Here's another 30 year old Danbury Mint model that still holds up well. The 1940 Ford De luxe V8 Coupe, despite the old tech and lower parts count still has has quite a presence. They did a great job on replicating the nose with its intricate grill and all the way back to those cute chevron tail lamps. The "De Luxe" line began in 1938 as a "marque within a marque" offering some luxury upgrades to bridge the gap between Ford and Lincoln. By 1941, the 'gap bridges' included the "Special De Luxe" along with Mercury and the Zephyr. After the war, it was all distilled down to Ford, Mercury and Lincoln.
Rich: Great shots of a great model. This was one of my first from Danbury and still love it today along with the Hot Rod Version.
These are some great shots of an impressively red Deluxe car from Ford/Danbury Mint.
wonderful old model, another of my first DM buys
As usual, great pictures and writeup. When this model came out I wasn't too sure of the color being correct except for a commercial car but I bought it anyway. Then DM came out with the model in green and I immediately added it to my collection. Later then DM added the gray Tudor which displays beautifully with the coupes.
@bob-jackman I feel the same way about the color. In those early days when the Mints relied heavily on impulse buyers, they many times ignored period correct finishes for a color that would pop in those full page ads in the "Parade" Sunday supplement and red offered the biggest bang for the buck.
From an old reference I had, 1940 Ford colors were 12 for the car: Acadia Green, Black, Claret Maroon, Cloud Mist Gray, Como Blue, Cotswold Gray, Folkstone Gray, Garnet Maroon, Lyon Blue, Mandarin Maroon, Sahara Sand and Yosemite Green. The three maroon shades are far from this red on the Deluxe. Only the Ford trucks were painted in "Vermilion Red", which is the color seen here.
Have this model, love this model!
It is forever an iconic style and look that can be spotted a mile away when I attend car shows. There can be dozens of cars lined up in a row, and this Ford (and the '39 too) will immediately be the only car I see in that row. I will walk to it and spend the next 20 minutes (or longer) just admiring it.
In my opinion, Danbury Mint captured the time period and the car to a tee.
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota