Mattel Disney Pixar CARS: The Mapple Piston Cup Apple CAR
After all this time, we still have a lot of “Mapple” CARS appearing …
Photos from “Mack Me Bucko.”
A not unreasonable one from a few feet away though the color logo sponsor is a deadly giveaway, it should be all in gray.
The Apple CAR is really the easiest to attempt to replicate – it’s all white with gray tampo decals.
But in an ironic match, like knockoffs of Apple product, the details are the devil that they just can’t quite pull off … well, they could if they were willing to spend another 5 hours getting it just perfect.
Of course, this one is also missing some spoiler “straps” perfect paint plus the off kilter logo placement.
At least this one is soldered.
And this one from Mack Daddy looks pretty good from 10-feet away.
But closer up, the went TOO LARGE on the hood dots and the ones lining the spoiler.
So MM close but yet so far away. It’s a Mapple CAR!
Thanks for the nice pics, Mack Me Bucko and Mack Daddy.
So, close Mac Me Bucko and Mac Daddy. I know Mack Me Bucko and Mack Daddy, you’re no Mack buddy.
Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same? Our post on this a few years ago.
Any concerns of lead paint etc from these back door vendors is it safe for kids?
They’re likely using the same paints as on the factory floor — I doubt they’re taking them home and painting them on their kitchen table. While it might be a concern, I wouldn’t worry over it.
One sign visible above that is common in a “true” counterfeit (not just an excess production part being back-doored) is that the castings are not properly cleaned of flash and blemishes.
The castings before painting are usually tumbled in a polishing machine to remove the surface irregularities, and then given a quick touch-up with files to make sure things like the window openings are smooth, and any mold parting lines are removed. The first image above, you can see how “crusty” the passenger window opening is, whereas a production part is much smoother around the opening. On the “Police Sally” counterfeits, the lines along her hood and trunk from the mold separations were not filed down.
I bought one also for 8 bucks, looks just like the very top example (but my spoiler straps are perfectly painted on)…still looks good, even though it’s not perfect in other ways.
Too bad someone at Mattel can’t pick up the phone and call their counterpart at the Apple Store. They could agree to produce 25,000 iCar singles for exclusive sale at the 453 Apple Stores. Selling iCars would generate foot traffic that might translate into Apple product sales as well.
Yep, it’s not perfect, but for $8, it’s certainly acceptable as a placekeeper until Mattel releases the iCar again. Also note that on my sample the artwork is actually a dull aluminum color and not gray. It has flecks of metallic paint in it.