1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I 1:18 Diecast Model

The Phantom I replaced the Silver Ghost in 1925 with a new 7.7-litre straight-six and was sold as a rolling chassis, so no two bodies were quite alike. This model wears a formal town-car body: the driver sits in an open compartment with a folding leather half-hood, and the passengers ride in a closed cabin behind a division. It is a shape you rarely see modelled at all, let alone at 1:18.

The parts count is where this model earns its price. The wire wheels are individually spoked mouldings with separate hub caps, the headlamp bowls and the horn are chromed separate parts, the running boards carry a tool box on each side, and the radiator shell is the correct flat-topped Phantom grille with the Spirit of Ecstasy standing on it. The rear doors open onto a cabin with pull-down blinds modelled in the rear quarter windows.

It is about 30 cm long and taller than anything modern in the same scale, so give it its own shelf or the end of a row. Lift it by the roof, never by the running boards or lamps, and keep it out of direct sun: the green fades faster than a metallic would.