Pick-M-Up, Knock ’em Down, Raw Hide! The 1980 Dodge D150 from Auto World

Pickup trucks are not something you would find in my collection, but I’m so happy Auto World sent this one our way to review. This is the 1980 Dodge D150 Pick-M-Up Utiline in true 1/18 scale. It’s worth pickin’ up for those sweet, retro graphics alone! What ever happened huge graphics on trucks making a comeback a few years ago? Can we get five variants of yellow, orange, and red stripes down the side of Jonny Lieberman’s Rivian?

I really enjoyed shooting this truck for Auto World, finding some great details along the way. Obviously, the first thing you are going to want to play with is the opening tailgate, but the doors and hood open too. Several individual parts and pieces show the amount of effort Auto World put into making this truck as detailed as possible. My attention was first drawn to the headlight lens and how they appear to be separate plastic covers that sit behind the chrome surrounds of the grille. All of these parts are surprisingly straight too, except for the passenger side mirror. I did edit out some flashing left behind on some of the plastic bits, but nothing that would have drove me to break out the Xacto knives.

My camera was obsessed with this truck. There are just too many good angles to capture! I kept having to check to see just how many photos I still had to edit; they just didn’t seem to end. I honestly think this post takes the record for number of photos I’ve posted in one CastHeads article so far! Get your scrolling fingers ready…

The black paint job, which are notoriously fickle on model cars, is surprisingly glossy-smooth. Ninety-percent of the stripe decals are flawless, save for the bottom edge of the driver’s side door. Even the license plate decals on the front and back of the truck are perfect! Tampoed badges on the front fenders and tire lettering make the decorations just about perfect.

Pop the hood to feast your eyes on a fantastic engine bay. A battery, visible alternator, radiator and cap, and hoses that feed the air filter are a treat. The motor itself is painted straight blue, and does suffer from some plastic casting seems. The dog-leg hinges are sturdy enough to prop the heavy hood open for display and allows enough space for a camera lens to stick in there.

The bed give me some real mixed feelings, however. On one hand, Auto World did an amazing job casting wood grain into the bed boards. So much attention is given to each individual board that they each appear to be unique. A combination of yellow and orange paint creates a sunburst effect and an authentic truck bed look. Somehow, it still doesn’t look realistic enough to me. I can’t put my finger on it though. Maybe my brain can’t compute how this metal made to look like wood yet still could be mistaken for plastic missed the mark. I know that it is still miles ahead of anything they could have attempted like decals, plastic inserts, flat boards, or if they just covered it all up with black paint.

Retro pickup fans are definitely going to want to add this one to their collections. These Auto Worlds have been hitting retailers over the past couple of weeks. Expect to pay about $100 USD, which seem to be the going rate for new 1/18 scale Auto World models these days.