Category: Comparo

NEVER judge a model by its brand!

I’m pretty sure I said that before once or twice. Or ten times. So let’s take into consideration Technomodel. I have three models from the brand, and very possibly I consider it the best brand I have, based on those three. Recently I reviewed the 1966 White Elephant from them, and I was all praise. Heck, their Breadvan is one of the best five models that I own! And as I also said many times, I’m NOT a Maranello fan. Well, what I’m trying to imply is that I really like Technomodel as a 1:43 model maker. However, they also offer the 1967 version of the White Elephant, and that one comes with the elefantino rampante on the rear winglets.

Technomodel – €100.

Anther brand that also offers the 1967 car is Altaya, a budget brand through and through.

Altaya – less than €20.

Now look at the color of the wheels and winglets on the real car, in 1967:

The real deal on race day. And snubbing Ferrari? Priceless 😁!

Wheels and winglets were dark blue, not black. So yes, Technomodel botched the color of the wheels and winglets 😲. Not that the Altaya version looks great, with that humongous windshield wiper. And with the solid rear air intake. However, they at least got the color right. For just 1/5th of the price 🤔.

Before somebody asks, yes, this is why I got the 1966 car instead of the 1967 one. For €20 I may close an eye (or two) to some shortcomings. But for €100? It better be REALLY good. In other words, do some research BEFORE buying a model, even if its from a high-end brand.

Three little piglets…

Spark × Minichamps × Highspeed, from left to right.

With my new Pink Pig from Spark, I was able to do this small comparo. On the left you see the new Spark, and in the middle is my old Minichamps. And on the right is my daughter’s Highspeed model. She’s 11 and according to her, the Pink Pig is the coolest Porsche. Ever 😁.

Same order, from the rear.

The biggest difference between the Spark and the Minichamps is the black tape. During the race, car #23 had black tape around the door and engine cowl. I think Minichamps used the car as it sits at Porsche’s museum as the base for their model. In fact, I have the impression that most of their models are based on the cars as they look today. Spark, on the other hand, replicated the model as it was on race day. And for me, at least, that’s a BIG plus.

Spark on the left, Minichamps on the right and Highspeed at the bottom.

In terms of overall detail the Spark model has the edge, being it little more refined then the Minichamps. And as expected, the Highspeed version is much simpler. Nonetheless, it is NOT terrible – far from it, in fact. Therefore, it comes down to how much you want to spend and/or how important the Pink Pig is to your collection.