A collection of Muscle

[streetracer]

What Models would you want?

Me,
Chevell
Charger
Cuda
Camero
Nova
Shelby Stang GT 500 since I have loved that car since I was 9. :D

You?

[vanilla gorilla]

i already have 2 chevelles, 2 chargers, and about 3 cameros, but you're right i would love to have a nova, a cuda, and a shelby. i have alot of musle cars that i have built. It seems like I have about a million corvettes.

[mattb]

i already have 2 chevelles, 2 chargers, and about 3 cameros, but you're right i would love to have a nova, a cuda, and a shelby. i have alot of musle cars that i have built. It seems like I have about a million corvettes.

You guys hit on most of the all-stars there. But there are so many die-cast of each of those -- which models and years do you like best, or do you care?

I'm picky -- I like certain model years way better than others. In Chevelles, its gotta be a 1970, and its gotta have an LS6 454. For Chargers, the Bullitt-esque 1968 isn't bad, but the split-grille 1969 rules. (Guess I spent too much time watching Dukes of Hazzard when I was a kid...) I also like the winged 1970 Daytona, but I don't much care for the flush-grille Charger 500.

Camaros are tough -- I like the 1969 best I think, though a well-done '68 is good too. I like the non-RS cars best -- too much chrome detracts from the muscle look.

I never took to the Nova for whatever reason. To me, they're like the Plymouth Duster and Ford Maverick -- dorky cousins to the cool Camaro, Cuda and Mustang, respectively.

The 1971 Cuda may be the coolest muscle car ever built. It holds the record for the most expensive ever auctioned, so there must be something to it.

For Shelbys, I like the 1966 GT-350 best, but if we're going with the big-block GT-500, I go for the 1968 GT-500KR. The 1967 GT-500 has a better hood and grille, but the '68 was the intro of the Cobra Jet 428.

Matt B
Editor, Die Cast X Magazine

[Rumrunner]

1969 Camaro :cool:

[RandyKite]

I would like a '78 black Trans Am with a gold bird because I had one of those. The closest thing I've found is the '77 Bandit (which has more striping than the standard model) and the '79 black T/A (but the front and back ends were changed for '79). I think the '77 Bandit would be the closest thing I'll be able to get.

I do have a 1:18 '79 10th Anniversary T/A. It's pretty nice.

[TRXrevoRacerOS18]

i have a 1970 chevelle 454 1:18 and i also have a 1972 chevelle 454 1:18, but the 70 is has to be my number one muscle car out there, and its a sweet model

[NotWalkinBlind]

I have never seen a '63-'67 Stingray in diecast in larger scales that is the right proportions... something is always a little off with the roofline or the fenders being a bit too bulbous or something.

I have several 1/43rd scale Gran Sports by Eagle, but would love to find a nice 1/24th or 1/18th factory stock Stingray fastback... preferably a '66 or '67... not necessarily a big block, although I realize that is probably most likely what would sell best.

And I would love a choice of 3-4 colors. No, I'm not picky.
:D

Are there licensing issues? Does GM get royalties... is that perhaps the reason there isn't a good one?

[mattb]

In the Diecast world there are ALWAYS licensing issues, but I don't think that's the reason Sting Rays are so scarce. I think the reason is that, in purely stock form, these cars do look a little awkward. Not sure why, but some body styles just don't quite translate to scale.

I had a designer tell me that they intentionally distort bodies a little -- most mfrs make a car 4 or 5% wider proportional to its length than it actually was. The reason is, a car that is perfectly scale by measure doesn't look right to the eye. Its something about the point of view. Diecasts are usually observed from a the equivelent of a 3rd floor window -- an angle a real car is almost never seen at. So they make a car so that it looks right from the angle it will be viewed from. But I digress.

There are 2 companies that do high-quality castings of a 63-67 Sting Ray in 1:24 -- Danbury Mint and Franklin Mint. I happen to prefer the Danbury pieces and they have a nice '67 in yellow. Both companies tend to re-use the castings for additional models, so I would not be surprised to see more colors/choices down the line.

