A new 1/18th scale die-cast journey begins..

ET2SN · 04-11-22, 02:58 PM

AKA: A Second Chance.

Back in 2011-12 I knew Shelby Collectibles (run out of the same shop in Las Vegas as the real cars) had a 1/18th scale die cast produced for their 2011 GT 350.

I really liked the concept of the GT 350, its kind of like an entry-level Shelby Mustang for the masses. For the extra money (about 2 1/2 times the price of a regular Mustang, as I recall) you got 650 HP under the hood, some mild performance tweaks to the suspension, and some tasty body panels and Shelby paint. I liked it for what it wasn't. This wasn't a car built for track days and life in a garage, it was meant to driven on the street, daily.

The one thing I didn't like as much was the 2011 Mustang. Someone got the idea to make the car look like an old man wearing high waisted pants. So, I passed on the die cast. And, honestly, I regretted it. Every now and then I would check around but by 2015 Shelby had moved on to newer cars and concepts and dropped the 2011 GT 350 die cast from their store. Auto Art released a GT 350 which looked OK and was priced to make your nose bleed, but they got some things wrong. Most notably, they missed the unique gauge cluster on the driver's side of the windshield sill.

Then, two weeks ago, I get an email from the store I buy my die cast from.

They list the original 2011 Shelby die cast in white with metallic dark blue stripes and scripts. No other info, they just have some in stock.

I place my order that day.

One week later, it shows up. Now, we're talking about Shelby Collectibles. They aren't close to Auto Art, Minichamps, or Kyosho. They are closer to the really old-school Ertl die casts or some of the cheaper Maisto examples. Shelby sells real cars. Real expensive cars. Their die casts are for the tourists or to sweeten a deal while your car is being built in the shop. Still, they are really good in that Shelby knows what goes into their real cars and their nit-picking details are great. Their die casts sit with the right stance and all of the labels in the engine bay are correct.

As it turns out, the example I got looks like it has never seen better days.

There's enough dust and crud in the interior to make it look like it sat on a shelf for a very long time. There are some flaws and "boogers" in the white enamel paint and one "ouch" spot where the metallic blue pad printed paint smeared. There was a nasty "glue booger" on one of the rear window "delete" panels and there was NO radiator behind the lower opening on the chin.

Great, I bought a USED car in 1/18th scale.........

Either this thing sat on a shelf in a store or else it was sold and returned.
Either way, its perfect.

Recall why I said I liked the concept behind the GT 350. These car get driven. They can get a little beat up and its fine. The paint is VERY fixable. The white is supposed to be very generic and industrial and is responding well to buffing compound. The missing radiator? I just tracked one down on EBay (1/18th scale, printed plastic that will look fine once I glue and pin it into place). The glue booger on the rear window delete is almost fixed but I have to be very careful. Its close to a very small and fine "Carrol Shelby" signature script that I don't want to ruin.

Due to the dusty condition of the interior I was already planning to (carefully) strip this thing down to its parts to clean everything and maybe do some detail painting on the center console. I'm also thinking of adding flocking for the carpet and maybe some Shelby floor mats.

Best of all, I have about $60 sunk into this project.

04-11-22, 02:58 PM	#1
ET2SN ET2/SS Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 2,517 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	A new 1/18th scale die-cast journey begins.. AKA: A Second Chance. Back in 2011-12 I knew Shelby Collectibles (run out of the same shop in Las Vegas as the real cars) had a 1/18th scale die cast produced for their 2011 GT 350. I really liked the concept of the GT 350, its kind of like an entry-level Shelby Mustang for the masses. For the extra money (about 2 1/2 times the price of a regular Mustang, as I recall) you got 650 HP under the hood, some mild performance tweaks to the suspension, and some tasty body panels and Shelby paint. I liked it for what it wasn't. This wasn't a car built for track days and life in a garage, it was meant to driven on the street, daily. The one thing I didn't like as much was the 2011 Mustang. Someone got the idea to make the car look like an old man wearing high waisted pants. So, I passed on the die cast. And, honestly, I regretted it. Every now and then I would check around but by 2015 Shelby had moved on to newer cars and concepts and dropped the 2011 GT 350 die cast from their store. Auto Art released a GT 350 which looked OK and was priced to make your nose bleed, but they got some things wrong. Most notably, they missed the unique gauge cluster on the driver's side of the windshield sill. Then, two weeks ago, I get an email from the store I buy my die cast from. They list the original 2011 Shelby die cast in white with metallic dark blue stripes and scripts. No other info, they just have some in stock. I place my order that day. One week later, it shows up. Now, we're talking about Shelby Collectibles. They aren't close to Auto Art, Minichamps, or Kyosho. They are closer to the really old-school Ertl die casts or some of the cheaper Maisto examples. Shelby sells real cars. Real expensive cars. Their die casts are for the tourists or to sweeten a deal while your car is being built in the shop. Still, they are really good in that Shelby knows what goes into their real cars and their nit-picking details are great. Their die casts sit with the right stance and all of the labels in the engine bay are correct. As it turns out, the example I got looks like it has never seen better days. There's enough dust and crud in the interior to make it look like it sat on a shelf for a very long time. There are some flaws and "boogers" in the white enamel paint and one "ouch" spot where the metallic blue pad printed paint smeared. There was a nasty "glue booger" on one of the rear window "delete" panels and there was NO radiator behind the lower opening on the chin. Great, I bought a USED car in 1/18th scale......... Either this thing sat on a shelf in a store or else it was sold and returned. Either way, its perfect. Recall why I said I liked the concept behind the GT 350. These car get driven. They can get a little beat up and its fine. The paint is VERY fixable. The white is supposed to be very generic and industrial and is responding well to buffing compound. The missing radiator? I just tracked one down on EBay (1/18th scale, printed plastic that will look fine once I glue and pin it into place). The glue booger on the rear window delete is almost fixed but I have to be very careful. Its close to a very small and fine "Carrol Shelby" signature script that I don't want to ruin. Due to the dusty condition of the interior I was already planning to (carefully) strip this thing down to its parts to clean everything and maybe do some detail painting on the center console. I'm also thinking of adding flocking for the carpet and maybe some Shelby floor mats. Best of all, I have about $60 sunk into this project.