Johnny Lightning 1961 Pontiac Catalina and Ertl 1:64 1962 Pontiac Catalina Super Duty

Here are a couple of cool Pontiac Catalina’s that are stylish and powerful and yet they seem to be under the light of the famous Pontiac GTO for cool 1960’s Pontiacs.  These two are perfectly detailed replica’s of the long-lost Catalina’s.

Johnny Lightning 1961 Catalina Ventura

The Catalina was Pontiac’s entry-level large car in the 1960’s and based on the Chevrolet Biscayne so any similarities between the two is prominent like this 1961’s bubble-top roofline.  The Catalina shares much of the styling with other Pontiac’s at the time including the split protruding grilles, quad headlights, side trim, and powertrains.  The interior offers room for six passengers with a large trunk and dashboard that has the same protruding design as the front grille.  In 1962 the styling was more upright with a typical roofline and the grille lacks the protruding design.  The powertrains include the 389 CID V8 that produces 267 horsepower through a three speed manual or automatic transmission, or in the Super Duty models the 421 CID V8 that makes 405 horsepower.  The Catalina continued the name into the early 1970’s before disappearing in 1981.

The Johnny Lightning 1961 is a beautiful gem that I found in cream color with red interior and it has enough brightwork to look more fancy than it really is because this is the Ventura trim level.  The front has detailed quad headlights with the protruding grille inside with detailed ribbed pattern, Pontiac logo in the center section that is part of the hood and the lower front bumper.  The sides feature the bubble top and side chrome trim billets with Ventura name in the section along the doors, while the rear has chrome trim on the sides that mate with the lower bumper, rectangular taillights and VENTURA letters between them.  The metal base shows off the exhaust and drivetrain along with a new boxed frame that eliminates the X-frame of the 1950’s, while the hood opens up to reveal the 389 V8 in blue with tri-carbs in silver, detailed intake manifold, valve covers, battery, radiator, and fluid resovoirs.  The interior has front and rear bench seats in red with detailed door panels and a dashboard that has the large dish steering wheel, gauges and radio controls mounted on the higher tier of the dashboard, and the shifter located on the floor.

What makes it even more stunning is the return of the Catalina casting in 2018 where it appeared in the blacked-out series and the best can be found in gloss black with red interior, clean of trim on the sides aside from the side Catalina stripe and engine badges on the front fenders and cool black steel wheels with chrome center cap and redline rubber tires that is an improvement over the reused Chevrolet rallye wheel in chrome on the Ventura.  This is a great casting and I’m glad to see it come back!

Ertl 1962 Super Duty

Then there’s the Ertl side of it: At the turn of the century AMT/Ertl decided to go back into the 1:64 scale car business with highly-detailed versions of popular American Muscle cars.  I have reviewed the 1965 Pontiac GTO that was revived in the Racing Champions Mint revival in 2016 and that was based on the Ertl model, but here’s an unusual offering based on the Catalina and that’s because of one thing: the big Super Duty motor.  In a stark contrast to the brightwork of the Johnny Lightning Ventura this one is bare bones in maroon color with body-colored steel wheels on rubber tires.  The front has quad headlights with individual round lenses on a chrome grille with Pontiac logo in the center and a lower bumper with 62CAT plate.  The windshield still has that rounded corner look with chrome trim and separate wiper blades, but the rest of the roof goes for a more traditional boxy look.  The sides have a clean look save for a chrome strip along the sides, while the rear has new vertical taillights that cove inside around the black valence panel, and check out those cool dual exhaust tips.

The base is an amazing masterpiece with individual parts that give the casting a 3D look underneath.  The front lower A-arms are lowered to fit the big motor in blue with silver transmission, the separate dual exhaust in silver, the rear axle with track bars, and the silver fuel tank.  The hood opens up to reveal the large motor in blue with separate valve covers, two carbs in silver, detailed intake manifold, alternator, radiator with connecting hose, and battery.  Also the trunk at the rear opens to show off lots of room with a small fuel cell in the center of the trunk.  The interior carries over the same design as the 1961 with the horizontal control layout now visible, the deep-dish steering wheel with chrome spokes, the floor shifter with visible knob, detailed door panels, and bench seats front and rear.  This is truly an amazing piece of work that is simple, yet powerful and joins the family of seldom-seen Pontiac Catalina replicas in diecast.