Corgi Model Club: Green Hornet

 

Here's the Model Club's latest issue - this being their reproduction of the #268 Green Hornet car. This was not a model I was particularly interested in myself at the time and I don't recall any of my friends having one but they did, apparently sell well. Of course, that may have been mostly to the States where the TV series was broadcast and well-known. No-one here had a clue what it was.

This is quite a brute of a car but looks to be replicated well. One has to wonder just what they provided the Chinese with by way of a sample to work from as this has the base with Phillips screws as per the first re-issue, also from China. I have not seen that edition but suspect that this may be identical. One of our regular readers will know and may already have told me. Once I get a chance to review correspondence I will update this accordingly.

One of best things about this model, as I recall from reviews of the original, is the firing of scanners from the boot / trunk. There is a good strong spring and a reliable bit of architecture inside which seems to work very well and copes better over time than the ejector seat on the Astons.

This comes with a pack of one missile and a few scanners, tucked away with the instruction leaflet which, jn turn, is tucked away in the plinth. Now here's a warning: the ends of the plinth are very difficult to open. I used a very thin blade to lift one tab and then was able to open the end itself but, as with the bubble packs, I can see many getting torn. So if you're hoping to keep this as an investment I would suggest not bothering to try. Actually, I don't think you should bother about keeping this as an investment anyway as it will almost certainly be available at pretty much the same price in years to come, if not less. If you want an investment, buy the original.

My example has a radiator grille which does stay firmly upright when closed. So many of the originals, and, I hear, these copies, do not and leave an unattractive gap at the top. I clearly did not look very closely at my own original as I do not recognise at all the shiny chrome laser guns that are displayed as well when the button is pressed at the side for the main gun.

The Club have reproduced the later model with cast wheels. Early originals had shaped wheels.

All in all this will no doubt please the fans of TV and film-related issues, even if they have two or three earlier issues already. Otherwise it is not really anything to get excited about - a competent copy in a nice reproduction package and, to the best of my knowledge, without errors, for a change, in the certificate text!