I’ve been accumulating (Collecting is what connoisseurs and people with selective tastes do, and I’m nowhere near as discriminating as I should be) Diecast model cars since just before I learnt that putting them in my mouth was a bad idea. Like anybody else I have owned countless dozen models and toys over the years, and among all the Ferraris and Porsches sometimes one will turn up that genuinely adds to my education.

A  Matchbox Superkings toy was the first I ever knew of the ’74 Mustang II, for example; although this particular red and white car with COBRA written down the side had such mangled proportions it made the car look altogether a more muscular machine than it turned out to be. I was about seven, and easily impressed. Anyway, I’m now 32, and that sensation has returned. This is a model of the Riga Autobus Factory 2203, Latvija, a vehicle I had never heard of until about a month ago.

And what a very awesome looking vehicle it turns out to be. This was the replacement for the earlier RAF 977, which contained mechanical components as found on a GAZ-21Volga sedan. Astonishingly, though, this rakish looking vehicle with its decidedly forward-control styling, entered production as early as 1976.

It looks like a far later design; the Ford Transit, for example, of the era is a far more conservative shape than this is. That steeply raked windshield  and the swept-back pillars lend the Latvija a kind of Gerry Anderson, Terrahawks vibe.

Futuristic styling aside, the internet would seem to allege that the machine was an awful lot less sophisticated than the avant-garde styling might have suggested. Until their displacement by Transit-Alike GAZelles these were very popular in service as marshurtkas, which were kind of scheduled taxis which followed or aped popular bus routes. This was, it would seem, not a prestigious means of transport.

This is, unquestionably, the best of all from the slew of fiercely underpriced DeAgostini models I scored from my local hi-quality retail outlet. Truly, this model is pretty close to perfect; only the slightly over-glossy, perhaps over-thick paint makes it look toy-like.

The door shut-lines and panel gaps are crisp, the casting itself is clean and the paintwork is free of flaws. The model itself is proportionally correct. The graphics are well printed, too.

It’s fair to say that the quality we have witnessed on all of these DeAgostini cars has been variable at best, this question mark hovering mainly over the issue of attention to detail during assembly. All too often the fit and finish has suggested that the production line worker has all the beautifully realised little add-on details sitting right next to him, but he has to throw them at the freshly painted model as it runs along a conveyor belt the other side of the room. It’ s all a bit hit and miss.

This time, though, everything is about as perfect as you have any right to expect. All those extra details, the front grille, bumpers, wipers, antennas, roof lights, mirrors and spotlamps are accurately modelled and securely, squarely placed. The details extend as far as accurately modelled wheels with plain chrome disk hubcaps, and even a tiny RAF badge at the centre of the grille.

Overall, this model was probably better built than the 1:1 scale version is. Want one? Of course you do. eBay is your friend.

 [Close-Up Images: Copyright 2014 Hooniverse/Chris Haining]