1:18 Die Cast Models

The Dukes of Hazzard finished in the Nielsen top 20 for four consecutive seasons, finishing at No. 2 in 1981. The Top 20 streak would probably have continued if Duke boy actors Tom Wopat and John Schneider had not decided to sit out the 1983 fall season because of a contract dispute. Wopat and Schneider filed a lawsuit for $25 million against Warner Brothers, alleging that the company shortchanged them on royalties from the $190 million worth of Dukes toys, games, and clothes–sales “considered to be among the most lucrative in TV history.” When Wopat and Schneider left and CBS tried to cast replacement cousins Coy and Vance, The Dukes plummeted from the top 20 and never made it back, making the show a victim of its own success.

	1:18 GENERAL LEE FIRST EDITION Released by ERTL in 2001, this is the first 1:18 scale die-cast General Lee produced since the eighties.Noticable is the black interior, which should have been a tan interior, the black “General Lee” lettering on the roof, which should have been blue if they wanted to make it ‘series correct’. But maybe the biggest mistake they made is the Florida plate at the back of the car. We all know the Dukes were from Georgia.
	1:18 GENERAL LEE SECOND EDITION A year later, in 2002, ERTL released the second edition of the General Lee in 1:18 scale.This time with the correct tan colour interior. Also the “General Lee” text is blue this time. The Florida license plate on the back has been left off. In the years after this model has been released by a lot of other companies. Johnny Lightning was one of them. In 2005, Joyride put Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott and Jessica Simpson on the box who were featured in a Dukes of Hazzard remake movie.
	1:18 GENERAL LEE DIRTY EDITION In 2005, ERTL American Racing presented the Dirty General Lee 1:18 scale.With all the time ol Bo and Luke spent on the back roads of Hazzard County, trying to outrun the local law, its no wonder the General Lee sometimes looked the worst for wear. The Duke boys liked to play hard, and when youre playing its only natural to get down and dirty! The General shows off its latest battle wear with a special dirty paint scheme.
	1:18 GENERAL LEE RACEDAY EDITION This “Raceday Edition” was also released by ERTL American Muscle back in 2002. With the front of the car in primer and graphics on the doors and roof not finished, this is what they thought the General Lee looked like after a day of racing. A bit of a strange release, but hard to find these days.
	1:18 GENERAL LEE BLACK EDITION This completely black 1969 Dodge Charger was produced in 2001 by ERTL. This is what the General Lee looked like when the Duke boys bought it as can be seen in the “Happy Birthday, General Lee” episode. Only 1000 of these were made worldwide. Models are numbered underneath the car on the car’s exhaust.
	1:18 ROSCO COPCAR FIRST EDITION In 2007, Joyride released a 1974 Dodge Monaco Rosco Police Car. Although most people will remember Rosco’s car being a 1977 Plymouth Fury, this is what he drove in the first few episodes. Only Rosco’s car did have a Aerodynic Police Lightbar on the roof, not just two lights as this model does.
	1:18 ’68 FORD MUSTANG DOUBLE ZERO A 1968 Ford Mustang GT “Double Zero” was released by ERTL in 2001. As seen in the 1997 CBS Reunion movie, the Double Zero was allegedly the only car to ever win from the General Lee in an overland race. This die-cast model came with a 1:64 scale copy of the car in the box. It was re-released in 2013.

 

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Also see:

• Model Kits
• Miscelanious
• Johnny Lightning