REVIEW: 1:43 Looksmart Ferrari Portofino

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mcaf123
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Posts: 523
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 6:45 pm
Location: United Kingdom

REVIEW: 1:43 Looksmart Ferrari Portofino

Post by mcaf123 » Sun Jan 21, 2018 8:21 pm

Unveiled at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Ferrari Portofino is the Italian Stallion's latest entry-level convertible GT car and will replace the outgoing California T. This car apparently accounts for 20-25% of Ferrari sales, so it is clearly important for them to get the new one right! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and the 812 Superfast is arguably the best looking Ferrari make at the moment, so prospective buyers should be happy that the Portofino has borrowed many styling cues from its more potent sibling, including the L-shaped headlights and rear section around the exhausts.

Portofino takes its name from a fishing village on the Italian Riviera coastline, southeast of Genoa city, where you can imagine this folding hard top convertible spending many an hour driving around. However, this cruiser has some serious bite! It can dispatch the 0-62mph sprint in a frankly ridiculous 3.5 seconds - this is their entry level car don't forget!!! The engine is heavily based on the California T's 3.9 litre turbocharged V8, but with an extra 39bhp taking the total to 592bhp plus 561 lb ft of torque (only up 4 lb ft over the T) all to deliver a top speed just shy of the 2 ton mark at 199mph. All these improvements are due to new pistons, conrods, intake system and exhaust manifolds. The similarities with the California T seem to end there, with the Portofino being built on an all-new chassis that is much lighter than its predecessor and allows for greater torsional rigidity - essential when the roof is stowed.

At 1,664kg the Portofino is about 70kg lighter than the California T, with its weight distribution split at 46/54 per cent front/rear. These weight savings are partly the result of improved component integration, while 15kg of the weight saving on the Portofino comes from changes to the car's structure. The A-pillar architecture consisted of 21 separate components on the California T, yet for the Portofino it's been pared down to just two! Ferrari says this approach has also increased body stiffness by 35 per cent, too. This model is 16mm longer and 28mm wider, but it is 4mm lower than the California T. Out of the revamped interior, customers will probably enjoy the new 10.2 inch infotainment screen which features Android Auto and Apple Carplay as standard. Deliveries will start for left-hand drive European markets in the first quarter of 2018, with right-hand drive UK deliveries and North American cars expected in summer 2018.

This review is one of firsts for me. This will be my first review of a 1:43 model and my first review of a Looksmart model at that. Of course, as mentioned in my MR Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta review from last year, Looksmart are a sister company to MR Collection Models and they too make models from 1:43 all the way up to 1:12 scale.

The model we have for review here is the 1:43 Ferrari Portofino with closed roof design and finished in Rosso Portofino paint (LS480A) kindly provided by the company for the purposes of this review - thanks guys! Looksmart will also be making this model in 6 other colours, namely:
  1. Alluminio Opaco (LS480B)
  2. Giallo Modena (LS480C)
  3. Azzurro California (LS480D)
  4. Rosso Corsa (LS480E)
  5. Bianco Avus with Nero DS roof (LS480F)
  6. Rosso Scuderia with Nero DS roof (LS480G).
RRP is around the 130EUR mark, which is not exactly cheap considering you can buy a 1:18 model car from the likes of GT Spirit for a bit less than that or one of AUTOart's composite models (the ones where only the doors open) for just a little bit more. So how does this model fare in 1:43 form and can it be just as detailed as a 1:18 model? Read on to find out....

I was sent a full retail model to review, so as is customary, I will do a quick walkthrough of the whole unboxing process. If you've read my MR Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta review, you'll remember that it came in pretty much exactly the same box. The overall design is exactly the same, except the Looksmart and MR Collection branding has obviously been changed. As mentioned in that review, this box will sit proudly on the shelves in a Ferrari Store.

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Lift the lid and Looksmart have given something a bit above and beyond what MR provide. They include a protective bag, for want of a better word, which will protect the acrylic display case from getting damaged while being stored in the box. Minor, but welcome all the same!

