REVIEW: Biante 2015 VF Commodore Red Bull • DiecastSociety.com

REVIEW: Biante 2015 VF Commodore Red Bull

Words and Photos courtesy of wotda

 

I have reviewed a Red Bull Racing/Triple 8 Engineering VF Commodore before, however this one is different for two reasons. One, its made from Biante and two, its scale, 1:12.  The car in question is the 2015 Bathurst 1000 Winner, driven by Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards.

For starters the when the model arrived the packaging looked massive compare to the packaging from 1:18 models.

Once you remove the outer sleeve your left with a premium box and a front tab that folds out so you can slide the inner box out. Inside the inner box lies the 1:12 model that is packed in 5 layers of foam!

First impression of the model is that its big and heavy! The model is made from resin and sealed in order to keep the cost down.  For comparison I used the the same car but in 1:18 made by Classic Carlectables. You can clearly see the 1:18 is dwarfed by the 1:12.

The 1:12 is even bigger that the 1:18 box

Its also when comparing the Biante 1:12 to the Classic Carlectables 1:18 you see the incorrect details applied to the 1:18. The most noticeable is the hamburger camera on the roof (the small round cylinder on the roof)), the small triangle cutout on the front side windows, no Holden logo at the rear and no fuel cell lid on the Binate 1:12 which is true to the real car that raced in Bathurst.

The only disappointment was the undercarriage and brakes which lacked some depth and detail compare to the 1:18 version. Given its in 1:12 it would have been even easier to get more detail and depth in these areas.

Maybe this is due to the nature of resin or Biante trying to keep the cost down?  The finish and colour is very good. Very clean and no blemishes. The only quality issue I encounter was the front antenna fell off inside the box and it took me awhile to find it hidden within the layers of foam.

The overall feel of the model is its very sturdy and solid with very little fragile parts. However I have heard the wing on these tend to break very easily.

Written by

2 Responses to "REVIEW: Biante 2015 VF Commodore Red Bull"

  1. Sac says:

    What you said about the wings is true..and the most disappointing bit about Biante models are their wheels..it is the same wheel on all their models and the brake details leave a lot to be desired..but they have some unique models that get me going back time and again..

  2. Alex says:

    I have seen these 1/12 models in the flesh and they are quite underwhelming. You would think they could cram a lot more detail on the car being a much larger size but its basically the same as the 1/18 offerings which themselves are also rather lackluster. Both 1/12 & 1/18 models not worth their asking prices.

Leave a reply