It is the dream of many die-cast collectors to have a full lineup of a given model range. We’re not talking about specialty cars like Camaros, where you’ve got a choice of coupe or (sometimes) convertible, we’re talking about a full line of cars with a full line of body styles – coupes, sedans, wagons, base and performance models. What’s out there? In small scale, even the most popular (i.e., done to death) cars don’t fit the bill: There are no four-door ’57 Chevys to be found, for instance. Only Norev of France, and their relentless waves of dealer-sold promotional models, fit the bill – and unless you live in Europe, these can be tough to find. In the U.S.? Good luck.
So this trio of 3-inch Cadillac CTS models is remarkable – not because they represent one of GM’s better-reviewed machines of the last few seasons, but because the whole lineup is represented in small scale. The CTS-V sedan, seen here in a metallic charcoal but also seen in maroon and silver in small-scale, is by Hot Wheels; the coupe and wagon, neither of which represent the high-performance V-series models, are both by Matchbox. (And both Hot Wheels and Matchbox are owned by Mattel.) Though the two Matchboxes are technically in the lineup a year apart (the wagon for ’10, the coupe new for ’11), the vagaries of production deadlines and shipping holds and store orders mean that the two were released only a couple of months apart.
Each is well-finished, and the paint doesn’t seem so thick as to obliterate molded-in detail. All have sunroofs molded in – here, Hot Wheels’ windows are tinted blue, while the Matchbox glass is gently smoke-tinted. Matchbox has elected to make the B-pillar a part of the side glass, while Hot Wheels’ B-pillars are solid and part of the body. Hot Wheels’ is the most highly decorated of the three; Hot Wheels’ sales volumes can accommodate the additional cost of the V-badge on the front doors, but Matchbox’s efforts do not suffer, as their grilles, light treatments and badging are well-defined. The Hot Wheels chassis, molded in gray on this example, pulls triple duty: It’s the floorpan, the upper and lower grille, and it’s also the console and shifter inside the black interior. The Matchbox chassis are only chassis, but are both superbly detailed, with transmission and exhaust detail through to the rear axle.
The truth of the matter is, for a buck each at your local big-box-store toy aisle, you can hardly go wrong. Besides, who knows when you’ll be able to get an entire model range of one marque’s cars in small-scale again.