Motormax Buicks, 72 T/A - any good?

[randyc]

I'm looking at the Motormax 65 Buick Riv- anyone have one?   Worth having?   Cheap and plentiful.   I can do some paint detailing and have a reasonable shelf model, right?  

Also the 80s Buick Regal T type - debating on a sub $30 version or the GMP.   I know the GMP will be nicer.   But is the Motormax a reasonable clone?  

And may as well ask while I'm asking - 72 Pontiac T/A  looks like with some paint detailing, would be a good looking car.   

I don't have extra time to build like I used to and still like to have some models I've never had before.  I can find enough time to detail a car.  I have enough kits to keep me busy if I want to build.

[Geno]

Randy, it depends on if it matters whether they are off scale. I think the Riv is closer to 1/26 scale. The Johnny Lightning T/A is a nicer model as well and you can usually get those for a nice price. I have one in with my Mint models and it doesn't look at all out of place. I can't help much as far as the T Type, sorry. Just my 2 cents, I hope that helps you somewhat. Here's a pic of the JL car in with my other models.

 

Edited August 17, 2018 by Geno

[Gramps46]

I have the Welly Buick Riviera and it is very nicely done IMHO.  And at $9.99 at the drug store you can't go wrong.

[randyc]

Shoot our drug stores don't have anything like that.  I'm too lazy to do flea markets but may have to start just to save a few bucks and see what they have.

I went ahead and ordered the T/A and  65 Buick - I looked at the JL, but I really like Pontiac Rallye II wheels.   I have 1/24 and 1/25 in cases, all stacked.   No one but me notices the differences.  So a 1/26 isn't going to make much difference.   Around top of living room, I have 1/64, 1/43, 1/24 and 1/25, 1/18, 1/12 motorcycles, and the 1/12 Tamiya porsche.  Around 150 cars on shelves around the room.  

I keep most of the "mint" cars in the family room.  15 arranged on coffee table top.  Others on lower shelf there.  So the scale thing isn't going to matter to my family - they won't know the difference or care.  Nor do I - I just like having nice examples of the cars.    I'll paint detail them to make them better.

My wife asked what car I would like for our upcoming anniversary so the GMP T Type may come live with us.  I've never owned a GMP - had a few pass through my hands when I owned a hobby shop and was always impressed with the quality.  

[Geno]

Randy, you'll love the GMP cars, they are as good or better than a lot of the Mint Models. I really like mine.

[randyc]

Thanks - you have a great looking collection and display cabinet.   I have an internet trading buddy that also has same recommendation for the GMP cars.  

[Gramps46]

50 minutes ago, randyc said:

Shoot our drug stores don't have anything like that.  I'm too lazy to do flea markets but may have to start just to save a few bucks and see what they have.

 

Randy,  I should have mentioned the drug store is Rite Aid and they have a standalone rack with stuffed animals on one side and 1/24 die cast cars, usually Welly, on the other.  They get a new batch every two weeks.  That is the good news, the bad news is Rite Aid has been bought by Walgreens and I do not know if they will continue stocking the diecasts.

[randyc]

Argggh - that will leave us with only Walgreens in town.   They bought CVS and now Rite Aid.   So that's all we'll have other than one local store that they will likely buy as well.   They recently bought another local out just to shut him down.  I know him and that's why they did it.   Told him they would give him a job at their local store, then when the deal was done and ink was dry, they tried to send him to some far off store.  

 

Thanks for the tip though.

[Snake45]

I have two '65 Rivs, one silver, one blue. I THINK they're Welly, but not sure. They ARE very slightly undersized at about 1/26 (it might even say 1/26 on the chassis). I wonder if the Motormax is the same thing just with a different name on the chassis. At any rate, I'm pretty pleased with shape and overall look (after some extra added Snake-Fu, of course  ).

I have a '72 or '73 Trans Am by, I think, Wild Cherries. It's not perfect but it's not bad at all--good enough to sit on my shelf. Again, I wonder if just the branding on the chassis is changed? 

