Most models are things you put on a shelf. An Amalgam Collection model at 1:8 is more than half a metre long, stands on its own base and holds a place in a room the way a sculpture does. This is a short profile of the maker and of the Amalgam pieces at the House.
Who Amalgam is
Amalgam began in Bristol, in the west of England, in 1985, as a workshop making architectural models, presentation pieces and prototypes. In 1995 it took its first steps into motorsport with Formula 1 projects, and in 2004 a separate business was set up for model cars. A range at 1:18 followed in 2016. The company is still based in Bristol, with workshops in China and in Pécs, Hungary.
What 1:8 allows
The sums are simple. The Ferrari Daytona SP3 is 4,686 mm long and 2,050 mm wide. Divide by eight and the model is 586 mm long and 256 mm wide, before the base. The same car at 1:18 is 260 mm long. The 1:8 model is two and a quarter times the length and more than eleven times the volume.
That extra size changes what a model can show. Things that are printed or moulded in one piece at 1:18 can be separate parts at 1:8: grilles, badges, switches, seat belt buckles and the brake calipers behind the wheels. Paint can be judged the way you would judge it on a car, panel by panel.
The time involved is of a different order too. Amalgam says its 1:8 Daytona SP3 took more than 3,000 hours to develop and that each model takes more than 300 hours to build. Those are the maker's own figures.
The 1:8 pieces at the House
The House has six Amalgam models at 1:8.
| Piece | Edition, where recorded |
|---|---|
| Ferrari Daytona SP3, Red | 199 |
| Ferrari 296 GT3, Red & Black | 199 |
| Mercedes-Benz AMG One, Silver & Black | 199 |
| Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé, Silver Grey Metallic | 199 |
| Bugatti Tourbillon, Aerolithe & Aventurine | 199 |
| Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, Black | Not recorded |
They cover almost ninety years of car design, from the Atlantic of the 1930s and the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé of 1955 to the Tourbillon. One further piece is larger still: the V16 engine and gearbox of the Bugatti Tourbillon at 1:4, in an edition of 275.
Amalgam at 1:18
The other 14 Amalgam pieces at the House are 1:18. The road cars are the Ferrari 288 GTO and F50, the Lamborghini Miura SV and the Porsche 356A Speedster. The racing cars include the Bugatti Type 59, two versions of the Porsche 917K, a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR and 911 R, and Formula 1 cars from Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.
One of the 917Ks, the Gulf car, is race-weathered: it is finished to show the car as it looked after a race, with the dirt and wear left on.
All 21 pieces are on the Amalgam Collection page.
Living with a model this size
- Give it its own surface. Allow well over 60 cm of width and more than 30 cm of depth, and more again if it sits under a cover.
- Choose the light. Keep it out of direct sun, as you would a painting.
- Think about the view. A model this size is seen from all sides, so a plinth or a low table often suits it better than a shelf against a wall.
- Move it by the base. Use two hands under the base, never the bodywork, and keep the packaging it came in.
See one in the room
Size is the one thing a photograph cannot show, and it is the reason to see a 1:8 model before choosing one. The Amalgam pieces are on show at the House in Al Quoz 3, Dubai, open 10am to 10pm every day and 4pm to 10pm on Fridays.