NEW Model Power 1/87th vehicles shipping from my distributor today!
OK, now that I’m off work, here’s a little more information:
The new Model Power 1/87th scale vehicles shipped today from my distributor and should be in some of your hobby shops at least by Tuesday if not before.
Most of the new vehicles have a MSRP of 4.49 (except for the Corvette @ 3.98)…if I remember an e-mail notice correctly, I think Model Power will be having a price increase on September 15th…maybe run out and get these before the price goes up a little. Three color versions on each.
Here’s what shipped:
1956 Ford F100 pick-up in black, red and light tan
1964 1/2 Ford Mustang in white, red and green
1963 Ford Thunderbird in red, black and white
1969 Oldsmobile 442 in gold, white and red
1957 Chevrolet Corvette in red, blue and yellow
2005 Ford Crown Victoria in white, black and white w/light bar
Have not seen most of them yet but I’m sure they will look at least as good or better than the first Model Power releases…fingers crossed…will know for sure when they show up next week. Just thought you all would like to know they were on the way.
1956 Ford F100 pick-up in black, red and light tan - Looks good, though paint is a bit heavy. Beats the heck out of the competing ready-to-run model on the market.
1964 1/2 Ford Mustang in white, red and green - Hope the production version looks better than the early sample I saw. Otherwise, the Busch is worth the extra money.
1963 Ford Thunderbird in red, black and white - Okay, but not one of their best efforts.
1969 Oldsmobile 442 in gold, white and red - They knocked this one right out of the park. Within a scale inch of exact HO, nice detail. Buy lots and lots.
1957 Chevrolet Corvette in red, blue and yellow. Good model. Couple of flaws so minor I am not even going to mention them. Purists will tell you yellow color is wrong for the year as is the black interior. Those colors didn’t appear until 1958. Still, my yellow version is very nice. GM should have offered the color in 1957.
2005 Ford Crown Victoria in white, black and white w/light bar - Good model of a very common modern car. I hope Model Power will release the civilian version in more colors later.
Note: Except for the Corvette, most of these models are exclusive to Model Power under their new agreement with High Speed so don’t be looking for them in black boxes at Wal-Mart.
By the way, the price increase is due to the fact the cost of zamac, the metal used for commercial diecastng, has zoomed about 300% this year and shows no signs of slowing.
That’s one of the reasons the Malibu International cars are coming in 5-packs now. Yes, you save about 38 cents over the regular price of the individual models, but High Speed trimmed more than a dollar in direct cost by eliminating the plastic boxes, individual cartons and five separate packaging operations.
I personally cant wait till they show up at my Hobbytown they usually have them earlier than most hobbyshops I dont know why that is tho. I went in saturday for some Woodland scenics Earth and wanted to pick up the Oldsmobile 442’s all 3 colors (Big Olds 332 fan here) None in the store but they are ordering them. If they come in before that I get them out of te first shippment. Now I dont know if I am going to purches any others cars by them but time will tell even at 5.00 its not a bad price figuring Busch, herpa etc are mostly plastic.
Thanks for the news.
I’ve been going to Wal-Mart and seeing the same 1/87th vehicles in the Black Box that’s been on the market for the past 2 years. I’ve been wanting some more 1960s American cars.
Sorry, but what you’ve seen is all you’ll get. At least in the cheap black box. Malibu International is a liquidator, not a manufacturer, so any new models that show up will be ones that have been retired by companies like Schuco and Model Power unless High Speed decides to invest in new tooling for Malibu. And why should they? The selling price doesn’t generate enough money to amortize new tooling. They can work with their regular customers on new models.
By the way, Schuco doesn’t have any new American vehicles at all and Model Power isn’t planning to cut loose of their new models anytime soon.
I know no one wants to hear this, but we need to accustom ourselves to the idea that somewhere around $4.00 to $5.00 is really the entry level for a healthy line of diecast vehicles. More, if you want models that are geared to the interests of model railroaders. That allows for reinvestment in new products and a small profit, which is supposedly why the product was made in the first place.
Model Power vehicles in the house! Not too bad looking I must say. I think Bill makes good points in his review above. The Olds 442 is awesome! The Mustang is not a bad value for the price but I will agree with Bill. The paint on the vehicles I received for the most part looks OK, not too heavy.
Bill: what are (if any) the significant differences between the '05 Crown Victoria and the '01 CV? My modeling efforts are geared toward the year 2001 and wondered how close these might be to that year.
Pre-sold 51 of these vehicles sight unseen. Already ordered a second batch before the first arrived. I like them.[:)] Can’t say what I am selling them for, but these look like a good deal regardless of the price at your LHS and even after the price increase on 9/15.
Knock yourself out with the Crown Vics. The primary differences between the model years were grilles and wheels and those differences aren’t significant enough to make a big difference on the layout.
I love the black Crown Vic; I think of it as the perfect “Men in Black” car updated for the 21st Century. The white version is a replica of one of the most common colors for the civilian CV. IIRC, either white or silver is the most common color for consumer versions.
I hope a taxi will be one of the next CV releases. Yellow CVs are about the most common cab in modern America.
Bill C.
Thanks for the answer on the '01 CVs Bill. They are taking pre-orders now for a taxi version. I was also hoping for that version.