REVIEW: Fronti-Art Zenvo TSR-S (chassis #4 aka Shmee-Mobile) • DiecastSociety.com

REVIEW: Fronti-Art Zenvo TSR-S (chassis #4 aka Shmee-Mobile)

“Hi, guys, I´m Shmeeeeee” – well, in fact, I´m not, but this is just what this car is saying, nay, shouting: A crazy, stunning looker, completely bonkers, just the right ride for the Youtuber. The in-house developed engine may have the horsepower of a Bugatti, but then “only” less than the performance that the first Aventadors had ten years ago. Yes, the in-house developed gearbox is testified to be a nightmare, but this is not what this is about. In the world of Supercars and Monaco, an Aventador is an ordinary everyday sight, not a head-turner, while this Zenvo is the true exotic to attract a look-at-me attention, particularly with the very aerodynamic party trick of its wiggling wing. It´s a stunner, a looker, even though at the other end of the sublimely beautiful De Tomaso P72. Tim Burton, being a true Brit, has put an appropriate Shakespeare quotation on his personalized number plates: “Though this be madness, yet there is method isn’t.” ­– without a doubt. And it´s a different kind of mad, more evil, aggressive, sinister. Carfection´s Henry Catchpole thought “It looks like a baddie´s supercar, has got a name like a baddie´s supercar”, in other words, something that – even colour-wise – could be The Joker´s choice. To be fair, Tim Burton doesn´t fit the baddie profile, being the good-natured approachable guy whose giggly hyper enthusiasm for cars is amiably contagious.

Picking up the real car at the factory in Denmark, Shmee150 not only unveils his new pride and joy for us, but kindly informs us in his video that this model with the exact same bespoke spec has become available. Mine is #10/100 and the Certificate of Authenticity that comes with it confirms that the “Zenvo TSR-S vehicle with chassis number 04 for Mr. Tim Burton was manufactured with followed specifications: Model: TSR-S; Year:2022; Body Color: Lilla Perlemor”. And, wow, how that colour pops, I mean, on the model too as you may be able to tell from my pictures that only does it half-justice. Tim claims that the model has got “ALL of the lime-green accents” and the model indeed very nicely has all of them, including the “pin-stripe around the snorkel” that he points out on the real car later on in the same video. Beyond the accents, the model replicates the immense attention to detail that Tim points out to the viewer: The carbon fibre weave and centre wheel lock TSR-S logo plus valve on the wheels, albeit without tyre branding, the shiny exposed carbon fibre weave, even on the hexagonal mesh, the correct purple carbon-fibre-weave-section along the centre of the car and, most unexpectedly, even the inverted carbon-fibre inlay that forms the Zenvo-name-script on the car´s flanks.

Another feature that I find remarkable about a sealed resin model is the fact that there is an actual engine to be glimpsed at through the mesh of the engine cover. Now that is something that the more expensive Peako De Tomaso P72 has deleted although the original P72 puts its engine much more visibly on display through a glass engine cover that Peako has replicated in black and the large mesh in the rear behind which Peako has put a black box with some gold stripes. The FrontiArt´s rear shows the same excellence with its wiggly wing that looks functional in its high detail, but of course, isn´t. Looking at the exhaust pipes makes you believe that this will sound “mega”, the lights are very detailed and there´s lots of “carbon, carbon, carbon everything” and a view of the engine behind the carbon mesh and a view of the rear wheels through what is an actual hole where diecast metal models often struggle to provide such features (cf. Ferrari 250 GTO and 300SL).

Moving on to the interior, you correctly find the asymmetric interior with the “Black/Lime Perforated” for the driver’s side and the “Black/Lilla” (or purple) in the passenger zone, even the lime stitching on the steering wheel. What seems puzzling and perhaps incorrect to me is that the model has racing belts and a three-point safety-belt lock, which doesn´t seem to add up. What´s for sure, though, is that Tim buckles up with an ordinary three-point belt for his first drive.

Now, this is my first Fronti-Art and I must say, despite my reservations about sealed resin, this is quite worth having. Of course, an all-open model would reveal more of the original´s fascinating features, but even the AUTOart Ford GT has a deployable, but non-posable wing that would be the cherry on the cake for this Zenvo to display the party trick. Like Tim at the end of his video, I need to say a huge, huge, huge “thank you” to Michael Rinke at MR´s Modellautos for contributing to this review by giving me a huge discount on the model. Authors at DiecastSociety.com usually buy the models reviewed here like every other collector, so what we can review is limited to what we can afford, making Fronti-Arts a rare sight here on DiecastSociety.com.  Now the beauty of it is that if you would want one of the 99 remaining Shmee-Zenvos, Michael Rinke has a considerable number of them, selling them cheaper than Zenvo Automotive, which as far as I´m aware is the only alternative source for them. Otherwise, as always, we recommend supporting our sponsors as they support this website through advertising with us. Chee-ee-eers!

