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Who made this Rolls Royce kit?


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1-vi.jpg

Entex or Minicraft? I'm certain it's not original Hubley (this is molded in light gray with a black chassis and interior, and all the Hubley-branded releases of this I've seen are all light blue), and I'm pretty sure it's not the Revell AG issue, because it has chrome plated parts.

What's throwing me as that I always thought only the Hubley versions had metal axles, while the others had plastic ones, but this kit has the metal axles. Or did the plastic axles come along later on?

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I have the relatively current Minicraft "Phantom Squire" version (the one with the nasty woody decals). Body, chassis and interior are all the same gray as in the photo above, and the axle is a chrome plastic version of a metal axle.

The box is mislabeled as a 1/16 model, which it is not, and there never was a 1/16 version. I'm guessing that they may have had plans to do one, which they didn't, but used the wrong box art.

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It was labeled 1/16 in error. Minicraft has a line of 1/16 cars, and it was just a mistake that the Rolls was listed and labled that way.

There never was a plan to make one in 1/16.

Most of the cars in the line are re-releases of old (even ancient) tooling, some of which have a few new parts added.

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Supposedly, the kit is based on the only factory-approved RR promo ever made. Looks like it's going to take a lot of work to make it look less toylike - some heavy mold seams on the body, nothing approaching a suspension, tires seem too small, hubcaps are too flat, the engine is a blob, and the Flying Lady mascot is way too big. But the body looks pretty accurate.

Here's one of the better builds I've seen, where they mention that Hubley also originally issued it as a friction model.

http://www.modelcarsonline.com/Galleries/Imports/1962%20Rolls%20Royce%20Silver%20Cloud/1962%20Rolls%20Royce%20Silver%20Cloud.htm

Edited by sjordan2
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Well. I bought a Mini Craft one , molded in black I think about 1998. Still haven't figgured out what to do with it yet . I know Hubley once had this kit as did several others when Hubley went out too..............Ed Shaver

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Aren't they still in Elgin IL? Used to be in Torrance CA. Not aware they were ever in England...

In Torrance, they actually rented their building from my grandfather in the Halibrand Engineering campus of buildings. I still have a few planes we got from them one time.

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From The Encyclopedia of Scale Models:

Minicraft is a manufacturer of model kits and acccessories. The company was founded by former Revell export manager, Al Trendle, and his wife Mary in Torrance, California in 1960.

Minicraft worked closely with Korean manufacturer Academy for many years until 1999.

In 2001, the Trendles sold the company to David and Norma Duff, who had represented Minicraft through their agency, Huff & Huff Sales & Marketing Associates. After buying the company, the Huffs moved it to Elgin, Illinois.

David Huff passed away in 2008. In 2010, Norma Duff is owner and president of Minicraft, with Lewis Nace as vice president.

My Rolls kit shows both the Illinois and UK addresses on the box.

Edited by sjordan2
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  • 7 months later...

Supposedly, the kit is based on the only factory-approved RR promo ever made. Looks like it's going to take a lot of work to make it look less toylike - some heavy mold seams on the body, nothing approaching a suspension, tires seem too small, hubcaps are too flat, the engine is a blob, and the Flying Lady mascot is way too big. But the body looks pretty accurate.

Here's one of the better builds I've seen, where they mention that Hubley also originally issued it as a friction model.

http://www.modelcarsonline.com/Galleries/Imports/1962%20Rolls%20Royce%20Silver%20Cloud/1962%20Rolls%20Royce%20Silver%20Cloud.htm

That web site is really great!

Thanks for posting it!

Also been having my eye on that rolls for a while, I think Im ready to add one!

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