One of my favorite exterior designs ever: the 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. This is a 1:18 scale model from Hot Wheels, released several years ago. It’s since gone out of production and they aren’t too easy to come by. This one however, popped up on my radar for only $25, so I jumped on it and made it mine.
I won’t get into the specifics about the model. I’m sure you’re all familiar with Pillarless Coupe’s (then known as RafelX) amazing write up comparing this Hot Wheels model to the more up-scale AutoArt version.
What I like best about this model is that it’s an early production Vantage. It doesn’t have the LED strip in the headlights which personally I find to look goofy. I’m also in love with the paint color. It’s like a slate grey/green metallic that’s subtle and striking at the same time. Much more subtle than Pillarless’s yellow version, and more refined than the bright teal version that is also out there.
This model offers an adequate amount of detail with a handful of shortcomings. One of which is the lack of an opening rear hatch. Still, the downright gorgeous design of the car make sure it real easy to overlook those short comings.
The hood, I mean bonnet, opens to reveal that 4.3 supercharged V8 but you won’t find a lot of detail asides from black and silver paint. Of course, the view is obscured by the strut tower cross brace and the plastic radiator shroud. Uly, you like working on these things, right?
Overall, I find it to be a beautiful piece of shelf candy. It also cost me a fraction of what the AutoArt typically runs for on the secondhand market. If detail matters to you the most, save up and get the AutoArt car. For me, this was just what I needed to cross off one of my all time favorite cars off the want list.
