Auto World/MPC's Brand New Snap-It General Lee Model Set Is A Great Toy!

Everyone knows I love getting new Dukes products.  This new snap together model kit from Auto World is my favorite new Dukes product in some time.  This may sound contradictory given that my blog is about collectibles, but I love this new product so much because it is not highly collectible.  It is basically a toy.  A very fun and playable toy.  A toy that can be enjoyed by all Dukes fans, especially the new, young ones that are just discovering the show on CMT.

I love my highly detailed Auto World 1/18 General Lee, but at a price tag of north of seventy bucks, it's not for everyone.  The newer 1/43 Gen'ral from AW has an even smaller target audience because it's smaller and costs nearly the same.  Ornaments. coffee mugs, and tin signs are great for us collectors, but there really need to be items geared to kids, and this new model is the perfect product.

You may be thinking, there is already a General Lee model kit, and it has been on the shelf throughout the Modern Age, the Silver Era, the Golden Era of the Dukes of Hazzard, and was even the only product on the shelves during the dark ages of Dukes.  You would be correct, but that model is a skill level 2 and requires paint and glue.

This new model is a skill level 1 and doesn't need anything but a Dukes fan for completion. Let's take a look at the box.

Even on a tiny representation of the decals included, the flag is missing.  But we have to hand it to Auto World, they continue to provide us with exciting new Dukes products while still maintaining Warner Bros' mandate about the flag on the exterior.

The front and smaller sides use the same artwork.  I believe this is new artwork for this model.  It is similar to the art used on several AW releases, but not the same.  It's a nice low angle picture of the General.  Low angles are used more often lately so as not to show the flag.  Just like in Auto Trader's commercial.  

One long side has a great profile shot of the actual product.  This is what your car will look like after it's done, unlike models that require paint and glue and feature a picture on the box of what your car will look like if you are a professional model builder.

The other side has a list of features in three different languages.  The whole world loves the Dukes.

How about we take a step by step look at the process of completing this model, and that sounds fun, right? Step one, open the box.  I will stop that joke right now.

There are a few part trees along with the body, decals and wheels.  For some reason, I got two decal sheets. I'm not sure if everyone does in case they mess up during application, or if I was randomly chosen as a super great terrific Dukes of Hazzard fan.  I'm going with the latter.

Who is the lucky graphic designer out there who gets paid to draw pictures of the General Lee in production?  I envy you.  The 01s look great.

On the inside of the roof on the main body piece is all the WB trademark info.  It gets very specific with the manufacturing location in China.  I love seeing 2014 and Dukes together.

Here are all the pieces before being taken off the trees.

I thought maybe one set of decals was water slide and one standard, but they are both regular old stickers.  I wonder why they are on different color backs.  I also wonder why I got two - probably because of the terrific super fan thing.

I love the inclusion of the tiny CNH-320 plate decal.  Great attention to detail AW!

The vector wheels, roll bar, push bar, CB radio, and antenna are also great attention to detail.  You really knocked this one out of the park AW.

Here is a shot of all the pieces taken off the trees before assembly.  It really isn't that many pieces.

The first step in the instruction is the completion of the interior.  It includes the seats, steering wheels, gear shift, a tiny CB radio, and the roll bar.

Tiny Lost Sheep can use the tiny CB to call Bo Peep, Shepard, or Crazy Cooter.

Next you put together the four wheels.   They each consist of three pieces.  These are great renditions of the vectors.

These look better than the Johnny Lightning's 1/18 wheel.

Step 3 is very easy.  Use the only metal pieces to connect the wheels to the base.

The next step requires a piece that, momentarily, I thought I didn't have.  Then I realized it was orange and found it connected to the inside of the body piece.

The front grill goes together fairly easily.  To me, a Charger, even an orange Charger, doesn't look right without a push bar.

Much better.  Step four of the instructions is now complete.

You then attach the rear lights, bumper, gas cap, and antenna.  You also affix the windshield piece to the inside of the orange body.

The final step in the construction is putting the three pieces, base, interior, and body all together.  I found this to be the hardest step.  But I got them together.  The instructions instruct you to put the decals on as you go, but I waited until last.

Not a bad looking orange charger.  If you saw this rolling down the road you, the wheels and push bar would tell you it was on the way to get Generalized.

The gas cap and antenna are great touches.

On no, it's the dreaded bald General Lee.  The decals are easy to put on, just peel and place.

I put the flag on before the General Lee text.  It seemed easier to place them that way.

Here is the final product.  It looks great.  Sure, it doesn't have the appearance of a real car like a painted detailed model, but it still makes one heck of a great toy.

The wheels roll and it's ready to be played with.

The addition of the plate really stands out.

You get two CNH-320 plates, but I didn't put one on the front.  Some states require it, but good ol' Pennsylvania doesn't make you have a front plate.  The General doesn't look right with one, in my opinion.

Auto World may hide the flag on the box, but you can be assured it's inside.  This car looks great from the top.  The whole process of construction only took me about thirty minutes.  It was a fun thirty minutes.

