In an attempt to re-use existing
castings while putting out new product, Johnny Lightning offers its Rock Art
series. It’s an interesting idea, yet
strangely executed. The series features
ten cars sporting album cover artwork from three performers: Guns N Roses, Iron Maiden and Elvis
Presley? It’s an unusual mix to say
the least. Now, I’ve been a huge Elvis
fan since I was a little kid and when I heard about these Elvis-themed cars, I
was eager with anticipation, but having held them in my hands, I’m a little
disappointed. I don’t have a problem
with the makes and models chosen. What
would an Elvis collection be without a few Cadillacs in the mix? But, Johnny Lightning decided to go with a
rainbow of bright colors (green, orange, yellow, pink!) while adding black and
white tampos. Sadly, the black and white
artwork comes across as bland and boring. They didn’t even attempt to include
the colors featured on each of the album covers that come with the cars. Take for example Elvis Gold Records - Volume
2, on the cover of which, Elvis is sporting the now-famous gold suit. The
Cadillac included is PINK. Wouldn't it have made more sense to make the car ...
oh, I don't know ... GOLD? Interestingly, of the six cars offered in the
Elvis line, only one comes close to resembling a car featured in any of Elvis’
movies. The white 1965 427 Shelby Cobra
resembles the car featured in the 1966 film Spinout. However, the car is
included with a mini-replica of the album cover from Viva Las Vegas. That one has me scratching my head.
Rounding out the series are cars
featuring artwork from Guns N Roses and Iron Maiden. Although I’m not a fan of these bands, the
artwork is more eye-catching on these cars than the Elvis cars. The most striking is the black school bus
with the red Iron Maiden tampo across the side.
A must-have for any fan of Iron Maiden.
In summary, I’m not a fan of castings
sporting pop-culture tampos, but I understand why Johnny Lightning does it. They need to maximize the use of a casting,
and they need to draw new collectors into the market. An Elvis collector, who may not normally
collect die-cast cars, may be introduced to Johnny Lightning with this new
series. The same thing applies to fans
of Guns N Roses or Iron Maiden. Personally, I’ll stick with
realism.
Joe Johnson
www.hollywood-diecast.com