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12 Responses to "REVIEW: Fronti-Art Zenvo TSR-S (chassis #4 aka Shmee-Mobile)"

  1. DS Team says:

    Nicely done sir! The photos next to the Joker explains it all. just perfect. This is a very unusual car, and that’s what makes it appealing to some. Overall, Fronti-Art hit the mark, it does shine.

  2. Atalante says:

    I must admit I am not the biggest fan of Zenvo but the car looks absolutely great in that color. And it looks like Frontiart did an excellent job on this one. I saw the review published earlier this week then suddently disapeared. Did you guys have to settle some legal aspects with Tim?

    • Karsten says:

      What legal aspects could there be? It disappeared because I prematurely published without the chief editor’s consent outside what he had scheduled. So this had to get back into line. That’s all that is to it. I am sure, Tim couldn’t be happier about this free promotion.

  3. Aaron says:

    Now if this was done in full opening Diecast and none of this sealed/resin BS, that would really hit the spot enough to buy

    • DS Team says:

      Don’t hold your breath for a full opening example, the item is too niche. Though, the above is a great placeholder until one arrives!

      • Aaron says:

        I’m certainly NOT holding my breath for anything anymore. It’s just very disappointing that the car model hobby world has come down to this sealed/resin BS. Regardless of the reasons, I don’t like it one bit. Moveable parts on these models, especially rolling wheels, is what got me interesting in this hobby in the first place. It’s no fun without that. Even if both die cast and resin are mostly meant for display. But those displays aren’t much fun without any bells and whistles. If anyone wants a resin model, they might as well purchase a useless rock

        • DS Team says:

          Oh, we do understand… But pre-resin, do you actually believe any brand would have invested the $$ in such a niche product and sacrificed return on investment? Highly unlikely, at least here we have something to enjoy in scale. May not be the optimal definition, but something is better than nothing.

          • Aaron says:

            Maybe! But my personal preference is working die cast or not at all. If it’s 1/18 but non movable in any way, I don’t count it as a model period. Kind of like comparing Stephen King’s horror car novels Christine and From a Buick 8. While Christine moves about and opens up, the Buick in “From a Buick 8” doesn’t move at all. It’s just too bad that all resin models can’t be referenced on a resin ONLY site and have die cast cars ONLY on die cast sites just to avoid confusion. In other words, it would be sweet if resin and die cast were not mixed together. Unless some scientists think of a way to make resin models as strong and operable as a die cast model

            • Karsten says:

              You are entitled to your personal preferences and we respect them. We ourselves PREFER diecast over resin and openable over sealed – prefer … but not militantly throw everything else under the bus. There are rich collectors with 3000+ strong collections out there who prefer resin. They say, openable diecast models are not sharp enough around the edges, rounded by caking them in paint. High end resin usually do better carbon pattern replication and you may find the inverted carbon on this an example. There are sealed diecast metal models. There are openable composite plastic models. And we don’t choose to ignore them on this website, but give them credit where due and put them into perspective. And at the end of the year in the Model of the Year Awards, when we all get equal votes, it usually shows the communities preference of diecast metal over resin and opening over sealed, but there is never a model on the shortlist that gets zero votes.
              There is a difference between this model and a “useless rock”. Actually, most outside the hobby don’t see the difference between any model and a useless rock and shake their heads about anything we buy, including your preferences. So please don’t try to tell us what to collect and review and what not to collect and review. We are not trying to tell you what to buy or not to buy either. Thank you!

  4. Aaron says:

    I didn’t mean to completely negatively criticized resin models. What I should’ve said is, while resin simply isn’t my cup of tea, I applaud all collectors who find them worthwhile. Yes, I’m aware that resin has higher detail in certain spots. But die cast is as far as I go. I say to all who wants resin models, enjoy them!

  5. Mike Hunt says:

    This is Shmee150’s spec! Awesome to see in model form. Frontier-Art never disappoints! Next to “Auto-Art” & “Tamiya” of course. (Just my personal opinion)

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