It seems that Spark has been delivering some subpar 1/18th scale models these past few months. Their versions of the Le Mans winning cars of 1989, 1995 and 2003 come to mind as well.
Indeed, it's quite surprising to see this decline from Spark. I was considering getting the Wolf WR1 model from them, but now I kinda have second thoughts... *In the meantime I even found another mistake on the BT55 model. The Olivetti branding on the rear wing should be limited to the middle plane and not cover the top one!
Indeed! That's why I said the design team led by Steve Nichols created the mp4/4, not Murray. Gordon was part of the Mclaren technical team at the time though, but I'm not saying he was the main protagonist by any means. The whole 'who created the mp4/4' is contentious affair to say the least.
I think you make a good argument for GP Replicas, a company I am not familiar with, as they seem to have made a superior product. I am a self-admitted Spark snob as in 1/43 scale, the majority of what I collect, and they do a very good job. I am also aware of other higher end manufacturers that do even better work for a price. Is GP Replica's one of those as BBR would be compared to Spark?
I'm not a fan at all of GP Replicas. They often get the models very wrong, and ask a lot of money for it. They try to cover this up by adding fine details to the model, but that's like dressing up a pig. It's still a pig in the end. Having said that, they sometimes produce a decent model, like their version of the Brabham BT55. It's still not great though, but acceptable. Generally I would rank the more known model brands as such: Bburago/Hot Wheels > GP Replicas (the bad models) > Solido > MCG > Minichamps > Spark/Looksmart > BBR > GP Replicas (the good models) > CMC > Amalgam > Exoto. This of course can vary wildy from model to model and is not taking into account the price/quality ratio. Spark does a terrific job on the Le Mans and classic 1/43 F1 models though, so I get that you're a fan of those releases. Usually their 1/18 versions are very good too, but lately it seems they only scale up the models and don't add any additional details. They tend to make a lot of small mistakes too nowadays, which is a real shame.
The good thing about Spark F1 models from 80s is that they get the wheels/tyres correct in terms of details and proportions and tyre decals. Though this one, it seems the Pirelli logos are too large. GP Replicas are pretty hopeless at getting wheel/tyre /tyre markings proportions accurate. The thing that annoys me about Spark is why their steering wheels are so thin and often have silver spokes on their 1/43 models at least when they should be black. Ideally, you would want Spark proportions with GP Replicas details.
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It seems that Spark has been delivering some subpar 1/18th scale models these past few months. Their versions of the Le Mans winning cars of 1989, 1995 and 2003 come to mind as well.
Indeed, it's quite surprising to see this decline from Spark. I was considering getting the Wolf WR1 model from them, but now I kinda have second thoughts...
*In the meantime I even found another mistake on the BT55 model. The Olivetti branding on the rear wing should be limited to the middle plane and not cover the top one!
Hey RPS Reviews, Gordon Murray had a negligible influence on the McLaren MP4/4.
Indeed! That's why I said the design team led by Steve Nichols created the mp4/4, not Murray. Gordon was part of the Mclaren technical team at the time though, but I'm not saying he was the main protagonist by any means. The whole 'who created the mp4/4' is contentious affair to say the least.
I think you make a good argument for GP Replicas, a company I am not familiar with, as they seem to have made a superior product. I am a self-admitted Spark snob as in 1/43 scale, the majority of what I collect, and they do a very good job. I am also aware of other higher end manufacturers that do even better work for a price. Is GP Replica's one of those as BBR would be compared to Spark?
I'm not a fan at all of GP Replicas. They often get the models very wrong, and ask a lot of money for it. They try to cover this up by adding fine details to the model, but that's like dressing up a pig. It's still a pig in the end. Having said that, they sometimes produce a decent model, like their version of the Brabham BT55. It's still not great though, but acceptable.
Generally I would rank the more known model brands as such: Bburago/Hot Wheels > GP Replicas (the bad models) > Solido > MCG > Minichamps > Spark/Looksmart > BBR > GP Replicas (the good models) > CMC > Amalgam > Exoto. This of course can vary wildy from model to model and is not taking into account the price/quality ratio.
Spark does a terrific job on the Le Mans and classic 1/43 F1 models though, so I get that you're a fan of those releases. Usually their 1/18 versions are very good too, but lately it seems they only scale up the models and don't add any additional details. They tend to make a lot of small mistakes too nowadays, which is a real shame.
The good thing about Spark F1 models from 80s is that they get the wheels/tyres correct in terms of details and proportions and tyre decals. Though this one, it seems the Pirelli logos are too large. GP Replicas are pretty hopeless at getting wheel/tyre /tyre markings proportions accurate. The thing that annoys me about Spark is why their steering wheels are so thin and often have silver spokes on their 1/43 models at least when they should be black. Ideally, you would want Spark proportions with GP Replicas details.
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Thanks!