to your question on the Exige, watch this space. I shall try and find out for you...
Sponsor logos are correct when comparing the 2005 and 2006 car shots.
As to your question on the Exige, watch this space. I shall try and find out for you...
centurion07 said:
S'a nice collection there, iconic cars one and all. How many do you have? I only just started this year & concentrate on the motorsport stuff, mainly rallying at that. I've got about 10 or so (without going off to count!). Only started 'cos I saw a chap at the Brands round of the DTM selling 1/18 MKII Escorts..........you have no idea how long I've been after one of those!
Yes i do suppose that at the end of the day it's all down to personal preferance. If i had my way i wouldn't buy anything else other than AUTOArt but they don't produce everything which is a shame.
As for my collection it consists of arond 85-90 models in various gagues but all 1/18th scale. I've 4 more to add to the `list` of the collection but a brief glips can be found Here. You'll notice the quality differance in the pictures as the models are all back-to-back. Enjoy...
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