Another sharp Yatming copycat of a classic Tomica from their golden era; Lincoln Continental Mark IV

Following on the previous post about a copycat Yatming casting of a Cadillac Brougham, I thought I’d also feature this contemporary Yatming casting of a Lincoln Continental Mark IV, which again happens to be a copycat of the Tomica casting.  

Again, the competition is intense, with Yatming in their golden era taking on Tomica’s golden era casting.  Again, Yatming slightly loses.  

The difference in this case is that neither casting is quite as much of a favorite of mine as the Cadillac.  Also, Yatming loses by a slightly wider margin this time, as their casting comes off a bit more amateur-ish - slightly more clownish (especially with the Cannonball Run graphics!), just a bit more ham-handed than the smooth and elegant Tomica.  Note the shape of the opera window - oval for the Tomica, almost round for the Yatming.  

Regardless of the competition, both castings are winners, beautiful examples of a 1970s luxury car, and both with silky-soft suspensions…

Almost identical classic castings of a Cadillac Brougham - from Tomica and Yatming

These are 2 of my favorite classic castings - a big, fully-size classic luxury car - a 1970s Cadillac Brougham.  Hefty, with a soft, luxurious suspension.  

They are so similar that, for a long time, I conflated them in my mind as the same casting - just in different colors.   But in fact they are unique and individual castings.   The blue one is by Tomica - and its quality is consistent with Tomica’s legendary quality standards.  But the maroon one is by Yatming - it’s a copycat of the Tomica casting - but a really well done copycat - such that it is a contender for the best Yatming of all time…  

Which is better?  Well - it’s hard to beat classic Tomica when they were on their “A” game, and indeed they win this competition - but just barely.  Yatming brought a good fight to this match.  The wheels on the Tomica are better.  The Tomica is slightly better done with slightly better detail (note the unsightly excess metal on the Yatming’s trunk).  Plus, the Tomica’s paint hue is better - the Yatming is a somewhat bland burgundy to the Tomica’s rich blue.  But other than that the Yatming is a glorious contender.  

There is really no big reveal or conclusion here - just a short article featuring 2 nicely done castings - 1 a copycat of the other - by Tomica and Yatming in their prime.  2 of my favorite cars…  

 h

Who makes the best of the Mercedes 560 SEC / 500 SEC - the coolest, most bad-ass car of the late 1980s - the “I’m a Miami drug kingpin, this is my car - don’t mess with me!!!”?

For 35 years I've thought the Mercedes Benz 560 SEC, especially in modified AMG form, was one of the coolest, most-intimidating looking cars on the road.  The SEC was already the best looking, most expensive, most powerful coupe on the road in the late 1980s (with only the exotic Aston Vantage having any ability to challenge it).  And the AMG version of the SEC doubled the SEC’s already crazy price, adding power, presence and speed in equal measure.  The resulting car made even a Lamborghini Countach look like a bratty pouser, with more presence than almost anything else on the road!

And the Matchbox model (technically of the rest-of-the-world 500 SEC) did a great job of capturing that essence - a big meaty bruiser of a luxury coupe - making it one of my favorite castings of the post-lesney era - and a frequent subject of this blog.  I've got it in many colors - though there still remain a number of variations that I DON'T have it in.  

But recently, Hot Wheels introduced its own basic series casting of the same car - and it’s a phenomenal casting - easily my favorite Hot Wheels basic casting of the last few years.  I've found it in black, red, and grey/silver.  As cool as the vintage Matchbox is, this new Hot Wheels casting had something about it that was different than the Matchbox - with more sculpted rear wheel arches - slightly more streamlined and proportional bodywork, with the gotta-play-with-it essence that makes for a great diecast model.  I couldn’t help feeling like this HAD to result in a throw down comparison test.  

But THEN….  …I found a vintage Road Champs model of the 500SEC, in a rich shade of dark blue, with opening doors and a metal base!  A great car and a great find… ...and as long as I was including THAT one, I felt I had to also include Yatming's version of the 500SEC, particularly since it was one of Yatming’s stronger models, again with opening doors and metal base.  I have 2 of that casting in identical silver paint.  

All of which sets up for a compelling comparison test!

While all 4 castings are undeniably cool on their own, all great models, all faithfully replicating the coolness of the authentic SEC, all with certain advantages…. …still not all of the 4 castings compete at the same level.  In any competition there are winners and non-winners, and that is certainly the case here.

