Greenlight Hitch and Tow release 4

Just about a year ago we all got to finally experience the long-awaited arrival of realistic vehicle and trailer combo sets thanks to Greenlight's new Hitch and Tow series.  It was one of the most popular pre-order series ever for Greenlight and it shows how desperate collectors wanted a realistic vehicle and trailer sets that other diecast makers failed to provide.  Since then three released have been made and all of them have been met with success.  For series 4 Greenlight changed things up a bit: adding new pickups to the line (two of them are coming in release 5) and four brand new trailers that share almost nothing with the first four.  And I must say this set beats the first one with more clever details and functionality.  Let's check them out.

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1963 Dodge D100 and Shasta Airflyte 15" camper

The oddball set that was originally planned was the Shasta connected to a 1962 Corvette in matching colors.  It would be neat to see but i'm not sure how a Corvette could be tied in with a trailer at the rear considering the new Shasta is heavier than the Airstream and the heaviest trailer in this group.  The Dodge pickup was a better choice and not the same-old 1965-1967 version; no, they instead created another tool for the earlier version of the D100.  This includes a front-end with quad headlights, large grille with chrome trim, silver trim on the hood, and a white bumper.  The sides still have the same look with a white roof and body-colored steel wheels with whitewall tires and chrome center cap.  The rear has round taillights, DODGE on the tailgate, and a white bumper with a trailer hitch.  The cargo area and frame with front and rear leaf springs still remain, as does the opening hood that shows off the 426 CID V8 that produces 365 hp. through a three-speed push-button automatic.  The interior is the same with the gauges that cover the left-half of the dashboard and the deep-dish steering wheel of the 65-67 models, with a red interior to continue the color tone of the vehicle.

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A truck like that is needed to haul the new Shasta Airflyte.  Unlike the Airstream, which is limited to a brushed aluminum look, the Airflyte can be ordered in any two-tone color scheme, even one to match the vehicle like the red and white to match the truck.  The Airflyte is twice the size of the Airstream and with metal body on metal base it is a heavy one!  The front has large front windows, Shasta on the sides, and a single white propane tank.  The sides ribbed panels with more windows and an A/C unit on the roof.  To add it some class the two-tone separator has a lightning bolt look and the chrome wings near the rear give it a Flash Gordon-like look.  The rear has a fastback roof with rear window, round taillights, and some sort of vent at the right-rear.  The interior, like the Airstream, does not show anything so Greenlight was wise to black-out the windows this time around.  Still, I would love to see a detailed interior.  Nevertheless the Airflyte's larger size should provide more room for people to sleep and to move around in the camper.  I like how the Shasta Airflyte will provide more room and a cool color-matching effect to the vehicle in tow/

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2014 Ram 1500 and Horse Trailer

If you haven't noticed lately Greenlight has been striking a deal with the New York Police Department to make replica's of their fleet of police vehicles, and soon the FDNY for their fire trucks as well.  One right-hand turn out of the norm is the Ram 1500 towing a horse trailer for their mounted unit squad.  It is clearly white with blue NYPD logo's all across the vehicle and trailer.  The Ram 1500 Police is the first time the Police Truck uses the bed cap top at the rear for a more useful rear.  The front has the blacked-out grille with detailed silver grille slots, push bumper, 5-spoke steel wheels, V-light bar on the roof, NYPD stripes and logo's on the sides, and a blacked-out rear bumper with dual exhausts below and an integrated brake light on top of the camper shell.  The interior has seating for five with a well laid-out dashboard, while the engine is the same 5.7L Hemi V8, 8-speed automatic, and coil springs at all four wheels.  It is a successful truck as every release features the Ram and still will for the forseeable future releases.

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At least the Ram gets a brake from the inboard car trailer to tow the new horse trailer.  The new trailer is not as big with the front in a V-section that features a side door to access the utility closet in the trailer.  Diamond plates abound on the front of the trailer and on the fender covers for the rear wheels.  It uses the same white and NYPD logo's as the Ram but with Mounted Unit on the sides.  The back adds doors similar to the ones found on tractor-trailers with added message to alert drivers in the back of horses inside the trailer.  The doors open to the sides to show slots for two horses on a wooden floor divided by a center silver bar that also has slots to secure the horses.  There is no outside view for the horses due to the large NYPD banners covering the windows, but the windows can be viewed out of in future releases.  The problem I found on this version is that the doors do not close well; in fact, from the factory there is tape used to keep the doors closed while the vehicles are being sealed in the plastic container.  All this trailer needs now is horses and you can probably find a few at a craft store, but a better shot is looking for some online.

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2013 Ford Explorer and Boat with Trailer

One no-brainer to design is the use of a boat and a trailer, and Greenlight provides here and as an added bonus since all boats look the same there is no need to create a license boat and still make it realistic.  One of the least impressive tow vehicles in the group is the 2013 Ford Explorer.  It's not the most impressive in brown but it has lots of good features and details to make this a worthy tow vehicle.  The SUV has a rounded look with detailed headlights and silver grille up front, rugged lower black trim and 5-spoke wheels on the sides, silver door handles and roof rails, and detailed taillights with silver trim pieces and dual exhaust.  That exhaust exhales from the 3.5L twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6 that produces 365 hp. and 370 Ib-ft. of torque through a 6-speed automatic and to a full-time all-wheel drive system to pull heavy loads from the rear.  An all-independent suspension makes it the smoothest-riding vehicle of the bunch, and it hauls up to seven people or plenty of cargo inside with an interior packed full of detail and high-tech features.  Sure it may not be the best-looking vehicle of the bunch but it sure has a lot to go for.

