Hot Wheels did it. Matchbox came up with their own. However according to Sean Taylor, the designer at M2 Machines that this specific casting has not been done in 1/24 at all. So he set out to do one.
When Sean showed a 3d prototype of a 2 door 1/24 Datsun 510 on Youtube a few months ago, I was definitely excited as I love this casting. The question now is when will this be coming out?
Thanks to Plasticprints, I was able to acquired both the blue and the Advan version which somehow never showed up at our Walmart at all.
The Datsun 510 in 1/24
First let’s take a look at how well did M2 recreate the 510 in 1/24. The blue version has the white stripe underneath with the Datsun name printed on it. The side looks good with realistic looking tires and wheels. Nice white lettering of the ‘Yokohama’ and ‘Advan’. The front turn signal and the Datsun name is painted on. The door handle is a separate part. The side window is close so opening the front door does take some effort. I’m being nik picky on this but I did notice, as most collectors had complained about door gaps on 1/64 M2 castings, that this door as shown on the first picture has a slightly wider gap on the top half.
I don’t know if it’s the molding process but a closer look at the wraparound rear (including the front) bumper has a sort of raised line in the middle.
The front looks pretty good and I love the Datsun logo on the license plate holder.
The hood is painted matte black and does open to reveal the engine.
The rear looks nice and even has opening trunk unlike the 1/64. However I am not sure why the cargo space is made smaller than the real thing.
The interior looks nice, comes with roll bars and the door opens like how a real car does.
The chassis is made of metal and with good detail as well.
Even though M2 is known for some quality control issues, I will give credit where credit is due and this blue version looks pretty solid and the wheels roll fine without any wobbly issue.
Hope to post the ‘Advan’ livery soon.