As much as I root for the underdog, and like the early high-quality Yatming castings, the Yatming is unquestionably the laggard of the group - it makes for an easy-to-determine 4th place finish.   It’s still a great casting, with a real metal base, a separate insert for the front grill/bumper/headlights (though that insert looks a little cheaply/plasticky), good detail, a soft suspension, opening doors, cream-colored interior, etc., etc., etc.  On its own, it’s great, but in comparison to the others, it just doesn’t look as tough as the others.  The Matchbox and Hot Wheels are models of the AMG modified SEC, whereas the Yatming and the Road Champs are models of the normal (still very nice!) Mercedes, and the difference is evident.  It just looks less muscular than the Matchbox and Hot Wheels…. …and it relegates the Yatming to a (strong) last place.

The next casting that gets eliminated is the Road Champs, really for the same reason as the Yatming.  It’s essentially a nicer version of the Yatming, a better model of the normal SEC rather than the ultra-tough AMG monster SEC.  …But the regular SEC still oozed class, more class than anything on the road aside from a Bentley Turbo R, and here the Road Champs finds its niche.  It beats the nice Yatming in almost every category (save for perhaps the silkiness of its suspension).  It’s bigger, meatier, with richer classy dark blue paint, a more substantial baseplate, a metal insert for the front clip that drips with detail (down to the headlight windshield wipers!), a cast-in-metal 3-pointed star on the hood, a glass sunroof, etc. etc. etc.  This is a Great model!  …but just not as great as the next 2 models.  I love it - but not enough to move it beyond 3rd place. 

If the voting was hard earlier, it gets even harder at this point…. Both the original Matchbox and the new Hot Wheels are REALLY nice competitors.  The Matchbox has a silky soft suspension, a heavy feel, great metal detail, and opening doors.  But it has its own downfalls - chief of which is that it looks a little fat and tall, especially when viewed against the more accurately proportionately modeled Hot Wheels.  Plus, the Hot Wheels colors are just on fire.  In addition, the detail on the Hot Wheels is over the top, with a vented-open sunroof (a first-ever in a diecast car?), speaker cutouts on the interior rear shelf, the best dual-exhaust of the bunch, modern-era paint detail for the front and especially rear lights, etc.

And so the new Hot Wheels casting wins - even without opening doors - and against one of my all-time favorite Matchbox cars, and against amazing contenders from Yatming and Road Champs.  That being said, (and I know I say this all the time!), all 4 models are phenemonal castings, there’s not a true loser in the bunch.  All 4 competitors are truly worthy adversaries!  

I’ve got to SAY, what a TOY!

Best Vintage Opel Diplomat (KAD cars)... ("What other Diplomat's ARE there?!?")

When you think of a vintage diecast Opel Diplomat, exactly 1 car typically comes to mind...  Lesney's excellent Matchbox Opel Diplomat, shown here in the rare and preferred Superfast form.  

This has always been a favorite car of mine.  Not scaled too large (it is based on a contemporary Chevy II chassis after all, so it definitely should be smaller than an Impala or the full size Mercurys or Lincoln Continental), nice detail, nice suspension, etc.   A very nice car!

But this blog title implies that there are competitors...   ...So...   ...ARE there any competitors?  

Yes!  

Yatming, for one, made an Opel Admiral (same car, just different trim level).  And while many vintage Yatmings are cheapo-feeling car, without detail or heft, there are a few Yatmings that have high levels of quality (almost approaching Tomica-levels).  Unfortunately, this Admiral is NOT one of those few high-quality Yatmings.  Instead, this IS a cheapo-feeling car.  While it is an interesting curiosity, this car has no chance of upstaging the Lesney Matchbox!  

But there is another vintage competitor, and unlike the Yatming, this competitor is in fact a worthy competitor.  The car is a very rare car - a Siku Opel Kapitan.  Yes, its a different name, but like the Admiral - the Kapitan name just signified a different trim level on the same basic car (hence the acronym - "KAD" cars - Kapitan, Admiral, Diplomat).  

The first thing you notice about the SIKU is how large it is...  ...this Kapitan DOES in fact feel like an Impala.  In the photos at the end of the blog you can see how much larger it is than the more correctly scaled Matchbox.  Unlike the Matchbox, which has an opening hood, the SIKU has opening doors.  In typical Siku fashion, the headlights are actual glass/plastic.  The trim and detail are fantastic, easily eclipsing the nicely detailed Matchbox.  Siku really shows off the curve of the trunk (which is there, but much less evident, in the Matchbox).  And the baseplate actually has detail, unlike the Matchbox.  

