Christmas came just a little late to the GT Registry but when it arrived here it definitely arrived in style! A plain brown box dropped on our door step in early January 2005 revealed the latest from GMP Diecast models - two 1985 Mustang GT Twister II’s, one in Jalapena Red and the other in Oxford White. So grab a cold can of pop and sit back and relax while we take an in-depth look at the latest GT Mustang to come out of GMP!!

GMP, based out of Winder, Georgia, is well known for their accurately detailed, limited edition diecast models including a handful of previously released third generation 1:18 scale Mustangs such as their series of 5.0L LX Highway Patrol cars (including Michigan, California, New York, Georgia, Florida), a silver 1984 Mustang SVO (run of 1,500), a black 1986 Mustang SVO (run of 1,500), a run of black 1985 Mustang GT limited to 3,000 cars, along with a few other various third generation Mustang models. These new Twister II models were based off of their previous 1985 Mustang GT model.

The 1982-1993 Mustang GT Registry’s involvement with this project began back in Fall ‘04. In early September 2004, we were contacted by John McBride, a designer in GMP’s product development group. He announced that they were "working on a special run of Mustang GT’s based off their 1:18 scale Fox Mustang tooling" and because the registry’s "web page had been such a huge help in tracking down information and data for this particular model", they would like to do a special release and review of the model with us. Having seen and been impressed with the models GMP has produced in the past, we told him we were eager to hear more about the project and told him to let us know what we could do to help out. Due to the limited amount of reference material available on 1985 Twister II Mustangs, much of the information for the specifics of this Twister II model came from our own 1985 Twister II Mustang article.

John promised that once some tweaks and corrections were made on the pre-production models, he would make sure to send us some production samples (one of each color) to keep for review. Needless to say, we have been waiting in eager anticipation to get the production version of this model in our hands and, in our opinion, the wait was WELL worth it!

First off, before we begin the actual review of the models themselves, we have to comment on the awesome packaging these models come in. The design and graphics on the model boxes are gorgeous and feature a variety of highly detailed photographs of the models in both of the available colors. The boxes do a great job of showing off the models themselves almost to the point where you have to sit and admire the box for awhile until you finally can’t stand the anticipation anymore and have to open it up to look at the model itself. 

Inside the box, the models are nicely protected with a solid Styrofoam enclosure that folds open up easily by removing a small, black, diamond-shaped piece of plastic. The model itself can be found wrapped in an additional protective piece of thin flexible foam inside. The car’s antenna is stored separately underneath the model inside a small piece of plastic.

Oh, and speaking of the box the models come in, we were pleasantly surprised to find the following imprinted on the bottom of the box – "Special thanks also go out to David and Kathy Bowers at mustanggt.org for their 1985 Twister II reference material." We really appreciate the plug/publicity for the web site and are happy to have been able to help out GMP with this project.

Now, as for the models themselves… all we can say is "wow"!! Having owned two Jalapena Red 1985 Mustang GT’s in the past, we are quite familiar with these cars and we have to say the resemblance between the model and the real thing is impressive. Here is where GMP’s attention to detail truly sets these cars apart from the crowd.

The paint colors on both the red and white Twisters are very accurate compared to the Jalapena Red and Oxford White found on the full-scale originals and the paint quality is excellent – shiny and blemish-free. Another detail, which immediately caught our trained eyes, is that the charcoal trim on these cars (hood stripe, headlight buckets, belt line trim, window trim, etc.) is truly the proper "charcoal" color as found on the real cars from the factory. The decals that set the Twister II version apart from a normal GT are also very accurately detailed in the proper proportions and shade of black including the large "Twister II" stripes along each rocker panel and the "tornado with eyes" decals above the rub strip directly in front of each rear wheel.

The fit of the body panels on the models is also top notch, including the opening doors, hood and hatch. The only noticeable exception to this is an oddly placed seam in the tooling that runs along the top of the rub strip from the front fascia back to the front tire that is not found on the real car. This is somewhat unfortunate as it looks out of place to the knowledgeable eye and detracts slightly from the side view of the model.

