Calling Dick Tracy!

The heyday of Dick Tracy was before my time, but I was aware of the character from the comic strips, and I get the feeling that I may have actually seen the cartoon series in syndication though my memory about it is rather unclear.

10¢?!!!

The 1990 movie didn't do much to increase my interest in the franchise, though I did like the highly stylized art design of the movie itself.

What I didn't know back then, was that the merchandising associated with the movie would provide us with a 1/72 scale 1936 Ford Model 68 V8 Fordor sedan.

The Dick Tracy logo across the boot of the car detracts from it's appearance, but luckily, diecast car collectors have come up with a number of ways to get rid of unwanted tampos. The method that I used to get rid of the branding is shown in the following YouTube video.

The method works pretty well, though at certain angles, I can still see a faint outline of the Dick Tracy logo.

There are three other cars in the series, including a 1937 Studebaker Dictator, 1936 Ford V8 De Luxe, and a 1939 Chevrolet Master De Luxe, but they are all overscale. There is also a micro size set of four cars that can sometimes be confused with the larger ones.

Another interesting item from the Dick Tracy franchise, was the Space Coupe. I don't know what space travel had to do with a detective series, but I guess it was the late 60s, right in the middle of the Cold War Space Race, so the subject of space travel was popular.

A model of the Space Coupe was manufactured by Aurora, and various sources have suggested that the model is 1/72 scale. Since the vintage Aurora kits are always pretty expensive, I never bothered buying one to see if the rumors were true, but a while back I managed to pick up an inexpensive Polar Lights re-issue kit.

The kit includes four figures consisting of Dick Tracy, Moon Maid, Junior, and Diet Smith.

The figures are sculpted in a cartoony style that befits comic strip characters, but I don't think Moon Maid is a very good likeness.

Moon Maid wearing a hat to blend in with the natives.

I'm undecided about whether I really want to build this kit, but an amazing build was done over at Hobby Talk.

An image of Aurora Station, which is being touted as the first luxury hotel in space turned up during my Google search for the Aurora Space Coupe model. The center module of the station looks remarkably similar to the hull of the Space Coupe.

In the event that I don't want to build the kit as the Space Coupe, I was thinking about using it as the base for an Aurora Station conversion.

Pink Cadillac

The pink Cadillac became a popular culture icon because of Elvis Presley There are no specific models of his car in 1/72 scale, but there are several diecast Cadillacs that come close in size, and not a few of those that are pink.

The first two models are made by Matchbox. The car on the left is a 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood in pink with a silver top, while the other is a '69 Cadillac Sedan DeVille in metallic lavender.

The Fleetwood scales out to somewhere between 1/73 and 1/74 scale. This particular model is all metal, but I think that most of the more commonly available versions of this model are made with a plastic top. Despite the cheaper material, the plastic-top versions come with chrome trim and the Cadillac lettering on the sides.

Graceland Collection Pink Cadillac

The DeVille is stated to be 1/75 scale. A pink version exists, but I've never seen it in stores.

The next two cars are a Matchbox 1956 Cadillac Eldorado in sea green, and a Tomica Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz in pink.

The Matchbox Eldorado does not have a stated scale, but the wheelbase is almost spot on for 1/72. There is a purple version of this car in the Graceland Collection, but no pink one. The body of the car is slightly longer than the Tomica car, but they are about the same width. The Tomica car is 1/75 scale, and represents a 4th generation Eldorado.

The final cars are Hot Wheels 1959 Cadillac Eldorados.

The width is about 1/78 scale, but the length is 1/64 scale. I'm not quite sure what to do with them right now, but maybe they can be a source of parts for future conversions.

Dollar Store Finds

I stopped by Dollar Tree to pick up some school supplies and saw some Military and Construction Playsets from Greenbrier International in the toy section.

What caught my eye were the chemical storage tanks, which looked like they could pass for 1/72 scale, so I bought four of the sets.

The models are probably equivalent to 2000 gallon tanks, and can be used as terrain pieces or objective markers.

I'll probably buy some more of these so I can paint them up in different colors.

I also picked up another set with a car that looked like it could pass as a 3rd generation Pontiac Trans Am in 1/72.

The other two vehicles in the sets resemble a Flakpanzer Gepard and a Tectran ATV carrying a SSM of some type, but they're closer to 1/144 scale or smaller, so are of little use to me.

The store also had a selection of Maisto diecast cars. I picked out a few that I thought might be 1/72 scale, but I haven't checked their dimensions to verify how close they are yet.

The cars I bought include a Ford F-350, Dodge Ram, Pontiac Rosewood, Chevy Bel Air, Dunbar Armored Car, and a Ford Woody.

I'll do a more detailed report on these cars sometime in the future.

Tomica Cars

The Tomica (トミカ) brand of diecast cars was introduced by Tomy in 1970 to produce small scale Japanese cars for their domestic market. Tomica only made its North American and European debut in 2010, but their red-and-white boxes are familiar to most diecast car collectors today.

Like their Matchbox and Hot Wheels counterparts, Tomica cars are box scale, with a few models here and there suitable for use with 1/72 miniatures.

