Brian Austin

Wonder whatever happened to this pilot model.

While I was aware of these cars, I learned a few technical details from this video...

So how do you paint that in scale? ?

Camper shell looks odd on a pickup with a panoramic rear window. ?

Here's a book of various rubber toy cars and trucks. I always thought that for the most part they were good likenesses of 1930s and 40s vehicles. https://atca-club.org/atca-toy-catalogs/rubber-toy-vehicles-by-dave-leopard-1994/

From the era of cast iron, pressed steel and rubber... https://atca-club.org/atca-toy-catalogs/

Almost forgot about the Dodge pickup that was also announced. Note this is a wholly separate endeavor from the ill-fated 3-D printed Powell pickup announced last year by the "other" Jo-Han (Okey Spaulding). It is also wholly separate from the old JoHan. Too many JoHans.

There were numerous large-scale pressed steel or diecast toys of IH trucks made in the previous century. Also, in the '50s PMC made promo models of the larger IH trucks in glorious warpy acetate plastic.

Well, according to a post or two from the tail end of last year, the JoHan name was revived and would be issuing new product that was 3D printed. A trailer was announced, and we were supposed to await further new announcements but they've been rather quiet.

I've read somewhere (lost track where) to warm up the tires some to soften them prior to wrestling them onto the rims.

I came across these in a box in the attic. I had forgotten about them. These were a short-lived series from the early 1970s. You could get a separately-sold friction motor to pop into the chassis to power them. The front axle of the wagon has a pinion to spin the stove's stack around.

I wonder how soon we'll see a re-tooled streamlined go kart? ?

And anything too rigid cracked and broke easily. ?

Most of the classic bricks are made of a blend of ABS, but many other types of plastic are used... https://bricknerd.com/home/every-type-of-plastic-used-by-lego-5-20-22

For the price they're asking, I'd think I'd want nicer paint. ?

https://copleymotorcars.com/?showroom=1956-ferrari-500-trc-scaglietti-spyder

https://copleymotorcars.com/?showroom=1962-land-rover-series-iia-109-5-door-station-wagon

Note that the Pontiac parts are from a Catalina. Most models handy for kitbashing would be the longer Bonnevilles, I'd think. There is this resin Catalina kit. https://mcwfinishes.com/shop/ols/products/1959-pontiac-catalina-2dr-sedan

Fascinating: "The restoration was farmed out to Tom White of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and in a 2014 interview with Richard Lentinello for Hemmings Motor News, White recalled: https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2018/10/15/an-el-camino-pontiac-style-the-1959-el-catalina-prototype

I guess in the case of the Aurora, its creator fancied himself a car designer. He became ordained before he could follow his dream to Detroit with General Motors. I can only presume he genuinely thought in his own way he was putting thought into the aesthetics of his design. His approach was just a bit...unorthodox. For those interested, there are more pics and info on the Aurora here: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/design/curbside-catechism-1957-aurora-sins-of-the-father/#

I think you're looking at the safety car prototypes the wrong way round. Two of those were built by independent individuals not connected to the auto industry who noted the statistics relating to automobile deaths and injuries and decided to act on increasing awareness of safety features. "The Sir Vival was a concept car created by Walter C. Jerome of Worcester, Massachusetts in 1958. Jerome created what he termed a "revolutionary vehicle" due to concern about what he saw as 1950s Detroit's lack of concern for safety and focus on planned obsolescence. While never produced commercially, the Sir Vival featured many innovative car safety concepts that would later become standard such as seat belts, a roll cage, sliding side doors, rubber bumpers, and side lights. ..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Vival "Aurora was an American automobile prototype manufactured by Father Alfred A. Juliano, a Catholic Priest, from 1957 to 1958. The Aurora is arguably the first Experimental Safety Vehicle ever made, even before the coinage of the ESV initialism. ... Juliano had studied art before entering the priesthood, and expressed a lifelong interest in automotive design. His family said that he had won a coveted scholarship from General Motors to study with Harley Earl, which arrived only after he had already been ordained. He maintained his interest in automotive design, however, which he combined with a belief that there was much which could be done to make current automobiles safer. ..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(1957_automobile) People focus on the unconventional appearance and dismiss the entire concepts without a second thought. I see it as the quintessential mid-20th Century dream--a grass-roots effort to improve the lives of those around them. You just have to admire that two amateur car guys got off their butts and each built something. ? In the end they were advanced prototypes with features not found on production cars until many years later. By way of contrast there have been countless hot rods and show car customs that are all looks but might be deathtraps on the road.

Yeah I recall a better selection of paint colors at my local auto parts store years ago so I was rather disappointed last time I checked. I will say I see more variety out and about than what was represented on the shelf. I've seen lovely bronzey/orange colors, and pretty blues/aquas, among others. Often these were Japanese makes. Regarding the trends of the past few years, the color palette reminded me of 1940s / early '50s muted colors. Also brown seems to have made a comeback. Note that of the four cars I've owned since the 1990s, only one was not some shade of metallic grey. Color was not a consideration my car shopping. In the end, it's no longer the '50s or '60s. The world has moved on.

It's a pity Round2 didn't convert the headlights to clear lenses.

There were some fascinating books published on automotive safety in the middle of the last century. This one comes from 1940. Interestingly the commentary regarding outward vision parallels my experiences with the Chevy HHR I used to have. The body pillar blind spots were similar. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015002901885&seq=5

AMT kits aren't branded Aluminum Model Toys, either. (Original name). ?