As a huge collector of Mopar collectibles, MoparInsiders.com Co-Editor Robert Miller said he was sending me a package in the mail of a newer collectible to review for the site. However, he wouldn’t tell me what it was. He just stated it was something he had found online and figured it would be a good addition to my collection.
Upon receiving the package, I tore apart the adhesive holding and I saw the rear end of a 2018 Jeep® Wrangler (JL) staring me in the face. Immediately I’m taken back by the quality of the model. “This is a Kinsmart!?” I thought to myself, in disbelief of what I was seeing. I pulled the rest of the model out of the packaging and I was greeted by easily one of the best Mopar diecast cars you can buy. Well, one of the best that isn’t a $150 collectible.
What makes this model so good then? I’ll tell you.
The Front:
What I like: The detail on the headlights, the proportions, and the bumper design.
What I don’t like: Nothing.
The best part of the front is the face. The detail and the accuracy here is astonishing for a model of this size. I try to stay away from saying this, but it’s like they shrunk a real Wrangler! It’s incredible how life-like this model looks just from the front-end alone, but that’s not all.
The Back:
What I like: The taillight detail, the inclusion of an external spare tire, the hinges on the doors and windows, and the third brake light above the spare tire.
What I don’t like: The taillights on my model might be a bit frail.
Once again, talk about detail. I mean, who puts hinges on the windows? The windows!? They didn’t even have to do that (especially considering the window doesn’t actually move), yet they did. It’s not easy to see in the photo, but the taillights also have the Military-style gas can shape in them. Exactly like the real 2018 Jeep Wrangler.
The Side:
What I like: The proportions are bang on, the indent for the vent near the wheel arch, the ride height is accurate, the rims, and all the detail around the doors and windshield.
What I don’t like: Nothing.
Like the front and back, the side almost seems like a celebration of how handsome the Wrangler (JL) is. What with the accuracy of this model and all. I mean, they even added detailing for what would be the outside door hinges! They don’t look like they were done in a half-hearted manner either. Aside from the hinges, the rest of the side is just as impressive. From the crease near the side vent to the Rubicon sticker, the silhouette shot doesn’t bring any weaknesses to light.
The Top:
What I like: The cut lines for where the roof could be removed are visible, and the Willy Jeep Easter egg in the windshield wiper base is visible.
What I don’t like: The roof isn’t actually removable (you can buy one of these without the top though).
Not much to say here. It’s a splendidly done model in this area as well. The indents in the hood can be seen, the vents look great, and the fact that they added the Easter egg into the model just makes this model cooler.
The Bottom:
What I like: The fact there is chassis detail.
What I don’t like: The motor for the pull-back function kinda gets in the way.
Once again, there’s not much to say here. There is one thing though: Kinsmart didn’t have to go to the trouble to detail the under-body as they have here. I don’t think many would’ve cared given how nice the rest of the car is. Yet they did it anyway. That deserves a small tip-of-the-hat to Kinsmart.
The Interior:
What I like: The dash detail.
What I don’t like: Perhaps they could’ve had stickers on the touch screen and instrument panels.
As I keep saying, it’s amazing how much detail they crammed into a vehicle this small. It’s made even more amazing when you see that they didn’t drop the ball on the interior either. It genuinely looks like a Wrangler’s interior in there. Even down to the shape of the air vents! Now that is attention to detail.
Conclusion:
As I said at the beginning of this article, I wasn’t expecting a Kinsmart model to be this nice. This model has so much detail and is so accurate, I would say it could rival much more expensive brands. Brands like GT Spirit and AutoArt. It’s that good. Of course, material quality, add some stickers to the interior and increase the size to 1/18th scale, but that’s it!
The fact you can get such a high-quality model with this level of accuracy for less than $15 dollars is astounding. Oh, I forgot to mention the price. Yeah, this model starts at less than $15 dollars. So what are you waiting for!? Buy it!
I couldn’t be more surprised by this model. It makes the MotorMax Challenger posted recently look like it was assembled by blind monkeys. Kinsmart really stepped up their game with this model. If they keep it up with their other models, they’ll easily become the sellers of the best inexpensive models money can buy. Now, we have no affiliation with Kinsmart and this article is entirely our own opinion.
Tell us what you think down below of this diecast below in the comments? Would you buy it?
Kinsmart 1/34 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (JL) Diecast Image Gallery:
