Independence Day 1971 Chevrolet C-10

Made By:

GreenLight Collectibles

Scale:

1/24

MSRP:

US$24.99

Overview:
Packaging (Design):	10/10
Packaging (Durability):	10/10
Casting (Body):	9/10
Casting (Interior):	8/10
Casting (Chassis):	8/10
Casting (Engine):	N/A
Paint (Exterior):	10/10
Paint (Interior):	10/10
Paint (Trim/Graphics):	9/10
Overall Panel Fit:	10/10
Total Score:	9.3/10

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Background

After successfully downing one of the aliens attacking Earth, Captain Steven Hiller restrains the unconscious creature in his parachute and flags down a passing convoy to take him to the nearest airbase - Area 51. Among the vehicles in the convoy is this old farm truck, which transports Hiller and his guest to the base.

Packaging

This is GreenLight's standard "Hollywood" box, done up with graphics and colors from the movie posters on all but the bottom panel. Everything is in its usual spot, including a blurb about the movie on the back panel. Nothing new, but if it ain't broke don't fix it. The package is clean, looks good, protects the diecast, and makes it easy to get the truck in and out without having to take anything apart. There is one addition: a sheet of tissue paper has been draped across the hood to make sure the patina doesn't get rubbed by the inner tray.

Casting/Paint

I've previously noted that beaters are usually too unique to replicate as diecasts: dents, missing trim, and other small details just can't be captured without making unique toolings that quickly become cost prohibitive for manufacturers. But with this truck, GreenLight has come as close as I've ever seen. The body is still nice and straight, with fantastic molded-in details for the panel lines, cowl vents, and box lining. The grille, bumpers, wipers, antenna, mirrors, door handles, and fuel fill are all separate plastic pieces, fit nicely and generally clean though there are a couple of unfortunate parting seams on the mirrors. Not terrible, just more obvious when compared to other details on the truck. The headlights, glass, and backup lights are clear plastic, and the taillights are transparent red. All of this is very good, and not surprising given GreenLight's recent work.

Then you get to the paint, and this is where the ID4 truck shines. Or rather, doesn't. The Entire truck is finished in a faded blue and motley brown with a dull finish that perfectly captures the "old truck" vibe. The hood, front fenders, and roof are an indistinct mess of rust and paint, with organic streaks and splats that look completely natural. There is a slight problem with getting the edges of the patina to meet the edges of the panels at the top corners of the front fenders, but it's such a small gaffe and could easily be explained away as a few flecks of original paint. Along the upper sides of the doors and box are more rusty blotches, again looking correct and natural. Silver trim components include the marker light bezels, wing window frames, and rear surround, and the front and rear window frames are done in black. The "Chevrolet" text across the tailgate is picked out with individual white inserts, while the bow tie in the grille has a blue insert. The grille itself is given a black wash, and orange and red is used for the marker lights. A Utah 830-FVP license plate is mounted on the center of each bumper. Then, the whole truck has been given a generous weathering. This includes the windows, the wheels, the trim, and the chassis - all areas that are often overlooked when it comes to dust and dirt. It's a fantastic effect, and really gives the truck a proper aged appearance.

The good work continues inside, with a black textured seat, black floor with textured mats, and body-colored dash and door panels. The dash has a fully detailed instrument cluster and radio, silver and black levers on the column, and a black steering wheel. The door panels have black inserts with silver door handles and window cranks. Underneath is a single piece chassis, fully detailed with frame rails, suspension, bumper brackets, engine/transmission, driveshaft, dual exhaust system, and spare tire. Even the support beams and texture on the underside of the bed have been captured. There is a separate trailer hitch nicely detailed but somewhat awkwardly plugged into the spare tire. The road wheels are metallic green with vinyl tires.

Features/Accessories

The green wheels indicate that this is a "Green Machine" chase variant - the standard release has white wheels. Both doors open, and are hinged so that the front edges tuck inside the front fenders.

Accuracy

For the most part, this is an excellent match to the truck we saw in the movie. The patina effects are sized and placed accurately, the colors look spot-on, and the license plates are correct. They even got the chassis correct, with the proper A-arm/trailing arm combination used for Chevy's C series (see Maggie's truck for the K version). There are a few minor discrepancies, such as the grille being square (it was askew in the movie) and the right outside mirror being complete (it was missing everything other than the base in the movie), but these are small details that are easy to overlook. A somewhat larger mistake is the wheels - in the movie they were black (left) and white (right) steelies with no hubcaps and whitewall tires. But seeing as how the wheels are part of this particular chase variant, I can't really cite them for that. Scaling is a near-perfect 1/24.

Overall

Admittedly not the most famous movie car out there, this could have been something GreenLight got "close enough" and called it a day. But they really went through a lot of effort to get it right, from the screen-accurate plates to the fully detailed interior. The weathered paint job is among the best I've seen from any manufacturer at any budget. It's just a really well-done replica, and comes very highly recommended.