Fast X 1967 Chevrolet El Camino

Made By:

Jada Toys

Scale:

1/24

MSRP:

US$23.99

Overview:
Packaging (Design):	9/10
Packaging (Durability):	8/10
Casting (Body):	9/10
Casting (Interior):	9/10
Casting (Chassis):	8/10
Casting (Engine):	8/10
Paint (Exterior):	9/10
Paint (Interior):	N/A
Paint (Trim/Graphics):	9/10
Overall Panel Fit:	9/10
Total Score:	8.7/10

 

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Background

Jakob Toretto's '67 El Camino is a unique monster designed to handle anything that may come up with a host of upgrades including an exterior roll cage, rocket tubes, and cannons. While Jacob uses it to safely get Little B safely to his father, both he and his Elky meet their end at the hands of Dante's crew.

Packaging

A minor update to Jada's Fast & Furious packaging, keeping the size and shape as they were but changing the graphics to suit the latest movie. Aside from the new movie title, the background is now tightly packed horizontal lines and Vin Diesel's photo has been changed to a full-face angle against a red background. The movie title has been integrated into the packaging now, part of the diecut around the main window rather than a sticker applied to it later. Around back, the co-sells added this and three Fast Five cars: the Charger tow car, Charger Rio police car, and Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The interior keeps the speed lines theme but - like the movies themselves - dials it up with bolder colors and wider bands against an extreme close-up of the "X" to create a sort of arrowhead appearance that further plays up the "speed" theme. As usual, the El Camino is held in place with two screws and a plastic tray around the tailgate, with two plastic bands to hold the hood and doors closed. It's not a huge update overall, but is still a marked improvement visually.

Casting/Paint

While maybe not quite as sharp as their F9 Charger, it's *real* close. The body is all metal, and features some impressive work with straight and clean edges on the fender creases and sharp detailing on the cowl vent. The wipers are the only weak point on the casting, looking like an afterthought, but before getting too put off by that casting flub you see that the back edge of the cowl induction hood scoop is actually open and the hood fit is as clean as they come. Same for the doors and tailgate, which all fit with tight and even seams all around.

The good work continues on the plastic detail work: chrome plated for the bumpers, grille, hood edge, mirrors, and door handles; clear for the headlights, windshield, and vent windows; transparent orange for the parking lights; transparent red for the taillights; and black for the bed liner. The grille is actually cast with deeper slots towards the center, creating the illusion of an open grille flanked by the panels supporting the headlights. It's the first time I've seen this trick pulled off, and the result is fantastic. The bed liner is made up of multiple pieces, allowing for texture on both the floor and sides.

Under the hood is a pretty decent supercharged big block Chevy engine. There aren't a lot of parts, but what's here is smartly designed and assembled: separate radiator, hose, drive belt, intake, Whipple supercharger, etc. are layered on top of a block that has the top edges of the header pipes and alternator cast in place to create a great overall look. Inside, we get a fully detailed dashboard, separate steering wheel and column with levers, separate bomber seats with seat pads, detailed door panels, a center console with detailed switches, valves, and a hand brake lever, and a full roll cage that follows the contours of the seats, roof, and windows as good as any I've seen. Chrome is limited to the pedals, shifter, and rearview mirror, and stickers are used for the sweeper speedometer and auxiliary gauge cluster under the dash. The chassis is Jada's usual flat pan, but in an interesting twist the edges of the pan form the rocker panels, creating a more realistic thickness to the floor. A frame, dual exhausts, front and rear axles, and the suggestion of steering linkage, oil pan, filter, and transmission add a nice level of detail. The tailpipes are chrome, and the tires are fat treaded vinyl over five-spoke wheels with rear beadlocks and Jada's usual disc brakes.

There's not much to say about paint, as it's sporting a near-total blackout, but what's here is very good. The satin black base is clean and smooth, and a near-perfect match to the black plastic used throughout. Trim is limited to silver paint around the windshield, vent windows, and box/rear window surround. It's...OK. As with the casting, the wipers are the worst of it. But that's more than made up for with the printed bits: a Chevrolet emblem at the top center of the grille, "El Camino" on each rear flank, and "Chevrolet" on the tailgate. I do need to make a special point of the taillight ribs and tailgate latch, which feature some of the cleanest and sharpest detailing I've seen on a mass-produced diecast. There's even a bow tie in the middle of the latch handle that's barely 1mm across.

Features/Accessories

The doors, hood, and tailgate open and close. The hinges on the hood and doors are nice and snug, so they hold any position easily, and the tailgate actually locks into place when closed - you have to lift it slightly to release it and let it flop down.

Accuracy

Taking the whole "cannon car" out of the equation, this looks very accurate to Jakob's ride. The lines are all spot-on, and the details like the wheels and cowl hood all look correct. As usual, it could use a few more paint details, but the achromatic look really works here. Scaling is a near-perfect 1/24.

Overall

This one was a pleasant surprise. I found out about it late (the real draw of this wave was the tow Charger), and only picked it up because the Porsche 911 GT3 RS sitting next to it on the shelf was visibly out of scale. But I'm glad I did, as every time I look at it I find something else Jada did right. It's just solid work across the board, and I'm glad to have added it to the collection.