REVIEW: KK Scale Ferrari 365/4 GTS "Miami Vice" • DiecastSociety.com

REVIEW: KK Scale Ferrari 365/4 GTS “Miami Vice”

If Jan Hammer´s Miami Vice theme is just now playing inside your head to pictures of swaying palm trees, flamingos, bikini girls, boats and a surfer bending over backwards to dip his head in the water, then you were alive in the mid-1980s and this model works. You can skip the next paragraph, … pal.

This model very recognizably is the 365/4 GTB convertible from THE trend-setting 1980s TV series, featuring all the fashion, pop music (e.g. Phil Collins), new acting talents (like Bruce Willis) and supercars. How do we know, though KK Models don´t mention Miami Vice anywhere, neither on the box of the car nor on the boxes of the figurines (to be purchased separately) that so clearly represent Miami under-cover-cop Sonny Crockett alias Burnett and his partner Ricardo Tubbs? Well, because the car and the figurines speak volumes, the car being unique spec, the figures dressed and in their unmistakable poster-pose, pressing the right buttons. Why not mention the franchise then? Because the items are probably not licensed to bear the Miami Vice name, I suppose, and, more importantly, there always was a slight problem with the car. Fictionally, Sonny´s car was a real Ferrari when in reality it was a replica based on a Corvette – a fact that Ferrari never liked much: an influential lifestyle TV series featuring a fake Ferrari! Ferrari was so cross that they donated the Testarossa (reviewed earlier on DiecastSociety.com) on condition the Daytona replica officially vanished from the screen for good. It did so spectacularly when Burnett doubted that the Stinger missiles he buys off a weapons dealer “really go bang”. Bang the demonstrator went, as requested, and with it the Daytona.

So, to avoid all kinds of trouble, KK Models simply name this black version of their Daytona convertible, alternatively sold in other colours and on different wheels, the 365 GTS/4 1969, give it a Ferrari badge on the sealed hood, on the steering wheel and a Ferrari script on the sealed trunk. The amber wrap-around side-markers up front bear a tiny black prancing horse, facing against the direction of travel, which is correct on the passenger side but seems inverted on the driver´s side. The very good headlamps are not flip-up on this version but are half covered by clear rectangular lenses closing the gap in the slanting front body. The rear lights are surprisingly articulate in that they show projectors and lightbulbs underneath the coloured lenses, with amber on the outside and red on the inside, when they´d need to be the other way round. The other thing missing for a US-spec is the red rectangular side-markers aft. A white reversing light sits in a not so cleanly cut chrome housing, but the four chrome exhaust tips are very crisp and deeply hollowed. The finely wired wheels and the correct Florida registration help to send the right message: This black beauty is unmistakably the Crockett rocket.

Paint is applied smoothly and black is a merciful colour on a sealed model in terms of panel and door gaps, no complaints here. The front wheels are posable, all touch the ground, but as usual with KK, none of them rotate all too willingly, as if someone was standing on the brakes, speaking of which, represented visibly through the wire spokes as a simple silver disc with moulded-in calipers. Inspecting the wheel assembly more closely, you notice that the wire-spokes and center spinners don´t spin, the outer rims and tires rotate around the stationary metal plate of spokes and brakes because the rims sit so steady on the axles that the glued-on outer rim section with its tires comes loose. Not great engineering, but acceptable for a static display model.

The interior is surprisingly good with nicely detailed gauges and switches on par with much more expensive models. The cream seats with black accents are nicely textured with a convincing depth, the same for the door panels. Gear lever and handbrake are very delicate and painted in silver and black. The silver is of course too flat to represent chrome and the wood on the steering wheel´s rim is simply brown with no veneer visible, but it does have two holes in each spoke and stalks fitted on either side of the steering column. The pedal box in the driver´s and elevated footrest in the passenger´s footwell isn´t bad either. Both the door and the rearview mirrors plus the windshield wipers are surprisingly delicate for something in this price category. KK has not missed the triangular door windows, the handles and the door locks either.

