New Models: Mini Motor Home from Automodello

Until Automodello’s new example, the GMC MotorHome has never before been modeled in scale (as far as we’re aware). The other small-scale GMC MotorHomes have been toys, most notably from Mattel’s Hot Wheels and Barbie brands. As toys, no scale replica has the accuracy and detail of Automodello’s MotorHome model. 

As the first purpose-built recreation vehicle — it was the first RV designed and engineered as an RV from the chassis up ­— the GMC MotorHome was a game changer. Before it, all RVs were built using an existing van or truck chassis to which a conversion company then added living space. By designing a motor home starting with the chassis, General Motors Truck and Coach was able to maximize the living space and keep the body low to the ground. To help keep its MotorHome low, GMC used the engine and transaxle from the Oldsmobile Toronado to make the MotorHome front-wheel drive. The front-wheel-drive setup thus eliminated the driveshaft and driveshaft tunnel, so the MotorHome was able to have a low and flat floor. Its rear wheels were independently mounted via bogies and pins, so there wasn’t a rear axle to further intrude on the interior or create a sideways hump on the floor. 

Bodies of the GMC MotorHome were a combination of marine plywood for part of the floor plus aluminum and fiberglass panels for the body, all supported by an aluminum frame. A full chassis supported the body and its interior, which was installed by a contractor before GM began installing them in house at a GM plant in Pontiac. Mich. 

GMC dressed its MotorHomes in different color themes with different names, such as Sequoia, Eleganza, Canyonlands and Palm Beach. Over the six-model-year lifespan of the GMC MotorHome, nearly 13,000 were built. Some survivors of the durable GMC MotorHome can still be seen in the parking lots, camp grounds and swap meets of car shows around the country, as they’ve long proven popular with old-car enthusiasts.

Given that the full-scale GMC MotorHome came in 23- and 26-foot lengths, Automodello’s GMC MotorHome is exceptionally long for a model in this scale at 7-1/2 inches. Automodello offers its GMC MotorHome in one of three color combinations: Palm Beach Green; Glacier White with blue accents; and white with red and blue stripes and Hesketh Racing graphics between the side windows. Each model has a fully furnished interior with table, bed, seats, benches, curtains — even the kitchen sink! As with other Automodello models, the paint finish is impeccable, the proportion and design are accurate and the trim is complete, sharp and expertly applied. Just a few examples of the intricate trim on Automodello’s MotorHome model are its separate roof rails in silver plating, retracted awnings molded in silver, black window frames, and silver-plated mirrors, grille, bumpers and bezels. The many lenses are translucent pieces molded in the appropriate colors, and the GMC logo can be seen in red on each of the six silver-plated wheels. 

Enthusiasts of the innovative GMC MotorHome will find much delight in this unique model, inside and out. Just 143 have been built in each of the three exterior combinations it offers, and each is offered at $119.99. Order from the manufacturer directly at www.diecasm.com, or call 877.DIECASM during regular business hours Monday through Friday.

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