Danbury Mint 1968 Ford Mustang GT - “Bullitt” – 1525
Famous movie cars + chase scenes + replicas + Danbury Mint. You do the math: = BULLITT! DM tooled up a new ’68 Mustang to replicate one of the most memorable movie cars to date. Lieutenant Frank Bullitt, (Steve McQueen) of the San Francisco PD, pushes his 390 V8-powered Mustang GT to the limits to catch the bad guys in their suitably-sinister black Dodge Charger. I can recall watching the heads of the theater goers in the seats in front of me go up and down as the chase scene unfolded in the hilled streets of the city. You were onboard during the in-car camera scenes and almost felt like you were part of the action. That was 1968. Thanks to Danbury, I’m reliving those moments; this time on DVD and by carefully inspecting their superb diecast that carries the movie’s name.
Danbury put immeasurable work into the crafting of the car model itself and by doing exhausting research to get the car just the way it looked on film. Not an easy task, since there were two car-star ’68 Mustangs sharing cinema duty. At given points during filming, they displayed different bangs, bumps and badges of courage. Then if that weren’t enough, the Warner Brothers Pictures® production crew altered the otherwise stock appearing Mustang GT in many subtle ways. DM nailed them all. Bullitt’s car received body-color-matching rocker panels in that gorgeous understated Highland Green Metallic. Standard GT’s came with chrome trim. You saw no chrome tail light bezels on the movie car; DM’s is also devoid of them. The ‘Stang’s reverse lights were taken off, the grille emblem, a wild Mustang, surrounded by chrome trim and the twin inboard headlamps were also removed.
The film crew replaced the chrome outside rearview mirror on a tall stalk, with a matte black shorty unit so as not to detract from certain actor close-up scenes. Other small changes were made including paint differences to the gas filler cap, removal of badges and the inclusion of hot-for-the-day mag wheels. Yes, you guessed it; Danbury made all the appropriate changes. But do not overlook the model’s build itself, DM did a marvelous job in crafting a functional, quality and detail rich 1968 Mustang for us. All new-tech, it exhibits grand detail everywhere you look. We’ve been spoiled by the hood scissors hinges that work so realistically and the inboard door hinges as well. Both are present and accounted for. The chassis detailing is abundant and suspension fully functional. The steering assembly rods and dampening shock must be seen in person to be appreciated.
The trunk has incredible detail. The hinges are scaled correctly. A jacking sticker is in place and the usual treatment of spare and floor matting is excellent. We also see attention given to the inner fuel filler neck, trunk latch detail, and great detail on the jack and tire tools but also an accurate depiction of the forward trunk spring mechanism. Internally, the interior is awesome. The dash, floorboard and console detail is spot on and the folding seats, belts and flip down visors are terrific, but the rear seat steals the interior show. Like the 1:1, it transforms itself for double duty. DM supplies a tool just for this function. You may display the seat upright and enjoy the look with the fabric belts in place or you can opt to stow it down. The rear shelf folds forward along with the seatback, forming a flat floor cargo space.
I love the separately fashioned chrome trim around the windshield and window frames. The delicate chrome work is also seen in the door lock buttons, seatback releases, inside door panel latches and window cranks. The door sills are photo-etched metal. Under the hood we find another amazing DM masterpiece of detail engineering. The hinges never fail to impress me, they are exquisite. Underhood features include wiring to the outer indented signal lighting and a vacuum line. The big 390 is wired and plumbed to perfection. Brake and fuel lines snake downward and rearward to their final destinations and battery cables, smog controls and fluid lines are all in their proper places. The stance and ‘look’ of the Bullitt model is so representative of the movie car it will get you excited to see it all over again.
But this time when you see it, you’ll have the scale version of your own, and in one piece! TP 07/05/2007
@sizedoesmatter Spectacular review Tony. Once again I have taken the model down for another looksee. I have the Black Charger parked next to the Mustang which make quite the pair.
@sizedoesmatter Spectacular review Tony. Once again I have taken the model down for another looksee. I have the Black Charger parked next to the Mustang which make quite the pair.
Thank you Bob!! Great pair. I have the review of the Charger but no pics and the car was given away....
This is a wonderful progression in the Dodge Charger lineup of offerings from Danbury Mint. Specifically, it enriches our Dodge Daytona supply by 100%; as now, we have TWO! The white hemi-powered ’69 Daytona, though a street-legal muscle car, was set up and fabricated to look more like the NASCAR race-prepped cars that ruled the oval tracks in the late sixties. This 440 version is more like what we probably see cruising the boulevards of our memories. Although still pretty rare, there were more of them made. NASCAR rules required 500 units of any car planning to be raced at Daytona be made available to the public, and in this case, Dodge issued 503. Of these, 433 were equipped with the 375 horse 440 cube motor while only 70 bore the 425 horse 426 cube hemispherical combustion chambered mill. They were only made for one year, 1969, and discontinued.
