Welcome to Hot Sixty 4th in which I show off my DLM 1/64 and smaller and sometimes larger collections. On my 210th post is the M2 Auto-Haulers 1957 Mack Model N with the 1971 Nissan Skyline GT-R release S33.
M2 has already made several of these tractor and box trailer with mostly vintage artwork ranging from soda pop to car accessories. I enjoyed these vintage artwork as they either bring back memories of years gone by or those that I’ve never seen before. And I like that these are not shrunk to 3" packaging but represent close to their 1/64 scale. And not too long ago, these rigs now includes a 1/64 scale car or pickup truck inside the box trailer. But then I have to limit myself to these due to their size and space issue. And don’t we all wished we have a house with a big room dedicated to our collections with no space constraint? Due to this situation I have to be choosy on what I would purchase.
So when I first saw this on the web for the very first time as a promo of models to arrive soon in your retail or hobby stores, I was hooked on the artwork and of course the car that came with this, the one and only Hakosuka.
Let’s take a closer look at the 1957 Mack.
Based on the Model N, I was not aware that M2 made the Mack COE as I mistakenly thought this was the existing Ford C-600 casting as both are almost similar in appearance.
The detail and look of the model is pretty decent for M2 with individual parts but no opening which is the norm for these.
According to M2's Facebook, this is decorated in a vintage Yokohama Tire livery with the old school Yokohama “Smile Drive” graphic & cool G.T. Special tire logo.
The box trailer and double doors are made of plastic and does have opening feature which does add play value. Just don’t let kids play with it as it might break. The chassis is made of metal. Rubber tires and nice white lettering on both the tractor and trailer is a plus.
Now it’s time to take a closer look at the Nissan Skyline.
Like the Auto-Haulers, M2 has already done a ton of the ‘71 Skyline in numerous liveries and I’ve read that some collectors are beginning to complain that M2 is milking this casting to death. Being a new fan of this casting, I’ve collected a significant number if not all of the Skylines that M2 has ever made and I’m not complaining except if there are QC issues.
The livery on this is definitely one of my favorites. When M2 includes a casting with their Auto-haulers series, they would usually eliminate any opening features on their existing casting and include a plastic chassis based on their less expensive M2 Driver series but surprisingly they did not go cheap on this one as it still retains the opening hood and metal chassis. In other words it is given the full treatment just like when getting their Auto-Japan series. My only complain is the excess plastic seen on the taillights which were probably not cleanly cut from the sprue.
For those that wished that M2 used a Japanese truck to compliment the Nissan casting and you can’t wait, there is a Hino tractor by Tomica Limited Vintage Neo which might work with this trailer as well.
One last thing. I was glad I bought 2 of these as I don’t have much confidence with M2 quality and when I opened one of them to inspect it was already missing the Skyline which was the main reason for this purchase.