Now, I have to say, this is a surprisingly good model and a lot of (non-Stinger-) bang for the buck, so much better than the Testarossa. The figurines are not bad, though a little expensive at about American Diorama quality. Sitting Sonny is clearly purpose-made to sit on the hood and rest his right heel on the bumper of this model. And although his sunglasses, hair and flashy gun aren´t that convincing, this Sonny is to be much preferred to the standing one whose clothes look all too baggy and his hands form a somewhat strange gesture of holding something invisible. Tubbs with his sawed-off shotgun is the better figurine overall. But both figurines seem a must when you buy this much-recommended model. If ever, a better model will probably only be done by CMC, although I don´t think they´d care much to make this TV hero. More likely, a better Crockett and Tubbs team will be done by Scale Figures at some point. They have cared to make other movie characters like the Beverly Hills Cop Axel Foley, Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future, characters from video game GTA and these cops may well follow at some point like so many others.

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16 Responses to "REVIEW: KK Scale Ferrari 365/4 GTS “Miami Vice”"

  1. DS Team says:

    LOL, so many memories here. Neat set, well done KK Scale.

  2. George K says:

    The theme song was recently downloaded and still rocks!
    This is a really nice model, and will probably join its other KK Ferraris in my collection. Thanks for the great (and nostalgic) review!

  3. Kostas says:

    Very nice review and I really love the 80’s references and vibes! Very nice model car from KK and another classic VFM example, for anyone’s collection.

  4. Ike says:

    What is the price for the Miami Vice figures?

  5. smsr725 says:

    Guessing a majority of us have reached a stage in life where we can afford the “relatively expensive toys” and hence we jump on all things related to our childhood nostalgia. Cool stuff from KK here, the other day i had bagged the Fall Guy truck from GL; OuttaTime DMCs and KITTs had been always a big hit and many others. Guess good time someone now brings out Airwolf and Street Hawk in scale.

    • Karsten says:

      True, and most manufacturers are tapping into our childhood nostalgia. In this vein Playmobil, too, are creating adult customers with a double pull-factor: Nostalgia # 1 Many of us (including myself) loved playmobil as children combined with Nostalgia #2, our childhood heroes and favourite TV shows. They have released not only Star Trek Enterprise, but more closely related to our hobby the A-Team GMC van, the Ghostbusters Ecto, the Back to the Future DeLorean and more recently a rather brilliant James Bond Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5. As far as I know, a Knightrider KITT is coming too. Yet closer to our hobby, They will add a Mini Cooper, a Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing, a Porsche 911 ducktail and more to the previous VW bug and VW van to form a whole line of classic cars. All this is clearly aimed at our generation rather than kids.
      I´ve got the VWs and the Aston DB5 and will get the other cars. They are roughly 1/18 and don´t display too badly near the precious models, while forming a young visitors´ section of my collection, kids may actually play with.

  6. John Balkaransingh says:

    I would like to purchase this complete set, off the Crockett and Tubbs figurines as well as the Ferrari Daytona, I dont reside in the USA so I’ll need to have them shipped to my home which is Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, I’ll really appreciate if you can send me a complete quotation inclusive of my purchase and shipping costs, I do look forward to hearing from you soon, thanks in advance John.

  7. Karsten says:

    Thanks, everyone! I very much enjoyed writing this while the Soundtrack was playing. Got some of the relevant clips from Miami Vice on website to go with the pics of the models (including the car being blown up). Just follow the above link.

  8. Vickie Williams says:

    Do you know where I can purchase the figures and the car?

    • Karsten says:

      Well, in Germany at about any model retailer. It really depends on where you are located. If trying the links from our list of sponsors in the above menu doesn’t return a hit, I’d just google “1/18 KK Ferrari 365”.

  9. MRM says:

    I like KK models quite a bit. However I have modified pretty much every one of them to bring them up to standard. Mainly their interiors where they are definitely lacking and in my opinion this model is no exception. By the way, the tail lights are in the correct place- amber on the outside, for some Daytonas. The replica in the TV show had the ambers on the inside (which is also correct for some Daytonas) and it was using Camaro headlights, but it was already determined that this is just a black on tan Daytona and not an actual replica of the vehicle used in the series. And as such it is accurate in all aspects – plexiglass covered non pop up headlights, no additional markers and amber lights on outside.

  10. Dieter says:

    I like the details, but it is a shame that the doors can’t be opened. And what’ s the most significant error on this model is that they don’t have license plates on the front side in Florida. So I can’t understand why the manufacturer has overseen that fact.

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