Sunday May 27, 2007

The latest pair of 1/32nd models from Auto Art just arrived here and my curiosity led me to match them up against each other to see how well they would run side by side. These models represent different approaches in our hobby as one is a pure race car while the other a sleek street model all the way. How will this new pony car fare against the legendary Porsche? Would one clearly dominate or could we find 2 closely matched hot rods?

As already mentioned, these models have obvious differences to them that make them appeal to a vast majority of enthusiasts. The Mustang was reviewed not long ago by Shawn Smith and myself where it arrived similarly dressed in street clothes. Here we see it now trimmed out in a race livery that should make the majority of racers very happy.

Overall Tampo stampings were clean and crisp and placement was very accurate. The color however might be slightly lighter than the prototype, but the photos I have seen make it difficult to say for sure. In any event Auto Art has done a fair job of presenting this model in scale and most of you should be pleased with the overall fit and finish.

The Porsche 911 seems very plain when placed next to our Mustang but I have to give credit where credit is due. I have seen models released in all yellow that just did not have the level of finish this car does. The high gloss clear coat that seals this model makes it stand out for me and should please most fans of these cars.

The model has very little detail in the outside but that is the way it should look in street form. Overall the shape of the car seems very accurate and it also inspires me. Could it be transformed from an innocent looking street car to perhaps what some would call a "race" car easily? I think so, but first I had to finish looking it over as it is.

The interiors on both models are of course vastly different. The racing interior found in the Mustang proves to me that when Auto Art wants to, they can really deliver a highly detailed model in race form. The intricate roll bar detail really caught my eye and I caught myself following it around the car. From the cross braces to the door bars they really put forth a great effort. Our driver figure seemed good enough too being outfitted in a Ford drivers suit with hands firmly on the wheel.

The Porsche interior is not so impressive but well done for what it is. A male driver with female passenger at least add some depth to the interior and I am happy they were included.

Wheels and tires seemed well enough with each having distinct visible brake rotor detail and an acceptable level of scale accuracy. The wheels on the Mustang seemed a little dull to me, but overall captured the essence of the prototype.

Upon inspecting the wheels and tires I noticed each had issues with the tire to wheel fit. The rear tires on both were clearly not fully seated on the wheel and while trying to seat them I discovered the culprit: Excess flash molding on the inside of the wheel and plenty of it. I rarely see this much flash molding on wheels these days, but as bad as it is it is very easy to fix.

I just removed the tires from the rear and put the model under power using a 9 volt battery. Then I simply used a small sanding barrel from my moto tool assortment and lightly sanded this inner wheel rib until the molding was eliminated. After this I installed the tires and found they fit as they should with all of the "bumps" and uneven fit cured. It was now time to start our initial track testing to see how they stacked up out of the box.

Before we begin battle, let's take a quick look under the models to see how the chassis differs. Clearly you can see the Mustang is a front motor model with 2 bar magnets placed right between the rear wheels. These magnets are placed perpendicular with the chassis and should be more than enough magnet.

The Porsche is a rear motor car set in the sidewinder configuration. It has only 1 bar magnet placed flush with the front of the rear tires. It is held in place with one small cross-tip screw. It also has a wireless guide braid contact system where the Mustang uses a more traditional hard wire design. Yes, these 2 models are very different from each other to say the least but let us see what they can do on the track.

As different as they are, lap times are not as unmatched as you think. In fact, the Porsche clocked the fast lap of 3.987 where the Ford was very close with a 4.033. What we found is the dual magnets do work, but just do not give the even control of the Porsche. However, look at how close they are. These 2 cars would give some great door handle to door handle racing on any home layout.

When we talk about race cars, look what a simple decal can do. I used Monogram decals to give just a touch of race appeal to this Porsche.

In the end, Auto Art has again brought us to unique models. They both need some slight work, but will run very smoothly with very little effort. I like the choices they bring to our hobby and you might want to look closer at what they have to offer.

- Harry

As always feel free to contact me about this article or just the hobby in general at harry@homeracingworld.com, or better yet drop into our Message Forum and share your thoughts with other enthusiasts!

Thanks Go To SlotCarWorld For Providing These Models.