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Porsche has a great racing history and the most iconic races of them all is probably the 24 hours of Lemans. The last year Porsche won this race was in 1998 with its Porsche 911 GT1 factory team coming in 1st and 2nd overall. This here is the #25 car which came in second behind the #26 factory car. It is made by the budget die-cast manufacturer Maisto and it is a 1:18 scaled model part of Maisto's GT line-up.

Maisto have done extremely well on the paintjob. All the paint is very smooth and I don't seem to find any problems with it. The livery (colours and sponsors) are all done by tampos with great care. Although I find that most of the small print should have been finer on most logos. Also the livery, even though detailed very well in most areas, is not 100% correct. The major culprits are the blue lines which in some areas do not represent perfectly the real car. The H&R logo at the front is also not positioned very well, it should be horizontal rather than slanting. However, on the whole, and keeping in mind that this is not a modern budget model, it's a good job.The model has a great stance and it doesn't sit too high, maybe the front could have been lowered a bit, but on the whole, its well done. The proportions are very well made aswell, Maisto did a good job in making a car looking realistic.

However, it does have some complaints. Firstly, the roof scoop is designed differently from the 1:1. The sides of the vents should be a little bit rounder. Secondly, the 1:1 had a slanting piece between the two horizontal pieces supporting the rear wing. It was small and narrow on the 1:1, the Maisto version has a quite large piece which fills most of the void in between.

Also and maybe the worst part of the exterior of this model are the lights. They are all accurate and positioned in a correct way, but, they do have a toyish look and the attachment stubs are quite large and visible on front lights. The rear lights do look a bit better I must say, they are not a coloured plastic piece but they are inserts, however, acceptable.

The exhaust system on this model is not so bad neither. But, it could be better. They can be seen coming out of the engine from the back and they are hollow, but they are not perfectly made. See the picture above to see what I am talking about. Maybe a little custom job can improve it. The aerial near the roof scoop should be longer and thinner as well. On a positive note though, the model exterior features are solidly built and do not have that 'loose' touch. Also, all the vents are well made as are the grills/bars protecting them. Something today's medium range manufacturers skip all so often.

The rim is wheel made and the tyres are branded "Michelin". They are not so bad for a budget model. The race did have some rain, so the cut rubber can be accepted. The brakes on the other hand have a lot to wish for. For starters, the caliper is NOT there. Furthermore, the disk does not look real. A really poor area from Maisto. On a good note, the front wheels have a set of suspensions which do work.

As far as opening features, the 911 GT1 has opening doors and engine cover. The front compartment is sealed. The engine covers come completely off (very tight though) and the doors pivot upwards and stay as such. The shut lines are all very thin.

The cockpit (difficult to see) is very well made and looks 'real' up to a certain point. Most of the parts are coloured detailed but do a good job in detailing the dashboard. The seat are made from hard plastic but do look well. The seatbelts are made from red rubber which is overall well made aswell. A very nice job from Maisto, especially for a budget model that it is.

After battling with the engine cover, I finally managed to to get it off and see the engine. First thought, I?m impressed. I actually think its better than AA?s 917K series. It?s wired and most are separate pieces. It does have the suspension here as well. It?s a very well replicated engine, unfortunetaly most is hidden under the carbon fibre piece looking piece. But on the whole, for a budget model, I?m impressed. Of course, there are a couple of problems like the sealed tubes which should clear out the heat from the engine, and of course, I would expect that a medium range would do it better nowadays. But for a budget model, this is a greatly done engine.

The undercarriage is sealed shut, as I would expect from a GT1 race car. As with most (if not all) medium and budget models, it has the usual holes left from the screws aswell as other screws which hold everything together. Quite visible and annoying. At least, the rear part of the undercarriage has those ?fins? that are used to help airflow and are well replicated. I did not have any material to which I could compare, but except for those screws, I expect the real thing to be similar to what I can see here.

On the whole, Maisto did a good job, especially for the price it?s asking. The livery is well made, the cockpit looks great and the engine is nicely done. Obviously it those have some flaws but taking into consideration the price tag, it is a very good deal. A must get for Lemans and Racing Porsche fans.