Danbury Mint 1:24 1957 Corvette Roadster- Chip Miller

The anticipation of a particular new release can sometimes act to enhance the review of the actual piece; if you let it. I try hard not to. But it has been difficult waiting for this DM ’57 Vette. I like to do reviews at the very time of their initial examination to try to capture the excitement that a replica inspires. I have also been known to play some background music of the era of the issue and enjoy a glass of wine while I thoroughly look over the model. With this, Danbury’s latest Corvette, no outside stimuli needed to apply. The model speaks for itself; in volumes. It’s a diecast model of Chip Miller’s personal 1957 Corvette. Chip made famous, as its co-founder, “Corvettes at Carlisle” and “Carlisle Events”, a collector car-rich environment in a series of top notch car shows held in central Pennsylvania. Chip lost his battle, last year, with Amyloidosis.

First, I think it appropriate to share an excerpted word from Danbury themselves. It comes from the reverse side of the Certificate of Title. “In honor of Chip’s life and legacy, the Danbury Mint has donated $25,000 to the Chip Miller Charitable Foundation, dedicated to fighting Amyloidosis (the rare plasma cell disorder that claimed Chip and affects 2,000 victims annually). If you’d like to make a personal donation, please visit www.chipmiller.org for more information.” Prior to his death, Chip set this car aside for a benefit auction at last year’s Corvettes at Carlisle but never got to see it sell. Dana Mecum, of Mecum Auctions got caught up in the emotion-filled sale of the car and bought it for $134,000.

DM has previously released some new technology replicas of Corvette C-1’s. Their 1958, 1959 and 1960 roadsters are good examples. Following in that tradition, the ’57 Vette carries the updated tech and adds a dash of authenticity from the historic car itself. Witness; the tags and rear suspension. Vintage Pennsylvania personalized plates are seen front and back. The front reads; “Chip”, while the back reads “1957”. The front has the markings, “1957 Penna”, the date issue of the plate, and both have a perfectly scaled, “Exp 3-31-58” riding on the top edge of the tags. Also authentically replicated are the non-stock issue rear traction bars that Chip’s actual car had mounted on it. DM identified that nuance and nailed it. The car sits perfectly level at exactly the precise ride height and all body pieces line up and fit tightly. The paint, a hard color to match to 1:1, looks spot on to my eyes. Cars painted in Aztec Copper and seen online are varied and not necessarily representative of the color in real life or even, for that matter, the same in different lighting situations. I think DM captured the dramatic color faultlessly. And you know me; I’m a sucker for copper Corvettes. The beige interior and cove insets are a complimentary contrast to the main shade. The up-top, supplied with the model, is a tan, many shades darker than the interior. Speaking of which, DM did a wonderful job of portraying the interior as close to flawless as possible. The dash has astonishing detail with gauge and radio readability, the shift pattern seen on the console, fine detail for the window cranks and door-open slide knobs and the seat and steering wheel spoke patterning. The top tonneau deck opens to reveal a realistic looking and feeling down-top simulation. The doors are on new-tech internal hinges, the fuel filler door opens, antenna extends and the suspension articulates.

In the trunk you will find a removable rubber mat, a simulated wood grained spare tire cover with a “Jack instructions” label and a “Caution” label for the limited slip differential. The cover comes out and so does the spare beneath it. It has a correctly painted copper wheel and a miniature jack mounted on the inside of the wheel. On the rear portion of the trunk is a nicely fashioned Corvette emblem imbedded in the body to match the one on the front of the car between the grille and hood. The taillights are red plastic and the trunk and door locks are separately fabricated pieces, not painted-on simulations. Another nice touch is that the front edges of the twin fender-top mounted scoops, non-functional on the 1:1 car, are separately formed chrome trim pieces. The wipers are photo-etched metal and multidimensional. DM worked their usual magic under the hood. There we find the right complement of new-tech treatment of dated technology. The wiring and fuel lines are evident but a nice surprise is the fabrication of the fuel line coming up from the fuel pump and going into a plastic fuel filter bowl. The DM guys got it the right color to simulate the color of gasoline within the bowl. And of course the hood has a realistic extending prop rod.

There were reports that some of the early production models had problems with finish work but DM has obviously corrected that. This model was not a review piece but a standard off-the-shelf item and is as perfect as I could possibly want it to be. The Thrillometer was thrilled to report a 9.975 and Chip himself would probably have given it the same score. The issue price is $115.

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