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Top 10 ERTL American Muscle
Topic Started: Jul 16 2014, 12:59 PM (671 Views)
craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

With over 18 models issued in only 2 years the ERTL AM series was a short lived venture from RC after their Mint line was halted. All models have opening hoods/trunks, correctly proportioned wheels/rims, painted dashes plus separate exhaust systems. Cars built with rear leaf springs have actual 'leaf springs' as well. I'd really wish ERTL would relaunch this line with new castings but that's a dream at best.

Posted Image

Models show from top side R/L:

'57 Chrysler 300
'69 Dodge Charger Daytona
'63 Ford Galaxie
'61 Chevy Impala SS
'69 Ford Mustang Mach I
'58 Plymouth Belvedere
'63 Chevy Impala SS
'60 Ford Strarliner
'62 Pontiac Catalina
'68 Chevy Chevelle SS
Edited by craftymore, Jul 16 2014, 01:02 PM.
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SeberHusky
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Station Wagon
These are amazing! Coming from a company that started off with tractors and farm equipment, they did a really good job here.
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've only managed a few so far, but the Starliner is one of the best. The Daytona rocks! I think I have a copy of the Belvedere and a Cougar.
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W_Body_Geek
Minivan
Was Racing Champions a division of ERTL too? My Cougar Eliminator looks similar in build/style.
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carcollector
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That are fantastic models and fully detailled, great posting :thumbup: ;)
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

W_Body_Geek
Jul 22 2014, 01:01 AM
Was Racing Champions a division of ERTL too? My Cougar Eliminator looks similar in build/style.
Initially, no. If I recall, Ertl was a family company making diecast (mostly tractors and farm implements) going back at least a few decades. Racing Champions came along in the very late 80s and started buying up some smaller diecast makers and in the late 90s merged with Ertl. The combined company a few years later acquired Johnny Lightning. And just a couple years back the whole lot was sold to Tomy / Tomica.

Your Cougar Eliminator is probably the same one I have, except maybe color.
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W_Body_Geek
Minivan
Mine is packed away at the moment, but its red/orange, rubber tires, black wheels, and black interior, spoiler and hood graphics. I got it new in 1996 or 1997 or so. :)
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craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

Wes is correct . . . ERTL was a family business started in the mid 1940s by Fred ERTL. By the late 1960s though the ERTL family sold out. Joseph ERTL, son of Fred, started Dyersville Diecast in the early 1970s and his toy division Scale Models began in 1978. In the 1990s Diecast Promotions was founded by Fred ERTL III the grandson of ERTL's founder. ERTL, the toy company, was owned by various corporations including Kiddie in the 1980s. RC was ripe with cash by the mid 90s and sought to diversify beyond just racing/NASCAR models. They bought ERTL and renamed itself RC2. RC2 would later buy Playing Mantis (Tom Lowe) which included the Johnny Lightning line among others. Tom Lowe would later buy back some of the toy lines that were part of Playing Mantis. Subsequently Tom Lowe also brought back the then defunct Auto World name and has been producing large and small scale models in recent years. His first launch back into the 1/64 arena was a flop with his limited line that retailed for $15 initially at TRU. Last year, 2013, is when AW's true full line of 1/64 came to be helping fill in the void that Johnny Lightning left at Tomica shuttered the line. Tomy bought out RC2/Learning Curve/ERTL ect. Tomy sought to produce Thomas the Train toy lines, gain the John Deere license that ERTL has and gain entry back into the USA for their Tomica line. Mattel saw this move and bought the parent company that owned Thomas The Train and the relaunch of the Tomica line in the US flopped with poor/odd model choices and poor placement inside TRU stores. They tried to sell play sets with one or two models with limited success.

This is how ERTL, Johnny Lightning, Racing Champions, & Tomica plus Auto World all inter-mingle. in the last 20+ years.
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Barracuda68
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I'm hungry
Them ertls are nice, this is the only 1/64 one I currently have,

Posted Image
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does anyone have a complete listing of all of the models from this series? Bonus points for major color variations. (Pics not needed, a text list is fine)
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craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

juantoo3
Jul 23 2014, 08:40 AM
Does anyone have a complete listing of all of the models from this series? Bonus points for major color variations. (Pics not needed, a text list is fine)
http://www.breithaupts.com/totc312.htm

^That's the most complete I've seen.^

Do think they adopted the '58 Chevy Impala and perhaps a few other older RC models into the line as well.

