With Ford bringing back the Bronco nameplate in
2020, there couldn’t be a better time to add a new diecast model to your
collection. Not any Bronco, mind you, but the legendary Big Oly that claimed
first place at the 1971 Baja 1000 with Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones behind
the wheel and Ford off-road team manager Bill Stroppe as his co-driver.
Built by Acme Trading Company’s Real Art Replicas
division, the 1:18 scale model features painstaking attention to detail worthy
of one of the most iconic vehicles in off-road racing history. The miniature replica is
hand-crafted from resin using the real Big Oly for reference. It features the
truck’s exact 1971 Baja 1000-winning livery, and even the sponsor decals are
period-correct. The interior has been stunningly re-created as well and
features all of the race-ready components.
The folks from Real Art Replicas knew owners
wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation, so they fitted the Big Oly Bronco
scale model with rolling wheels so that it can turn your living room into a
desert rally stage.
Jones and Stroppe raced the Ford Bronco-based Big
Oly from 1970-1974, and legend has it that the duo formed after a Christmas
party in the late 1960s. Stroppe challenged Jones to do some desert racing by
telling him he believed pavement racers lacked the requisite manhood to race
Baja. Parnelli accepted the challenge, and the rest is history.
Featuring an all-tube chassis, fiberglass body and
two-wheel drive, Big Oly was capable of tackling the toughest terrain. The
modified Bronco set the standard for off-road racing and inspired the truck
builds of today.
Real Art Replicas’ Big Oly Bronco scale model will
make you feel a part of that legend when it goes on sale on December 2018. Only
750 examples will be made, each priced at $249.95 and accompanied by a
Certificate of Authenticity signed by Parnelli Jones.
