The Terminator 1977 Dodge Monaco

       

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Made By:
GreenLight Collectibles
Scale:
1/24
MSRP:
US$24.99
Overview:
Packaging (Design):10/10
Packaging (Durability):9/10
Casting (Body):9/10
Casting (Interior):9/10
Casting (Chassis):8/10
Casting (Engine):N/A
Paint (Exterior):9/10
Paint (Interior):9/10
Paint (Trim/Graphics):10/10
Overall Panel Fit:10/10
Total Score:9.3/10

 
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GreenLight Collectibles The terminator 1977 Dodge Monaco
GreenLight Collectibles The Terminator 1977 Dodge Monaco packaging GreenLight Collectibles The Terminator 1977 Dodge Monaco door detail GreenLight Collectibles The Terminator 1977 Dodge Monaco interior GreenLight Collectibles The Terminator 1977 Dodge Monaco roof detail GreenLight Collectibles The Terminator 1977 Dodge Monaco front detail GreenLight Collectibles The Terminator 1977 Dodge Monaco rear

 
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Background

In February 1955, the Los Angeles Police Department conducted a contest for a motto for the police academy through their internally-produced BEAT magazine. The winning entry was the motto "To Protect and to Serve," submitted by Officer Joseph S. Dorobek. It has since become such a familiar phrase that parodies of it are still instantly recognizable. The Terminator used a couple of curious variations of the motto, with "to care and to protect" and "dedicated to serve" visible on the doors of the LAPD Monacos at various points throughout the film.

 

Packaging

Greenlight's standard Hollywood box, with updated graphics to match the movie. These include the title, the car identification in the "Terminator" typeface, a portrait of the endoskeleton against a laser backdrop on both end flaps, and a paragraph on the back of the box giving a brief synopsis of the Terminator story (seemingly from Skynet's POV, strangely enough). Inside is a faint version of the laser backdrop, dark enough so that the car is nicely highlighted. As with most of their other Hollywood releases, GreenLight has made smart choices all around: from the simple but classy look of the packaging to the forever excellent folded plastic tray that safely holds the car without using straps, screws, or stickers, this is great work.

 

Casting/Paint

Outstanding quality all around. The casting is essentially flawless, with smooth panels and tight seams for both molded and functional components. Particularly impressive are the doors, which have proper full window frames without looking oversized. They apparently learned a lesson from their Blues Brothers Monaco, and really upped their game here.

Chrome plated plastic is used for the grille, bumpers, and mirrors, while the rest of the trim like the headlight bezels, window frames, and side moldings are done with silver paint. Clear plastic is used for the headlights, windows, and taillights, with the latter getting red and amber paint apps to make the Monaco's distinctive look. Clear red and blue lenses flank a matte silver speaker with silver legs for the light bar.

The paint work is just as good as the casting, with a smooth glossy finish, sharp edges between the black and white areas, and additional details like the black grille and speaker, silver door handles, and red and amber corner markers all picked out beautifully. The door seals and text are sharp and nicely defined, and the license plates are separate blue plastic parts with yellow printed lettering.

The interior continues the good work, with detailed seats, a dashboard with a separate reading lamp, and the requisite police radio and partition done as good as any diecast has ever pulled off. The radio even has a separate coiled wire between the main unit and the microphone! Printed elements on the dashboard and door panels finish off the look.

The chassis is a single cast piece, and is easily the weakest part of the whole diecast. Even so, the oil pan, transmission, and exhaust pipe are all picked out in paint. The wheels are chrome-plated Mopar six-holes with everything outside the hubcap painted black and simple blackwall tires.

 

Features/Accessories

The front doors open, and in a trend I hope continues they actually tuck into the front fenders as they do on the 1:1 Monaco.

 

Accuracy

This diecast represents the car that Schwarzenegger's Terminator stole and used in the pursuit through LA. It sports the correct "1874" door number, correct motto, and correct "9990746" license plates. The gooseneck light is straight out of the movie, and the scaling is a dead-on 1/24.

 

Overall

This is some of GreenLight's best work. The casting and paint are top-notch, and the extra details like the lamp, radio wire, and properly hinged doors just elevate it. Very highly recommended.

 

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