Another One. AUTOart's 1/18 Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 LM Limited

You can never have too much of a good thing.

Not one, not two, not three, but four:

Front to back: LM Limited, V-Spec, Nismo 400R, Nismo R-Tune

That good thing being the R33-generation GT-R. Behind those clean lines lies a monster that made the proverbial Nurburgring run in less than 8 minutes, one of (if not) the first production cars to do so. What makes this more amazing is that the R33 is no supercar, exotic, or hypercar. It's a two-door sports car based off a four-door family sedan. 

The blue example shown here is the V-Spec LM Limited edition of the R33. It's a special edition model made to commemorate Nissan entering the 24-hours of Le Mans with the race-ready R33 Nismo LM, where it finished in tenth place amongst a swarm of the top supercars of the era. Nissan produced only 98 of the LM Limited, with a mere 14 of them based on the V-Spec rather than the standard model. Since this is diecast and you can have essentially any car you want, AUTOart naturally gave us the rarest of the rare. 

Hence, the Nissan Skyline GT-R (R33) V-Spec LM Limited, in Championship Blue.

So, what exactly is the difference between this and the "normal" R33 other than the paint job, you ask? 

To sum it up, there are three very, very minor tidbits. Here's how it compares with the Midnight Purple V-Spec, also by AUTOart:

Lip spoiler on the hood.

Carbon-fiber wing.

Commemorative badge on the C-pillars.

That's it!

For the hardcore fans, the small differences are reason enough to get this one and the standard one. For others who are juggling between one or the other, the Championship Blue color is what usually tips the scales. I will always be more partial to any purple over any blue, but I identify as the former.

And I might not be done with just four of them either.

Oops, I Did It Again! Adding a Third 1/18 R33 GT-R To The Collection

It's official: I am now more than just a 1/64 collector. I am a 1/18 collector as well.

In all honesty, probably not, but it's all about the models. If someone makes the car you love most, you get it no matter the brand or the scale. Unfortunately for me, I have to dive into larger scales to get a model of my favorite car, the R33 GT-R. Fortunately, there have been some very nice ones coming from the premiere, high-end brands. My third R33, in said 1/18 scale, has arrived.

Cue the Gran Turismo-esque cover photo, because what else goes better with Skylines than GT?

This is the Nissan Skyline GT-R (R33) V-Spec, by AutoArt.

And I got it in the best color ever: Midnight Purple.

AutoArt has produced this model in a few other colors, namely white, silver, and blue. It was tough, but I had to pass on those. Look, an R33 is an R33, but I always knew deep down inside that I wanted that Midnight Purple the most. While the other colors are quite plentiful, I had to do some searching to find a store with the color I desired.

I purchased this model from ezToys, an online dealer that specializes in model aircraft but also sells quite a few AutoArt pieces as well. They have a very formidable selection with very competitive prices. Luckily, they had this exact model in stock and at a slight discount to boot.

I have to say it was not all sunshine and blue skies.

My package arrived with the car bubble wrapped and separate from the standard AutoArt box. When I unwrapped the car, I found both of the side mirrors broken, likely during transit. I quickly sent an email to ezToys asking for an explanation. To their credit, they replied very quickly and told me that they had issues with AutoArt's shipment of this particular model. Many of them arrived broken as originally packaged (they even sent me a photo of one with a mangled front wheel housing), so they asked that AA wrap these cars and ship them separately from their boxes. It sounds a bit strange and counter-intuitive, but this is per their word and I'm not making any of this up.

In any case, the good thing is this is an easy fix with a few minutes of time and a little bit of glue. I really did not want to go through the trouble and wait a couple weeks just to get a replacement that hopefully doesn't break on the way here. Therefore, we worked out a resolution in which I received a partial refund on the purchase and kept the car. (Of course, there's that whole issue with resale value, but we don't care about that over here.)

A few dabs of Krazy glue and the R33 is looking like new again.

Overall, I'm about as satisfied as I was with all my other 1/18 models, which is very. After a couple of "boring" resin models, it's refreshing to get back to diecast again. The steering does wonders for photos. Opening parts are a bonus. There's just more detail inside and out. AutoArt prides itself on the number of individual components used to make each model, and that's something every collector can appreciate when they get up close with something like this. That fine mesh on the front grille intakes. The intricate hinges and tiny screws that you see when you lift up the hood and the trunk. Those photo-etched badges that remind you this is a GT-R and not your everyday Japanese econobox. That's why AutoArt models command the premium that they do. And that's why, in a world where everyone seems to be shifting towards resin, collectors still love their diecast cars.

Lastly, the obligatory family photo:

Skylines on a Saturday: Kyosho's Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 NISMO 400R

Gear up for a bevy of Skyline features. I've got some TLV's sitting on the shelf, already starting to collect dust, waiting to be photographed and blogged. I just received a new package yesterday containing one very, very large Godzilla that I can't wait to show. And then we have the eight Kyosho's that I mentioned in my post yesterday, possibly with four more on the way. We'll start with that. Let's go in chronological order starting with the R33, also known as my favorite Skyline. I prefer to call it the best Skyline.

This is the NISMO 400R.

Stop me if you've seen this one before.

I couldn't help but put them side-by-side for a family photo.

A fraction of the size, but with nearly all the details. Now that's impressive. That's the kind of level that Kyosho is at and if you're new to the brand, now's a great time to jump in.