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From The Diecast Pub Joe Kelly Jr
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. © Copyright 2006 by The Diecast Pub |
