Spark models is a manufacturer out of Macau, that has started producing Lotus models along with various other marques. I was a bit hesitant about ordering one, due to the fact that they are hand made out of resin (1 am a die cast kind of guy ...). All fears were laid to rest when this Lotus Sport 300 arrived at my office:
An absolujtely stunning model of the Lotus Esprit Sport 300 that raced at Le Mans in 1993! The model is in 1/43 scale, and comes on a wooden base with a heavy acrylic case to protect it- in this case from the hands of a three and one year old!
Another model that Spark has produced is the Lotus GT1 in various race guises. I covered these paint schemes in a previous issue of Lotus Notus ( 1/18 Chrono), but a new line up is this 1/43 Spark resin GT1:
This is the 1997 Lotus GT1 that raced in the FIA GT - driven by Sandy Grau and Marco Werner. While I don't have this model yet ..("yet" being the key word ). I would imagine that the quality would be comparable to the Lotus Esprit Sport 300. Spark models also has a few other Lotus goodies in the works for future releases, so I will keep you up to date.
Minichamps continues to release lotus die cast in 1/43 scale. Some of the latest offerings are of the Lotus Cortina. Along with another MK1 model ... note these are limited editions.
This next Lotus Cortina model (again by Minichamps, in 1/43 scale) has an interesting paint scheme, and is from the 1964 Budapest E.T.T.C. race, driven by Sir John Whitmore. This is limited to 2,496 pieces.
The good news about minichamps is that they will also be releasing more goodies this year, with a focus on F1 cars, including the Lotus 79 (in 1/18 scale!) 81 and type 88 (both of these, to my knowledge, have not been released in 1/43 scale)!
Happy Hunting!
