It took a while, yet I finally finished my race report. There were a lot of photos to edit, which unfortunately, most were too crappy to use. In my humble opinion, cell phones are made to make phone calls, not great photos 😣. Either I’m right or too old to learn otherwise, the fact is that I need a reflex camera to make decent shots. Nonetheless, I managed a few (half) decent ones, and they are now ready to show. I also did a write-up on our whole experience, without being too boring (or trying to, at least). So if you wanna see some photos of the race or read about how it felt like, click HERE.
What a blast! Honestly, one of the best three days I ever had! Expensive, yet totally worth it. Got back home this morning, and I’m currently editing my photos. I took a LOT of photos, and perhaps the one above is the one I liked the most. Pity the 9X8 underperformed (again!)… Nonetheless, since new models to review became kind of scarce around here (🙄), my idea is to write an article on the race where I’ll show the best shots.
And let’s start positive thinking for Spark to release at least a few of the those cars in 1:43… 🤞🤞🤞
After a grueling 24 hours, Ferrari comes on top again. However, their victory only defined itself in the last hour or so, with plenty of drama and risks. Like having to pit to get a door closed or finishing the race with basically only fumes left in the tank 😲! A very nice race overall, with Porsche Manthey taking first place in GT3 and United Autosport first in LMP2.
For us collectors, Ferrari wining is not exactly great. Why? Because the only game in town will be $Looksmart$, if you want the overall winner 💀. Even so, we now have a hypercar art car (BMW) to look forward to in 1:43, hopefully from Spark (please!).
Yep, it’s not your impression, things ARE slow. I haven’t been posting much reviews because I’m not getting many new models. Unfortunately, Brazilian Customs is hammering every single purchase from eBay with a 60% (!!!) importation tax 😤. With that, buying new models from eBay has become prohibitively expensive. That means that now I have to rely on local markets and on my dealer, which in terms of price is not that terrible. However, pickings became very slim.
So yes, the W-143 Garage is really slow nowadays 😥.
After my HUGE expectations with Forza Motorsport and subsequent disappointment (Turn10 fixed some issues yet I’m totally sick of the game), I’m happy to say I got a new race game. Electronic Arts released EA WRC in November, and I bought it 10 days ago. Even though it looked great when announced, I vowed to never again pre-order a game. With that, I waited to read some real-world reviews before spending money. And since reviews were consistently good, I bought it. To my utter delight, the game truly is really good. Of course it has some issues (there are no perfect games), nonetheless it is challenging and really fun to play.
You can, in a way, build your own car, selecting key components and some aesthetic features..
One of the things I really enjoyed about it is the ability to “create” your own car, be it a Rally1, Rally2 or Rally3 class car. Well, not create create, yet you can choose a few different looks and mechanical components. And these parts (engine, brakes, gearbox, etc) can impact on how the car handles and if it’s less or more reliable. And of course, you can also create your own livery. You can’t actually go bonkers, since you depend on (many) pre-set decals, however you still can get really creative.
All liveries are customizable, yet for the Mini I kept it looking like the real deal.
You can also choose to use a “real” car, like my Mini above. It’s a FWD, that I use for some historical rally events. In the case of the Mini, I mainly used it in regularity races, which are quite fun to do. Nonetheless, you can choose almost any kind of rally car. From a very early Mini to an outrageous Group B monster to the technical marvel of a Rally1.
The Group B cars are REALLY tough to master! Loose focus for a second and you’re into the bushes.
However, not everything is roses. The game is HARD! I have decades of experience with Playstation and XBox racing games, including games like the classic Dirt. Nonetheless, EA WRC is giving me a hard time 😯. The FWD and the modern 4WD cars, like WRC or Rally3 (“Rally Junior”) are precise and steady . On the other hand, RWD Group B cars specially are horrible to control. If I wink wrong, I loose it, and to the bushes we go. I find them absurdly tough to tame. To the point that I have to go really slow or else I put the car in the boondocks. On almost every stage 😣. And since it’s hard to win races driving slowly, you get the picture. However, very probably that happens due to pilot incompetence. Or at least I hope so.
Conversely, Rally Junior cars are a delight to drive – not overly fast but nimble and predictable.
Another big issue is that the game has no instruction manual. So you have to learn by trial and error, and in career mode things get difficult. You have a team to manage (contract engineers, choose what races to participate in) yet no hint on what to do. And there’s no oops-button, with no way of undoing a management decision. So if you choose wrong, you can’t go back and choose better.
Rally1 cars: total beasts, yet tamable animals.
Nonetheless, if you’re interested in rally motorsports and the WRC, it’s a VERY enjoyable game. Not perfect, but in terms of a console racing game it is challenging and very entertaining. While this may be true, it is a demanding game, with a very steep learning curve. Bottom line, as a racing game (and if you do like rallying, of course) in general it’s exponentially better than Forza.
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.