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The boat sits on a metal trailer that has small frames, detailed rear lights, and a detailed winch to pull the boat to the trailer when it is in the water at the loading dock.  The boat does not separate from the frame unless you have a Phillips-head screwdriver on hand, then it can be removed from the frame.  With a metal body underneath the boat will not float, either.  A nice feature is two soft covers that cover the inside of the boat from the elements when in tow, nicely secures to the boat without coming off, and can be removed from the boat.  What you see inside is an interior packed full of details:  The front of the boat has a round seating area with two cupholders and silver snap pins on the edges.  The windshield curves around the two front control pods and has a central access to the front seat.  Two seats sit right in front of the pods with the right-side having the steering wheel to steer the boat and behind it the gauge cluster.  The rear seats are great for a day of fishing aided by a center cooler and a covered dock to protect anyone from the motor in the back.  The single boat motor is tilted up and is well-detailed.  Finally, the boat gets a nice dark green/white finish to give it the look of a wave runner.

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1968 Chevy C-10 pickup and Concession Stand

The most-awaited vehicle of this release is the Chevy truck towing the Krispy Kreme concession stand.  The Chevy C-10 was originally going to be white with green logo's but was changed to green withe white logo's.  Good choice!  So was the 5-spoke mag wheels as well.  The front has a detailed grille area with round headlights in silver square trim, split-grille design with red bowtie and signal lights in the lower grille.  The hood has the K.K. logo, the sides have a lower white trim, Chevy 10 logo, and Krispy Kreme logo, while the rear has the detailed taillights and CHEVROLET on the tailgate.  The bed area is nice and large, while the interior has a bench seat with a nice dash layout with 3-spoke steering wheel, gauges behind, and radio and HVAC controls in the center.  The chassis shows coil springs on all four wheels with track bars for the rear axle, while the engine is the 283 CID V8 that produces 200 hp. through a 2-speed automatic.  It's not the most exciting truck in the Greenlight line but at least it looks good doing the hard work in the Hitch and Tow line

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Now for something that has not been done in diecast for a while: a concession stand trailer.  These are the types that are usually seen at a fair or a carnival that serves as a mini-restaurant serving food to customers.  When not in use it folds up and can be towed away.  Many uses are coming for this new trailer, but the first one to be on it is, of course, Krispy Kreme.  This is likely the only trailer of this group to share the same base from the first four trailers; it has the same size as the enclosed car carrier so the base is likely from this one, and it looks like the part with the same left-side door and long, flat surfaces great for displaying company info.  The edges of the trailer are covered in diamond plate steel, the front has four propane tanks and an vent for the fridge cooler, the roof has a top banner the covers the stove vent and A/C system, and the coolest part is the right-side and rear window panels that flip open for service and close when not.  The windows provide a slider option to access customers outside from inside, while the interior is not that plain with counter surfaces and a fridge (it's up to you to add the ingredients and people to the stand.)  As for the logo's the front has the Krispy Kreme logo diagonally across a green background; the left-side has the Krispy Kreme logo with the doughnuts going down a conveyor belt; the right-side is the same with the logo on the window cover and the Hot and Ready neon sign;  The neon sign is also carried out at the rear as well.  The upper banners are in green with polka dots in white on the sides, Doughnuts since 1957 front and rear, and the right-side has menu information about the doughnuts: $1 for a single doughnut, $5 for 12 dozen doughnuts.  I love the trailer's potential for plenty of diorama's and how cool the details are and how the window covers function.

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Now it's time to see which one of these four is the best.  After looking at all of them, testing them out, and making final judgements I ranked them from last to first place.  Fourth place is the 1963 Dodge D100 and Shasta Airflyte camper: It's one of the best color deco's in the group and the new Dodge truck casting is a real treat, but the camper is heavy to tow and the Dodge truck is the least refined of the group when it comes to handling.  Third-place goes to the Ram 1500 and Horse Trailer:  One NYPD Police car that is loaded with plenty of space for officers, gear, and horses, but the horse trailer could use better-fitting doors and a couple of horses inside.  Second-place goes to the Chevy C-10 and Concession stand trailer: Love the amount of graphic details for Krispy Kreme on both, the functionality of the concession stand, and the cool look of the C-10 on mag wheels, but the C-10 is not the most exciting vehicle of the group and seems a bit awkward with the new-age concession stand trailer.  The first-place winner would be the Ford Explorer and the boat and trailer: lots of cool and useful details on both with practicality to boot, and both look modern in today's world.  Either way, all four of these are excellent in their own way and I cannot wait until the next round of new trailer's from the Hitch and Tow line!

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