That looks superb ! It is a great subject and a classic Pontiac. I have a MotorMax 1969 Pontiac Judge in this eye-catching color.
I believe they have that same motor Max GTO and did you know that the fenders are separate pieces and can be removed so if you want to pretend you're working on the GTO you can remove the front fenders...Â
I don't have pictures I can send right nowÂ
When I found out it blew me away because I've never seen a 1/18 diecast that was put together in separate piecesÂ
I remember this and other EARLY 1/18 Ertls like it was yesterday. Prior to these "highly detailed"Â replicas, Ertl's best cars were stamped c.1/16 metal jobs that were really nice toys but nothing more.
We were really impressed with Ertl's new line of American Muscle cars because these among the first AMERICAN 1/18 diecasts to hit the market. Soon, Sunstar would offer even better detailed American cars ('53 & '54 Chevys and a 1957 Ford Skyliner ) and we thought we'd seen it all.
Little did we know.....
Of course, Ertl went on to create Highway 61 1/18 replicas with the release of their 1951 Studebaker. With a MSRP of $39.99 it was "pricey," but we were blown away!
I remember this and other EARLY 1/18 Ertls like it was yesterday. Prior to these "highly detailed"Â replicas, Ertl's best cars were stamped c.1/16 metal jobs that were really nice toys but nothing more.
We were really impressed with Ertl's new line of American Muscle cars because these among the first AMERICAN 1/18 diecasts to hit the market. Soon, Sunstar would offer even better detailed American cars ('53 & '54 Chevys and a 1957 Ford Skyliner ) and we thought we'd seen it all.
Little did we know.....
Of course, Ertl went on to create Highway 61 1/18 replicas with the release of their 1951 Studebaker. With a MSRP of $39.99 it was "pricey," but we were blown away!
And I remember when the Ertl models were 1/18th scale and were available at Toys r Us for $19.99 plus tax. I went to every Toys r Us in SoCal to find out what they had and stock up
@100ford2003"$19.99 at Toys R Us...."Â Â Wow, you must be rich!Â
We'd go to Circus World and/or KAY-BEE Toys (remember those guys? ...KB eventually bought CW ) and purchased those models for "red-slashed" $9.99 & $14.99 prices! Some higher volume mall stores (remember malls? ) would feature huge walls of nothing but close-out 1/18 diecast at bargain prices!
All possible with pre-Great Recession & pre-COVID cheap foreign labor and large quantity close-out buying.  That type of manufacturing is largely antiquated now, therefore that "close-out" pricing/retail brick & mortar business model strategy also suffered.
@100ford2003"$19.99 at Toys R Us...."Â Â Wow, you must be rich!Â
We'd go to Circus World and/or KAY-BEE Toys (remember those guys? ...KB eventually bought CW ) and purchased those models for "red-slashed" $9.99 & $14.99 prices! Some higher volume mall stores (remember malls? ) would feature huge walls of nothing but close-out 1/18 diecast at bargain prices!
All possible with pre-Great Recession & pre-COVID cheap foreign labor and large quantity close-out buying.  That type of manufacturing is largely antiquated now, therefore that "close-out" pricing/retail brick & mortar business model strategy also suffered.
But, boy.... it was fun! 😀 😎 😀Â
Heck I remember getting the 1/12th scale Maisto Jaguar XJ220 from a close out at KB for $19.99 at KB and the 1/12th Corvettes too !
