There aren’t many 1:43 scale trucks, so this good-looking model from PremiumX is very welcome, even though it does present a couple of mysteries. Chevrolet completely re-designed the light-duty truck line in 1960 to provide more interior space, a better ride, and better weight distribution. PremiumX’s 1961 model has triple roof lights, fender-mounted blinkers, and twin vertical exhausts not seen in any photos of C30’s – a mystery solved by the From Russia With Love inscription on the baseplate. This model was originally part of Ixo’s “James Bond Series,” and those details match the movie truck perfectly. PremiumX has given the truck a much better blue and white paint job, printed chrome handles and badges, photo-etched wipers, and 3D-etched Chevy badges, along with neatly printed Texas plates and farm graphics. The interior is upgraded with an accurate, fully detailed speedometer and instrument cluster, printed chrome handles, cranks, and dashboard switches, and radio panel. There’s good-looking frame and drive-train detail done with separate pieces underneath, too. Here’s the second mystery: The C30 was built on a 133-inch wheelbase but the model scales out to 157 inches. The cab, wheels, and tires are all appropriate for 1:43 scale, so did PremiumX miscalculate inches to millimeters or was there an extended-wheelbase C30? Whichever, there’s a lot of very well-done detail on this good-looking, bargain-priced truck. – Wayne Moyer
1:43 | $37
