En la actualidad, las personas están acostumbradas a su vida contemporánea de "50 sombras de gris" así que, debe haber sido para ellos un completo despropósito, una era cuando hombres y mujeres por igual, vestían de pies a cabeza con colores neón y/o estampados metalizados de animales, Madonna y Michael Jackson estuvieron en su glamoroso apogeo y series de TV como: Alf, Los Magníficos, Transformers o películas como: Robocop, Cazafantasmas, Regreso al Futuro eran el "estándar dorado"...
Más aún, mirar tales extravagancias nostálgicas hoy en día, debe ser la experiencia más chabacana y espantosa que podrían tener...
Pero afortunadamente son minoría y personas como yo, con un sentido de historicidad más desarrollado, entendimos que, en términos de cultura popular, la década de los 80s es, de lejos, la más influyente de la era moderna...
La frikimanía, frikitribu, frikiniverso, frikinacimiento o como lo quieras llamar, no existiría si no fuera por los ochentas y debo admitir que mi propio blog tiene un desconcertante y sutil gusto friki (probablemente porque el dueño mismo es "algo" bizarro =PPPPP)...
No obstante, los autos de los 80s, no disfrutan del mismo cariño entre los entusiastas de los coches; incluso hubo un tiempo, no hace mucho, cuando yo despotricaba sobre su apariencia y prestaciones generales (¡lo cual no fue una actitud muy friki, que verguenza!)...
Las curvas estuvieron reinando por un largo, largo tiempo en el diseño automotriz, prácticamente desde que el primer automóvil "vió la luz" y supongo que la mayoría de gente debió pensar: "si es un carro, entonces debe ser curvilíneo".
Pero los ochentas llegaron, una nueva brisa (o debería decir tormenta) estremeció la industria del auto y las líneas rectas se convirtieron en las nuevas curvas...
Desde luego, tomó un tiempo para que las personas se acostumbraran a esta tendencia innovadora; en efecto desde el 78 en adelante, todos los modelos hechos por los principales fabricantes de coches estuvieron allanando el camino y no solo eso, los carros mismos fueron notoriamente encogidos en la mayoría de casos, principalmente porque la crisis petrolera de los 70s tuvo algunas repercusiones en la siguiente década.
El Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Coupé de 1987, es una muestra, más que apropiada, de la tendencia reinante durante los 80s y un auto que resultó un tanto subestimado en esa época.
Fue parte de la cuarta generación del Monte Carlo (1981-1988) y puedes ver que fue rebajado de la plataforma A de tamaño completo a la plataforma G de tamaño intermedio, con una reducción importante del tamaño y peso general, a fin de mantenerlo competitivo.
Este modelo estaba destinado a ser un oponente del Ford Thunderbird, pero claramente el T-Bird del 87 luce bastante más lujoso, curvilíneo y avanzado, en términos de estilo, que el respectivo Monte Carlo.
Con todo, pienso que el último fue reasignado a un segmento más deportivo, emparentado con el Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme o Buick Regal / Grand National, los cuales comparten un trabajo similar de carrocería: cuadrado, varonil y pulcro, que aprecio mucho más que antes, aunque el modelo Chevrolet fue una versión más despojada de esta plataforma GM.
Cuando hablamos de prestaciones, los modelos de los 80s están muy, muy lejos de las especificaciones de los Muscle Cars originales de los 60s y 70s, pero una vez revisas los números cuidadosamente, encontrarás que tampoco eran un mal negocio.
Para el Monte Carlo SS podías conseguir el motor de 305 pulgadas cúbicas, 5.0 L, V8 de Bloque Pequeño, clasificado en 180 hp, acoplado a una transmisión automática 200-R4 de 4 velocidades, en una configuración de tracción trasera...
Nada excesivamente sorprendente, pero con algunas modificaciones, ¡el Monte Carlo ha sido un serio contendor en las carreras NASCAR!...
Por alguna razón, tuve una corazonada sobre el destino de Johnny Lightning en el mercado de diecast y decidí conseguir tantos buenos modelos JL dentro de mi presupuesto, como fuera posible, lo cual pienso fue una decisión acertada porque, tristemente, mi corazonada se convirtió en realidad no hace mucho.
