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Recently, FM, probably owing to its successes with its Richard Petty collection of racecars, and bowing to customer demand for NASCAR collectibles, began offering the Team Caliber series of die cast images. Offered in the “Dark Chrome” and “Owner” series ($90 and $79 respectively), just what do you get for your collector dollar? You get a decent die cast image, that’s what.
Basically, when you pick up one of the many different images and look carefully at the undercarriage, the cockpit, and in the trunk, you see pretty much the same layout. This owes to the uniformity mandated by NASCAR. The only real difference lies under the hood, where the engine is of the manufacturer whose name is on the front of the car.
Feature-wise, these images don’t stint on the goodies. All the tiny details reflect the modifications made on these racing “stock” cars. They have fully operational suspensions, for starters. Under the hood, the engine is nicely detailed, revealing all the NASCAR racing mods. The same goes for the trunk. The car comes with a snap-in side window but has a driver’s side net that unhooks from the top and folds down to reveal a technically accurate NASCAR interior. The images even have two deployable roof vent flaps. The paint job is well done, displaying the bright paint and clutter of sponsor adverts to a tee. Oh, and don’t forget the driver’s number, prominently displayed on the roof and doors. You can get the cars in regular livery (Owner series), or in dark chrome livery (Dark Chrome series). Not being a NASCAR collector, I prefer the regular paint scheme as more authentic. Team Caliber images aren’t cheap-jack knockoffs, made to capitalize on collector demand. You get a finely crafted, museum-quality piece, second to none.
NASCAR’s rules and regs have made the cars that run on its tracks into standardized vehicles designed not only for speed, but also for safety. With running gear so similar, the races that thrill NASCAR fans are true tests of driving ability.
(08/06/2003)
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