1/43 General Lee Resin Replica from Auto World

At long last, the new Auto World 1/43 General Lee resin replica is out!  To celebrate, I took a billion pictures.

Auto World was told by Warner Brothers not to show the rebel flag on the outside of their Dukes of Hazzard packages, as was anyone currently producing Dukes products.  Their first attempt at adding a temporary orange stick over the flag seems to have brought them unwanted criticism.  People thought they committed an egregious act by removing the flag.  Auto World respects the General Lee too much to ever do that.  All of their releases since have had a sealed box with a side shot of the Gen'ral.  No reason to suspect the flag isn't there.  Good thinking.

The box for the 1/43 has the design we know and love.  It has the familiar pictures of the General on the sides.

It has the newer red Auto World stripe that was also on the 1/18 Plymouth and the slot cars.

Inside the box is another box that you can use to display the General in if you choose to look at the actual car.  I like that AW gives you options.

The back of the internal box is similar to the back of the external box, but it has the Silver Screens Machines logo on it.  It also says "1/43 Scale Resin Replica" where the external has that on the front.

The car comes with a display case and base.  This is my third 1/43 car and they all have cases.  It must be the norm with this scale car.

Like the other ones, the base is also labeled.

The car is very detailed.  It has an antenna and windshield wipers.  It lives up to the Auto World standard set by the king of Dukes replicas, the AW 1/18 General Lee.

Unlike diecast replicas, resin cars do not have moving parts like opening hoods.  The wheels barely move on this car.  It is surely a replica and not a toy.

The flag and text look great.

The interior is surprisingly detailed for a car of this size.  You can see details in the instrument panels and seat belts.  The roll bar looks great too.  

The wheels are also nearly perfect.  These are the best the General Lee wheels look and any replica beside the AW 1/18.

 

The bottom of the car has some detail along with 2013 copyright information for Warner Bros. and Round 2.  I wonder why it has 2013 and not 2014.  Maybe it has to do with when the was approved.

I've been waiting to take this picture since I received the other two, non-licensed, 1/43 scale resin Dukes of Hazzard vehicles.  The set is complete not.  These three cars look great together.  They were made to be together, by three different, seemingly foreign companies.

This makes me wish I had a 1/43 resin Boar's Nest to set up behind the cars.

The license plates all look correct, but the General is a little yellower.  But that is as consistent as they were on the show.   If Auto World or some random foreign company would like to add the Dukes 1/43 collection, we still need Daisy's Jeep, Uncle Jesse's Pickup, and Cooter's Tow Truck.  Come on world, we can do this.

It is a shame that the three cars are in such different boxes.  They don't look right displayed together in the box.  The Rosco display case is only slightly smaller than the General's, but the Caddy is way too big.  Much better to display them out of the box together.

I had to compare the two Auto World replicas.  This is the 1/18 and the new 1/43.

The wheels look great on both.  The 1/43 might even look a little better.

The 01s on both also look great.

The CNH-320 plate looks the same on both.

It seems maybe AW listened to my complaining about the rebel flag front plate.  It is a staple on tribute General Lees, but it wasn't used on the show.  Good move AW not including it.

The flags and text match on the two cars.

I love doing these kind pictures.  This is the most detailed car in each scale.

We have the AW 1/18 in the back, the Danbury Mint 1/24 General Lee, the 1/36 Corgi General Lee, the new 1/43 from AW, Johnny Lightning's Dukes of Hazzard Series 3 1/64 General Lee, and the Racing Champion 1/144 General Lee.  All of these cars are diecast except the new 1/43.

These shots are fun to take and play with.  I love having so many General Lees.

The new Auto World 1/43 is only slightly smaller than the Corgi 1/36.  

But the level of detail is worlds apart.  The AW blows the Corgi out of the water, or off the dirt road.

The Danbury Mint General is similar to the new 1/43, but has all the nice moving parts that the AW doesn't.  The decals on the AW look better.

These are the three highly detailed General Lee replicas.  The two by AW and the Danbury Mint.  They are the best General Lee replicas you can buy.

Auto World's recent line of Dukes of Hazzard Silver Screen Machines is impressive.  The 1/43 resin General Lee joins the assortment of slot car General Lees, the 1/18 Daisy Duke Plymouth, and the 1/18 Lee.  The Hazzard County Pursuit Police Car is due to be released in a couple of weeks and will join the line.   I told you I took a lot of pictures.

