Hi,

Welcome to the forum!

Mira haven't made models in many years, I don't want to ruin your dreams here, to be honest they aren't very good! They are a low end / budget maker. Ok for starting out in the hobby if you are young, but you will soon see that other makers offer much more detail. It depends on the cost you're paying for the Mira's, if it's a lot of money you will probably be disappointed. If you check out our Hobby Headlines forums below, this will give you an idea of the current makers that are popular and offer better detailed models.

DX Hobby Headlines

Forums containing important information, announcements, and tidbits pertaining to various model brands.

www.diecastxchange.com

It's also worth noting that most makers do not make models in the countries you've listed, most if not all are made in China. They may research and plan them elsewhere but assembly is mostly in China.

 

Thank you for answering. The headlines you sent are very helpful. Since now almost all cars are made in China, I guess that's why my acquaintance recommended that if I find a diecast made in one of those countries, I should buy it, so those should not only be somehow antique, but also of better quality. I know (now) that Mira is not good quality, are Mira Golden Line bad quality too? What do you think of ExactDetail Replicas, Anson and SunStar? seeing photos is never the same as having the car in our hands.

Thank you in advance

 

In my country, Guatemala, the wide variety of brands that exist are not easily found, the most common are Maisto, bBurago and Jada. That's why I ventured into eBay auctions, both for my collection and to resell them. Before I started betting, I was doing research on the Internet. The little I know about brands is from friends and what I could find on the Internet. I looked for the best brands, but it hadn't occurred to me to look for which ones to avoid. In this forum I found several threads pointing out the poor quality of Mira, and I already have several Miras on the way 😕. Their external appearance is very attractive, and I looked for close-up photos on the Internet of the ones I wanted to bet on and found that they did have good details. Also, a friend had told me once that when I found a car made in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, France and Spain I should buy it because it is surely good.

Can you give me opinions and advise, please. I'm still active in some aparently beautiful Miras auctions.

As Craig already pointed out above, you want to avoid Mira at all costs. If your objective is to start re-selling in your country, Jada's "Fast and Furious" line could be an option, as F'n'F fans would buy just about anything that resemble the cars from the movie.

Personally, I think you'd be better off with the current Maisto, BBurago and Solido offerings. Check out on their websites what these offerings are, and also very important, what their box/packaging currently looks like.

I say that because Maisto, BBurago and Solido have been around for a long time, and since you're buying on eBay you need to be careful not to end up buying some old junk from the 90's and 00's. The box is one of the ways to tell which is which.

For example, some of the old Solidos could even be Mira toys in Solido's packaging, as back in the 90's they bought all the old Mira tooling and started selling these as "Mira by Solido":

Also eBay is usually full of people selling rubbish from toy makers of Mira's time, such as Tekno/Giodi, Guiloy, Ricko, Tonka/Polistil, old BBurago that were "Made in Italy", etc. It's all junk from an old era, packaged as actual "collectibles" by old toy companies. Save your money from these!

Good luck!

 

My personal experience with Mira isnt very good.. I bought the Ferrari 512TR and 348TS and they were pretty horrid. Worse than Bburago details wise but again my expereince with Mira is pretty limited so maybe their other models might fare a little better. Ultimately it is for your own enjoyment and amusement so don't worry too much about the general criticisms on the brand yet. Wait until you receive them who knows they might live up your expectation but if they don't, there is always option to resell them without incurring total lost.

This is how most of the collecting journey begins, you learn as you go along and eventually have a better idea of what to look out for and what to avoid.

old BBurago that were "Made in Italy"

LOL apparently that is the top selling point for some of the sellers. They will make sure readers don't miss it by putting that line in bold.

 

This is how most of the collecting journey begins, you learn as you go along and eventually have a better idea of what to look out for and what to avoid.

This, 100%!

You're gonna make a few mistakes, but that's how you learn.

LOL apparently that is the top selling point for some of the sellers. They will make sure readers don't miss it by putting that line in bold.

Yeah, funny how that sales pitch still works, apparently!

But you know, up until I had kind of abandoned the hobby (for the first time) in the mid 90's, BBurago was still made in Italy, also Solido was made In France and Schuco was made In Germany.

I might be getting my timelines wrong, but the 90's was the time when I remember cheap Chinese scrap flooding the world via pound shops (not sure what these were called elsewhere, "dollar shop" maybe?), which is where people started sourcing their basic household items, toys, electronics, etc.

At the time, the whole "Made In China" thing had become sort of a running gag because everything was total garbage, from battery powered items catching on fire, to "chrome" items peeling off, and spanners cracking in half as soon as you used them, and so on. We all just knew that whatever item it was, it was a waste of money and sure to give up the ghost on first use, but people kept on buying anyway, because... cheap!