This Snap-It model kit by MPC/AW is a really fun car.  I can't recommend it high enough to every blog reader.  For less than $20 any Dukes fan can have fun putting the car together and then have a great General Lee to display, play with, jump, or any other fun thing your Dukes oriented mind can think of.  Everyone, go buy this car.

Little Orange Cars

Gearing up the big Dukes festival season of 2013, the organizers of the Louisiana Dukes Event, the Dukes of Hazzard Family Reunion & Car Show, contacted me and asked if I would write an article about collecting for a magazine they release.  I never wrote an article for a magazine before, so I jumped on the opportunity.  They gave me a word limit which I blew past pretty quickly.  The magazine is called Hug, and this particular issue was given out during their event.  I got early prints at the Dukes Fan Fair in Nashville.  I was really pleased with the article and the magazine in general (lee).  I wanted to share it right away, but I figured I would wait until people had a chance to read it in print before it was online.  I think enough time has passed.  Here is my article "Little Orange Cars" from the summer issue of Hug Magazine.

I also have the article as a pdf if reading the jpg above doesn't work out.
Little Orange Cars.pdf

Jeff isn't the only published author around these parts.  Only one on the New York Times Best Seller list, though...for now.  What do you think?

2014 Dukes of Hazzard Calendar, and a look at the older calendars

Dukes of Hazzard New Item Alert!!!  After years of not knowing what day it was because nothing on the wall told us, we finally have a new Dukes Calendar to hang up.  It's a happy day, and 2014 is going to be a happy Dukes-filled year.

Friend of the blog, Brad Miller, picked me up this new release on one of his many trips to Cooter's Place in Nashville.  That lucky son of a gun gets to go there all the time.  He had his preordered and they called him as soon as it arrived.  I'm sure glad I have such great Dukes friends.

This calendar is made by BrownTrout Publishers, Inc.  It consists of several familiar photos that have been used on items such as the Golden Era toy guitars, t-shirts, DVD packages, and posters.  I won't go through and take pictures of each month--- that would spoil the fun.

One of the first things you notice on the cover is the return of the "bald" General Lee.  There is no flag on the roof.  But if you open up the calendar, the images used are unedited and the flag remains.  I am glad they only edited the cover image, if they had to edit something.

The rebel flag (and the General Lee) is still flying inside the calendar.  I look forward to seeing this calendar all year.  I missed having a Dukes calendar.  What's that DukesCollector reader?  You ask if there have been other Dukes calendars and wish I would continue this post showing pictures of them and commenting on each one.  Well, aren't you in luck. That's exactly what I'm going to do.

As with most things Dukes, it all started in the early '80s.  This first Dukes calendar came out during the merchandise boom of the Golden Era in 1981 for the 1982 year.

 Several of the same pictures as the new calendar were used.  It has become a somewhat rare piece, but you can find one if you really look.

For 22 years, there wasn't another Dukes calendar.  The Golden Era came and went and it wasn't until the wee end of the Silver Era that we got another.  Two actually.

In 2003, two different versions of a 2004 Dukes calendar were released.  Both were by the same parent company, Mead, but under separate subsidiaries.   Hometown Graphics Brand released one that was made in China, while Day Dream Brand released one made in the U.S.A.  You would think it would be the other way around.  The American made one cost two dollars more, but it was worth it, for America!  The front and back covers are different, but the insides of each calendar were the same.

The first of the modern Dukes calendars, these started a trend of having a collage of pictures for each month. The more pictures, the better.

In 2004 we saw a similar release with the 2005 calendar.  There was no shying away from the rebel flag nine years ago.  It was original and untouched.

Still made by Mead, the Day Dream Brand won out, and this one was also made in America.

With all of the most-used images being printed in the previous year, this calendar utilized a few less familiar pictures.  I love this one from "Welcome Back Bo 'n' Luke." The boys look very triumphant, and they should. They fought a hard battle, and won.

As the 2005 movie ushered in the Modern Era of Dukes of Hazzard Collectibles, all items shifted to the new theme of movie packaging.  The calendar matched everything else with the red background and silver Z logo. Johnny, Sean, and Jessica adorned the cover of the 2006 calender released in 2005.

That year, Trends International LLC made the calendar under the DateMaker label.  This one was printed in China.

It features collages of mostly promotional photos used for the movie.  Unfortunately, my scene didn't make it into the calendar.

For three years, it was quiet on the Dukes calendar front.  Then in 2008, a General Lee centered 2009 release appeared.  There was no baldness on the General here, as the flag can be seen on the cover.

Again made by Trends International, this calendar did not feature any cast members.  It was all General Lee on this one.

Maybe they used up all of the pictures, and felt they would be releasing the same calendar from previous years or maybe there were permission rights involved, but it was a little weird not seeing Bo and Luke driving, or Daisy smiling at me.  Not even a snicker from Boss Hogg.

2014 is going to be another big year for the Dukes.  The new action figures will be released around the beginning of the year.  We will get a 1/18 Daisy's Plymouth.  There will be great events, and a few surprises too.  Now when we mark our calendars in preparation for these things, we will be marking our official 2014 Dukes of Hazzard Calendar.

If you don't feel like waiting until January to hang it, and I certainly don't, they included the remaining months of this year in the front.  I'm going to hang this thing on the wall right now.