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Ford's Falcon holds bittersweet memories for me. In the summer of '65, just before I went into the Army and my all expenses paid year in Sunny Southeast Asia, a friend and I cruised the Jersey Shore at Point Pleasant in his 1963 Falcon convertible, listening to the strains of Summer in the City. (Sure, a 'Vette would have been cooler but the Falcon was at least a drop-top and it also had a back seat.)
FM's Australian version of Ford's first-year 1960 economy car is the one to get. Done in red, with a white top, the general appearance is much nicer looking than the ho-hum all white American issue. Features include a fully wired engine, tilting front seat backs, and an accurate trunk liner (spare tire included). The wheels look out of scale but are accurate 1:24 representations of the original thirteen-inch hardware. The plastic used for the windows is clear, with none of the haze evident on some FM releases. (NOTE: though intended for Australia, FM goofed by not putting the first-release models' steering wheels on the right. It remains to be seen if future releases correct this. Meanwhile, it's a coup for enthusiasts.)
While a Falcon model may not raise the pulse-rates of many collectors, this one's a keeper. And it definitely looks sharp sitting on the shelf. The issue price is $90.
(01/24/1999)
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