Fas forward a few years, and I had already developed sort of a contempt of anything coming from China, as I watched local industries (in different places I lived) either dying an agonizing death or quickly going legs up. And the ones that didn't, well, they surrendered and turned to China for their manufacturing needs. Today, China is the second largest economy in the world and coming for the first spot, but that's another entire different story.

But where was I... oh right, so I kind of understand the mindset of people who fall for the "Made In Italy" BBuragos, or anything "Not Made In China" still on this day and age. It's a mix of ignorance, nostalgia and anger because in the past we moaned about our locally made stuff being too expensive, and now we overpay for stuff made abroad, which is making another country too rich and too powerful at our own expense.

(sorry about the long rant btw)

 

Greetings and welcome from Canada!

Exact Detail Replicas are very well done diecasts on par with Ertl Authentics and Highway 61 and are worth owning.

Ertl Elite/Precision/Authentics are also very good. However, avoid the American Muscle series as they are basic and not well detailed.

For American cars Highway 61 is also an excellent choice.

Sunstar is hit and miss except their Platinum line which is worth getting if the subject matters interest you.

Yat Ming (now Lucky Diecasts) are all budget regardless of the range. I don't know the difference between the ranges, but the few I have aren't that great. A few have better detailing than others, but not by much. Best to avoid unless there is something you really want that no one else makes or is hard to get.

Others have provided great advice so I'll only emphasize to take it slow and do your research before committing to buy as once you buy it, it can be a hassle to sell it.

 

Thank you! The price of the ExactDetail Replicas I wanted already went too high.



All your advices are highly aprecciated!

 

Thank you very much for all your advice. I will look for those that are affordable for my budget; for the moment I am only at a certain intermediate level.

 

What do you think of all the Road... from Yatming. If you had to give a rating on a scale of Road Tough, Road Champs, Road legends and Road signature, is there one or are they all of the same quality? And the one that Yatming called only under the name of Collectors Editon? From what I have been able to see in photographs, the Road Signature is better than the Signature models, am I correct?

All of these Yat-Ming ranges you mentioned - Road Tough, Champs, Legends and Signature - are essentially the same models in different boxes. I think the oldest range is Road Champs, followed by Road Tough, and so on. Because these ranges differ in age, you may find that most "Road Signature" are more recent and don't actually exist in the "Road Tough" range, which is older.

Yat-Ming made some pretty awesome models. Look for their Shelby Cobras, Aston Martin DB4 Zagato, Chevy Nomad Concept, Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA, VW Karmann Ghia, Lincoln Continental Mark II, Oldsmobile Starfire, just to name a few. They made a lot of stuff and some are pretty collectable. They even made the 1948 Ford Woody with real wood panels, as well as a some models with soft touch material on the seats, resembling real leather.

But have in mind that Yat-ming no longer exists, all of their tooling has been bought by Lucky Diecast, which currently sells only a few YM models as "Road Signature".

So these ones too, I thought Tekno and Tonka/Polistil were good. I bet on a Guiloy (I didn't win the auction), the car was sold for $44. My budget is not for Exoto, Auto Art, and those. So I am after ERTL, Road Signature, Signature Models, and alike in terms of prices. I can't go after BBurago and Maisto, because those are easly found in my country and no one will be willing to buy them, even if I find rare models. Then, I am looking for affordable brands, but not toy cars . ERTL is very appreciated here.

All your advices are being very usefull!

Thank you!

All of these I mentioned are rubbish, so saving your money for something else is my advice.

Signature Models (not to be confused with "Road Signature" discussed above) made mostly old classic cars, and they made some beautiful ones at that. If I collected American classics, these are the ones I'd be getting. Worth doing some research on them and buying some of them, too many to name on here.

They started out under the name "Charlestown Collectibles", so you may still find them on eBay with that name.

 

Some have mentioned the Sun Star platinum collection models here. I bought a few of them last year. They are attractive and have good details. However, each one that I bought has a very thin plastic radio antenna, and those are very fragile. In fact, I easily broke two of those right away after purchasing the models new! In addition, the photo-etched name plates on those are covered with a thin, clear plastic film. If you try to take that film off, the photo-etched name plates will very likely come off with the film due to poor glue quality. In my opinion, Sun Star has generally poor quality control otherwise, so I've decided to not buy any more of their products. As for Road Signature models, I have a number of them and also decided to not buy any more. On the last one I bought last year (an AMC Rebel), the doors are so poorly spring-loaded that they won't stay open at all; they just keep snapping back shut after you open them! As for the Signature brand, they look nice but are kind of sloppy in their construction. I hope this information helps!

 

Thank you all of you!

