Andrew Ritter is a talented artist who depicts famous cars in a cartoonish, cute art style in pseudo-realistic 3D. He has created many lovingly detailed, yet adorable renditions of cars that most enthusiasts immediately recognize. Ritter’s company Ritter Goods has now brought this to the physical world with its first scale model: a 1/43 Ruf CTR Yellowbird.
The officially licensed chibid Yellowbird is currently available for purchase at Ritter Goods. It is the first in a (potential) series of machines redesigned by Ritter, and comes in a display case with a small information plaque on the base.
Photo by: Ritter Goods
The Yellowbird model is made from dozens of individually cast resin components and produced by Element 79 Collectibles. This is actually the second time for it to come up for sale; the first time was in July last year. Ritter sold out the first run of 1,000 models in about three days.
Because Ritter creates all his art in Blender as 3D models, he was even able to release a promo video of the toy that recreated the infamous half-sideways Nürburgring lap that the real car completed when it was released in the late 1980s.
The model isn’t cheap, however, at $150 plus shipping. But it’s also beautifully detailed down to the undercarriage, which features a fully sculpted exhaust, turbo wastegates and suspension. The interior is also realistically designed, with even a speedometer set at 340 kilometers per hour – the top speed of the Ruf CTR.
If you Doing want one and can afford it, don’t wait for a future run; Ritter said that after this release sells out, he will focus on the next model in the series and discontinue the Ruf.
Personally, I might ask for one for Christmas. It’s cute.
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