In the annals of my diecast collecting history, I’ve always found myself particularly interested in models of nondescript cars that most people wouldn’t bat an eye to. As a huge fan of the Lexus brand, I always took a particular interest in models of the LS...the car that started it all.
This model of the original LS400, made by Road Tough (a subsidiary of Yat Ming for those who don’t know), has always been on my radar, but I never really felt drawn enough to buy one. That all changed recently, because of one major factor.
I bought a 1:1 1990 LS400. So, naturally, I had to have this model.
But is it worth it in the end? Outside of the novelty of having a model of my own real-life car, this particular specimen of a model is riddled with flaws, and most of them are pure inaccuracies next to the real model. For instance, the actual car has foglights that are embedded within the headlights, on the model, the fogs are mounted on the bumper.
Plus, I don’t believe any LS400s came from the factory with chrome door handles. They’re a nice aesthetic choice that I can live with, but in terms of accuracy to my car, it’s a misstep. There’s also of course the elephant in the room of the fact that this model features the early UCF10's 15" directional wheels, and not my LS400's chrome 16" wheels from a later model, but I digress...
The biggest issue at hand though is the overall quality. This is an older model from a cheaper brand than your AutoArts and such, and such is the case with most older models of that caliber, the overall build quality is average at best, and finer details are nearly nonexistent.
Trust me, the interior on my car is not nearly that boring and beige.
There’s also a lot of inconsistencies in terms of shape and proportions between this and the real article. The biggest one that sticks out to me is the fact that the rear end on the model seems a lot more squared off and less aerodynamic than the real thing. It turns what’s normally my most favorite angle of the UCF10 into a bit of a bland mess.
But while this model may not be of the highest standard, it still is a model of my pride and joy, my LS400. I know there are better representations of this car in smaller scales that may or may not find their way into my collection someday, but I think this is a pretty good first start. Plus it’s prime real estate for, “This is my toy car, this is my REAL car,” jokes at every cars and coffee I take it to.
Point is, this Road Tough LS400 may not be the best model, but it’s special to me nonetheless. And it’s a perfect nondescript black sedan for people out there looking for that sort of thing.