Ain't No Hyundai: Greenlight's 1/43 Fast & Furious Series, Part 3

We've reached the last one. The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX from Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift. Perhaps the most unique of them all, it's also my favorite. Why? Because of the environment and culture depicted in the movie. Instead of the same old barren deserts or quiet downtown districts that we see in every other movie, we get bright lights in a big city, where people play soccer on the rooftops of skyrise buildings. Instead of straight-line racing, we get sideways action.

Oh, and the cars. Definitely the cars. I've already professed my love for Japanese cars before, and there's more than enough of that in the movie. If any of the diecast companies out there want to make replicas of all of the cars from Tokyo Drift, be my guest. There's probably at least a hundred unique ones that we see, and I'd gladly buy all of them. Today, we get the protagonist's main car. This is the car in which Sean masters the art of drifting, turning him from the butt of a joke to the top racer in Japan.

This is one of the more recent releases from Greenlight, and it shows. In terms of accuracy and detail, it's better than the Eclipse and Skyline I showed a few days ago. From my eyes, the only thing missing is a front splitter. Without it, the front chin looks a little awkward. Otherwise, this just might be the best replica of the movie car you can find out there.

So, if you haven't already, will you be collecting this series? From what I know, Greenlight isn't planning to stop anytime soon. There will be many more models coming in the future, some of which I can't wait to get my hands on. Hopefully. If I do, you will surely see them here on the blog!

Gallo 12 or Gallo 24? Greenlight's 1/43 F&F Series, Part 2

Neither.

I love 2 Fast 2 Furious, the second movie in the series. It's by far the funniest, the most suspenseful, and has the baddest villain of the franchise. And it doesn't need Dominic Toretto to perform his ridiculous superhero-like acts to make it good. The most memorable car from that movie? This one right here.

It's the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34. Instantly recognizable just by the blue gradient striping on the side. For a car that barely received any screen time, it sure has become one of the most popular cars of the franchise. If I had a dollar for every time I see someone replicate this car in Need For Speed, I'd have enough money to buy the real one. But for now, I'll settle with this miniature.

Of the three models I have, this one is my favorite. Ironically, it's also the most inaccurate. Take a look at the stripes on this model and the way they're angled. Then, find an image on google of the movie car, and you'll see that Greenlight did this one totally wrong. Yet, my eyes still dart towards this one every time I look towards my diecast shelf. Maybe it's the Skyline fanboy in me. Maybe it's the catchy livery. Or maybe it's just that this is such a great looking piece regardless of accuracy.

As usual, Greenlight knocks it out of the park with the details. The license plate is there. The aftermarket decals are there. There are even slotted rotors with red brake calipers. OK, maybe the rear wing is a little crooked, but I can forgive that. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Tuna, No Crust: Greenlight's 1/43 F&F Series, Part 1

Long story short, I'm a fan of the Fast & Furious franchise. Say what you want about the movies, the actors, and the cars, but there hasn't been any movie, ever, that's meant so much to the automotive community than F&F. In particular, it's influenced tuner culture like no other. As distasteful as some of the cars may be by today's standards, we need to remember that there was once a time for all of that. Fashions, trends, tastes, and styles come and go, and I'm sure many of you who were kids or young adults during the early F&F years wanted cars like these.

I got into these movies rather late, so I can't vouch for everyone's experiences and memories, but I can still appreciate the cars. They're flashy, excessive, and ridiculous, but ultimately iconic and nostalgic. And today, I have three of them to show. One from the first movie, one from the second, and one from the third. One car per day, how's that sound?

This is Brian O'Connor's Mitsubishi Eclipse from The Fast & The Furious, the car we see him use in the beginning of the movie before it gets blown up by Johnny Tran and his buddies. O'Connor didn't seem to be bothered by losing his car, but I guess he could never beat Toretto with this car anyways. I definitely think the tuner cars in the F&F franchise are the most iconic, and this one probably ranks second behind the Supra from the same movie. To this day, I still have no idea what the graphic on the side is supposed to represent. Whatever it is, this is the car I picture in my head every time I see an Eclipse on the road.

Greenlight does a fantastic job with these Fast & Furious cars. Some of them aren't 100% accurate to the source material, but I love the detail that they include at this price point. They retail for around $20 each, which is a bit more expensive that I would like to spend on any diecast, but in context, it's about half of what a high-end 1/43 scale piece costs. While these don't have some of the amenities of a high-end 1/43, such as photo-etch badging, plastic inserts for the grilles, and brake calipers, they're more than enough to satisfy the casual F&F fan.

Part 2 coming tomorrow!