Hummer H1 Softtop – Exoto

The Hummer H1 is a civilian off-road vehicle based on the M998 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (or Humvee), which was created by AM General. The vehicle was produced from 1992 through 2006, and was the first of what became the Hummer line. It was initially known only as the “Hummer”; however, in 1999 in a joint venture between General Motors and AM General, GM began marketing the Hummer H2, which was built on the Chevrolet Tahoe chassis. It was at this point that the original Hummer was given the H1 designation. All Hummer H1s and Humvees come off the same assembly line, and then civilian H1s get painted and finished in a separate building across the parking lot. Boasting 16 inches of ground clearance as well as super-aggressive approach and departure angles, the Humvee could clamber over a 22-inch high obstacle, handle a 60 percent grade and wade through up to 30 inches of water. AM General announced that 2006 would be the last model year for the Hummer H1, with production winding down in June 2006 due to a new emission law for diesel engine vehicles, which took effect in 2007.

Hummer being a legendary brand is made lot of diecast makers. Maisto at one end of the spectrum and Exoto at the other. Maisto makes some real good variety starting from Military Humvee, Hummer H1, Hummer H2, Hummer HX concept etc. which are very affordable and good value for money. Exoto on the other hand makes Hummer H1 and Humvee in few variants which are a must have any collector. My favorite of the lot is the Hummer H1 wagon in Sandox blue but its almost extinct and even if available prices have shot over $500 for which I can get quite a number models. So did some R&D and found a couple of worthy contenders from Exoto indeed. When Amazon showed this pretty red guy at under 100$ I just ceased it.

Out of the Box: Being an Exoto you can expect a heavy weight workout handling the box. Mine came with two original boxes a shell white box to protect the actual box(show in the pic). Thanks to the customs guys who ripped opened the boxes and permanently damaging the box. The Model itself is cocooned is a well designed styrofoam case, fasten by 4 screws. The box also contains a long metal antenna for the radio and a ranch kind of fork to access the doors etc. As you can see the rear view mirrors on both the side are missing but Amazon guy are working on sending a replacement piece, which reached me just when I finished this photo shoot.

Body and Built Quality: Just like the original Hummer this diecast model is also rugged and brute. The body panel are smooth and all the reverts are clearly replicated. You need to touch it to actually feel what I am saying! This hummer should weigh over 3 kg which makes it the heaviest in my whole collection but if you lift it it wont feel heavy thanks to weight distribution. Being an Exoto the built would be rock solid! everything is in place fixed and glued perfectly. One nice thing about this model is the beige softtop which is actually made of leather like material (maybe leather) which feels soft give a very upmarket feel.

Doors: Hummers H1’s doors a very versatile so it adds to easy access to even full size army soldiers with their equipments. This is possible because of the door hinge design which open all the way to the other side, this very feature is captured only by Exoto and the metal hinge is robust and function like the real hummer’s. I fell in love with these door so took more pictures of the door from every possible angles. With my Hummer with no rear view mirror gave me a even more versatility for the front doors as well.

The beige shade is maintained on the interiors as well to match the top soft top, which is indeed real leather (or leather like material). The door insets is a very nice touch but they are high quality plastic not leather as the camper top.

Interior: I would say the AM General, never worried about the interiors when they put together this Hummer so expecting any ground breaking output here is stupid. But this pretty boy has lot of attitude also in the interiors front, which indeed been captured by Exoto. Interior bit worth mentioning are the textured seatbelts but with plastic hook, nicely contored seats, speaker grills in metal for the rear sets, detailed switch gears and instrument cluster. What disappoints me though is the air con vents which are just poor quality sticker, Exoto you can do better!

Engine: Exoto known for its eye for details, work a magic on this very model (Hummer H1). You don’t even have to pop the hood to experience the details on the engine and the bay. The real metal mesh grill on the top of the bonnet and the front gives it a upmarket feel. pop the hood and you will be blown away by the attention the Exoto guys have put into this. The huge radiator with the super sharp wordings, fluid cans, cooling fans in white, the distributor in aluminum shade are few of the examples but they are not all you have to hold it to feel it.

Under Body: Being a rugged offroader this bad boy has everything from crank shaft to the exhaust system exposed. This gives the Exoto guys to do extra swift in putting those details together. My favorite part is the crank case front and back and the independent suspension setup all around.

Outdoor Experience: I always believed that this Hummer belongs to the outdoor than the photo booth so went almost 20kms from my place for this particular shoot. I believe you will equally enjoy this as much as I did shooting them. Am I missing something? Yeah the verdict this Hummer is so close to getting the highest score of all model at 4.5 stars. The interiors I guess had pulled that half star down or else a full 5/5.