Well would you look at this. Johnny Lightning snuck a General Lee onto the market! This is the brand new (just released this week) Barn Finds Lost Legends 1969 Dodge Charger. That's the official name, but we all know it as General Lee! Anyone else read that like Johnny Cash sang it in the General Lee song? You know I love new Dukes products, even if they aren't officially Dukes products. Let's dive in and take a look at the newest Dukes 1/164!
I grabbed two so I could keep one in the package and really examine the other. Let's start by seeing just how close to a Gen'ral this new JL is.
Not only do you get the car, you also get a barn! That's a new one to me, but very cool. It does not resemble anything we've seen on Uncle Jesse's farm, but I think the theme of this car isn't to represent an actual dirty General Lee in the fictional Hazzard County, but a replica that has seen better days and was lost in an old barn. You know, a barn find.
So does it just resemble a General Lee, but is mostly an orange Charger? Nope, this is definitely nothing but a General Lee. If you look closely, and I have a closer picture below, there is even remnants of the 01s on the door. All the marks are checked. The vector wheels, the push bar, it's all here. It just seems the car had decals that didn't last and chipped away.
There is no question that those are the remains of once proud 01s. This is a very cool 1/64. There is even a roll cage inside!
Both sides have 01 fragments. I was wondering if the side you couldn't see when the car is still in the package would have more 01, but they are both about the same.
The wheels are great. They are probably the best representation of vector wheels ever produced in 1/64 scale. Do they look familiar? More on that below.
The push bar is also dead on. It is the later season wider push bar and JL nailed it. If this car didn't have the push bar and vector wheels, it might only resemble a General Lee and just be a fun 1/64, but those additions make this 100% a Barn Find General Lee.
The package is a lot of fun. There are Dukes hints all over it.
Come on, this is all of our dream. To stumble upon a once glorious General Lee just waiting to be brought back. Johnny Lightning got it so right, "Oh, one can imagine." It's actually another Dukes reference, Oh, one - 01!
The line is called Barn Finds Lost Legends. The General Lee is a legend without question.
The car features a die-cast metal body and chassis and the effects replicate years of neglect. Who could possible neglect the General Lee?!?
This quote says "once a showstopper, this dilapidated 1969 Dodge Charger has left its history of glitz and glory in the dust. A good restoration could return it to the spotlight." It also mentions a real life barn find of a Charger Daytona that sold for $90K at auction. I know of few General Lees that sold for more than that.
Also included in this line is a 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback, that happens to be from the movie Bullet. Another legend for sure. Johnny Lightning has a history of these types of hidden star cars. They released Hogg's Hellcat in their standard Forever 64 line in 2011 and other cars like Joker's goon car and cars from Deathproof have been added to lines with no mention of their properties on the package.
There is no mention of Warner Bros. at all on the package. It's not officially a Dukes of Hazzard product, but we know it's a Dukes of Hazzard product.
The included barn is made of resin and is pretty heavy. It has a very nice paint job and would look great displayed behind 1/64 cars.
Only one side is detailed and it is built to be against a wall. It stands freely.
You know I couldn't blog about this new product and not dig into the collection to pull out a car for comparison.
The best General Lee ever produced in 1/64 scale is the Johnny Lightning Dukes of Hazzard series 3 General Lee. It is also the inspiration for the Barn Find Dodge Charger. All of the details that made that car perfect are carried over to the new JL. The 01 remnants are lined up perfectly with the above car. The wheels are the same and so is the push bar. The paint is also the same. The only difference is the added patina and the lack of the majority of the 01s. I think the wheels actually look better on the barn find. They were a little too shiny on the series 3 Gen'ral and the mud tones them down.
The perfect General Lee and the General Lee that time forgot. There is no evidence of the flag or the General Lee text. The roof is empty except for the dirt. It wouldn't take Cooter very long to get this car back to its former glory. Oh wait, this car doesn't belong in the fictional world of Hazzard County, but it represents a replica in our world. So...it wouldn't take Richie Alligood long to get this car back to its former glory.
The bottom of the car a has the same markings as previous JL Chargers.
It uses the same tooling as other cars and this mold was first used in 2000. It has a production date of November 1, 2018 stamped on it, as well as 2018 Tomy information. Seeing that this has markings of 2018 on it and knowing that it came out in 2019 makes me wonder how many original golden era Dukes items that are marked 1981 actually came out in later years. I bet quite a few.
I picked this car up from an online retailer. Some others still have it as a pre-order. I hope it will also be sold in stores like Wal-Mart and Target. This car needs to be everywhere to remind people how much they love the General Lee and the Dukes of Hazzard. Hopefully it sells like wildfire and shows Warner Bros. that we want new Dukes toys! Do you hear us WB?! Release the Dukes!!! I'm really happy Johnny Lightning is still supporting the Dukes of Hazzard, even without WB's support. Let's hope they get the support soon and more Dukes stuff hits the shelves. You should definitely add this car to your collection.
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