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Topic starter
16/05/2017 5:31 am
Lara Croft's Land Rover Defender [PIC]
The discontinued Defender was the last of Land Rover's paramilitary designed all terrain vehicles. The "Tomb Raider" version of Kyosho's Defender series looked pretty awesome with all the accessories you could imagine.
It turned out to be a really cool 2 foot model with some major disappointments. I paid about $220 for the model so I was expecting some reasonable working features that would offer some display possibilities. Although the "look" is dead on (the paint is a bit too sparkly), it's a resin curb side. The undercarriage is virtually bare. The molded-in details are relegated to what would show from a ground level view. Most disheartening is the front wheels that are not pose-able. All the accessories are glued in place and although most pieces are well detailed, the three-handled wehrmacht style jerry can handles are molded in and really look cheap.
I figured a lot of the price point was involved in the licensing. To my surprise, it is an unlicensed replica, although accurate right to the license plates. Kyosho did what garage kit makers have traditionally done..... replicate the image, but do not attribute it to the actual movie much like Barris Batmobile models of yore would be called "Crime fighting vehicle". In the case, it's merely called "the Movie Car".
Negativity aside, It's still a cool looking static model.
It has all the bells and whistles of the Land Rover "Special Vehicles" edition. There are some fine details including the use of braided wire for the winches, perfectly scaled webbing, Recaro style seats with cloth Willans restraints with metal fasteners and much more. I guess the one thing that I really miss is the ability to pose the wheels so it looks less like a museum piece and more like an action vehicle.
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16/05/2017 10:25 am
Nearly 2 ft....? Wow...!
16/05/2017 10:50 am
Neat model..............but I can't play with it..........I need working parts to varoooooooom!
Topic starter
16/05/2017 12:27 pm
I'm not sure I should reply, but....
a "Two Foot Model" means it looks great from two feet away.
(just in case you just weren't being facetious)
Topic starter
16/05/2017 12:30 pm
C'mon, Paul! Use your imagination....
Just mount twin 50s on the roof and play "The Desert Rats vs the Afrika Korps".
16/05/2017 3:13 pm
If there is no " Laura Croft" ( Angelina Jolly) Action figure ... then ... I'm just going to have to look else where :O
( sigh ) 
17/05/2017 3:05 am
Well Richard..lol..you got me. I read thru your post pretty quickly and thought it was a 1/8th scale
Topic starter
17/05/2017 4:43 am
Now I'm more confused. It is 1/18 scale.