5
Hello again, fellow collectors. My F40 still hasn't arrived yet so I'll post another review while I'm still waiting. This review is for the 1/18 Ferrari 575M Maranello by Hot Wheels.
Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, Hot Wheels effort to reproduce the 575MM in 1/18 is far from great. Immediately you notice that the stance is rather tame because the model's front is rather rounded where the real car is sharper and more menacing.
The lights at the front are exceptionally poor - the headlights and indicators are a single piece of rubberised plastic that is painted silver to represent the lights - a typical cost-cutting measure by Hot Wheels - and it looks cheap. The tail lights are better but they are still no work of art - they are transparent red pieces of plastic with silver painted in the middle to simulate the reverse lights but silver is also used to simulate the reverse lights! The paint however is very nice and complete without rough edges or over-painted areas.
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The interior is fair at best. Different colours were used for the seats, dashboard and floor, which is accurate but the rubber plastic used feels very cheap. It looks moulded (which it is) rather than crafted and while Hot Wheels made an effort to render the paddle-shifters for the gearbox, they are too far away from the steering wheel to be to scale (otherwise you'd need fingers 12 inches long to use them). The wheels are fairly well done and the brake discs are reasonable but at least the calipers are separate from the discs so the discs do rotate with the wheels.
The air intake on the bonnet is not perforated (as it should be) and the hood opens up to reveal a half-decent effort for the engine. The engine is made from about 6 separate pieces at the most and too much of the red plastic part used to represent the banks of cylinders shows. However the underside of the bonnet is painted black (realstically) to represent the heat reflector and this is some consolation.
The 575MM is certainly less than average in terms of quality. This is a typical model by Hot Wheels standards and I reckon that you should only buy this if you don't have the 550M by UT Models or if you really, really like the 575MM.
Ratings:
Exterior - 6.5/10
Interior - 5/10
Paint/Decals - 7/10
Engine - 6/10
Wheels/Brakes - 7/10
Overall -
6/10
Hopefully my 1/18 Maisto Dodge Viper SRT/10 will arrive soon and I'll do a review on that model next.
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