iBorg

I think we have to look at customizing in eras. First there was the coach body cars. These were custom bodies prior to WWII that were one offs applied to very expensive cars. Think of this era as epitomized by Clark Gable's Dusenberg. After WWII, and the desire for something new, many prewar cars were modified into something new as Detroit hadn't yet ramped up new models. The new Detroit models prior to 1952 quickly were dated and customizing became more common in the mid fifties.. This only lasted a few years. Think the Barris Brothers and Valley Custom. Detroit's offerings of the late 50's-early 60's looked as if they were already customized when they left the showroom floor. This led to the era of panel painted cars. This era can be characterized by Larry Watson. When the sixties dawned, customs faded into show cars. Some of these were wonderful, while some leaned to the excessive. Need excessive? Look up the Druid Princess. There are numerous examples far worse like the Outhouse. The 1970's gave us custom vans and motorcycles. Truly a golden era, if you like that sorta thing. Many vans were customized in driveways while a whole industry sprung up to do conversion vans. Then there was trucks and mini trucks in the 80's. Remember, at one time the fastest Detroit iron had a pick-up bed on it. Eventually we had billet and hand fabricated cars inspired by classics of the thirties. Boyd Cunningham created some classics. Many cars of this era transcended cars into art forms. Some called this era excessive. Of course, hot rodders and customizers are still looking for the next perfect thing. If you can't afford billet, you create anti-billet. The rat rod movement is another take on custom cars. For myself, some of it is really creative while some of it seems to strive to be trashy. The idea of gluing plastic rats to your car to say your anti-establishment puts you into a different establishment. Sorry, its still trashy. For myself, there's endless canvasses out there. I really like the era of road race specials of the fifties. I wonder about a road race special design powered by electric. Another take on the custom car, might be cool.....whatever, it would be my own.

Always struck me as a weird design element. The stripe breaks up the flow of the car, sorta of a stop sign to the car's natural curves.

Wait a second that's an Olds Pro Stocker. I can recognize it with looking at the grill stickers. Mercy I miss Pro Stock versus Pro Mod Lite that's raced today. Nice build of a model that can be challenging.

Had this same discussion with a shop owner today. She said that when she retired, they'd close the door as no one wants to take over. Not enough money plus most people who get into the hobby business don't know how to run a business. Maybe if they did, they wouldn't go into the hobby business.

I wish these came with figures. A kit I wouldn't consider building, would be one I could share building with my kids.

I'm pretty sure the Budweiser wagon is molded in 1/25. Its a huge built up

27 T roadster. PLEASE...... The only option is the Flintstone kit. Workable but it takes a fair amount of work.

Can you post a link to the Don Garlits Museum photo?

I for one am excited to have these. If they sell well, it opens the doors to other options. I do hope they'll release a Toyota and a Chevy. As for the choice of drivers, Team Penske makes a lot of sense. It allows two cars from one mold without having to negotiate with two ownerships. It also limits having to choose which two teams from a three or four car team. Plus this is a first model for each driver with younger demographics than Jeff Gordon or Matt Kenseth. Maybe they'll do a Target exclusive car for sale in Target stores. Can't see that in their competitor stores.

The Blue Deuce......guess that's a kid safe Miller car. It will be interesting to see how they do these. I just hope they don't flood the market like the did previously. Maybe they'll follow it up with new drag racers.... Nah.....Cinderella.

There was a feature on this car in Peterson's Drag Racing magazine had a feature on it when the car was current. I'm sorry I don't have access to my copy now or I'd help you out. A few things about this car, it changed greatly. It started with plain Blue Max logo's, then had Schlitz and finally Old Milwaukee. A couple of things I recognize from the various photos I have. The car sit very low to the ground. The rocker panels were level to the ground. The rear spoiler was about twice the length of the Billy Myer piece. If other cars of the era was running a dual plug head, the Blue Max had dual plugs.

I find the "retro" Hawaiian to be a bit disappointing. Leong never ran a Pontiac anything, so to see that name on a Trans Am seems wrong. The other thing that I find interesting is how much the back half of the body looks like a Corvette funny of that era and the nose looks correct for a Trans Am. What really makes that weird is the Corvette body of that era had a REALLY bad reputation for being an unstable funny car body.

Another source for Pantone numbers is in Photoshop's color picker. Its one of the swatch books. Mike

Looks like a nice build. I really like the contests that limit individuals to one win per class. Just seems like a way to reward more people.

Every parent shares one fear. My prayers are with your family as you deal with this tragedy.

Not a bargain to be found there. Unless prices have skyrocketed, you're much better off buying the whole kit.

The late model hemi doesn't fit into the car. It was introduced in 1964. It took almost six years for it to replace the 392. A much better choice to fit into the used rail concept and your body work would be the Hemi from the Miss Deal or a blown Olds or small block Chevy.

Very nice. A couple of questions, I noticed what looks like burn marks on the tubing. Did you heat and smash the frame together? Also, are the decals going to be available? Mike

Only surprise is the linked article wasn't published a day latter. Seriously, I can't take this article seriously.

Interesting project. Zoomie headers came into common use around 1964.

Sweet......

Curious as to what decal will be included with the kit or if there will be three kits with different decals as the only difference. I do wish it had full engine detail as well as more parts and less molded into place in the interior.

Being a bit of a rivet counter, did Chevy use the same chassis of the Chevy II under anything else? The idea of removing the stock front end for the Rat Packer, seems like a great idea. The only Chevy II chassis I can think of is the Trumpeteer. I haven't seen one at a LHS in several years. Any thoughts?

You're still knocking it out of the park! The body looks like a model unto itself. When displayed you need a mirror base so everything shows. This is becoming a tutorial on how to super detail a 1970's funny car. Mike

I picked up the Rat Packer today. I think it will be a fun build but have always hated the chassis. What chassis did you use? Thanks, Mike