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.
Best bet would be to find a similar enough decal, or even attempting to print it yourself. IIRC there are sheets that you can print from a regular ink jet printer to make waterslide decals.
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.
Thanks, I'll see if I can fix the one I have, but I might try replacing the car completely. It would be kinda weird having 2 when there's only 300 of them; though the one I have is really quite special - it's signed by Kevin Estre and has been in the presence of the real Grello, hence why I'd like to fix it if I can.
In my "collector" opinion the box is the valuable item right there with the signature and the limited run numbers on it, not on the model, so if that were to happen to me I would swap the model without thinking much of it.
These kind of Minichamps are indeed limited but they release multiple editions of it, 300 in that "de luxe" box, but they probably released another batch of similar numbers in the regular box also for Manthey, and also released it in their regular Minichamps line.
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.
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?
Before I stopped collecting, Almost Real and LCD Models were upcoming brands I was following for their quality and opening parts. Can't recall if both brands are diecast.I don't know where they'd rank.
There is also what I considered the upper tier of 1:18 brands (not sure if they're still up there), but Exoto and CMC. Built with 100s (if not 1000+) of individual parts so I've heard.
So ranking wise of quality alone (not dollar-to-value), at least when I was still actively into this a decade ago it was something like this:
S: Exoto, CMC
A: Ignition, AutoART, HPI, Top Marques
B: TSM, Spark, GT Spirit, Otto, GMP, BBR (because QC inconsistencies)
C:Minichamps (possibly a C+ or B- depending on model), Kyosho (only because of zinc pest issues), UT, GS Models.
D: CSM, Road Signature, Maisto, Bburago,Yatming, American Muscle, Jada, and other American brands you'll common find at North American flea markets.
Yes I am a bit of a brand snob. And I do lean more more resins even though some of the best models I own/owned were diecast with a gazillion parts assembled together.
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.
As someone who got into 1:64 over a decade ago with the same loose "I like this- I buy" mentality, and later got into 1:18s, let me share some stuff in the event you wish to learn from my experience.
Really question what it is you want/are looking to accomplish with collecting stuff. Do you really need to have it all? If you look back at your current collection and we said you can only keep 10 that mean the most to you, are you able to learn something more about yourself?
I like a lot of different cars as just about anyone else in this forum. I went all loosey-goosey with my purchases with 1:64s... Hot Wheels were a buck-thirty-seven back then. It was easy to spend the money, but I didn't think about what in the world I was going to do with them once I had them, and what I was going to do with future years if I continue to bring more home. Where's it all going to go? Why are there some cars I like and treasure a LOT more than others? For me, I started valuing the quality of how some 1:64s were made. Really put into perspective that I'd much rather hang onto something that had a lot more care put into its creation. That's when I started looking at 1:18s. These by comparison to the dinky cars were exceptionally well made. We have opening parts, we can see thought was put into interior things like seat belts, dashboards, engine bay hoses...
So in 2015, I started dialing down 1:64s so my fun money was put on 1:18s. Within a span of months, I did the same thing I did with Hot Wheels... I just bought whatever looked cool to me:
I don't own any of these anymore. They were cool as heck, but I didn't have any special connection to the car the represent
And because 1:18s have a bigger footprint than the dinky ones, it wasn't long until I was running low on storage space. Because I could easily see myself keeping up with the latest releases and (consequentially) wanting to buy more in the future.... I had to seriously evaluate what I'm going to allow and disallow from entering the collection, and I would've saved a good amount of money if I thought about that sooner.
And if you're ever thinking about collecting 1/18s with the prospects of selling in the future, maybe not now since you're just getting into it, but IMHO anyone who collects things will thinkabout resale value to some degree, it may not be worth the trouble. You're better off investing other ways.
I was going to comment where's the Limited Edition "Upside-down" variant?
Before I stopped collecting, Almost Real and LCD Models were upcoming brands I was following for their quality and opening parts. Can't recall if both brands are diecast.I don't know where they'd rank.
There is also what I considered the upper tier of 1:18 brands (not sure if they're still up there), but Exoto and CMC. Built with 100s (if not 1000+) of individual parts so I've heard.
