Kit review: 1/24 Opel Ascona 400 made by Gass (Italy)

[rallymaster]

Hello all,

here is my review of the 1/24 Opel Ascona 400 kit made by Gass.






this is a 1/24 resin kit, I bought it at dominomodels in Belgium through their website. It costs 135 euros. Let see if it deserves attention.


the color pics of the model with see-through effect is appreciated to see what it will look like once built:




Building instructions:






the resin body:















shape seems fine and accurate, fitting not really too bad...
but I had no chance with mine because there are many resin bubbles (not air bubbles) at the surface of the resin... resin which isn't very clean, there is black shade on a side...?
It will need much work to clean the body, especially the front hood:





moreover hood holes aren't perfectly exact, the triangle holes are all similar and all so large. Side ones would need to be corrected.
And it will be difficult to correct because impossible to open, front resin part of the car runs under the holes.

Fortunately decals seems nice, perfectly printed, complete (need to be confirmed), strong enough but fine:



it's possible to build the 1982 Monte Carlo rally as kit title indicated on the box, or 83 Safari, 82 Ivory Cost or 82 San Remo rallies, even if parts supplied only correspond to 82 MC (no Africa stuff, MC wheels... and no references)

It's a good news, but building an alternative version would mean some scratch and wheel replacement although such wheels only exist in this kit...!


the Photoetched parts:
(sorry one bad pic...)





Window frames supplied in PE, on italian kits standard.


the windows:




Harnesses:



Not very usefull and modern standard when Museum collection provides tissue harnesses in their TK.


And the resin parts:



a metal roll cage is probably better than a resin one, but it's not complete ! no front parts are supplied in the kit...
kit seems to be enough detailed, even if separated arms and break parts (same for additionnal lights molded all together on each side) and turned aluminium for extinguisher would have been highly better... Is it asking too much ? for 135 euros I don't think so !

good details attention to dashboard, but not very fine and clear resin cast :








Wheels supplied are for 82 MC and specific to some special stages (dry or wet I can't remember, but for large tyres).
wheels resin cast is good but tyres are made of resin, what is hardly acceptable for such a kit and such a price !
will need replacement.


And finally a close up to on my opinion the best parts of the kit, the lights :



very nice !

My conclusion:

on my opinion this kit doesn't deserves 135 euros, its standard isn't higher than any other resin kit, even inferior on some points (tyres, bubbles not cleaned on front hood - not very serious, kit isn't checked before packing...? ).

But this is the only Ascona 400 kit on the market, and even if the parts and the kit are given for a 82 MC version, it's possible with some scratch to make an Africa version or to build a SanRemo version, at the condition to solve the wheels problem.

what more to say ?
Would have I bought the kit knowing all that things before for such higher price ? probably, because I've ever thought to build the model starting for a Bburago die-cast base and really love the car, driven by my favorite drivers, Walter Röhrl and Ari Vatanen...
and Probably because i've ever bought Reji models, and all aren't (so) good.

but once again, except if like me you really want to celebrate the car or its drivers, think to it twice before buying, cos' this kit could be better (or at least cheaper) and doesn't deserve 135 euros as it is.

But according to the pics, it will be a nice model once built and finally it would be the most important thing !

Thanks for reading
don't hesitate to post comments or questions.

Phil

[sportracer02]

Hi Phil,

a well done kit review.

I possess the same model, however with a clean hood



I guess, the body is a good copy of a Bburago-model.

Those 1:1 cars were rather simpel, compared to nowadays high-tech-racers, from this point of view the amount of parts should be ok. Tires would be nice if the were made from vinyl, but coming as separate parts makes painting easier.

And yes, the price is too high.

[aeroace]

hi Phil, mine is the same clean as Micha's, you'd better contact with domino or direct to the Gass, ask for a new one, thats really 135euros deserves

[stevenoble]

Good kit review Phil.I agree with the other guy's.For the price you paid you deserve a model with a perfect hood minus the bubbles.I would contact Domino or the kit maker to get a replacement,it's the least they could do.Sometimes the resin kit makers annoy me.Nobody minds paying that bit extra to build something a bit out of the ordinary.But at the prices they charge they should make sure that they are good quality and no sub standard examples should ever reach the customer.Just my opinion.

[rallymaster]

Thanks guys for your kind comments about my review.

You're right, I got a bad one of this kit... I will contact directly Gass, btw I need wheels to make the 1983 Safari car driven by Vatanen (last victory of an ascona 400).

Originally Posted by stevenoble

For the price you paid you deserve a model with a perfect hood minus the bubbles.I would contact Domino or the kit maker to get a replacement,it's the least they could do.Sometimes the resin kit makers annoy me.Nobody minds paying that bit extra to build something a bit out of the ordinary.But at the prices they charge thay should make sure that they are good quality and no sub standard examples ever reach the customer.Just my opinion.

Steve, I 100% agree with that !


Phil

[klutz_100]

VERY good review!

[David Napier]

Good review, lovely subject, I love the rothmans colours. What do you think is wrong with the bonnet air vents?

[rallymaster]

Originally Posted by David Napier

Good review, lovely subject, I love the rothmans colours. What do you think is wrong with the bonnet air vents?

Thanks for your compliments.
The 2 triangles on each sides are smaller than other ones whereas all have to be the same size.
But this is not easy to see and I had to check a dozen of different pics from different angles to make this opinion become sure.

That's not a big problem, even without correction. I think that the model could be bult so, I'm not sure I will try the modification because as I said in the review it won't be easy due to kit's conception.

Phil