Exoto did 1:18 Sting Rays a few years ago, but that brand pre-sells a lot of models so who knows how hard it would be to find one at this point.

Oh, and FYI -- "Stingray" (one word) was the designation for 69-74 or so (early C3) Vettes. Keep that in mind when you do web searches or talk to vendors so you dont accidentally get a false lead. You want the "Sting Ray" (two words).

Good hunting!
Matt

[NotWalkinBlind]

Thanks for the tip on Sting Ray / Stingray... I hadn't noticed that.

That's interesting what the designer told you about distorting the bodies a little... I really don't see the need for that if they get the ground clearance and size/profile of the wheels and tires correct. Beyond that, so many bodies look just a little off... as if they were rushed into production and care wasn't taken to get things right... almost like some of those Parma R/C bodies, just not quite as bad.

As an artist, I see the proportion thing in such crystal clear fashion, that I can't live with it if it's not very close to perfect scale.

I checked the Danbury Mint website... and their Sting Rays look very close to correct, proportion-wise... close enough to satisfy even me, really... but $120 for 1/24th scale is a bit steep.
http://www.danburymint.com/diecast/category.asp?id=222

The best Franklin Mint Sting Ray is... okay... but it's sitting way too high and the mouldings around the rear glass is too thick... and at $135 for 1/24th, is out of my price range.
http://www.franklinmint.com/product1.aspx?SID=2&Product_ID=90
Don't like silver with red interior... or the whitewalls, either... but I could paint them.
:D

[mattb]

Regarding the distortion... it bugged me at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. As an artist, you know that proportion is all about point-of-view. Just look at the Mona Lisa -- ever stopped to really look at her face -- or the background? Both are waaaaay lopsided, but they look right because of the point of view of the observer relative to the angle of the painting. Same principle holds for a car. What matters is whether it looks right -- and that's something you judge only by eye, not by ruler. Which is not to say distorting a car is always going to work, but sometimes it does help if its done correctly.

As for prices and such, price doesn't really correspond to scale -- 1:18 and 1:24 prices go by quality/parts count rather than scale. The Mints are pricey, but an Exoto will run you $200+ so everything is relative. I happen to think Danbury in particular is worth it, but to each his own.

Ertl/RC2 and Maisto make affordable entry-level Sting Rays ($25-35) in 1:18, but those are more likely to have some of the distortions you are wary of.

AutoArt makes a mid-priced '63 -- probably in the $75-85 range (check it out here: http://www.autoartmodels.com/pages/search/info.php?item=71181)

Whitewalls are stock for early years -- later cars got beefier Polyglas tires without the 'walls, and the big-block cars tend to sit down on the suspensions more, whereas earlier smallblocks sit nose-high.

[NotWalkinBlind]

That 1/18th Maisto "kit" of the '65 Sting Ray looks pretty good proportion-wise... I'd like to see one "in the flesh" sometime... I could paint it the colors I want if the badges aren't already on it.

http://www.maisto.com/product_detail.asp?prod=2349&from=8

Can't really tell re: the AutoArt... that doesn't look like an actual photo of the model.

Thanks for all the input. :)

[NotWalkinBlind]

Just for fun... and so y'all can see why someone should make a decent replica of this car, here's a photo I took of a really nice '66 at a car show back in May.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v134/NotWalkinBlind/Vette66blue-2.jpg

[davec-nitro-rs4]

Me, I want a 1:18 1972 Camaro SS-RS 350, with Orange Flame Metallic paint, no stripes, no spoiler...because I have the 1:1 and I want a model of it, thanks.

[NotWalkinBlind]

Uh... dude... we're gonna need to see a photo of that sweet ride. :)

[davec-nitro-rs4]

I sadly don't have any digital pictures of it.....I have been restoring it for waaaayyyy toooo long.....(think Married, with children). I fully expect I will finish it and enjoy it when I am much older and wiser. My very confused sons think that someday the car will magically become theirs.....HA! never...as long as I breathe.