We do have several listed in the Garage database - http://swiftysgarage.net/forum/3023512/
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JoeX
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Casual JDM enthusiast
Sadly, I don't have any of these. I was only about five years old when these came out, so they probably would have broken easily. They look so beautiful and I want so many of them.
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Dean-o-mite
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Muscle Car
craftymore
Jul 24 2014, 12:18 AM
Do think they adopted the '58 Chevy Impala and perhaps a few other older RC models into the line as well.

These Ertl American Muscle cars were 100% new castings, including the '58 Impala. Now, after the different mergers, some of these Ertl castings turned up in Racing Champions packaging, as well as later on, as Johnny Lightnings.

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Dean-o-mite
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Muscle Car
Confirmed variations - most are in my collection, but about a half dozen are on my "must-find" list, because I've seen pictures of them, but haven't come across them for sale (reasonably) yet:

1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28
medium blue, white stripes; red, white stripes; silver, black stripes, black interior; silver, no stripes, white interior; orange Baldwin Motion, black stripes; dark blue, white stripes; green, white stripe #99.


1965 Chevrolet Chevelle SS
cream yellow; black; silver-lavender; medium blue; dark red


1969 Chevrolet Chevelle SS
medium blue, textured black roof; black, textured black roof; red, textured black roof; red, smooth black roof; orange; black


1958 Chevrolet Impala
black, white roof; seafoam green, white roof; red; white; coral, white roof (with continental spare tire kit)


1961 Chevrolet Impala
medium blue; light gray; white; red, white roof; black


1963 Chevrolet Impala
silver-blue; dark green; red; black; purple (lowrider)


1969 Chevrolet Nova
blue; black; orange; white; dark burgundy, black roof


1957 Chrysler 300C
black; green; orange; red


1969 Dodge Charger Daytona
red; white; yellow; blue; silver; green; olive-gold; white & black with NASCAR Amoco Ultimate decoration


1971 Dodge Charger RT
neon yellow; green; orange; medium gray, black roof; red; neon green, black roof and side stripe (no spoiler)


1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1
green; orange; cream, with rear window louvers; cream, without rear window louvers; white; black


1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt
yellow; black; white; red; brown-maroon


1963 Ford Galaxie 2-door
white; black; medium blue; red; red, black roof


1960 Ford Starliner
silver; black; pale blue, white roof; red with continental spare tire kit (with or without rear wheel fender skirt)


1969 Mercury Cougar Eliminator
white; orange; yellow; black; dark blue; blue


1958 Plymouth Belvedere / Fury
medium brown; blue, white roof; red, white roof; tan cream


1962 Pontiac Catalina Super Duty
red; black; blue; brown-maroon; clay red; burgundy


1965 Pontiac GTO
dark red; black; dark maroon; champagne


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moparmaniac1972
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Microcar
nice to see such a list of color variations. :thumbup:
but isn' t the 69 Chevelle actually a 1968 ?
and what about the Daytona in black with white wing ? it is from the two-pack with matching 1:18 and 1:64.
only casting I am missing is the 70 Camaro.
detail-wise these gems are the greatest castings to this day.

so long
Claus
moparmaniac1972
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Dean-o-mite
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Muscle Car
The Chevelle was marketed by Ertl as both a '68 and a '69. To be honest, I don't know which one was correct.

As for variations missing from my list, there are sure to be more, based on the fact that I simply don't have them all. Please feel free to add known variations (and pics would be awesome, if possible). :thumbup:
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dean-o-mite
Aug 8 2014, 11:33 AM
The Chevelle was marketed by Ertl as both a '68 and a '69. To be honest, I don't know which one was correct.

As for variations missing from my list, there are sure to be more, based on the fact that I simply don't have them all. Please feel free to add known variations (and pics would be awesome, if possible). :thumbup:
Really nice would be an addition to the database of any variations not covered...

http://swiftysgarage.net/forum/3023512/
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pjedsel
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Muscle Car
As an added note, some of the ERTL American Muscle castings were used in the Route 66 series of models along with Racing Champions castings that were an exclusive line at K-Mart. This would have come after Racing Champions and ERTL were under the same "parent firm".
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