REVIEW: KengFai G-Patton aka USSV Rhino GX • DiecastSociety.com

REVIEW: KengFai G-Patton aka USSV Rhino GX

While a Laferrari definitely needs no introduction, you (like myself) will probably never have heard about the G-Patton. Hence a little introduction that is not an end in itself but will prove relevant for the review. So please bear with me and take note.

If you have never heard about the G-Patton, you are most likely not Chinese, as ”G-Patton” is a branding exclusively for the Chinese market where it is named after a very popular movie on the WWII US general. It was launched there with the general´s grandson quoting his famous words “Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way” and the vehicle is appropriately named after him in that it certainly conveys the latter part of this quotation clearly enough. Of course, you may have guessed that, with this name, initially it was not a Chinese product either, but imports from the US, where US Specialty Vehicles (USSV) is producing it as the Rhino GX, another appropriate name for this steel pachyderm. To be precise, it´s more of a conversion process than from-scratch-manufacturing, in that they take a Ford F-450 plus a Ford V10 gas or V8 diesel engine and basically put different steel body-panels, suspension and wheels on it to convert it from a heavy-duty truck into a giant SUV that purposefully resembles an armoured personnel carrier only offered in three colours befitting different war theatres: desert sand, tactical green and this stealth black.

But despite the looks and very much unlike its archetype this clone is not armoured at all. You will, however, easily see how USSV has taken design cues from the Knight XV, which in return is a fully armoured luxury civilian version of the Gurkha LAPV, or its unarmoured twin, the Evade, both by Conquest Vehicles, Canada. Since 2018, though, the Chinese and USSV seem to go separate ways, with the G-Patton starting to differ from the Rhino and USSV being very tight-lipped about it.

Phew, thanks again for your patience. Now, how is all of that relevant for this model? First things first, it says a lot about the hobby today what is being made as a model and what isn´t. Chinese model manufacturers self-confidently put into production models and specifications for a Chinese market, not necessarily something that would have been an American or European choice. That´s why Kengfai neither makes a Knight XV nor a USSV Rhino GX, but a G-Patton. And we in the rest of the world can take it or leave it, can bless ourselves lucky to get it, as simple as that (many contemporary every-day-cars, e.g. my Ford Mondeo, my old VW Santana, the Rover 75/MG ZT/ MG-7 after the brand had been sold to China by the British, etc. – all these would never have been made if they weren´t popular in China). With the G-Patton it is not only a matter of mere rebranding either. In fact, our model reveals G-Patton´s entire lineage.

KengFai´s model arrived extremely well protected from Carloverdiecast for exactly the just “north of 200$” for which this site announced it (but is sold out there and has risen in price elsewhere since). The matt black paint is applied evenly, but somehow mine shows colour differences, whitish spots and clouds, some of which could result from the model being handled without gloves, which you should never ever do with any matt paint models. The model has very detailed replicas of the 2017 Ford F 450 headlights, thus showing its origins. The SUV features four nicely detailed additional rectangular led spotlights and to white position lights on the front roof.

Comparing the model with a Chinese 2018 leaflet of the G-Patton shows that the USSV prancing rhino badges have meanwhile given way to the Chinese brand´s star, e.g. on the front photo-edged grille of the model. Further differing from the USSV, the triangular front bumper corners with inset fog lights are more reminiscent of the Ford Raptor´s design, bearing a G-Patton presentation number plate instead of the G-Patton GX name that was closer to USSV´s own Rhino GX nomenclature on the Chinese 2018 brochure. The rugged wheel-arches are not really an add-on screwed to the body but moulded in one piece with the rest of the diecast body, which contributes to the heft of the vehicle being translated into real weight, 4lb (2000gr) to be precise. The nuts or bolts carefully coloured in shiny silver convey the effect, though. The heavy-duty and fully branded offroad-tires are on detailed black rims whose centre displays the Patton´s US Army style single star, while in the US it has an USSV badge. As usual with Chinese market models, little attention has been given to the brakes.

At the rear, a fifth wheel contributes its 18mm tire-width as a spare wheel to the massive 340mm total length of the behemoth. It is held on an extra bar that swings open separately from the tailgate, both held close by magnets. Two exhaust-pipe-tips are so thin and deeply hollowed that I suspect they could be metal. Taillights are executed in great detail with sharp distinctions between clear transparent cover, red and amber insets dotted with led spots and a red ring around the bottom reversing light. Similarly well-done are the fog light in the rear right bumper and the position lights on the roof with a transparent red on chrome fittings. The side markers on the rear flanks and the third braking light with blinker sections are more average.