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Take the whole lot out of the "bag" and you're left with the model itself inside a pleasant looking display case. Take the clear cover off and, just like the MR LaFerrari, you're instantly hit with the smell of paint and glue. I'm still not ashamed to say it, but I like that smell and I've missed it! The model sits screwed to the black plastic base with a nice plaque along the front with the Prancing Horse logo along with "Ferrari Portofino" in the official script and Looksmart's branding.

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If you're the kind of collector who likes to display their models inside a cabinet like I do, you're probably going to go ahead and unscrew the Ferrari Portofino via the two screws holding it in place on the underside of the black base. I suspect most people tend to leave these "high-end" resin models kept on their base and inside the display cases they come with and I wouldn't blame them for it. However, I wouldn't be doing my reviews justice if I didn't go ahead and unscrew the Portofino and check it out from every possible angle, so here goes....

With the model unscrewed from the base, what does it look like underneath? Pretty boring actually! You can see the body coloured aero flaps beneath the diffuser and not much else. I'm not sure why the black paint has started peeling, but as most collectors will leave the Looksmart Ferrari Portofino as it comes out of the box. At least you now know you're really not missing out on anything.

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Onto the main event. The model looks really sharp from every angle. I'd challenge anyone to look at these photos and be able to tell whether they're looking at a 1:43 or 1:18 model. If I were Looksmart, I'd take that as high praise indeed, as it shows they've perfectly scaled down the model - well done! The paint looks really nice and as we'll see later, has a lovely metallic fleck to it - it is such a deep red and I think it suits the car really well. The only thing that is bugging me so far is that the tyres haven't been pulled over the rims properly. This issue is compounded by that fact the wheels don't roll which is great for taking pictures and ensuring the Ferrari centre caps are always absolutely straight, but an absolute pain in the proverbial to try and sort the tyres out. I haven't bothered sorting this out for these pictures to show you exactly how I received it! Shutlines look sharp, paint looks amazing and it is a much less "ass-heavy" car than the old California and California T models. I think Ferrari have nailed the design of this car and Looksmart seem to have done a great job so far in scaling that down for us collectors.

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So how much detail can a tiny 1:43 model have? First of all, just how big is this model? The Looksmart Portofino is 10.7cm long nose to tail, 4.9cm wing mirror to wing mirror and just 3cm tyre to roof - it'll easily fit in the palm of your hand!
Let us start with looking at the badges, as I find that is often a key indicator of the overall quality of a model - are they simply stickers? Are they photo-etched? Are they painted on? In the case of this Looksmart Ferraro Portofino, we've got a perfect mix of photo-etched badges and very convincing 3D stickers dotted around the car. The front end contains one of each - the Prancing Horse badge is well defined, with the colours of the Italian flag, the yellow background as well as the horse and "Ferrari" text all looking pretty sharp on such a small model. And that is the key thing to remember throughout this review: this model is only 10.7cm long and 4.9cm wide, with that Prancing Horse badge just 1.5mm tall and 1mm wide! I've reviewed 1:18 models that have struggled to get larger badges with as much detail as this, so Looksmart really deserve to be commended on this point. What does disappoint me somewhat is the slapdash look of the glue blobs surrounding the badge. I'm sure it would be easy to scrape this away carefully, but it is a small model and collectors shouldn't have to go around adding the finishing touches to an expensive model. A quality control issue or is this par for the course? Maybe collectors who have a few of Looksmart's models can enlighten me on this point. The silver photo-etched Prancing Horse badge on the grille below is similarly well done! Properly cut out, with what appears to be a slight chamfer around the edges which I find really adds to the 3D effect.

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The same goes for the Shields on the flanks. They have a realistic looking 3D effect to them and they look crisp even up close. Again, there is a small amount of excess glue around the edges, but not noticeable without a macro lens.

