Published on 12:00 AM, August 08, 2018

Made in Bangladesh pride - 1/18 Subaru Impreza

When you think of things made in Bangladesh, your mind no doubt reverts to plastic "chairman" chairs, plastic buckets, plastic mugs and generally things made of plastic. So when you come across a high-end, albeit closed shell, 1/18 scale model made from die-cast metal, it's bound to be a source of pride. Made by Altaya in a factory somewhere in the EPZs of Bangladesh, this 1/18 casting offers impeccable paint-finish, decal accuracy, minute details in the otherwise inaccessible interior (like accurate lettering on the belts, floor mounted fire-extinguishers, and gauges) as well as the kind of weight associated with much higher end models.

The closed shell and non-steerable front wheels are enough to bump it down to a price that's much more affordable than the similarly built-but-open-model Autoart version. Paying close to TK 5,000 for a new one might scare you off from getting a closed shell, but the "Made in Bangladesh" lettering on the otherwise non-descript packaging is a good justification. Alongside the blob-eye GD Subaru Impreza rally car, the Altaya series also has a fantastic GC8 Impreza, both decked out in full Subaru World Rally Car livery and bearing some of the most iconic names in rallying history—Peter Solberg and Colin McRae included. If you want some rallying history and bright livery gracing your display shelves, these come highly recommended.