Mark S. Gustavson

Hi AFX: I just checked and the Museum didn't receive a request from you for photos or further information. Please resend to msgsl@xmission.com with "Peeples" in the subject line.

Old friend Art is right here -- everything depended up the accuracy of the initial measurements (they ran masking tape across the body so the camera picked up subtle shapes) and then took measurements, If the drawings, that preceded the tooling, weren''t correct then everything downstream from there was inaccurate. With digital technology now, we can do what wasn't possible 50 years ago -- we can scan objects. I'm thinking of running a 3-D scanner crew to Starbird's Museum to scan the car . . Hope you're well (enought), Art. Mark S.Gustavson

Harry and Bill are both right here. If the Monogram kit of the Predicta had been accurate, it would have captured the lithe elegance of Starbird's car. Too bad that wasn't done historically, But, we're going to do it now. Once the master body is sculpted in 1/8 scale, it will be digitally scanned in 3-D, then "printed" in 1/24 and 1/16. It will be accurate then-- my new company will offer a digital file so builders can print their own, or we'll offer "prints" of the model with all relevant parts.

Harry is correct here, of course. A replica of art (e.g., Starbird's Predicta) must be dimensionally accurate! Otherwise, it can't be said to be a scale model of the real car. Mark S. Gustavson

Hey Chris: Thanks for your note. Happy to answer your questions: the wheelbase is stock 1956 T-Bird (no changes there). Yes, there are Mopar pushbuttons on the flat chrome console panel between the seats. There are a series of curved glass Stewart Warner guages that also sit flat on the chromed console pattern. E-mail me at msgsl@xmission.com and I'll e-mail additional images for you. Are you building a Predicta model? Is there anything I can do to help you? Thanks again for your note. Mark S. Gustavson

Greetings everyone: From the time I was a kid building this model, starting when the kit was released in 1964, I kind of "knew" there was a problem with the basic measurements and proportions. When, in the Sixties, I compared the radius of the rear wheel arch to the incut underneath the fin, it was clear to that 13-year old kit that something was wrong: The arch should have "invaded" the incut under the fin. As my work on the Predicta Project progressed, I asked my close friend Darryl Starbird to take some basic measurements for me that revealed very significant inaccuracies in the kit body as detailed in this page of my site: http://thepredictaproject.org/?page_id=419 Please read the entire page to see just how "off" the body is. Thanks to Steve Roullier for converting Starbird's measurements into the more professional presentation. The kit body is "off" in other ways, too: the trunk on the rear car isn't flat, the bubble is the wrong shape and too tall, and other details that can be seen on that page. About the other comments in this thread: Of interest here is that Monogram employees took a lot of measurements but they were of the car BEFORE Starbird restyled it. Go here to see some of those pictures (scroll down): http://thepredictaproject.org/?page_id=534 Much of the basic problems with the kit arose at the time that the initial measurements were taken (remember, those were the days before digital 3-D scanning and the like), AND because no one from Monogram went to Starbird's shop when he was restyling/redoing the car. For that reason, there was not final-configuration measurement of the restyled body before the kit was released. I have the privilege of owning the dozens of original vellum drawings made at Monogram after the car was measured in the Monogram back lot. Those drawings were given to me by Roger Harney 25 years ago at the time that he sent me the myriad photos they took of the car -- all of that material was about to be thrown away. Those drawings not only displayed the very basic details of this kit (this was not at the level of Johan's Turbine Car!), but those drawings, when scaled up (using the wheelbase as the baseline) show that the basic dimensional errors occurred at that time in late 1963. So, it appears that the tool makers did their job in accord with the drawings -- it was the drawings that were off. The Predicta has been an obsession of mine for nearly 35 years and I finally have the time and money to pursue the intense goals of this project. My book (10 years in the making!) should be out next April, and then other modeling aspects of this kit should commence about then including the construction of a 1/8 scale "Big Predicta" that will be a fully detailed and accurate scale model of the car. Please go here to read more about the "phantom kits" we'll be creating: http://thepredictaproject.org/?page_id=403 You may want to check out the "News" page for further details on the history of the project: http://thepredictaproject.org/?page_id=8 Finally, check out these built up models, including the incredible work of Bob Peeples 53 years ago before the kit was issued (his model is of the original version of the car). Mike Kukaba is probably too modest to tell you guys about it, but he' started his own models of the Predicta and there's a link to his work at the bottom of this page: http://thepredictaproject.org/?page_id=458 I'll keep checking back on this thread to see if I can respond to any further questions. My best wishes to all! Mark S. Gustavson