My first Tomica model was a 1/72 Mitsubishi Canter Garbage Truck (Tomica Common No.47). This model was produced prior to the merger between Tomy and Takara (now Takara Tomy) in 2006. The tailgate door of the model can be opened, and the body of the truck can be tipped back.

Dump truck, wrecker, and gully truck versions of the Mitsubishi Canter were also made, but are either difficult to find in good condition or expensive.

The Mitsubishi Canter is possibly (I believe) the only 1/72 model in the Tomica line-up. It is now out of production, and should not be confused with the current Mitsubishi Fuso Canter, which is apparently of indeterminate scale.

The other Tomica cars that I have are not actually 1/72 scale, but that's okay, since it's doubtful that they will ever be produced by another company. I picked up the following three models on a recent trip to Osaka.

Yanmar Tractor YT5113 (Tomica Common No.83). Stated to be 1/76 scale, but the interior looks awfully roomy.

Toyota Land Cruiser (Tomica Common No.103). This 1/71 scale model is the double cab version of the truck, so it will require a bit more work for those who want to convert it into a technical.

Morita Fire Fighting Ambulance (Tomica Common No.119) in 1/74 scale. The passenger side rear door can open to reveal the interior of the truck.

If you are interested in getting Tomica cars, make sure that you don't confuse them with the similar Pocket Tomica (ポケット トミカ) brand. I thought I got a great deal on a fleet of garbage trucks, but ended up with these tiny guys... orz

Caldecott Miniature Models

Caldecott Models appeared in the early years of the 2000s, and produced diecast models of Australian cars in 1/43 and 1/72 scale. Some of the models made their way to the U.S. around 2004, but the company seems to have disappeared in the following years.

They made two diecast cars in 1/72 scale – the Ford Falcon XC Coupe, and a Ford Falcon XY GTHO – both in a few different color schemes. I have been aware of the models for a number of years, but never ordered any, due to the cost of shipping from Down Under. However, that has changed, and I am now in possession of a Falcon XC (John Player Special) in black and gold, and a Falcon XY in "diamond white".

I actually ordered three of the XCs due to their similarity to the Falcon XB, and I will try to convert one of them into the post-apocalypse version of the Pursuit Special from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.

Sent to the scrapyard after filming.

Rectangular headlights... Doesn't that mean the car is a Fairmont?

I don't have any plans to create the car from the first film at this point, but I'll keep the extra model around just in case.

The really nice thing about these cars (from the perspective of someone who wants to do modifications), is that the body is attached to the chassis by screws rather than the typical rivets used for diecast cars.

Anyway, the models are nicely detailed, and a nice change from the typical German, Japanese, and U.S. cars that dominate the 1/72 diecast world.

Fahrvergnügen

"...suppose this war just goes on and on and on and destroys everything in the world. Well, since the Volkswagen can get along without water, she’s bound to survive when other creatures die off! Someday the world is going to be populated with nothing but Volkswagens!"

– Castle Keep (1969)

The design of the iconic VW Beetle (aka Volkswagen Type 1) is often claimed to have been significantly influenced by Adolf Hitler (for whatever reason), but Ferdinand Porche was more likely inspired by other sources (particularly Tatra, and allegedly by Joseph Ganz).

Eventually, the car that personified Kraft durch Freude became inextricably associated with the hippy movement.

In the 1/72 world, VWs are primarily diecast models. The most commonly encountered models are produced by Hongwell (also repackaged by Schuco).

Version 1

Two different models were produced by Hongwell. From real life experience with a red VW like the first version of the Hongwell model, I could tell that it was too big. In fact, it measures out to about 1/67 scale.

1/67 version 1 (left) vs 1/72 version 2 (right)

Their second version scales out exactly to 1/72 scale. If you see these models on eBay, the best way to tell the difference between them is to look at the side windows.

1/72 version 2 (left) vs 1/67 version 1 (right)

For the cabriolet version, the shape of the canvas top is also different.

1/72 version 2 (left) vs 1/67 version 1 (right)

On the other end of the spectrum is the plastic VW Maggiolino 1200 manufactured for PEZ by the now defunct CGGC Grisoni.

Wilt is 7' 1" (216 cm)

The model is marked as being 1/72, but despite what it says, the car is more like 1/87 scale.

Scala 1:72

Other cars in the series which may-or-may-not-be 1/72 include the Fiat 500 and Mini Cooper.

Real-X/Epoch also makes a good 1/72 scale VW, and Oxford makes a 1/76 version of the 1958-1964 VW.

Top row: Hongwell (red and green), Epoch, Oxford, PEZ
Bottom row: Hongwell

From left to right: Hongwell (red and green), Epoch, Oxford, PEZ

The Epoch and Hongwell cars are made from different molds, and may represent different models of the Beetle. Hongwell also makes a version of the Beetle with Herbie markings, but it is a repaint, so represents the wrong model year of the car.

1/72 VW Beetles

Following up on the success of the Beetle, Volkswagen introduced their van (Volkswagen Type 2) in 1950.

A 1/72 version is made by Hongwell. The wheelbase is identical to the Beetle, which is as it should be. I think that the body may be a bit too short, but it looks good overall.

I saw the yellow-and-green marking in the picture below on a car driving on the road. Does anyone recognize what it is?

Wahaha!