Shelby Cobra 427 S/C by Shelby Collectibles
This model is produced by Shelby Collectibles in 1:18 scale, and is available for around £30 in the UK, placing it slightly above most 'budget' models. However, I bought mine for around half that price from the US market. It is packaged in a window box.
Exterior
The Cobra is one of the most iconic and recognisable shapes ever, but it is also one of the most replicated, both as a model and as a real car. Perhaps as a result of this there is debate amongst collectors as to the correct shape. Kyosho make a version of the car which is more finely detailed, but I think the body shape is incorrect at the rear, and as a result the shape and stance do not look as they should. Personally I think that this Shelby Collectibles version is much more accurate. Scale is correct, and the overall proportions of the model appear faithful to the real thing. Panel gaps are all respectable, and opening parts are a good fit, although dogleg style hinges are used all round. Headlights are neat and quite realistic, without any sign of mounting stubs. The same cannot be said of the small indicator and rear lights, which have a very visible black mounting stub which rather spoils their appearance. Exhausts are barely hollowed out at all, although the insides are painted black. The chrome effect plastic which forms the exhaust and many other details of the exterior is reasonably neatly made, but still has a slightly crude appearance. Nevertheless, details such as the bonnet catches, filler cap, badging and side vents (which are not perforated) all appear to be accurate, and give the impression that a good effort went into this model, especially for its price.
Score: 6/10
Paint
The dark blue paint is generally well applied, though I can find one flaw which appears to be a chip that has actually been touched up later. Fortunately it is not too obvious except on close inspection, but this lack of build quality and quality control is somewhat representative of the whole model. Otherwise the paint is smooth, and the metallic flakes are very tiny to give a realistic finish. The colour is a darker blue than on the cars in the photos I have found, but I cannot possibly say whether it is accurate or not. It certainly suits the car nicely with the trademark white stripes.
Score: 8/10
Tampo/Decals
The only decals are of course the two white stripes which run the length of the car, and in my opinion they are one of the most noticeable negatives on this model. Firstly, they appear slightly too wide, although once again this is something that could easily be varied, and so finding a definitive picture of the real car is difficult. There is one rough area where the decal is slightly damaged around the front grille, and a very obvious overlap between two pieces on the bootlid. Despite being solid white, the colour of the different sections actually seems to vary slightly, as if the blue paint is showing through more in some places than others. Finally, the joins between panels are poor, with the stripes either varying slightly in width or not quite lining up. These faults are hardly visible from more than a few feet away, but nevertheless this is a rather weak area of the model. It gets a score of 4 only because many of the problems are quality control issues which may not be so bad on all models, rather than flaws in the design.
Score: 4/10
Exterior
The Cobra is one of the most iconic and recognisable shapes ever, but it is also one of the most replicated, both as a model and as a real car. Perhaps as a result of this there is debate amongst collectors as to the correct shape. Kyosho make a version of the car which is more finely detailed, but I think the body shape is incorrect at the rear, and as a result the shape and stance do not look as they should. Personally I think that this Shelby Collectibles version is much more accurate. Scale is correct, and the overall proportions of the model appear faithful to the real thing. Panel gaps are all respectable, and opening parts are a good fit, although dogleg style hinges are used all round. Headlights are neat and quite realistic, without any sign of mounting stubs. The same cannot be said of the small indicator and rear lights, which have a very visible black mounting stub which rather spoils their appearance. Exhausts are barely hollowed out at all, although the insides are painted black. The chrome effect plastic which forms the exhaust and many other details of the exterior is reasonably neatly made, but still has a slightly crude appearance. Nevertheless, details such as the bonnet catches, filler cap, badging and side vents (which are not perforated) all appear to be accurate, and give the impression that a good effort went into this model, especially for its price.
Score: 6/10
Paint
The dark blue paint is generally well applied, though I can find one flaw which appears to be a chip that has actually been touched up later. Fortunately it is not too obvious except on close inspection, but this lack of build quality and quality control is somewhat representative of the whole model. Otherwise the paint is smooth, and the metallic flakes are very tiny to give a realistic finish. The colour is a darker blue than on the cars in the photos I have found, but I cannot possibly say whether it is accurate or not. It certainly suits the car nicely with the trademark white stripes.
Score: 8/10
Tampo/Decals
The only decals are of course the two white stripes which run the length of the car, and in my opinion they are one of the most noticeable negatives on this model. Firstly, they appear slightly too wide, although once again this is something that could easily be varied, and so finding a definitive picture of the real car is difficult. There is one rough area where the decal is slightly damaged around the front grille, and a very obvious overlap between two pieces on the bootlid. Despite being solid white, the colour of the different sections actually seems to vary slightly, as if the blue paint is showing through more in some places than others. Finally, the joins between panels are poor, with the stripes either varying slightly in width or not quite lining up. These faults are hardly visible from more than a few feet away, but nevertheless this is a rather weak area of the model. It gets a score of 4 only because many of the problems are quality control issues which may not be so bad on all models, rather than flaws in the design.