Our friend Kevin Clark took his photography and design talent to the three Dukes 1/43 cars and sent me this very cool advertisement.  This shot looks professional, thanks Kevin!

The Dukes Set Through the Eyes of a Young Fan

The Internet provides fun ways of meeting people and hearing new stories.  Lauren Rultey tweeted this picture of Cooter and her during filming of the Dukes of Hazzard.  I contacted her on Twitter and asked the story behind the picture.  We talked a little and she agreed to be interviewed for the DukesCollector readers about her time on set. This is fun, my first interview.  Please enjoy.

How did you get on set?

Well, I’m not sure I am supposed to really say this because we did have highly unusual access to the people on set (and a few other sets at Warner Brothers including Falcon Crest). In general, a close family member worked with some people on the business side of WB. The Dukes was the only show that had active filming going on that day.

Were you a fan of the show then?

Heck yeah! What 3^rd grader wasn't? (I might have been in 4^th grade. We can’t remember. I was around 8 or 9 years old.)

Was it a special occasion?

We took a family vacation from Maryland to California, and this was one of our stops.

Who all did you interact with on set?

We interacted with the production crew quite a bit. They were great, and some of the prop staff showed me some cool stuff related to the cars. As far as actors go, we interacted with Coy (Byron Cherry), Vance (Christopher Mayer), Cooter (Ben Jones), Enos (Sonny Shroyer), Cletus (Rich Hurst), Rosco (James Best), and Boss Hogg (Sorrell Booke). I’m pretty sure my Dad was disappointed Daisy wasn’t there that day. Coy and Vance shook hands with me! And then afterwards, Boss Hogg asked us to stay and watch them film a scene with him in the Cadillac, and then he’d take us around the lot. Enos, Cooter and Boss Hogg were the ones who were the friendliest with us, and who made an extra effort to talk. It seemed like it was fun for them to meet us. I think they were told what a fan I was, which seemed to add to the experience.

Did you get to talk to Boss Hogg? I'd always heard he loved to stay in character around kids. Did you get to see that?

We sure did. I don’t remember being introduced to him, but I do recall that we were inside and watched one of his scenes. It was a standard close-up shot of him driving, talking on the radio, complaining about the Dukes. 

The crew explained and showed us how they made it look like the car was actually moving. Pretty low-tech stuff - they had a bunch of men with lumber angled under the car, manually rocking it back and forth gently while Boss Hogg was sitting in it pretending to drive. They did a few takes, and then did a few more without the car rocking, just for audio purposes.

Then we got to ride in a golf cart around WB with Boss Hogg giving commentary about everything we saw. Being the perfect age for this, I got to sit next to him as he drove. My parents were in another golf cart behind us. 

It’s funny what details stick with me 3 decades later. I remember that Boss Hogg gave me a bag of corn nuts. Perhaps it jumps out in my mind because a) he’s cool and gave me something and b) I hated them and have not eaten corn nuts since. He was probably in character with me, although I really didn't notice anything unusual at the time. To me, he wasn't Sorrell Booke, he was Boss Hogg. So it was normal to me that he talked kinda loud with a “silly” accent (sorry, I’m from Maryland) and started nagging Cooter when we drove up to his garage. But yeah, thinking back now, he was in character and was showing off for me.

Did you have a chance to see the General on set?

Nope.

Any stunt work?

Nope.

What episode did you see filmed?

Lawman of the Year

What was it like watching the episode?

My parents and I were really excited to watch the episode. We couldn't believe how many weeks (or was it months?) we had to wait to see it on TV, though. But we kept checking the TV guide for the listing and were excited to watch. We had the script they gave us and kept checking against it to see when “our scene” was coming up. We were excited to watch it, but our excitement overshadowed the entire episode. I really don’t think we noticed the story, we were too busy cheering and talking about all the nice people we met. And we were just so excited when we heard Boss Hogg recite his lines that we knew by heart by then, and disappointed that it ended up being about 30 seconds of TV time when it took much longer to film.

Have you continued to be a fan of the Dukes?

I have very positive nostalgic memories of that trip, and get a big smile whenever someone talks about the show. I think it is one reason why I briefly worked in entertainment & the media because it left such a lasting impression on me. I will always be a fan, although I don’t watch reruns. I actually don’t watch much television anymore. But if I did, I’d watch the Dukes. I love hot rods and I love car chases. Come to think of it, I’m now considering buying a copy of Lawman of the Year on Amazon to watch tonight!

