At Ran When Parked our passion encompasses both real cars and model cars. This page is dedicated to the latter and we do our best to update it on a regular basis.
Please note that the model cars we feature on this page come from our own collection. We do not personally sell any of the cars, nor do we have an agreement with anybody to do so.
Old Majorettes are a great addition to a model collection because they are generally affordable and do not take up much space. The firm has made some interesting replicas over the year, including several variants of the Toyota FJ40. The example pictured below was built in 1982 and, like most of Majorette’s FJs, features a hitch and an opening rear hatch.
Ottomobile is a French model company that specializes in 1/18 resin models. They seem to have gotten over a majority of the quality issues that plagued them in their early days and their models are generally well-detailed. By operating on a small scale Ottomobile can build cars that wouldn’t normally be reproduced in 1/18 scale, which mostly makes up for the lack of opening parts. We have chosen to feature a model that the company released a couple of months ago, a BMW 325is.
PP is one of the more obscure model companies out there. Little is known about them, but they apparently specialized in making plastic 1/48-scale replicas of European cars. We purchased their orange and red BMW 2002 at a garage sale for a couple of euros. It is a terrible model by most accounts but the novelty of owning a model made in Monaco earns it a spot in our display case.
Corgi’s Ford Sierra is a great example of the models that were coming out of the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Reproduced 32 times smaller than the real thing, the Sierra features realistic detailing on both ends, opening doors and an opening rear hatch. The parcel shelf can be moved up and down, which should please detail-conscious collectors.
The only 1/18 replica of a fourth-generation Alfa Romeo Spider is the one launched by Universal Hobbies in the early 1990s. The detailing is chunky at best, but UH gets good marks for its effort: The doors, trunk and hood open, and the sun visors can be moved up or down. Much like the 2002 above, this is a nice addition to a collection because it is fairly cheap and it’s the only way to display a 1/18 S4.
It should be mentioned that UH drastically improved its quality over the 1990s and made some excellent models about ten years ago, including a Renault Clio V6 and several variants of the Land Rover Defender.
Norev’s 1/18-scale replica of the second generation Volkswagen Golf earns points in our books because it is a base-model hatchback and not a GTI. Unfortunately, it feel more fragile than many of the company’s other models and some of the details – including the tail lamps – look a little off. It’s still nice addition to a model collection, especially because all other variants of the Golf (except for the latest seventh-gen model) are available in 1/18 scale from miscellaneous manufacturers.
