REVIEW: Solido Nissan GTRs Liberty Walk (1:43) • DiecastSociety.com

REVIEW: Solido Nissan GTRs Liberty Walk (1:43)

Solido is showering us with new model cars in two popular scales 1:18 and 1:43. Most of Solido’s reviews to date were in 1:18 scale – let’s change things up and take a look at their 1:43  offerings. Today, I will be taking a look at two of their 1:43 Liberty Walk Nissan GTRs – John Players Special in black with gold accents and a blue Calsonic. We have seen JPS liveries on Formula 1 cars in the past and they looked sharp. This black R35 GTR is no exception and out of the two, the JPS is my personal favourite.

At first glance, Solido packaging reminds me of Minichamps which consists of an outer paper sleeve, a black base to which a model is mounted to, and a clear case that narrows on the top to allow stacking. Let’s see if these Solido 1:43 models are stackable. I have good news, they are stackable indeed however it is a tight fit and some effort is required to make sure they sit on top of each other nicely and tight (at least for my examples).

Moving onto the models, they are produced in metal with a closed body shell meaning there are no opening parts. I am happy to report side windows are present which makes the model look complete. Both decal and glossy paint applications are good giving both models a nice shine.

As with Solido models on a larger scale, there are no perforated grilles. There is also no carbon fibre replication – this is expected for the budget price. These Solido 1:43 scale models retail for an attractive price of about $29 US.

At the front, the headlights are separate pieces of clear plastic. I would also like to point out the red R on the GTR front emblem which reminds you this is a racer. The wide-body Liberty Walk kit really gives this model a wide stance.

Moving onto the side, as mentioned earlier side windows are present as are the wide fenders. The rims are all black on both models (not my preferred choice) but they are nice and glossy. If you look close enough, you will notice rotors and brake calipers – nice to see on such a small model. I also favour the choice of gold calipers on the JPS and red on the Calsonic version. Both models have tire branding present. Solido did not just slap on the same tire on both as both have different branding – nice attention to smaller details.

Both models’ backside is executed as well, and the parity on both ends is executed the same. That is because I really appreciate the gold exhaust tips on JPS with hollow black paint on the inside, and silver ones on the Calsonic with the same detail execution. I also appreciate the openings from the wide-body kit. I am glad Solido replicated the cutouts. A more than decent effort here! The rear lights are separate plastic pieces painted red with clear centre pieces. The back wing is a huge separate piece, there is nothing understated about this Liberty Walk model!

The interior is almost all black with some simple decals, very basic, nothing that really stands out. I can live with that based on the overall scale, this detail matters more on open-top models in this scale.

To conclude, I think for a budget 1:43 scale model Solido did well. It is not as refined as some more expensive 1:43 offerings and it was never intended to be. This is a solid (no pun intended) and honest effort into a very crowded and competitive 1:43 market. Looking at their future announcements found here on DiecastSociety.com, I think we will see a lot of great and creative models coming down the pipeline soon!

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1 Response to "REVIEW: Solido Nissan GTRs Liberty Walk (1:43)"

  1. DS Team says:

    Luk thanks again for picking on the slack on the budget-friendly side. Solido continues to do good things for the opening price point. They are killing it in the 1:18 scale side and we can see from the images above along with the recent news threads they’re now setting their focus on more market share in 1:43 scale segment. It’s a win for the hobby!

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