Internally, the Danbury design team refers to this model as “The Pickle.” Anything but sour, I would have to redefine it as a “gherkin,” because up close – it…is…sweet! The color’s subtlety is remarkably poignant. Bright, cheerful and exceptionally glossy, it has just a hint of metallic. Helping to make it ‘pop’, is the white interior and the focus-of-attention rear wing. Naturally everyone realized the wing’s value as a down force providing tool but what the Dodge Boys didn’t divulge was the invaluable contribution to stability at speed that the twin rudders, holding the top airfoil, provided. As further evidence that the folks at DM listen to our comments; they included the rear wing support brackets inside the trunk that were omitted on the Hemi Daytona. Twin V-shaped braces are now seen, in correct flat black, beneath the wing struts. Also in the trunk, we now see the proper dual jacks. The Daytona came with a front and rear jack, one standard and the other an orange scissors jack, necessary to fit below the Daytona’s unique, pointed nose-cone. (You will note the twin jacking instruction pages mounted on the inside trunk lid of both Daytona models, perfectly scaled down.)
Aside from the engine differences, this car comes with an automatic trans. The shifter resides in the beautifully fabricated wood grained console, while the dash and floor are done in black and the seats and side paneling is richly cloaked in brilliant white. Black fabric seat belts are seen fixed to the seats and shoulder belts are mounted on the roof. The front seatbacks tilt all the way forward providing access to the back seat. The proper pedals for the auto trans are fabricated and the steering wheel is correctly done in wood rim fashion with center horn hub. (The Hemi version sports an interior colored wheel with a semi-circular chrome horn ring.) Outside, the 440 has an opening gas filler cap, chrome-foiled “Charger” script neatly adorning the roof sail panel and carried over from the Charger 500, a flush mounted, chrome trimmed rear window to aid in better aerodynamics. In true DM fashion, the antenna retracts into the front fender.
Gone are the Hemi Daytona’s dog dish hubcaps, which are the correct factory wheelcover, but which many collectors find uninspiring. In their place are fully styled, five-spoke black-out wheels with chrome trim rings. Thin whitewalls replace the redlines. Like the white Hemi, this car uses the front fender reverse mounted air scoops and the working hood pin assemblies. In this scale, they are sensational. A tool is provided so that you may poke a button under the front bumper to open the quad headlights. Under the hood expect nothing but the best precision detail. The 440 Magnum motor is fully replicated utilizing materials of vinyl and rubber, wire and zinc. All is painted and tampo’ed spectacularly. The heater hoses, their supports and miniature clamps, simply have to be seen in person to be fully appreciated and the twin throttle linkage and springs (one painted yellow, no less) are incredible works of art on their own. Metal wires of small scale gauge replicate brake lines running downward to the chassis as well. Turn the model over, and you’ll see that transmission fluid lines are in place along with bare metal torsion bar suspension arms. The front wheels articulate fully with the steering linkage. Rear suspension works on leaf springs and shocks. The wire mesh screening used beneath the front fender air scoops can be seen from below as well.
In this configuration, all of the Daytona’s finer points are highlighted and so too is DM’s acumen for providing us with outstanding models. This sweet pickle is deserving of a 9.79 rating on the Thrillometer! (Now, off to hunt the fridge for that jar of Vlasic’s.) TP 01/17/2005
Have it, love it. Another wonderful review. The Daytona and Superbird were two cars I could never warm up to in 1/1 scale, but I am pleased to have the models in 1/24 scale. Two friends of mine each have Superbirds that are beautifully restored. It happens that I was asked to break a tie between them at our Scarecrow Show about five years ago. The detail that broke the tie was that one of the cars had a sticker on the windshield wiper motor while the other did not.
Have it, love it. Another wonderful review. The Daytona and Superbird were two cars I could never warm up to in 1/1 scale, but I am pleased to have the models in 1/24 scale. Two friends of mine each have Superbirds that are beautifully restored. It happens that I was asked to break a tie between them at our Scarecrow Show about five years ago. The detail that broke the tie was that one of the cars had a sticker on the windshield wiper motor while the other did not.
OMG! Cool story - THANKS Bob. I've attended my share of Corvette judging's and, you are SO right, the difference between Top Flight and also-ran can be a buggered screwhead!!
