Jay Chladek Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 I see HLJ.com is running a sale on Italeri kits right now and they have the Lancia Stratos Safari kit for a good price. As I recall, it is an ex-Esci mold and a curbside. I turned my nose up at it when it was going for about $34 US, but $18 US seems more reasonable. But, I want to weigh my options first. I hear Hasegawa's kit is supposedly the best rally Stratos out there, but they are a little pricey and need a resin engine to allow the bonnet to be opened up. Revell of Germany reboxed it, but those seem to be scarce now. My question is, how do the old ones stack up to it? I see Tamiya did one, Nichimo did one, Entex reboxed one (might be Nichimo mold, but I don't know as it could also be a piece of crap) and old Revell USA either did one or reboxed a Japanese one (possibly Otaki, possibly Nichimo). So, anyone have a skinny on how the Lancia Stratos kits rate and compare with one another? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 In 1/24 scale, your options are not that numerous. As far as I remember, the Entex kit is in 1/20 scale. Tamiya did one, but it was a circuit racer for Group 5 (I think) with a turbo and large wings. Nothing, or at least very little, to do with the rally version. Quite simplified also. The Italeri (ESCI) kit is also quite simplified, for example the body molding looks rather heavy to my eyes, but at least it should come with an excellent Cartograph decal sheet. Fujimi also makes a Stratos that even comes with an engine but that is probably even more pricey than the Hasegawa kit and rather hard to find. It should be rather nice but if I remember correctly, it's based more on the Stradale (street) version. I could be wrong though and in any case, making a rally car out of it isn't hard. I would go for Hasegawa. I know I did and eventhough I had plans for an engine, I opted to leave that out to make everything more simple and straightforward. It builds up nicely and is quite well detailed. Just check the rear fender flares before you start building your preferred car since there were many versions of them depending on the exact example. My 1978 San Remo winner had noticeably different fenders than what was provided with the kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted April 4, 2011 Author Share Posted April 4, 2011 (edited) Thanks Janman, I had a feeling you would chime in. I glanced at your build and this is kind of what got me started on a Stratos kick again. I'll probably not opt to get the Italeri kit then, unless it is just for the decals and perhaps for the Safari Rally spare tire rack topside (as for the rest, carve it up to turn into Wheeljack from the Transformers perhaps). So I guess Hasegawa it is. Any ideas as to what the origins of the old Revell Stratos were? I also see Nitto did one in 1/24 (I thought it was Nichimo rather than Nitto). They also did a 1/12 one, although that is a bit out of my price range. Edited April 4, 2011 by Jay Chladek Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 I too would like to know where the Revell kit came from. I'm quite sure the Hase kit still comes out as a winner and is the most accurate of them all. I also tried to find information on the Nitto kit, but it seems all the kits that were labeled as "1/24" were in fact in 1/20. Are you sure there is a 1/24 kit as well? By the way, roof racks, 'roo bars and other Safari parts are available also on the Hasegawa Safari Stratos kits. Good luck with your build! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vince14 Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 (edited) Thanks Janman, I had a feeling you would chime in. I glanced at your build and this is kind of what got me started on a Stratos kick again. I'll probably not opt to get the Italeri kit then, unless it is just for the decals and perhaps for the Safari Rally spare tire rack topside (as for the rest, carve it up to turn into Wheeljack from the Transformers perhaps). So I guess Hasegawa it is. :lol:Any ideas as to what the origins of the old Revell Stratos were? I also see Nitto did one in 1/24 (I thought it was Nichimo rather than Nitto). They also did a 1/12 one, although that is a bit out of my price range. I'm sure it was Doyusha that did the 1/12 Stratos (unless Doyusha/Nitto/Nichimo were all the same company, or shared the moulds). Vince Edited April 4, 2011 by vince14 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Chladek Posted April 4, 2011 Author Share Posted April 4, 2011 Thanks Janman, most appreciated. I did a little more research and it seems the Italeri/Esci mold might in fact originally come from Japan as the thing was apparently designed to be motorized at one time. As such, maybe it is a Nitto/Nichimo/whatever 1/24 mold. If I can find an old box Revell one, I am going to try to get it (and I have a line on one right now). Otherwise, Hasegawa it is. :lol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Autobahnstormer Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Jay, the Italeri is a nice kit, but as you say Kerbside. I hacked the back off mine and added a Reji resin engine and PE details. I also made fuel tanks, and detailed the engine bay some more. The decals are superb. I recommend it. Phil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vince14 Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Very nice Phil! Are you going to submit it to Steve for inclusion in the main ARC Auto site? Vince Quote Link to post Share on other sites
janman Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Very nice in deed! The engine looks superb! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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