PHOTO GALLERY: TOP Marques Jaguar XJ220 • DiecastSociety.com

PHOTO GALLERY: TOP Marques Jaguar XJ220

The Jaguar XJ220 was definitely the supercar of the early nineties, it actually held the record for the fastest production vehicle for a couple of years, clocked at 212.3 mph or 341.7 km/h.  Impressive to say the least.  We still believe the design and shape look good today.  The only thing missing in scale was a refined version, and until recently, this model was only available by mainstream, and budget concise brand Maisto.  Nothing against the Maisto replica.   It checks a number of items, price, diecast metal, and 360 access.  The only thing missing was overall refinement.  Enter TOP Marques with their version 1:18 Jaguar XJ220.  It was released in a number of colours with an open and closed headlight version.  However, this level of refinement comes with a higher price tag, and it is a resin and static piece.  No access to anything!

As for the model, it isn’t perfect either, the overall shape, more so on the front section isn’t particularly on point, though the overall refinement is definitely better than the Maisto example on the whole, as the photos will show.  Same as the Mosler MT900S model we reviewed earlier, this example came shipped with a few less than desirable QC issues, the most prominent was the section of the rear window that wasn’t completely painted in Black.  If you close enough you can see the transition of Black finishes within the photos.  We used the Black felt-tip marker to perform the duties LOL.  Enjoy the pics!

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8 Responses to "PHOTO GALLERY: TOP Marques Jaguar XJ220"

  1. Karsten says:

    Not good enough to replace my Maisto, I´m afraid.

  2. Evert Delanoye says:

    I wrote a review of this model on another forum in 2018. Thought it could be helpful here as well:

    FRONT:
    One of the major shortcomings of the Maisto is that it doesn’t give a correct idea of how wide the original car is. The XJ220 is a big and wide car, but Maisto made it look rather small when looking at it up front. This is where the TMC version does a much better job. It does show a broad front and makes the Maisto look even more off. From this perspective, TMC got it quite right.

    SIDE:
    When looking at it from the side, the first shortcomings of the TMC XJ220 show. Now I don’t want to be too harsh, because TMC also consults its customers, which is great, so we did kind of have the chance to mention it before, but I hope this can be seen as an honest (personal) review to make the next model even better. So when looking at it from the side, both the Maisto and TMC got it wrong. In the front part, the TMC is better looking, because the front wheel of the Maisto simply is too much up front, causing it to look plump. The Maisto also has a horrible small window behind the door, that’s often not even properly fitted (I have 5 versions of the Maisto and neither of them are perfect). It’s way too long. The TMC model does a better job on that small window, but it isn’t perfect either. Actually it’s the opposite of the Maisto and looks too short. However I understood from previous posts that it isn’t always possible to downscale every item in the right proportions. In my opinion the TMC version looks better on this point. Also the fact that the TMC is a sealed resin is a plus over the Maisto that often has poorly closing doors with spaces between the front of the door and the body. However, where the TMC lets me down is the rear end when looking at it from the side. The line at the back simply isn’t right. The rear isn’t firm enough. It doesn’t raise in the right proportion and is too flat. The Maisto version is too high on it’s rear wheels, but it still is a lot better scaled. Because of the wrong line, the air intake on the TMC looks too big as well. Making it even worse for the TMC are the wheels. This is where I feel the TCM really is a let down. They’re too small and much less detailed that the Maisto version. There’s also too much space around the wheels, making the entire model looking off from the side view. They also seem to be a little bit too far from each other, making the XJ220 looking even longer than it actually is. It messes up the dimensions in a very bad way. I’m even considering taking the wheels of 1 of the Maisto’s and try to fit them on the TMC.

    REAR:
    Looking at the rear side, the TMC wins it back from the Maisto regarding dimensions. Partly because the Maisto is way too narrow, as mentioned before. However the shape of the spoiler on the Maisto is better. The shape of the TMC spoiler is not correct. Especially where it’s fitted to the car. The angle of the side curves of the spoiler is better with the Maisto. The sides of the TMC spoiler are too short, but TMC dit a better job with the spoiler height because it’s definitly too low on the Maisto. Too bad the more detailed TMC model doesn’t have the small antenna button.

