I'm taking about scale model cars rather than things like netural
metal airplanes for example. If you were to build two of the the same
very well detailed 1:25 scale model cars, one with full luster
"chrome" plating and another with scaled "luster" then took photos of
them in a realistic setting, the one with full luster "chrome" would
look more like a 1:1 car than the one with scale luster. At least that
is how I see this (from my own experience).

It is all about the reflections you see in the chrome (or in the
reflectance of the paint finish). If the reflections are clear then
the model looks realistic. If the reflections are soft or fuzzy (when
the "chrome" is not fully reflective) then the model looks like
model, not the scale representation of the rel subject).