So, what's the verdict?  Can the Siku compete with the Lesney?  Yes!  While I'm slightly bothered by its large size, I just find the Siku to be a more worthy model than the excellent and far-better-known Matchbox...  

Does the Yatming Maserati Bora deserve a spot in the “Top 30 Yatmings of all Time”?

Two years ago I wrote a post that I enjoyed, detailing out some of Yatming’s greatest hits, and making my picks for how I’d rank them...   http://johnccarroll.blogspot.com/2016/04/top-30-vintage-yatmings-of-all-time-or.html.

But two years ago I didn’t have this car, the Yatming Maserati Bora.  It’s a classic Yatming, with a metal base, from the golden age of Yatming (wait, was Yatming ever really good enough to warrant having a “golden” age?!?  Maybe a “chromed plastic” age is more appropriate....).  Anyway, as a kid the real Bora was one of my dream cars, the last of the big V8 Maserati sports cars before Maserati became all about the BMW 3-Series-sized BiTurbos...  So with a new Yatming Golden-Age model of a favorite car, its time to determine whether the merits of this model put it into the same category as the best Yatmings?

Lesney’s matchbox also did a Bora model. Unfortunately, while 1970’s Lesney turned out absolute gems of models, like the superb Silver Shadow II, Mercedes 450SEL, Audi Quattro, Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Fury police car, it also turned out a number of oversized duds such as the recently reviewed BMW 3.0CSi (or worse, the Ford Capri) and many others.  The Bora was one of the better of the oversized models, but the combination of its size and unfortunate maroon paint conspire to make it a less-than-fully-favored Lesley model.  Can the benefits of this Yatming model exceed that of Matchbox, and does it deserve a place on my “Best-of-Yatming” list?

In short...  Not Really! 

While the size of the Yatming Bora is slightly smaller and more appropriate than Lesney’s Matchbox Bora, and while the Yatming has the critical metal base that characterizes many of the higher quality Yatmings, overall the model is not one of Yatmings best attempts.  Particularly galling is the plastic chromed front and rear lights/grill/bumper panels, which just look chintzy and plasticky. Given that they are attached to the metal base, it’s hard to see why they couldn’t have been better done as part of the metal base (in dramatic contrast to the excellent metal detailed trim on the Matchbox model).

The bottom of the side door windows were formed poorly, almost looking as if they were incorrectly stamped out, with too much metal remaining in the rear.  The models’ typically poor later Yatming plasticky wheels don’t do it any favors.  The lack of side mirrors is notable.  The body has a few examples of metal detail (air vents, etc.), but even those are offset by poor body lines that just make it look poorly designed/executed.  The Yatming relies on somewhat garish graphic stickers to try to add some excitement to the body, an approach that serves only to further cheapen the overall feel.  This is a car that feels like a cheap drugstore-brand toy, vs. a high quality diecast model. 

In short, this is not one of Yatming’s finest attempts.  So obviously it won’t be a top 10 model...  but is it good enough to at least crack the top 30?  I reviewed the top 30 list from 2 years ago, and in doing so I wondered about whether I even ranked those 30 models correctly.  How did the ugly brown undersized Thunderbird deserve a #21 spot, while cleaner Corvettes were in worse spots?  But I had a hard time putting the Bora with it’s poorly executed body, ahead of any of the 30 cars making up my list.  The top 30 list is safe...

So if it doesn’t make the top 30 list, is it even a worthwhile model to have?   For me, the answer is unclear.  It feels cheap - definitely an inferior model to the less-than-perfect but highly detailed (and much easier to find) Matchbox model.  If you are an avid Yatming collector you might have to have it, but for the rest of us...?  I'd advise you not to spend too much time looking for it. 

'70's Mopar police cars - which would Rosco drive?

...all this talk about the '68/'69 Dodge Charger comparo post (General Lee!) and the recent '70s Firebirds post (Smokey and the Bandit!), inevitably makes me think about the other guys - the '70's police cars, sometimes driven by daft Rosco Coltrain-types, sometimes driven by the heroes themselves, who were always competing with the good/bad guys...  And for some reason, they were usually in Dodge and Plymouth Mopar police cars vs. Chevys and Fords... 


So...  ...how have these '70's Mopar police cars been modeled in 1:64 scale...?  Are there any good models?  Read on and see...!

First up is the one of the newest models, the retro Dodge Monaco Police car, released in the last few years by Matchbox.  I've heard other bloggers comment on how excellent of a model it is...  ...but for this casting along with the other retro Matchbox, I remain solidly luke-warm.  I think I'm put off by the overly shiny (and hence cheap looking) plastic grills combined with the ultra-wide wheels... 

