And the Winner is... • DiecastSociety.com

And the Winner is…

After continuous calls for a revised mode for our Model of the Year Awards, we now have concluded the first poll in DiecastSociety.com´s history, where we were given three votes to cast instead of making tough decisions in between equally deserving models and different valid criteria for making a choice. Each model was tagged with markers for categories signifying vehicle types and price ranges, so that we can now proudly present a number of winners.

Instead of being a close result, the community has cast a very clear vote on who the overall winner is: At more than 100 votes more than any other model and some 35% of all voters giving one of their votes to it, the Trophy goes to Almost Real and their Pagani Zonda F. At the same time it wins first prize for the best in the Performance Class and the top price category. Congratulations!

It will surprise no one that the models in second and third place belong to the top price category, too. But instead of being losers to something wanted by the dominant performance model community, they each are winners in their own categories of vehicle type, CMC´s Mercedes SSK “Black Prince” (Count Trossi) being the best Vintage Class replica and an old acquaintance the winner of the Utility vehicle and Competition/Race Class: Another win for Almost Real and their Land Rover Defender 110 Camel Trophy Support. Congratulations to each!

All the more surprising, AUTOart with their superior output in terms of quantity and three entries in the top ten win the price for the best (and best Performance) car in the medium price range, with their Bugatti EB110 SS even surpassing AA´s own Koenigsegg Agera RS and being close enough to their Nissan Skyline, both of which sold in the higher price range.

Even more food for thought is the fact that the winner in the lowest price category, at the same time taking the victory for best in our Street category, is Norev´s Mercedes SL 500 with only one vote less than AUTOart´s Agera RS. Now, that is impressive indeed!

And our new voting mode creates another winner in the Modified niche, even though it received only 10% of the votes given to the overall winner: The Make Up Singer DLS struck a chord with Porsche and tuning fans alike.

Again, congratulations to all the winners that the new Awards-mode created. With this recognition given to the models that made it onto our shortlist, what conclusions can be drawn, when we analyze the results?

Now, the community seems to acknowledge and is willing to give due credit to the fact that excellence comes at a price. At the same time, a 300+ price tag does not automatically tick the necessary boxes. There are a number of candidates on our list that will dig deep into your pocket and represent a desirable car to have as a model but will only get as many votes as a budget model. The Amalgam Ferrari F50, for example, only got as many votes as the Maisto Lambo V12 Vision Gran Turismo and fewer votes than either of the two Solido entries. Even the trucks, although a niche theme in 1:18, got more votes … each!

In general, sealed resin, no matter what the price tag, can only attract 3% of the voters each. It is pretty obvious how all the sealed resin models rank significantly low in the Awards despite the increased number of votes for each voter. This is nowhere more obvious than when you compare the results for the Dodge Challengers from AUTOart and GT-Spirit. Opening (and) diecast models are preferred over sealed (and) resin models by the vast majority. Due credit has also been given to the efforts of manufacturers to offer attention to detail at fair prices. This message is loud and clear from the victories of Norev´s Mercedes SL and AUTOart´s Bugatti EB 110 SS. It is remarkable that four models in our top ten are not in the top price range, two of them even in the lowest price range, costing far less than half of what their nearest competitors in the Awards cost. A model does not have to cost an arm and a leg to win our love!

Finally, we hope that the community welcomes the reformed Awards and will join us in congratulating the winners, drawing conclusions from the results and sending a message to model manufacturers: Thank you for all the joy you give us! Please continue to strive for excellence, while minding that collectors´ funds are not endless, but beware of undue shortcuts!

DS 2021 MODEL OF THE YEAR FRONT-RUNNERS. PICK YOUR BEST THREE MODELS?

