Welly 1:24 1953 Cadillac Eldorado

When it comes to a classic car there are many opportunities to make it stand out, but when it is faced with lots of competition from plenty of other diecast manufacturers that becomes a challenge.  A car like this 1953 Eldorado is already a classic and a beauty in real life, so that's not the hard part: the hard part is how to make it stand out against other replica's, especially when a few of them have higher-quality details than a brand like Welly.  I was unimpressed by the white example with the top up that I saw first before I saw this beauty at another store.  Color me impressed!

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The legend of the Eldorado name started in 1953 as a work of art created by Harley Earl and based on  a few earlier concept cars, including the Le Sabre concept car designed and driven by Earl.  The Eldorado was the top-of-the-line model for the Series 62 on a limited run (532 total made) and limited to four colors: red, white, black, and a pale yellow.  The front has the integration of bumper bullets (dagmars), wrap-around windshield, the start of tail fins, hidden gas cap behind the left-side taillight, windshield washers, signal-seeking radio, heater, power windows, and all of that for a price twice as high as a comparable Series 62 Cabriolet.  The engine is a 331 CID Cadillac V8 that produces 160 hp. through a 4-speed automatic that has an unusual shift pattern (reverse is all the way down, drive where reverse would be, and no park notch on the shifter).  Even with the high price and limited production, the Eldorado would still pave the way as the flagship convertible for the line until 1967 when it was replaced by a front-wheel drive version and continued that way until 2002.

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Aztec red, what a beaut!  The red along with the shining chrome just stands out, as does losing the top-up look that I saw on the white version with a top down look that just looks great.  The front has round headlights with a slight eyebrow coming out just above the lens, gold Cadillac logo and V, chrome eggcrate grille with bumper bullets, and signal light that have chrome trim that wraps around the corners until the front wheels.  The hood has a chrome strip in the center with the winged emblem at the front.  The wraparound windshield looks modern with chrome trim and side window vents on the front doors.  The front fenders have a chrome strip with Cadillac cursive logo, lower trim that is silver instead of chrome (the only non-chrome trim on this car), vertical chrome faux ven that leads to the rear fins, and cool wire wheels with Cadillac logo and white wall tires.  The rear has taillights that peak up and give a cool 3D look to them, round trunklid with Cadillac and V logo, and lower chrome bumper with center bumper pads between the Eldorado plate and dual exhausts that are concealed behind the bumper.  It just looks so cool words can't describe it!

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The interior also shines despite the black color, all thanks to more chrome trim.  The front and rear bench seat not only gets the ribbed inner pattern but also leather wrinkles on the corners.  The rear tonneau cover is a first for a car in this era: a body-colored hard unit with chrome latches to secure the lower-end of the top to the car.  The door panels have chrome trim on top and below the door panels, along with the ribbed pattern and arm rest.  The floor is nice and clean with just two pedals to show, leading up to the 2-spoke steering wheel with chrome center and fins on the ends of the strip on the steering wheel rim is another nod to the aviation theme.  Hard to tell at first, but behind the steering wheel you can see the N-shaped speedometer with auxiliary gauges in the silver pod just below.  Chrome extends to the width of the dashboard with the radio controls just above the large silver speaker, and most of the controls are located closer to the driver to the left of the column where the shifter and turn signal stalk reside.  Wanna know what time it is?  Just look at the analog clock on the passenger-side of the dashboard.

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The hood opens up to show a nicely detailed engine bay.  The engine block is blue with detailed spark plug wires on the valve covers leading to the spark plugs.  The air cleaner housing features dual nostrils to feed air into the housing, while the intake manifold shows off the distributor and a few other features.  Just ahead the drive belt is attached to an alternator and a power-steering pump for one canister; the other is for the cartridge oil filter.  The radiator lies along the front frame support with integrated hood latch and dual horns.  The most unusual feature inside the engine bay is the air vent ducts: in today's cars the ducts and fan motor are housed under the dashboard, but this setup is vastly different as it locates the fan closer to the front of the vehicle, just to the left of the power steering resovoir, and leads to the firewall where just before the firewall the A/C evaporator core lies.  The other side also houses another hose to feed air through the heater core, which is behind the firewall.  Even for a high-end car A/C was still an option.  Finally, the chassis shows off the X-brace frame to give support to the convertible body, lower A-arm suspension at the front where the engine and transmission details are also shown, dual exhaust system, and the rear fuel tank next to the vertial spare tire housed in the trunk.  I added details to the exhaust and around the transmission to add a touch of visual aid.

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Normally I'm not a big fan of Cadillac's, but every one in a while I'll appreciate a few nice ones.  This one, however, may be one of the best Cadillac replica's that I have ever seen and for the low price I paid compared to a higher-quality version it'll be hard for another diecast manufacturer to match the level of details that Welly provides in this 1:24 scale Eldorado.

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