Thank you so much Lauren for sharing your story with us.  I don't think I've ever had a corn nut, but I'd eat 'em if Boss Hogg gave them to me.  It sounds like you had a wonderful experience.  I'm sure jealous.  You can follow Lauren on Twitter @LaurenFaith or visit her facebook page.  Be sure to thank her for the great story.  

Holiest of Holy Grails: Dukes of Hazzard Children's Tennis Shoes

Holy Grails, the pencil cup, the rain coat, the shelf, the sidewalk bike, the bath mat.  I have been fortunate enough to add all of these items to the collection over the last couple of years since I started this blog.  It seems before the blog got rolling, these items were pipe dreams.  Maybe I've stepped it up since starting the blog, maybe I've just been lucky, perhaps the notoriety has added to my good fortune.  I have really added great entries to the collection.  In my opinion, the pinnacle of commercially produced, Golden Era Dukes of Hazzard collectibles, A number one, top of the list, king of the hill piece is the Children's Tennis Shoes.
These little town blues melted away recently when I added a pristine pair of Dukes shoes to my collection. These truly are the holiest of holy grails.

Like other scarce items such as the bicycle and bath mat, if the shoes were used, it is in their nature not to last.  This particular pair was never even tried on.  The individual shoes are still coupled together with plastic wire.  The colors are so vibrant and they are so flawless, they look brand new.

It surprises me that they are blue with orange accents, and not orange like the General Lee.

The General Lee is clearly the subject of the shoes, not the Duke Boys or Daisy.  These seem like they could be worn by either Good Ol' Boys or Good Ol' Girls.

The liner of the shoes is printed with "The Dukes of Hazzard" repeating throughout the entire inside.  That is a very nice added touch.  I would love to surround my feet with such wonderful words.

If the side of your shoes feature 01s, the tongue should feature the confederate flag.  It's only natural.  It also includes the title and WB's copyright information 1982.

This particular pair of shoes is size 1½ .  In my mind it's size 01½.  That printing on the sole would have been worn off in about a day.

These pristine shoes still have the tag attached to the wire between them.  The tag has a great drawing of the General jumping with the flag behind it.

The back of the tag doubles as an Identification Card.  Dukes footwear enthusiasts are encouraged to jot down their name, address, and phone number in case they forget this pertinent information.

The bottom of the shoes even has an embossed scene of the General Lee jumping over two crashing Hazzard County patrol cars.  I bet they left awesome prints in the dirt.  Imagine if I saw these prints on the ground today.  I'm not sure what I would do.

The heel includes the standard text logo.

This is a lot of detail for the bottom of a shoe.  I'm sure this picture wore out pretty quickly when these shoes were worn as well.

The back of the tongue has a confusing tag.  I'm not sure what S.C.A.I. stands for, but these shoes, referred to here as "Dukes TM" are manufactured to the exact specifications of it.  The "Dukes TM" name and side configurations are indications that the product is of highest quality.  I feel the Dukes name indicates highest quality on everything produced, except that horrible "Beginnings" movie.

Like most shoes, the Dukes shoes came in a shoebox.  This pair came with its original shoebox and it is in great condition.  It features artwork of the General flying in front of the flag.  It is the same image on the tag, but positioned differently.

The top of the box has an image of the top of Rosco's car.  In case you wanted to carry your new shoes home, or perhaps re-purpose your shoebox, the lightbar on top of the police car is popped out with a plastic strap that can be used as a handle.  This is a unique and unexpected feature.  The actual piece of cut out cardboard with the print of the lightbar is still in the box.

The bottom of the box features more of the artwork where the police car came from.  It also feature Boss's Caddy and a piece of the General and Dixie.  It is strange how this shot isn't cropped to show the whole scene.

Each side of the box is the same.  It has the flag, logo, stock number and a sticker for the shoe size.  The color is printed as R. Blue/Orange.  I bet the R stands for Royal.

When the shoes were shipped to the store, they were wrapped in Dukes of Hazzard printed tissue paper. This pair of shoes still has this paper in the box.  This might be the most delicate addition to the collection.  I can't believe I'm so happy to have tissue paper.  This is the complete package.

I found this 1/18 car case laying around.  It makes a great display for the shoes.  I think I'll keep them in there for a while.

In this picture we have three incredibly rare Dukes of Hazzard items.  They are all from the Golden Era and are all recent additions to the collection that I probably wouldn't have acquired if it wasn't for this blog. Thanks DukesCollector!!!