Corgi Model Club: Chrysler Imperial

 Here's the latest issue from the Corgi Model Club, the Chrysler Imperial, #246 with the surprise in the boot.

I don't have an original to hand to compare it with but I do remember the model well as I bought one for myself in August 1965 when it came out and remember being a bit disappointed with the 'surprise'. OK, so you could open the boot and take out the golf caddy. You could put it back again. But that was it, the wheels on the caddy didn't turn and it just sort of sat there. I have also very little recollection of the two figures, possibly because the small lady may have fallen out shortly after opening the box never to be seen again after mum hoovered the carpet.

This was a big model, heavy and very, very square-looking. Some huge two-door vehicle, for sure. It didn't have the charm of the Chevrolet Impala which was issued at the same time in classic coffee and cream two-tone finish with sparkling chrome of the old sort, The Imperial was the first, I think, to have the front grille and both bumpers made of solid bright metal as opposed to chrome plated plastic. The Jaguar Mk X had a similar idea but the metal was not as shiny like this one.

I didn't try pressing down on the front to open the bonnet. A little pressure at the back of the bonnet near the screen lifts the front edge slightly. Whilst suspension does seem to have survived on these models in original form I am not going to take any risks!

It really is very well-finished and looks just like I remember the original, with the chalky blue interior. Mine was a chalky-green colour but I know both were available.

The cast wheels are good. Early releases did have normal shaped wheels and can be valuable so I was hoping they might do that version and, of course, we all hoped there might be a kingfisher blue edition! To be fair, that was supposed to be a Bermuda Taxi replacement and had a hole in the rear to take the roof thing so the few that did make it to dealers were really a different model and the club probably did the right thing by reproducing this first. I am pretty sure we'll see the other one in due course now that the investment's been made and the casting is all done. The addition of a small hole and tweaking the interior is no big cost, assuming Corgi decide to get it right.

I honestly cannot fault this reproduction. I do wonder about the colour on first getting it as it seems a shade deeper than my mine was but that maybe the lighting. Similarly, the rear bumper definition is slightly different in these photos of my old one but, again, that may be just the lighting.

This particular model never really made my list of favourites. It was a bit hard to drive around corners on my layout with its quite tough suspension and the fat doors were a little unattractive. For me, this seemed to have a few signs of cost-cutting, with the cast dashboard and how the screen was fitted, which always looked a bit like it had just been replaced!

This reproduction, however, will be just what fans of the Imperial will have been waiting for and it will certainly look good on display.