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The rear Ferrari and Prancing Horse badges are both photo-etched and, as above, no complaints. There is some excess glue showing here, too. This is particularly prevalent around the rear LED central brake light, which I'm sure can be carefully scraped off, but this shouldn't be leaving the factory in this state. The LEDs themselves are truly excellent and look very convincing indeed - it just frustrates me to see all the hard work that has gone into creating nearly perfect badges has all but been undone by sloppy workmanship somewhere else along the production line. I hope I got a dud sample in that respect. The rear number plate is a nice touch as well. Oh, don't forget to keep taking in that gorgeous paint!!!

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I think the side indicators are a tad too large and stick out a bit too far, but I don't believe anyone will notice this or probably even care about it - they look good enough. The black piece in the front wing is plastic on the real car. It looks convincing enough painted on here, but the edges should be finished off better. Again, I doubt you'd notice it when looking at it with the naked eye, rather than through a macro lens.

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The shape of the door handles seems to create a natural shadow in the area where you would slot your hand in to pull on the handle. The key hole, which is correctly only present on the driver's side door, is another fine piece of photo-etched metal and looks great, especially as it is so small at 0.5mm diameter! Looksmart have really nailed their photo-etched elements on this model, which is pleasing to see.

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How about the lights? Along with the wheels, lights are another component of the car that can make or break that realism in scale form. How have Looksmart done in this department? Not bad, but not especially great either. The main projector headlamps look more than fine to me. In a perfect world the indicators would be better defined, but I can't excuse the Daytime Running Lights from being 3 black plastic strakes above the main projectors - not cool Looksmart!

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I am also really disappointed with the amount of excess glue around the headlight clusters. It just really sullies the experience of enjoying looking at a model for me. They have also tried to replicate the gap between the headlight unit and the front bumper that allows air to cool the brakes and exit behind the front wheels, by painting it black - as you can see from the picture below the edges need finishing properly, but in such a small scale, it is hard to make out these "vents" at all.

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Moving to the tail lights and these are a bit better. I would have liked to have seen the brake light LED ring and also the indicator in the centre of the silver ring. What I love is the extruded plastic light housing - it kind of looks like a lava lamp! The surrounding black area should be carbon fibre with a small mesh vent in between the light and bootlid. Some manufacturers have enough trouble replicating carbon fibre in 1:18, never mind 1:43, so I wonder how feasible it is? The only other high-end 1:43 resin manufacturer I know of is Make Up/Eidolon and I couldn't see any carbon fibre trim on any pictures of their models, so maybe it is just too small a scale.

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The exhaust tips, just like MR's LaFerrari Aperta, are painted in the wrong shade of silver. They should be satin silver rather than metallic. It doesn't detract from the overall look of the model at all, make no mistake about that, but when you compare to the real car you notice it! The reflectors in the bumper look good, with the LEDs well defined just like the central brake light. And just like the central brake light, there is some excess glue around the edges. The vents above the bumper are not perforated mesh, but I'd say they have enough depth in what should be the spaces to do a convincing job. Why have Looksmart forgotten the rear parking sensors yet again? This was one small, but important feature missing from the MR LaFerrari that BBR nailed.

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How the wonky and non-symmetrical exhaust pipes on the right hand side got past quality control baffles me. Was somebody having an off day with this particular example?!?

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Like the exhaust tips, the wheel rims are the wrong shade of silver. It still looks completely fine, but they are too shiny when comparing to the car shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show. A bit more definition on the the locking wheel nuts wouldn't go amiss, but the Prancing Horse on the centre cap is simply sublime.

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The brake discs are drilled and look scale correct to me and even the calipers have the "Ferrari" script on them - the colour of the discs looks accurate as well. They may not be as clear as the other stickers around the model and look a tad blurry, but easily legible when looking from a distance.

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The front grille is spot on. Looksmart have used real mesh across that gaping mouth and it looks fabulous. I'm really happy they nailed this aspect of the model! The vents either side of the bumper are the same deal as the rear vents - not perforated, but the "holes" are deep enough to look the part from afar. I'm not sure why they couldn't use mesh all the way around the car - bonnet vents included?