Score: 4/10
Tyres and Wheels
The tyres on this model seem to be made of a hard rubber which is more like plastic than the rubber tyres found on some other models. Their appearance is a little too shiny, and they are not at all soft. However, they still look acceptable, and the sidewall markings are quite nice. The shape of the wheels looks accurate, with the exception that the front wheels look too shallow. The centre of the rim should be set slightly deeper I think. The biggest complaint with the wheels is the fact that they look too much like plastic rather than resembling metal. The ‘chrome’ also looks a bit rough. Overall, an average result. Just about good enough not to detract from the general appearance of the model, but could be better, even at this price.
Score: 5/10
Brakes
There is very little to say here, as it is simply impossible to see any brake detail that might exist through the tiny gaps in the wheels. I can just about see that there are brake discs with a nice enough silver finish. They don’t appear to rotate with the wheels however, and from looking underneath the car I can see no sign of any calipers. A very basic effort, but then this is a good area to cut costs, given the fact that the brakes are barely visible at all.
Score: 4/10
Engine
Yet again this proved to be a difficult area to review in terms of accuracy, as every photo I found of the real car’s engine bay was different from the last. It is fair to say that the model seems to be a reasonably accurate representation of at least some of the photos I found. The engine bay is dominated by the return of the chrome effect plastic and the orange molded plastic replicating wiring. There is a reasonable amount of other detail on closer inspection, and the rubber wiring and plumbing is a nice touch. Particularly impressive is the continuation of this wiring in the boot, an unexpected bonus on a model of this price. Overall, not outstanding but satisfactory.
Score: 6/10
Interior
The interior of this model is one of its nicest features. The seats are made of a flexible rubber which feels softer to the touch than plastic and looks more convincing. This is something that Autoart fail to do on much more expensive models. There are also seatbelts which appear to be fabric, though they are glued in place, and even very neat buckles. Other details such as the steering wheel, gearstick and fire extinguisher are reasonably nicely made and the dashboard looks accurate and quite neat. Overall, the interior is better than you might expect for the price, and there is a lot more detailing than in most models in the budget range.
Score: 7/10
The tyres on this model seem to be made of a hard rubber which is more like plastic than the rubber tyres found on some other models. Their appearance is a little too shiny, and they are not at all soft. However, they still look acceptable, and the sidewall markings are quite nice. The shape of the wheels looks accurate, with the exception that the front wheels look too shallow. The centre of the rim should be set slightly deeper I think. The biggest complaint with the wheels is the fact that they look too much like plastic rather than resembling metal. The ‘chrome’ also looks a bit rough. Overall, an average result. Just about good enough not to detract from the general appearance of the model, but could be better, even at this price.
Score: 5/10
Brakes
There is very little to say here, as it is simply impossible to see any brake detail that might exist through the tiny gaps in the wheels. I can just about see that there are brake discs with a nice enough silver finish. They don’t appear to rotate with the wheels however, and from looking underneath the car I can see no sign of any calipers. A very basic effort, but then this is a good area to cut costs, given the fact that the brakes are barely visible at all.
Score: 4/10
Engine
Yet again this proved to be a difficult area to review in terms of accuracy, as every photo I found of the real car’s engine bay was different from the last. It is fair to say that the model seems to be a reasonably accurate representation of at least some of the photos I found. The engine bay is dominated by the return of the chrome effect plastic and the orange molded plastic replicating wiring. There is a reasonable amount of other detail on closer inspection, and the rubber wiring and plumbing is a nice touch. Particularly impressive is the continuation of this wiring in the boot, an unexpected bonus on a model of this price. Overall, not outstanding but satisfactory.
Score: 6/10
Interior
The interior of this model is one of its nicest features. The seats are made of a flexible rubber which feels softer to the touch than plastic and looks more convincing. This is something that Autoart fail to do on much more expensive models. There are also seatbelts which appear to be fabric, though they are glued in place, and even very neat buckles. Other details such as the steering wheel, gearstick and fire extinguisher are reasonably nicely made and the dashboard looks accurate and quite neat. Overall, the interior is better than you might expect for the price, and there is a lot more detailing than in most models in the budget range.
Score: 7/10
It's difficult to sum up this model. I almost get the impression that Shelby Collectibles tried to include more detail than is really possible for the price, and that quality and quality control suffered as a result. Nevertheless, the amount of nice little details don't fail to please, and despite the less than excellent score this model is not only worthy of a place in my collection, but will stand up reasonably well amongst other models. It would be nice if a few of the little niggles and complaints weren't there, but for me they are still not enough to spoil my enjoyment of the model.
Overall Score: 5.7/10
Overall Score: 5.7/10