Some beautiful stuff there!

 

oh yes these are some of the many greatest hits from the good ol' day LOL

I see your collection is pretty diverse.. from the early day i.e. the copper red coloured Diablo to the more recent Bugatti EB110. i cant quite remember when was the last time i bought any newish AUtoart.. maybe the Alfa 4C spyder composite might be the newest Autoart i have. The rest of them are all hailed from the golden age of Autoart.. before their retail price tag hits $200 upward.

p/s: minor regret for not pursuing the Autoart's 959 back in the day because I thought the Exoto Motorbox one was good enough for me.. Now the Autoart version is highly sought after and no longer cheap to buy

 

In my mind, AA is still the greatest. Some are similar, some are better, but nobody comes even close in the volume of absolutely GREAT models and consistent quality for YEARS and years.

 

Some of the great models by Autoart. Great set of pics too.

 

What a set! Likely my favourite shoot on this page :O Wow.
Absolutely the golden era. Aa hit the spot with their cost vs quality factor. Not over the top so the cost could be kept at bay but leaving little to be desired. I wish I knew that era would end and bought all the ones I wanted back when they were affordable.

 

Very nice collection of classic AUTOarts you have. Thank you for sharing! I haven’t seen such a good picture of an EB110 engine bay. It makes me want one. When I was a kid in the 80’s-90’s I always wanted the Bburago version, but never acquired one. Now, it doesn’t really fit any of my themes.

One of your models that surprises me is the Murcielago SV. It is such a popular and desirable model, yet I don’t think it’s quite as nice as the others.

 

the EB110 engine in the photo above looks great! TBH i am tempted by the Autoart's offering and it makes me want one as well but i don't really want to venture into premium supercars collection. I had couple of Bburago version previously and me being silly bought the Anson one thinking that it looks marginally better than Bburago version especially with the side mirrors placement but frankly that is still shite in its own way. Maybe one day i will take the plunge and buy one from a seller who has the blue one on eBay for a very long time.

 

I still think AA is still the go to brand...

But I can't say it's a Golden Age right now because the prices are ridiculous across the board. Back then most of AA were very solid quality, with barely anything more needed for you to appreciate the model, and at very competitive prices.
These days, they still retain that competitiveness, but... inflation has screwed us all. People, listen... We have Bburagos now costing 100€+ ... This is absolute insanity.
So yes, if Bburagos can cost 100€, I can totally understand how an AA is going to cost between 200-300€ which is most of their range these days, other than the overpriced sellers *cough ckmodelcars *cough...

 

This is the subject of this topic, many consider the golden era of Autoart when they used to make diecast models and released some gems. And they didn't cost an arm. So i am comparing(and celebrating) those old AA models with recent releases from the likes of LCD Models, Almost Real, MotorHelix, KengFai/KiloWorks, STWell, among others. These manufactures, at least in my view are bringing the most interesting models right now. The Supra, Paganis, Audi RS4 and RS6, Maybach, Bentley... Have you seen upcoming Civic Type R FL5 from MotorHelix? It looks amazing. LCD is bringing back the Mclaren F1. Not to mention that their Paganis, both the Zonda and Huayra. Almost Real made the amazing Jaguar XJ and the Daimler... both models that had all the characteristics of an old AA diecast millenium. Do we see Autoart doing an old 4 door classic these days? So it's a bit fascinating to see those news brands taking the place that Autoart used to dominate. Let's how things turn out to be.

 

Great idea for a thread! And so many terrific cars there, for sure. Of your group, I only have the 190E 16v and the M3; both cars have such neat bonnet mechanisms. I love your purple Lambo, too!

 

Thanks man!

 

The Golden Age of AA was the release of the Mazda 787B, Lancia S4, McLaren F1 and Alfa Tipo 33/2s. The Murcie SV, Porsche 911 Turbos and Aston Martin V8 Vantages (1980's versions) was when the prices started to dramatically increase. With the tipping point really being the Zonda Fs. However AAs range and diversity has been incredible.

I have some Almost Real, LCD and other diecast models. And they definitely fill some of the void left by Autoart going composite. I am just very grateful that I secured some of the older Autoarts are release date; but firmly believe that they will become highly cherished in years to come.

 

I have pretty much at least one of all the V12 AA Lambos in one version or another. That Murci SV is still one of my favorites, even parked next to the new SE30 and SVJ. I have the corrected 2nd run turquoise one. The Espada was another fantastic 'regular millennium' model. I remember when they were on blowout for $89, now look for one They need to revisit it after the LM002. They definitely had some hero Millennium models. I also have the F1 LM and a white road F1. I can not BELIEVE they have not re-done the Mac F1. One of the dumbest things I did years ago was sell off my 190 Evo. The M635 and M3 got those lovely fuse boxes. Ahh the good ol' days.

Years ago I had the older diablo in the same metalic bronze-orange. I did the headlight lines in Tamiya panel liner, made a huge difference.

 

Now that I think about it, I think we are currently in the golden age of Diecast. Sure they are expensive these days, but I stand by my statement. There are so many brands and so many models being made today. Back in “The good ‘ol days,” there weren’t that many manufacturers of quality die cast replicas. When Minichamps would make a certain car, they would make around 5 color/livery options. That would be it. You wouldn’t see those again until they hit eBay years later. Now if you miss out on a model, there may be another available from a different manufacturer. Selection was limited back then. Now we also have a huge aftermarket of used models that spans decades.

 

Beautiful models! The M3, NSX and maybe McLaren F1 are on my wish list. I have the EB110 and a Diablo (only a roadster) from the models you pictured. Really nice models! They EB110 isn't too pricey for this quality model at around 160 euros.

 

I have the corrected 2nd run turquoise one.

What were the differences? I didn't know there was a corrected batch dammit

Back in “The good ‘ol days,” there weren’t that many manufacturers of quality die cast replicas. When Minichamps would make a certain car, they would make around 5 color/livery options. That would be it.

Aa used to make more models per year though and they weren't all Lamborghinis. Kyosho & Minichamps would make models of comparable quality to Aa and develop new moulds. I might be biased but my interests revolve mostly around the models released back then. And everything would open. Closed resin shells were unheard of. There are many manufacturers now but I really don't understand how there's a market for 200 different versions of a G class from 10 different brands. If not for LCD, Almost Real and Motorhelix there would be barely anything worth waiting for, at least in my case.

I talked over the phone with a collector I bought one model from the other day. He invited me to a local forum. Told me there's not much going on these days as most members buy one-two models a year. They used to buy 2-3 a month in the good old days. I realized how lucky I am to be able to buy more than 2 a year. And how far things are from where they were.

Assuming the average Aa (or Kyo, or MC) model would set you back an equivalent of $88 in 2007, it was 12% of net median income and 33% of net minimum wage. Nowadays the standard Aa ($300 here) is 20% of net median income and 37% of net minimum wage... And that's only because the minimum wage was raised last year. It used to be a whopping 44%.

And that's before factoring in a significant rise in the cost of living, so the price/disposable income ratio is even more depressing.