CB's Die Cast Review: May 20, 1998
First Editions Everywhere!
There
can be nothing found for weeks on end, then suddenly, they
appear everywhere! 1998 is proving to be a tough year for keeping up
with the FEs! Nineteen have been released so far, and ten have been
reviewed in these pages. Here are brief reviews on the remaining seven
that are surfacing nationwide, all manufactured in Malaysia:
The remaining two cars, the Solar Eagle III (FE#23, stock# 18842, collector# 650) and
the `70 Roadrunner (FE#17, stock# 18535, collector# 661) are just beginning to
appear, so we'll review those at a later date. Overall, a very good crop of
new castings so far, with more to come!
Dodge Sidewinder (FE#3, stock# 18174, collector# 634). This concept
pickup has a cast metal body painted in orange fluorescent paint with
purple metallic plastic interior and a gray plastic chassis, riding on
five spoke wheels. Smoked windows. Best feature is the gray stick shift
rising from the console.
Dodge Caravan (FE#4, stock# 18173, collector# 633). A model of the minivan
currently in production. Cast metal body painted metallic maroon with tan
plastic interior, smoked windows and a gray plastic chassis riding on
sawblade wheels. Black, white and yellow tampos. One of the weakest
FEs so far, popular because it is still somewhat difficult to find.
Jaguar XKE (FE#5, stock# 18221, collector# 639). The convertible version of this
modern sports car. Cast metal body painted jade green metallic with
clear windshield over a gray plastic chassis riding on chrome lace
wheels. Black and white tampos. The two variations have the interior
molded in either black or white plastic, with the white interior being
difficult to find. Would have looked better with small wheels all around, as
on the poster.
`32 Ford (FE#7, stock# 18587, collector# 636). An extremely nice rendition of a 1932
Ford Coupe hot rod. Die cast body is painted gloss black enamel and
rides on a black plastic chassis. The exposed engine, radiator and
exhaust are chromed plastic, the interior is red plastic, and the glass is
clear plastic. Red, yellow and light blue flames are tampoed on the sides.
Quite a few variations already on this one, including different wheel types
and sizes, and a molding sprue on the underside of the roof on earlier
versions being removed from later versions.
Lakester (FE#12, stock# 18540, collector# 647). Nice rendition of
a mid-century rocket racer used
on the salt flats, much better than the prototype pic on the poster. Cast
metal body and chassis are painted in bright red enamel and hinged
together. The body opens revealing a chromed plastic engine and cockpit
assembly. Clear plastic windows. Excellent detail and multi-colored
tampos. Large five spoke wheels.
`40 Ford (FE#20, stock# 18674, collector# 654). Gorgeous rendition of a souped-up
1940 Ford pickup truck dragster. Cast metal body with a blue tinted
windshield, gray plastic interior and bed, and a chrome plastic chassis
and grill riding on five spoke wheels. Two variations so far, with the light
blue metallic version appearing a couple of weeks before the HW "Racing
Team Blue" version. Red, orange and yellow tampos. A minor flaw is
that the hood scoop is out of alignment, rotated a couple of degrees
clockwise.
Super Comp Dragster (FE#22, stock# 18840, collector# 655). Nice visuals on this
rendition of an early dragster, but unfortunately the car is predominately
made of plastic, with only the center section of the body made of metal
and painted in gloss black enamel. The rest of the body is black plastic
with a gray plastic interior riding on a chromed plastic chassis and
five spoke wheels.
