[parsig9]

Do any of you own any of these from Exoto, Minichamps, Carousel 1, or Hotwheels? Seems there is very little in the way of quality for Indy cars but the F1 has a better crowd for sure. I see C1 is releasing a Rick Mears 1984 Indy Champ car for $180 this summer too. I was a big fan in the 80s and 90s when I knew the drivers and everyone still cared about the Indy 500. Well, you know, before the split. Since then, for me, it's a little like the Baseball strike.
I watch but it's not quite the same....
I still like to watch Lemans and Monaco but that's about it unless I happen to be flipping channels.
I wouldn't mind getting a hold on some of these and 1/43 seems very affordable from Minichamps.
I know some of the Superbikes and Tanks from Them are nice. What about the race cars?

I'm just looking into it and am wondering about brands and sizes. How big is a 1/18 Schumaker F1 or a 1/43?

Seems that and for big $, 1/12 are the main scales.

Any thoughts are appreciated as I know a little about racing but next to nothing about the diecast end of it.

[Berkut76]

Originally Posted by parsig9

Do any of you own any of these from Exoto, Minichamps, Carousel 1, or Hotwheels? Seems there is very little in the way of quality for Indy cars but the F1 has a better crowd for sure. I see C1 is releasing a Rick Mears 1984 Indy Champ car for $180 this summer too. I was a big fan in the 80s and 90s when I knew the drivers and everyone still cared about the Indy 500. Well, you know, before the split. Since then, for me, it's a little like the Baseball strike.
I watch but it's not quite the same....
I still like to watch Lemans and Monaco but that's about it unless I happen to be flipping channels.
I wouldn't mind getting a hold on some of these and 1/43 seems very affordable from Minichamps.
I know some of the Superbikes and Tanks from Them are nice. What about the race cars?

I'm just looking into it and am wondering about brands and sizes. How big is a 1/18 Schumaker F1 or a 1/43?

Seems that and for big $, 1/12 are the main scales.

Any thoughts are appreciated as I know a little about racing but next to nothing about the diecast end of it.

That sure is a lot of questions my man. Anyway, get EXOTO and Carousel 1 models in 1:18. Honestly, I would stcik to 1:43 for Minichamps Formual 1 models because 1:18 don't offer much more in terms of detail over 1:43. Just the size difference. Also, Minichamps Formula 1 models suffer from peeling and chipping decals. So, I would stay away from any Minichamps Formula model produced in the 1990s. Things imporved greatly since then.

Hotwheels models are very sturdy (no problems with decals for some reason), but are also very crude.

In short, if some model catches your fancy, let me know, and I provide some critique. Replicarz are blowing away some 1:43 models for $14.95. Grab a few and see if it'll catch your fancy.

Overall, with an exception of EXOTO and to a certain degree Carousel 1, models of open wheel racres lag behind in all areas in comparison to tin tops.

Regards,

Sergey

[ZS-VAN]

For me Exoto is prohibitively expensive and since I have a collection of 1/18 scale Porsches I got some Schumacher Hotwheels Ferraris. I agree that the details isn't what it could be, in fact last years car had some aerodynamic devices like little wings ahead of the cockpit and this is not modelled on the car. The 1/43 Minichamps F1 cars are also very nice but very expensive here hence 1/18 scale for me.

[Horrido!]

Black Lotuses by Minichamps in 1/12, 1/18 & 1/43 scale to give you an idea of the difference in size.

[parsig9]

Thanks for the info guys! I appreciate the scale differences now and appreciate the truth on the UC/MC scale/value.

One more thing. I found a company called Greenlight that make inexpensive Indy racers. Are they Hotwheels like or nicer than that?


Based on what you all have said I think the Minichamps 1/43 may be the way to go for me as this would be a sideline collection and, hopefully, small.

I really appreciate it.

Al Unser Jr. Minichamps 1/43 Cart / Indy / F1 - eBay (item 160242772734 end time May-27-08 16:01:32 PDT)
Mario Andretti 1994 last Indy car Indycar 1:18 Minicha - eBay (item 180245921859 end time May-29-08 20:00:13 PDT)


Here are a couple I'm looking at if you have thoughts....

[Berkut76]

Originally Posted by parsig9

Al Unser Jr. Minichamps 1/43 Cart / Indy / F1 - eBay (item 160242772734 end time May-27-08 16:01:32 PDT)

Al Unser Jr. Minichamps 1/43 Cart / Indy / F1 - eBay (item 160242772734 end time May-27-08 16:01:32 PDT)
Mario Andretti 1994 last Indy car Indycar 1:18 Minicha - eBay (item 180245921859 end time May-29-08 20:00:13 PDT)

Here are a couple I'm looking at if you have thoughts....

These models are 15 years old. So, the level of detail and quality is not up to date's standards. For example the driver's figure is not well detailed. Decals will not be in pristine shape either, and you might have to use Microsol or Microset to fix them.

In short, for INDY cars, Carousel 1 is the only company worth your time. They've also made a few 1:43 Indy racers under Hobby Horse name, but then discontinued the line, and the models became highly sought after.

Another company that might be of interest to you is UT (pre-cursor to AutoArt). Their Reynards from 1998-1999 are actually quite excellent and for some reason don't suffer as much from deteriorating decals like Minichamps or ACTION Champ Cars.

ACTION models from 2000 are quite good as well, but 1999 one suffer from bad decals (see a theme here?).

Greenlight models are crap like Maisto IRL ones. Although, there might be improvements to this year's mold.

Despite all of the above, Minichamps, ACTION, and UT models from the late-1990s are in high demand from customizers. Hence, even distressed fetch big bucks on eBay.

Regards,

Sergey

[11SQNLDR]

the question remains - can the Kiwi win this year!!!!

[STARMAN 352ND]

Originally Posted by Horrido!

Black Lotuses by Minichamps in 1/12, 1/18 & 1/43 scale to give you an idea of the difference in size.

Ohhh....I like the looks of that collection of cars..
JP

[parsig9]

Ok, C1 it is and Exoto for some F1 if something tickles me.

The 1/43 are 4'' long and the 1/18 are more like 9'' or so. I'll have to see the 43s I guess. You have been very helpful Berkut and I will be adding the C1 1984 Mears Penzoil car and maybe the Exoto Nigel Mansell 1/18 Ferrari model from the Grand Prix of Portugal.

Thanks again.

[Berkut76]

Originally Posted by parsig9

Ok, C1 it is and Exoto for some F1 if something tickles me.

The 1/43 are 4'' long and the 1/18 are more like 9'' or so. I'll have to see the 43s I guess. You have been very helpful Berkut and I will be adding the C1 1984 Mears Penzoil car and maybe the Exoto Nigel Mansell 1/18 Ferrari model from the Grand Prix of Portugal.

Thanks again.

House of Hobbies are blowing out some Indy racers for $80USD plus shipping. You should check them out. Especially, 1976 McLaren M16 as driven to victory at the Indy 500 by Johnny Rutherford. Although, I don't have this particular model, on this page you'll find pics of Sneva's McLaren from the same race to get an idea as to the level of detail:

Selected Models from Berkut76 Collection. - 1/12 & 1/18 Diecast Forum - Diecasts - Auto Barn Motorsports Forum - Message Board - Yuku

Regards,

Sergey