Chevy Silverado

The Chevy Silverado can be a confusing truck. On one side, there are people who prefer the original functional design of a truck. You know the type, 4×4, high load, high clearance, tough. On the other side, there are people who have discovered the joys of turning a pickup truck into a lowrider. This particular Silverado is based on the latter group, albeit with a small twist. As normal lowriders would have had their utility taken away from them, this one is still able to load up a bike onto it’s bed. At least, that’s how Fraser Campbell designed this beast. And a beast it is, as it still retains the dimensions of a full-sized truck when placed side-by-side with standard cars.

Chevy Silverado

I have the yellow Silverado with the black striping and ‘Silverado’ on the side, which came from the Car Culture, Trucks series. Chrome and black RR5SPs are the wheels of choice here, and honestly, they fit the truck well. The lowered stance highlights the huge wheels used for this truck. The 5 spoke design is very American, like classic Mustang American. And that’s good. The bike on the bed looks like a Hayabusa, though, or one of those Japanese sports bikes. There is a good splattering of chrome on the bumpers and the front grill. It’s just a shame that there are no details at all on the headlights and taillights. The tailgate handle could also have gotten some love here. The truck bed also shares the chrome of the bumpers, and if you remove the bike, it would be just as shiny.

Chevy Silverado

The overall look and stance of this truck is something that I like. I am not a lowrider enthusiast, but I am not an overlanding person either. I am basing this on my own personal preference, but if ever I do get the chance to own a truck, it would be a functional workhorse. But this one is to keep.

Old School 4 x 4s

The Toyota Land Cruiser and the Land Rover Series III. Two of the most famous four by fours and the granddaddy of the modern SUVs. One hails from Japan and the other from the UK. I’m not even going to touch on which is better because they are both really good at what they stand for.

This beautiful example of a rugged Land Cruiser FJ40 came from Matchbox and is from their Jungle Explorer series back in 2010. This casting is designed by no other than Ryu Asada. It comes in a matte black finish and splashes of olive green on the roof and decals. It has got excellent front fascia details such as a painted front grill, headlights, and even the turn signals. Anaconda decals and the number 2 on the sides add a touch of flavour to the vehicle. No such detailing on the rear though, but you won’t really mind since this is a well-sculpted casting. The doors are lined up with proper hinges, there is a number plate holder on the rear, the gas cover is carved in, the side vents as well, there are wing mirrors on the doors and the bonnet is pretty much sculpted as well. There are no windows on the front doors but everything else is covered and it gives you a nice view of that brown interior. The wheels are MBX R5002 and come in this nice shade of black. I love this piece.

The Land Rover Series III pickup from Hot Wheels, on the other hand, comes in its signature bright red colour. This one comes from the Hot Wheels Hot Trucks series in 2019 and designed by Dimitriy Shakhmatov who also gave us the Unimog 1300. Another classic four by four, this comes in another beautifully sculpted casting. It has an insane amount of detailing similar to the MBX such as panel lined doors and pick-up bed, tonneau cover latches over the bed, door hinges, wing mirrors, and even the gas cap. The rest of the sculpting comes from the plastic that covers the interior, the front grill, and the spare tire on the pick-up bed. The grey doesn’t really liven it up as much, but it works fine. This is a utility truck after all. It comes with BAJA5 wheels and fits it perfectly. This is another beautiful piece.

These classic four by fours are excellent for what they are. They bring the cars that they represent alive. I would put them in my bag and bring them about just in case a photo shoot opportunity comes along such as this one on the beach. Hopefully, I would retire to owning one (if not both) of these classics.

’02 Radical GMC Truck (Muscle Machines)

In the early 2000s, there was another brand of toys called Muscle Machines. They became known for their cartoonish muscle cars and hot rods with super wide wheels, bulging chromed engines and an overall funny-looking take on cars that were meant to go fast and look mean. It was awesome! They soon worked on making normal looking cars after the hype in order to keep up with the competition (I’m looking at you Jada Toys). It wasn’t enough until they were bought over by die-cast giant Maisto in 2012.

Slammed in front and Normal at the back

I wasn’t really a big fan of slammed pick-up trucks. If I ever got a truck, I wanted it to be functional as a truck. That didn’t stop people from expressing themselves and dropping their pick-up trucks like cars though, especially not since wheel manufacturers started making big 20-and-over inches big-ass rollers. And while I personally would not have done it to my own truck, the appeal was there for me when these have been tastefully done.

The ’02 Radical GMC Truck is from the Muscle Machines Truckin’ series. A collaboration effort between Muscle Machines and Truckin’ magazine. I couldn’t get much information about the truck, but it seems that it is simply a GMC Sierra that is slammed to the ground with big chrome wheels and low profile series tires. I got this pair just recently (late 2017) because it has been a while since I’ve seen a decent looking die-cast truck for a good price. Sure, the packaging was nowhere near mint, but I had always planned on opening them anyway. And speaking of packaging, I liked how they still came in the old-school blister packs that are sealed all around. Of course, this did bring costs way higher than your normal Hot Wheels blister, but it did give you that extra feeling of security.

Back to the truck. This pair came in slick (for the era) flame jobs. The yellow truck with pink flames is not ashamed of being loud while the dark blue truck with black flames is the quiet type. The paint seems to have suffered a bit due to the age of these toys and probably from being in storage for a long time. They are still shiny, but some paint blemishes on the roofs of both trucks can be seen. The flame job is superb. As mentioned earlier, these are fine for the era, but they would probably be scoffed at by today’s more subdued generation. There is also a good splattering of chrome on the truck. Aside from the wheels, the front grill and headlights are treated in the shiny stuff. If you turn the truck upside down, you even get chrome on some of the undercarriage and the muffler. The interior is finely detailed with a good separation of colors. I’m talking about colors on the steering wheel, dashboard, center console, seats, and even aircon vents. You won’t get that amount of detail on normal die-cast cars (of this scale). The removable bed cover is a nice touch too (although you can’t really put anything on the shallow bed).

The truck also features a nice gimmick they called “SLAM!” (yes, with an exclamation point). These trucks are slammed to the ground with their wheels tucked inside the fenders by design. But press on the wheels (front and back for better balance), and the spring-loaded mechanism lifts the truck by half a millimeter (or thereabouts in this scale) and untucks the wheels. The lift is not by much, but it is a cool feature nonetheless. And it adds to the feel of those trucks with air suspension allowing them to be slammed to the ground, but are able to raise their stance enough to go over humps. The novelty will wear off quickly, but it is still a neat feature.

I’m very happy with these trucks. To me, it brings a bit of nostalgia and also a better appreciation of other die-cast brands. There isn’t really a lot catering to the smaller 1:64 scale compared to the 1:18 scale modelers, and it’s a shame that the choices are becoming more and more limited. But there are high-quality brands in this smaller scale that have every right to call their products as collectibles rather than toys. The Muscle Machines line surely fit into that former category.