But even I have to admit that this particular casting's not too bad.  It's size is reasonable - and I'm a guy who loves seeing the big '60s and '70s American cars modeled - especially when its a more normal car vs. another endless muscle car.   It's trim and detail are reasonable.  On the downside, it's tires are too wide (though the wheels look good), it's light bar too fake and plasticky, it's bottom base-plate ridiculously fake and plasticky, etc.  As with other retro Matchbox castings, I wonder why collectors are so interested in them - especially when authentic vintage fair-good condition castings are available for not much more on E-Bay.

Next up is the champion, the Lesney Matchbox Plymouth Gran Fury police car, a car from my childhood and so the archetypal Matchbox police car for me...    Yes, this one is an immediate favorite for me. 

It's a smidgeon longer than the above Monaco, a full size car from the Lesney era.  THe metal baseplate gives it a nice heft, the light bar is solid, the metal work in the grill is quality, etc.   All in all a great model!  ...Though not as great of a model as the earlier Mercury police car (but that's not Mopar!), nor of the Hot Wheels Mercury police red-line (a favorite model of mine), but a solid contender from the Lesney era.  On a scale of 1-10, a solid 7....   Does it get any better than this...?

Next up are the Kidco Dodge Monacos, in regular, lock-ups (rubber tires!) and burnin' key car form.  All but the key car have opening doors and a full interior.  They are sized right in line with the Lesney, though I wonder how realistic the 2 door configuration is for a police car.  The plastic bases and grills detract relative to the Lesney, but the opening doors are a nice touch, as are the rubber tires on the lock-up Park Service model (which as the nicest version, will be the one used for the comparison).

The suspension isn't up to Lesney standards (the lock-up version has no suspension), but otherwise the car compares favorably.  I would again rate it a 7 of 10, though the lesser "normal" Kidcos (blue and yellow above) are probably only a 5, and the key-car version without an interior is probably only a 2...


Zylmex did an older Plymouth (in the background to the right), with a metal base and opening doors.  The plastic grill looks a bit cheesy, and the car is sized a tiny bit smaller than the Kidco and Lesneys (though large for a Zylmex.  The light bar is awful but the rest of the car is A-OK, again a solid 7....

A Yatming is up next.  If you read my "top 30 Yatmings of all time" post, you'll understand when I refer to it as a poorer, newer, cheaper Yatming casting, with plastic base and grill and no opening parts.  It's size is right in line with the Kidco though, and even as I see its flaws I still like this casting. 

It's fun to see both Kidco and Zylmex out-quality the Yatming, given that Yatming occasionally has real quality products...  Too bad they didn't a police version (or if they did - I don't have it!) of their Coronet (1st on my list of the 30 best Yatmings of all time!). 

Tomica comes up next, the last of the vintage models, with thier F-Series (US Market) Dodge Coronet in police and taxi guise.  It's sized right in-line with the Zylmex and has similar detail, but done in metal vs. plastic.  It has typical Tomica quality, with a soft suspension, nice trim and opening doors.  I give it another 7...

Playing Mantis is next to the fight, with their Johnny Lightning Dodge.  This one is BIG and solid, without opening parts, but undeniable presence.   The metal detail (real pusher bars!!!) and paint are both beautiful and it comes with rubber tires, though for me the newer casting lacks vintage appeal.   For the sake of argument, I give it a 7, though I wonder if it doesn't deserve more....

Finally, Greenlight comes along with THEIR '74 white Monaco, a HUGE car, much larger than the rest, with exquisite detail and crazy large lights.  The size is a bit off-putting - does it really need to be this much larger than the others...?, though the rest of the models attributes are captivating (glass stop lights?!?).  Correct wheels and hidden headlights give credibility to this model - I have to give it at least an 8.5...

But where is ERTL?  Didn't they do a Dukes of Hazard line that sold for 30+ years (sometimes you can STILL find it on the pegs), with Rosco's police car...?!?   To answer the question, Yes, they did Rosco's police car, though for an odd reason they chose to press an existing casting of an early '80s Oldsmobile 88 into service instead of creating an authentic casting...  This was a rare oversight, since the other ERTL DoH castings are more authentic.  But regardless, an Oldsmobile's not Mopar, so I excluded the casting (it would have ranked poorly anyway...!). 

