Bburago Ferrari 550 Maranello
This was my first model by Bburago, and I had high hopes for the level of finish and detail. After all, this one was made in Italy, not Thailand or China.
In general, my hopes were realized. I really like this model.
Part of that lies in my liking for the subject. Ferrari's 550 Maranello is another of my favorite cars. Like most Ferraris, it's beautiful, and like all Ferraris, it's fast. How fast? Road & Track magazine had Mario Andretti drive one, without any modification, to 193 mph. This is in a car that, when they tested for emissions, produced no measurable carbon monoxide at all!* Okay, so maybe you don't plan to lock yourself in the garage with your Ferrari's engine running. But it's still an impressive feat of engineering.
So does Bburago do justice to its larger compatriot? Pretty well, I'd say. My 550 is the color Ferrari calls "grigio titanio", or Titanium Grey, a dark metallic grey formulated specifically for this car. A close examination reveals two small surface flaws: one is a blemish on the right rear flank, near the fuel filler door. The other is more serious, in that it's a sheetmetal flaw, rather than paint: there is a small ripple on the right side of the roof, just ahead of the rear window. It's hardly visible, but you can feel it. Still, it's lovely overall, and the finish has a depth and gloss that the Maistos don't match.
In most cases, the fit of the parts also exceeds Maisto's. The one glaring exception is the hood. In my 550 the engine seems too close to the hood; it doesn't want to settle fully flush on the driver's side. If you press on the driver's front fender, the engine will cause the hood to pop its latch open. All told, though, this isn't a huge failing.
While it's open, we may as well look under that hood, with its elegant integrated air scoop. Here some more details become apparent that set the Bburago above a Maisto: The tiny Ferrari decal obviously listing manufacturer's specs. The backs of the headlight housings, chromed. The prop rod attached to the brake-fluid reservoir. The engine made up of many parts in four different colors, on different levels. The black lining to the engine compartment. And my favorite: the black hoodliner, with its integral ducting leading from the scoop to the air intakes. Here we also get another indication that the engine is a little too high: the prop rod fits into its detent only by dint of flexing, and remains bowed while doing its job. It seems to want to be about 2 mm shorter.
The interior continues to set a high level, but falls down in places. The seats look great, as does the dashboard and console. But the decal that stands in for the radio is misaligned, and the included luggage on the rear deck (no back seat, of course) has handles and securing straps that are visibly attached only at one end.
The action of the doors is not smooth, and they have nothing to indicate by feel that they are shut. The trunklid's fit is excellent, but it barely opens, and there is no provision to prop it open, should you wish to display it so. Inside the trunk you'll find an ugly "space saver" spare, on an earlier Ferrari "star" pattern wheel.
The tires have beautiful sidewall moldings reading, "Goodyear Eagle F1 Fiorano;" obviously named after Ferrari's famous test track. But comparison with photos reveals a weakness: the tires I see on 550s seem to have a different tread pattern, with large tread blocks near the outer edge, like Pirelli's "Asimmetricos." This is a more generic, non-directional tread pattern, much like Pirelli's older P700s. State of the art in the '70s, but not the late '90s.
On further close examination they reveal another flaw that I consider serious, and easily avoidable: They have very visible mold seams in the center of the tread, and the footprint is not flat. That is to say, the center of the tire's tread touches; the rest diminishes in diameter both inward and outward. They look as if they were vastly overinflated.
This is probably a factor in my next complaint: The steering has a strong self-centering action. This seems to be deliberately engineered in through flexible tips on the connecting rod between the front wheels. When this is combined with the tiny contact patch caused by the "overinflation", there is not enough surface friction to keep the tires posed at any appreciable angle. No matter how you set them, they tend to straighten themselves out. That's fine in a car you drive, but annoying in a static display model.
The wheels look good, sporting large chromed brake rotors that have patterns of dimples to indicate cross-drilling. There is no attempt at portraying a caliper, and the rotors look too bright -- they should have a satin finish rather than bright chrome. Not perfect, but not bad either. Another little touch sets Bburago above the average: if you look at the lug nuts on many other 1:18 scale models, they are represented by little circles. Close examination of the Maranello's lug nuts shows them to be perfect tiny hexagons. Extra points for Bburago.
Oddly, when I tried spinning the wheels, I found that the axles, particularly the rear ones with their really wide tires, had a lot of rolling resistance. Could Bburago be doing this deliberately to minimize the chance of it rolling off a shelf? Beats me. Anyway, that's not serious.
The back end looks quite good. The four tailpipes are just about perfect, as are the taillight lenses. Speaking of which, the headlight lenses look great, too.
Much of the underside is covered by a smooth "belly pan," which is punctuated by openings allowing looks at the fine exhaust system. Photos of the underside of a real 550 Maranello reveal this to be slightly inaccurate, but overall, quite a fair rendition. No complaints there; in fact, it's better than I expected. If I wanted to complain about it, I would have to say that much of it should be metallic grey, rather than the bright chrome plate they used.
Finally, I have one very small accuracy complaint, and a note: First, the side mirrors are slightly incorrect in shape -- a little too bulbous, where the real ones have a distinct horizontal character line. Now the note: in comparing the model with photos, you may see amber side marker lights ahead of the front wheelwells, and red ones behind the rears. Instead, the Bburago includes a signature orange dot near the Pininfarina logo behind the front wheels. This is simply a difference between the European model (orange dot) and the US export version. The model seems faithful to Ferrari's original release photos from 1996.
*Road & Track magazine, August 1998
To sum it up:
Strengths: Beautiful shape, excellent finish, generally excellent fit. Very good attention to detail in most areas.
Weaknesses: Poor profile on tires, self-centering steering, difficult door action. Trunk impossible to leave open. Engine seems too high in engine bay, causing tight fit.
Overall: I'd rate this car very highly, and I'd buy it again in a second. It exudes a look and feel of quality, even if the details could be improved.
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