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Probably the trickiest part of any small scale sealed model to get right is the interior and it gives me immense pleasure to tell you that Looksmart have done a great job here! It is quite difficult to photograph interiors of sealed models through the highly reflective windows, whilst ensuring enough light actually gets into the interior to see the detail. That would have allowed me to photograph the tiny Prancing Horse emblem between the back seats, the nicely sculpted seats and also the photo-etched seatbelt buckles - alas this was not possible, but you should know that they are there and they are very well replicated.

The steering wheel is nicely painted with yet another brilliant Prancing Horse sticker taking front and centre stage. They've also tried to replicate the various buttons on the steering wheel, to mixed effect. They've even included the large central yellow rev counter in the instrument binnacle behind the steering wheel. The air vents don't look correct to me - they should actually have a silver ring with a black barrel, not the opposite like Looksmart has reproduced here. The general shape and features of the dashboard are very well reproduced, however.

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The brand new 10.2 inch infotainment screen looks top notch with the Prancing Horse in the centre. The Ferrari badge above it looks good considering the miniscule size. Diverting your gaze downwards towards the central tunnel and you'll see the three black buttons for reverse, auto and launch control in a vertical row. The red button below them should be the triangle hazard lights button and there is simply too much red paint on it - on the flip side, if it was any smaller, you might not see it there at all as it is so small.

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So this is the first 1:43 scale model I've ever reviewed and its a relatively high-end one at that. Do I think it is worth the circa 130EUR asking price? I genuinely can't answer that question as I simply don't know or understand the scope and scale (like what I did there?) of the 1:43 market and I wouldn't want to mislead you. If you are interested in this model and the asking price is favourable in your eyes, then you will be getting a very well presented scale model in a nice display case with a deep metallic paint job and fantastic badges all the way around the car. The interior has pretty much blown my mind in terms of the detail that can be packed into such a small space, no doubt. The aforementioned excess glue around some of the stickers and lights has upset me somewhat and need to be addressed by Looksmart on future models. Apart from that, I'm both pleasantly surprised and impressed by what can be accomplished in this size of model. I know I've harked on about the size of this model, but let's just run through some dimensions again: this Looksmart Ferrari Portofino is 10.7cm long nose to tail, 4.9cm wing mirror to wing mirror and just 3cm tyre to roof. This thing is teeny in comparison to the 1:18 models I'm usually reviewing, so to answer my original question of "How does this model fare in 1:43 form and can it be just as detailed as a 1:18 model", the answer to the both parts is pretty much yes! Short of taking your own macro lens or even a magnifying glass, you are never going to notice 90% of the imperfections I've pointed out - the human eye (or at least mine) just cannot see all these issues and that is why I don't think whoever will buy this model will be disappointed to have it on display in their collection!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review! Until the next one....

manolo1985
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 2:45 pm
Location: Mexico

Re: REVIEW: 1:43 Looksmart Ferrari Portofino

Post by manolo1985 » Sun Feb 25, 2018 9:47 pm

Nice review!

I think I have 7 or 8 Looksmarts in my collection. They are beautiful to look at. Not really worth the asking price if you ask me, as they don´t offer any real improvement over less expensive models from Spark, TSM, NEO or Minichamps Evolution to name a few. But also, if you want high end Ferraris or Lamborghinis, you don´t have a lot more to choose from, so...

mcaf123
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Posts: 523
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 6:45 pm
Location: United Kingdom

Re: REVIEW: 1:43 Looksmart Ferrari Portofino

Post by mcaf123 » Mon Feb 26, 2018 5:45 am

manolo1985 wrote:Nice review!

I think I have 7 or 8 Looksmarts in my collection. They are beautiful to look at. Not really worth the asking price if you ask me, as they don´t offer any real improvement over less expensive models from Spark, TSM, NEO or Minichamps Evolution to name a few. But also, if you want high end Ferraris or Lamborghinis, you don´t have a lot more to choose from, so...
Thanks a lot!
I don't have any prior experience to 1:43 models, so I didn't have anything to gauge it against. It is great to see the level of detail you can pack into such a small package though!

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