Honda NSX-R (NA2)

Brand: AutoArt
Material: Composite Diecast
Type: Openable parts (6)
Model: Honda NSX-R (NA2) Formula Red
Limited Edition: No
Release RRP: £259

Straight out of the box..

Before my second round of collecting I was an avid AutoArt fanboy their quality of 1:18 diecast metal models they were always very high quality and the price point was good at around £50 back in the early 2000’s. Around 2010 their prices started to rise sharply and soon we were experiencing a £100 price point for the average model, maybe another time we should go into AutoArt’s twists and turns. I was angered by the arrival of the cheap plastic composite model, it sounded nasty and overpriced.

I resisted for a couple of years, then out of curiosity and the price point bought GT86 rocket bunny.. review soon. It was as I expected light and only the doors opened which was not typical of an AutoArt, an okay model for the price.

Just before Christmas 2021 I saw this Honda NSX-R by AutoArt, I’ve always wanted a nice NA2 version and took a gamble on it. how did that pan out for me, well lets see..

In detail the exterior.

After removing it from the box, its apparent that this model doesn’t weigh much, in hand you’ll feel a little cheated at the £259 price point, however the formula red paint work is stunning and flawless.

The front of this NSX is where we start to see the main difference over the previous generation of NSX, the pop-up lights are no more and have been replaced with a sealed headlight unit painted internally white, I’m guessing to match the wheels. The lens detail is excellent, with chrome surrounds and the inset indicator and the twin headlights shrouded in that white paint with the moulded lens encasing the light perfectly.

The bonnet in this case like my Toyota MR-S called the frunk, has a deep scoop with real mesh , sitting in the middle of the bonnet, this is another NSX-R feature that differs from the stock NSX. The bumper is a subtle affair , with a lower black splitter and the NSX-R number plate. The Honda badge is a proper badge not a decal which adds to the authentic look of the model.

The side profile of the NSX is a joy to behold (I love the NSX) , gone are the pop up lights instead a twin headlamp configuration in a raised plastic bubble, most probably for aero dynamics and safety. The model has tight shut line and body lines, with side repeater and door look detail present. The pillar-less doors have tinted windows and the NSX logo on the door handle, the roof is finished in black and compliments the red paint nicely.

Sleek lines carry into the rear quarter and the door feathers into that super car like quarter panel scoop which is fitted with that nice mesh we saw in the front scoop. Something I like is that the wing mirrors are black matching the top half of the car not the main colour.

At rear the NSX sports a bigger rear spoiler in black again to compliment the two tone scheme that this model has going on, the 3rd brake light is fitted snugly into the underside of the spoiler. The iconic one piece light lens with all the detail from the real car is there too again with a proper Honda badge that adorns the middle of the cluster. Finishing off with a nice inset matte black rear diffuser with mesh and finished off with a 3 piece splitter which is shared with the twin exhausts.

The typical Type R style wheels are worth a mention, good tyre detail compliment the multispoke white wheels, whilst the addition of the nifty tyre valves add another level of detail, the wheel nuts are okay but I have seen better recently on a Ignition Models Lancer Evo X. but I’m picking at this a bit more than I maybe should.

Normally I would be starting on the interior, but this model has one very honourable mention, which is the underside detail, we’ve gotten so used to the under side of resin and metal diecast cars being at best pressed in detail to the plastic, I almost didn’t look, but I did and its a thing of detail, I wont say too much just look at the image below..

In detail the interior space.

Opening models are quite uncommon these days, especially fully opening and on this front this NSX has 6 opening parts, frunk (bonnet), 2 doors, engine glass, engine mesh and rear boot. That’s a nice combination if you want to display your model opened up, This is where AutoArt still excel, the interior is fantastic and the engine detail , frunk and boot are all excellent, with struts and and cantilever hinges at every join its defiantly a redemption on this AutoArt NSX-R. I’ve already typed too much so just clap your eyes on the following pictures.

Verdict?

The sticky end of this look at the composite 1:18 Honda NSX-R by AutoArt, I find myself in a place I’ve been before when resin models started to appear, I thought is was a step back in collecting a cheap way to make models, I will talk about this another day.

Is composite a no go? well in fact its going to depend on you and how you look at your collection, we see problems with diecast metal, uneven shut lines and irreparable corrosion happening on our aging diecast, this doesn’t bother me as extreme cases are rare and it adds some age to my models! but it may bother you. This composite model has a step up on resin, it opens. its probably not going to have paint issues like diecast, I think AutoArt in releasing the versions that only had opening doors and the lack of sales probably made them look at developing fully opening models.

So.. the NSX-R. I like it, a lot, in fact it wont be last one I buy because the fully opening and detail is enough for me to want more of them. The caveat being its going to be a model I don’t already have so wont be replacing any resins for composite.