Este fue un gran hallazgo entre los importados de un colega coleccionista y parte de los últimos lanzamientos de la era Takara Tomy, justo antes de su extinción; para mí, fue una especie de despedida honrosa y los seguidores de esta marca entenderán lo que digo...
La presentación para esta línea, algo que podríamos llamar "Serie Regular", fue bastante similar a aquella de la Línea Principal de Hot Wheels, con una tarjeta más pequeña pero más gruesa, el frente está impreso a color mientras que la parte de atrás a una tinta; el diseño es moderno, limpio y muy atractivo en mi opinión y la burbuja mantiene el modelo firmemente en posición.
El trabajo en el molde fue de primera categoría y notablemente por encima del Monte Carlo SS del 86 hecho por HW un año antes, con excelente proporción y calidad; extrañamente, la escala es 1:66, pero luce más grande que eso.
La construcción en esta réplica, con carrocería en diecast y chasis plástico, fue un paso en falso, una estrategia equivocada para recortar costos de Tomy, supongo, tratando de rebajar JL al nivel de HW, cuando históricamente éstas estaban dirigidas a distintos segmentos del mercado (y de alguna forma, una señal de las verdaderas intenciones de Tomy con Johnny Lightning)...
Tiene un encantador trabajo de pintura en blanco que es fiel a una de las opciones en el auto real, complementado por tampos precisos para los gráficos SS e insignias, la parrilla frontal, luces delanteras, luces de cola y molduras de las ventanas.
Los interiores en borgoña están bellamente detallados y las ventanas son increíblemente claras, como si fueran hechas en policarbonato. Este modelo carece de apertura de capó pero ofrece ruedas multiparte con rimes plateados extrarealistas y ruedas labradas en caucho, es una muestra de la bien merecida reputación de Johnny Lightning.
Sal 25:8-10 "Bueno y recto es JEHOVÁ; por tanto, ÉL enseñará a los pecadores el Camino. Encaminará a los humildes por el juicio, y enseñará a los mansos su carrera. Todas las sendas de JEHOVÁ son misericordia y verdad, para los que guardan SU Pacto y SUS Testimonios."
ENGLISH In the present day, people are accustomed to their "50 shades of grey" contemporary life so, it must have seemed for them a complete absurdity, an era when men and women alike dressed from head to toe with neon colors and/or metallic animal prints, Madonna and Michael Jackson were in their glamorous heyday and TV series like: Alf, A-Team, Transformers or movies like: Robocop, Ghostbusters, Back To The Future were the "golden standard"... All the more, watch such nostalgic extravagances nowadays, must be the most tawdry and hideous experience they could ever have...
But fortunately they are minority and persons like me, with a sense of historicity more developed, understood that in terms of popular culture, the 80’s decade is, by far, the most influential of the modern era...
The geekmania, geekdom, geekniverse, geeknnaisance or whatever you wanna call it, wouldn’t exist if not for the eighties and I must admit that my own blog has a baffling and subtle geek taste (probably because the owner himself is "kinda" bizarre =PPPPP)...
Nonetheless, the cars from the 80s, don’t enjoy of the same affection among the car enthusiast; even there was a time, not so long ago, when I ranted about their overall appearance and performance (which was a not very geek attitude, shame on me!)...
The curves were ruling for a long, long time in the automotive design, virtually since the first automobile "saw the light" and I guess most people should think: "if it’s a car, then it must be curvy".
But the eighties arrived, a brand new breeze (or should I say storm) shuddered the car industry and the straight lines became the new curves...
Of course, it took some time for people to get used to this groundbreaking trend; indeed from ’78 onwards, all the models made by the main carmakers were paving the way and not only that, the cars themselves were notoriously shrunken in most cases, mainly because the 70’s oil crisis had some aftermath in the next decade.
The 1987 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Coupe, is a more than appropriate sample of the prevailing trend during the 80s and a car that was kinda underestimated at that time.
It was part of the fourth generation of the Monte Carlo (1981-1988) and you can see it was downgraded from the full size A-platform to the intermediate size G-platform, with an important reduction in overall size and weight, in order to keep it competitive.
