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If enough foresight is applied to picking a popular marque that may yield several forms of “year models” and “body styles”, a diecast maker can have a field day. Enter Danbury Mint at what they do best. This era, of the so-called “shoe box” Ford, has granted DM the opportunity to issue 1949, 1950 and 1951 model years in various configurations. We have custom cars, convertibles, Crestliners, a Victoria Coupe and now this ’49 Custom Tudor Sedan. This image is of the work-a-day standard sedan of yesteryear. Beautiful in its simplicity, it is what my mind’s eye returns to when I conjure up thoughts of the shoe box.
DM has rendered a classically nostalgic piece of US auto history in an everyman’s two-door sedan. Even the color, Seamist Green, is reminiscent of the time. They have kept the car true to form with usage of hub caps instead of wheel covers, ‘three-on-the-tree’ manual transmission and kept the interior color choice broadly appealing in grey. While we’re on the subject of interiors, let’s examine that domain first. DM has done a remarkable job of crafting the door handles, window crank and arm rest. They went a step farther in giving us little scaled door lock buttons and the wind wing latch locks. The dash gauges are extraordinarily fashioned and the shift linkage and turn signal lever on the steering column is spot on. Made from metal they are truly miniaturized. The floor pedals and seat materials help grant us terrific scale detailing. The seat tops and sides are leather and the feel of the seat bottoms is excellent. We have working visors and DM fashioned assist straps on the door posts made from fabric material. The doors, by the way, are on high-tech hinges.
More realism is offered in the way of photo-etched metal wipers, extending antenna and photo-etched chrome letters on the front edge of the hood spelling out, “Ford”. I can’t help but marvel at the way they present script so perfectly scaled. The hub caps read, “Ford” and the front fender side molding reads, “Ford Custom” in lettering so small that you will need a magnifying glass to see it. Ditto for the red “Ford” lettering on the trunk latch. Beneath the trunk lid we find a removable spare tire. The jack can be seen on its perch behind the rear seat. The engine bay is full of the DM modeler’s artwork. Miniature wires live here in concert with small hoses and fittings and all labels are perfectly scaled. The chassis looks period correct and carries a working suspension.
With DM exercising full utilization of the ’49 through ’51 shoe box, we collectors get the benefit of multiple images. I, for one, am grateful for this Tudor.
(12/30/2006)
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