Modeling TV sit-com cars from '50s-60s; any out there?

[Richard Bartrop]

I've been making my way through the Peter Gunn series, and Grabowski's car made an appearrance in one episode, along with Grabowski himself.

I don't think the car itself has ever been offered in kit form, though there is a diecast, but the individual parts can be found in a few kits if you feel up to kit bashing it

 

[W Humble]

I'm going to stick with my 'sitcom mutts' for the time being.  I haven't found any 1/25-24th figures I could use so far; maybe it a lost cause.  I need four, easily adaptable to Eddie Haskell, Wally Cleaver, Lumpy Rutherford, and Bud Anderson and a girlfriend in his broken-down Model A.  The '40 Ford is done, the A-bone just needs the brush-on flames.  Sure is a lot of fertile ground out there for subjects, tho!  Thx!  Wick

[The Modeling Hermit]

I remember seeing a 58 Edsel n Leave It To Beaver.  Green Acres had a rather strange 60s Lincoln convertible.    I even have the videos of that show, but as many times as I watch it, I know something is 'off' about that car, but I just can't place it.   I Love Lucy had the famous windshieldless 55 Pontiac convertible.   Although not a comedy, one should never forget Route 66 and the Corvettes.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Kodiak Island Modeler

[W Humble]

LITB used Fords until it changed networks, then went to all MoPars -- except for the teenager's Fords and Chevrolets.  They, along with Father Knows Best centered an amazing amount of sitcom story material around autos; FKB at least one car epsode (or motor scooter) a month!  In one LITB, they use two different '60 Plymouths, substituting a wooden door post/divider to simulate the sedan.  Note: ya have to watch them a lot of times to spot it all; I used to run that episode for my fine-arts classes when they did a streets/maps/transportation unit. (Wally gets busted when Beaver and pal let Ward's car roll out of driveway and block their street; bro drives in back in -- without a license!)

Like Ricky's glassless Pontiac, most of the b &w shows dulled-down the paint to avoid glaring reflections from their lights and big reflectors, esp out doors; some very poorly done, which must have made the carmaker's PR guys unhappy!  One FKB has the Andersons borrow a station wagon for a family trip -- which loses a fuel pump and strands them in strangely uninhabited countryside -- and since Mercury sponsored the show and supplied the family sedan, the loaner car is a Chevy!!

My wife and I love the old sitcoms (everything else on today is such trash!) that we enjoy the vintage cars a lot.  Thus, my model diorama, still in progress, of Lumpy's neat 'forty Ford ragtop, and Bud's decrepit Model A touring 'hot rod'.  They later replaced it with a late 'forties Ford ragtop; probably didn't really run!  I painted mine Ford sky blue, but Billy Gray, 'Bud' emailed me that he recalled it being gray, with brush painted flames! Ha!   Wick

[oldcarfan]

My wife is a fan of Bewitched and I Dream Of Jeannie and I looked it up once out of curiosity. Whatever auto brand sponsored the show made sure to send a few of next year's newest and best cars to be featured prominently in upcoming episodes. That explains how the star characters could always afford the nicest convertibles and such.

[W Humble]

As I recall, Bewitched was all Chevrolet.  Google the ill-fated show from '62, 'Straightaway' and see their 'rods & customs'; mostly I recall a '56 Chevy with scallops.

 I was driving my first ride, a '55 Delray 'post' with hot 4-bbl. 265/three on floor.  It ran about 85 in the quarter mile, upper 16-sec. range, and almost beat at least one MoPar 413 and FoMoCo 390 T-bird.  With three Strombergs, the previous owner had eked out a flat 100.00 at the strip, in 15's -- amazed even him, but he'd saved his timing slip!  Racing on our unofficial quarter outside of town, we usually carried passengers, too!  That was the year my school photo was the one in the MCM headshot!  Those were the days!  Wick

[Wickersham Humble]

Billy Gray on Father Knows Best had two rides, one the Model A tub with the 'genuine wool carpet uphostery; wears like iron, Dad!' and later a (I think) '48 Ford ragtop.  In one episode, he falls for a local rich gal (who has a heart of gold, as it turns out!) with a black Jaguar 120 (or 150?) roadster.  The A-bone was 'hand painted' with flames, which I am still going to try to emulate (c. 2025 -- long term project!) but I cut out some 'Persian' rugs from an old Architectural Digest' mag for the seats; white glue and paper towel backing, etc. 

