17 replies to this topic

[Greg Myers]

As detailed as the first two kits were I wonder why Revell didn't do the Goldenrod?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Greg Myers, 30 January 2013 - 08:20 PM.

[Casey]

Name recognition would be my guess. TV Tommy had star power, Mickey was well known, and the Summer Brothers....Dick and Tommy was it?      Maybe it was because both Ivo and M/T build many cars, and Ivo's were very eye-catching, while M/T's were very cutting edge, so together in the Revell catalog they worked. 

 

I truly believe LSR car are a tough sell, and other than M/T's two Revell kits, there have been very few. The four Hawk kits and not a whole lot else. It's not a spectator friendly sport, the main race course is on the outskirts of a salt basin in Utah, and the drivers are mostly unknown to the average race fan/kit buyer.

[Ben]

There used to be a resin 1/25 or 1/24 model of the Goldenrod but it was just the body (solid), the air intakes and little half circles for what could be seen of the wheels. I think it came with the decals as well.

[Roncla]

There used to be a resin 1/25 or 1/24 model of the Goldenrod but it was just the body (solid), the air intakes and little half circles for what could be seen of the wheels. I think it came with the decals as well.

 

Jimmy Flintstone makes a resin kit of the Golden Rod. I've never sighted one other than on the internet  so I can't comment on it.

 

http://www.jimmyflin...p?productid=296

 

Edited by Roncla, 30 January 2013 - 11:07 PM.

[TooOld]

 and the Summer Brothers....Dick and Tommy was it? 

 

FYI -  The Summers brothers , Bill and Bob ,  set the land speed record for naturally aspirated piston engines in November of 1965 with the Goldenrod .  A speed of 409.277 mph that still stands today !

[Casey]

 

FYI -  The Summers brothers , Bill and Bob ,  set the land speed record for naturally aspirated piston engines in November of 1965 with the Goldenrod .  A speed of 409.277 mph that still stands today !

 

I was just goofin', and despite the ingenuity put into the Goldenrod and being well known in hot rod circles, the Summers Brothers are unknown to most, and probably 99.99% of model kit buyers.

[Brett Barrow]

#1 -and I'm sure it would have been a major factor in those days - the Goldenrod wouldn't have been able to fit inside the standard model car kit box used at the time.    

[Hollywood Jim]

With cool exhaust pipes !

 

 

 

Why they did not kit this one ????

 

It's got no cool looking hot rod engines !!  With cool exhaust pipes !   LOL

 

And creating a 1/25th scale kit of the insides would be an engineering nightmare.

.

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Edited by Hollywood Jim, 31 January 2013 - 07:08 AM.

[gtx6970]

I remember seeing the Goldenrod a few years back on a show car circuit tour . I looked pretty cool , but wow was it long.

 

And I agree, Unfortunately recreating the driveline / powertrain would be tough in 1/25th scale .

Edited by gtx6970, 31 January 2013 - 11:59 AM.

[Mark]

Revell wouldn't have done it because they'd have looked at it as being "too similar" to the Challenger I. There are stories of a couple of Ed Roth cars that were rejected by Revell because they were "too similar" to existing kits. With LSR/Bonneville stuff, you're catering to a small group of fans. I'm surprised Revell even did the Challenger...

[Art Anderson]

Consider this:  Revell introduced Challenger I in the fall of 1962, at a time when Mickey Thompson was at the top of his game with record-setting cars, and Revell was looking to truly break into the market for really decent model car kits.  Same with Ivo's Showboat, although that came a couple of years later.

 

By the time Golden Rod hit the scene, the market for models of such cars had pretty much evaporated.

 

Art

[Greg Myers]

 1962 + a couple of years = 1965 ? Ivo kit 1965 Summers brothers break the LSR. Your time line Art

[Alyn]

 

FYI -  The Summers brothers , Bill and Bob ,  set the land speed record for naturally aspirated piston engines in November of 1965 with the Goldenrod .  A speed of 409.277 mph that still stands today !

 

I've seen the resin based model on contest tables at least a couple of times.With the unusual shape, it catches your eye. The color is a factor as well. I makes for a really nice curbside.

 

To give due credit, Charles Nearburg took the record in 2010 at Mike Cook's Top Oil Shootout on the Bonneville Salt Flats. This with a single engine, rear drive streamliner. It's still amazing that the Goldenrod record stood for so many decades.

[Daddyfink]

Ivo and Thompson knew how to market their names and teaming up with a model company was a natural course. Both had multiple cars done by Revell and AMT. The Summers Bros. only had one memorable car and it would have been a bear to make as a kit. Only a curbside would have done it and that was not too popular at a time when Revell was making very intricate, flimsy and ill fitting, kits. 

 

The resin marital aid by Jimmy Flintstone is not bad and with some sanding and painting, will make a nice shelf model. 

[Casey]

The Summers Bros. only had one memorable car and it would have been a bear to make as a kit. Only a curbside would have done it and that was not too popular at a time when Revell was making very intricate, flimsy and ill fitting, kits. 

 

Not sure I agree with the bold part. The Challenger 1 is crammed full of parts in a small package, and while Revell simplified details and combined parts, it's still a challenge (intended) to build. Getting the header tubes properly positioned requires much patience and multiple test fits...and may also cause fits.   

 

Agree 100% on the flimsy, finicky part. 

[TooOld]

 

 

 

To give due credit, Charles Nearburg took the record in 2010 at Mike Cook's Top Oil Shootout on the Bonneville Salt Flats. This with a single engine, rear drive streamliner. It's still amazing that the Goldenrod record stood for so many decades.

 

Thanks for reminding me Alyn .

There are some really awesome "in - car" videos at the link below !

 

www.rett.org/speed/speed.html

Edited by TooOld, 01 February 2013 - 02:42 AM.

[Mark]

 1962 + a couple of years = 1965 ? Ivo kit 1965 Summers brothers break the LSR. Your time line Art

The Ivo Showboat kit is copyrighted 1963 per the original box and instruction sheet. Ads in CAR MODEL Magazine would seem to support this. The kit probably came out after Ivo quit driving it (he seldom drove it anyway).

[Scott Colmer]

The long retired Goldenrod sat in front of the NHRA museum for quite a while before it was moved elsewhere. It looked a little rough, but it was neat to see. I think it had a full IRS and all wheel drive. 

 

Here is a shot of the Flintstone resin cast of it. It would be fun ti try to fill a vacuum formed one with engines someday.

 

Really like to look of LSR cars. 

 

Hosted on Fotki

 

 

Scott