This model was meant to be an opponent for the Ford Thunderbird, but clearly the ’87 T-Bird looks quite more luxurious, curvy and advanced, in terms of style, than the respective Monte Carlo.
Yet, I think that the latter was reassigned to a more sporty segment, related with the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme or Buick Regal / Grand National, which share a similar squared, manly and neat bodywork, that i appreciate much more than before, although the Chevrolet model was a more stripped version of this GM platform.
When we talk about performance, the models of the 80s are very, very far from the specifications of the original Muscle Cars from the 60s and 70s, but once you check the numbers carefully, you will find that they weren’t a bad deal either.
For the Monte Carlo SS you could get the 305 cu in, 5.0 L, Small Block V8 engine, rated at 180 hp, coupled to a 4-speed 200-R4 automatic transmission, in a rear wheel drive configuration...
Nothing exceedingly amazing, but with some modifications, the Monte Carlo has been a serious contender in the NASCAR racing!...
For some reason, I had a hunch about the fate of Johnny Lightning in the diecast market and I decided to get as many nice JL models within my budget, as possible, which I think was a sound decision because sadly, my hunch came true not so long ago.
This was a great finding among the imports of a fellow collector and part of the latest releases of the Takara Tomy era, right before its extinction; for me, it was a sort of honorable farewell and the followers of this brand will understand what I mean...
The presentation for this line, something we could call "Regular Series", was pretty similar to that of the Hot Wheels mainline, with a card smaller but thicker, the front is printed in color while the back in one ink; the design is modern, clean and very attractive in my opinion and the bubble keeps the model firmly in position.
The work on the casting was top notch and markedly above the ’86 Monte Carlo SS made a year before by HW, with excellent proportion and quality; oddly, the scale is 1:66, but it looks bigger than that.
The construction in this replica, with diecast body and plastic chassis, was a misstep, a wrong strategy to cut down costs by Tomy, I guess trying to downgrade JL to the level of HW, when historically these were aimed for dissimilar segments of the market (and somehow, a signal of the true intentions of Tomy with Johnny Lightning)...
It has a charming white paint job that is faithful to one of the options in the actual car, complemented by accurate tampos for the SS graphics and insignias, the front grille, head lights, tail lights and window moldings.
The interiors in burgundy are nicely detailed and the windows are incredibly clear, as if they were made in polycarbonate. This model lacks openable hood but offers multipart wheels with extra realistic silver rims and styled rubber tires; on the whole, it’s a sample of the well deserved reputation of Johnny Lightning.
Psa 25:8-10 "Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will HE teach sinners in the way. The meek will HE guide in judgment: and the meek will HE teach HIS Way. All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep HIS Covenant and HIS Testimonies."
don’t worry pal, actually i’m in such hustle and bustle typical for the Christmas time... also this publication was a bit late for the same reason...
uhmmm, the boxy vehicles were not in my "wishlist" for a long time, but thanks to my hobby, i have developed a special liking for cars like the Monte Carlo and others from the same epoch... certainly Johnny Lightning has made honor to its reputation with this model !!!... hopefully, it will be revived in the future, like the great brand it was for many years, i will be waiting for that !!!... =)
Si quieres echarle un vistazo a mi trabajo como diseñador gráfico profesional, solo haz click en la imagen superior... ENGLISH If you want to have a look at my work as professional graphic designer, just click on the image above...
My alternate blog in WordPress
From now, I will be publishing basically the same contents in both blogs, but for reviews before March 18, 2019, you must read my Blogger blog...
I’m a professional graphic designer and a restful collector, but above all: I’m someone who doesn’t take for granted anything, just because someone else says so. I think this hobby goes way beyond buying stuff here and there: anybody with money can buy collectibles, but not anybody becomes collector by doing so. I think as well that this hobby is, more than anything, about knowledge, about making sense of what happens around us and just like any other kind of knowledge, if it’s devoid of ethics, is worthless. I like to address topics around collectionism, including, but not limited to: history, industry, forums, groups, collectors, distributors, sellers, etc. I’m fully aware that criticism is essential for our hobby: everything is susceptible of improvement and we the collectors demand quality, but the industry around it doesn’t necessarily shares that vision. After all, well-targeted criticism always helps to detect failures and correct them, it’s like critical thinking: it helps you see things as they really are and not just as how they are presented to you. If you are someone who likes to look beyond the surface, welcome, if that is not the case, continue at your own risk...