Here's Lumpy's 'forty and axle.  My son was five years old when we watched a re-run of that show, and I thought we'd have to give him CPR, he laughed so hard and long!  OC, that (or the later 'American Graffiti' chain scene) would break a driver's neck, like as not!  Wick

[Dave Van]

Green Acres.........

 

 

[Wickersham Humble]

Pat Buttram as the horrible, surreal con-man, Mr. Haney!  That was a pretty good show, and often very off-beat, to the point of theater of the absurd level.  I mean, when Oliver Wendell Douglas was the only sane character... they say that if you're the only sane one, and the rest of the world is crazy, it means you're the nut!!  I think Buttram was on some Roy Rogers movies, or his radio show to which I listened faithfully (sponsored by Dodge Royal Lancer, source of some very steal-able hub-caps!) but he also had a character named Pat Brady, who drove the famous Jeep 'Nellybelle' which had a plywood windshield.  Petticoat Junction, and ??

Mrs. Ziffel, Barbara Pepper, was originally a Goldwyn Girl (where she became friends with Lucille Ball) and a reasonable facimile of Jean Harlow in her prime -- which was obviously long before Green Acres. Wikipedia says health problems forced her to leave before the show expired, and she died in 1969.  I always assumed that the teen actress Cynthia Pepper was her daughter, but not so.  I began to lose interest in GA when they featured the cute piglet Arnold too much!  Wick

[Dave Van]

Funnier today than it was new........

[Wickersham Humble]

Green Acres: a classic, but also because it was an inverted reality!  The only 'sane' character was Oliver Wendell Douglas, a real WASP and conservative, but everyone else is crazy!  And when that happens, it means 'you're the crazy one' in literature!  Society, upside down!  Think that was it's 'hook' even today!  Closest thing was perhaps Rocky and Bullwinkle... ?  Wick

[TexasRoadWarrior]

On 9/22/2022 at 2:05 PM, oldscool said:

I watch Kojak and The Rockford Files almost every weeknight and enjoy all the old cars as well as Adam 12. I've noticed in the Rockford episodes how much older the police cars and taxis are. It's a mid 70s show and the cop cars are 66-67 vintage. I don't think they kept cars for that many years in the real world.

Don't forget the various new Chrysler products in the Beverly Hillbillies.

When I was growing up Checker taxis as well as Yellow Cabs were Checker Marathons. I don't think I've ever seen a Checker Marathon kit, but if I do, I'll try to buy 2 so that I have one for Checker and one for Yellow.

As far as cop cars go, most departments try to get about 300,000 miles out of them before they strip them down and auction them off. I have a neighbor who has two former cop cars. He's not a retired cop, so maybe it's his way of wishing he was. And they're both rattle traps. I'm expecting him to call me one day needing a ride home.

[Bugatti Fan]

Another series I remember watching was 'Route 66'.

Cannot remember the characters but do remember  the Corvette they drove. Clueless about the colour of the car as we watched black and white TV back in those dahs.I

I think MFH does a nice 1/12th scale multi medium kit of a Corvette similar to the series car.

[Wickersham Humble]

Noel; think that's why that Billy Gray told me his Model A tub on FKB was flamed in gray; studio didn't need any hassle with colors for B&W!  Only show that possibly didn't suffer much from B&W cars was Broderick Crawford's 'Highway Patrol.'  Loved those old Buick and Dodges, and learning to say '10-4' on the 2-way radio.  MAD Magazine did a whole Mort Drucker feature on 'HP' and Crawfords mumbling radio-call codes in the day!  I had the Revell (1/20th?) kit of the '56 Buick ragtop ( I think) but tried to 'kustomize' it at age eleven.  Multi-piece body build up; too many parts and too much Duco Cement!  I still have some of that decal set, tho.  Wick

[Big John]

One of my favorite TV, and bucket list cars, is this tasty 34 ford coupe with 32 grill from a Life of Riley show 1956.

[oldcarfan]

If I may contribute, here's my latest build the Jeep flatbed from Scooby Doo, What A Night For A Knight.