I had this model on pre-order for ages when I finally received an email telling me they shipped the Urraco Rally to my home address ... and behold two weeks later it arrived in a nicely padded box.
Eagerly opening the box I found the usual Kyosho box with several pictures of the car inside in perfect condition, opening the original box was easy and inside you'll find a nice foam container made of an upper and a lower part held together with a cardboard strap, no tapes to cut, a nice touch from Kyosho.
The car itself is again covered with a thin but soft cloth, protecting the perfect paintjob Kyosho did on this original shade of the Urraco Bob or Urraco Rally, which was it's official name, but it was called Bob by many after the man who created the original car in the first place, Bob Wallace.
With the top of the foam box removed we get to several round decals holding the covers at the front and the rear in place and also the pop up headlights are sealed with these little decals, prying them away could be difficult, but Kyosho delivers a nice 'door opening tool' in this box, and it is equally sufficient to help remove the decals from the model.
The doors on the car are held shut during transportation by two large plastic sections that stick into the bottom of the model, again no rubber bands, hooks or decals here, another detail that makes these Kyosho models stand out from the rest.
Now the the model itself, was it worth the long wait between introduction and actual delivery ? In one word : YES ! It is truly amazing, the details are stunning and honestly I didn't expect some of the small things that made the Urraco Rally different from the production Urraco to appear on this 1/18 scale model.
For instance the headlights and side turn signals ... these are further back on this car compared to the production models, Bob Wallace actually used a 1971 production prototype that indeed had the headlight further up the front fenders ... Kyosho didn't use the mold form their normal Urraco but decided to make a new one ... well done !
The wheels are simply amazing, only one little downside, the original Rally didn't have these tires fitted, but I can understand the mistake here ... problem is, this isn't the only detail that's different.
There are a few things that bothered me about the Kyosho Urraco Rally : for one that massive rear wing Bob mounted is missing, there aren't any rear view mirrors on the fenders either ... the Rally Bob built had two small 'cup' mirrors mounted.
Also on the inside things are different, Bob had those classic orange seats in this car when he built it, the model now uses two black 'bucket' seats, which are nice, don't get me wrong, but somehow I don't think these were an original fit ... the same with the Momo steering wheel in the scale model, again nice, but not correct.
However what bothered me the most to be honest was the engine compartment ... take a look at it and notice those nice blue and red anodized clamps around the engine ... a great thing in the tuning scene, but somehow I doubt Bob mounted these back in the early Seventies
Those are a few 'issues' I have with the Kyosho model, but to be honest, this is the shape this car exists in today, I've seen photos from the actual Rally located in Japan, and this Kyosho model is right on the target ... perhaps they will introduce the original 1973 model with rear wing later on, who knows, and don't get me wrong, this is one great looking model and I have absolutely no regrets buying it, it looks simply amazing.
I have it on display next to my red 1/18 Urraco from Kyosho and the differences are so amazing we can't but applaud Kyosho for this great new model, I'm really happy someone is building these special Lamborghini models out there in the large 1/18 scale.
The rivets are just amazing, the wheels are stunning, the fit and finish of the model is next to perfect and the orange shade is exactly how the Urraco Rally was built ... which brings me the question many ask : which color should I get ?
The thing is Kyosho will be building the Urraco Rally in three shades, this dark orange paint, a nice plain white and a deep red shade. And I must admit that it looks absolutely gorgeous in white ... but it doesn't exist in white ! Do you catch my drift here ? The Lamborghini Urraco Rally was built in orange, so why bother getting a red or a white one ? Sure white looks good, and I'm tempted too, but it isn't real !
What I do hope now is that Kyosho will also build the original Miura Jota ... they now have the wheels as they are similar to the ones used on this Rally, so please put together the real Jota now ...
Overall rating | 10/10 |