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| 1972 Audi 80 LS (Schuco Modell, 1:66) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 30 2012, 04:26 PM (2,095 Views) | |
| mentalpower | Dec 30 2012, 04:26 PM Post #1 |
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Hey guys: After quite some time lurking the forum and just some months of membership, I think it is about time to step in and share with you my thoughs on some of the die-cast models I have. I have made some in-depth reviews in the past for Spanish collectors' forums, but this will be my first in English.. let's see how it goes.... For my first review I've chosen a not-so-easy to find model, the 1972 Audi 80 LS by the German brand Schuco Modell. This one has appeared already in Swifty's Garage (I think it even made it as a Car of the Day, if I'm not wrong), so my review is not really focused on showing you an unknown diecast, but more a guideline on 1:66 Schuco models for those of you that have not any in your collections. I hope you find it interesting. My choice of the Audi 80 has not been a random one: this one is a great representative of the casting quality of the German manufacturer. An almost perfect casting with all pieces fitting into one another, barely leaving any gaps, something remarcable for a casting of its age and scale. For those of you who are not familiar with Schuco models at 1:66 scale, the first thing you should know is that these models came in a clear box made of hard plastic. The box is collector-friendly, as it can be opened and closed several times, and it is also a good way to display it. ![]() The bottom side of the box shows a technical fact sheet about the real car. It includes some technical data such as top speed, number of cylinders and engine displacement. It also gives the lenght and width of the real car (in milimiters). ![]() Once the box is open we can see that the diecast car lays on a thin spounge layer, being the only fixing element to avoid the car moving into the box. The main problem of this solution is that the car's roof touches the box at all times and its paint may be slighly scratched by the box (fortunately this has not happened in mine). ![]() Let us focus now on the diecast car itself. The first time one has it in one's hand it looks really small (please bear in mind that the size of this model is closer to Tomica Pocket than to the typical Matchbox, Majorette or Welly). My first though once I had it into my hands was that this was not a 1:66 scale model, but something smaller, closer to 1:72 scale. I'll come back again later to discuss this issue. ![]() ![]() As far as I know, Schuco made three versions for the Audi 80: two civilian ones (LS and GL) and a firefighter one (red with a round siren protuding from the roof). The one in these photos represents the LS model, which had its roof covered with a darker, vynil-like material. The diecast car represents this just with a tampoed black zone, which adjusts ok on the roof but not on the C-pillars. For those of you that don't like how this detail looks, I recommend you to pick the GL version, as it has the roof in the same color as the rest of the car body. Let us see this model from different views... ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() One of the things that can be seen i the photos above is that the base of the car includes again the technical factsheet of the real car (something other German brands such as Siku keep doing now-a-days). One curious thing, though, is that in this case, as Schuco used the same mold for both the Ls and GL versions, the top speed and engine data for both versions is included in the base. It also states the scale of the model (1:66), which is something we will check later. Another remarkable fact is the (slightly strange) desing for the wheels shape, which can be only noticed when looking to the car from the exact front or back views, or trurning it upside-down, as the last photo above. I think it is an smart solution to a problem many manufacturers had with the wheels: real cars of that decade used thinner wheels than the ones used now, but if you tried to put such thin wheels with a thin metal axle so they rolled faster, this typically led to more unstable wheells or even the axle bending easily. Schuco solved this by widening the wheels around the axle, and stretching them until its appropriate width. An original solutiont hat is only noticeable if you really look at it. By the way, the wheels used in thi Audi 80 are a standard design used in many other Schuco models, but they look realy good on the Audi. The doors are made of two little thin pieces of metal that have a good fiiting into the chasis when closed: ![]() And to end the review let's return to the scale issue. In general, Schuco models of the late 70's and early 80's are smaller than the Lesney/Matchbox or Husky/Corgi of the same age. This creates the impression, while having them into one's hands, that they are smaller, closer ot 1:72 scale than to a typical 1:64. To give you an example of this feeling, let me compare Schuco's Audi 80 with another model in my collection which, according to its manufaturer, it is very close in scale: Grell Modell's Audi 100 Coupe S: ![]() ![]() According to Schuco, its Audi 80 is 1:66 scale. According to Grell, its Audi 100 is 1:64 scale. But when we put them together the size difference is noticeable, so one ends up thinking that one of the manufacturers is lying: either the Audi 100 is closer to a 1:62 scale or the Audi 80 is closer to a 1:70 scale. But if we do the proper measurements and calculate the scale, actually none of the manufacturers lies: according to my own calculations, the Audi 80 is 1:66.27, whicle the Audi 100 is 1:64.6. Here I want to remark that making the same calculation to other Schuco models, I get the exact same 1:66.27 result. This means that in its series all Schuco models are not box-scale, but accurate 1:66 scale. From all this I think we can conclude that Schuco's Audi 80 is a well-proportioned, quality model of the real 1972 Audi 80, and I would strongly recommend it to any of you that cares about proper scales and prefers models closer to 'real' 1:64. Edited by mentalpower, Dec 30 2012, 04:27 PM.
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| Guntownal | Jan 3 2013, 10:12 AM Post #2 |
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Great looking little Audi by Schuco...nice pics also! I have a bunch of Schuco in my collection and I really like the crisp lines and overall quality of the brand. They were also released in blister packs. |
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| craftymore | Jan 3 2013, 11:08 AM Post #3 |
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Support your local demo derby.
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Excellent review of not only the Audi car but the Schuco brand in general. The quality of their models and engineering behind it exceeded most from the time period. They also have a 'working' suspension as well. I'm amazed at the outstanding product that Schuco produced. Finding these is the biggest challenge. |
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| JustDavid | Jan 3 2013, 09:50 PM Post #4 |
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SUV
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Excellent write-up, with some amazing pictures. |
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| mentalpower | Jan 6 2013, 03:26 AM Post #5 |
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Thanks for the comments, guys.
Well, they are not that hard to find on eBay... the challenge is to find some at an acceptable prize.
Really? I haven't seen any of those. Do you have any picures of Schuco blisters? |
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| Guntownal | Jan 9 2013, 09:44 AM Post #6 |
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Here's a few pics of the blister packs for you.![]() They still included the tech sheet.... ![]() ![]() |
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| Atencio | Jan 9 2013, 11:03 PM Post #7 |
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Station Wagon
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Great thread. Enjoyed reading it. |
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| mentalpower | Jan 15 2013, 05:16 AM Post #8 |
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Thanks a lot for the photos, Guntownal, I had never seen these blisters before. |
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