The Star Chief was a car built by
General Motors' Pontiac division between 1954 and 1966.
Between 1954 and 1957, the Star Chief was Pontiac's prestige
model; the car was easy identified by its chrome star trim along
its sides. When the storyline of I Love Lucy pointed towards a
Hollywood setting in the 1954-1955 season, the characters
"drove" (Episode #109, Aired January 3, 1955) to the West Coast
in a 1955 Star Chief convertible.
A new player is in the highly
detailed die-cast arena and they are coming out swinging. Well
Sunstar is really not
new to the arena but this Star Chief could go toe to toe with
anything that any Mint could make, and all most ½ the price. The
rich detail in this car just screams high end. When I received
this car I opened the box, I thought I was handling a one
hundred to a one hundred and thirty five dollar car, when they
told me the price was much, much lower, I wondered how they
could do it.
The detailing
on the interior is top notch, the gages are very clear, the sun
visors have the full range of motion the original car had. The
seats have a very nice feel about them, although molded plastic
they look of a much higher quality then you would expect to find
at this price point. The convertible top boot I would like to
draw your eyes to but more importantly your fingers to, it has
the look and feel of leather.
The floor mats have a wonderful
feel about them, ridged as to have grooving inlayed. The petals
look very realistic, not just put there but placed in height and
depth. The speaker grill is also well done, the holes are to
scale and in the correct pattern.
The doors are
another area of wonder. The cranks, locks and interior door
handles all very well done. Also for the price range this car
falls into, they go above and beyond what other manufactures
would do. Look into the door jam, all the stickers are there!
Good show SunStar!
The motor is what you would expect
to see in a much more expensive car, although not perfect it is
well done. Look at the detail; the wiring, the hoses, the
battery cable, the spark plug wires, all there and all are well
done. Look at the level of detail in the motor stickers, the
placement, and the clarity. I love the trouble they went through
for the alternator bracket, the negative battery cable. Well
Done. I could go on and on, the photos do not do this justice.
SunStar has set
the bar high for anyone producing precision models with this
car. The platinum line adds a whole new dimension to its
reputation for producing precision models. I am truly
impressed with this car and it is a must have for any serious
collector. I hope that they use this car as the standard
for all their future production runs.
My Verdict:
That one is
easy. Just look at the photos above. This is a must have car and
for the price, don't be foolish and pass this one up.
With Kind
Regards
Frank
Did I tell you the windshield
wipers are individually sprung and move..TOO COOL!!!