Sunstar introduced their 1/18 scale Henry J model in the fall of 2008.
The following is my review / critique:
I must first state that this is without a doubt, the best Henry J model I have seen to date. Highly detailed and very sturdy, and a reasonable price to boot. It is quite apparent that much effort went into the design of this model. My critique is in no way intended to degrade it or discourage anyone from purchasing one – in fact, I encourage anyone who wants a model of a Henry J to check this one out. I have already purchased 4 of these and will likely buy more.
Now for the nit-picky stuff:
There is one noticeable blunder and that is the rear license plate. On the plate, Kaiser is mis-spelled “Kasier.” Opps! In any case, that is easy to overlook and will likely be corrected on later runs. It is a small attribute and not likely to discourage anyone.
The first version was released in a hue called “Indian Ceramic.” While Indian Ceramic was a beautiful color offered by Kaiser-Frazer, it was used on 1949-50 Kaiser hardtops and convertibles. It was also used on the 1951 Frazer Manhattan convertible. Sunstar did an outstanding job of duplicating Indian Ceramic, but the fact is, the Henry J was never available in Indian Ceramic. The closest color to it that was available on the 1951 Henry J is Caribbean Coral, which was a deeper red metallic color. This is certainly no reason not to purchase one. Below is a photo a 1951 Frazer Manhattan Convertible (also two cars over in the photo is a 1949 Kaiser Virginian) in Indian Ceramic. This photo is evidence of how well Sunstar matched the color:
Another inaccuracy is the color of the engine. It looks like John Deere green was used. While the Henry J cars originally had green engines, the hue was a darker tone of green. I painted the engine of my 1952 Henry J Vagabond John Deere based on a tip from someone who told me it was a close match to the original color. The paint was obtained from a John Deere dealer. After painting the engine, it was clear that it was not a close match at all. Since the engine had to be installed in the car the next day, it remained that color. Perhaps Sunstar saw a photo of that engine compartment on the net somewhere and recognized the John Deere green. If you did, I apologize Sunstar! That color is not very close to the original. The engine compartment on the Sunstar models is highly detailed, right down to the overdrive relay and battery cables being correct. Sunstar did an outstanding job on this.
The Sunstar model features a heater unit which resembles that of a 1949/50 Kaiser. Since the Henry J was a “bare bones” cost-cutter, many of them shipped without a heater. Dealers could buy a kit that allowed them to install the 1949/50 Kaiser heater in the Henry J, in fact, this heater is even listed and pictured in the factory issue Henry J parts book. The kit did come with a bracket for mounting the heater controls below the dash. The Sunstar model shows the controls mounted in the dash next to the cigar lighter. This actually tells me the exact car that Sunstar used to model the interior after. I know the car, a gold award winning Mariner gray ’51 Henry J, but it has the controls mounted in the dash instead of under it. But… again it was a dealer installable kit so a dealer may have installed it in that manner. The rest of the interior of the car is stunningly accurate.
The Sunstar model is so detailed it has the black rubber door sill plates. The 1951 Henry J originally had no door sill trim at all. These rubber sill plates were not offered till the 1952 Corsair models were released. Kaiser-Frazer Service bulletin 323 lists and describes this new feature. But… wait, Kaiser-Frazer Dealer Bulletin issue 330, has a section in it which indicates that there is a kit available to retro-fit 1951 Henry Js and 1952 Henry J Vagabonds with these sills which they originally lacked. So, this is not really an inaccuracy, just something that is a bit unlikely in my opinion. Just as is the case with a real 1951 Henry J, the addition of these sill plates adds a nice finishing touch.
A couple of months after the Indian Ceramic version was released, Sunstar released a version in Arena Yellow.
Arena Yellow was another factory Kaiser color and Sunstar did a great job of duplicating Arena Yellow as well. The issue here is, Arena Yellow was not available on the Henry J till about halfway through the 1951 model year, and then it was only available on those Henry Js that were fitted with Accessory Group 24 which featured a trunk lid. Sunstar’s version has the early type vinyl/cloth seats and does not have a trunk lid. In any case, most Henry Js you see, will have the upholstery the Sunstar version does.
Recent Henry J models have been released by other companies, many of which are very nice, well made models but Sunstar has really done their homework and produced a very handsome Henry J model. Ask for them at your local hobby shop or purchase one on ebay.