Monster Garage

Dioramas

1:64 | $19ea

Diecast cars are really about stories—the connections to historic races, influential designs, fierce rivalries, or just nostalgic memories. Johnny Lightning has come up with a fun way enhance the story aspect of its 1:64 scale cars by offering resin façades packaged with certain cars to give them a ready-made diorama feel. The two most recent releases are very different, but equally fun. The Barris Kustom Shop strikes right at the core of ‘60s car culture and comes packaged with a ’49 Mercury Custom coupe done up in a mix of faded beige and black primer, with newsprint masking off the windows in anticipation of a fresh paint job. While George Barris may have been responsible for the Munsters Koach, the second façade set features the king of the monsters himself—Godzilla! He stands over a mountain of wreckage chewing on a train car while the Japan Police Reserve Corps Willys MB Jeep sits at the ready with its machinegun swivel mount.