[mattb]

Me, I want a 1:18 1972 Camaro SS-RS 350, with Orange Flame Metallic paint, no stripes, no spoiler...

Hmmm.... that's pretty specific and '72 and later muscle is somewhat hard to come by. You might need to obtain a 70.5-71 and modify it to match yours. Ertl made a few 70-71 Camaros as part of its American Muscle series, and these would be the most affordable (about $30) -- key if you're gonna tear it apart to tweak and repaint it.

Slightly nicer ($70 or so) is Franklin Mint's 1:18 1970 Z28. It comes in Hugger Orange (also yellow and blue) but I think it has a cast rear spoiler, whereas I think the Ertl might have a version without. And of course it costs twice as much.

[nogomoto]

There are some people with good taste in here. :D I have an Ertl Collectibles Anniversary Edition American Muscle 1/18" scale 1970 Chevelle SS454 LS6 with the collector coin and stand (new in the box) in front of me. It's my favorite car in real life and I'll soon be building a clone to cruise on the weekends.

As far as the Sting Ray goes, I have a '63 from the Ertl 50th Anniversary series that is good enough for me.

The only ones I'd like to find now are some decent VW's. A 1/18 mk4 .:R32, a 1984 Jetta GLI (black), a mk4 GTI 1.8t and (obviously not VW) an International 9400i Eagle... considering those are what I drive now.

[mattb]

There are some people with good taste in here. :D ...
The only ones I'd like to find now are some decent VW's. A 1/18 mk4 .:R32, a 1984 Jetta GLI (black), a mk4 GTI 1.8t and (obviously not VW) an International 9400i Eagle... considering those are what I drive now.

There ARE some folks in here with good taste! 1:18 VWs are hard to come by -- I know, I've looked. The only lage scale mkIV I've found is my blue 1:1 GTI 1.8T! I can personally attest to the scale accuracy, as it was assembled in Wolfsburg in 2002 by 1:1 VW employees.

Sadly, I think now that the mk IV has been replaced, the chances of finding new ones in diecast -- GTI, R32, whatever -- are slim. Minichamps does some in 1:43, but I don't know of anything bigger. If anyone else does, PLEASE let us know!

[nogomoto]

There ARE some folks in here with good taste! 1:18 VWs are hard to come by --

REVELL Germany has some 1/18 VW's, but no GTI's. I think they had a run of them at one time... before I ever had one in real life :(

[cudacharger]

You guys hit on most of the all-stars there. But there are so many die-cast of each of those -- which models and years do you like best, or do you care?

I'm picky -- I like certain model years way better than others. In Chevelles, its gotta be a 1970, and its gotta have an LS6 454. For Chargers, the Bullitt-esque 1968 isn't bad, but the split-grille 1969 rules. (Guess I spent too much time watching Dukes of Hazzard when I was a kid...) I also like the winged 1970 Daytona, but I don't much care for the flush-grille Charger 500.

Camaros are tough -- I like the 1969 best I think, though a well-done '68 is good too. I like the non-RS cars best -- too much chrome detracts from the muscle look.

I never took to the Nova for whatever reason. To me, they're like the Plymouth Duster and Ford Maverick -- dorky cousins to the cool Camaro, Cuda and Mustang, respectively.

The 1971 Cuda may be the coolest muscle car ever built. It holds the record for the most expensive ever auctioned, so there must be something to it.

For Shelbys, I like the 1966 GT-350 best, but if we're going with the big-block GT-500, I go for the 1968 GT-500KR. The 1967 GT-500 has a better hood and grille, but the '68 was the intro of the Cobra Jet 428.

Matt B
Editor, Die Cast X Magazine


"The 1971 Cuda may be the coolest muscle car ever built. It holds the record for the most expensive ever auctioned, so there must be something to it."

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v627/cudacharger/cudachargerdriveway017.jpg