    DETAILS:
    The details on the Maisto weren’t bad at all, certainly given it’s cheap price. so it would be a hard job for TMC to make it better. The wheels of the Maisto are superior to the TCM wheels with the Bridgestone text and Jaguar logo shaped on the rim, where TCM does this without text and a sticker for the logo.The glass on the TMC is clearer, and it also has side window glass. Because the TMC is a closed model, it doesn’t have the ugly lines of the opening parts that the Maisto has. On the other hand, what really bothers me is the fact that the air vents in the front of the TMC are closed and poorly finished, where as the Maisto has the shades from the actual openings. On the engine, the Maisto has coloured tubes, where the tubes in the TMC are all grey. A bit shamefull for such an expensive model. To be fair: the shape of the TMC engine is better. The paint colour of the TMC is also a lot better than the Maisto. This especially shows when they’re next to each other. The TCM has a fine paint layer, where the paint of the Maisto is too rough.

    OVERALL:
    As said before, I’ve been long awaiting a new 1/18 version of the Jaguar XJ220. Mostly because the Maisto looks too narrow and too stumy in the front. So first of all I want to thank Top Marques Collectibles for making the effort. However on some points things really should have been done better. The overall score is higher than the Maisto, but far from perfect. Given the difference in price, the Maisto actually offers better value for money. But then again a collector wants a model that looks as much as possible as the original, so prices aren’t the first concern. My conclusion is that I’m happy to have the TMC XJ220 in my collection, but it barely gets a 7/10. Maybe the best conclusion is that TMC fixes the errors from Maisto, but makes others in return.

    • DS Team says:

      That’s some fantastic insight thanks for sharing. You definitely hit the nail on the head, as collectors you always want to collect the best possible example. TM does do some things well, however, there are other elements that aren’t up to speed.

      PS We’d love to share the words on the original review. Send us an email if you like us to publish it here.

  3. Henry Chen says:

    Hello guys. I agree with the observations regarding the shortcomings of both the Maisto and the TMC versions. But for me the most let-down issue with the TMC is the shape of the rear wheel arch. The back portion seemed to be too tucked-in, such that it exposed a lot of rubber of the rear tires. This can be seen when viewing the side of the model car, and is most evident when looking at the car from the three-quarter rear view vantage point. This is not the case with the actual car. Maisto’s effort here is not perfect but is a lot better.

    • spikyone says:

      Exactly. That’s the first thing that jumps out, even if you don’t know the 1:1 very well, that three quarter view makes it look like it’s got about 20 degrees of toe-in. It’s awful and I just don’t know how it ever got approved like that.

      There are a ton of other things wrong that haven’t been mentioned too, the shape and thickness of the A-pillar, the shape of the diffuser, everything about the area where the spoiler meets the body, the overall shape of the nose (look at that third picture!)… It’s just a mess.

      TM & LS need to work much harder on their accuracy. Too much stuff is coming out with obvious errors, and annoyingly it’s stuff I would’ve bought in a heartbeat – this, the TVR Sagaris, and the Elise GT1 have all been a long way off.

      • Evert Delanoye says:

        I had contact with one of the guys working on this model. He said they would be visiting Don Law Racing in England where a lot of XJ220’s are maintained to get it better, but I think they eventually never will. Let’s hope they’ll make the LM version one day with all the corrections needed. He also talked about doing the XJR-15, but in the mean time Cult Scale Models have done it although not flawless either. Jaguars seem to be difficult to make into 1/18 models.

  4. George K says:

    The interior ruins this. It looks like one molded piece. I would love a good model of this car- I guess that is just hoping for too much.

  5. The front was certainly off and this was one of the main reasons I did not actually purchase this car. I love TMC, as I have purchased their models before. Not much complaint on their QC.

    I still own the Maisto 1/12 in this same color.. Yes, Maisto paint was off, yes their wheels were not offset correctly but the overall shape was close enough to keep collectors and budget conscious collectors happy for many years. No one complained about not having another one to put on their desk but this is way overdue. TMC really could have knocked this one out of the park but unfortunately they failed to really hit it with this XJ220.

    I must say I am disappointed with the mis-proprtions of the TMC. Having incorrect proportions does not always mean a car will not sell or not be pleasing to the eyes but when a company kind of ‘reinvents the wheel’ they take a HUGE gamble when doing this.

    Tamiya with the Ferrari F50 completely blew it with the rake angle of the entire front of the 1/12 scale model but it actually made the car look slightly better than the official Ferrari shape. That is an example of how it can pay off if you miss a millimeter here or there. Not everyone even noticed and those who did did not seem to care.

    With the Ferrari F50 you had many, many choices of models to pick and choose. The XJ220 did not have the luxury and cannot get away with not getting it right . The examples available to purchase are far and few between.

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