You are all very kind and all your advices are very useful to me. I see that you are all high-end collectors, but the prices for the brands you collect are out of my reach due to high shipping costs, taxes, etc. I had my eye on one Exactdetail Replica, but the price has already gone up beyond what I "should" pay.

Since you all are high-end collectors, I understand the total rejection towards Mira, but if you only had Kinsmart, Jada and Motor Max as a point of comparison, what would you tell me about Mira?

I have never had the opportunity to see in person the good brands you collect. The best brands I have gotten on my hands are Franklin Mint and ERTL. In my country the ones that are easy to get are Kinsmart, Jada, Motor Max, Maisto and bBurago. I placed them from worst to best (if I would have only those options 😕😓), Where would you place Mira in that list 😬🙈🙊😖? If I want to resell I must not opt for the ones we can buy here, that is why I placed my eyes on Mira. It is never the same watching pictures than having something on hands. I am adding some Mira versus Maisto pictures.

By the way, what do you think of Motor Museum Mint? just toys, and a small toys at that 😕?

Thank you in advance

 

Thank you all of you!

You are all very kind and all your advices are very useful to me. I see that you are all high-end collectors, but the prices for the brands you collect are out of my reach due to high shipping costs, taxes, etc. I had my eye on one Exactdetail Replica, but the price has already gone up beyond what I "should" pay.

Since you all are high-end collectors, I understand the total rejection towards Mira, but if you only had Maisto and BBurago as a point of comparison, what would you tell me about Mira?

I have never had the opportunity to see in person the good brands you collect. The best brands I have gotten on my hands are Franklin Mint and ERTL. In my country the ones that are easy to get are Kinsmart, Jada, Motor Max, Maisto and bBurago. I placed them from worst to best (if I would have only those options 😕😓), Where would you place Mira in that list? If I want to resell I must not opt for the ones we can buy here, that is why is place my eyes on Mira. It is never the same watching pictures than having something on hands. I am adding some Mira versus Maisto pictures.

By the way, what do you think of Motor Museum Mint? just toys, and a small toys at that 😕?

Thank you in advance












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I read now that @cwbs already gave me his advice about Mira, Maisto and BBurago. So Mira is even worst than Kinsmart and Jada?

 

WOW cool thread!!!

I generally only collect '57 Chevy models so that means as long as you can tell it's a '57 I'll probably buy it!!! lolollololol

Now to me, nowadays, the most accurate models (of '57 Chevys) are made by Highway 61 or Acme which are the same model with different branding. They came out with one casting about 10yrs ago and are just respraying it and making a gasser out of it now, but the original casting is the same. And of course it's made in China too, like everything else!!! LOLOL

I will say that back in the day Danbury Mint and Franklin Mint models were pretty good BUT you need to know what you are buying and if it's not a rare color don't pay more than $50 for one!! There are sellers on eBay selling them 'unbranded' of course for stupid money and idiots are paying!!! So so sad!!! They both have very detailed grilles and wheels which is REALLY important to me!

I splurged a few years ago and bought one of those fancy handmade models from England that;s 1/43 scale, I forget the name at the moment but the detail just wasn't all that TBH and nothing opened. I had to buy it from a Hobby store in Germany to get it in red with a white roof and I think they only made 20 in that color!! The interior was not very detailed, no spinners and the 'V' on the trunk and hood looks pretty bad. But the body is crafted very well and looks properly proportioned.

Ironically, I found this thread trying to look up Mira. I have a red coupe I bought cheap at a local hobby shop used and wanted to buy the matching convertible but can't find it right now at a reasonable price. Now, what I am doing with my Mira and the one I will eventually purchase is detail them up! Paint the interiors, add white wall tires and spinners and an antenna! Think of it as a 'glow-up'. Also, maybe these Mira's are old but they actually say, "Made in Spain" on the bottom instead of being from China!!!

I wanted to go back to discuss some of those crappy brands like Yat Ming and the like. Ironically, they would usually come out with a '57 Chevy as one of their first models. So the quality is usually the worst compared to their later models, which is so frustrating to me.

To me the worst of the worst are the ones you can buy here at the CVS (drug store) that are 1:24 scale (the 1:43 scale are Kinsmart and are MUCH better!!!). Here are their egregious sins on a '57 Chevy model: The top of the grille is not attached and move up with the hood, the vent windows are part of the casting and do not swing out with the doors, the wheel centers are painted red but have no spinners. But above all the reason why I hate them so much is because their front steering knuckles are so weak! Of course I own two!!! LOL one in all red and one in red with a white roof!! I mean they were only $10 new. And that's another thing, they are sold under so many different brands online and even as an unassembled model kit by Testors for around $30 which is just CRAZY to me!!!!

I can just imagine you guys trying to sift through everything with all these different boxes and brands for the same castings of things!!! It's much easier for me since I specialize in only one vehicle!!! lolololol