06/18/04 - Lamborghini Jota SVR 1975 from Kyosho. I couldn't have chosen a better model to be my first Lamborghini, because this car is simply fantastic. Kyosho did a terrific job, and the model is almost perfect. The paint job is smooth and homogeneous. Wheels are suspended and have brake disks and calipers, but the disks are static.
Headlights are made of plastic lenses and are perfect, and parking lights and turn signals are also made of plastic lenses (colored plastic for the turn signals). The radiator is protected by a delicate black grill. Exhaust pipes are hollow and the tail lights, reverse lights and turn signals are made with individualized plastc lenses. At each side of the license plate there's a small grill to vent the engine compartment.
Both doors, front compartment, trunk and rear engine compartment open. Kyosho used "proper" hinges (no dog legs here), and the gap arond moving parts is very small.
The engine is phenomenal. The huge V12 is finely detailed, with delicate plug wires and full of minute details. The (functional) rear suspension is totally visible, and I never saw this kind of craftmanship in a car that was not from Exoto. Behind is also the small trunk, that is not carpeted. The front compartment houses the fuel tank and the air horns, that are real show-stoppers with their delicate transparent hoses. I also enjoyed the small piston that eases the hood down when you close it.
As expected, the interior of the car was also finely made. The floor is carpeted and the dashboard is a true copy of the real thing, with readable gauges and texturized surface. I didn't care very much for the seats, because they look too much as made of plastic, but the seat belts are very realistic and made of fabric.
The undercarriage is no fun, being sealed and with nothing to see. As I said in the beginning, I couldn't have choosen a better model to be my first Lamborghini. Kyosho did a spetacular job on the Jota, and I consider it to be one of those models that should be a must have for any serious collector.