Profil 24 vs Studio 27 Mclaren F1

Please can someone lucky / rich enough to have had experience of the Profil 24 and Studio 27 short tail Mclaren F1s provide me with a run down of the pros / cons of these kits. I'm mainly looking for body & wheels accuracy, interior detail, and in the case of the Profil 24, exactly how much engine detail is there? Photos of both would help too.

Thanks, Matt.

In short, just get the Studio27 kit.

The Profil24 one is awful, the body lacks symmetry, the engine detail required a lot of work to look anything like realistic, the wheels suck, the tires are worse and the interior is a blob of resin.

The Studio27 kit has clean, crisp molding, the wheels are very nice, the decals are awesome.

I have both because curiosity caused me to get both, I got the Profil24 one first.
I can assure you that if I had got the Studio27 one first I would never have ended up with one of each.

I can assure you that if I had got the Studio27 one first I would never have ended up with one of each.
If you want to give me the Profil24, I will take it :lol:

Sorry to get off topic. Are all Profil 24 kits that bad? I like some of the subjects.

I hope not.

Not that I will buy another Profil24 kit to find out though.

Sorry to get off topic. Are all Profil 24 kits that bad? I like some of the subjects.

No, they are not. Apparently the McLaren was their first effort. I have one, and it makes me want to :banghead: whenever I look at it. It's not the body so much, but all the smaller parts are really poorly cast, especially engine detail/roll cage/tires. It's going to be a huge job to clean up all the parts prior to painting. The tires are useless, I'll find some kit-based tires. Thankfully I paid way under retail for it ($70) so it's not so bad.

I have one of their latest, the Jaguar E Type Lightweight low-drag coupe, it's very nice. You'd never guess it was by the same company as the McLaren. Don't judge the whole lineup by their first model. They have improved exponentially. These are the only two Profil 24 kits I have, you'll have to ask about specific cars to see who has 'em and if they're worth it. The Jaguar is DEFINITELY worth it, and they've got some truly tasty new subjects lately.

No, they are not. Apparently the McLaren was their first effort. I have one, and it makes me want to :banghead: whenever I look at it. It's not the body so much, but all the smaller parts are really poorly cast, especially engine detail/roll cage/tires. It's going to be a huge job to clean up all the parts prior to painting. The tires are useless, I'll find some kit-based tires. Thankfully I paid way under retail for it ($70) so it's not so bad.


That's reassuring to know :)

BTW, I found the Corvett C5-R tyres are a perfect replacement for the kit tyres in the Mclaren.

I suspected that the Studio 27 kit was better, but not that much better. Thanks to everyone that contributed. I started this thread just before I went to bed last night and have just checked the forum at 10:30 am expecting perhaps one or two less than useful replies, but instead I have a clear cut answer.

Thanks again, Matt.

How can these resin companies charge so much for a product which is rarely as crisp as a 'cheap' tamiya kit?

The phrase 'you get what you pay for' doesn't seem to apply to this section of the car modelling world.

How can these resin companies charge so much for a product which is rarely as crisp as a 'cheap' tamiya kit?

The phrase 'you get what you pay for' doesn't seem to apply to this section of the car modelling world.

Can you buy Tamiya, Hasegawa, Fujimi ...... Mclaren F1?
No you can't, so that is the answer ;)

Sasa is quite right.

Companies like Studio27 and Profil24 are making subjects which companies like Tamiya have ignored, and they're making them in limited runs so that drives the price up.

Aaahhhh, I see!

Still a pity that some kits in the high price range don't have the quality to match, don't you think?

How can these resin companies charge so much for a product which is rarely as crisp as a 'cheap' tamiya kit?

The phrase 'you get what you pay for' doesn't seem to apply to this section of the car modelling world.

Because of the simple fact that resin kits are created from very expensive human labor vs. mass-produced styrene kits from expensive tooling but little human interaction. Resin casting models is a prototype technology, very few parts are made and it's labor-intensive, many times the rejection rate on parts is high, and the mold life is short-the labor to cast the parts and create the masters and molds is significant, and the materials themselves (mold rubber, resin) are expensive. So while you're able to get subjects that the mass-market companies cannot or will not do, you're going to have to pay for the exclusivity and high labor costs associated w/resin cast models. You actually do get what you pay for when you look at it this way. You aren't forced to buy any models, you choose yourself what subject interests you enough at X cost to justify purchasing it. When company X survives making relatively inexpensive mass-produced models, or when company Y survives making expensive resin models, it means that their respective products are worth the asking price to their customers.

Is the Studio 27 F1GTR from the same mold as the old Modelers release?

Well said Mr ZoomZoom. I have a different 'feeling' when working with an expensive, comparatively rare resin kit as opposed to a mass produced styrene kit. Even though the detail, and mould quality are sometimes less, it still feels good to work on a subject that you are passionate enough about to justify to yourself that the kit is worth the money.

Besides which, as Sasa pointed out, some subjects have only been produced as multimedia kits. Such as:

Alfa Romeo SZ/RZ
Dodge Viper GTS race version
Audi A4 touring car
Porsche GT1 1998
Audi R8

Is the Studio 27 F1GTR from the same mold as the old Modelers release?

I believe so.

Just to add my personal (limited) experience, and taking into consideration that, neither of the kits I´m going to talk about are build:

I have 2 Profil24 kits, the Maserati 151/3 and the Corvette Spirit of Le Mans. And one S27, the Dodge Viper GTS Oreca.

For me, these are 3 great subjects and 3 great kits, and I'll buy from either resin maker again. I'm expecting some fitting issues, but that is normal is resin makes.

There is a difference in the kits itself, however: the S27 is a much "rich" kit, starting on the box, printed in glossy stuff, the interior, with everything neatly packaged in little mica boxes, full colour instructions, lots of white metal parts,.... The P24 come in a brown box with a sticker, hand-draw instructions, less parts. But the essential (gorgeous body, photoetch including whire wheels for the Maserati, ...) is there.
Now, the S27 costs about 30% more then the Profil24... that is a difference.

More then this, I can only say I have a Profil24 Maserati Costin Zagato waiting for me at my local hobby shop

I myself go for ST27 McLaren F1 GTR. It fit very well. I got most of the version (Long and short tail).
Profil 24 did the McLaren F1 GTR 1st, then Modeler's but because of folding up, ST27 buy over the mold (and the WRX STi too), then do some re-tooling and released again to modelers. 1st patch of those 200 pieces limted was given 'machine rims' but later on the 3rd to current, all are cast metal wheels. I'm still waiting for them to release the 'short tail' LARK. :iceslolan