Kyosho has released a 1/18 replica of Bacchelli's winning Fiat 131 Abarth from the 1977 New Zealand Rally.
This is a fine representation of a classic rally car. The small details abound throughout this car. The exterior tampo printing is fantastic, although it does have a few flaws. The interior is breath taking, the detail is astounding.
Rally has always been my passion, just man vs. time. In the states, rally has been for the greater part overlooked, there is very little coverage and it is hard to find any press coverage anywhere. I can still remember my first time watching, I was still living at home when satellite dishes were coming of age; at that time the dishes were huge 14-16 foot and received a mind boggling 75 channels. Well anyway, I found rally racing on BBC and in the first 5 minutes I was hooked. The race was Rally Finland, or as it was called back then the 1000 Lakes Rally, the year was 1980. Markku Alén and his co-driver Ilkka Kivimäki won it. In a strange coincidence they were in a Fiat 131 Mirafiori.
What's under the boot?
Astounding detail and exacting reproduction, did you expect anything else?
This car and its fine detail brings me back to that time. Fiat would be proud of this car, more important, Fulvio Bacchelli would be proud. This car is so ultra realistic. KOSHO has gone to great detail on this car. Are there flaws? Yes. Are they deal breakers, no way.
Let’s start with the flaws. There are not that many so let’s get them out of the way. The tampo printing on the doors over lap as I have shown in the photo, it encapsulates the top of the number one. The next one is I feel major is major. The groin strap is missing in the five point harness on the driver and the co-drivers seats, a big oversight.
Now, let’s cover the good points of this car, and there are many. The driver and co-driver seats are detailed to an astounding degree. Although missing the groin strap in the five point harness, the straps are made of canvass and the adjustment slides work and the latches look real.
The undercarriage is nice but I feel it could have been executed in a fashion to not only stand on its own merit, but to complement the rest of the car. Although to Kyoshos defense all rally cars are sparse on their undercarriages.
The co-drivers compartment looks like it came out of the real car; everything the co-driver needs is there. The odometer and every time keeping and adjustment device to insure he is getting the driver where he needs to be and when. Not only is it there but in fine definition and clarity.
The driver’s compartment is also in great detail; the wheel, shifter and steering brake are in great proportion, not only to each other but to the whole car. The seats are soft and padded to the touch. This whole car is a wonderful tactile experience.
The motor needs less chrome parts. The wiring for the plugs is spot on. The bracing is well done. This area also needs the same color detailing used everywhere else. The motor on the top is 1:18th the one on the bottom is 1:1
The Verdict;
A must have for your rally collection, or if you were thinking of adding a rally car to your collection this would be it. This car, in my mind rates an eight out of ten
With kind regards,
Franklin Nichols
The real Thing
