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Last Updated: Sep 9, 2008 - 2:11:40 PM |
To the unfamiliar, GMP’s decision to replicate the 1966-’67 Ford
Fairlane was an indication that they’d gone a couple critters short of
a `forty-mule` pull. Given the manufacturer’s penchant for
`high-detail` models, and considering the costs involved in bringing
that level of the modeling art to market, common wisdom, it would seem,
favored a more familiar, easily sold image.
Common wisdom ain’t
all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, the GMP team didn’t enter into this
latest venture without their usual careful screening and `poll-taking`.
It all came down to simple math: when the votes (not to mention a ton
of letters and phone calls) were in, the Fairlane was parked on top.
And why not? Granted, the car has always played second fiddle to the
pony cars that appeared at around the same time, and the styling, loved
by some, was largely FoMoCo’s standard fare to the rest of the world.
But to the true muscle car enthusiast, the Fairlane’s potent GT, GTA,
and factory racing variants were the stuff of dreams.
So is the
model. We’ve watched this `big-pawed` puppy grow over the last couple
years, and it’s been center table at virtually every industry hoedown
that the Winder folks have been to. The company’s collective decision
to get the image exactly right kept the car on those table tops and off
of our shelves while wheel sizes changed, chrome trim came and went,
and hoods, body lines, and other, more subtle elements got smoothed,
shifted, and faired in.
As maddening as the resultant delays
were to those of us who drooled over the image, every one of those
amendments was worth the effort. As promised at Toy Fair a couple of
weeks ago, the car is finally here. And trust me - I’m not hanging from
the thin part of the stick when I say that this is the best
representation of a muscle car we’ve yet seen in this scale.
GMP’s
Fairlane is one of those benchmark releases that hits on just about
every front, and hits hard. The quality of the model is immediately
apparent, with straight shut lines, smooth paint, and deep, lustrous
chrome. Windows and tampo’d markings are all perfectly clear and clean,
and the fitment of all of the parts, everywhere, is flawless.
Quality
emanates from the car with every touch. Those collectors who appreciate
the heft of a `well-turned` model will be glad to hear that, at around
five pounds, bobbling this baby onto a human foot will surely result in
an impromptu Walter Brennan impression.
All of the panels on the
car open on `perfectly-modeled` “real” hinges, and the finish in these
areas, to the deepest recesses, is even and polished. The black
interior on this `four-speed`-equipped GT is deeply carpeted, and the
dashboard is a crisp casting with a cool chrome insert housing the
legible, lensed speedo and `idiot-light` cluster. The seat backs pivot,
as in life, at a skew, and the bench seat is adjustable fore and aft.
And, by god, the windows crank up and down. Smoothly. Repeatedly.
Flawlessly. Even in their uppermost position, they fit perfectly. It’s
one hell of an entrée to the car’s operating features, all of which are
worth poring over.
The model’s suspension is a `note-for`-note
replication of the real car’s, with real steel leafs out back, and a
`coil-spring` front built on upper and lower “A” frames that jounce and
parry when compressed.
The driveshaft spins – and I mean, it
really goes – when the rear wheels are rotated. And the tires
themselves, on gorgeous GT rims, are `no-name` soft rubber redlines
that compress slightly when the formidable weight of the car is placed
on them. That, and the posable antenna, are subtleties that pay off
when this beauty is on display.
Under the hood is the GT’s 390
cid, `320-horse` V8, done to a turn. And here, again, GMP goes beyond
the norm. The block and surrounding areas are painted and assembled
perfectly, and the detailed battery, windshield washer bag, and
radiator bracing set the stage for the removable air cleaner (all the
better to see the mildly detailed carb) and the soft vinyl fender
covers that come included with the car. Not only is the engine wired,
it is wired in the correct firing order. Is that cool, or what? Rubber
drive belts, lustrous chrome valve covers, and `spring-loaded` scissor
hinges top the image off beautifully.
The trunk is finished off
with a `dead-on` rendering of the floor mat that came with the Fairlane
(this verified by my pal Joe, who owns both ’66 and ’67 Fairlanes) and
has a full spare bolted center stage. Below the bumper hangs a brace of
`hollowed-out` tailpipes, the exclamation point for a metallized,
nicely detailed exhaust system and chassis.
This is a fun
replica, and it’ll have company soon. GMP plans the summer release of a
black ’66 GTA powered by a 390, and the future looks to hold a white
variant, powered by the mythic, `twin-carbed` 427 race motor. Details
on the final production numbers for all three cars were fuzzy (for me,
anyway) at the time of this writing.
Perhaps the real Ford
Fairlane isn’t a car that stirs your soul the way another might.
Perhaps it is. Regardless, a great model car is still a great model
car. Which this new benchmark in 1:18 diecast muscle certainly is.
GMP’s Fairlane is a must-have – and must have, right now – model.
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