Die Cast - Summer 2012

Glue You

Want to keep those pesky photo-etched badges on your diecast models? Get some dullcote lacquer at your local hobby or craft emporium, and a good quality, “00” brush. Make sure the badge is firmly affixed (repair it if it isn’t), then carefully run a bead of lacquer over the piece. Stay close to the edges, and don’t use too much, or you’ll soak and loosen the glue that holds the piece. Once dry (around 10 minutes), the lacquer virtually disappears, and offers some additional protection against unintentional knockoffs.

above: Sunstar’s Fairlane is a multimedia piece, and everything plays nicely on display. The lensing is impressive, and all of the various plastic and metal elements fit together better than on any prior release from this maker.

Below: even the tires and wheel covers “read” well, thanks to crisp castings, good chrome and well-detailed rims and rubber. in a scale where little things can mean a lot, it all adds up.

every bit of chrome trim or screening on the car’s outer shell has been done in deeply flashed plastic or photo-etched badges. More photo-etch lives inside the Fairlane’s Thunderbird-inspired grille, and the smaller, spade-shaped air duct above the car’s nose. We loved the lamp bezels, the clear or red plastic lensing, and the way everything lined up from panel to panel.

The shut lines on this one seem to be tighter and better aligned than on Sunstars past—a good thing, especially given the operating smoothness of the hinge assemblies. We didn’t have to drag out any tools to get into anything, and once we peeked in, everything went back into position with a satisfying snick. The interior is a little jarring, color-wise, but the hues on the well-textured aquamarine and black seats are joined by Cascade Green on the door panels, dash, and the carpeted floor. The castings below the paint are

sharp, and there are plenty of them—no cast-in door handles or window cranks, here; it’s all properly done and placed, from the ivory-lensed dome light above to the chromed “FORD” sill plates in the jambs.

A good mass-manufactured model motor takes a bit of planning, if the image is going to look right, and it’s evident that someone was really paying attention under here. It’s not just that the turquoise and black engine is wired and plumbed; it’s how the job got done, using neatly cast and painted wire looms, spark plug leads, and radiator hoses, all done in hard plastic. Above that, soft vinyl is used for the heater and vacuum hosing. Add in some great decos atop the white air cleaner for the “Interceptor” and “Thunderbird Special” labels, and an equally neat “See Clear” decoration on the windshield washer bag, and you’ve got a full-tilt engine bay that delivers the goods without breaking the bank.

FE, Fo, Fum The “FE” series engine that debuted in 1958 was intended for use in Fords and Edsels. Once the Edsel disappeared, the FE carried on in a wide range of displacements, and spawned some of Ford’s finest racing motors, including the ones used to win at Le Mans in 1966.

realism to the image. But it’s incredibly fragile. Once you’ve got the model on your tabletop, you’d better watch out for those little buggers when wiping the piece down, or you’ll be crawling on the carpet with a penlight in your teeth.

Fair Shake

That’s the deal from bumper to bumper on this model. After checking out the matted trunk with spare, and the detailed (but not overly so) chassis, it looked to us like every aspect of the car had been considered carefully, to get the most detail and finesse for the dollar. The result is a very nice display piece that offers a lot of topside finery.

Other than that, it’s all good. Sunstar re-invented itself to play a role in the mid-priced model car world a few years back, and they’ve succeeded. This Fairlane proves just how well they’ve read the landscape, and how savvy they’ve become at making quality images for a devoted collector base. Given the subject matter and its execution, nothing we’ve seen recently in 1: 18 seemed to offer large-scale collectors a “Mint” model experience like this one does. If you love classic American iron, 1958 looks like a good year from here.