Welly 1:43 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

The downside of replacing my 1:24 Jada Jeep Wrangler with the better 1:18 Maisto Jeep Wrangler Willys is missing the original 3.8 V6 and pre-2011 interior details.  Well that can be no worries as interestingly enough Welly managed to revive the 2007 Wrangler Rubicon casting.  The casting made a brief appearance as a 1:24 scale model around 2009 before completely disappearing.  Now it reappears alongside a new 1:64 and 1:43 scale models.

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No one knows why it took Welly a long time for this Wrangler to come out, but using an older design upstages others who went for the updated interior and engine version of the current Wrangler.  This Rubicon 3-door comes in either open-top or closed-top in 1:38 scale (same goes for the 1:24 version).  My green tester is the closed top version, but with a screwdriver and a razor blade you can make that hard top removable at the expense of a missing rollbar.  The front has detailed headlights, signal lights, 7-slot grille, foglights, faint hooks, and a lower skid plate.  The sides have the usual profile of detailed badging, bolts, latches, and black-painted metal fenders with RUBICON on the sides of the hood.  The rear has square separate taillights, spare tire with center brake light, and Jeep plate.  The 5-spoke wheels are based on the earlier Rubicon models and have a narrower width than the newer Rubicon wheels.

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The base underneath shows off the proper engine and front axle details but then loses the rear to the pullback motor.  Once again for a Rubicon model note the lack of any undercarriage protection.  The top is the Sunrider hardtop with the outline for the removeable panels up front; those without the top have the detailed rollbar in place.  The full-frame doors open to the flat dashboard that is somewhat angled a bit backward with 4-spoke banjo steering wheel, detailed shifters for the 6-speed and transfer case, door panels with crank window handles, and bucket seats up front.  The rear seat has a duffel bag to conceal the pullback motor, while the cargo area has the detailed hidden storage area panels on the floor.  Knowing Welly products they do an excellent job on details for a great price, and despite using a pre-2012 Wrangler they did an excellent job on this one no matter what scale range you select.

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