Along its sides the truck has steps, one chrome bar with black insets to step into the car and two rectangular insets in the doors with a knurled alloy treadplate to take a ride clinging to the outside of the cabin by using the grab handles along the roofline on each side and at the rear. Unlike at the real car, these are unfortunately not knurled. A feature often found on models for the Chinese market is the two glass sunroofs that will tilt open and have a sliding sunshade underneath.

As warlike as it may look from the outside, this limousine-like divided cabin of the Executive version has only got seating for four despite the vehicle’s overall size. Two passengers ride in the back on first-class seats complete with textile belts and photo-etched buckles loads of wooden-floored leg-room, a touchscreen at their fingertips on the centre armrest to control the 50” TV above the diner that served as a division to the front cabin. The veneer on the diner is not as convincing as on the floor, but the diner has glass doors on each side that I suspect can be opened, but I have not managed yet. A particularly interesting last-minute-change over the sample that this site showed only two months ago is that the USSV prancing rhino badges, e.g. on the steps of the open rear doors and on the diner top, have disappeared. Instead, the G-Patton star logo has been printed on the stairs and on the interior liner of the C-pillar. Obviously, KengFai has obtained no license by USSV, but only by G-Patton (as the box says), thus illustrating that the two have some sort of beef.

The front interior shows its Ford origins: Here, too, the steering wheel as an empty white oval at its centre where clearly the Ford trademark would be but has apparently not been licensed. And the G-Patton has the more recent Ford 450 and Raptor air vents, not circular ones like the old F 450, USSV or Knight. The footwell is of particular notice, as it has a separate rubber floormat and thereby proves attention to detail in a rather unusual place. The moulded in structures on the seat and doorsills are somewhat nice, but not half as convincing.

Including the mirrors, this model is exceptionally wide and even surpasses the width of a Mercedes Actros truck at a whopping 155 mm. So a glance under the hood that lifts on struts makes you wonder what the power plant will be: The engine bay faithfully resembles the G-Patton´s Ford F150´s 374hp, 470 lb-ft 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, thereby making it a deviation from USSV´s less powerful Ford V10 gas and much more powerful Ford V8 diesel power plants. This is one of the major changes of the now independent Chinese manufacturer G-Patton, obviously having severed links with USSV around 2018. I like how the coolant tank is somewhat convincingly split into a transparent top and a red lower part to resemble the reddish coolant liquid. The batteries are fully wired and have printed on them. The level of detail is great and it will be interesting to see how AUTOart´s Ford Raptor engine bay with the similar V6 engine will compare (although the Raptor´s V6 is supercharged to 450hp and 510 lb-ft).

For 200$ this exotic billionaire´s battle cruiser seems pretty bulletproof. But alas, I do have to report that my attention was unduly drawn to how the rear axle is mounted. The plastic axle is mounted onto the plastic spring-leaves by merely a thin plastic pin, one of which arrived broken with me. I wrote to CLDC immediately, addressing both the axle and the colour issues, shared my above pictures, but received no response whatsoever. As a first-time-customer, I feel a little disappointed by their aftersales, especially as the rest of the buying process was unusually pleasant for purchase from China. As a model, this interesting exotic has a story to tell, provides more of a talking point than most models and is certainly worth making an entry into any 1:18 collection with a taste for the unusual.

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12 Responses to "REVIEW: KengFai G-Patton aka USSV Rhino GX"

  1. ss19 says:

    “But alas, I do have to report that my attention was unduly drawn to how the rear axle is mounted. The plastic axle is mounted onto the plastic spring-leaves by merely a thin plastic pin, one of which arrived broken with me. I wrote to CLDC immediately, addressing both the axle and the colour issues, shared my above pictures, but received no response whatsoever.”

    Unfortunately, now a lot of defective models come from China. And, not only new, but also long-known… Thanks for the review!

  2. DS Team says:

    Interesting piece, not something we would have expected to see in scale anytime soon. I assume the model’s exterior is made of diecast metal?

    Sorry to hear about your lack of customer service here, as service after the sale is paramount in this hobby, I’m sure this will shape your future buying decesions,

    • Karsten says:

      Yes. it´s 2kg of full diecast metal. I bought from China because I didn´t expect it to become available. When it came up for pre-order at a nationally based retailer at a 50 Euro premium and delivery only at the end of December I considered cancelling my order and buying from someone who could be obliged to guarantee quality. In the interest of this review and because of the price advantage I decided to honour my pre-order with CLDC. And now the dealer in my country has sold all of them. Next time I´ll really need to re-consider.

