Back in early 2008, the Danbury Mint was looking for another car to add to their already impressive collection of highly detailed 1/24th scale die cast models. They were interested in making a model based on my Sunflower Yellow 58 Plymouth ! I had earlier purchased their 1957 Chrysler 300C convertible and was impressed not only by the level of accuracy, but also by the working steering linkage, doors and trunk lid.

The email from the Mint said that they had seen pictures of the Plymouth on my website, The Finland Gazette (http://home.comcast.net/~ronbo97), and wanted to photograph it for possible model creation. They already had the body shell from their very popular 58 Fury and ‘Christine’ models, so they were going to reuse that shell for a third 58 Plymouth model. After gaining assurance that this wasn’t a scam, and that they really were from the Danbury Mint, a date was arrived at that would work for me as well as the rep from Danbury and their photographer.

Over an hour was spent photographing the car from every angle, using a sizing stick to make sure that the scale was retained as they scaled it down to 1/24th size. There was a lot of time spent on the interior and the engine, as those would have to be made special for this model. I was asked to keep this quiet until the project had been approved and the model had been produced.

Because of overseas production difficulties, creation of the first prototype was delayed until the December 2008.

I got to see a subsequent prototype in March 2009. They asked me to identify any problems that I noticed with the model. I was already aware that they were going with the Power Pak (4 bbl carburetor) with dual exhaust for the 318 engine. My car has a 2 bbl carb with single exhaust. I wrote up a page of discrepancies, which they appreciated and sought to correct before the final models were created.

The June 2009 production release was a happy occasion for me. It was gratifying to see that my twelve year restoration project had been given some recognition.

Pictures: First pic shows photographer from Danbury Mint using a 'sizing stick' to assure accuracy when they scale the car down to 1/24th size.Second pic shows first prototype. Note incorrect color of package shelf. In the production model, it's been changed to black. Also the color is a bit off. The production model has corrected this.

Edited by ronbo97 2009-05-30 9:51 AM

(Photog with Sizing Stick small.jpg)

(DM Yellow Plymouth - Rear smaller.jpg)

Photog with Sizing Stick small.jpg (260KB - 97 downloads)

DM Yellow Plymouth - Rear smaller.jpg (140KB - 82 downloads)

I received the production version of the car on Saturday. Just about all of the issues I identified on the prototype sample have been resolved. They even changed the air cleaner to resemble the 2bbl version. So this is a really good example of 58 Belvedere for fussy folks like me. It was great working with the folks from Danbury.

Anth61: Is your yellow Belvedere also a 2dr HT ? Please post more pics.

Edited by ronbo97 2009-05-31 11:48 PM

Someone asked for pics of the full size version. Here they are.

(Ply Front x-small.jpg)

(Ply Side View x-small.jpg)

Ply Front x-small.jpg (264KB - 83 downloads)

Ply Side View x-small.jpg (281KB - 79 downloads)