CM's Mazda RX-7 1985 Acropolis

Something on my wishlist.... but in Jarrod's collection.  Not the first time something awesome from his collection was featured on this blog.  In fact, if you type his name in the search box, you should see quite a few of his cars on here.  Pics:

Removable fog lights are so cool!

Kyosho Fiat-Lancia Minicar Collection Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione II versus Tomica Limited Vintage & CM's

"What are you doing Minicar Pics 1/64?  We've been here before, and fairly recently!!"

Well, you'd be right..... EXCEPT WE HAVE NEW CHALLENGER!!!  Recently shared in a post by Apok on GTPlanet, it's a Kyosho.

On the right in the rally livery of course is CM's.  On the left, red with rear spoiler is the Kyosho.  

Ohhh... It's the red TLV Delta & another CM's!

Okay, now the big three.  For me, easy ways to tell difference:  

TLV - Black rims(in the center)

Kyosho - Rear wing(on the right)

CM's - Antenna hole on the roof(on the left)

Apok: "As far as Kyoshos go it's not too bad. The wheels look good and the front has pretty good details. Comparing it to TLV or CM's is a waste of time though as those are noticeably better. This does appear to be a different variant to those two (note the rather large wing), so that's nice."

Apok has told me that he prefers the CM's version, and I do also(pictured).  

Special thanks to Apok for these interesting comparison shots.  Please check out his brand spanking new blog.  

VERSUS: Tomica Limited Vintage NEO LV-N130a Lancia Delta HF Intergrale 16v(1989) vs. CM's Lancia Delta HF Integrale(Plain Color Vers.)

So I've brought this up before.  How I wished that TLV spent the time & resources toward another vehicle that collectors have yet to see in the realistic 1/64 form.  Really love Delta Integrale, but honestly, CM's did such an amazing job with this car that I didn't see TLV surpassing it by much, if any.  

Of course, all that's from this one collector's perspective.  I don't know if Tomytec saw this casting as a good business decision, or simply one of the cars they've been wanting to do & add to their minicar line up.  Probably both.

First the TLV version by Tomytec:

Little blemish on the box from amiami.  Rare occurrence, they are usually perfect.

CM's:

When you are familiar with a vehicle in real life, it's easier to say that casting looks good, better, maybe little different, etc.  While I've really liked this car from my childhood, I've never seen one in person, so going strictly by pictures from the Google image search, it's little difficult to me which casting looks more correct.

CM's version look little flat to me on the hood to the front end, maybe tad wider too, but sharp straight lines looks accurate to what I saw on the Google search of the real life car.  TLV, as expected seems to have the correct detailing covered, but at least for me, the bulges & curves are too pronounced.  Too curvy, maybe too rounded.  Headlights on the TLV looks really good, but the fog lights on CM's looks like a million bucks where TLV just painted theirs in silver.  Back to the accuracy for moment: CM's version I think is pretty much a restyled rally car casting, so TLV likley blows CM's out of water in this department.  I'm not gonna lie though, how cool is the spare tire stored inside the CM's version?  :D

In the end, with the pros & cons, as I guessed in that previous post(linked at the top), I think TLV wins, but by very little.  Personally, I still prefer the CM's version for the sharper lines that seem to depict the boxy styling of the car really well.

The title of this post is "VERSUS" after all.  I declared that the TLV casting won by a hair, but my personal taste prefers the CM's design.  So who wins?

By my casual observation, it seems likely that most blogs & collectors would declare TLV the winner.  Not this one.  Winner of  this head-to-head is the CM's.  

For me, it really came down to the price.  MSRP of the TLV is ¥2.400 or roughly $24.  CM's is less than $10 at ¥950.  Granted, with the CM's, like Kyosho, it's a blind box system.  Meaning that entire series is released in boxes with same pictures & design that doesn't reveal if it's the car you want inside, or something else.  

Still, the MSRP of the CM's is less than half that of the TLV.  Even with the inflation in mind, that's a price difference alright.  In a way, they are both winners.  TLV did a really good job with the car.  It's just that CM's way overachieved at this price point in my view.

I still so wished TLV respected this CM's car more & did something else with their time & effort like the original MR2.  Original Supra?  How about the BMW 8-Series?  List is long.  *sigh*

CM's Lancia Delta HF Integrale: Post brought on by..... Tomytec??? LV-N130a + LV-N130b

It all started on a lazy Thursday morning, on my day off.  While sleeping in, browsing the hot wheels thread on GTPlanet still in bed, I noticed a heads up by one of the TLV collectors on there.  He posted a pic showing these two cars displayed by Tomytec(TLV):

LV-N130a

LV-N130b

Scheduled release is in September('16) according to Tomytec product page.

I'm sure lot of collectors went " 'Bout time!  Chyah!".  Not this one.  I was like *smh*.  Let me explain:

I LOVE TLV.  I LOVE Lancia Delta Integrale.  However, how I saw this was a wasted effort, because this already exist:

CM's Lancia Delta HF Integrale

While these are no longer sold(CM's brand is long gone), they are not hard to find on eBay.  If you encounter shortage, just stay patient & they'll pop up again for $20 or so.  The new TLV version will more than likely cost just as much.  

CM's did such an outstanding job with this casting, I honestly don't see TLV surpassing this by much, if any.  I just wish that TLV spent the time & energy producing castings based on something truly rare, or may not exist yet.  That's just me.  Anywho, here's the rally version of the same CM's casting:

These are some old pictures I've been meaning to post.  Better late than never!  :)