1967 Convertible - Hot Wheels

1967 - Johnny Lightning

1968 - Racing Champions

1969 - Hot Wheels Sizzler

1969 - Johnny Lightning

1970 - Hot Wheels

1970 - Johnny Lightning

1970 - Racing Champions

1970 - Johnny Lightning Sizzler

1974 - Ertl

1974 - Matchbox

1974 - Universal

1977 - Hot Wheels

1977 - Racing Champions

When the Ford Mustang created the pony car in 1964, General Motors was caught without products to compete in this new market segment. By 1967, GM was ready with pony cars of their own. The Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird had the same GM father but different mothers. They shared platforms but each had it's own personality.

Pontiac had already established themselves as the performance division of GM with the GTO, and the Firebird provided a second youth-oriented model to provide eye-candy for the show rooms. John Z. DeLorean was in charge at Pontiac and he was happy to offer Firebirds that ranged from 6 cylinder economy models to the mighty Trans-Am.

Part one of the Firebird story covers the first two generations, from 1967-1982. Models from 1983-present will be covered in part two. The early Firebirds can be broken down into body styles for 1967-1969, 1970-1973, 1974-1976, 1977-78 and 1979-1982.

Toy Firebirds have always been plentiful and the 1:64 scale models have done a good job covering each of the four basic body styles noted above. Many feature the trademark 'flying chicken' on the hood. The following is a review of the models for these years.

1967-1969 - Original

It is a bit of a surprise that only five models of the early Firebirds have been done while far more of the first generation Camaros can be found.

Hot Wheels - The 1967 Custom Firebird was one of the original Hot Wheel models. It is the only convertible and offers engine detail. Hot Wheels also did a 1969 Firebird in their Sizzlers series.

Johnny Lightning - The new '67 Firebird from JL is one of their best while the '69 Firebird is one of their worst. The '69 was an early JL casting and it simply looks wrong. The '67 is a delight with engine detail and red-line tires.

Racing Champions - The '68 Firebird was done by RC as part of their Mint Edition series. It is a very nice casting with rubber tires and engine detail.

1970-73 - New body

Hot Wheels - The '70 Firebird is part of the HW collector series and priced at $8, it's no bargain. The detail is nice.

Johnny Lightning - Far more affordable and almost as nice as the HW model is the '70 Firebird from JL's Red Card series. JL also offered a '70 Firebird in their Sizzlers series.

Racing Champions - The RC '70 Firebird is the best of this group and has the best version of the Trans Am colors.

1974-1976 - new nose, tail and rear window

Ertl - The Ertl castings of the 1970's are quite good and the '74 Firebird offers opening doors. The wheels on these vintage Ertl models are rather delicate.

Matchbox - This '74 Firebird is presented as a mild custom. This casting was modified twice more to update styling.

Universal - The Ertl '74 Firebird was good enough for Universal to offer a copy, but the interior is omitted.

1977-78 - new nose and tail

Hot Wheels - One of the most popular HW models of the 1970's was the '77 Firebird. It features a T-top roof.

Racing Champions - The RC '77 Firebird is again an excellent casting with engine detail and realistic wheels over real rubber. RC also offered this model in their smaller Street Wheels series.

Tomica - This '77 Firebird is a quality casting with opening doors.

Yat Ming - This model is still being produced by YM. This casting is quite good, especially if it has a metal base.

Zylmex - The Zylmex casting also continues in production under Red Box.

1979-82 - new nose

Kenner Fast 111's - other than the trademark rear bumper, this is one of the more realistic models in the Fast 111's series.

Kidco - The 10th Anniversary Firebird was produced by Kidco.

Maisto - One of Maisto's earliest models, this '79 Firebird is a 'Key Racer with rubber tires.

Matchbox - The '74 model was updated to a '79 with a new nose. They did not fix the rear window but did add a rear spoiler with result a curious mix of 1970's Firebird styling.

Playart - One of the last of the Playart models, this '79 Firebird has a plastic base.

Road Champs - It's nice to see a racing version of the '79 Firebird as these were cars that saw track time. The casting is good.

Welly - The wheels would lead one to conclude that this is an early Welly as the base does not say.

Yat Ming - The '79 Firebird was also done by Yat Ming after having done the '77. Seems odd but it's true.

Zylmex - This '79 is from the Pacesetters series and no longer in production by Red Box.

Matchbox - The 'Smokey and the Bandit' featured a black Firebird and Matchbox used their revised casting, now with huge T-top cut-outs, for their Star Car series. It's a bit of a stretch.

Hot Wheels - With the look of the '79 Firebird, this funny car by HW has also been labeled as a Chevrolet.

I'm certain there are more Firebird models for these years that I have missed. Let me know what they are via e-mail. As the Firebird is now marked for a slow death by GM, it may become even more of a cult car. Next month we will review the models of the past 20 years.

1977 - Street Wheels

1977 - Tomica

1977 - Yat Ming

1977 - Zylmex

1979 - Kenner Fast 111's

1979 (10th Anniversary) - Kidco

1979 - Maisto

1979 - Matchbox

1979 - Playart

1979 - Road Champs

1979 - Welly

1979 - Yat Ming

1979 - Zylmex

1979 Smokey and the Bandit - Match

Tags: Vehicles, Tales of Toy Cars