If you want a really nice inexpensive diecast, check out the Welly '70 Challenger TA. I think it looks at least as good as--and probably better than--the AMT or Revell kits. 

[Snake45]

BTW, here's couple pics of my silver '65 Riv. I don't have pics yet of the blue one, but it looks just the same except the paint is a nice grayish-blue metallic. I had to remove the front bumper of this one to get the headlight pods to fit better, but the fit on the blue one was fine. 

[Gramps46]

Guys, here are pictures of the 1/24 Welly Buick Riviera and Pontiac TRANs AM.  Both have engines and poseable front wheels.  The tape on the TA door is not standard of course :-)

 

[Snake45]

2 hours ago, Gramps46 said:

Guys, here are pictures of the 1/24 Welly Buick Riviera and Pontiac TRANs AM.  Both have engines and poseable front wheels.  The tape on the TA door is not standard of course :-)

 

 

Okay, I just took a detailed look at mine and while at first glance they look nearly identical, they are NOT the same. 

Both of yours seem to have four screw mounts on the chassis for screwing it to a base. My Riv and TA don't have these. 

My Rivs are Maistos, and while they look VERY similar to yours, mine have vinyl tops molded in and yours obviously doesn't. So they're two different models. 

My "Wild Cherries" (there is no maker's name on the chassis) '73 TA doesn't have separate exhaust pipes coming out under the bumper. And the grille on your Welly looks just a little more correctly shaped than mine, though the rest of the body looks, again, VERY similar. (Mine's painted a bright, bright red and has Torq-Thrust-"ish" wheels, not the Pontiac Rally IIs of yours.)

So the Motor Maxes are different models from what I have, but the differences are so slight that I'm not gonna worry about "upgrading." 

Thanks for posting the great pics, BTW. Very helpful! 

Edited August 19, 2018 by Snake45

[randyc]

Wild Cherries are motormax.  That's what my Vega says anyway.  

I did get the Riv and the TA and must say I am impressed.  I took the Rvi and TA to the laBORaTORy.  Detailed the grille and lights on the Riv and working on the wheels on the TA.  Both have excellent wheels.   The Pontiac Rallye IIs are nothing short of amazing.   THe Rivs might be a little shallow but paint up well.   The shifters are very fine and the TA is actually in PARK.  Something the kit makers never seem to do.  The panel lines are sharp - not soft like in diecasts of the past.   Other than the chassis, they are as nice as one could expect.  Very fine tampos.   Could use a foiling session - that may be phase 2 of detailing.  

So I admit I overpaid ebay pricing ($20 each with shipping) on these - the blue TA and gold Riv.   Then Gramps suggests running, not walking to Rite Aid.   So I did.  Dangit, there was the Blue TA and several other RIVS not gold for $10 each.   BUT. they also had the 65 Imp and a 2005 GTO.  So they came home with me.  THe GTO door lines are so tight, you can't get a fingernail in there to open them.   Tampos are excellent.  Interior nice.   No brakes and solid axles.  But great overall.

65 Imp was very nice too.   A bit undersized, like the Riv.   Solid axles.  Needed some lab time.   It's getting there.   Shifter is clunky in it.   Interior details are mostly ther- phase 2 detailing.  I did mess with improving the taillights - poor tampo registration on one side and one side didn't stick out far enough.  I will be sliding thru Rite aid til they stop carrying them.  Dispay was to the right of front door - not back in toys. (!).   But stuffed animals on one side, diecasts on the other.  Was almost out the door when I saw them.  Really should be a spotlight over them.  lol

I'll try to get some pics up when I finish the wheels on the TA.   they are a bit tedious.

Thanks for all the input.

[Gramps46]

Way to score Randy!  Can't wait to see pictures.  I had not heard of the 65 Imp being released.

My bad for not telling you to look near the front with the stuffed animals.  A clerk told me they get a shipment and restock every 2 weeks.  Do examine the cars carefully as kids play with them in the store and windshield wipers and review mirrors are vulnerable.

