Inno64-R. R for resin. I am very pleased to showcase to you today the first resin model of the brand, and what a model! Let’s have a closer look to this beast.
A very popular project
This is the first foray of the Inno brand into resin, and they clearly wanted to attract attention. The model itself is amazing, and based on a recent project done by Kato-san’s for Tokyo Auto Salon 2020. The car is based on a ER34 Nissan Skyline GT-t, and not a “more popular R34 GT-R”. Something that did not miss to the modelmaker, and it is well that inscription that you can find on the little metal baseplate.
The 1:1 project was made to surprise, and I think that both Kato-san and the Inno team did surprise. Kato-san for bringing this amazing car to the Auto Tokyo Salon, and Inno64 to launch a new resin line. The car is clearly a pure JDM car, and in the legendary Skyline Silhouette legacy. I know you know what I mean :
Yes, is there a better way to feature this car ? It’s an obligatory shot ! This Super Silhouette Tomica Limited Vintage has entered the pantheon of minicars. Though, and even if I’m totally in love with them, if you look closely at the details, they are pretty simple. When you know the price it goes for … it makes me reflect. Hot Wheels tooled one recently (and it’s clearly not a masterpiece to me), but what would happen if Inno64 tooled one ?
Back to the project. The “risk” taken by the owner was important : how to make a recent and decent tribute to those oh-so-well-popular cars of the 80’s ? I think the result is super cool, and the R34 base is so clever. It’s obviously not discreet but respecting the cars it comes from.
A particular attention to the packaging
Once again, and as I mentioned in my Tofogarage article, Inno64 made a particular attention to the packaging. It’s in the same way : it means you have a nice cardboard box with the acrylic display inside.
I would like to take a few moments to look at one particular inscription on the box that is “Model-car making is an art itself”. I wouldn’t have said better. It’s a philosophy I highly support. I think the guys making model cars are artists, and that from the 1$ Hot Wheels cars with keeping low price in mind to high end resin replicas.
This time, the design of the packaging goes very much deeper, and believe me this is the first time I see such thing in 1:64 scale (and for a price around $40). How to transcribe that in an article ? We were used to nice efforts from the brand with Pandem models for example, but here it is another level. I don’t even know what materials is used, I suppose some leather around the base, and maybe Kevlar on the base ? There is a very incredible weaved aspect circled with red top stitches. The premium aspect is unbelievable, and unique in my collection.
R for Resin
Why making a resin model ? The question is legit, specially when you know the amazing possibilities of modern processes, and the fine minicars the Inno64 factory is able to make. The answer (or one of the answers) is : the minicar is complex enough to go resin rather than develop a metal mold. I know a lot about resin, because I’m a big resin collector of Spark models with more or less 200 models sitting just in front of me (you can see my reviews of Spark models on Mininches.com if you like). Develop a mold is something really costly, and when you develop and engage money, you want the mold to be used quite a lot to amortize. With many colors or variations for example. In this case, the Nissan Skyline LBWK ER34 Super Silhouette might no get other variations, because of it’s uniqueness.
In this case too, the body is complex, the amount of details is very important, and some parts like the front splitter almost touching the ground are so fine that you can imagine them in classic diecast. That being said, what are the positive and negative aspects of resin vs diecast ?
Resin can bring you almost everywhere you want to, with many possibilities. The cost of a resin mold is not as much as a metal one, and it is also very quicker to do. On the other hand, resin molds tend to get worn faster than metal molds. Usually, resin models don’t get opening parts, because it’s fragile. Also, most collectors love resin because the lines of the body are more realistic, very much fine than metal. Most of the time, models don’t roll. In this case, forget it, the model is a display model, period.
Metal molds are more durable through time (I mean in the process way), it’s also less fragile. But in some cases, it happened that the “zamac” (= material used for metal molds) was of very bad quality, and some paints did not react good. In some extreme cases, the models tend to break themselves because of bad zamac. Today though, alloys are of better quality, but some CM’s or Kyosho’s were from those bad zamacs.
The Inno64 Nissan Skyline “LBWK” ER34 Super Silhouette reduction itself
The model is clearly at Inno64 standards, and even better because of the explanations above. It’s like if the Inno team had a recreation time to make something fun, and unusual. What shocked me first was this incredible quality of the packaging – and you know I take care about packagings and displays. Looking at the model itself, and after researches as usual, I have to say that the execution is near perfect. 1:64 is not a very big scale, and it’s hard to go deeper in term of details. And also for a price under $40.
The global lines of the car are good, the car is low, the car is wide, the special tiny mirrors are good, the rear spoiler too, the front chin spoiler too, and even the wheels are cambered. The tampo work (that is not tampo because the car is made of resin, but I don’t have the word sorry) is really close to the 1:1 model. What could I say to make a positive criticism ? Maybe the tailights could have been done with a more “tiny little red points in it” aspect. Maybe.
Even the interior is full of details, with the yellow roll cage and the red seats.
If you want to read more on this amazing Silhouette in 1:1, I highly suggest you to read this Speedhunters article written by the cool dude Dino Dalle Carbonare, our favorite Italian lost in Tokyo. I follw him on Instagram, and love his pictures.
Meantime, I hope this resin story did please you, and that some of you will add this beautiful piece in their collection. If you like it, I highly suggest you not to miss it, and grab one quickly, as prices are already starting to rise. You can find some on eBay.
To go resin is not the most usual way to collect 1:64, but from time to time it can be very interesting. I have a small collection of 1:64 resin models, and I love it. Most are from Timothy & Pierre, some from Error404, and Neo Scale Models. Now, I can count this cool Inno64-R. Enjoy.