  3. Sac says:

    Customer support quality notwithstanding, i like the aggro look of the model and its size and stance as well…i am tempted to go for the model but the flimsy nature of some key parts is a thing making me reconsider..

  4. JIMMY says:

    That’s disappointing to hear with regards to quality control and the lack of response. This car is actually my third one from that same website. All of them unfortunately have some minor flaws. The first two had paint flaws, and my G-Patton, although not broken like yours was, had scratches on the rear tire. It was as if some kid had played with the rear tire for a day or two because it looked beat up. I haven’t made any efforts to contact them only because when looking at the shipping box, it seemed like this vehicle may have been directly shipped from its original Kengfai manufacturer’s shipping box to the website and then to my house.

    For the price, the only thing I would’ve asked for is a carpeted interior. But this is the heaviest diecast model I have ever seen or touched. It feels like the suspension is about to give out from underneath at any moment, so your point about broken parts on the suspension is very valid due to the sheer weight of the car. I feel like storing mine on top of a stock instead of letting it display on it’s axles.

    I will say despite all of these issues, I wish Kengfai all the best in the hobby. They actually made a diecast and more affordable Audi RS7 in a world where everyone wants to make everything into resin. I love how they dare to make interest models like this car as well. In a way, they are almost like a Chinese market diecast version of Autocult. I mean, who else has the guts to make a Toyota Alphard minivan??!! I do look forward to their range expanding in the future though. Because of this alone, they will continue to get my money over these resin manufacturers.

    • Karsten says:

      Oh? You had issues with EACH of your orders from them? Actually they send me photos of the models being secured for shipping: They take all the models from the boxes and try to add extra packaging, e.g. these little foam bits into the interior of the styrofoam shell and the cabin of the car. Any production mistake and manufacturer´s QC issue is something they must have noticed … and ignored. If it wasn´t a pre-existing problem, issues might be CAUSED by opening all the boxes, styrofoam shells and handling each model. The only other explanation is extremely bad treatment by the parcel service. However, that does not explain paint issues.

      I doubt the photos I was sent really show mine, though, because the photos show that the front wheels weren´t parallel. Mine does not have this issue.

      Oh, yes, and I, too, display mine supporting its weight from underneath. I agree that having this 2kg diecast rest on its own wheels does not seem a good idea in the long run.

      • JIMMY says:

        The paint flaws were not uneven paint texture, I probably should’ve explain. It is actually scratches near the hinges of the opening parts. I had previously never opened the car’s door, and even if I did, the panels should not come into contact with the car itself as to scratch the paint. It is also around areas that don’t come into contact with the packaging, so I have ruled that out.

        I don’t plan to make any complaints, as I am happy with the prices I paid when compared to retail prices. Both of these models are also out of stock, so I don’t think anything could’ve been done anyway. It’s a shame, and I am not one to complain. But I could easily see it as something that you can complain about.

    • DS Team says:

      There seems to be a pattern here, no? As for the Audi RS7, we agree! We know for a fact this is the MINIKRAFT mould, which we reviewed a number of years back. A very capable model of a rare, 360 access Audi RS!

      • JIMMY says:

        Agreed. Because their prices are usually very good, I feel it is even more bittersweet that their models have had flaws. It makes me feel bad to complain about a little part when their models are priced below their competitors and ship out quicker than other retailers that I usually buy from. It’s an unfortunate catch-22. I do hope that the majority of their customers have had better luck than us and hope that they are more isolated situations.

        With the Audi that you mentioned, I think this is the most unpredictable diecast company right now! No one else has randomly released a high end Japanese minivan, a high performance rare (in diecast form) European sports sedan, and (for the sake of our conversation, practically a) paramilitary vehicle. I think its anybody’s guess as to what weird vehicles they will make. As you mentioned in your vehicle, it’s probably going to be something popular in China, but probably something unusual and unexpected as well. Can’t wait!

  5. Braddell says:

    I also had quality issues with products bought from CLDC. Had returned 3 times in total. To be fair, most issues are manufacturer’s fault. Maybe I just don’t have luck with CLDC. Their prices are competitive, but guess I am not gonna buy from them again. In terms of brand, I have encountered more issues with Kengfai and Otto. It’s a pity since both brands made many interesting models.

    • Karsten says:

      Thanks for sharing your experience, doesn´t look like I´m gonna buy from them again if I can help it. I have a Kengfai Lykan delivered through Schuco, no issues at all. I´d rather pay more and have a perfect model than bargain b-stock. I only buy abroad if it looks like it won´t be made available in Europe. I wanted to be fair and honour my order, when I could have cancelled it as soon as pre-orders became available here – with all the legal customers satisfaction guarantees covered by national and European law.

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