Closer inspection reveals a number of other exterior items demonstrating GMP’s excellent attention to detail such as the tiny Marchal logos on the foglights and the realistic looking rear defroster lines running across the rear window. Each model is also individually numbered (ONLY 500 are being made in each color) with the number located in plain view in the rear license plate location.

To be fair, we do have to point out a few very minor discrepancies on the models vs. their real-life counterparts, such as one of the small stripes missing from the leading edge of the hood decal and the fact that the "Mustang GT" decal on the rear left of the Jalapeno Red GT’s hatch should be charcoal instead of silver metallic (the silver metallic decal is correct on the Oxford White GT according to our factory documentation). In addition, sticklers for detail will notice that these models come with the "true dual" exhaust not introduced until the 1986 model 5.0L Mustangs (of course, this is a common modification found on real ’85 GT’s, so most people probably won’t mind anyway – look at it as a free horsepower upgrade on your model). While it may seem nit-picky to even mention these small items, we feel we’re expected to point out such minor details because people have come to rely on us for accurate information and we would be remiss not to mention them.

Under the hood, you’ll also find some nice detailing, including the familiar 5.0L dual snorkel air cleaner along with real rubber hoses, fan belt and engine wiring. Although missing some minor details such as the correct "finned" valve covers (comes with EFI-style) and body-colored engine compartment walls (comes with black), the under hood area still looks great.

The interior detailing is also extremely good featuring the popular "tu-tone" charcoal grey color complete with the correct red piping on the seats. We also love the "fuzzy" feeling carpet along with the very real-looking leather-wrapped steering wheel and dash/console areas. GMP also gets an "A+" on the interior by remembering to include the Twister II-specific dash plaque on the passenger side dash. There were a few other very minor interior details we would have liked to see, such as a rear cargo cover, the correct style shifter/boot (comes with an SVO-style shifter), and maybe some seatbelts, but hey, as with the under-hood area, we can’t forget this is a model in small scale with limited space for everything.

Although this would be a way-cool model as just a regular 1985 Mustang GT, GMP did an excellent job in taking this model one step further by recreating the ultra-rare and little-known Twister II version. Only 90 of these cars were made for the Kansas City Ford District Sales Region to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the original 1970 Twister Mustangs.  For those of you unfamiliar with exactly what a Twister II is, we encourage you to read up on these seldom-seen, regional special edition 1985 Mustangs by checking out our 1985 Twister II Mustang article (which will give you an in-depth look at these cars). Incidentally, although GMP did provide a link to our web site on the bottom of the box where people can go to read up on these cars, we feel that perhaps it would have been a good idea to include a little background on these cars in the box with the model in order to help the buyer understand exactly what a 1985 Twister II Mustang is, as our experience is most people have never even heard of this particular version.

So, overall, what exactly is our opinion of these new 1985 Twister II models, you ask? A resounding A+++!!!!! Anyone who is a fan of third generation Mustangs and especially the pre-1987 models knows that it is nearly impossible to find cool memorabilia like this and especially of such high-quality. GMP did an excellent job on this release!

Now that you’ve heard all about this awesome model, we encourage you not to wait if you’re interested in obtaining one for yourself as only 500 in each color are being made (which is a VERY low number in the world of Mustang diecast collectibles).

You can go directly to GMP's web site to place your order:

1985 Twister II Mustang - Jalapena Red - #8069

1985 Twister II Mustang - Oxford White - #8070

While you're over at GMP's web site, we recommend you check out all their other models - and, of course, especially the Mustangs!  Also, be sure and read the "Building a GMP" article while you’re there – it’s very interesting and gives one a genuine appreciation for all the work that goes into producing one of these models.

P.S. - We understand that GMP is welcoming comments and suggestions from enthusiasts on future Fox Chassis Mustang models, so be sure and send an email to John McBride at GMP and let him know what model you'd like to see GMP produce next (don't forget to tell him we sent ya)!!

A special "THANK YOU" goes out to John McBride at GMP for sending us these two models for review!!