  • Almost Real Pagani Zonda F (1:18) P$$$ (18%, 435 Votes)
  • CMC Mercedes SSK “Black Prince” (Count Trossi) (1:18) V$$$ (12%, 297 Votes)
  • Almost Real Land Rover Defender 110 Camel Trophy Support (1:18) UR$$$ (7%, 165 Votes)
  • AUTOart Nissan Skyline RS Turbo Super Silhouette 1982 (1:18) P$$$ (5%, 122 Votes)
  • AUTOart Bugatti EB110 SS (1:18) P$$ (4%, 110 Votes)
  • Norev Mercedes-Benz SL 500 (1:18) S$ (4%, 100 Votes)
  • AUTOart Koenigsegg Agera RS (1:18) P$$$ (4%, 100 Votes)
  • Kengfai Mercedes Pullman 600 W100 (1:18) S$$ (4%, 93 Votes)
  • Bburago Signature Ferrari Monza SP1 (1:18) P$ (4%, 87 Votes)
  • GMP Masterpiece Ferrari 512S 5.0L V12 Long Tail (1:18) R$$$ (3%, 75 Votes)
  • ACME Chevrolet Blazer K/5 1972 (1:18) UV$ (3%, 65 Votes)
  • BBR Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm (1:18) P$$$ (2%, 60 Votes)
  • AUTOart Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody (1:18) P$$ (2%, 56 Votes)
  • Norev Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series (1:18) P$ (2%, 54 Votes)
  • Solido McLaren F1 GTR - Street/Race (1:18) PR$ (2%, 50 Votes)
  • NZG Scania V8 (1:18) U$$$ (2%, 45 Votes)
  • Road Kings Peterbilt 359 (1:18) UV$ (2%, 43 Votes)
  • Amalgam Ferrari F50 (1:18) P$$$ (2%, 43 Votes)
  • Make Up Singer DLS (1:18) MP$$$ (2%, 43 Votes)
  • Solido Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye (1:18) P$ (2%, 42 Votes)
  • Maisto Lambo V12 Vision Gran Turismo (1:18) P$ (2%, 42 Votes)
  • Kyosho Jaguar E-Type Coupe (1:18) VP$$ (2%, 38 Votes)
  • Super A Mitsubishi Evo 9 Modified (1:18) MP$$ (1%, 32 Votes)
  • KK Scale Ferrari F40 (1:18) P$ (1%, 32 Votes)
  • Kyosho Lancia 037 - Various Livery (1:18) R$$ (1%, 32 Votes)
  • ACME Pontiac GTO Judge (1:18) M$ (1%, 27 Votes)
  • Kyosho Austin Healey MKI Sprite (1:18) V$$ (1%, 25 Votes)
  • BBR Maserati MC20 (1:18) P$$$ (1%, 24 Votes)
  • DNA Collectibles Volvo Concept Coupe (1:18) C$$ (1%, 21 Votes)
  • MR Bugatti Centodieci (1:18) P$$$ (1%, 21 Votes)
  • Top Marques Ferrari 333 SP (1:18) R$$ (1%, 18 Votes)
  • TrueScale Miniatures New 1:12 Tyrrell P34 (1:12) RV$$$ (1%, 17 Votes)
  • CMR Mercedes-Benz Transporteur (O317) Martini Racing Motorsport (1:18) UR$$$ (1%, 16 Votes)
  • Tecnomodel Lotus 77 (1:18) R$$ (1%, 15 Votes)
  • GT Spirit K.0. Diablo (1:18) MP$ (0%, 8 Votes)
  • GT Spirit Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock (1:18) P$ (0%, 8 Votes)
  • GP Replicas Ferrari 158 (1:18) RV$$ (0%, 7 Votes)

Total Voters: 1,260

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10 Responses to "And the Winner is…"

  1. DS Team says:

    Thanks, Karsten! First off we want to thank the extended players behind the scene. Most of these people receive little to no fanfare. Also, the re-work of the DiecastSociety.com Model of the Year in our opinion is a great compromise based on past successes. Once again, thank you to those, and especially Karsten for helping re-work and re-shape the perspective here.

    The results aren’t too surprising, and once again Almost Real takes the helm with their terrific effort, the full access Pagani Zonda F. Truly a nice piece, and in our opinion a well-deserved win! Let’s hope 2022 shapes up to be a more exciting year for collection, and I know we’re looking forward to it.

  2. Mike Wiseman says:

    I only got one vote but that’s because I hit submit before read the new format…🤣🤣.

  3. Giorgio262 says:

    My votes went for the Zonda by AR the SSk by CMC, and the 600 Pullman by Kengfai. None of which is likely ever going to join my collection, based on my self-imposed budget for single model rule. One has to set rules to survive financially in this hobby. I appreciated the 3 votes rule.

  4. Tomcatters says:

    Wasn’t too fond of the AR Zonda F at first (didn’t vote for it either), but after getting my own example it is indeed a nice piece and luckily mine has absolutely no QC issues. Was it worth the price? Eeeeeh, I guess that’s subjective. I have seen better for less and worse for more. In the end it comes down to what this particular model means to YOU and you only.

    However, I am muuuuuch more interested in finally getting the Cinque. I fear we’ll have to wait another 2 years or so, seeing as not even prototypes has been shown. It’s a real shame.

  5. Very well written! Having added both the Silver and Black versions of the AR Zonda, I can 110% agree that they are worth adding to a collection!

    The KengFai Pullman is definitely a worthy mention but their lack of QC is a huge issue on all of their releases. It would be nice to see more reasonably priced exotic and supercar resins and I am really looking forward to seeing how the GT Spirit Jesko and Gemera do in next year’s vote!

  6. spikyone says:

    Congratulations to AR for winning again, very well-deserved.

    I think you’re reading too much into AutoArt’s Challenger getting more votes than GT Spirit’s, TBH. GTS are a budget brand and frankly their models are often not very good – they’re frequently inaccurate and they look far more toy-like than most other resin brands (Spark etc.).
    AA on the other hand are turning out some really nice models again lately. If you put those models side by side in photos and didn’t open anything, I reckon 99% of collectors would pick the AA as looking better without knowing which was which.

    • Karsten says:

      This is only the most striking example.Comparing the model of (about) the same car was meant to diffuse arguments that taste for subject matter could be the reason for one model being preferred over another. It is very ovious in the wider picture this poll creates, that overall sealed models are found more towards the bottom while anything that opens ranks higher. That is hard to deny, isn´t it?

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