Actually. Not that incredible. Took me quite a long time because I suck at blogging. Probably 75/100 are due to the 30 day blog challenge for 3 years in a row. But nonetheless, 100 posts I'm pretty happy with.
So today, I have a very special model. It's special to me, because I'm always use to collecting car models of cars I'll probably never own. That's why collecting car models are fun. You get to appreciate gawk and awe at the lines, features and engineering of the car without having to buy one of them. Seeing their shape in the flesh and being able to turn and rotate them in your hands is in my opinion infinitely better than looking at 100 photos in google images. Hence why I collect. But what is this! Its a model. Of my own car! How cool. Not only that, but its the exact same colour.
So this is gonna be a more brutal review than usual. Because I can actually vouch for the accuracy of the model. I just have to walk outside to the garage. But of course, this is the Toyota 86. There are subtle differences in options, add ons and badging. Also, because this is the Japanese version its steering wheel is on the other side of the car. But because I researched the hell out of this car, I already know the differences from the Scion FR-S and the Toyota 86. Onwards to the review!
Shots of the exterior. The panel and lines fit very well and seem to represent the real car. The ride height and size of the wheels are spot on. I haven't seen my car with the stock wheels on it for a while, but when I look at it it definitely feels right.
The rear of the car is pretty good. It has the larger JDM exhaust tips and they are in chrome. The rear lights look great and they captured the lines, trunk and rear trimming very accurately. There are only 2 things that they got wrong.
1. The rear diffuser on the real car has a pattern on it. I guess they probably wouldn't for a model of this size. It'd be hard, but it would have been a nice touch since they have been pressing carbon fiber texture items.
2. The rear tow hook caps. If you look closely on the model there two rectangular squares on the white area right where the diffuser and bumper meet up. WHAT THE FUCK. its right there on the white. On the real car in the picture below, you can see the tow hook covers are clearly on the diffuser. It really distracts the lines of the rear bumper because they have these two freakin rectangles etched into it. It probably took them longer to put them in that area. God damn it.
But hey, redemption time! The front end looks AWESOME. They really took a lot of time to make it very accurate. I like how the front bumpers little "fangs" are molded just right. Also if you blow up the photo, AUTOart went above and beyond to ensure that the headlamps/signal and fog lamps looked like more than plastic. They don't have a single peg or dab of glue to hold them in place which increases the realism quite a bit. The front emblem is also a metal Toyota emblem which has been cleared over with the body work. Very nice. The shut lines are also very tight and suit the cars line. I was worried that the area of the hood that jutted out top to the headlamp wouldn't be snug or even with the other areas, but they were.
The thing that impressed me most on the front end however was the grill. If you ever looked at the real car, the grill isn't just a checkered pattern. It's actually a "T" logo repeating. This was really surprising to me that AUTOart specifically molded this metal mesh in the proper logo instead of just taking mesh out of their current stock to fill that gap.
Another part they captured really well were the wheels. I really liked how they showed the diamond cut texture really well and the metallic disc brakes look 100% accurate. They are 100% exactly like those on the real car. I've taken my wheels on and off several times and the sizing of the discs, the color and detail of the calliper are all the same. Even the slightly gun metal coloured lug nuts are there. Complete is the metal Toyota emblem in the center cap. Ridiculously accurate. The only thing they could have done was print the labelling on the tires, but I haven't seen that done in ages.
The interior was also very well done. Everything resembles the real car. The steering wheel has the silver trimmings, the silver trimming around the shift shroud is there. The pedals are accurate, metal and sit in the proper positions. The chairs are molded pretty well, but I think they could have provided better detailing to make it look a bit more like fabric instead of plastic. The carpeting is done really well too. Another item I would have liked was to have a photo etched plate for the side sill. It appears to be a tampo sticker on this one.
Also, the molded "86" on the steering wheel was very fitting and the tachometer looks 100% accurate.
Trunk was good. Holds up well, but I really dislike the hinges. The real car has dampers and a hinge similar to what the GT-R model had I reviewed a few days ago. For the price I paid I expected real dampers and not these old style hinges.
Another shot of the interior from the passenger side. You guys can't see it but the carbon pattern on the panels are very accurate.
The last part here is the engine. The engine is in classic AUTOart fashion. Very nicely detailed, all the important bits are there. The one thing I found lacking was the amount of wires. They got down all the plastic details on the intake tube, fuse box and manifold. Even the alternator and starter caps look really good. But there's just something missing extra in there that brings out the engine bay. I still feel like its plastic and "model" like vs some of AUTOart's recent releases. It might also just be a lack of the warning stickers and decals I've seen in my real car.
Top of dash looks pretty good:
Underside looks very accurate. Changed my exhaust since then, but I had a REALLY good look under my car several times and this is definitely accurate. I like how the rear diff and brake/axle assemblies can be seen. Also the drive shaft is a multi piece as well.
Lastly, AUTOart also included a lot of small details I think a lot of other manufacturers would have skipped. The antenna is very accurate, I really like the opposing piston metal logo on the fender and also the defroster on the rear windows.
Thank you for the detailed review and accompanying photos. I've been coveting a Toyota 86 but maybe the Autoart model will be sufficient at this stage!
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