Welly 1:18 1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster (Woody)

[karansharma8783]

The 1948 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Station Wagon was the last true woody (structured wood) from Chevrolet. Ash provided the structural base, while mahogany was used for the panels. Leatherette was stretched over a wood frame to provide the roof. Woody was also popular in American culture as the Surfer's Car, providing a huge roof surface for transporting surfboards and an awesome 8-passenger capacity. This was the perfect picnic car.

Welly has captured the era amazingly well. The model just looks fabulous. Huge presence which in no way can be termed elegant Yet it has a charm of its own. Inspite of its large size, the car looks "cute". It's a truly unique model.

Paintwork and finish - The paintwork is just flawless. No blemishes, even metallic finish, the brown colour shines and lends authenticity to the model. Great job by Welly in this department. The shining hood looks simply superb.

Interiors - Pretty good considering it's a budget model but could have been improved as far as the seats are concerned. Although the seats give the appearance of leather finish, yet they are quite stiff and plasticky to the touch. The dashboard is quite well done though and I just love the nice-looking steering wheel. One interesting feature of the interiors are the row of middle seats in the car. The middle row doesn't cover the whole width of the car but leaves a gap in the right side of the car. This was to leave space for people to access the rearmost seat-row. The right side of the middle seat-row has a chrome armrest. Looks "cute"

Engine - If you are an engine freak, better to leave the hood closed if you do get this model. Absolutely nothing to brag about here. No hint of any metallic parts or wiring, it's just a collection of plastic blocks lumped together to give the appearance of an engine. Pretty slipshod work from Welly when overall it's such a great model. Considering the fact this is a 1948 classic, more focus should have definitely been put in the engine.

"Wood"work - As much as I would have loved that the model truly stood up to the original nickname of "Woody", the wood part of the model is actually plastic with wood finish. However, that's not too much of a complaint considering it's a budget model AND the plastic with wood finish is actually pretty well done with the wood grain textures done finely. The panels and the frames have been given different wood finishings as in the original car and the model looks like its 1:1 counterpart from a small distance. The roof, also made of plastic, represents the 1:1 roof made of leatherette as mentioned above. Although this is plastic, yet the finish is surprisingly good with a light brown colour and quite soft to the touch.

When I received the model at home and got it out of the box, I was quite surprised (to be a little candid, even a bit shocked) to find that the model was extremely light considering its huge size when it struck me 85% of the model is entirely plastic because of the plastic roof, side doors, side rear panels and rear door. The only metallic part is the entire front engine and hood area and the front fenders.

I particularly liked the chromework in this model. The logo on the hood is done perfectly and is also quite huge and has a presence of its own. The rear bumpers are quite unique in design and look good in the model. I just loved the way Welly has done the rear spare tire and also the rear number plate with the left rear light with the words "1948 Woody". However, I do have a few minor complaints with the model and that's the lack of openable rear side doors and the rear door also. This car is a real people-mover and its spacious interiors could have been better appreciated had all the doors been made openable. Also, the aerial on the hood is pretty thick and looks more like a mast.

Overall rating - 7.5/10. All in all, for me, this is a Halo Car in the classics category. Chevrolet is a big name from the US and they made some really amazing classy and unique cars in the 40's to 60's (not to mention their muscle cars). You should definitely get this model as it would be one of the most unique ones in your collection.

[karansharma8783]

More pics:

[channabasanna]

Nice ones Karan

[siddvi]

Love that black beauty. Very nice review and good detailed shots

I missed this last time but hopefully can find one in Bangalore this time around.

[aritrim]

Karan, fantastic review, fantastic model and fantastic pictures. The backdrop is awesome. These does not look to be shot at noon. Soft nice pics.

Congrats, you really love this one!

[winstoncds]

Karan, excellent pics and review as always. Not a great fan of the car but my parents actually loved it. They got nostalgic about the time when one such was seen in Mangalore in their younger days. Maisto made a similar model too and I think Welly has brought that die. I could only ask for the plastic to be of denser quality to give it a deeper wooden look. Right now, some of it looks translucent in the sunlight.
Another thing....please get rid of that white cloth on which you take pics. You got such a great lawn and garden. Go do some magic like you did with that blue Chevy. That made the car look so real. The white cloth makes it look like it is on some hospital bed.

[prathambhatnagar]

Nice review and woody there karan.
Wanted to buy this one but the last piece tag by KV was heartbreaking coz i don't have the money to buy yet another 1:18.

[karansharma8783]

Thanks everyone for the review and for the model

@ Sid - I do hope you manage to get it this time. You probably shouldn't have a problem as this is one car that's not as popular among collectors generally as the other Wellys that have come this time.

@ Ari - You are right. I shot these pics at around 4PM when it was cloudy that day. Though would have liked it had there been some sunlight but what the heck. You can't be too patient for Mother Nature to get the exact result you desire

@ Winston - Yes Maisto also makes this car. Infact that's how I got to know about this model in the first place by browsing through their website. I fell in love with it then and there. Didn't know Welly made one too until KV had informed us about the Welly stock. I think Amit had mentioned this one is much much better looking than the Maisto version. Lol@ the hospital bed!!!! Would sure do try to get some pics on the natural earth next time. Should look really great especially more so with the classics and vintages.

@ Pratham - Dude, don't get so disheartened and impatient. Diecast collecting is a bug that won't leave you so easily. Right now you are just at the tip of a massive massive iceberg Don't run so hard that you lose steam early. Be the proverbial slow turtle and you will be able to enjoy this hobby for a long long time to come. (BTW, this gyan from me is all sounding very good but I too am under a self-imposed one-model-a-month restriction )

[prathambhatnagar]

One or two months can be exceptions from this one-model-a-month restriction thing as my exception was this month since i got 3-4 models by some not so good ways

I know this is a bug that will not leave me easily .
My mom and girlfriend should read this as they both think that this "TOY CAR COLLECTING THING" in their words, is just a waste of money and time . I keep telling them that these are scale models not just any other toy car but still they don't understand

[winstoncds]

Pratham...next time your girlfriend asks you why you need so many 'toy cars', just ask her why she needs so many pairs of shoes. I don't think she will be pleased but atleast she will not nag that much. No guarantee of you coming back without a black eye.