GTPlanet Scale model thread

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Fair chance I'll never be able to find the DC-10 in the Battleship livery so this is the next best thing. I only paid $42 for this which is an absolute steal if you ask me.
 
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I just received this - Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 from the Spa 24h 2023, 1:43.

One of the drivers was British GT driver Sam Neary, and I happened to meet his parents in the paddock bar about an hour after I first arrived at Spa. I didn't realise that his Dad is Richard Neary, British GT driver and team owner at Team Abba Racing. Richard also owns Abba Commercials, the principal sponsor of this car. They invited me to join them at a British GT race and sent me a team pass, so I ended up in pit lane for the British GT race at Donington last year, which was an incredible experience.

I'm delighted with this model - it's super accurate and came in a very nice, low profile display case. I also only ordered it on Thursday night, and it arrived from Germany today. It was quite expensive but it's a unique momento of a very special event, and it arrived in one piece!! This was also a test run to see if this model shop was any good, and they've come up trumps - hence I will definitely be buying more from them.

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My photo...

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That looks great, cool story too! Those Spark models can be shockingly expensive for the scale, but once and a while I get one because they're great quality.

Speaking of which, these just arrived today.
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1999 Focus WRC Rally Portugal winner (McRae/Grist) - Minichamps
2000 Focus WRC Rally Monte Carlo (Sainz/Moya) - Minichamps
2006 Focus RS WRC Sardegna (Hirvonen/Lehtinen) - IXO
2024 Puma 3rd place Safari Rally Kenya (Fourmaux/Coria) - Spark
 
Touring Mars
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I just received this - Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 from the Spa 24h 2023, 1:43.

One of the drivers was British GT driver Sam Neary, and I happened to meet his parents in the paddock bar about an hour after I first arrived at Spa. I didn't realise that his Dad is Richard Neary, British GT driver and team owner at Team Abba Racing. Richard also owns Abba Commercials, the principal sponsor of this car. They invited me to join them at a British GT race and sent me a team pass, so I ended up in pit lane for the British GT race at Donington last year, which was an incredible experience.

I'm delighted with this model - it's super accurate and came in a very nice, low profile display case. I also only ordered it on Thursday night, and it arrived from Germany today. It was quite expensive but it's a unique momento of a very special event, and it arrived in one piece!! This was also a test run to see if this model shop was any good, and they've come up trumps - hence I will definitely be buying more from them.

-
My photo...

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I didn't know that fellow Australian Ricky Capo drove this.
 
SPhilli911
Nice one! Love those Spark 1/18s, they are great quality and come with a nice display case.
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I regret selling my Flying Lizard Porsches with the art liveries from 2011. Those Le Mans art liveries were ridiculously well done by Spark.
 
Bram Turismo
I regret selling my Flying Lizard Porsches with the art liveries from 2011. Those Le Mans art liveries were ridiculously well done by Spark.
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Real shame, those are hard to find now and very expensive if you do. I didn't have them (wasn't collecting liveried race cars at the time) but I wish I did.
 
SPhilli911
Nice one! Love those Spark 1/18s, they are great quality and come with a nice display case.
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I like the cases too, but those extras also drove up the prices considerably. Spark used to be quite affordable back in the day. Well I guess I can say the same about literally any brands.
 
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MSZ
I like the cases too, but those extras also drove up the prices considerably. Spark used to be quite affordable back in the day. Well I guess I can say the same about literally any brands.
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Yeah, seems the hobby has steadily become more and more expensive overall. Though, some brands are putting out great models without drastically increasing prices from time to time. Norev comes to mind, I think they are released near-Autoart quality models for relatively cheap.
 
It's been a little over a year since I've been on this thread asking about collecting model cars and since then, I went down the rabbit hole.

Been doing lots of research on the different scales, brands and overall availability for the cars that I'm interested in. I initially said I wasn't too into the 1:64 scale but I ended up starting there just to see if the hobby would keep me engaged enough to invest the time and money. In addition, as some of you have told me, there are a lot of variety of models available at that scale with good enough details, the price point is reasonable and they don't take a lot of space, especially with how I'm storing/displaying them. I've already collected about 50 models so far with quite a few still on pre-order.

here are a few of what's I've got displayed.

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Still waiting for a few different one to arrive to fill some holes.

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Gotta say, this stuff is quite addictive and I found myself having a lot of fun doing it. With my wife's blessing (albeit with some conditions) 😅, I'm going to start collecting 1:18 scales now.
 
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Yeah, I agree with you both! Space will definitely be an issue for me and from the prices that I've seen, things could go crazy quickly. My wife is very supportive of me doing this and part of her conditions are that I have a set budget for this hobby every year so those are essentially guard rails for this endeavor. I think I went a bit crazy with the 1:64 already because I was buying them without even thinking too much about it since they were on average less than $35. When I saw something while browsing online, I would be like "oh I like this" - bought 😅. For the 1:18, I'm definitely going to be a bit more strategic with my purchases.

While on that note, I wanted to ask, anything made out of resin has no openings (i.e doors trunk etc), correct? Are they more valuable and/or more expensive than diecast? What other brands besides autoart, norev, solido, minichamps make models that has openings? If I'm looking at more premium models, is there a distinct ranking on the brands based on the quality and details of their models?
 
AshenGraey
While on that note, I wanted to ask, anything made out of resin has no openings (i.e doors trunk etc), correct? Are they more valuable and/or more expensive than diecast? What other brands besides autoart, norev, solido, minichamps make models that has openings? If I'm looking at more premium models, is there a distinct ranking on the brands based on the quality and details of their models?
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I am not an expert on the hobby, though I've been collecting for maybe 15 years so I'll take a stab at answering as best I can. Disclaimer: I only collect Porsche 911s so my experience may be skewed.

