Welly '72 Firebird Trans Ams

[Snake45]

Scored this one at Rite Aid for $10 recently. I’d seen others’ on here, but if I’d realized how nice this thing is in person, I’d have made the effort to net-order one months ago.

First off, it’s 1/25 scale, not 1/24, always a plus in my book. (The Motor Max ’73 is 1/24).  The front end is slightly better shaped than the Motor Max. Rally II wheels are quite nice, and the tires are of a good size. The metallic blue paint on mine is outstanding, and the white TA stripe looks quite acceptable. Even the hood fit is exceptional for a diecast. About the only thing not to like about this model is that the “hip” crease on the upper quarter panels is much more pronounced than on the real car—more like a ’67-’69 than a 2nd Gen F-body. It’s not unattractive, it’s just not right. But everything else here is so nice I don’t mind living with it.

This one required less Snake-Fu than most. All I did was sand the tire treads, hit the light lens stems with white paint,  paint the inner perimeter of the grill openings with Testor Steel, and detail the wheels with Model Master Gunmetal (a metallic gray/black that looks good for the dark areas of Rally IIs).  Total Snake-Fu time was only 2-3 hours, most of which was painting the wheels.

After doing the blue one, I liked it so much I later bought a white one (another $10 Rite Aid score). Haven't yet Snake-Fued the white one, but it provides a nice contrast so you can see what a big difference the grille and wheel detailing makes.

I really like this one—it’s right under the ’70 T/A Challenger on my list of Favorite Wellys. And, like the Challenger, it looks good enough to be displayed on my 1/25 models shelf (not relegated to Diecast Ghetto).  The really good Wellys are probably the best values in all of Model Car World, especially if you can get them for $10 at Rite Aid. Thanks for looking, and as always, comments welcome. 

[DukeE]

Nice! We don't have Rite-Aid, just CVS (nothing) and Walgreens (usually nothing fun). I need one. Actually like the hip on it, wrong as it may be. 

[Gramps46]

I really like the side by side comparison of the before and after.  You did a super job Snake-Fuing this one, as per usual.  

[Geno]

Wow, that looks great Rich. Amazing how much a little detailing will change the whole look of a cheap diecast. I love doing that kind of stuff as well and have zero reservation about showing them alongside of my much more expensive diecast. How does the T/A Challenger scale out? Thanks.?

[Snake45]

20 hours ago, DukeE said:

Actually like the hip on it, wrong as it may be. 

It's beginning to grow on me. It's not right, but it's not unattractive. 

18 hours ago, Gramps46 said:

I really like the side by side comparison of the before and after.  You did a super job Snake-Fuing this one, as per usual.  

Thanks for your kind words. 

47 minutes ago, Geno said:

Wow, that looks great Rich. Amazing how much a little detailing will change the whole look of a cheap diecast. I love doing that kind of stuff as well and have zero reservation about showing them alongside of my much more expensive diecast. How does the T/A Challenger scale out? Thanks.?

Thanks for your kind words, and the Welly TA Challenger scales out at 1/25, which is a major reason I like it so much. I did a full writeup on it here a while back. I think it's my alltime favorite diecast. 

[Geno]

Thank you, I'm gonna have to check one out. ??

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Geno said:

Thank you, I'm gonna have to check one out. ??

Yah, you said the same thing over a year ago. 

 

[Geno]

Yeah, I know, too many things on my plate but I will have one lol.?

[randyc]

On 12/19/2019 at 2:58 PM, Snake45 said:

Scored this one at Rite Aid for $10 recently. I’d seen others’ on here, but if I’d realized how nice this thing is in person, I’d have made the effort to net-order one months ago.

First off, it’s 1/25 scale, not 1/24, always a plus in my book. (The Motor Max ’73 is 1/24).  The front end is slightly better shaped than the Motor Max. Rally II wheels are quite nice, and the tires are of a good size. The metallic blue paint on mine is outstanding, and the white TA stripe looks quite acceptable. Even the hood fit is exceptional for a diecast. About the only thing not to like about this model is that the “hip” crease on the upper quarter panels is much more pronounced than on the real car—more like a ’67-’69 than a 2nd Gen F-body. It’s not unattractive, it’s just not right. But everything else here is so nice I don’t mind living with it.

This one required less Snake-Fu than most. All I did was sand the tire treads, hit the light lens stems with white paint,  paint the inner perimeter of the grill openings with Testor Steel, and detail the wheels with Model Master Gunmetal (a metallic gray/black that looks good for the dark areas of Rally IIs).  Total Snake-Fu time was only 2-3 hours, most of which was painting the wheels.

After doing the blue one, I liked it so much I later bought a white one (another $10 Rite Aid score). Haven't yet Snake-Fued the white one, but it provides a nice contrast so you can see what a big difference the grille and wheel detailing makes.

I really like this one—it’s right under the ’70 T/A Challenger on my list of Favorite Wellys. And, like the Challenger, it looks good enough to be displayed on my 1/25 models shelf (not relegated to Diecast Ghetto).  The really good Wellys are probably the best values in all of Model Car World, especially if you can get them for $10 at Rite Aid. Thanks for looking, and as always, comments welcome. 

Only thing left that I see is to add some white letters on the tires.  I do love this one.