So ranking wise of quality alone (not dollar-to-value), at least when I was still actively into this a decade ago it was something like this:
S: Exoto, CMC
A: Ignition, AutoART, HPI, Top Marques
B: TSM, Spark, GT Spirit, Otto, GMP, BBR (because QC inconsistencies)
C:Minichamps (possibly a C+ or B- depending on model), Kyosho (only because of zinc pest issues), UT, GS Models.
D: CSM, Road Signature, Maisto, Bburago,Yatming, American Muscle, Jada, and other American brands you'll common find at North American flea markets.
Yes I am a bit of a brand snob. And I do lean more more resins even though some of the best models I own/owned were diecast with a gazillion parts assembled together.
As someone who got into 1:64 over a decade ago with the same loose "I like this- I buy" mentality, and later got into 1:18s, let me share some stuff in the event you wish to learn from my experience.
Really question what it is you want/are looking to accomplish with collecting stuff. Do you really need to have it all? If you look back at your current collection and we said you can only keep 10 that mean the most to you, are you able to learn something more about yourself?
I like a lot of different cars as just about anyone else in this forum. I went all loosey-goosey with my purchases with 1:64s... Hot Wheels were a buck-thirty-seven back then. It was easy to spend the money, but I didn't think about what in the world I was going to do with them once I had them, and what I was going to do with future years if I continue to bring more home. Where's it all going to go? Why are there some cars I like and treasure a LOT more than others? For me, I started valuing the quality of how some 1:64s were made. Really put into perspective that I'd much rather hang onto something that had a lot more care put into its creation. That's when I started looking at 1:18s. These by comparison to the dinky cars were exceptionally well made. We have opening parts, we can see thought was put into interior things like seat belts, dashboards, engine bay hoses...
So in 2015, I started dialing down 1:64s so my fun money was put on 1:18s. Within a span of months, I did the same thing I did with Hot Wheels... I just bought whatever looked cool to me:
I don't own any of these anymore. They were cool as heck, but I didn't have any special connection to the car the represent
And because 1:18s have a bigger footprint than the dinky ones, it wasn't long until I was running low on storage space. I could easily see myself keeping up with the latest releases and (consequentially) wanting to buy more in the future.... I had to seriously evaluate what I'm going to allow and disallow from entering the collection, and I would've saved a good amount of money if I thought about that sooner.
And if you're ever thinking about collecting 1/18s with the prospects of selling in the future, maybe not now since you're just getting into it, but IMHO anyone who collects things will thinkabout resale value to some degree, it may not be worth the trouble. You're better off investing other ways.
I really appreciate the feedback and you talking about your own experience on this. I've recently become a father so I have been thinking about all the things that you mentioned regarding collecting the 1:18s. While I've narrowed things down and know exactly what I'd like to collect, the thing is even with my wife's blessing, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a bit on the fence about fully pursuing this at this point in time because realistically speaking real estate is an issue and the cost as well. So for the time being, I'm just looking around and haven't bought anything yet.
If you ask me you should only get 1:18 scale models of cars you REALLY, REALLY like. Otherwise they're a waste of space.
Here are said models:
Chaz Mostert's 2021 Supercar (First race win for Walkinshaw, my favourite team)
Max Verstappen's 2021 Championship winner (first non-Mercedes champion since Sebastian Vettel)
Holden Monaro CV8 (attainable dream car, my favourite Holden)
Scott Pye's only race winning Walkinshaw Commodore from 2018 that I actually saw in person in the dying light and changeable weather conditions. I couldn't believe it and I celebrated like mad because Walkinshaw hadn't won for over a year.
Scott Pye's 2021 DeWalt/Team 18 Commodore
Scott Pye's 2023 Hino/Team 18 Camaro
The Ford GT LM Spec II Racecar was the star of Gran Turismo 4: the most influential game I've ever played. I had to have this model because I love Gran Turismo and by proxy the Ford GT.
Then again I did buy a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera and a Castrol Holden VX Commodore Supercar because they were cheap.
Was based on a real car NISMO built for Polyphony which was featured in the japanese only DVD Attack Gran Turismo in 2002, mainly a driving guide for Gran Turismo 3/Concept Tokyo and featuring interviews with Kaz.
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