Resin models are generally sealed models, but I believe there are a few opening ones, just as there are some sealed metal/composite models. Are sealed more expensive/valuable? Well in my opinion sealed models shouldn't be more expensive no matter the material used to make them. The hobby has seen a spike in "premium" sealed models that carry a big price tag in recent years, such as Spark, but there are still some good budget options out there.

Sealed vs opening is a heated debate in the hobby. As you'd imagine many collectors prefer the option to open their cars to see as many details as possible and to get their money's worth. Some people may view sealed models as overpriced with less details and refuse to collect them. Others see sealed models as a, sometimes, cheaper alternative. I personally do not have an issue with sealed models, when the prices are reasonable. However, in most cases the sealed models I do buy are "place-holders" for eventual (if ever) opening diecast models to take their place. Right now my collection is almost exactly 50/50 sealed and opening. I may be in the minority, but I collect the cars I want, regardless of quality. With the cost to develop/ manufacture a sealed model vs opening, you'll likely find that obscure and unique cars may never be made in opening form, so brands fill the gaps with sealed ones.

There are brands that make opening models other than the ones you mentioned, but many I do not have first hand experience with. Off the top of my head some I hear are good are Almost Real and MotorHelix. Kyosho is good, too. These ones are high priced, but high quality based on reviews I've read. In fact, MotorHelix might be putting out the best stuff for the money, so I hear.

Some brands I have experience with and my opinions:
Autoart is a good benchmark, think they make some of the best models for decent prices still. They've also moved to a composite material rather than metal.
Norev I will place slightly below Autoart in quality these days believe it or not for a lot cheaper. Currently my favorite brand.
Minichamps is heading in the wrong direction, I say. Their models are getting more expensive and can't necessarily match even Norev in quality.
Schuco used to make great opening models for cheap, but they have been bought out by Spark and make sealed models now, and not cheap ones.
KK Scale makes sealed models, but not bad for the price. They seem to be improving in quality too.
Solido makes surprisingly decent models for cheaper than nearly anyone else, but only the doors open on their models. Still better than sealed, perhaps.
Maisto still churns out extremely cheap models but they never seem to dip in quality. They certainly are a good place to start collecting 1/18, I think.
Spark makes very expensive sealed models. They are good if you can get them on sale or at least retail as they become a bit too costly second hand.
GT Spirit/OTTO make some of the best quality sealed models in my experience and usually not bad prices.
 
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AshenGraey
So noob questions here, hoping to get some guidance as I'm looking into starting a collection of model cars.
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Roo
Guidance: don't. It's a trap.
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AshenGraey
It's been a little over a year since I've been on this thread asking about collecting model cars and since then, I went down the rabbit hole.
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Well, you can't say you weren't warned :dopey:
 
Nice ones, I love Solido. Great "budget" brand and only getting better in quality if you ask me. I did not know there was a cabrio 205 GTI until just now.

I am waiting on Solido's recently released 993 Turbo, but the shipment has been taking a tour of the United States for over a month now for some reason...
 
For the type of car I like to collect, they keep knocking it out of the park. The odd occasion where they don't quite look right such as the wheels on the EG Civic, but overall, they have a decent display quality for the price.
 
I bought the 1:43 Bburago Porsche 963 #6, not realising that it has two of the same drivers as my 1:43 Minichamps Porsche 911 'Grello' - which is signed by Kevin Estre. However, I've had a bit of a disaster :(...

I took a photo of the car to read the names more easily, and the photo revealed that there's still some black dust that the car (and box) were coated with when I bought it at the Nurburgring last year - it was the display model and the last one left (as evidenced by the fact that the whole in their display was still there on the Sunday...).

So, like a total ******* idiot, I used a Thorlabs compressed air canister to try blowing off the dust which not only didn't work, but ripped the front screen 'Gran Turismo' decal to shreds, sending particles of it flying into the air. I've managed to find most of it, and would consider repairing it, but I reckon it is beyond by skill set, and the fragments that I found are very fragile and small.

I'm just glad it wasn't any worse, but I'm still gutted :( I'm not likely to find or buy a replacement car (though ironically I did buy a very similar one for my sister and nephew) as well. I suppose it's really the signed box that makes it particularly special though, but of all the things to bloody damage, it would have to be this one.

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Touring Mars
I bought the 1:43 Bburago Porsche 963 #6, not realising that it has two of the same drivers as my 1:43 Minichamps Porsche 911 'Grello' - which is signed by Kevin Estre. However, I've had a bit of a disaster :(...

I took a photo of the car to read the names more easily, and the photo revealed that there's still some black dust that the car (and box) were coated with when I bought it at the Nurburgring last year - it was the display model and the last one left (as evidenced by the fact that the whole in their display was still there on the Sunday...).

So, like a total ******* idiot, I used a Thorlabs compressed air canister to try blowing off the dust which not only didn't work, but ripped the front screen 'Gran Turismo' decal to shreds, sending particles of it flying into the air. I've managed to find most of it, and would consider repairing it, but I reckon it is beyond by skill set, and the fragments that I found are very fragile and small.

I'm just glad it wasn't any worse, but I'm still gutted :( I'm not likely to find or buy a replacement car (though ironically I did buy a very similar one for my sister and nephew) as well. I suppose it's really the signed box that makes it particularly special though, but of all the things to bloody damage, it would have to be this one.

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My thoughts would be to see if there are any waterside style decals online, buy a load to practice with and one for the time you feel confident enough to repair it.
 
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