#370 SCALEXTRIC - FORD MUSTANG and CHEVROLET CORVETTE (Ref. 4049 and 4050) (1974 and 1975)

Sorry for the delay in bringing new entries about Scalextric! I didn´t have good pictures, and until now, I couldn´t make new ones.

I present now two great model from the 70s that always go together: the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Corvette "Dragsters".

The first of these was released in 1974 with the reference number 4049 in four different colours: red, yellow, white and purple. The decals include the "nickname" of the car: "the Winner Drag" or “Thunderchief”, with racenumbers: 5, 7, 24 or 29. As in most car models by Scalextric, they were available with different decals, just in case one car has to race against the same model, it looks better if the cars have different race numbers.

 The second dragster was released in 1975 with the reference number 4050 in four colours: yellow, light blue, dark red and green. The nickname of this car is "Red Devil", although the car was never made in bright red. The available race numbers are: 26, 38, 45 and 52.

If you pay attention to the pictures, you´ll notice that the motor is actually the same cast, including the air intake in both models. The exhaust pipes look similar but are actually different, since they attach to the car differently. Using the same cast saves some money. Other nice details are the big tyre back and the small ones on the front, and they very suitable decoration with American stars and stripes, fire and American brands (Texaco, Shell, Firestone) decals.

I think it was a nice idea by Scalextric at the time, maybe influenced by the increasing popularity of Hot Wheels, and the Superfast series by Matchbox (and all its “fantasy” models). The real car models were never sold in Spain, although they were known by car enthusiasts from magazines or maybe from movies and tv series.

I also suspect that the cars didn´t sell as expected, because no more cars in this style were ever made, and it was a shame, there might have been a couple of nice models that would have looked great in 1:32. Some reasons could be that they’re not very good in race, because of its long shape and heavy weight, or that they were more expensive to manufacture (the motor has a small plastic fan and another small piece which are difficult to assembly, and the air intake has to be mounted on top).

All those pieces plus the exhaust pipes are very fragile, and they’re often broken or missing. In my case, both models have repro motors (otherwise, they would look so shiny!) and the Chevrolet has repro exhaust pipes. The rest of the cars are original pieces.

The Ford Mustang is only the chassis, I have some spare motors, but I still need to repair the chassis or find a new one, since the peg that holds the motor is broken.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Name: FORD MUSTANG and CHEVROLET CORVETTE (Ref. 4049 and 4050)
• Scale: 1:32
• Year: 1974 and 1975
• Company: Scalextric Exin (Spain)
• Size: approx. 15 cm