Edited August 20, 2018 by Gramps46

[randyc]

I had seen the 65 Imp on Amazon mostly.   Red, light met blue, black, I think.   It's pretty nice.   Rallye wheels.   I had bui8lt a plasstic years ago and gave to my uncle.  He had a 65 SS with 327 and wire wheel covers (69 or 70 Imp AMT plastic kit).  So I got a blue one to keep for me.   Solid chrome front end - but can be detailed to look much better.  

 

[Snake45]

After reading this thread, I checked and there's a Rite Aid not far from me. I'll be checking it out today, I hope. (The local gas station mini-mart used to have diecasts and I bought quite a few of them there, but they haven't had them in at least two or three years.)

I've seen a '65 Impala diecast a couple times at the local toy show, but never bought one. It seems slightly undersized, like the Riv, which isn't a deal-breaker for me, but the roof didn't look right, which most definitely is. But I'm gonna take a good look at the next one I come across and see if I can either fix it or live with it. 

Accuracy of shape overall is my #1 priority with these cheap diecasts. I've passed on cars I'd really like to own because of this, and bought others that didn't interest me that much but I saw that they just looked right. 

Meanwhile, I was checking out Welly stuff online the other night and saw they have a '68 Olds 4-4-2 that doesn't look bad at all. Thinking of ordering one. Anyone have one--good or bad? It should look nice next to my '70 GSX. 

[randyc]

From memory of my two uncles having 65 & 66 Impalas, the shape suits my memory.  I just looked at photos on the net - I don't think it's all that bad.   The taillights bothered me more than the roof line.  Each of us have our nits - lol.  I've seen the Olds and it looks funky to me.   I hope you get one and post it up - might not mind having that one, too, if it looks better in life than the net photos.  

Do look at the impala - interior is not bad at all - needs quite a bit of Snake-fu, but looks like it will be pretty nice when complete.  

The new diecasts are really impressing me.  The quality of the panels and such are quite sharp and tight.  

[Gramps46]

OK, pardon my point and shoot and trembling hands but here are three more Welly drug store models.  I was particularly impressed with the interior detail on the convertible and the engine colors and plating.  Pretty good for a half engine.

[Snake45]

21 minutes ago, Gramps46 said:

OK, pardon my point and shoot and trembling hands but here are three more Welly drug store models.  I was particularly impressed with the interior detail on the convertible and the engine colors and plating.  Pretty good for a half engine.

That's the '65 Impala I've seen. Yep, that roof's funky. The C-pillars are too thin and might have just a bit too much "fastback" to them. Real shame, because the rest of it looks quite nice. 

I have that '70 GSX, in yellow. I like it a LOT, even though it's slightly undersized. But it sits on the shelf just fine next to my plastic '69-'72 Chevelles and '68-'72 GTOs. 

Edited August 20, 2018 by Snake45

[randyc]

I've heard the GSX is pretty nice.   May have to pick one up.  My plastic one was built as a barn find before that was a term for it.  Tarp over it and just little dirty bits sticking out.  

[Snake45]

Okay, hit that Rite-Aid and found the diecast display no probs. It was pretty well stocked, but no US musclecars. Lotta foreign stuff, even a Porsche or two I had my eye on. I left with an Audi TT for my son (he has one) and a red Mercedes 300 gullwing for me, just because I'll probably never get around to buying or building a kit of one. For $9.99 each, you can hardly go wrong! 

[randyc]

A couple shots of the Bird and the Riv for folks looking... with basic paint detailing on wheels and little else.

[Gramps46]

I really like the garage.

[oldcarfan]

I found one CVS out of four I checked that had a Welly display in our area. Also some Tractor Supply's have them as well.

[THarrison351]

On 8/21/2018 at 8:11 AM, randyc said:

A couple shots of the Bird and the Riv for folks looking... with basic paint detailing on wheels and little else.

Hey Randy, I was just bouncing around looking at some posts I hadn't followed up on and seen you have the same color T/A as mine. Great job on the wheels. Most of the 'birds I see are white. I see you painted black around the window frame too. I'd love to have one of those Rivvies in Red. Saddly, I don't think $20 shipped is the best price. I guess I'm just a cheapskate. By the way Goober says hey.