This is the second of my Lights, Camera series in which I review models related to either movie or TV. The first one was the Bullitt 4 car Reel can set. This time I will be reviewing Greenlight’s Dodge Monaco with police livery used in the Blues Brothers movie. I’ve previously watched this movie a long time ago and loved the car chase scenes but wasn’t crazy about the story nor the cars at all. When Greenlight issued the cars in 1/64 either individually or as a 4 car Reel can set like Bullitt, I wasn’t even aware nor was I looking for them. One day while browsing at ToysRus, I saw they had several of the Blues Brothers Monacos in 1/43 scale. Curiously I looked at the ‘74 Blues mobile and within minutes I decided to include this in my collection.
So the 1/43 scaled comes in an acrylic display box with a cardboard box depicting the image of the 2 stars of the Blues Brothers on the front. The back of the cardboard box shows the 2 actors with their Blues mobile and a brief description about the movie.
So what’s up with the fading paint and missing tampos? Is this a QC (Quality Control) issue? Actually that type of look is what attracted me to this car. Greenlight intentionally did the weathered look of this police car just like in the movie. This is the thing that gives you inspiration to do a custom. Even the front tag looks like it has dirt or scratches on it. The Front lights are molded with the grill and bumper but still look realistic enough. It also has the push bumper which are used by many police cars. The side comes with a side mirror and a spotlight which are separate parts.
I was surprised when I got it out of the box and it was missing the back glass. I wondered if this was actually a QC issue. A goggle search tells me that this was how it was made as it depicts the car when it was shot at. Also makes it a lot easier to look at the interior and the detail was not bad. The Dodge name was painted on and missing the ‘D’ in the middle. The tag also has the dirt and scratch look. The rear lights are separate piece from the bumper.
I also like how they showed the dusty look on the lower part of the body and on the wheel itself. The turn signal although molded with the body and painted still has that realistic look. There are no quality issue to report so I give this a 5 out of 5.
So here we have the ‘75 Dodge Monaco police which in the movie was pursuing the Blues mobile. In fact there were a lot of them. I could have purchase a few of them and come up with a Blues Brothers diorama but decided one is enough. In fact when I bought the Blues mobile I originally did not include this model as it looks just like the other one although it is supposed to be one year newer and cleaner. But as the saying goes,’You can’t have one without the other’ or something like that. So I went back a day later and grab it as well. Just like the ‘74 Dodge, it comes in acrylic display case with identical artwork on the cardboard.
Nicely detailed. The difference between this and the Blues mobile besides being newer and cleaner looking is it comes with 2 police lights and a speaker siren. The Front lights are molded with the grill and bumper but still look realistic enough. The Dodge name on the front is painted on.
The side also comes with a side mirror and a spotlight which are separate parts.
Unlike the Blue mobile the rear comes with back glass. The tags are clean and clear. The rear lights are separate piece from the bumper.
The wheels on this did not come with hubcaps while the 1/64 scale did. Whether it did or did not in the movie I don’t remember as it has been a long time ago. The turn signal although molded with the body and painted still has that realistic look. There are no quality issue to report so I give this a 5 out of 5. Great job Greenlight.
Just FYI both models did not come with opening features.
The final picture shows the 2 Monacos head to head. With the Blues mobile having the push bumper, it might just win a head to head collision.