Jeffkilly

I understand what you are saying, but how do I know it is a good deal if I have no experience. For example, I went on Autoart's website and most porsche models were $130. So, if I find anyone of those used for $100, is that a good deal assuming theyxare in excellent condition. If no box, do I walk or should the price come down another 10%. I realize with time and experience, I will know what a good deal is, but in the interim I would like to make a few purchases without paying way too much. 10% too much won't bother me on a $100 car, but 50% too much will. Not from a money standppont, just from a principle standpoint. I don't mind overpaying for good service (car, boat, TV/Sound System) but hate overpaying for a basic product! Appreciate all the guidance!

The NSX dude

First off, some of the cars are no longer even available. So the price when they were new are irrelevant. Depends what Autoart models you are reffering to? For example plane jane 996's in blue or yellow seem to be dime a dozen and can be had for $100. Porsche Turbos and GT2's often sell for $200 or more. Super rare and hard to find.

As far as the box, depends on your display method. Im personally waiting till I move one day and plan on displaying all of my models in display cases. For now, I buy in boxes but am not opposed to a good deal if its "loose". The nice things about the boxes is when they get shipped, they dont break if they are well packed. Seems like whenever I buy a model without a box, It arrives a little messed up. Normally missing a mirror, spoiler or something.

Bottom line is just wait, see what they are selling for and just hold out till you know its a good deal. Or if you just "have" to have it, jump on it!

I like UT 1:18 scale model and 1:43 Minichamps the best!

917962

I would recommend Spark in 1/43 scale. They also do 1/18 if you prefer something a bit larger with more detail. I think this is your best bet if you want quality at a somewhat affordable price. Replicarz has a nice selection of various brands and scales to whet your appetite.

FrenchToast

What kind of models are you looking for? 997's (your avatar), 928, Audi, VW, Viper, anything?

IMO, there is no 'go-to' brand for models. For example, the AutoArts are indeed very detailed, but on some of them the proportions are off. Many times more budget models can 'look' better.

UT Models for example, no longer exists. They were more or less absorbed and turned into AutoArt in 1999. AutoArt for a little bit retained some of the UT tooling and still made some of their stuff. In the 1990's, UT Models were some of the best available models out there in terms of price, detail, and the right 'look.'

Since UT's are such a great model are NLA (no longer available), prices have skyrocketed, especially for the rarer models. Some of the 1:18 McLarens fetch the better half of a thousand dollars, which is basically a 1,000% appreciation rate from when they were new. Some UT Models however, have had no appreciation, some have depreciated even.

As for non-MIB (Mint in Box, also NIB, New in Box) cars, I'm not sure what discount to attribute. For a broken model it should be a 50%+ discount however.

You should note that within the past few years there seems to be an increasing amount of 1:18 resin models. Most or all of these are sealed (no opening parts), and includes products from Spark, Otto-Models, and GT-Spirit.

Take care,

Jeffkilly

Not sure if your above questions are rhetorical, but I will provide some details of the type of models I am looking for, to hopefully help guide me in the right direction:

- Metal models - I guess Die Cast.
- Size - Larger than Hot Wheels - Maybe 1:24 and 1:36
- Primarily Porsches
- 1st Purchase - Want my car.
- All 911's
- All other Porsches from early to present.
- Prefer consumer cars versus racing, but will get some nice looking racing cars.
- Want detailed interior and exterior with moving parts (trunk, hood, steering wheel moves wheels, etc.).
- Don't want just an externally detailed model with no interior, if there is such a thing.

Appreciate the education!

Jeff

FrenchToast

Scale: 1:24 and 1:36 are sort of oddball scales. They are out there for sure, but aren't the most popular. 1:24 is common is plastic kits, 1:36 in pull-back cars. Pretty sure they make 997s, 997.2s, and 991s in 1:36 with wind-up motors. Cast metal 1:24 cars are out there, but aren't as popular as 1:18.

The most popular 'collector' scales are 1:43 and 1:18. I think Norev makes a good 997 model. Norev is also one of the dealer brands (or at least was for the 997 era I believe), which I have read means that Norev gets the privilege of using factory drawings of the car in question to produce their model, leading to an accurate looking model.

Most cast metal models larger than 1:43 scale have opening parts. Just about all models, except for R/C cars and some Hotwheels (and Matchbox, etc.) cars have transparent windows with interiors.

Type into eBay "Porsche 997" (in the toys/hobbies category) to see what is readily available. Keep in mind if you're looking for new items, eBay is most of the time not a good price, search the web. But remember many 997s are titled as a 911, because not everyone knows what a 997 is.

Regarding your car: It looks like you also have the optional Sport / Minilite-style wheels. Those may be somewhat rare in scale models. But checkout the Norev models - they made a lot of 'Exclusive' 997s (wheels and color combos that in real life would be special-ordered).

Maisto, which was a dealer brand up until midway through 997 production, made a 997 pre-facelift in a similar (or same) color as your car, with Lobster-Fork wheels, in 1:18 scale.

You may find the model of your car, but that it needs different wheels and a repaint. At this point, well, you're on your own!

Take care,

jorijori

Porsche evolution models dealer box made by Minichamps size 1:43

jorijori

The rear spoilers are retractable on 964 & 993, pretty cool...

jorijori

Kyosho 1:64

jorijori

Dealer box RC 1:64

BSL

An ebay search for "Porsche 1/18" will give you loads of models to look through. Watch a few of the auctions and you start getting an idea of pricing. The newer dealer models (997.2) seem to be very high priced on ebay, and you would be better off checking with some dealer parts departments for stock they want to get rid of.

Regarding the "plane jane" 996 models, I picked up a couple of AutoArts for about $15-20 each a couple of years ago, mainly for the reason they were at a low price. A lot of people only buy with the box, so this is another area of opportunity to save some money.

Jeffkilly

Thanks for all the input and guidance. I just popped my cherry buying 3 models on Ebay. Not sure if i got good deals, but if they look as good as the pics in person i will be happy.

I bought:

Bborgado 1:18 1961 (my birthdate) 356

Autoart 1:18 911

Maisto - 1997 911(don't think i will buy many maistos, but bought this one because It was almost the first porsche i bought in the early 80's). Gpt it for $15 including shipping, so no harm no foul.

Again thanks for all tge knowledge sharing.

Jeff

The NSX dude

Congrats on a good start! The Maisto's arent bad for the money, for a couple hundred you can complete an entire model lineup. I have assembled all the color of the 911 Speedsters for probably less than a $100.

Jeffkilly

I just received the Maisto 1:24 model. Not much detail. Certainly would not want to pay more than $15 for this model. I have a feeling the autoart will be much nicer.

I also was checking out CMC and they look like Very High quality and detail, with high prices to match, but with very limited Porsche models..

FrenchToast

The Bburago 356 models are actually very nice, for what they are. At least this is before Bburago was bought by Maisto. The pre-Maisto Bburago 356's also have incredible paintwork for what they are. I haven't seen a Maisto-ized Bburago in person, so can't speak for its paint.

Keep in mind that Maisto has progressed quite a bit since 1997. In 1:18, dog leg doors and brake-less wheels are gone (except for models carried over from the older eras). I think the 996 and 997.1 models (granted, from when they were dealer-supported) are some of their best models. Well, their absolute best model might be the Gullwing, with real cloth seats

Hmm. 1:18? Red, yellow, black, white, green, purple, silver? How'd I do? If 1:24 should be red, blue, yellow? and, I don't know.

Apparently the CMC 901 is an amazing model. It has an opening gas flap and real torsion bars. Oh, and real lugnuts.

Take care,