During Pinto Day, I mentioned that Motor Max, the company that makes the mini-1974 Pinto (Mini CC here) also made 1/24-scale Vegas, Mavericks and LeBaron Town & Countrys, among other ’70s models. Well, thanks to Mopar Week, it is now time to share my mini-T&C with you all!
The LeBaron was the fancier version of the F-Body Volaré and Aspen–much like the Granada was to the Maverick over at Ford. Dodge also got a version, the Diplomat, but the Chrysler was the plushest, with its “upside-down” headlights and faux-timbered flanks. The LeBaron sedan and coupe debuted in mid-’77, but the wagon came a year later, replacing the gigantic C-body T&C that exited the scene after the 1977 model year.
Upon first hearing of the mini-T&C, I began scouring the local stores hoping to find one. I did run across a reddish-brown one at a Walgreens, but it had a silly “American Graffiti” logo on it (American Graffiti? On a 1979 LeBaron? What?!).
Eventually I located this nice blue one. A couple of months later they were on the discount aisle, so I picked up a second one for five bucks. That one is still in the closet, in its original box; this one is the “display” model, and usually sits on top of my refrigerator. The exterior details are quite well-done, although the license plates and hood ornament are a bit too big for the scale.
The interior is accurate enough, though there isn’t much detail painting. Since I have two of these, I have been thinking about taking this one apart and giving it a white interior with blue carpet and dash. And of course, plenty of dark brown paint to simulate the fake wood that should be on the instrument panel and steering wheel!
And yes, it even has the little “Unleaded Fuel Only” label above the fuel filler. Now, if they would just release a matching ’89 Fifth Avenue…
Neat,I’m a woody fan both real and fake.I never knew the Volare/Aspen twins came as a woody
Technically the LeBaron and Diplomat were an M-body, but they had a lot in common with the F-body. Here’s a woody ’78 Volaré Premier wagon:
I learn something new on here every time!I thought it was a woody Deadly Sin.
Should be noted, those didn’t sell well.
I think I’ve seen one in my whole life.
Nice. I missed this one but have a couple of the Dodge Diplomats, including this one that I added a “vinyl” (painted masking tape) top to:
I wish I had picked up a Diplomat; for some reason I didn’t. They made a police version too. Yours looks really nice with the vinyl roof!
I believe they also made K-car (can’t recall if it was a Reliant or an Aries) and Plymouth Horizon models too.
There were jokes made, about Horizon police cruisers, back when CAFE came to be and how states like California were going to be in a pickle, having much newer (and smaller and weaker) cruisers than the surviving 1960s musclecars and 1970s bloatmobiles. But I don’t think there was a serious effort to make a K or an L into a cop car.
Even the Volare as a police cruiser didn’t get much interest. Only when it became the M/Gran Fury and grew in size, relative to cars around it, did that car get police interest.
Eventually, by plan or happenstance, the Big Two passed the baton back and forth: Impala for nearly a decade, then Panther for another fourteen years. No other car line seriously competed until the new Dodge Charger came out with a police package.
I should’ve been a bit clearer. I meant that the same company that made the toy scale model of this T&C also made K-car and Horizon (pretty sure it was a Horizon, not an Omni) models. Back in the 80’s in NYC, I remember some K-car traffic enforcement vehicles, but I think you’re correct in your assessment that neither the K or L was ever destined for serious police use.
Cops would’ve been happy with Motor Max’s version of the Horizon – it’s significantly over scale, somewhere around 1/20, so in real life it’d have the physical bulk of a Tahoe without the space-robbing separate frame and RWD.
A real one of these came up on my local CL a few months ago. Beautiful original car that the owner was asking about 3500 for. It’s a good thing it was that light yellow color, or I might have been fatally attracted to it.
Tom, I hope that you are not keeping the other in the original box for investment purposes. Something tells me that it will be worth as much as a real one, in scale, of course. 🙂
Nope, I just couldn’t resist getting another one at that price. It was just five bucks!
The LeBaron came in 4 colors:red, maroon, cream and blue. I have the blue on display, too. I miss those MotorMax 70s oddball models. So sorry they got out of the biz before they did an AMC Sportabout. Would have loved one of those!
The slightly out-of-proportion front door window frames kinda make it look like a Peugeot 504 wagon at first glance.
The model is quite good quality..Are the firm still in business??
Yes, but they haven’t released any more of the oddball ’70s models. I am unsure if the T&C, Pinto and others are still being made.
I have this model in red. The company that made these got the year wrong. This is either a 1977 or ’78 model. The 79’s have a 6-panel grille.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Diplomat of that era that didn’t have a light bar and a guy in uniform behind the wheel. Did people actually buy them?
I think its really cool that there is a company out there making these oddball scale cars, you can only stand so many Mustang and Corvette models.
Call me crazy, but I think when they built the National Lampoon Wagon Queen Family Truckster, the car itself was a Ford Country Squire, but it looks like most of the front end was cribbed from this.
Hey, it’s the Wagonqueen Family Truckster!
No, it’s the Antarctic Blue Super Sportswagon!
With the rally fun pack.
What a great model! It’s amazingly detailed. These Mini CCs are inspiring me to look for a few favorites. Any idea of a good place to find models like this, besides Ebay?
I guess either eBay or Amazon, which has a surprisingly large amount of diecast. Most of the chain stores have zilch, other than Hot Wheels, which are as detailed and accurate as the 1973 Colonnades are loved by Zackman 🙂 Many of my favorite local hobby shops have closed down in the last two to three years. Mel, who ran MVR Hobby in Davenport, retired in June ’11 and my other favorite store, Evers Toy Store in Dyersville, shut down at the end of 2011.
I have no idea if there are any good diecast/hobby shops in L.A., but I imagine there would be a few. Might be worth it to peruse the local yellow pages…
Thanks — I hadn’t thought of Amazon. I’m not sure about hobby shops, but I know there are some shows that come around now and then with Hotwheels etc, but I’ve never been. I don’t want to hoard, but would love to have a few favorite models. I’m more interested in larger (1/24 scale I guess) more detailed models, and dealer promos. Somehow, even with all the classic cars I’ve had, I’ve never collected models. I have a beautiful 1972 boat tail Riviera that’s probably 1/24 scale (it’s about 8 or 9 inches long) and it has a place of honor on a living room shelf. I would love to have a 1979-85 Toronado or a 1973-77 Monte Carlo (cars I own) but I don’t believe those were ever made as promos and possibly not later either.
I have the red metallic American Graffiti one. It came with a Dodge Omni that dwarfed it. You’d figure model car makers would make their model cars in a scale that would allow each car to be their correct world size in relation to eachother, so that a Fiat Toppolino wouldn’t be the same length as a Buick Turnpike Cruiser.