You want new Auto World tools. I do too. They are delivering in a serious way.
Many new tools to come, but it starts with the new Chevy Impala and Buick Estate Wagon. Both are most welcome, but the Buick takes the cake for me, and further solidifies AW as the king of classic American wagons in 1/64.
Round2 sent over both mixes, and here they are. Enjoy:
I am seriously glad AW hasnt fallen prey to whatever plagues Johnny Lightning. The level of detail is barre none better than anything offered domestically. Matching that with TLV as you mentioned.
I would however like to see a product comparison with the AW Cadillac El Dorado and the JL. Toppers Series Custom L and for hilarities sake, the Hot Wheels Custom Eldorado 68.
I am so excited to see the new wagons. That was my childhood. I hope that with the basic tool they can also visit the 1973 Impala wagon in olive green. That was my first car…well…family car given to me to drive before I boaght my first car. I drove all over the Santa Cruz mountains and to the beach in that thing. I loved it.
Don, I believe the Johnny Lightning castings have been around for some time, pre-dating anything AW has produced. I recall a posting by the AW designer exclaiming that they were getting serious with scale, details and quality, which was a bit of a confession that JL castings were not as good as they could be. AW, at the time, was like a fresh start.
Fantastic work, AW! Like many of you, I am really hopeful more new castings are on the horizon. It seems like an eternity since we have seen any, but I am massively grateful the Buick and the Impala have finally arrived. I just ordered sets A + B from diecastmodelwholesale.com.
gaaahh I need those Estate Wagons!! They look so good, and they actually look a hair larger than the Kingswood, which I wouldn’t have thought physically possible, but they went ahead and did it. Absolutely amazing. I just really hope I can find these, as AW distribution seems to have become spotty in my area lately.
These are great. Looks like they fixed the wheelbase on the Buick wagon. As far as I’m concerned, AW is now what JL was 15 years ago–the top of the heap of domestic 1/64 diecast in accuracy. There are many JL castings I would like to see redone as AW cars: ’64 Buick Riviera, ’66 Olds Toronado, ’65 Pontiac Bonneville, ’68 Impala, etc, etc…
This brand as a whole is so underappreciated and I just love it when I see a new feature on these! Such beautifully executed and detailed American icons! I really like the ’67 Ford Mustang with the hubcaps! Also, the highly anticipated Buick Estate is no-brainer! It’s just too bad that their distribution sucks even worse than modern Matchbox! No store around me within a 50 mile radius even carries AW. Not one! The last time I found an AW was sometime last year! It was the light blue ’64 Ford Country Squire Wagon that was featured briefly here and a dark blue ’64 Ford Galaxie 500XL Convertible.
Forget new castings, how about they do some actual newer model cars? Something newer than what my grandfather drove. I know die cast collecting centers around old-timers, but how about drawing in some of the younger car fans? I look at the Auto World models at my local store and think of how good they look and that I’d like to collect a few, but they never seem to do anything I’m interested in. Do they do old American cars exclusively?