Great in-depth comparison! It's nice to see a "little more casual" view of the details compared to a hardcore / perfectionist collector. For example I like the videos of Great Champions Tiny Cars Reviews, because he really points out the tiniest cons or irregularities and the pros. I also like his strive for accuracy with his small additions (extra tyre decals etc). You mostly display the models as-is but still look for pros and cons in your reviews and are not as strict which I also appreciate! In your case you have the CK Modelcars version of the Minichamps that comes in the flip box custom made for the specific model. The regular Minichamps releases come on a thick base packed in Styrofoam and a box. The box used to look pretty boring in black and with a checkered flag but this year, Minichamps started to use team specific designs like Spark used to do on their older models. Meanwhile Spark has these simple looking boxes since 2022 but the box feels so much more dense and premium than Minichamps. If I were to choose between the two, I would personally go for Spark (I mostly collect Minichamps but really special models I get from Spark, for example Vettel last race). But in case of Red Bull or Mercedes, I would choose the Minichamps versions, because they are mostly diecast models and they are mostly cheaper. Also spark models tend to be more scarce and not as widely available as some Minichamps models (thinking of some RB16B where over 1000 units were produced)
Thank you for the feedback. I try to have a laid back approach to my reviews but highlight the pros and cons that might help a viewer chose to buy or not. I like Great Champions Tiny Cars Reviews as he is very thorough. At the end of the day I enjoy the collecting and understand at the end of the day they are "mass produced representatives in 1/18th scale" and thus imperfections and short cuts will exist. For me on the boxes I like the look of the CK Model Cars and I did notice on the 2023 Logan Sargent car it does come in a team colors box which is nice. At the end I like the clam shell or window boxes simply for space saving relative to the larger Minichamps box. Spark's box is definitely premium to Minichamps, your correct and if you need a cover it is the choice. Interesting on the lower production runs for Spark. I missed out on a 2019 or 2020 Racing Point and only this year did I finally pick one up because some vendor on Ebay had a "limited run" made. Cost me for that one! Again thanks for watching and commenting. I enjoy the interaction with other collectors.
Wow!!! Much appreciated. Happy to share my collection and chat with other collectors. I am trying to keep it casual and hopefully provide some helpful info for collectors to decide what they want to buy. Again stoked about your comments. Thank you for watching.
I bought the Spark version as I was happy with 2022 model reviews. I'm really pleased with it, being one of a few Spark models I have in my large collection. I also bought the RB19 and Mercedes W13 from Spark and both are stunning. Anyone who buys a Spark won't be disappointed and I'm glad I chose them over Minichamps. The added benefit of the acrylic cover is probably more valuable an addition that you indicate. I display my models on a shelf and this saves buying separate display cases and also saves you having to take the model off the base. I think for 2024 models, I'll be sticking with Spark unless Minichamps up their game, even though the difference in the models is negligible.
Totally agree that the difference between Spark and Minichamps is negligible at this moment and certainly in isolate you would not miss one for the other. I am running out of space so the acrylic covers are definitely a bonus for those who do not have shelf space and they are quality covers to boot. I admit to being a fan boy on Minichamps at times but the 2022 Merc and this Aston may convert me. I am likely to put the Minichamps up for sale and remaining 2023's I need may come from Sparks. For Red Bull I will get one of each. Again thanks for watching and commenting. Love to hear what other collectors think about different brands and takes on the cars I am collecting.
Minichamps really need to improve their front wings of F1 cars! It's so disappointing that it's still a single piece, when the rest of the model is so good. I did get a Minichamps and a Solido C42 1/18 carmodel and even the Solido model does have separate pieces for the front wing, and it was 1/3rd of the price of the Minichamps model.
Yes crazy a Solido would have ...I had to go and check a Solido Alpine I have and sure enough split wing plane! A cursory look and Minichamps has rarely used multiple parts to make the main wing plane (not including all the extra winglets added back in the '00's) through the decades. I will assume it is all down to budgeting and where they want to spend the money. That said the Solido wheels on that Alpine had the ribbing around the edge also. Maybe 2024 will be the year they change???
@@WhiteoutTech They can start by never doing resin ever again and go back to DIECAST. I don't collect resin and I only collect die cast. I don't care about the reasons for resin since there are no moving parts
Keep in mind, that when you take the exact paint colour of an actual car and put it on a scale model, it will appear somewhat darker than when you compare to the actual car because of the smaller surface area of the model less 'lit up' by the ambient light. It is quite possible the darker car had been done with the actual AMR23 colour but it looks less like the actual colour than the other model. Sometimes experienced modellers choose a lighter paint to give make the model visual appearance closer the the real thing. BTW, I personally like the Minichamps model overall. Thanks for the well done review video.
Good point...kind of like getting a paint swatch at the store then painting the wall...not always as expected. Interesting pointer on how modelers compensate for the change. Thanks for watching and I appreciate the insight.
In both cases these are resin models so the wheels do not spin. Generally, but not always, diecast models have wheels that move and resin are fixed. All Spark models are resin, Minichamps makes Red Bull and Mercedes in Diecast and their other offerings are resin for recent seasons.
Yes…I think the more I look at photos since I made the video the Minichamps maybe more accurate. You can always find photo to support each case but I kind of think if I made this video again I might say the Minichamps is the right color. I do like it better regardless of the accuracy.
Hi, I wish they were diecast. Spark has always produced Resin models for F1 or Endurance or Street cars. They just make Resin to my knowledge. Minichamps has started gravitating to Resin in recent years. So on Minichamps it appears for F1 cars that Red Bull and Mercedes are mostly in diecast but all others such as Haas/Aston Martin/McLaren/Williams/Alpine are primarily in Resin now. I do not want to say 100% but that is pretty much what I see.
Like mentioned in the video, this really is a subjective matter and depends on taste. However I do own both spark and minichamps models of the rb19 and do 100% argree with the verdict of this video. The spark model looks way more accurate than the minichamps model due to the smaller parts looking more authentic and less toy like. having seen the rb 19 in person the carbon and overall paintjob on the sparklook almost exactly like the real car whereas the minichamps’ carbon looks too shiny and the dark blue too blue/purpleish. The decals on the minichamps do look better (but you’ll need to look very close to notice) due to their individual application instead of the combined method of the spark. But due to the rb19 finish being matte (instead of a metallic finish like on the Aston ) this is barely noticeable. In conclusion if you want the most detailed and accurate looking version go for the spark. If you want a more “fun” looking car go for the minichamps. Hope this helps and I’m interested in hearing what you’ll go with.
@@arthurtonAppreciate the detailed reply, provided some very helpful information. I've also taken the time to look at a few more comparison videos and done some digging for myself, Spark's edge in accuracy and detail is very much apparent. As of right now, Spark is definitely looking like the way to go.
Would 100% agree with @arthurton assessment. I am generally bias towards Minichamps for F1 but as my review of the AMR23 showed me the Spark is more accurate on many level.
When referring carbon fiber, bear in mind that carbon fiber is an ugly black carbon. Carbon fiber was developed for aerospace use, where appearance is unimportant. What you see in cars and bikes is a wrap to improve appearance.
