Hallmark Ornaments 1:43 1976 Chevy Stepside and 2005 Chevy Silverado SS

It is that time of year for families to get together and celebrate the Christmas spirit as we give thanks to one another with gifts and hang the ornaments on the pine tree.  Over the years Hallmark has created several kinds of ornaments for every person's favorite hobby or segment.  In the beginning the Hallmark ornaments were mostly the typical ceramic kind, but over the years Hallmark has grown to more than just ceramic ornaments: by the late 1990's they have expanded with ornaments, some made of plastic and others out of diecast metal, designed for everyone from Star Wars to Barbie.  Another area that has improved is the selection of vehicle replica's; for each year two vehicles are selected to be replicated for this year's holiday season, and while fire trucks are prevalient they have mostly fallen off the diecast section for more plastic the two vehicles have always and still are made of diecast metal bodies.  For 2017 the 1976 Chevy Stepside pickup has been chosen to be the Hallmark car ornament, interesting because last year I found the 2005 edition at an antique store where the 2005 Chevy Silverado SS was the vehicle of choice.  With Chevy Trucks celebrating 100 years next year I decided to look at a Then and Now ornament selection.

1976 Chevy Stepside pickup

The 1970's saw a new introduction of Chevy trucks starting in 1973 when the square-bodied C/K pickups appeared.  This look remained for two decades and was very popular even more so than Ford F-series at the time (even as Ford toppled Chevy in the number one title in U.S. sales charts in the late 1970's).  C-series is two-wheel drive, while K-series is four-wheel drive and the trucks come in trim levels with names such as Cheyenne, Scottsdale, and Silverado.  The orange on this pickup really stands out against white side stripes, hood stripes, and white top that was part of a special sport trim package.  The look of this Hallmark ornament is very proper with the correct width and stance of the truck to the weight thanks to the diecast metal body (the base is plastic.)  The front has a silver eggcrate grille with black inserts, gold bowtie in center, and on the ends round headlights inside square housings with signal lights down below.  On the bumper, which has the detailed head bolts, 1976 is inscribed in the middle while the rear bumper has the 2017 holiday year.

The sides show a nice, clean, squared-off cab and front-end with Scottsdale badges on the front fenders and steel wheels on plastic tires with the proper 4x4 height.  The bed section is the proper stepside look with additional stripes over the rear fenders.  At the rear the tailgate has CHEVROLET across in white and two small red taillights sticking out.  This is a very nicely done truck.  The moot point of this ornament is the hook on the roof; some might not want this eyesore to be visible, but then again they're missing the point.  The bed area, which has detailed wood plank floor inside, is loaded with presents and a pine Christmas tree at an angle trying to fit inside the small stepside bed.  The plastic base shows off some engine and drivetrain details with the main focus being the dual exhaust setup.  Inside there's a bench seat with detailed dashboard that has a two-spoke steering wheel and detailed silver gauge rings.  Door panel details are nonexistent.  I've seen too many replica's of this Chevy Stepside pickup from various diecast makers, but a few do stand out such as the Matchbox version and now this Hallmark ornament is one of them as well.

2005 Chevy Silverado SS

On the other end of the spectrum is the modern-day equivalent, or more like what it was over 10 years ago: the Silverado SS.  By 2003 the Silverado got a refresh that gained the Avalanche-inspired front-end that was rather sloppy and ill-fitting to this truck (the downside of bean counters at GM at the time).  Still, the introduction of the SS Silverado was a welcoming as Chevrolet teased the public a few times with SS concept trucks only to come out with one that is extended-cab-only with a 6.0L V8 that makes at least 350 horsepower, a 4-speed automatic and all-wheel drive standard.  By 2005 Chevrolet increased the variations of SS models with two-wheel drive added, but still no manual transmission or regular-cab options.  The truck arrived when Ford was getting ready to introduce the next F-150 Lightning (which never got passed the concept car stage) and Dodge has the wild SRT-10 Viper-powered Ram.  As the usual the performance trucks have not been very popular so by the end of 2006 all of the Big 3 have stopped production of the performance trucks.

This was the 2005 Hallmark ornament and it looks good though the front-end looks a bit squared off (more blocky) and a few details were missing, but overall it looks pretty good in blue.  The front has the detailed split headlights with mesh grille and bowtie in the center, while the lower bumper has silver brake cooling ducts and a 2003 license plate.  The sides show a clean and traditional truck profile with SS on the front doors and the proper 5-spoke wheels exclusive to the SS models.  At the rear the taillights have the round bumps on the sides, SS on the tailgate, and a body-colored rear bumper.  The bed area has the same present and pine tree that the Stepside has, but strangely the tree stands right straight up despite having more room in the bed.  The base shows off some more details that include the drivetrain, the exhaust (I detailed the exhaust to make the rear exhaust tip more noticeable), and even the spare tire at the rear.  The interior is nicely done with seating for five in plush seats, center console with cupholders, and a dashboard with 4-spoke steering wheels, center stack controls, and detailed air vents.  And just like the Stepside there's that ugly hook on the roof, but then again you're missing the point.

Hallmark makes a nice assortment of ornaments for the car-lovers, but be careful as others might not be as nicely done (the all-plastic Fire Engine for 2017 or the Family Truckster with no interior or moving wheels) just as long as you stick with the special car ornaments and you'll be able to identify them with realistic details, metal bodies, moving wheels, and of course a present and a pine tree.