Creo que cualquier visitante atento, puede notar el cuidado en la elaboración de los contenidos (reseñas) y la calidad de las imágenes que los ilustran... TODOS SON DE MI AUTORÍA (incluyendo la ilustración del cabezote). Si desea citarlos o usar las imágenes, agradecería que pida mi autorización (no creo que se la niegue, porque eso ayudará a la divulgación de mi blog...) y por favor, cite la fuente https://my1bloggyexp.blogspot.com/
Don’t you even dare to... I think that whoever visits this blog, can notice the carefulness in the elaboration of the contents (reviews) and the quality of the images that illustrate them... I’M THE AUTHOR OF ALL (the header’s illustration is included). If you want to quote them or use my images, I would appreciate that you ask me for an authorization (I don’t think I would deny your request, because it will help to the divulgation of my blog...) and please, quote the source https://my1bloggyexp.blogspot.com/
COPYRIGHTS TO THE OWNERS !!! Please be aware that all the pictures and/or videos linked in my publications belong to their respective owners and I do not pretend to steal their rights of copy by any means, under any circumstance, because their purpose is strictly informative / illustrative and if I can help them in the divulgation of their work, the better... Neither I use them for any kind of sales since THIS IS NOT A COMMERCIAL BLOG... Obviously, I don’t want others to do this kind of robbery with my stuff !!!
Samuraidoll Robots Zenigata
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Cool purchase yesterday is a Samuraidoll Robots Zenigata Wave point version
sofubi figure… It represents a robot-like samurai… Features a silver head...
Disney Princess Rapunzel - Tangled (2010) Version
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This is the review of Disney Princess Rapunzel doll from the film "Tangled"
in 2010. Priced at around USD26.00 locally, I'm quite excited about this 12
i...
Proceso de un cartoon...
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*Cuando tienes una idea ya sea completa o a medias...siempre se empieza con
un buen boceto...lo más importante es la inspiración y las ganas de
concreta...
Hornby Railroad A4 Mallard to Silver Fox
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[image: Hornby Railroad A4 Mallard to Silver Fox]
This is the start of my OO gauge modeling by detailing and renaming
Railroad Mallard to Silver Fox, start...
Ford Mustang Mach 1 1970 Monster Truck, M2-Jada
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Continuando con la goma de los modificados, el de hoy es una modificación
propia. Todo coleccionista ha modificado, desde su niñez, desde que
colecciona...
Blog OverHaul!
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Title says it all. I have created a new blog site!
New site, same love for the hobby that we enjoy!
Please visit the new site by following the link below...
Gundam Model Kit Contest 2014 Malaysia
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The Gundam Model Kit Contest is back again for 2014, also known as Gundam
Mid Year Challenge in 2013. The venue is again at Sungai Wang Plaza in the
hea...
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
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[image: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas]
With a heritage rooted within the James Bond lore, the Aston Martin DBS is
one sexy car.
It's a g...
Photo Collection: 1
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Over my year hiatus I still played around with stuff I had picked up and
would occasionally snap some pics with my phone, either with the built in
camera ...
Maisto Elite Transport Ford Model A
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Hello guys. Today, I'm sharing you a haul I found during my stay in Qatar
for holiday vacation. This is from AllStars Elite Transport by Maisto.
I admit th...
2 comments:
Sorry for the late comment due to tight schedule with work, year end errands and house revamp projects.
JL did it again with always impressive die-cast and cool chevy there. 80s' cars have these edgy or angular design. It's nice in a simple saloon way.
don’t worry pal, actually i’m in such hustle and bustle typical for the Christmas time... also this publication was a bit late for the same reason...
uhmmm, the boxy vehicles were not in my "wishlist" for a long time, but thanks to my hobby, i have developed a special liking for cars like the Monte Carlo and others from the same epoch... certainly Johnny Lightning has made honor to its reputation with this model !!!... hopefully, it will be revived in the future, like the great brand it was for many years, i will be waiting for that !!!... =)
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