Fine new models of the old 1970 Ford F-100; M2 Machine and Greenlight

In your local stores currently are two fine new models of the old ‘70 Ford F-100 (also '69 and '68).  Both are beautiful castings, exquisitely detailed.

My eye was first caught by the M2 Machines casting, especially the jacked up off-road version in slate grey.  The realistic separately cast LOOONG bed was a major factor in having my eye drawn to it, though the detail was also amazing... A beautiful truck, big and scaled exactly right for 1/64...  I loved it from the moment I tore open the packaging, and already had plans for a blog entry about it.  Then I found the street racer version in black and gold, and while it wasn't as cool as the jacked up version, it was still cool.  The only things I didn't like about it are:  The wheels/tires - which don't roll as easily as a "Matchbox" car's wheels should roll, the opening doors which don't open as easily as a "Matchbox" car's doors should open, and the lame detailing in the wheel-wells in the truck bed - which are too low and squared off to be realistic.   Everything else about the model was SPOT-ON, and the truck just tooked TOUGH!

But then I saw this Greenlight casting, and the ‘gotta-have-it’ factor kicked in.  The Greenlight is a short bed version of the same truck (in some cases bashed as slightly different years, with appropriate tweaks to the impressively detailed grill), with more exciting paint, again jacked up, with slightly less realistic but much nicer wheels and tires that somehow conspire to make it feel like a toy to zoom across the carpet rather than a model to display...  this is a toy you want to play with!!! The hood opens but the doors don't, but I don't miss the opening doors at all.  The scale is again just right, though this one’s shorter bed allows it to actually fit a little bit better into a standard size die-cast 48 car case.

There’s no real competition and no obvious winner here, just two great castings that deserve a place in your collection...  The detail on the M2 models is slightly deeper and more magnificent than the magnificent detail on the Greenlight models, but you'd only see the difference if you were actually comparing them head to head as I am here.  Conversely, the wheels and tires on the Greenlight models are better and more suited for play than those of the M2 castings.  This all makes the M2 models slightly more suited for display, while the Greenlight models are slightly more suited for play, but the differences are pretty minor. . They are both great castings for play AND display.  Pick your color and trim (work truck?  off-road racing truck?  street racing truck?  Short vs. Long bed?) and hand over your $6, you can't really go wrong with any of the models!