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Assortment #363-14 |
CB's Die Cast Review: April 15, 2001 |
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Johnny Lightning - First Shots
Playing Mantis continues
to impress with this "pre-release" assortment of circa-1970 Chrysler muscle cars under
the First Shots banner. Available at Toys-R-Us, each of these all-new
castings has been released initially in a twin pack containing a painted and highly
detailed model alongside an unpainted undecorated version. And, make no mistake;
it is the trademarked "Kandy Krome" finish, primarily utilized on First Shots
releases, that catches the eye.
These castings represent some of the finest tooling Playing Mantis has accomplished in
regard to faithfulness to the prototype. All six castings appear to be proportionally
correct. The painting and decorating of the cars continue to be at the high level
of other recent Johnny Lightning offerings. As stated, all of the car bodies are
chrome plated underneath the transparent thin-yet-bright high-gloss paint. All
feature opening hoods that reveal detailed engine compartments containing chromed plastic motors.
All of the cars have moderately-detailed zinc plated chassis and ride on chrome plastic hubs
and rubber tires tamped with Good Year markings. All headlights, taillights and other
lights are either tamped or painted appropriately. The well-detailed interiors are
black plastic and the glass is clear plastic. On the "raw" unpainted models, the
bodies and chassis are clear-coated to protect the metal. All of the cars are
manufactured in China, and each of the twin packs is limited to 5000 pieces.
The Johnny Lightning releases keep getting better and better. Hopefully the scalpers
will continue to ignore these product lines, so that the true collector will continue to
have a fair opportunity to acquire limited items such as these.
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The 1969 Dodge Charger R/T (casting #488) is painted green chrome with a flat white
simulated vinyl roof and a wide white stripe around the rear. The fender lettering
in the tamped white stripe is crisply punched out, so it appears the "R/T" is green chrome
lettering on the white stripe.
The 1969 Dodge Daytona (casting #491) matches perfectly with the Charger R/T in the
areas where the two full-sized vehicles share common body components. Wearing an orange chrome
coat, the Daytona features a gloss black rear spoiler with appropriate markings.
The 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda (casting #490) features a chrome air scoop that pops
through the hood. The hood doesn't rise very far, but it's enough to catch a
glimpse of the engine compartment. Finished in red chrome, the car does not have
the usually ubiquitous "hockey stick" logos tamped on the rear quarter panels.
The 1970 Plymouth GTX (casting #492) is finished in blue chrome and features a
black plastic air scoop on the hood. A wide gloss black stripe runs across the
hood from the nose to the windshield. GTX graphics are neatly tamped in silver
on various areas of the body, as well as a pair of thin black lines down either side.
Tiny replicas of the Warner Brothers' dust-kicking avian cartoon character are beautifully
tamped in three areas of the 1971 Plymouth Road Runner (casting #487).
Barely visible to the naked eye, the bird is distinguishable under magnification.
The car is smartly painted in lime yellow chrome, which glows to a bright green-tinted
antifreeze under strong sunlight. A close look at the car reveals a slightly deeper
yellow and black Chrysler pentagon emblem tamped low on the side behind each front wheel well.
A black chrome and flat black finish makes the 1971 Plymouth Duster 340 (casting #489)
stand out. The simulated vinyl roof and the top of the hood are masked in flat black,
while white tamped stripes run the full length of the upper sides. The model also
features a thin black plastic spoiler on the trunk. The model matches up well with
the earlier well-done 1971 Dodge Demon casting from the Muscle Cars USA series,
and features finer more crisp detail.
