This was a really hard choice for me. Maisto’s classic American cars are great for the price, but I also have many choices of American 1/64. For those of you who don’t know, I have a true 1/64 diorama, and since I live in America, true 1/64 is American cars. So many AW, M2, JL, etc. to choose from. So I went with my only HW 100%.
So I decided to go with the classy 1932 Duesenberg SJ. When you think of American cars, it conjures up pictures of unrefined brutes with large power outputs from a million liter V8 or V10.
This is just that car. Well, except the unrefined part. The supercharged 6.9 liter straight-eight produces a whopping 320hp. That may sound sarcastic, but it really isn’t. A Cadillac V-16 (twice the cylinders) from that time produced 165hp (half the power). And the numbers show it: 0-60 in ~8 seconds and 0-100 in 17 seconds (!!!). Top speed? Between 135 and 140 mph.
Hot Wheels replicated that engine in stunning fashion, especially when you consider this is 1/64.
Paintwork is overall crisp and clean, with only minor blurring, which is pretty good considering the 2-tone paint.
The badge is bent, but what is more impressive is how well it is done.
What is more stunning is the interior. If you look close, you can see the dials! No, they’re not painted, but it is 1/64. The steering wheels is “metal” and “wood”.
I also love the plate on the back. Just a little detail they didn’t have to do, but did it anyways.
While it may seem disproportionately thin, it is scale correct. The car’s just big.
My only complaint is the wheels. They’re clear plastic surrounded by rubber, with the spokes printed on.
The best part? This car was free. Sort of. My neighbor (the one who gives me all my RedLines) gave it to me because I did “an extra good job mowing”. On eBay, these go for around $7, which I still consider a steal for what you get.