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The Danbury Mint 1931 Ford Model A Station Wagon
By Robert Alescio

This station wagon nicely rounds out the Model A diecasts in my collection. There are a few more body styles to go, but this woody was first on my list.

Note: Some assembly (& disassembly) required. You might as well start by reading about the curtains on the instruction card. In order to install the seats, DM recommends removing the installed­for­shipping side and rear curtains.

On first view, this is a superbly rendered image of the station wagon. We know from the green coupe and pickup, Danbury had already raised the bar for the Model A. Now we have a state-of­the­art example. Delicate spoke wheels and no-name, but nice feeling tires with accurate tread make up the rolling stock. Chassis, drive train, fenders, and body from the cowl forward, were the same on light trucks as the cars, but it is no reason to skip over it. The tan paint, which appears to be light Arabian Sand, compliments the light wood of the body, the black of the fenders and a convincing black fabric top. I like the ’31s for the painted inserts on the radiator shell. Headlight lenses pass the test with a realistic pattern, and the center hood hinge is properly painted body color. Except for the middle hood hinge, all other hinges are hidden or painted. All hardware is chrome plated.

We have seen this engine before, but I would like to point out two minor, but telling items of note. Danbury has replicated the spark plug wires as they were. They are not wires, per se, but strips of copper metal that clip onto the distributor and plugs. The other item is barely noticeable. Looking at the lower right side on the front engine cover, you will see a tiny peg jutting forward. On the 1:1 motor, this piece unbolts, then is turned around and reinserted into the hole. As the engine is turned over with a wrench, the point of this peg slips into a hole indicating top dead center. This then is used as a basis for setting the ignition timing. I like to think Danbury knew that.

This car has no working suspension, and I am fine with that. I never noticed this on the prior Model As, but it appears Danbury replicated their working steering linkage from the full size Ford.

The wood body is actually molded plastic framing with real wood veneer sandwiched between the outer open frames and the interior panels. I applied the same technique to a plastic AMT’ 29 woody kit ­with the same satisfactory results. You can be forgiven for thinking the whole body is real wood. The curtains replicate those of the 1:1 car; they attach from the outside, and they look very authentic. What they cannot do is fit into the storage bin under the tailgate ­not all of them anyway. On the real cars, these curtains could be rolled up to the top of the windows, but, again, scale limitations preclude this feature.

Inside is where the assembly takes place. At a bare minimum, the front seat cushion should be installed. Mine does not want to go all the way down in back. I did install the middle seats; they fit snugly into holes in the floor, although patience it required. The floor is covered with a finely ribbed mat, and the windshield tilts forward for ventilation.

Just a couple of comments before I wrap this up. The spoke wheels do look to be the finest yet on any DM or FM Ford, but to my eye, they actually look too thin. These spokes were thick pieces of metal, not wire. I am sure someone will put a micrometer to them and prove me wrong, but that is my impression. The last item concerns many old cars like this. Somehow, the chrome is too shiny. Model As had nickel plated radiator shells and other hardware. This was a satin finish that, I guess, is difficult to mimic on these diecasts.

None of these last comments detract from this being my new favorite pre­32 diecast. Well, actually, it’s a tie with the 1925 Model T Touring. If this were a limited edition, I would beg you to get one before they are all gone. Fortunately, it is a regular issue, so there is no real rush. But, why wait?

Great image! Five stars. Thanks, DM.