And what about Hot Wheels - doesn't it have an entry here?  Well, again, no.  They did several '70s police cars, including the wonderful Mercury Park Lane and a 442.  But these were both replaced by a generic police car which did not appear to be based on any real car...  From the headlights and grill you could almost believe it was Mopar - but the rest of the car makes it clear that it is no specific model...  Shame on you Hot Wheels - this car might have been the first example of the current trend of non-licensed castings.

So, how do these 8 castings - 6 vintage - 2 retro modern - compare...?  Which is the best '70s Mopar police car...?  First, let me be clear - these are all super-nice castings...  This is a hard decision to judge!

Well, the first one to eliminate is the Greenlight...  Don't get me wrong, it is an AMAZING casting.  Possibly the nicest casting ever done by Greenlight.  This is a display case car - a museum car - an heirloom car.  The problem is the scale...  It just doesn't FEEL like 1/64.  It might actually be correct "true scale", with the rest of the entrys being too small - but I don't really think so.  I think that this is more like 1:55 scale - and as such - it just doesn't really belong in this bunch of cars.  The Greenlight wins in a special category of cars - those bound to be displayed in a museum.  For those of looking for "Matchbox-like" cars - ones that you can zoom around on the carpet and chase Bo and Luke in their General Lee - read on! 

Among the remaining contenders, it becomes a very close fight - probably the hardest 7 casting battle to differentiate that I've done to date.   There's not a loser in this bunch - I really like all of the cars.... And how fun is it that we have 3 cars from non-name brand vintage labels - the Kidco, the Zylmex and the Yatming, duking it out on an even playing field with the Tomica, the Lesney Matchbox and the Johnny Lightning!?!  This comparison serves as evidence for anyone who needs convincing that these old drug-store brands are worth collecting...! 

The new Matchbox is the first to go.  A good casting.  If it had opening doors, or a suspension that actually had some give, or a shade of plastic for the grill that wasn't SO glaringly bright, it might have actually gotten higher in the finishing order.  But not a bad finish for a retro Matchbox, all things considered, and I have to admit that I'm impressed by this casting.  You need a couple of these for your police station layout... 

The Yatming is the next easiest to eliminate.  It is the cheapest of the remaining, with the least features...   But I still like this casting.  I'm glad I've got it.  Its a great addition to my collection - just not quite up to the standard of the other castings.  It takes a proud and hard-fought 6th place. 

With 5 cars remaining, the competition gets even tougher...  The perennial favorite Lesney Gran Fury...  the soft and silky Tomica Coronet...  The over-achiever over-detailed Johnny Lightning Dodge with rubber tires...  the forest preserve dark horse Kidco lock-up with rubber tires, or the even darker horse upset Zylmex Plymouth with opening doors...? 

The Kidco falls next - it just feels like the wrong real car to model a police car on...  A 2 door?!?  Plus the grill is a bit cheap-looking... 

Thinking about it, looking at the models, and running them back and forth, another car falls out of the pack...  This time its a real surprise, as the Tomica gets relegated to 4th place (by me - the blogger who loves Tomica!).  It just lacks the "gotta have it" factor for me...  nothing I can put my finger on - but this is what a comparison test is all about.  4th place - just missing a podium finish... 

In 3rd place it'll be the new model - the Johnny Lightning.  This is a great model with amazing detail, great heft, and wonderful rubber tires...   but lacking the vintage appeal of the other models.  A great casting by any view, and with opening doors, possibly a winner... 

2nd place is the dark horse candidate - the Zylmex Plymouth...  I REALLY wanted this model to win - just to see Zylmex beat out Tomica, Lesney Matchbox, Mattel Matchbox, Greenlight, Kidco, and Johnny Lightning for the title...  And it ALMOST beats them all, all except for Matchbox!  Nice job Zylmex - I love this car! 

And that leaves Matchbox as the winner.  When this test started I really wasn't sure that the Gran Fury was going to be able to hold off the challengers.  But this casting is a quality casting - and the quality kept pulling it back to the top of the pack.  One of the best of the late '70s Lesney castings, and the best '70s Mopar police car in 1/64th scale...! 

P.S.  This really was a fun comparison - of 8 wonderful castings.  All of these are great, and every one's a winner.  If I wrote the blog tomorrow night, I might pick out an entirely new order. 

P.P.S.  There are many people who would pick the Greenlight to win outright - no comparison - and I understand and appreciate that attitude.  It's an amazing piece.  In a way its far nicer than the other modern casting - the Johnny Lightning...  ...but also in a way it just out-sizes everything else - which for me, was its downfall!